58: Chapter 1 Provincial Coalfield Geological Exploration Team

County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang was stunned for a moment.

He had not expected that Qin Chuan would ask for leave for this matter.

He knew about the Jiucailing Coal Mine; it was the largest coal mine in Sanjiang County, previously contracted to Wang Jun, though the real boss behind the scenes was Young Master Fu.

"I also think it is very necessary to re-conduct the exploration," County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang agreed. "Once the exploration is complete and the actual reserves are clarified, it will facilitate the next steps."

As for whether the next step would be for Dahe Township to manage it themselves or contract it out to someone else, County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang had no intention of interfering.

This coal mine belonged to Dahe Township, not the county.

Qin Chuan said, "Secretary Cao, then I will take three days off; I will try my best to return within three days."

County Party Secretary Cao Zhengwang said, "It doesn't matter if you come back a little later. Since you are going back to the provincial capital, you should spend some quality time with your parents."

He really wanted to say, "Please give my regards to Secretary Qin," but he held back.

After chatting a few more words, Qin Chuan stood up to take his leave. There was no need to return to Dahe Township, so he notified Ma Zhengnan and the others, then boarded the train from the county railway station.

After the train started, Qin Chuan called his mother.

"Mom, save some dinner for me. I'll be back in a little while."

Luo Rong was inexplicably pleasantly surprised. "Son, you're coming back today!"

"Yes, I'm already on the train. I should arrive at the provincial capital railway station in about two or three hours."

"Son, I've missed you so much. I'll come to the railway station to pick you up."

With her son coming back, Luo Rong felt wonderful. She even happily called Provincial Party Secretary Qin Zhendong to ask him to come home early for dinner that evening.

Walking out of the station, Qin Chuan saw a familiar figure.

"Mom!"

"Son!"

"It's been a long time; I've missed you so much."

Luo Rong's eyes crinkled into crescents with joy. She held her son's hand, asking about this and that, as if she had an endless supply of topics. Her words were filled with deep care.

A little past six in the evening, Provincial Party Secretary Qin Zhendong returned.

The family of three ate together. After the meal, Provincial Party Secretary Qin Zhendong called Qin Chuan into the study, and the father and son talked for a long time.

Not only did he concernedly ask about Qin Chuan's work situation, but Provincial Party Secretary Qin Zhendong also imparted quite a bit of his political wisdom, including many experiences of being an official.

In the evening, after taking a comfortable hot shower, Qin Chuan lay on the bed and sent a message to Zhu Qingxi.

"Let's go for a run together at seven tomorrow morning."

Zhu Qingxi readily agreed, "Okay, see you tomorrow morning."

The next day, early morning.

Qin Chuan, dressed in athletic wear, jogged out of the house.

Seeing this, Luo Rong said to Provincial Party Secretary Qin Zhendong, "Old Qin, it looks like our son and the daughter of the Zhu family are dating. I reckon our two families will be in-laws before long."

Provincial Party Secretary Qin Zhendong nodded in deep agreement. "Old Zhu's daughter is good, and Old Zhu himself is also good. Recently, he has been very supportive of my work. I am considering having him join the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee as soon as possible."

As the two were discussing these matters at home, Qin Chuan had already left. Within two minutes, he saw a beautiful figure.

"Qingxi!"

"Qin Chuan!"

They greeted each other with pleasant surprise from a distance, then jogged side by side. As they ran, they chatted, hitting it off well, and it seemed they had endless things to talk about.

After jogging for a full four or five kilometers, the two reluctantly parted ways for the time being.

They agreed to go to Handong University together later; of course, Qin Chuan would drive Zhu Qingxi to school.

Around nine in the morning, a car pulled up in front of a female dormitory building at Handong University.

At this time of day, there were many people on campus, and there were also quite a few people in front of this dormitory building.

There were not only female students coming and going, but also quite a few male students. Some were waiting for their girlfriends, and others were holding gifts, waiting for the girls they admired.

"Hey, that's Zhu Qingxi!"

Seeing Zhu Qingxi get out of a white sedan, many people looked over.

There was no help for it; as the most beautiful campus belle of Handong University, she was the center of attention wherever she went.

"Wuwu, it seems the rumors are true. The person driving must be the campus belle's boyfriend!"

Seeing Qin Chuan in the driver's seat, and especially seeing Zhu Qingxi smiling brightly and chatting happily with him, many male students had their hearts broken.

A while back, someone posted on the campus network, showing that the campus belle had a boyfriend. There were pictures and proof, and many people believed it at the time.

For several days in a row, this had been a hot topic at Handong University.

Later, observant people noticed that the campus belle was basically always alone or with her close female friends; there was no young man by her side.

Gradually, some suspected that it had been a rumor and that the campus belle was likely still single.

Now, seeing this scene and even recognizing that the young man driving was the same one from last time, there was an immediate chorus of lamentation.

Not long after, the incident of Qin Chuan driving Zhu Qingxi back to school appeared again on the Handong University campus network.

Many people recognized that the man today was the same one as last time, and some even dug up the old post.

This further confirmed that the campus belle really did have a boyfriend.

Qin Chuan didn't know about any of this. After dropping Zhu Qingxi off in front of the dormitory building and agreeing to have dinner and watch a movie together that evening, he drove away from Handong University and headed toward the Handong Province Coal Geology Exploration Team.

This was the real business!

He needed to get the real business done as soon as possible: hire an expert team from the Coal Geology Exploration Team to go to the Jiucailing Coal Mine for a comprehensive exploration.

As soon as the car stopped in front of the office building and Qin Chuan got out, a young man greeted him enthusiastically.

"You must be Qin Chuan, right?"

"Yes, I am Secretary Qin Chuan."

Before coming, Secretary Qin Chuan had mentioned this matter to his father's secretary. Secretary Sun had made a phone call here, and sure enough, they had taken the initiative to send someone to wait for Qin Chuan here.

Fortunately, Secretary Sun hadn't mentioned that this was the son of the Provincial Party Secretary; otherwise, the entire upper management of the Coal Exploration Team would likely have been here to welcome him.

Under the guidance of this young man, Qin Chuan walked into the office of Professor and Chief Engineer Cheng Weijia of the Handong Province Coal Exploration Team.

Professor and Chief Engineer Cheng Weijia was in his fifties, a professor-level senior engineer, and also a professor in the Department of Geology at Handong University. In the field of coal surveying, he was an authority in Handong Province and also had a certain degree of influence domestically.

Having spent his whole life doing coal exploration, he had discovered several large coalfields within Handong Province, but in recent years, he hadn't discovered any more large coalfields.

It was simple; the reserves that should have been explored had basically already been explored, and discovering new coalfields was very difficult.

Working in this line of work, especially at Professor and Chief Engineer Cheng Weijia's level, one becomes indifferent to money and fame. He only hoped to discover one or two new large coalfields for the country before retiring.

But this was very difficult.

When Qin Chuan entered, he was standing in front of a large map, looking at it with a serious expression.

This was a map of coalfield distribution in Handong Province, where basically all large and small coal mines were marked. The map was huge, over three meters long and nearly two meters wide, posted on the wall of his office, making it very conspicuous.

The young man said, "Professor and Chief Engineer Cheng Weijia, Secretary Qin Chuan is here."