50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 359 The Spacious Pavilion

Previously, he could only know from the financial reports each month that the iron mine could provide him with a net income of $10 per year.

At the time, he made a rough estimate that, based on the current international iron ore price of $20 per ton, $10 would be equivalent to 5000 tons of iron ore.

This price hasn't changed for many years.

The main reason is that the world's largest iron ore buyer, BBVA, has signed long-term supply contracts with many mining companies, thus maintaining prices.

He calculated that, based on the 3:1 ratio of expenses to profits at the Swell Gold Mine, the total annual output of the entire mine should be 2 tons.

Spread over each month, that's 1667 tons of iron ore, which is equivalent to only 56 tons per day, and that's with mechanical assistance.

At the time, he felt that the iron mine must be very small.

But looking at it now, it's not like that at all. An iron ore mine with 500 miners is a huge mine.

It takes 500 workers 24 hours to mine just over 50 tons of ore. Does that mean a worker can only mine 200 kilograms of ore a day?
Is this a case of working for 1 hour and then resting for 11 hours? Anyone who thinks about it knows something's not right.

Moreover, how could the wages and benefits of workers in Borneo possibly compare to those of miners in the United States? Their actual expenses are certainly lower.

During the meeting just now, he knew there was a problem when he heard the data, but he didn't immediately turn hostile.

The main problem is that he doesn't know if all of these people were involved in underreporting production output. If so, he needs to find a solution.

For him, the priority was to understand the real situation, and that young Chinese engineer, Huang Hongxuan, was a natural breakthrough point.

That evening, Sun Zhiwei was arranged to rest in a wooden hut at the mine.

When the night was deep and quiet, he quietly left his room, found Huang Hongxuan's room, and gently knocked on the door.

Upon hearing the knock on the door, Huang Hongxuan's soft voice came from inside the house: "Who is it?"

Sun Zhiwei did not answer, but waited quietly.

A moment later, the door opened, and Huang Hongxuan was stunned when he saw the new boss standing in the doorway.

Sun Zhiwei smiled at him and then said softly, "Shall we chat?"

Huang Hongxuan hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Sun Zhiwei turned and walked towards a secluded place. Huang Hongxuan paused for a moment before closing the door and following behind Sun Zhiwei.

Before long, the two left the accommodation area and came to a secluded abandoned mine.

Sun Zhiwei stopped walking at this moment, and Huang Hongxuan followed and walked to his side.

"Boss, what would you like to talk about?"

"Your name is Huang Hongxuan, right? Are you from Huang Huizhong's branch or Huang Huixiang's branch?"

The Huang family is one of the largest Chinese families in Java. Huang Huizhong and Huang Huixiang are brothers and currently run Central Asia Bank, the largest private bank in Java.

"Huang Huizhong is my brother-in-law."

"Why didn't you work at your brother-in-law's bank, but instead came to work at such a small mine?"

“I studied mineral exploration, and I know nothing about banking, so I started working on my own after graduation.”

“Your mine is quite large. I can work here and gain experience at the same time.”

"Isn't that a lot? But I only receive $10 a year. Can you tell me what you know about it?"

"I haven't been here long either," Huang Hongxuan said, making excuses.

"Did all seven of you participate in the conspiracy?" Sun Zhiwei suddenly questioned in a stern tone. "No, no, I didn't participate." Huang Hongxuan, young and easily frightened, was tricked into confessing by Sun Zhiwei's words.

"So all six of them conspired together? Do you think I believe that?" Sun Zhiwei's tone was full of sarcasm.

"Boss, it really has nothing to do with me." Huang Hongxuan was getting a little anxious. He had seen it today; soldiers had escorted this boss over, which meant he had connections.

“They are all Dayak people, and I am not trusted at all. They keep everything from me, and I am not involved at all.”

"I will judge for myself whether you were involved or not. Just tell me everything you know."

"Who is their leader? Which tribe of the Dayak people do they belong to? Who are the trading partners? Who is their backer?"

The so-called 'Dayak people' is actually a general term for the indigenous people of Java, who are divided into seven tribes and distributed on various islands.

These people have developed lazy habits because their food sources are too simple, and it's impossible to get them to work overtime in a factory here.

Given that extra time, they would rather sit and daydream or wander around.

Especially in Bali, the men there don't do any work; they wear floral shirts and skirts, floral hats and floral cloths every day, while the women do the work.

Bali also has many pillared pavilions, commonly known as 'daydreaming pavilions'. As the name suggests, these pavilions are used by locals to relax and daydream.

In Bali, men spend their days worshipping gods, cockfighting, drinking tea, teaching cows to sing, playing instruments, and dancing.

The most important thing is to daydream in the gazebo; many people have gazebos built in their homes.

When locals have nothing to do, they often sit in the gazebo, emptying their minds, gazing blankly at the sky, or letting their thoughts wander.

Among the Dayak people, it is truly rare to find an indigenous person like Jacob who is knowledgeable, capable, hardworking, and knows how to manage a mine.

However, now this rare elite among the Dayak people is poaching his people and trying to fool him like a fool, which is intolerable.

Therefore, under pressure from Sun Zhiwei, Huang Hongxuan had no choice but to reveal the information he knew.

“The mine manager Jacob and the other management of the mine all came from a small tribe called Bid (ayuh) nearby. Jacob was the son of their tribal chief.”

"Where is their tribe located? How many people are there?" Sun Zhiwei suddenly interjected.

Huang Hongxuan thought for a moment before saying, "Their tribe lives in a valley to the north. There aren't many of them, maybe a couple hundred. It's about seventy or eighty kilometers away from the mining area."

Seventy or eighty kilometers, that's a very short distance. Of course, that's referring to the straight-line distance.

In fact, in the jungle, if there is no road, it is not an easy thing to travel seventy or eighty kilometers.

For example, the dirt road leading from this mining area to Pontianak was built by old Lancaster at great expense.

Every year, the mine has to spend a sum of money to maintain this dirt road in the jungle.

"As for who they are dealing with, I really don't know, and I don't know who their backers are either."

"I will investigate what you said further, but I will believe you for now. You can go back now."

"Thank you, boss, but I really wasn't involved."

"Remember, don't say anything carelessly."

"I understand, I understand." After saying that, Huang Hongxuan left with a look of fear on his face.

After Huang Hongxuan walked away, Sun Zhiwei also left from another direction.

(End of this chapter)