Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 50 respectively

Zhou Xin was extremely surprised when he saw the tattoo on Chen Xiande's back.

He never imagined that the pattern recorded in a diary from over a century ago would appear here, especially on a fellow countryman.

Could it be that my guess at the time was correct, that the Gold Hunter Brotherhood was indeed established by Chinese laborers who went to America back then, and that Chen Xiande was their descendant?

It's not appropriate to ask Chen Xiande directly about this. If there's some secret behind it, asking might arouse suspicion.

Chen Xiande fiddled with the conveyor belt for a while with a wrench, and the conveyor belt stopped swaying abnormally and returned to normal.

After the three of them left the rumbling ore washing machine, Zhou Xin still tentatively asked:

"Mr. Chen, what made you decide to travel so far to seek your fortune?"

Chen Xiande brushed the dust off his clothes and said:

"My cousin came here to pan for gold more than ten years ago. I came with him back then. Later he quit, so I took over his place and continued doing the work."

Zhou Xin couldn't extract any useful information from his words, so he had to put the question out of his mind.

Anyway, it happened more than a hundred years ago, so it won't have any connection to me.

Subsequently, Zhou Xin inquired with Chen Xiande about the issue of converting the harvested gold into cash.

Chen Xiande gave him the contact information of a gold buyer, a long-time collaborator who specialized in gold buying in Kurgadi.

This gold buyer is very well-known in Kurgadi, and the local tax authorities have stationed personnel there to collect taxes directly during transactions.

I chatted with Chen Xiande for a while longer, asking him about his experience in opening a gold mine.

After receiving Chen Xiande's advice that "investing in a mine here requires extreme caution, as most people lose everything," the two said goodbye and left.

Chen Xiande had initially offered them lunch, but the two declined, remembering that Edward was still working hard alone to mine for gold.

When they returned to the camp, Edward had just come back from digging for gold, and Zhou Xin immediately started cooking.

These two are completely clueless when it comes to cooking, so naturally no one else is allowed to cook for them.

However, now whenever he cooks, Zhang Jianing always helps him.

Even if she didn't need to, she would stay by Zhou Xin's side and pester him to teach her how to cook.

She made a bold promise that she would make sure Zhou Xin ate a meal she had cooked herself before she left at the end of the holiday.

Seeing her serious expression, Zhou Xin patiently taught her, and occasionally let her try it herself.

The following days passed quickly in the repetitive life of gold mining.

Before she knew it, Zhang Jianing's vacation was coming to an end. She was leaving the next day to return to Miami.

Therefore, Zhou Xin announced that he would take half a day off that afternoon to bid farewell to Zhang Jianing.

After lunch, the three sat down at the table and began to summarize what they had learned during this period.

During this time, Zhang Jianing also became obsessed with gold mining, waking up earlier than Edward in the morning.

As of today, her personal catch has reached 29.3 ounces, which makes her very dissatisfied.

"Damn it, it's almost 30 ounces!" she said, pouting.

Edward grinned and said, "I don't mind sharing some of my earnings with you so you can make it a round number."

Zhang Jianing shook her head: "I don't want to. What's the point if I don't dig it myself?"

Next, Zhou Xin gathered all the gold together and weighed their total harvest so far.

The three of them stared wide-eyed.

As the last bit of gold was poured into the weighing pan, the three of them almost held their breath.

136.2 ounces!

Based on the real-time gold price of $2253 per ounce that day, it was worth more than $30.

"My God, am I dreaming? We've made $30 in just about a month!"

Edward's face was filled with excitement, joy, and disbelief.

Zhang Jianing was also completely immersed in joy and shock, and it took her a while to say:

"That's equivalent to two years' salary for me! That's outrageous!"

Then she looked up at Zhou Xin and said, "Zhou Xin, I'm even thinking of quitting my job and joining you in making a living as a professional gold digger!"

Zhou Xin smiled and said, "This is still too much work for you."

Indeed, although the harvest is very good so far, it is hard-earned money.

Living outdoors every day and enduring the scorching sun, Zhang Jianing's face still got a little darker despite taking plenty of sun protection measures.

Fortunately, her skin was already very fair, so even though it had darkened a bit, it still looked flawless.

Besides the inconvenience in daily life, gold mining is also very physically demanding, leaving you with a sore back and aching waist after a day's work.

The joy of gold mining can mask the physical exhaustion, making it a never-ending pursuit.

But this is ultimately a physically demanding job, not something that a senior employee of a multinational corporation like Zhang Jianing is suited to do long-term.

It's fine to try it out occasionally, but it's hard to say what will happen if you do it for a long time.

In fact, Zhang Jianing knew that quitting her job to make a fortune was unrealistic; she was just joking.

"Once I've sorted out all the mess around me, maybe I really will come and join you guys as professional gold diggers..."

She paused for a moment, then continued slowly, "This kind of life fascinates me; I love this free and unrestrained lifestyle."

At this moment, Edward, the professional wingman, stepped in once again.

"It's too easy. If you become Xin's girlfriend, you can just keep following him to make money, right?"

This time, Zhang Jianing neither showed anger nor blushed with embarrassment, but instead looked up and stared directly at Zhou Xin.

Zhou Xin met her gaze and said, "Given the current situation, it would be more appropriate for you to go back to work."

Upon hearing Zhou Xin's words, Zhang Jianing's face showed a hint of disappointment, but then she heard Zhou Xin say:

"However, I plan to set up a professional gold mining team after I have raised enough funds to open up mines in Alaska and build a large-scale gold mining factory."

I've already decided to officially hire you as my accountant and salesperson for my gold mining team. Of course, the salary will definitely be higher than your current job.

The disappointment on Zhang Jianing's face was replaced by surprise.

"Really?"

Zhou Xin smiled and nodded.

A radiant smile immediately bloomed on her face, like a flower blossoming in the wilderness.

Edward looked at the two of them and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

"Alright, now it's time to settle your earnings."

Zhou Xin clapped his hands, changing the subject.

Zhang Jianing smiled at him and said, "I just wanted to come and experience it. In fact, this is the happiest and most unforgettable vacation I've ever had. I feel like I've gotten what I wanted."

"That won't do. You dug up no small amount, 29.3 ounces, which is worth nearly 67,000 US dollars," Zhou Xin said.

"You found the location where the gold was buried; I only contributed a little physical labor."

She knew very well that if Zhou Xin hadn't marked it beforehand, she probably wouldn't have even been able to dig up this small amount.

"Physical labor deserves a reward, so here's what I'll do: I'll give Edward ten percent."

You helped us a lot before, so we should have paid you. Since it was a short-term job, I plan to give you 50% of the profits.

"But……"

Before Zhang Jianing could say anything more, Zhou Xin interrupted her, saying, "Listen to me."

Zhang Jianing looked at her and nodded obediently.

Zhou Xin did the math on his phone and said, "A total of 30 ounces, at a gold price of $2253, is $67590. 50% is $33795."

Zhang Jianing asked in confusion, "Isn't it less than 30 ounces?"

Zhou Xin nodded towards Edward and said with a smile, "Didn't he just say he'd make it a round 30 ounces for you? The 0.7 ounces will be deducted from his share."

Edward laughed heartily and said, "Haha, I'd be more than happy to."