Chapter 76: I'm going to increase the price of rare earth elements a hundredfold!

Section Chief Wang almost crashed through the warehouse door, his tie skewed all the way to his back, and his usually steady face was now deathly pale.

"Something big has happened!"

Lin Xi put down his tea mug, not even lifting an eyelid. "Did the exhibition hall blow up?"

"It's more serious than an explosion!"

Section Chief Wang grabbed Lin Xi's wrist and started pulling him out.

"An urgent telegram from the Ministry of Foreign Trade! It was called directly to the organizing committee!"

"They asked for you by name!"

"They say it's a dire political mission; a second's delay and heads will roll!"

Lin Xi's heart skipped a beat.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade?

Looking for him now certainly meant no good news.

Had some foreigner gone to complain to the higher-ups?

"Let's go!"

Lin Xi didn't waste any words; he stood up and left.

...

Three minutes later, in the organizing committee's secure telephone room.

The heavy soundproof door closed, completely shutting out the noise from outside.

Lin Xi grabbed the red telephone and took a deep breath. "This is Lin Xi."

A very serious, even somewhat anxious middle-aged male voice came through the receiver.

"Hello, Comrade Lin Xi. I am Zhao Jianbang, the Deputy Director of the Resources Department of the Ministry of Foreign Trade."

The other person spoke extremely fast, conveying an unquestionable pressure.

"To make a long story short, the commotion you've caused at the Canton Fair has alarmed those foreigners."

"Just half an hour ago, Japan's Sumitomo Corporation, the Lighthouse Country's General Electric, and several chemical giants from Germany sent us a joint letter to apply pressure."

Deputy Director Zhao paused, his voice deepening.

"They are questioning why the 'mixed rare earth concentrate' that was supposed to be delivered this month hasn't been loaded onto the ships yet."

"They've made threats! If we dare to maliciously cut off the supply..."

"Not only will they claim astronomical liquidated damages, but they will also jointly boycott all procurement plans for China next year!"

"The Ministry is under immense pressure right now!"

"The country's foreign exchange gap is gaping wide; if we don't sell, no one can bear the loss!"

"Exports must be resumed immediately!"

Lin Xi's hand holding the receiver tightened slightly.

But he didn't panic; instead, his eyes grew brighter.

As expected, it had come.

Previously, in order to lay out the plan for neodymium iron boron, he had specifically submitted a report to the higher-ups through Elder Qian's connections.

Under the pretext of equipment upgrades, he had suspended Baogang's rare earth exports for two months.

It's only been a few days, and these foreigners can't sit still already?

What does this indicate?

It indicates they are anxious.

It indicates that with the technological diffusion of the "Red Star Machinery Factory," keen Western capital has already realized—

That the core heart of micromotors, neodymium iron boron, cannot do without China's rare earths!

Only China can supply this strategic-grade raw material on a large scale globally.

"Deputy Director Zhao."

Lin Xi's voice was unusually calm, forming a sharp contrast with the anxiety on the other end of the line.

"I'd like to ask, at what price were we selling the rare earths to them before?"

There was a noticeable pause on the other end.

It was as if he hadn't expected the kid to have the leisure to ask about the price at such a critical moment.

"This is a trade secret..."

Deputy Director Zhao paused, but thinking of Elder Qian standing behind Lin Xi, he still gritted his teeth and gave the figure.

"It wouldn't hurt to tell you."

"mixed rare earth concentrate with a 60% grade."

"The FOB price is about 800 US dollars per ton."

"This is already a high price we fought tooth and nail for! It's up a full hundred dollars from last year!"

Lin Xi closed his eyes.

800 US dollars.

A ton?

Although he was prepared, hearing this exact number still made Lin Xi feel a surge of blood rush to his head.

That's rare earth!

It's the vitamins of industry! The universal soil! The lifeblood of future high-tech industry!

In 2025, any single rare earth element within a ton of rare earth concentrate could sell for more than this price!

And mixed rare earth concentrate contains more than ten types of rare earths!

And yet now, we are actually taking a mixture containing lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium... these seventeen elements more precious than gold.

