"Let alone a mining permit in Huaxia, even this land reclamation permit I have now took a lot of effort to apply for years ago. I reckon a permit as awesome as a Huaxia mining permit would be as difficult as reaching heaven to obtain."
Chen Feng's cousin said truthfully.
"Take out 'I reckon.' In Huaxia, the more profitable a permit is, the harder it is to obtain. For example, Huaxia mining permits, Huaxia factory permits, big city villa permits… It's no exaggeration to say that if you obtain such a permit, you can earn hundreds of thousands, even millions, just by reselling it without doing any work. Huaxia is a country that desperately needs permits. The bigger the matter, the more permits are needed. Without a permit, even if you are the richest man, it's useless. Just like that richest man in Huaxia, who is very capable in finance and always wanted to get a Huaxia General Financial Permit. With it, he could establish Huaxia's first private bank. Private banks are incredibly profitable. But what happened later, you should know."
Chen Feng explained seriously.
"Are you talking about Boss Ma?"
"Yes."
"Hmm, Boss Ma indeed wanted to become a giant in the financial industry, but he couldn't obtain the Huaxia General Financial Permit. He had to be listed separately, which is a far cry from a private bank. But, what can you do? Boss Ma has money, but his connections in the high echelons of Huaxia's political arena are not strong enough, so he couldn't secure the Huaxia General Financial Permit."
"Cousin, I didn't expect you to know a bit about the inside stories of these big shots."
Chen Feng said with a smile.
"Chen Feng, I graduated from university after all. I can guess about eight or nine out of ten of the inside stories of these big shots. However, there is one question I really can't figure out."
"Which one?"
"Chen Feng, think about it. Boss Ma, does he lack money? He's the richest man in Huaxia! But why, with so much money, can't he even apply for a Huaxia General Financial License? Isn't it said that money is omnipotent? Why can't Boss Ma's wealth, which is enough to rival a nation, handle the Huaxia General Financial License?"
Chen Feng's cousin asked curiously.
"Cousin, I can tell you the secret here. But you can't say these secrets online, otherwise, we'll both go to jail."
Chen Feng said word by word.
"Chen Feng, don't worry, I'm just satisfying my curiosity, I won't blab about it everywhere."
Chen Feng's cousin immediately pledged.
Chen Feng took a deep breath and then explained in a low voice.
"The reason why Boss Ma's long-coveted Huaxia General Financial License failed recently is twofold. First, the Huaxia banks are too powerful. They united and jointly pressured the Huaxia higher-ups, and then… and then it came to nothing. Secondly, Huaxia is different from the United States. The US spares no effort to support large enterprises and is never afraid of them getting out of control. Because, for the US, as long as a company can make money, everything else is negotiable. Even if the company becomes so big that its boss becomes the US president, it's fine. Anyway, the water here is very deep. In Huaxia, we should just go with the flow."
"Chen Feng, I'm truly impressed by you. Your advice to me, not to develop forestry and animal husbandry, but to follow the village chief and that provincial protector to open mines, is brilliant. For the past few years, no matter how hard I tried, I failed because I didn't understand the political arena. Now that I think about it, I was so naive, so stupid. Many people who contracted mountain forests or farmlands just did a perfunctory job without any proper management. As a result, they received a flood of national agricultural subsidies. People like me, who diligently engaged in forestry and animal husbandry and didn't know how to curry favor with the political arena, received not a single penny of agricultural subsidy."
Chen Feng's cousin exclaimed.
"Cousin, it's good that you can reflect like this. Remember, in Huaxia, if you want to make big money, you can't just brute-force it. You must combine it with the political arena. Without being integrated into the political arena, it's impossible to make big money. The village chief is very adept at navigating the political arena. Follow him closely to open mines, and you're guaranteed to make money."
Chen Feng said calmly.
"Chen Feng, you've helped me out so much. How about I give you half of my mining profits?"
Chen Feng's cousin said sincerely.
"If it were other projects, I would be willing to accept. I am human, and I have no reason to be uninterested in money. However, I don't want to take money from mining."
Chen Feng said seriously.
"Why is that? Mining money isn't illicit money, so why can't you take it? Don't tell me you're afraid I'll report you to the higher-ups?"
Chen Feng's cousin asked, confused.
"Cousin, you are not a political official, so you don't understand. Whether it's mining in Huaxia or abroad, even with the most stringent safety measures, mine accidents can occur unexpectedly. There are major mine accidents and minor mine accidents. In Huaxia's political arena, as long as no mine accident occurs, everything is fine. Once a mine accident happens, an investigation is inevitable. If I accept money from mining, and an investigation occurs, won't the matter be exposed? That little money isn't worth sacrificing my future in the political arena."
Chen Feng explained seriously.
Chen Feng's cousin was once again convinced.
He previously didn't understand why Chen Feng could rise from being a deputy town mayor's driver all the way to the position of deputy mayor of Mingshan City. Now, he finally understood that Chen Feng thought things through very thoroughly.
Ordinary people could only see the surface of things.
Chen Feng could see the core of things.
Chen Feng would absolutely not sacrifice long-term gains for short-term benefits.
"By the way, Chen Feng, have you been to see your second uncle, Chen Tao, recently?"
The matter of mining in the barren mountains, with Chen Feng's personal involvement, was already a done deal, and there was nothing else to discuss.
"I've been busy with two major projects in Mingshan City recently, the autonomous driving project and the flying new energy vehicle project, so I haven't had time to go back to my hometown. What's wrong? My second uncle."
Chen Feng asked nervously.
Among women, Qin Yan was definitely the woman he was most grateful for.
Among men, his second uncle was definitely the man he was most grateful for.
Without his second uncle's help back then, he would still be working in a factory.
"Your second uncle, it seems he has cancer."
Chen Feng's cousin said word by word.
"Has cancer? How is that possible? Second uncle has always been very robust, how could he get cancer out of the blue?"
Chen Feng was stunned.
"I'm not too clear about the specifics, but in any case, your second uncle is currently hospitalized at Jiangcheng First People's Hospital."
Chen Feng's cousin replied truthfully.
"My second uncle is hospitalized? Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"
Chen Feng asked in confusion.
"We originally intended to tell you, but your second uncle didn't allow it, saying that you are in a critical period in the political arena right now, and he didn't want his matter to delay you."
Chen Feng's cousin said truthfully.
Chen Feng stopped chattering with his cousin and went directly to Jiangcheng First People's Hospital.
Upon entering the ward, Chen Feng was stunned.
Judging by the traditional Chinese medicine diagnostic methods of 'wang, wen, wen, qie' (observation, listening and smelling, inquiry, palpation), his second uncle did not have cancer. Yet, why was his second uncle staying in the oncology ward?