I am a master in India

Chapter 364 Suddenly
Finally, Yadav's son led Ron and the others to a wasteland.

There was nothing underfoot, not even a blade of grass, just gray soil.

In the far distance, hills emitting thick smoke can be faintly seen.

It was a long-abandoned private coal mine, where occasionally passing drivers would collect the broken coal from the ground to supplement their household income.

Yadav's son said that the lack of ventilation in the underground mine tunnels caused the volatile gases to accumulate, which were then ignited by sparks during excavation.

The mining accident at the time killed hundreds of people, but there was no report about it in the newspapers.

Such abandoned coal mines are common in Danbad. Officials claim that "the firefighting efforts have been very effective, with the current fire area only 5-6 square kilometers," but everyone knows that this number should be multiplied by at least ten.

The fire, caused by illegal coal mining, has spread to an area of ​​at least 60 square kilometers.

The deepest mine fire occurred 140 meters underground, and the various polluting gases it released contributed to the greenhouse effect.

Temperatures over Danbad have been rising year by year, and more than 100,000 people have been diagnosed with respiratory and skin diseases.

For example, vitiligo is the most common disease Ron has encountered along the way.

Some children are only ten years old, but their skin already has tiny pink spots.

It probably won't be long before the pink color spreads all over the body.

"Where is the mine?" Ron looked around.

“Underfoot.” Yadav’s son stamped his foot.

"Hmm?" Ron looked down and rubbed his boot hard.

Gradually, the gray soil turned black, becoming increasingly darker, until it was pitch black.

"This is."

“That’s right, a very high-quality open-pit coalfield that can be mined by manpower.” Yadav’s son smiled smugly, with an air of enticement.

He wanted Ron to use manual mining so that he could bring in a large number of workers.

Relying solely on manpower is indeed dangerous, but who cares?

Most importantly, he would take a cut from the workers' wages, more than half of it.

If the scale of the Suer mining operation is large enough, the commission alone might be more than the bribe money.

Ron didn't say anything, but just tilted his head at the exploration team behind him, and they immediately started working.

Leave professional matters to professionals; their job is simply to make the decisions.

About half an hour later, the head of the technical team came over to Ron and whispered a few words in his ear.

He nodded, understanding the situation. This was only a preliminary assessment and not entirely accurate, but it was sufficient.

How many coalfields like this are left?

“Three!” Yadav’s son’s eyes lit up.

"Perhaps I should renegotiate this deal with your father."

“My dad said he’s available anytime.”

"Okay, we'll talk about this when we get back."

Ron should take note; the quality of the coal in Danbad is indeed far beyond his expectations.

The technical team told him that this type of coal would be in high demand all over the world.

In other words, Dambad's coal can be used not only for its own consumption but also for export.

Dongda may not need it, but resource-poor countries like Xiaori definitely need a large amount of imported coal.

Oh dear, it's been so long since I've kept in touch with Xiaotian.

When should I take him to visit Sapphire? I'd also like to ask him to introduce me to some connections in China.

Given India's geographical advantages, selling some coal shouldn't be a problem, right?

There's too much coal in Danbad; Ron's own factory can't use it all. It's better to export it to earn foreign exchange.

Aside from necessary taxes and bribes, this coal is free; the only cost is mining.

No matter how you calculate it, there will be an attractive profit. At this point, selling coal directly would be the fastest way to recover funds.

Excellent, very good. Ron is very satisfied with Danbad.

It's true that its urban areas are dirty and chaotic, but as long as they control the resources, it's paradise for capitalists.

After visiting this place, they went to a limestone mine more than ten kilometers away.

Because everyone was rushing to mine coal, no one cared about cheap limestone.

Ron didn't mind; cement was indeed cheap, but the demand was huge, and every state needed massive amounts of cement to support construction.

Once this business reaches a certain scale, a regional monopoly can be achieved, and the long-term profits will be equally astonishing.

After the site visit, he immediately made up his mind to make a large-scale investment in Danbad.

First, coal mining will begin, followed by the construction of a cement plant, which is expected to gradually go into production next year.

The specific investment amount has not yet been determined, but a rough estimate is that it will require a total of five to six billion rupees.

He originally intended to use the old method of seeking a loan from a local bank to cover part of his budget.

However, given Bihar's alarming poverty rate, banks probably don't have much money either.

Forget it, I'll just pay for it myself.

Ron is now flush with cash; having up to 10 billion rupees in cash is no problem for him.

From September 1996 to February 1997, in just six months, Suer Electric alone brought him a profit of more than 60 billion rupees.

Domestic sales continued to rise, and overseas markets also gradually expanded, with an average monthly revenue of 100 billion rupees.

Cement plants in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have also begun large-scale production.

The cumulative daily output exceeds 10,000 tons, with a monthly net profit of 600 million rupees.

In addition, there are miscellaneous incomes from SunMedia, travel agencies, and other sources, amounting to three or four hundred million rupees.