And treating it like mud.

Treating it like cabbage by the roadside!

Eight hundred dollars? That's not even enough to buy a ton of high-quality steel!

This isn't just selling resources; this is selling the flesh and blood left behind by our ancestors!

In his field of vision, the bullet comments in the stream suddenly exploded into a sea of blood-red.

[I'm crying... 800 dollars a ton? This is freaking giving it away for free!]

[I'm about to have a heart attack! Back then, we didn't understand separation technology and could only sell mixed concentrate. We were royally screwed by those foreigners!]

[This is the pain of that era! To exchange for a few machine tools that were about to be obsolete, and for some fertilizer, we emptied out our family savings!]

[Japan later stored the rare earths they bought back under the sea, and decades later, they turned around and used them to choke us! Streamer! You absolutely cannot sell!]

[Streamer! I can't swallow this! If you sell it, I'm unfollowing!]

[Streamer! Please! Show them what's what! This is too frustrating!]

Lin Xi took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart.

"Deputy Director Zhao."

Lin Xi's voice became somewhat hoarse.

"800 dollars?"

"This is what we are selling?"

"Are we selling gold, or are we selling rotten mud by the roadside?"

Deputy Director Zhao grew anxious. "Comrade Lin Xi! You have to understand the country's difficulties!"

"We don't have separation technology! We can't sell it for a high price!"

"If we don't sell the mixed concentrate, we won't even make those eight hundred dollars!"

"The country needs foreign exchange to buy equipment, technology, and production lines!"

"I know."

Lin Xi interrupted him. "But I'm telling you now, we can't sell."

"You must withstand the pressure; this batch of goods cannot be shipped either!"

"You... you..." Deputy Director Zhao was choked with anger.

"You are showing a lack of organization and discipline!"

"What if the foreigners really blockade us? What if it causes a diplomatic dispute? Can you take responsibility for this?!"

"I will!"

Two simple words, spoken with resounding force.

Lin Xi's voice suddenly rose, making Section Chief Wang's ears ring beside him.

"Deputy Director Zhao, you tell those foreigners."

"The equipment maintenance is real."

"And once the maintenance is finished, the price will be renegotiated."

Deputy Director Zhao was so angry he laughed.

"Renegotiated? How much do you want to raise it?"

"If it's just eighty or a hundred dollars, they won't care at all; instead, they'll think we're being unreasonable."

"Eighty or a hundred dollars?"

Lin Xi sneered, a mockery from forty-five years in the future, having seen through all the rules.

He spoke into the receiver, word by word, as if delivering a sentence.

"I want to add two zeros to the end."

Silence.

A deathly silence.

On the other end of the line, Zhao Jianbang seemed to have even forgotten to breathe.

Even Section Chief Wang, standing nearby, dropped his notebook with a thud and stared at Lin Xi as if looking at a madman.

A full half-minute passed.

Only then did Deputy Director Zhao's cautious, almost existential-crisis-ridden voice come through the receiver.

"How... how much?"

"Two zeros? A hundredfold?!"

"Lin Xi! Have you been drinking fake liquor?"

"The current market price is eight hundred; you want to sell it for eighty thousand a ton?"

"That's impossible! That's absolutely impossible!"

"Foreigners aren't stupid! They'll go crazy! They'll flip the table!"

"They wouldn't dare."

Lin Xi's tone was frighteningly certain.

"Deputy Director Zhao, before it was them who had us by the throat."

"Now, the tables have turned."

Lin Xi looked out at the 1980 sky, a cruel arc curving at the corner of his mouth.

"Now, it's my hand that's gripping their throats."

"Give me seven days, and I'll have them bringing the money on their knees."

[Livestream Bullet Comments]

[It's heating up! It's heating up! A hundredfold! That's the price it should be!]

[Streamer is awesome! This is what a transmigrator should be doing!]

[Although I don't know how the Streamer is going to sell mixed soil for the price of gold, I've already got my peanuts and melon seeds ready!]

[Waiting to see those foreigners crying in the bathroom!]