Chapter 1002 Gold Mine (Part 2)
How much money is there in total?
Zhuang Rui didn't have a computer and couldn't check the contents of the USB drive, but he figured that Duva's life savings must be at least tens of millions of dollars.
"It totaled over eight hundred million US dollars. In addition, Duva also bought a small island in the Caribbean. The relevant infrastructure has been completed. The contract is in a Swiss bank safe deposit box, and the password is on a USB drive..."
Peng Fei felt that Zhuang Rui was really lucky. Duwa had just finished explaining these things when he died without even catching his breath.
The USB drive wasn't on Duva at the time; he had slipped it into a crevice nearby. If Duva hadn't told him, this fortune might never have been discovered.
"Eight hundred million dollars?"
Even though Zhuang Rui was mentally prepared, he was still shocked when he heard the number. Drug trafficking is indeed one of the most profitable businesses in the world. Duwa is just the lowest-ranking drug lord in the Golden Triangle, yet he has a net worth of eight hundred million US dollars.
"Damn, wouldn't Black Scar and the other drug lords combined have billions of dollars in assets?"
Zhuang Rui looked towards the distant mountains. At that moment, he even had the urge to find the other two drug lords.
"Not only that, Black Scar's wealth far surpasses Duwa's. Khun Sa entrusted his entire fortune to him back then. But Brother Zhuang, don't even think about getting your hands on Black Scar. He may be a drug lord, but sometimes..."
Peng Fei clearly knew Black Scar very well. According to him, almost all of Black Scar's drugs were sold to Europe and the United States. His organization did not allow the dumping of drugs into China. Therefore, whether it was the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom, or drug traffickers in the Americas or Italy, they all hated Black Scar to the core.
Therefore, although the Myanmar and Thai governments sent troops to this operation, the shadows of the European and American governments were undoubtedly behind it. In reality, it was aimed at the Black Scar organization. As for Duwa and others, they were just unlucky and were caught in the crossfire.
"Hehe, I was just thinking. You two were lucky this time. We don't need to provoke anyone else..."
Zhuang Rui chuckled dryly, picked up the USB drive and weighed it in his hand. After pondering for a while, he looked up at Hu Rong and said, "Brother Hu, your family has been away from China for a long time. Have you ever thought about going back?"
"Of course I want to, but I don't just have a few dozen or a hundred people in Myanmar. There are tens of thousands of people who rely on the Hu family for their livelihood. Even if we have money, we can't settle them all back home..."
Hu Rong gave a wry smile. From the very first education he received when he was born, he was told that he was Chinese, and every child in Chinatown received the same education.
As the saying goes, fallen leaves return to their roots, especially the elders in the family. They have always longed to return to China, but in the early years, when the political situation in China was turbulent, they did not dare to go back at all. Now, the family business is too big, and they are willing but unable to go back.
It's important to understand that even if only a few thousand people were to return to China, let alone tens of thousands, it would still be a massive undertaking. Putting aside nationality, the resettlement of these people alone would be a huge problem.
"Brother Hu, I feel the situation in Myanmar is a bit unstable. Investing and doing business here is fine, but it would be best to move your base elsewhere..."
Today's gunfight left a deep impression on Zhuang Rui. If this happened in China, it would be unimaginable. But in Myanmar, dozens of lives were lost and no one cared or even asked about it. Living in such a country must have given him an extreme sense of insecurity.
"Cough, Zhuang Rui, I know all this, but there's simply no way the country can accommodate so many people. Three or five hundred might be manageable, but..."
Hu Rong shook his head. In Myanmar, you have to use armored vehicles to enter and exit, and your accommodations are built like war fortresses. Is that a pleasant thing?
"Brother Hu, there was no way to deal with it before, but that may not be the case now..."
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this and tossed the USB drive in his hand to Hu Rong.
Afraid of breaking the USB drive, Hu Rong hurriedly caught it and looked at Zhuang Rui, saying, "Huh? What are you doing?"
“Brother Hu, I don’t want the money from drug trafficking. Here’s what I’m thinking: you should use this money to invest in China, and do some charity work along with it. Use that money to negotiate with the government in your hometown and get a piece of land for the people of Chinatown to settle down. I’ll try to find someone here to see if we can get this done.”
Zhuang Rui was telling the truth. The wealth on this USB drive was built on countless bones. Zhuang Rui felt like he was burning his hands holding the USB drive. He might as well help Hu Rong solve some problems.
"By the way, Peng Fei, Li Zhen, do you two have any objections to how I'm handling this money?"
After Zhuang Rui finished speaking, he turned to look at Peng Fei and the other man, saying that they also had a share of this wealth.
