Party
A vast stretch of wasteland that had once connected to the backyard of my father’s gas station.
The landscape there was now completely different from what it had been just a few months earlier.
The barren plain that used to do nothing but spit up sandstorms was now ringed wall-to-wall with a three-meter iron fence, and at the center of that fence stood a massive steel gate.
On the logo fixed above the gate, a black droplet was painted against a yellow background, and beneath it, the letters were stark and unmistakable.
LEE ENERGY.
I had begun the full-scale development of Garden Queens’ oil field.
Inside the gate, the place had been transformed into something that looked like a giant factory from a steampunk world brought to life in the real world.
Drilling towers rose as if trying to pierce the sky; beneath them stood heavy pumps, stacks of drill pipe and container boxes scattered everywhere, the latest water pumps and generators, and countless other steel structures blanketing the surface of the wasteland.
“Wow……”
Victor, standing beside me, stared around with his mouth hanging open.
His girlfriend, Becky Thompson, stood next to him.
She had short blond hair, a face lightly freckled, and striking light-brown eyes.
Victor had brought his girlfriend along to the Garden Queens field party today.
Becky asked him, “So all of this really belongs to the company you work for?”
“That’s right. It’s the company my friend built. I’m helping out too. Right, Sanha?”
At Victor’s words, I nodded.
“It wouldn’t have been built without you.”
“Wow, Victor’s that important? What exactly does he do?”
“Well…… Victor is currently coordinating the information asymmetry that arises between Lee Energy and our Wall Street partner firms, while controlling the company’s core communication channels from the front line. He also serves as an operations director, designing the executive team’s strategic timeline and deciding the priorities for resource allocation. That isn’t all. He’s also a security control officer who archives confidential data recorded on high-purity pulp media produced by the global paper industry in accordance with physical security regulations, then distributes it to every department without omission through cutting-edge printing technology. In short, if Victor doesn’t approve it, my schedule doesn’t move even one minute.”
In other words, he received calls from other companies, wrote down appointments in a notebook, put documents into the copier, pressed a button, and handed them out.
At my explanation, Becky’s eyes fixed on Victor with even brighter admiration.
“My boyfriend was really amazing after all! Honestly, I thought he was just bragging!”
It was basic manners to make your friend look good in front of his girlfriend, wasn’t it?
Victor looked at me as if deeply moved, and I gave him a sly wink.
Well, anyway.
Today was the day we celebrated the acquisition of Black Bog and officially announced the start of Garden Queens’ oil field development.
The outdoor party area had been set up right in the middle of the drilling site.
Across from rows of barbecue grills and bottles of red wine, catering staff moved briskly back and forth.
“Nephew! The food here is no joke! Come over and take a bite first!”
My uncle shouted from far away after trying a piece of barbecue.
The dress code today was formal wear, and though he grumbled that it was uncomfortable, he had still come properly dressed in the expensive Italian suit I’d given him.
Meanwhile, my father and mother were standing beside him, looking up at the drilling towers.
The two of them had lived their entire lives with oil, and now they had become major shareholders in an oil company at the very top of the industry.
I had recognized my parents’ early contributions to the business and given them a share of Lee Energy accordingly, and now they could spend the rest of their lives in peace, supported by dividends from the company.
My uncle, of course, was the same.
“I’m so proud, my son. So proud. I feel like I’m going to cry.”
“Oh, come on. You’re always crying, sis. Smile a little. It’s a good day.”
Mom and my uncle were talking.
Then familiar faces began approaching me in a crowd.
They were my Garden Queens high school classmates and the town residents.
Stephanie, the former cheerleader now serving tables at a cafe; Robert, who had been the football team captain and now worked at my father’s bar; Tony, who used to snack with me at the school concession stand and now worked in the factory cafeteria; Mila, Tony’s younger sister, who had run a food truck and was now a full-time employee in Lee Energy’s cafeteria; Wenda, who married a mechanic from the neighboring town and gave birth to triplets; Mary, who had worked the Walmart register ever since graduation; Jane, who had been in the drama club in high school and was now the town library’s librarian; Mike, who had sat beside me in class and was now a gas station manager like my father; Jessica, the curly-haired girl who had once competed with me academically; and Austin, who had played basketball with me and was now a truck driver for Lee Energy’s transport team.
“Hey, Sanha. Or should we call you Chairman Lee now?”
Stephanie said as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
Robert added timidly, “Thanks, Sanha. Thanks to the land rent you advanced us, we were able to replace our entire roof. It leaked every time it rained. Seriously, thank you.”
The others all chimed in one by one.
