"Is this the treasure you found back in Irkutsk?" Xiao Chen asked, pointing at the wall of gold before them.
Su Chen gazed at the thick, heavy wall of gold. He, Chen Fei, and Jiang Hui had spent a good seven or eight hours setting it all up.
"Yep. Fifty tons in total. I had to pull a few strings to get it all back here," Su Chen said, the corners of his mouth turning up in a slight, proud smile.
"Fifty tons? Holy cow, how much is that worth?!" Xiao Chen’s jaw dropped, stunned by the number.
"How much?" Su Chen stroked his jaw, doing a quick mental calculation. "Roughly thirty to forty billion. If you factor in its historical value, you could probably add another billion or two."
Hearing the thirty to forty billion figure, Xiao Chen immediately turned and walked toward the lounge area behind them. He was afraid his heart wouldn’t be able to take it if he kept looking.
Seeing Xiao Chen "fleeing," a teasing smile spread across Su Chen’s face. ’I guess Brother Cheen is the first victim. I wonder who’s next?’
Mumbling to himself, Su Chen went to the bar, grabbed two sodas and some snacks from the fridge, and headed for the lounge area as well.
"Anyway, Brother Cheen, I thought you were busy. How’d you find the time to drop by?"
As he spoke, Su Chen handed him one of the sodas and placed the snacks on the table.
PSSHT! Xiao Chen took the bottle and immediately chugged nearly half of it.
"BURP... I heard you were back, so I wanted to ask about the treasure." Xiao Chen paused, a wry smile on his face. "If I’d known you were this extra, I wouldn’t have even bothered coming. That massive wall of gold... man, it’s painful to look at."
It wasn’t just him. Who wouldn’t be stunned, stepping out of an elevator to see a shimmering wall of solid gold bricks?
’I came here to hang out, not to get my feelings hurt.’
Su Chen didn’t take the bait, just watched Xiao Chen calmly. After a moment, he said, "Alright, Brother Cheen, stop beating around the bush. Get to the point."
"I don’t believe you came here just for the treasure."
In truth, Su Chen had already guessed Xiao Chen’s true purpose. It was, in all likelihood, about the rubidium ore being continuously shipped back from Irkutsk.
At these words, Xiao Chen’s expression turned serious, the playful grin gone.
"You’ve probably figured it out. I’m here for the rubidium ore. You know how critical these scarce minerals are for the country’s current development. A lot of cutting-edge industries need it. That’s why the old man sent me to make a trip."
"We want to acquire all the rubidium ore you have. Also, I need to ask about your specific output. Can you maintain a stable annual production?"
Su Chen’s expression turned strange. ’Acquire *all* my rubidium ore? Did I hear him right?’
After all, the entire world’s annual consumption of rubidium was only about ten tons, with domestic consumption accounting for just three or four of those.
Of course, there was a reason for this...
The rubidium content in raw ore is typically very low. In domestic mines, for example, one ton of raw ore might yield only 0.3 to 0.87 grams of rubidium. One could only imagine how much raw ore was needed to produce a single ton of refined rubidium.
Furthermore, the rest of the world combined only managed to mine a few tons per year, a situation where supply could never meet demand. This was the fundamental reason why rubidium was so expensive.
"You’re sure you want to take *all* the rubidium I have?"
"Of cour—" Xiao Chen started to nod without even thinking, but he stopped mid-word when he saw Su Chen’s teasing grin. His heart skipped a beat; something was wrong.
"Hold on. How much rubidium do you actually have?" Xiao Chen leaned forward, his eyes locked on Su Chen.
Seeing Xiao Chen’s expression, Su Chen smirked. He leaned back, crossed his arms, and propped his right leg over his left. "Not that much," he said with utmost calm. "Only about three tons right now."
"As for the yield..." Su Chen paused dramatically. "It’s just three per thousand."
As if worried Xiao Chen wouldn’t grasp the meaning of "three per thousand," Su Chen kindly elaborated.
"Oh, right. When I say ’three per thousand,’ I mean a thousand tons of raw ore yields *three tons* of rubidium."
Xiao Chen’s jaw dropped. His right index finger trembled as he pointed at Su Chen, trying to say something... but the words were stuck in his throat.
After a long moment, Xiao Chen finally recovered. He shot up from the sofa with a sudden WHOOSH, startling Su Chen enough to make him flinch.
Xiao Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or be furious.
"Three tons? Three tons of rubidium from a thousand tons of raw ore?!"
"You... you really have a way with words, don’t you!" With that, he snatched the soda from the table and strode quickly toward the elevator.
Su Chen was genuinely baffled by this move. ’Didn’t he say he wanted to buy my rubidium? Why is he leaving without even negotiating?’
"Brother Cheen, where are you going? You don’t want the rubidium anymore?" Su Chen yelled after him.
Without looking back, Xiao Chen just called out, "Wait for my call," and stepped into the elevator.