As a Magnate, I Started Checking in at a Convenience Store

What a Great Gold Mine!

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation | Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Exactly!”

Zhou Chao remained silent, just giving a mysterious smile.

Having settled on their afternoon activity, the three of them no longer felt like continuing their walk. They headed back towards the ranch villa.

Upon returning to the ranch, Zhou Chao immediately arranged for Lev to rent a yacht from the town. There was a small dock at the ranch, so they didn’t have to worry about not being able to board later.

After sorting out all the arrangements, the three of them sat on the open ground, leisurely sipping tea.

Abdullah asked curiously, “Zhou, I see that your ranch is mostly empty. Aren’t you planning to raise some cattle or sheep?”

“I’ve only been here for two or three days. Once I sort things out, I’ll plan the ranch properly. After all, my ranch is only a small one, with just 20,000 acres of land,” Zhou Chao explained.

Twenty thousand acres, thirteen square kilometers, was indeed considered a small ranch here. After all, Russia was sparsely populated, with a total population of just over 100 million, most of whom were concentrated in the west. Siberia, in the eastern part of Russia, was even more sparsely populated, in terms of population, even in the city of Irkutsk, there were only a few hundred thousand people.

If it were in China, a county’s population might be greater than that of an entire city here, indicating the vastness of the ranches in this area.

“Busy with what? Do you have any other matters to attend to? Let me know, maybe I can help,” Ilya, sitting beside them, put down his teacup and looked at Zhou Chao.

Upon hearing Ilya’s question, Zhou Chao secretly smiled. Everything was going according to his plan.

Zhou Chao hesitated for a moment before speaking, “To be honest, the main reason I came here this time is to deal with a mine I found on my ranch.”

“A mine? What kind of mine requires Young Master Zhou to personally fly from China to the cold Siberia? It couldn’t be a gold mine, could it?” Abdullah laughed.

Abdullah had barely finished laughing when he saw Zhou Chao’s calm expression. Suddenly, his face changed, and he became excited, “No way, Zhou, you really found a massive gold mine, didn’t you? Otherwise, with your status, you wouldn’t have come all this way yourself.”

Zhou Chao lifted his teacup, took a sip, and then said, “That’s right, I found an enormous gold mine within my ranch.

As for why he was telling Abdullah and Ilya about the gold mine on his ranch, Zhou Chao had been planning this since he learned of Ilya’s identity.

Opening a gold mine was not a short-term task, especially for a super-large gold mine like this one. The mining period could be measured in decades, and the mine was located in Siberia, where winters were extremely cold, making mining even more challenging.

“A massive gold mine! Zhou, have you determined the reserves of the mine?” Ilya, who had been leisurely drinking tea, straightened up. After all, the output of a super-large gold mine was continuously profitable.

Zhou Chao remained calm and smiled, then glanced at the two of them before whispering, “Not much, just about the same as the Sukhoi Log gold mine in Eastern Siberia.”

“The Sukhoi Log gold mine you mentioned is the one!” Ilya completely lost his previous composure and stood up from his chair, looking at Zhou Chao with shock.

“Yes, that’s it!” Zhou Chao nodded lightly.

At this moment, Abdullah beside him looked puzzled. “What are you two talking about? I’m completely lost. And what’s this Sukhoi Log gold mine that Ilya mentioned?”

Taking a deep breath, Ilya tried to calm his excited heart. After a while, he said, “The Sukhoi Log gold mine I just mentioned is a gold mine located deep in the heart of Siberia. Due to the long-term sub-zero temperatures in the area, it has never been mined.

According to the previous exploration reports, the Sukhoi Log gold mine is the largest gold mine in the world, with proven reserves of 40 million ounces. Once developed, it’s believed that it will have a significant impact on the total supply of gold. Moreover, this mine accounts for about a quarter of the total untapped gold reserves in Bearland. Abdullah, do you understand my excitement now?” After hearing Ilya’s explanation, Abdullah, who was initially calm, couldn’t remain calm anymore. Even the tea in his hand was spilled without him realizing it.

“Mother of mine! 40 million ounces, calculated at the current international gold price of approximately $1700 per ounce, that’s roughly $680 billion!” Abdullah couldn’t believe it himself as he uttered the words, shocked by the staggering amount.

Meanwhile, Ilya’s mind was racing with various thoughts, contemplating whether to seize the gold mine by force, considering it was on his territory. However, he quickly dismissed the idea. After all, such a massive gold mine couldn’t be hidden, and the fact that Zhou Chao openly disclosed it to him meant there must be a contingency plan.

Abdullah, who was initially excited, also quieted down. He glanced at Zhou Chao, who was leisurely sipping tea and followed suit, picking up his own cup and continuing to drink.

For a moment, the atmosphere was unexpectedly quiet.

After a long while, Ilya sighed deeply.

“Phew, Zhou, your news almost knocked me off my feet,” Ilya said half- jokingly.

Everyone present was perceptive enough to understand that Ilya was engaging in a psychological struggle just now, and presumably, he had now come to terms with it.

“To be honest, I haven’t visited the gold mine yet, so I can’t say for sure whether there are so many reserves. If you have experts in exploring mines, you can introduce them to me, and we can go see the site tomorrow.” Upon hearing this, the minds of the two men started buzzing with activity, faintly understanding that there was more to Zhou Chao’s words.

“I’ll take care of this. My company happens to have a mining exploration team. I’ll call them and have them come here tomorrow morning,” Ilya said as he got up and walked towards a nearby area, taking out his phone from his pocket and dialing a number.

Excitedly, Abdullah said, “Zhou, I also have a mining exploration team. I’ll call them right away and have them come over tonight.”

Without waiting for Zhou Chao’s response, Abdullah got up and walked towards another direction. Zhou Chao watched as the two of them made calls, one on each side, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips, disappearing soon after.

After about ten minutes, the two men hung up their phones almost simultaneously, both wearing smiles as they walked towards Zhou Chao. It seemed that they had both arranged things properly.

just as the two men were about to sit down and speak, they heard shouts coming from the lake. Looking in the direction of the sound, Zhou Chao noticed that it was Lev, whom he had sent to rent the yacht earlier, standing at the bow of the boat and waving to them.

“Lev is back. Let’s go. We’ll talk about this later. Happiness is the most important thing!” Zhou Chao said with a smile.

Abdullah and Ilya nodded in agreement. After all, the current situation was under Zhou Chao’s control, and even if they were anxious, there was no rush at this moment.

The three of them got up and walked towards the dock by the lake. Soon, the yacht docked, and as they stepped onto the yacht, Zhou Chao called Lev over.

“Lev, is the fishing gear ready?”

“The boss has prepared everything. I also specifically consulted the local fishermen in town and bought several types of fishing rods and baits suitable for fishing here. I also bought some cold-proof items, as well as some fruits and snacks.”

Zhou Chao looked at Lev with some surprise. Although he knew Lev appeared rough on the surface, he didn’t expect him to be so thoughtful.

“Well done!” Zhou Chao patted Lev’s arm, feeling gratified, then walked over to Abdullah and Ilya.

After Zhou Chao left, Lev walked over to Lin Wu and whispered, “Thanks for your guidance, Brother Wu!”

“We’re all doing it for the boss. There’s no need to be so polite among brothers.”

Lin Wu nodded with a touched expression on his face.