Other projects, such as engineering projects, real estate development, and hotel construction in Uttar Pradesh, are in their initial stages and have not yet become profitable.

The total amount owed to the bank is over 200 billion yuan, but there is no pressure to repay it, and it is expected that it will be gradually settled within three to five years.

Of course, as long as Ron continues to invest in infrastructure, the loans will continue to be renewed.

Money in the bank is money you might as well use.

For every business investment Ron makes, he personally manages 40%-50% of the budget, leaving the rest to the bank. This ratio is relatively healthy; he doesn't have to worry about a high debt ratio, nor does it put too much financial pressure on him.

According to his understanding, many businessmen nowadays are very unconventional; they take 10% of their budget and dare to invest ten times as much.

In other words, the remaining 90% of the funds are loans.

If India's economy continues to improve, then there's no problem.

However, any significant fluctuations could potentially lead to a large number of bad debts.

If banks withdraw their loans prematurely, things will get really messed up; who knows how many companies will become insolvent.

Ron didn't think that far ahead; he stayed in Danbad for a week before returning to the capital, Patna.

As mentioned earlier, he was no longer satisfied with transporting 10,000 tons of coal per month; he wanted more.

He visited Yadav again, and after some bargaining, a general agreement was reached.

Ron would give him a kickback according to his share. In exchange, Yadav would guarantee the compliance of the Sur mining process.

Ron didn't come here to mine illegal coal; he's going through the proper channels to build a large corporation.

After settling everything, signing the agreement, and arranging the subsequent mining work, he returned to New Delhi.

Before he knew it, he had been in Bihar for a month.

When I returned to New Delhi, it was already early March, and the weather was gradually getting hot.

Before he could deal with the backlog of work, Isa called him in a hurry.

She was terrified and anxious, yet there was also a hidden expectation in her heart.

During Ron's time in Bihar, her phone was unreachable, and she could only wait helplessly.

Even Verma noticed the anxiety and helplessness in her eyes.

He had a growing sense of unease, which had been troubling him for some time.

Isa used to be lively and adorable, often pestering him with questions or sharing funny stories.

When did it start? Well, a little over a month ago.

Isa stopped circling around him; she spent most of her time in her room, busy with something, sometimes not leaving the house for half a day.

Verma asked his servants, but the answers he received showed nothing unusual.

His sister also came to take care of Isa for a few days and said that everything was normal except that she liked to go out shopping.

But during this time, Isa stopped going out for walks, even though she used to love going out.

Verma worried that he was being too strict, causing Isa to develop negative psychological tendencies.

He subtly encouraged his daughter to go out more, but she surprisingly declined.

Verma grew increasingly worried, as he had previously hoped his daughter would follow tradition and become a well-bred lady.

When Isha truly became like a traditional Indian woman, rarely leaving her home, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Especially recently, Isa has become increasingly emotional and occasionally loses her temper.

This was unusual, making Verma very careful at home, afraid of upsetting her daughter.

How about we take Isabella to see a psychologist another day?

Alas, this is a last resort.

It's all Ron Sue's fault; my daughter's changes all started after that.

"Dad, I'm going shopping today!" Suddenly, Isa's clear voice came from upstairs.

"Isa?" Verma was somewhat surprised; he thought he had misheard.

He hadn't heard his daughter's cheerful voice like that in a long time; it was as mesmerizing as a lark's.

"Dad, you don't agree?"

"No, of course not! Going shopping is great, you love shopping the most."

"Okay, I'm off then." She couldn't wait.

"All travel arrangements have been made."

"Yes, Aunt Sunita is vomiting!" Isa covered her mouth, her face turning pale.

"What's wrong?" Verma was startled.

He was flustered and shouted for the servants to take Isa to the hospital.

"No, Dad, I just ate something that upset my stomach." Isa tried to suppress the nausea.

"Really? No, I'll take you to the hospital myself."

“Really, it’s not necessary. I’ve arranged to meet Zini at Connaught Place in half an hour. See, I’m perfectly fine.” She twirled gracefully.

"If you feel unwell in any way, have your servant call me immediately."

“Okay, Dad,” Isa replied cheerfully.

As he watched his daughter walk away, Verma felt that something was wrong.

Isa went straight to the defense zone after leaving the house. She didn't go to Connaught Place; instead, she went to Ron's place in New Delhi.

Having received a call in advance, Ron was already waiting at the door.

"Isa!" He opened his arms, smiling as he waited for her to pounce on him.

Instead of jumping off the car, Isa carefully and slowly moved down.

"What's wrong?" he asked strangely.

"Ron, I'm not feeling well."

"what?"

My stomach hasn't been feeling well lately.

"Are you sick? Are you alright? I'll take you to the hospital."

"Okay, but you'd better be prepared, I might be pregnant."

"Ah!" Ron was dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)