Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 172 The Gold Prospectors' Visit

Chapter 173 The Gold Prospectors' Visit

To ensure that the annual goals are achieved, everyone is more actively engaged in their work.

That day, while Zhou Xin was busy at the mine, he received a call from James.

James told him that several of his fellow members of the gold rush guild wanted to visit his mine to learn from him, including Audrey, the granddaughter of the guild leader.

Although Zhou Xin didn't really want to attract attention, his deeds had already spread throughout the guild, so it wasn't easy to refuse.

Moreover, Audrey came along too, so her purpose was probably not just to visit.

Perhaps, just as Zhang Jianing guessed, she wanted to further examine him to see if he had the ability to help find the gold mine.

Even if it's just a simple visit, considering that her grandfather is a super landowner with 150 million acres of land, I should at least try to get on good terms with her. Maybe I'll have a chance to rent land from her at a low price for mining in the future.

When Zhou Xin readily agreed to James' request, he did so.

The next morning, four SUVs drove into the mining area in a long procession.

"Welcome!"

Zhou Xin and Zhang Jianing greeted the visitors in the parking lot and shook hands with them one by one.

Besides James and Audrey, Blair and four other gold prospectors also came, all of whom were captains of gold prospecting teams around Anchorage.

Audrey looked dashing in a red windbreaker and sweatpants.

"Xin, you've really done a great job here! It's completely different from when I last came!"

James looked at Zhou Xin's mine and nodded in approval.

Zhou Xin smiled and said, "I have to thank you for your careful guidance last time."

"Mr. Zhou, thank you for your help today!" Audrey greeted him politely.

"Please don't be so polite," Zhou Xin waved his hand. "If I can be of any help to you, it would be my greatest honor."

Blair chimed in, "You're a super newcomer to the Anchorage gold rush, and we all hope you can share some of your secrets with us."

"There's no secret," Zhou Xin laughed. "Look, there's nothing special about my mine."

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Xin had Zhang Jianing distribute the prepared safety helmets to them, and then led them toward the gold mining factory.

"Your mining rig is small for Anchorage. I can't imagine how much output you could achieve if you replaced it with a behemoth like Megatron," said one of the gold prospectors who was with you.

James immediately explained to him that "Megatron" is currently the largest mining machine in Anchorage, and it was custom-made by gold mining king Parker at a cost of more than $300 million.

To make such a behemoth operate at full power, the number of machines and personnel required is naturally much greater.

Such a massive investment is something that most gold mining teams cannot afford, and would not even dare to dream of.

Without extensive experience, one cannot guarantee a return on investment and a profit. Such a huge investment, if it incurs losses, will undoubtedly lead to bankruptcy.

Zhou Xin then said modestly, "I was just lucky to find a piece of land with abundant gold reserves. I wouldn't even dare to dream of such a huge investment."

Zhou Xin led everyone on a tour of the gold mining factory, while Edward explained in detail the performance of their ore washing machines.

After a round, apart from James and Audrey, everyone else showed a hint of disappointment on their faces.

They were all experienced gold prospectors, and through their visit, they found that Zhou Xin's gold mining factory and on-site construction were not particularly special.

Apart from Edward's few brilliant modifications in the gold mining factory that are worth learning from, the entire mine is quite unremarkable.

A thought inevitably arose in everyone's mind: perhaps it was really as Zhou Xin said, that his success was entirely due to good luck in finding such an extremely fertile land.

The more they visited, the stronger this idea became in their minds.

Zhou Xin noticed their micro-expressions and felt a sense of relief.

He never wanted to attract too much attention, and he had no interest in titles like "King of Gold Rush" whatsoever.

If he could, he would just quietly make money and get rich without lifting a finger.

If these people conclude that he truly has no outstanding abilities and then publicize this within the Gold Rush Guild, he can extricate himself from the spotlight.

This is exactly what he wanted.

So Zhou Xin pretended not to notice and patiently led them on a tour of the mine.

Zhou Xin could clearly sense that, towards the end, the group became noticeably distracted and lost the enthusiasm they had shown when they first arrived.

But James and Audrey listened attentively to Zhou Xin's introduction of the mining area, occasionally asking about some details.

Audrey, in particular, seemed very interested in everything, learning about every detail of the mine, starting with Zhou Xin's ore beneficiation.

Aside from the secrets of ore beneficiation, Zhou Xin didn't hide anything from her and told her everything she wanted to know.

Through Zhou Xin's explanation, Audrey confirmed that it was indeed his first time mining, because he wasn't even very familiar with the procedures required for mining, and sometimes needed his girlfriend to remind and correct him.

However, as a novice, he perfectly avoided many pitfalls on the road to gold mining, which is enough to show that he is a very cautious and wise person.

However, unlike those conservative gold prospectors who proceeded cautiously and walked on thin ice, he was both cautious and had extraordinary courage and decisiveness, even like a gambler who would risk everything, because he could choose a piece of land that everyone thought was worthless to mine based on his intuition alone.

Two completely different and contradictory qualities appeared simultaneously in this man, and Audrey felt that she couldn't understand him at all for a moment.

This man is truly mysterious.

Perhaps, he truly is a glimmer of hope.

It was noon when they finished visiting the mine, and at Zhou Xin's invitation, everyone stayed at the mine for lunch.

Zhang Jianing had already prepared pan-fried steak with pasta for them in advance.

"Miss Hathaway, you are a very capable lady." Audrey looked at Zhang Jianing with admiration.

"In fact," Zhang Jianing smiled as she looked at the woman in front of her, whose looks were no less than her own, "before dating him, I could only use a microwave oven."

Audrey looked at Zhou Xin with curiosity: "Mr. Zhou, you can actually cook?"

Among young people in America, even women mostly just reheat ready-made food, let alone men.

Edward chuckled and said, "He's not just good at cooking, he's a master chef! If you ever taste his food, you might just fall in love with it!"

Zhou Xin coughed and said, "Edward, how did you manage to offend two ladies with just one sentence?"

Zhang Jianing stomped her foot and said angrily, "Edward, you'd better prepare to go hungry tonight!"

Audrey didn't speak, her cheeks slightly flushed, and she stole a glance at Zhou Xin, her eyes seeming to gleam.