The richest man started taking advantage of loopholes after joining Alibaba.

As soon as it was light, the high ground in the mining area was bustling with activity.

The workers set up the drilling rigs in the marked grid, the diesel engines chugging as the drill bits inch by inch penetrated the red soil.

Engineer Zhou set up a simple office tent, arranged the instruments one by one, and adjusted and calibrated them one by one.

Kamau's tent was set up to the side, and he sat at the door as usual, with his notebook spread out.

After working until the morning, the first batch of core samples were retrieved.

They were cylindrical rocks driven up from the ground, covered in red soil and carrying the cool air from underground.

Engineer Zhou and his team sliced, bagged, and numbered the samples before sending them into the tent for testing.

He was very meticulous, clearly marking which sampling point each sample corresponded to, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

Lin Che didn't go to the drilling rig; he stayed in the office tent, spread out the exploration map, and waited for the results.

When the first set of data came out, Lin Che was staring at the unfolded exploration map.

Engineer Zhou entered the tent with his record board, his expression somewhat strange.

"Mr. Lin, the results for the first sampling point are in."

He handed over the data, saying, "The quality is a bit lower than expected."

Lin Che took it and looked at it.

Before setting off, he gave Engineer Zhou a set of estimated indicators, clearly stating the approximate grade of each block and the general direction of the ore vein.

At the time, Engineer Zhou was puzzled as to why a boss who worked in finance could estimate geological matters in such detail.

Lin Che didn't say where these indicators came from, only that they were a comprehensive judgment based on the data.

Zhou was skeptical, but having no better evidence, he arranged the first batch of sampling points according to this estimate.

The first test result shows that the actual purity is significantly lower than the number written by Lin Che.

Engineer Zhou came to report the data with some surprise. He originally thought the boss's estimate was just a casual remark, but he didn't expect the direction to be correct, only the number was a little off.

"How much lower?" Lin Che asked.

"A little over ten percent."

Engineer Zhou said, "It's not too outrageous. Geological fluctuations are normal."

Lin Che didn't say anything, but wrote the number down in the corresponding position on the diagram.

He knew in his heart that he had a general understanding of the situation of this land.

A deviation of more than ten percent is still within his acceptable range.

He understood one thing better than anyone: his certainty was never 100%.

The general direction is correct, but when it comes to specific numbers, there will always be some discrepancies.

He had anticipated this discrepancy.

A few percent is nothing.

"Continue testing."

He said.

Outside the tent, the sun was high in the sky, making the canvas scorching hot.

The sampling personnel worked under the scorching sun, drilling and collecting samples point by point within the marked grid.

Engineer Zhou stayed by the instrument, sending out data set after set.

The data for the second point doesn't match up either.

This time, it's not about taste, it's about the direction of the mineral vein.

Lin Che predicted that the vein would extend northeastward, but the actual measurement showed that after the second point, the vein turned a corner and deviated significantly northward.

"The direction is a bit off."

Engineer Zhou frowned and gestured to the drawing, "It's almost twenty degrees different from your estimate."

Lin Che stared at the line drawn on the diagram and the measured arrow, remaining silent for a few seconds.

Twenty degrees.

The deviation was larger than he had anticipated.

He could accept that his taste was a bit low, but going astray by twenty degrees was no small matter.

The orientation of the ore vein determines how to lay out the drill and how to mine the entire ore belt; a slight difference can lead to disastrous results.

In his original assessment, the vein of minerals was heading straight northeast.

But now, right under his nose, it has taken a turn.

"Check it again."

Lin Che said that his voice had no discernible inflection.

Engineer Zhou responded, retrieved the original records, and recalculated them using the instrument.

He calculated with extreme care, not even overlooking the decimal point.

The data is correct.

It's off by twenty degrees.

He looked up at Lin Che, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

The atmosphere inside the tent subtly changed.

He Wei sat in the corner, remaining silent.

Having followed Lin Che for a long time, she knew that his judgments on many things were frighteningly accurate, and unreasonably accurate.

Back in China, many times people thought he was going to fail, but in the end, he turned out to be right.

In that interbank crisis, everyone said he had made the wrong bet, but he was the only one who had the last laugh.

So when these two sets of deviations were presented, she felt a tightness in her chest, but she didn't panic.

She always felt that Lin Che must know what was going on.

But she couldn't explain what these repeated deviations meant.

What if... this time, he really misjudged the situation?

The thought had barely crossed her mind when she suppressed it.

She simply watched quietly, without saying a word, hiding her unease beneath a calm face.

Kamau is still keeping a record.

His pen paused for a moment, then fell again, meticulously recording the two sets of mismatched data into his notebook.

What was written in that notebook today was that this Chinese boss's judgments had been repeatedly wrong.

The afternoon sun was scorching, and the tent was so stuffy it made people feel uneasy.

While waiting for the third data point, no one spoke.

The only sounds were the sputtering of the drilling rig outside and the occasional beeping of the instruments.

Everyone was wondering whether the next set of data would completely turn the tide.

As the sun began to set, the data from the third point came back.

This time, when Engineer Zhou entered the tent, his steps were slower than the previous two times.

He didn't rush to speak, but first placed the record board on the table and sorted out the numbers on it.

"President Lin."

He looked up, his expression grave. "The burial depth at this point is much deeper than you estimated."

He recited a string of numbers.

The ore body is buried at a depth that is almost twice as deep as Lin Che had estimated.

"I tested this number three times, and it's correct."

Engineer Zhou added, as if afraid Lin Che wouldn't believe him, or as if afraid he had misread it, "The instrument has been calibrated, it really is deep."

The tent fell completely silent.

The sampling workers had somehow gathered at the tent entrance, waiting for the results.

All eyes were on Lin Che.

The taste has become low, the direction has gone astray, and now even the burial depth is off, and each one is more outrageous than the last.

It was clear to everyone that the boss's confident predictions before he set off were crumbling one by one.

Zhou opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed his words back.

He couldn't figure it out.

This boss's judgment was strangely accurate in the first few major directions.

The mine does exist, and the location matches, but when it comes to the specific numbers, the discrepancy is so outrageous.

This kind of accuracy that's both accurate and inaccurate is something he's never seen before in all his years in this line of work.

To say he didn't understand would be an exaggeration, but the sampling points the boss marked before setting off all landed right on the mineral veins, and not a single one missed.

It's strange that a layman could draw the sampling points so accurately.

You could say he understands it, but the specific numbers he gave didn't match up one after another.

Even after racking his brains, Zhou couldn't understand what basis Mr. Lin had for making this judgment.

That estimate seemed to come from someone who knew this place inside and out, yet it also seemed to be separated by something—you could see the general outline, but couldn't quite grasp the details.

He kept his confusion to himself and didn't dare to ask.

Everyone is now waiting for Lin Che to speak.

Lin Che ignored the gazes directed at him.

He lowered his head, staring at the sets of numbers on the diagram that didn't match.

The taste has become low, the direction has gone astray, and the depth of burial is almost twice as low.

Three numbers, three deviations, like three needles, piercing his unwavering resolve before he set off.

The tent was so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.

Engineer Zhou waited, He Wei waited, and the workers gathered at the tent entrance also waited.

Even Kamau's pen was suspended in mid-air, not falling.

Everyone wanted to know what this usually confident boss would say in the face of this series of disastrous predictions.

Is this an admission of misjudging, or is there another explanation?

But Lin Che just stared at that picture, stared at those few glaring numbers.

He didn't say a word.