Chapter 202 — Shock and Excitement
Years of Heartflutter · Page 1 of 3
"I... it's nothing. I'll try again in a little while—when will General Karls be back?" Li Shu had nothing much to say to General Karls's secretary, so he asked instead.
"I'm not sure about that myself," the secretary said—and it was the truth; what right did he have to dictate the general's schedule?
"All right, then. Thank you." Li Shu hung up with a helpless sigh.
"What is it, Father? Is General Karls not there?" Li Tianjia asked as soon as Li Shu had ended the call.
"His secretary said he's gone to call on a very important guest..." Li Shu shook his head. "I don't know who it could be, that General Karls would attach such importance to and go visit in person."
"Could it be that Yang Ce? Ha ha ha..." Li Tianjia joked.
"Ha ha ha, that's a good one!" Li Tianyu joined in with a laugh.
But Li Shu could not laugh; for some reason, a sudden unease had come over him.
It was a suffocating feeling, as though something bad were about to happen—yet so far there was not the slightest sign of it. General Karls had merely gone out, and being unable to pay their call today was no great matter. Still, Li Shu could not shake the sense that something was about to go wrong.
"Father, what's the matter?" Li Tianjia noticed that something was off in her father's expression.
"Nothing..." Li Shu waved a hand. He felt very ill at ease, but it was only a feeling, so he did not want to say much and stir up needless alarm.
...
General Karls had arrived early at Li Qiang's station—the Huang family's gold mine. Every time he saw that mine, he was overcome with regret. How could he have been such a fool back then? He had left everyone else's gold mines alone and set his sights on the property of Yang Ce's wife's family—was he courting death?
Fortunately, Yang Ce had not held it against him. Still, General Karls did not believe the matter had simply blown over. Yang Ce had said nothing, but there must surely be some grudge left in his heart.
So now that the Huang family had come as guests, General Karls felt his moment had arrived—it was not too late to mend the fold after the sheep had been lost. So long as he showed the proper attitude this time, he believed Yang Shuoxuan would not hold him to blame.
And when General Karls learned that old Buffon had already purchased the land of Country X from Africa, his heart grew all the more fearful. Before, one could say Yang Ce had merely conquered this land by force—but now, in the eyes of the world, Yang Shuoxuan had truly become the master of this land, protected by international law.
In other words, Country X had now become Yang Ce's private property; Yang Ce could exercise every right on this island. If General Karls wished to remain president of Country X—that is, Yang Juehuan's chief steward—how could he afford not to curry favor with Yang Ce?
After receiving Li Qiang's call, General Karls had stood at the mine's entrance, watching eagerly for his arrival. Of course, since Yang Ce was coming, besides Li Qiang driving out to meet him, Liu Chao, Wang Peng, Jin Niu, and Lu Xinyang waited at the mine gate alongside General Karls.
For a time, all the upper echelons of Country X were gathered in one place; any merchant of Country X who saw them would surely have been astonished. But they plainly had no such chance. Ever since the gold mine had become Li Qiang's temporary base, the area had been placed under strict guard, and ordinary people could not get near.
Even General Karls had to pass through layer upon layer of inspection to enter.
Gazing at the familiar road, Huang Ce was stirred beyond measure. Ahead lay his family's gold mine—the place that had once carried all his dreams.
Huang Ce was a merchant of bold vision, and his investment in the gold mine here had proven as much. Yet bold vision alone was not enough; to operate in a place like this without powerful connections and armed strength was simply impossible—and that was what had led to the tragedy that followed.