Peng Fei shook his head and said, "Brother Zhuang, no problem. What do we need so much money for? Just let me follow you..."
Peng Fei and Li Zhen were already very satisfied that they were able to help their old platoon leader avenge his death in Myanmar. They had no worries about food and drink with Zhuang Rui and their lives were very colorful. They really didn't know what to do with so much money.
"This...this is unlikely, there aren't just a few hundred or a thousand people, there are at least thirty or forty thousand..."
Hu Rong paid no attention to the conversation between Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei; he was already stunned by what Zhuang Rui had just said.
Hu Rong never expected that Zhuang Rui would come up with such an idea. He had thought about this problem before, but it involved too many things, and no matter how he thought about it, it was an impossible thing.
Moreover, Hu Rong didn't have enough funds. Although the Hu family had accumulated wealth over generations in Myanmar and had made a lot of money in recent years by partnering with Zhuang Rui to mine jade, the Chinese community was a bottomless pit of money, with daily expenses being astronomical. Hu Rong simply couldn't afford to immigrate.
"Hehe, Brother Hu, it's not necessarily impossible. These days, domestic officials want political achievements. As long as there's investment, they'll treat you like royalty. You could probably build a shrine to immortality for him... Find a suitable city, invest 500 million US dollars, and then use the rest to build houses. Besides, these Chinese left behind in Myanmar can also work in the companies you invest in..."
Zhuang Rui paused for a moment, then continued, "And you can also hype it up, saying that these people are descendants of Chinese soldiers from World War II, and ask the government for some policies. This matter will definitely be resolved..."
Zhuang Rui knew that the Chinese Expeditionary Force was being hyped up in China recently. Bringing up this matter at this juncture would surely attract the attention of the relevant departments. If he could also get his uncle to put in a good word for him, he might be able to accomplish the feat of bringing 10,000 people back to China.
This was Zhuang Rui's second visit to Chinatown. The Chinese people he met were all very simple and hardworking, and he believed that they could also live a good life with their own hands when they returned to China.
"Really... really?"
Even though Hu Rong had seen many storms, he was deeply moved after listening to Zhuang Rui's analysis. This was a big deal for the Hu family, for the Chinese community in Hpakant, and even for various forces in Myanmar.
"Of course, that's fine. By the way, Brother Hu, if you have time, you could take over that little Caribbean island too. It'll be a place to stay in case anything happens in the future..."
Zhuang Rui didn't care much about the money, but he was quite interested in the Caribbean islands that Peng Fei had mentioned.
It's important to understand that over the past decade or so, almost all the islands available for sale in overseas waters have been sold off. Now, even if you have the money, you might not be able to buy one. And even if you could, the geographical location and natural scenery of the islands would certainly not be as good as those sold off in the past.
"Alright, I'll go back and discuss this with my clan. I'll return to China in a few days to look for projects and see if this can be done..."
Although Hu Rong was the clan leader, he could not make decisions on his own, as the lives and future of tens of thousands of people in the clan were at stake.
"By the way, I don't want that island anymore. I'll find someone to take it over for you. You can prepare to be the king then..."
Hu Rong knew that if he wanted to settle down in China, he would need Zhuang Rui's help. Moreover, the USB drive in his hand should have belonged to Zhuang Rui, so he naturally had no intention of taking the island for himself.
Moreover, Hu Rong had already made up his mind that after taking over the island, he would use his own money to build some facilities on the island, as a way of compensating Zhuang Rui for the huge favor he had done.
"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony..."
Zhuang Rui chuckled. He had long wanted to buy property abroad. If it weren't for the poor communication on Pirate Island, Zhuang Rui would never have leaked information about Pirate Island and would have simply built it into a private island.
"Alright, there's nothing else here, let's go back. Relocating back to China is a huge undertaking, we need to plan this carefully..."
The Hu family is a very powerful force in Myanmar. If they withdraw, the pie they leave behind will definitely be fought over by various forces. Even if they have a chance to return to China, it will not be a short-term matter. It may take several years or even decades to work out.
With the matter settled, Hu Rong felt much more at ease. The efforts of generations had finally brought hope of returning home, which filled him with excitement. He couldn't help but feel an overwhelming urge to rush home immediately to discuss the matter further.
Zhuang Rui waved his hand to stop Hu Rong, saying, "No, Brother Hu, good things come in pairs today. I don't want money stained with blood, but I want the lion's share of this money..."
"What do you mean by 'do you want the money'? And you're talking about the 'big part'? Explain yourself clearly..."