“Sanha, my husband was hired as head of security at your factory! You made that local-hiring system, right? So he got an interview right away. In this economy, they’re even paying medical insurance, too. It feels like a dream. Thank you, really thank you. Ever since my husband got laid off from his last job, he’d done nothing but sigh all day, but now he’s humming on the way to work. I can’t tell you how much I cried because I was so grateful to you.”
“My little brother got in as a drilling technician trainee this time, and they waived the document screening because he’s from Garden Queens. His salary is double what he made at his old job. Twenty-eight dollars an hour, can you believe it? He’s thrilled. My parents were worried sick because he couldn’t find work, but it’s all thanks to you.”
“Customers started flooding back into my father’s store. Lee Energy employees come by to shop. Yesterday’s sales alone were three thousand dollars! My father cried because now he can finally start paying down the principal, not just the bank interest. You really saved our family, Sanha! I don’t even know how to repay this kindness……”
“My mom got hired as a cafeteria cook, and because you made the local-hiring system, they took her even without experience. She said it was the first time in her life she’d ever been enrolled in full social insurance, and she cried.”
“Sanha, my younger brother’s getting training as a heavy-equipment operator at your transport company. They said tuition is fully covered by the company if you’re from Garden Queens. And once he finishes the program, he gets a full-time position immediately. Where else do you find a place like that? It really feels like you’re pulling the whole town forward.”
“My father got hired as a plumber!”
“My mother’s shop is starting to come back to life, too!”
“My younger sister got hired as an accounting assistant. She only finished high school and couldn’t find work, but it’s all thanks to you!”
.
.
Everyone spoke in hopeful voices.
The town of Garden Queens, which had been dying from population loss and a shortage of jobs, was beginning to circulate with money and employment again, and vitality was slowly returning.
After that, my Harvard friends gathered around me.
Jack and Drake, the athletic duo, each said a few words.
“Hey, Drake. Remember the first time you saw Sanha?”
“I do. During freshman orientation, he was the only one who could rattle off the digits of pi in the memorization contest. Back then I just thought he was some genius freak.”
“Heh, same here. But when we first trained together at the gym, wow…… he was seriously good at that too. Even then I thought he was just one of those guys who had everything: brains and athletic ability.”
Jack looked up at the drilling towers and clicked his tongue.
“But this is on a whole different level. A guy not even twenty years old, and he owns a giant oil field like this. Not to mention he’s building a company with total ease.”
“There really are monsters in this world.”
Before long, Grace and Sarah came over to me.
I knew Sarah from a few meals we’d shared when she’d met with Grace about business.
...Clack!
Sarah held out a card to me.
“Sanha, this card came up for you. Wheel of Fortune. It means huge change and success.”
“There’s a card like that in tarot?”
“No, no. This isn’t tarot. It’s a Sarah card. I made these myself. With advice from the ghosts.”
“Oh? Then my business is going well?”
“Not just well. You’ll keep surging ahead without even a single crisis. Just watch. See whether my prophecy is right or wrong. Heh heh heh. How do you think I got into Harvard without studying even once? It was all thanks to the ghosts’ advice.”
At Sarah’s words, Grace, who had been standing beside her, said, “Thanks for inviting me to the party today. May I invest in your business later, too?”
“An angel investor is welcome any time.”
“An angel, huh. If you want, I’m even willing to become your own personal angel.”
Grace gave me a wink with one eye.
I wondered if she had always been like this, and when I turned my head, Sarah was snickering and pointing at the wine glass beside her.
She’s already had a few drinks and gotten drunk.
Just then, the announcer’s broadcast rang out.
[In a moment, Chairman Lee Sanha of Lee Energy will deliver his commemorative address. All honored guests, please gather in front of the stage.]
The crowd murmured and turned their attention to the center stage.
“Chairman at twenty years old. Unbelievable.”
“Even among Harvard grads, I’ve never heard of a case like that.”
“I really hope my son grows up like that someday.”
I straightened my clothes and stepped up onto the podium.
As I stood before the microphone, hundreds of eyes fixed on me.
I swept my gaze across the audience.
Then I looked at the people standing to the left and right of the stage, waiting to be introduced.
Paul Hemsworth from King Baboon, Armstrong Coleman from Salmon Pink, Ethan Locke from Black Bog, and Vito, Soren, and Wolfman from Lee Energy.
And my father, my mother, and my uncle.
“Everyone, welcome.”
My voice rolled out over the site through the speakers.
“Today we have not gathered simply to celebrate the acquisition of Black Bog. This place is the core of our business and the starting point for a new chapter in Texas energy history.”
