A few days later, Dong Xuebin officially returned to work after his trip.
Since he had spent his days in Lin'an running around with Qu Yunxuan over the Chicken-Blood Stone Mine instead of sightseeing—learning the mining process, researching Rough Stone prices, and reporting to the local Public Security Department for explosive approval—Dong Xuebin was exhausted. After returning to the Capital City last night, he had gone to bed early. He woke at seven this morning, and with nothing better to do, came to work early. Seeing that none of the staff had arrived yet, he sat in his small office playing Minesweeper, clearing beginner mode, then intermediate, then expert.
Aunt Xuan had not returned with him. She had stayed there to watch over the mine, and he had no idea how things were going.
Ring, ring, ring. Just as the staff were about to arrive, Dong Xuebin's phone suddenly rang. He checked the number. It was Qu Yunxuan.
"Hello, Xiao Bin. We spent the last two days preparing, and the mine finally officially started work today. The workers drilled holes into the mine wall this morning—the exact section you specifically told us about, at the spot you chose before leaving. Whew..." The signal on the mountain was probably poor, and the call crackled for a moment. "...The explosives are set. We're about to blast the hole. Are you sure there's really no problem? You should know that all the miscellaneous costs for one day alone run into tens of thousands. If we don't get any Chicken-Blood Stone, then those 2.7 million will all go down the drain."
At this point, Dong Xuebin was getting nervous too. "Ahem, it should come out."
"Weren't you brimming with confidence yesterday? Why is it only 'should' now?"
"...Uh, it'll definitely come out, okay?"
"Then...