"As long as they're idle, I'm not. We're in the exploration phase now, and they can't help at all. Why bother sending them out? It's a waste of money and fuel."
"If they really have nothing better to do, I'll send them all out to dig dirt tomorrow, and they're not allowed to come back until midnight!" Qi Minglin said angrily.
"Qi Minglin, watch your attitude. Besides, the exploration team has a problem with you now. Shouldn't you reflect on your behavior?"
"Especially that Chen Feng, does he really have the ability to explore? Do you really have any confidence in him?"
"Have you lost the ability to think independently, or do you really think he can do it? Have you even thought about it?" Zhang Ce asked.
"I am clear-headed now than ever. Even if Chen Feng and I are to be removed from our captain positions, we'll wait until we've finished exploring Pingcun City!"
Qi Minglin spoke without backing down an inch.
“I think you’re acting too impulsively right now. Time waits for no one. Why don’t we put Hiramura City aside for now and go explore the Kari Mountains first?”
“Zhang Richeng observed the terrain and studied the data every day in the Kari Mountains, and the entire exploration team supported this decision.”
“As the team leader, the exploration team can’t be run by your own voice. You have to consider everyone’s opinions sometimes,” Zhang Ce said.
"I listened to their opinions, and the result was that we made no progress for a whole year and a half, wasting more than 500 billion yuan in exploration funds!"
"You still want me to listen to their opinions? How am I supposed to listen to them!" Qi Minglin said excitedly.
“I know you’re under the most pressure and feel guilty every day because the exploration team didn’t find anything. But you can’t just blindly trust other people in your desperation.”
"To be honest, do you really look like you're conducting an exploration?" Zhang Ce asked in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, Qi Minglin closed her eyes tightly, took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and spoke.
“I pledge my life to you, and I guarantee it with all my honors. If we still find nothing after this exploration in Pingcun City, I am willing to resign from my position as team leader and leave the exploration team.”
"But before that, I'm still the captain, and the whole team has to listen to me. You can't interfere, okay?"
Hearing Qi Minglin's resolute words, Zhang Ce was momentarily at a loss. After pondering for a long time, he finally took a deep breath and asked Qi Minglin, "Is Li Guanghao next to you?"
"exist."
"Give him the phone."
Upon hearing this, Qi Minglin handed the phone to Li Guanghao, who was sitting in the back seat.
Although the people in the car didn't know who was on the other end of the phone, they could guess what had happened just from Qi Minglin's tone.
Li Guanghao answered the phone, and upon hearing that familiar voice, he knew who it was without them even introducing themselves.
"You heard our conversation? What's your opinion?" Zhang Ce asked softly.
"Um…"
Li Guanghao paused for a moment, then slowly began to speak.
"I think that now that things have come to this point, we can't rush things. Although Xiaolin's attitude was a bit impatient, she wasn't wrong."
"If no rare earth minerals were found in this place, it would prove that Chen Feng was just faking it. But what does it mean to leave after exploring only halfway?"
"My suggestion is to listen to those two before leaving Pingcun City. I've been traveling with them every day and I think Chen Feng is quite capable; he might not be as bad as they say."
“I am willing to endorse Qi Minglin and Chen Feng and support them in completing their exploration in Pingcun City.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ce could only sigh softly and slowly say, "Since you've put it that way, what else can I say?"
"Tell Qi Minglin to think carefully about the consequences. It's not too late to back out. If they ultimately fail to find a rare earth mine in Pingcun City, remove her from her position as team leader and replace her with Zhang Richeng."
"And she's not allowed to leave. She has to stay and work for me in the exploration team. It's not that easy for her to leave."
"Yes, I'll pass it on to her," Li Guanghao said with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
After hanging up the phone, Li Guanghao repeated Zhang Ce's words in the car.
Upon hearing this, Qi Minglin took a deep breath and rested her elbow on the car window.
"Chen Feng, I've staked everything on you. Are you even confident? Can you give me a straight answer?"
"Don't worry, since you trust me, I will definitely do my best," Chen Feng said.
Upon hearing this, Qi Minglin rubbed her forehead, feeling immense pressure.
Li Guanghao was also somewhat helpless. If it weren't for Qi Minglin's insistence and Chen Feng actually finding a nugget of gold, he would never have memorized this book.
All we can do is pray that Chen Feng can really pull it off.
After a day's work, they still hadn't gained anything. Qi Minglin felt a little heavy-hearted. The group returned to the camp, and everyone there felt guilty, some even avoiding Qi Minglin's eyes.
"I heard someone called to report me, and even contacted my superiors. Who was it? Why don't we talk about it in person?" Qi Minglin pulled over a small stool, sat down on it with an air of authority, and began to speak.
No one spoke upon hearing this, including Liu Jie.
He's hot-blooded, not stupid. Why would you go out and invite trouble? You'd just be asking for a fight.
"If no one says anything, fine, then I'll tell you. I've already made a solemn pledge to my superiors: if we can't find rare earth elements in Pingcun City, I, Qi Minglin, will resign and leave."
"Zhang Richeng will be the captain. You should get what you wanted now, right?" Qi Minglin said coldly.
"Captain Qi, that's not what we meant, it's just..." someone sighed and began.
"Stop talking. Things have come to this, what's the point of explaining? But I want to tell you that before leaving Pingcun City, I am still the captain. So don't cause any trouble."
As Qi Minglin spoke, her gaze swept over Zhang Richeng, the meaning of which was self-evident.
It's highly likely that he was behind this; Qi Minglin could easily guess it.
Zhang Richeng acted as if he didn't see Qi Minglin's gaze and went about his own business.
Now, all he needs to do is wait. Once he leaves Pingcun City, everything will fall into place.
"Eat!" Qi Minglin shouted, getting angrier by the sight of them.
Upon hearing this, everyone took their bowls and served themselves food, but the meal was tasteless and unappetizing.
The next day, Chen Feng and his group continued their search for rare earth elements by car.
Chen Feng continued to stop every now and then, digging left and looking right.
Each time Chen Feng shook his head, Qi Minglin's mood grew heavier.
As Pingcun City becomes increasingly smaller, the chances of finding rare earth elements are dwindling.
She didn't care about being an honorary captain; what she cared about was whether her decision would actually be worthwhile.
If in the end, Pingcun City really has nothing, and Qi Minglin and his team have wasted more than a month of time, then Qi Minglin will really blame himself to the point of slapping himself twice.
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