Hu Rong was confused by Zhuang Rui's words and looked at Zhuang Rui with a puzzled expression. Could it be that Duwa had other wealth?
"Brother Hu, take a look at this..."
Zhuang Rui handed the fist-sized stone that he had been playing with to Hu Rong, believing that Hu Rong would definitely be able to see something.
Chapter 1003 Gold Mine (Part 2)
Why would I do something with a rock?
Hu Rong took the stone from Zhuang Rui, puzzled. He glanced at it casually, his mind preoccupied with what Zhuang Rui had just said. He had no interest in looking at this worthless stone.
"Brother Hu, take a good look, this stone is also a kind of mineral..."
Zhuang Rui smiled and reminded Hu Rong, but did not name the mine.
"Myanmar has many mines, but not all of them are valuable..."
Hu Rong muttered something under his breath, but then turned his attention back to the stone in his hand. He believed that Zhuang Rui wouldn't speak without reason, and that this stone must have something special about it.
"Brother Zhuang, what's that? It's all black..."
Peng Fei had just heard Zhuang Rui mention a discovery, and now, taking advantage of Hu Rong's inspection of the stone, he asked Zhuang Rui about it.
"Anyway, it's good stuff. By the way, Peng Fei, you have to spend time with Zhang Qian when you go back this time, but I need to leave someone here in Myanmar. Li Zhen, how about you stay here?"
Zhuang Rui was already certain that this was a gold mine. Unlike jade mines, gold is a strategic reserve material for all countries, representing the ultimate wealth of a nation. Even if Hu Rong could mine here, there was no doubt that some people would have ulterior motives.
Moreover, this place is already within the territory of the Savage Mountain, where people are rarely seen. If there isn't someone skilled in jungle warfare here to oversee security, they might all be wiped out without anyone outside knowing.
Judging from today's battle, Peng Fei focused on offense, while Li Zhen was mainly on defense. Only by leaving him here to oversee the future security work of the gold mine could Zhuang Rui feel at ease.
"You want me to stay here?"
Li Zhen was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then looked at Zhuang Rui and asked, "Brother Zhuang, what treasures are here? Is it worth guarding this place?"
To be honest, in this remote and impoverished place, you can't even see a soul on a normal day, so nobody would want to stay here.
"Hehe, of course there's treasure, but don't worry, you'll be able to leave in a year or two at most..."
Zhuang Rui reassured Li Zhen, saying that according to his visual estimation, the gold mine had a very high gold content, but it was not large, and most of it was exposed on the surface, making it easy to mine. He believed that it would be able to be mined out in a year or two.
"Alright, Brother Zhuang, let's get this straight: if it weren't a gold mine, you wouldn't be asking me to do this job..."
Li Zhen reluctantly agreed.
Zhuang Rui laughed after hearing Li Zhen's words: "Hehe, you guessed pretty accurately..."
"Is it really a gold mine?"
Li Zhen looked incredulous. Was this gold really that cheap? You could find it anywhere you just walk by?
"Um?"
Before Zhuang Rui could explain, Hu Rong suddenly exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.
"Zhuang Rui, where...where did you find this ore?"
Hu Rong grabbed Zhuang Rui and stopped calling him "Broken Stone," his face full of urgency.
Zhuang Rui gently pushed Hu Rong away and said with a smile, "Brother Hu, don't rush, tell me what you've figured out?"
"Do you even need to look at this? Do you really think I got my PhD in geology for nothing?"
Hu Rong glared at Zhuang Rui, annoyed, and pointed to the dark part of the ore, saying, "If I'm not mistaken, there must be gold dust in here, but it needs to be washed and broken down. We can't tell the quality of the gold now..."
Hu Rong is not only a master of jade jewelry design, but also a PhD in geology from the University of Birmingham in the UK. He is very knowledgeable about various minerals, and his family business also includes a copper mine currently in operation.
Although Myanmar is rich in mineral resources, with gold, silver and copper mines widely distributed, there are too many wolves and not enough meat. The mines that have been explored outside have already been divided up by various forces.
The Hu family had always been involved in jade mining in their early years, but they were relatively poor in other mining industries, so they were unable to get a share of the profits. They only managed to get a copper mine, which was obtained through a lot of bloodshed and violence.
"Brother Hu has a good eye. It took me a while to realize it was a piece of gold ore..."
Zhuang Rui gave Hu Rong a thumbs-up, and only after Hu Rong looked impatient did he smile and say, "Brother, I'm incredibly lucky, Brother Hu, look up..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Hu Rong looked up and followed Zhuang Rui's gaze. He was immediately stunned, his face filled with astonishment, and he murmured, "It's...it's that place?"