I raised a hand and pointed to the people in the front row.
“None of this would have been possible if I had been alone. It was possible because these people were here.”
I looked first at Paul Hemsworth.
He stood ramrod straight, eyes fixed on me.
“The overall field development operation will be led by President Paul Hemsworth. Drilling, refining, pipeline work, design…… he is an all-around expert who has mastered every stage of oilfield development.”
Paul gave a stiff but proud nod.
“The geology and exploration division will be handled by Chief Armstrong Coleman. He is the top expert who can read the geological structure beneath Texas soil like the back of his hand. It was his achievement to discover the gold vein at Wishville and to estimate the exact reserves of this Garden Queens oil field.”
Armstrong removed his hard hat with one large hand and pressed it to his chest as he nodded.
“President Ethan Locke, who has taken office as Black Bog’s new CEO, will introduce deep-sea drilling technology and advanced refining methods, raising our technical capacity to the highest level in the world.”
Ethan bowed his head deeply.
“Legal affairs will be handled by Vito Hamilton, finance by Soren Hamilton, and asset operations by Wolfman Hamilton. No legal dispute, no flow of funds, and no new theme that has yet to come to light will escape the eyes of these men.”
Thunderous applause erupted.
Once the introductions were finished, Armstrong, now the field chief in charge of the Garden Queens oil development, stepped up to the podium.
“Based on the drilling data and seismic survey results secured by Lee Energy, the estimated reserves here far exceed the initial estimate of fifty million barrels. We’re looking at more than one hundred million barrels.”
Gasps burst from the audience.
One hundred million barrels.
Not a small or mid-sized field, but a giant deposit that even major oil companies would covet.
“The crude quality is also top tier. It’s light crude with an API gravity of 42 degrees. Low sulfur content makes refining easier and raises the yield of gasoline extraction. In simple terms, it’s the type of crude that sells for the highest price. Lee Energy has drawn up a drilling plan in three stages. In stage one, we’ll drill fifty production wells; in stage two, we’ll apply hydraulic fracturing to maximize output. In stage three, we plan to expand development to the offshore reservoir as well.”
Armstrong’s briefing was concise and clear.
Then Vito took the microphone.
“The most troublesome part of the acquisition was the Environmental Protection Agency’s record of past violations. Black Bog had twelve environmental compliance violations on record. Three of those fines were still unpaid. Over the last two months, we negotiated with both the federal government and the Texas state government. Full payment of the overdue fines, contributions to an environmental restoration fund, and the introduction of a voluntary environmental monitoring program for the next five years. Under those conditions, we erased every past violation from the record. Lee Energy has inherited Black Bog’s vested rights clause from its original 1920s incorporation, and we also won a case recognizing part of those rights, so there are now zero legal obstacles. No one can stop our drilling.”
Finally, Soren came onto the podium.
“The initial investment cost is enormous. But over the next ten years, the profits Lee Energy will bring in are astronomical. Based on current oil prices and speaking conservatively, by year five annual revenue will reach $320 million. Cumulative revenue over ten years will exceed $2.4 billion. And all of that income will flow directly into the Garden Queens local economy. Jobs will be created, commerce will revive, and tax revenue will rise. Garden Queens will undoubtedly become the economic hub of western Texas.”
By then, I took the microphone again.
“This development is not just about making money. It’s about creating new opportunities in Garden Queens.”
I said it with emphasis.
The audience’s eyes focused on me.
“I’m going to make this a place overflowing with jobs, circulating with money, where people can dream again. A town where parks are built for children to run in, where hospitals and schools go up, where neighbors who left begin to return. That is the future of Garden Queens as I see it.”
I raised my right fist.
“I can say this without hesitation: five years from now, Lee Energy will dominate the American energy industry, and Garden Queens will have grown into its center, the most prosperous city in the United States.”
A proclamation of a new era.
...Bang! ...Bang! ...Bang! ...Bang! ...Bang! ...Bang! ...Bang! ...Bang! ...Bang! ...Bang!
The prearranged fireworks painted the night sky.
Golden sparks shot up toward the black heavens.
Black like crude oil, gold like flame, everything seemed to reproduce the sight of the abyss itself in the sky.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!
The people’s cheers and applause filled the Texas night.
Champagne glasses clinked, and the band began a lively tune.
I slowly stepped down from the podium in that heat of celebration.
My father, who had been standing by the stage, came over and rested a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m proud of you, son. Thank you.”
“……”
In that short, rough sentence lived affection and pride.
It felt as though that alone repaid every hardship I had endured until now.