After Yue Chengfeng settled Xia Qingtian and the other two, he quickly returned to his father’s side.
At this moment, the Yue family head was leaning against the table, gasping for breath. His complexion was worse than before, and fine sweat beaded on his forehead.
“Dad! What happened?” Yue Chengfeng hurried forward and asked, “Have they been here?”
“It’s nothing.” The Yue family head slowly shook his head. After taking a few deep breaths, he seemed to suppress the discomfort. “They want that mine.”
“Still about that mine?” Yue Chengfeng frowned. “For years, the Yue family has been inexplicably targeted. Accidents have frequently occurred at the mines owned by the Yue family, and our creative designs have been repeatedly plagiarized. It’s all because of that mine!”
Yue Chengfeng couldn’t understand. Originally, that mine was taken in by the Yue family head when an old friend of his was on the verge of bankruptcy and begged the Yue family head to accept it. With the funds, he intended to turn his business around.
Although in the end, whether due to bad luck or some other reason, the friend was still unable to revive his business and returned to his hometown with his wife and daughter.
The Yue family had left this unexploited mine idle for many years before deciding to develop it.
However, just a few days after mining began, it was temporarily halted due to a minor accident.
At the time, no one paid too much attention.
Mining was inherently a dangerous job, especially in a new mine that had never been exploited before. Any accident was possible.
But then, accidents became frequent, not just at that mine but also at others. Their businesses and designs also encountered problems.
Seventy percent of the Yue Corporation’s annual jewelry raw materials were sourced from their own mines, with only thirty percent needing to be purchased. It had always been this way.
However, in the past few years, the Yue family’s pearl diving ships mysteriously disappeared, and coupled with the sudden death of Yue Qiyan, the Yue family truly fell into silence.
Fearing that it would implicate Xia Qingtian, they dared not contact their beloved granddaughter for years.
If not for the Yue family head’s declining health, Yue Chengfeng, fearing that the Yue family head and Xia Qingtian would have regrets, would not have invited Xia Qingtian to attend the Yue family head’s birthday banquet at this time.
And the people who came to cause trouble today were not the first to do so.
They had visited the Yue family a week ago, issuing threats and warnings with extremely arrogant attitudes. They even said that the Yue family could name any price. At that time, the Yue family head had ordered them to leave.
Those people had said nothing then, only claiming they would return in a week and would bring a grand gift.
Unexpectedly, when Yue Chengfeng went to pick up Xia Qingtian and the other two, those people actually returned.
“Dad, if it’s just about one mine, why not give it to them?” Yue Chengfeng couldn’t help but say. “For years, the Yue family has been targeted from the shadows, and our assets have severely shrunk. Outsiders don’t understand our difficulties, but you know them best.”
“It’s precisely because I know that I cannot hand over the mine easily,” the Yue family head sighed heavily.
“That mine hasn’t yielded anything significant yet, has it? The only thing extracted is a waste material that cannot be analyzed at all, making it impossible to use as jewelry raw material,” Yue Chengfeng truly couldn’t understand why the Yue family head was so persistent.
Wouldn’t it be better to use one mine to ensure the safety of the entire Yue family?
“Chengfeng, you are unaware,” the Yue family head said. “What they want is the material that we cannot analyze. That is not waste material; its important constituent elements are crucial raw materials for the currently popular new energy sector.”
“What?” Yue Chengfeng was stunned.
“Originally, I was also unclear, until the incident with Dr. Li and his wife this time gave me a reminder. I secretly compared the timelines and found that they roughly matched. I then asked a trustworthy old friend to have the waste material re-tested by a professional institution, which verified my suspicions.”
“If I’m not mistaken,” the Yue family head continued after taking a breath, “the people who want to seize the mine this time are the same group who kidnapped Dr. Li and his wife’s daughter and later killed her. They have been targeting new energy research from the beginning.”
“Back then, they stole data, committed murder, and after obtaining the data, they slandered Dr. Li and his wife, burdening them with the stigma of treason. Now, how could they only want this one mine? The fate of Dr. Li and his wife back then is likely to be our Yue family’s future fate!”
The Yue family head’s hand, hanging by the table, clenched into a fist. “They want to force me to comply, but I will not grant their wish!”
“Dad, what should we do now?” Yue Chengfeng asked, looking at the Yue family head with a complex expression.
“Currently, the only person who can directly access the new energy project is Gu Yaoyang of the Gu family. He will likely attend tomorrow’s banquet. If he comes, discuss the matter of that mine with him after the banquet. If he doesn’t come, you will personally deliver an invitation tomorrow night to invite him to the Yue family for a discussion the day after tomorrow.”
The Yue family head, clutching his chest as it ached, his gaze deepening, said, “This matter cannot be delayed any longer.”
Otherwise, he feared he wouldn’t last.
“Alright,” Yue Chengfeng nodded solemnly.
“My child, it’s just a pity that your marriage might have to wait a little longer.” The Yue family head reached out to Yue Chengfeng, his face full of emotion.
“It’s alright, Dad. Neither Zi Xuan nor I are impatient people. You don’t need to worry about our matters,” Yue Chengfeng said. Hearing the Yue family head mention his beloved, he revealed a rare, shy smile.
“They might come again tomorrow. Have people prepare,” the Yue family head felt a discomfort in his chest and gasped for air. “I, I need to rest a bit.”
“Okay, Dad, I’ll help you to your room to rest,” Yue Chengfeng said, helping the Yue family head toward the bedroom.
Meanwhile, Xia Qingtian also stepped out of her resting room and continued speaking to the person on the other end of the phone, “You can speak now.”
“Uh… it’s like this. I have something to attend to and cannot get away. Er Ya might have to trouble you for a few more days.” On the other end of the phone, Er Ya’s third brother said, “If that girl is too willful, you can call me again, and I’ll send someone to pick her up.”
Although he wanted to bring Er Ya back with him immediately, and preferably pack her away to the village as soon as possible, his master intended for Er Ya to experience the world and suffer some setbacks.
However, he knew how difficult Er Ya was to handle, and he would compensate her generously later.
“Okay, may I ask who you are?” Xia Qingtian asked.
“My surname is Di, just call me Di San.” The voice on the other end was hearty. “Shall I call you again if anything comes up?”
“Alright,” Xia Qingtian replied and hung up the phone. Then, she pushed open the door and walked in. At this moment, Er Ya was still arguing with Xia Shang.
To be precise, Er Ya was one-sidedly expressing her opinions, while Xia Shang’s responses, along with his increasingly complicated and distressed expression, showed his helplessness.
“I knew it! Xia Shang, you’ve changed your mind! You don’t like Er Ya anymore!” Er Ya said, her eyes turning red with anger. “I’m going back!”
“You’re going back?” Xia Qingtian said with a look of regret. “But your brother called me and said he wanted to pick you up. I was hoping you’d stay for a few more days to play. But since you want to go back yourself, I’ll just call him back and have him take you away~”
“Please stay, my heroic sister!” Er Ya immediately reached out to Xia Qingtian, her expression changing drastically. Her large, watery eyes darted about, and then she grinned and said, “I, I was just teasing Xia Shang, I’m not leaving…”
“Is that so? Not leaving?” Xia Qingtian’s smile became even more subtle. “But… I don’t keep useless people here~”