Chapter 256: How Many More Surprises Do You Have That I Don’t Know About?
Arabella Donovan’s answer was both unexpected and perfectly reasonable.
In fact, after cutting open that rough stone the other day, Arabella Donovan had excitedly run to find Dennis Donovan.
She had used the rough stone that yielded two top-grade gems as proof. With her silver tongue, she thought she could convince Dennis Donovan that her reason for spending a fortune on the two plots in the Southward District and the Norwall Outskirts was simple: she had done a quick calculation and divined that a gold mine was buried under the barren land in the Norwall Outskirts.
After hearing Arabella Donovan’s explanation, Dennis Donovan played along, putting on a surprised expression. Then, he asked the same question Caspian Rhodes had.
At the time, Arabella Donovan was more inclined to sell the land. After all, while she had the land use rights, she didn’t have the mining rights. A gold mine on her land was useless if it couldn’t be excavated. It would be better to just sell it to developers who had the proper permits.
Dennis Donovan was silent for a long moment after hearing her plan. He then told her a rather awkward fact: minerals were considered natural resources. Upon discovery, they had to be reported and turned over to the state. They couldn’t be bought or sold privately.
Arabella Donovan: "???" ’There’s a rule like that? Doesn’t that mean the money I spent on the land was all for nothing?’
Dennis Donovan: "...Not exactly. You can use the land as your equity stake. You might not recoup your investment in the short term, but the benefit is that you’ll be on the radar of the higher-ups. It could lead to some preferential treatment down the line."
Arabella Donovan wasn’t as forward-thinking as Dennis Donovan, but she trusted the old man’s judgment. After hearing his analysis that night, she felt reassured. She just had to wait for the gold mine under that plot to be officially detected, and then she would take the relevant documents and report it.
As Caspian Rhodes learned the whole story, he was surprised, but a decision quickly formed in his mind.
"Looks like I’ll have to go back inside with you to see Elder Donovan."
Arabella Donovan froze for a second. Thinking of her grand-uncle’s disdain for the man before her, she couldn’t help but ask, "Do you have something important to discuss with him?"
’If not, then maybe we shouldn’t go? I don’t know what’s gotten into my grand-uncle, but he really dislikes you right now. If you go in there, you’ll probably just get the cold shoulder. Why put yourself through that?’
Caspian Rhodes: "..." ’It’s fine. I’m thick-skinned. I’m used to it.’
"Didn’t you just say I was well-informed? Do you know why my information is so good?"
"Why?"
"Because my family holds gold mining rights. That’s why we pay extra attention to this kind of news. You could call it... a professional specialty."
Arabella Donovan: "???" ’I may not be in school, but I’ve read plenty of books. That’s not how you use that phrase, is it?!’
"Wait, what did you just say?"
"’A professional specialty’?"
"The sentence before that..."
"My family holds gold mining rights."
"Is there anything your family *doesn’t* have?"
’Hospitals, jewelry, land development, and now gold mining rights... How many more surprises do you have that I don’t know about? Mr. Rhodes, are you Doraemon? Can you pull anything I need out of your pocket just by asking?’
"My apologies. The family assets are a bit extensive. Sometimes even I forget how many businesses I have to inspect and manage."
Arabella Donovan: "..." ’What an infuriating humblebrag. I suddenly understand why my grand-uncle dislikes Mr. Rhodes so much. The man is such a poser.’
Caspian Rhodes: "..." ’I’m not, I didn’t, don’t spread rumors!’
"So, Mr. Rhodes, the reason you’re looking for my grand-uncle this time is..."
"Since you intend to hand it over, and my family happens to have mining rights, you could just casually mention when you report it that they should give the mining contract to me."
Arabella Donovan didn’t understand the intricacies involved, but she was floored. "You can do that?"
Caspian Rhodes chuckled. "You’re handing over the land. Making a request like that isn’t too much to ask. After all, once the mine is reported, they can’t just let it sit there as a decoration. It has to be excavated to have any value. To them, it doesn’t matter who does the mining, so they might as well do you the favor."
"Is that so?" Arabella Donovan murmured, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
Arabella’s original goal in bidding for this land was to prevent it from falling into the hands of certain people with ill intentions. She didn’t want to unwittingly strengthen their power and have them cause more trouble for her.
’But if, as Dennis Donovan said, she had to hand over the land now that a gold mine was discovered, it might just get passed right back into *their* hands. If that happened, wouldn’t all her efforts have been for nothing?’
’But if she specifically designated Caspian Rhodes to handle the gold mine...’
"Alright. After all, Mr. Rhodes played a part in me being able to get this land in the first place. Since your family has gold mining rights, I’ll try mentioning it when the time comes. I can’t guarantee it’ll work, though."
"That’s more than enough. My family is very experienced in this area, and we have few competitors for a project like this. Your words will be enough to widen our advantage and give us a head start."
"That’s good."
’In any case, it doesn’t matter who gets it, as long as it’s not those vultures eyeing my grand-uncle’s fortune. Giving it to Mr. Rhodes is basically keeping it in the family.’
Caspian Rhodes paused, a helpless but amused expression on his face.
’So, in this little one’s eyes, I’m no longer an outsider?’
It was a good thing Dennis Donovan and the others could only hear Arabella Donovan’s thoughts and not Caspian Rhodes’s. Otherwise, they probably would have been angry enough to call the police on him that very night.
But even without knowing his thoughts, Dennis Donovan’s attitude toward him was no better.
Upon learning why he had followed Arabella Donovan in, Dennis Donovan laughed in anger and cursed him without mercy. "Are you a dog? You smell a whiff of something good and come scampering over looking for a meal. I’ve lived a long life, but I have never seen someone as shameless as you!"
"First, you took that lakeside plot in the Southward District for development, and now you want the gold mine too. Aren’t you afraid you’ll bite off more than you can chew and choke on it!"
"Serena gets half the mining profits."
Dennis Donovan was speechless for a moment, then became even more furious. "Don’t give me any of that sugar-coated poison! She doesn’t need the money!"
"I know she doesn’t need money, but no one complains about having too much. Besides, letting her collect money for doing nothing and without bearing any risk... I imagine that’s something you’d want, too."
Dennis Donovan narrowed his eyes, a hint of coldness flashing across his face.
This was the root of his aversion to the man before him. His little granddaughter, as clever as she was, would be eaten alive if she went up against a treacherous fox like this—a man with more schemes than a sieve has holes. She wouldn’t stand a chance.
Dennis Donovan stared at Caspian Rhodes for a long moment. Seeing the younger man’s unfazed and calm expression, he felt that he was the one who was coming off as aggressive and bullying a junior.
He snorted coldly. "Don’t say I didn’t warn you, kid. A lot of people have their eyes on this gold mine. You already drew enough attention by taking that land in the Southward District. If you really take this gold mine too, you’ll become a public target."
"But I’ll have you, won’t I?"
Dennis Donovan: "???"
Caspian Rhodes smiled innocently. "With you around, I’m sure no one would dare to touch me so easily. You wouldn’t let me down, would you?"