Chapter 203 — The Rules of the Bidding

Li Shu was choked into silence on the spot, yet there was nothing he could do about it. The man would not abuse his public office for private ends, and one could hardly demand that he commit a fault. General Karls's attitude had already made things clear to Li Shu: pulling strings was out of the question this time.

...

In truth, a boxing match was nothing more than a contest staged to show whose armed forces were the stronger. And understandably so—none of the men who could afford to invest in mining here were short of money.

So if it came down to a pure bidding war, with offers piled on offers, there was every chance it would have no end, and the price would climb to some terrifying figure. But in that case the only beneficiary would be the government of Country X, and the mine owners would be the losers.

So to avoid throwing their money away and to keep the price of the mines at a reasonable level, the only way these men could settle scores was through force.

And General Karls and Li Qiang tacitly allowed this rule to stand. At times one had to consider these men's interests as well—to make them willing to put up their money and invest, you had to let them turn a profit too. So since the bidding method was their own proposal, it would be carried out accordingly.

Once Li Shu realized the matter could not be changed, he too sprang into action. He was no fool: this was the one rare opportunity, and even if he had to hire someone, he would hire a man who could fight—whatever the cost, he would get through this first and worry about the rest later.

Li Shu's social connections were in fact quite wide, and it did not take him long to reach a relative in a Muay Thai association in Thailand. This person was a distant niece of his; the blood tie had long since thinned, but they had kept in touch over the years. The niece seemed to belong to some rather formidable organization, and at their last meeting she had given him a business card, telling him to call her if he ever needed anything.

At first, hearing his niece praise Muay Thai as though it were something divine, Li Shu had not quite believed it. But now he had no other choice, and this niece was the only person he could reach.

"Hello? Is this Li Lexin?" Li Shu dialed the number on the business card.