With the abundant copper deposits secured, Li Yunlong first deployed three companies to bring Black Cloud Stronghold under complete control. To ensure maximum secrecy, the outer perimeter was guarded by the first group of defectors dressed in civilian clothes. With their authentic performance, they created the illusion for outsiders that Black Cloud Stronghold was still in the hands of bandits. Li Yunlong’s capture of Black Cloud Stronghold had been swift and decisive; afterward, when Wei Heshan searched for Xie Baoqing, he scoured the surrounding hundred-mile radius, inadvertently sealing off any news. Outsiders still assumed it was the same fearsome bandit lair it had always been.
Once this was settled, Zhao Gang was tasked with selecting one thousand people from among the refugees and those with dual military-civilian skills, offering them double the wages of a regular laborer.
Wang Diren planned to order one thousand electric picks and their corresponding solar chargers. With so much to attend to, he left a direct message on his cousin’s phone, asking him to list the electric picks and solar chargers on the e-commerce platform first, claiming a client was preparing to place an order. He added that they would need to list excavators, heavy-duty transport trucks, crushers, and smelting furnaces as soon as possible, as mining clients would be placing orders shortly.
Chapter 101