Chapter 29: This Kid Might Be Someone Special

The Lin Mining Company's warehouse was easy to find, just behind the retirement compound.

When Li Xian arrived, he discovered that the warehouse courtyard was as desolate as the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Weeds had sprouted over a foot high through the cracks in the concrete slabs, and a row of utility buildings, presumably used for storing supplies, had broken windows, some of which had already crumbled away.

Fortunately, the main gate wasn't locked, which indicated that someone was still inside.

After shouting several times from the courtyard, a small old man finally emerged from one of the buildings. The old man was reeking of alcohol, his nose was bright red, and he was holding a rolled-up piece of dry tofu with a green onion inside. Upon seeing a stranger, he looked a bit annoyed.

Li Xian quickly approached, trying to make small talk and explained why he was there.

When the old man heard that it was about the aluminum ingots, he simply waved his hand, telling Li Xian to go to the Diversified Operations Bureau and find the Asset Management Office. Before leaving, the old man grumbled that Li Xian should hurry up and get rid of the stuff, as it was constantly being eyed by petty thieves.

Even though the aluminum ingots had been sitting there idle and weren't worth much, they could still be sold as scrap for 0.4 yuan per pound. Li Xian figured that this must be why the warehouse windows were broken.

Thinking about this made his heart ache. Subconsciously, he already considered these potentially profitable aluminum ingots as his own property…

After chatting with the old man for a while, Li Xian learned that there were about 25 tons of aluminum ingots and a few tons of iron ingots left in the warehouse. This information filled him with joy. Seizing the opportunity while it was still business hours, he rushed to the Diversified Operations Bureau.

After some inquiries, he found the person in charge of this batch of aluminum ingots—the Director of the Asset Management Office, Zhao Liang.

Knocking on the door and entering the office, Li Xian took a moment to assess the director.

The man was around 35 or 36 years old, slightly overweight. He wore a half-sleeve Dacron shirt and mesh shoes, the standard attire for grassroots officials in this era.

Confirming he had found the right person, Li Xian immediately extended his right hand. "Hello, you must be Director Zhao?"

It was already past 10:40 AM, and Zhao Liang was preparing to leave for lunch. Seeing this young man, who seemed neither overly humble nor arrogant, shaking his hand, Zhao Liang was puzzled.

"And you are?"

With a slight nod and a smile, Li Xian replied, "Director Zhao, I heard from Elder Zheng at the retirement compound that there's a batch of idle aluminum ingots at the Lin Mining warehouse. I wanted to inquire if your office has any plans to dispose of them."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Liang casually looked Li Xian over. "Ah, you're talking about Elder Zheng from the Forestry Administration Office, right? What's your relationship with him?"

Noticing the subtle change in Zhao Liang's attitude and his way of first inquiring about relationships, Li Xian found it amusing. Whether in this era or twenty years later, officials seemed to behave similarly.

To ease the conversation, he told a small lie, "He's an elder in my family."

Zhao Liang responded with an "Oh" and a deep nod, assuming that Li Xian's connection to Elder Zheng wasn't too close.

However, he didn't dare be too careless.

Though Zhao Liang was a director, so was Elder Zheng. But their statuses were different. While the Diversified Operations Bureau was indeed a bureau, its authority and influence within the forestry-focused Forestry Bureau didn't compare to that of the Forestry Administration Office.

Despite this, since Elder Zheng was already retired, Zhao Liang wasn't overly enthusiastic about Li Xian.

Still, given the connection, he was upfront with him: there were some processing units and enterprises within the Forestry Bureau that needed a small amount of aluminum ingots, so the bureau hadn't planned to sell them. However, since managing these materials took effort and more was stolen than used each year, it was indeed a hassle. Considering these factors, the bureau was now willing to sell them.

The price, as he stated, would be 80% of the market rate—2,500 yuan per ton.

But there was a condition: they wouldn't sell the ingots in batches. If someone wanted them, they'd have to buy all 25 tons. In other words, no small purchases.

Moreover, the buyer would have to handle transportation themselves.

This condition made Li Xian pause.

Twenty-five tons of aluminum ingots at 2,500 yuan per ton meant over 60,000 yuan!

Right now, he had at most 6,000 yuan. He had originally planned to buy as many ingots as he could while making some money on the side.

But now, he realized his capital was seriously lacking.

Seeing Li Xian lost in thought, Zhao Liang shook his head, thinking he was just another opportunist. He had been enthusiastic at first, but now, after hearing the price, he seemed to have lost his nerve.

In this era, people were becoming more restless, with many trying to take advantage of the public's assets. Zhao Liang figured this young man was just another one who had gotten a bit too eager.

Zhao Liang quietly chuckled to himself and coughed to get Li Xian's attention. After catching his eye, Zhao Liang checked his watch again.

Li Xian was deeply conflicted.

On one hand, he simply didn't have the money. On the other hand, he knew that these aluminum ingots could bring him a significant profit.

If he wanted to break into the timber business, he needed startup capital. With such a great opportunity right in front of him, letting it slip away was pure agony.

In a short amount of time, he thought of many ways to raise money, but sadly realized that he didn't have the connections to quickly come up with over 50,000 yuan.

In this moment, he bitterly acknowledged that, even as someone with knowledge of the future, his starting point was frustratingly low. In many ways, he was far behind the people of this era who were already beginning to make waves.

Take, for example, the so-called "Class of '92," who would go on to become highly successful. By now, people like Pan Shiyi were already using government connections and bank loans to acquire land rights in Qiong Nan, making huge profits daily.

And where was he?

Facing a rare opportunity, he couldn't even come up with 60,000 yuan.

This was the sorrow of a small-time player.

It was also something he was determined to overcome!

"So, what are you thinking, young man?"

After checking his watch three times and seeing no response from Li Xian, Zhao Liang lost patience. He tapped his fingers on the desk and asked.

Li Xian looked at the now indifferent director in front of him and slowly stood up. He silently pulled out the envelope he had received that morning and placed it on Zhao Liang's desk.

"Director Zhao, I'll take those aluminum ingots." The hesitation in Li Xian's eyes finally disappeared. He wasn't going to let this rare opportunity slip through his fingers.

Even though it seemed reckless, he didn't want to regret it later.

"However, I don't have a place to store them at the moment. Here's a 5,000 yuan deposit. If you could issue a receipt, I'll make sure to find a place and move the ingots within a month. How does that sound?"

Seeing the thick envelope on the desk, Zhao Liang was taken aback.

He couldn't help but take a serious look at this young man.

Thin, dark-skinned, with a somewhat spirited appearance.

The blue tracksuit he wore had frayed at the elbows, and the yellow seams were worn out in several places.

He didn't look like a wealthy kid.

But at this moment, the determination in his eyes, which seemed to almost glow, made Zhao Liang think that perhaps he had misjudged this young man.

This kid might be someone special, after all.