Chapter 82: Here We Go Again?
Xinghai Headquarters Manager’s Office.
Fan Ren sat on the sofa, Jin Qiaoying looking at him, her big eyes filled with disbelief.
Listen!
What is he saying?
“The plan is to go to the Moon for mining!”
Fan Ren gave an embarrassed laugh, feeling that what he said was indeed quite a leap for Jin Qiaoying.
Half a month ago he was still pondering nuclear fusion research and development, and now without finishing nuclear fusion, he was starting to think about going to the Moon for mining.
Although he had already mentioned this matter to Li Jiandong, Jin Qiaoying had just found out.
“It’s like this, you’ve seen the tri-titanium alloy too. The raw ore on Earth has extremely low output due to environmental factors, making large-scale industrial use impossible. But on the Moon, this ore is everywhere.”
“But this seems a bit unrealistic, right?”
Jin Qiaoying racked her brain but couldn’t find other words to describe his plan.
Currently, humanity’s development of the Moon is limited to collecting samples and traveling between Earth and the Moon. Fan Ren wanted to take the company’s recently accumulated profits to invest in a Moon mining project right away; she thought he had gone crazy.
“General Manager Jin, the significance of tri-titanium alloy to us is not only the final link in nuclear fusion research and development, but also the ultimate solution to the countless problems currently plaguing human industrial development due to material strength.”
Fan Ren explained, then quickly added: “It’s very important!”
Jin Qiaoying rubbed her forehead with her fair, slender fingers.
She had already looked at the information on tri-titanium alloy and knew full well its importance to the future of human industry, but even so, jumping her thinking straight to the Moon mining project was something she still couldn’t accept for the time being.
At that moment, Fan Ren’s telephone rang.
‘Minister Li’, he shook his mobile phone to signal, then answered the call without avoiding Jin Qiaoying.
“Hello, Chief Li.”
“General Manager Fan, there is indeed tri-titanium alloy in the lunar soil, right?”
Fan Ren’s mouth curved up slightly, and he replied: “Indeed, and the content is extremely high. Chief Li, this means it may be extremely widely distributed on the Moon, and because the lunar surface has been impacted by meteorites for a long time, resulting in high surface sandification, the mining difficulty is extremely low.”
He said this not only to Chief Li, but also for Jin Qiaoying to hear.
Fan Ren knew the huge impact the plan he brought today had on her. Although he held the company’s absolute controlling stake, which included decision-making power on major matters.
But he and Jin Qiaoying had always paired up very well, and he didn’t want to use that power, so as not to create conflicts between them.
Jin Qiaoying gave him a white-eyed glance, gradually coming back to her senses at this point.
“General Manager Fan, I’m calling precisely about this matter. Currently, the amount available for mining in South Australia is extremely small, and after multiple communications, they still refuse to budge on pricing.”
Fan Ren glanced at Jin Qiaoying, looking regretful. He followed up: “Chief Li, is there no other way?”
Hearing this, Jin Qiaoying on the other end couldn’t sit still. Was he really treating her like a little girl to be coaxed?
She rubbed her forehead and glared at Fan Ren irritably, having no choice but to nod emphatically.
Seeing this, Fan Ren seemed to be talking to himself as he continued: “Then we can only turn our eyes to the Moon.”
His expression turned serious.
“Chief Li, after a decision by General Manager Jin and me, Xinghai Technology has decided to launch an aerospace engineering project.”
“Don’t rush, let me finish.”
Fan Ren’s words were interrupted by Chief Li.
“I’ve reported this matter to Elder Ye. Elder Ye didn’t object at the time, just instructed me to first secure the explored mines from South Australia. But now, South Australia refuses to yield.
I think, if you have time, come to Kyoto and give a report with me at the Imperial Palace, how about that?”
Fan Ren started to get the flavor; Chief Li had something in his words. Was he trying to drag him along to give Elder Ye a lesson?
On second thought, indeed.
Currently, Great Xia’s aerospace was in a steady development state. To mine on the Moon according to his demands, who knows when that would happen.
This was mainly because the Moon currently held extremely low economic significance for humanity.
And Chief Li, as the head of the Ministry of Industry, valued technological development highly, so he shared the same idea as Fan Ren, knowing that the emergence of tri-titanium alloy was an important material for future industrial development.
And now, with tri-titanium alloy discovered in lunar soil, there was real economic benefit.
Since Great Xia now had this strength, and Xinghai was willing to invest money in this area, why not speed up the pace?
Thinking of this, he agreed: “Alright, I’ll head to Kyoto immediately. Leave the rest to you to arrange.”
The two didn’t exchange anything else and directly hung up the telephone.
Without giving Fan Ren a chance to speak, Jin Qiaoying said directly: “Of San Xin’s 100 billion compensation, 40 billion is used for chip factory investment. Plus various revenues during this time, we currently have about 80 billion in total.”
Surprise shone in Fan Ren’s eyes; he really didn’t expect Xinghai to have 20 billion in revenue in just a few months.
Taking the Earth-Moon Engineering Phase Three investment of just over 10 billion as an example, this 80 billion was not absolutely sufficient, but close enough.
Moreover, it was foreseeable that with the completion of the mechanical automation factory and a significant increase in chip production capacity, Xinghai’s revenue would definitely surge.
This way, for Moon mining, there were temporarily no worries on the funds side.
Fan Ren was sincerely grateful to this general manager who managed Xinghai so impeccably. He nodded and said: “Don’t worry, don’t you trust me?”
Hearing this, Jin Qiaoying’s phoenix eyes gave him a flirtatious white-eyed glance.
“Just don’t mess around anymore.”
Fan Ren chuckled, not refuting.
South Australia, General Office.
“What did Great Xia say?”
“President, after you set the price, they demanded a price cut for a while, but there’s been no reply in the last two days.”
“Hmph, what does the metallurgy laboratory say? Haven’t they researched other uses for fan crystal ore yet?”
The subordinate shook his head with a troubled expression: “Still the same as before; the refined product is only slightly stronger than super-strong aluminum alloy, with no other discoveries.”
Hearing this, President Mo Han’s face showed displeasure: “Then why did Great Xia suddenly want to acquire our fan crystal stone? They don’t have much, but they have some, right?”
The subordinate didn’t answer; he continued without minding: “Based on my understanding of Great Xia, they must have discovered other uses for fan crystal stone; otherwise, they wouldn’t ask to buy all of our reserves.”
“Yes, President is wise. Please give me some time; I’ll get the people below to research the uses of this ore at any cost as soon as possible.”
That subordinate bowed, then followed up: “Then for Great Xia, temporarily?”
“Mm, just stall them for now. Whether fan crystal stone or other minerals, we must firmly control the pricing in our hands. Have the mineral department prepare; starting tomorrow, raise the price of our exported ore by 2%. Contact Great Xia; use this condition to exchange for the specific use of fan crystal stone.”
“Yes, President is wise.”
The subordinate’s face was full of flattery as he bowed and retreated.
