Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 51 The Intoxicating Night

After completing the calculation, Zhou Xin immediately transferred the money to Zhang Jianing's PayPal account using his mobile phone.

He still had a considerable amount of savings from his last gold rush, which gave him ample confidence.

Looking at the considerable sum of money that had appeared in her account, Zhang Jianing seemed somewhat dazed.

"I just wanted to give it a try, but I never expected to actually make a small fortune."

"The allure of the gold rush lies in the fact that you can see your earnings in real time. After all, even in the United States, where weekly wages are paid, you have to work for at least a week to get paid."

Zhang Jianing nodded, her beautiful blue eyes blinking as she looked at Zhou Xin.

"You can't back out now! Once you've built up your gold mining factory, you absolutely must come find me!"

"Don't worry, how could I possibly let such a talented person like you go?"

Zhang Jianing smiled radiantly.

Then, Zhou Xin and Zhang Jianing skipped their lunch break and snuggled into the moon chairs, watching "Zootopia" on the tablet with Edward.

Zhou Xin suddenly remembered something, got up and rummaged through the freezer, took out three boxes of ice cream and gave them to them.

"Wow, you even prepared ice cream!" Zhang Jianing's eyes lit up, and she couldn't wait to open the spoon and take a bite.

"I only bought four. I was afraid Edward would steal them, so I hid them at the bottom of the freezer, but I forgot about them," Zhou Xin said with a smile.

Edward snorted: "You're smart, otherwise all that would be left are a few empty boxes."

In the sweltering Western Australian wilderness, the three of them ate ice cream, watched a movie, and chatted, occasionally bursting into cheerful laughter.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Zhou Xin began to prepare for the farewell banquet for Zhang Jianing that evening.

A few days ago, when he went to the city to refuel his generator, he also replenished his supplies, and now he has plenty of food.

Today, he plans to cook over an open flame, believing that the food will taste much better that way.

The three of them then divided the work: Zhang Jianing washed the ingredients, Edward went to collect firewood, and Zhou Xin began to build a stove.

The stove is very simple to build. First, mix a pile of mud, and then use stones and mud to build a column-shaped structure that is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.

The columnar structure has an opening at the bottom on one side for adding firewood, and an opening near the top on the other side for smoke to escape.

Then put the pot on top, and the stove is finished.

After this period of learning, Zhang Jianing's cooking skills have improved.

She had previously made a promise to Zhou Xin that she would cook for him before she left.

She originally wanted to take full responsibility for the dinner, but considering that she was still a novice,

To ensure dinner was taken care of, she ultimately decided to cook two dishes herself, while Zhou Xin would take care of the rest.

She chose fried eggs and shredded pork with green peppers, two dishes that were relatively simple to make and that she was most confident in preparing.

It was her first time cooking, and she was using a traditional earthen stove that was completely different from the ones she had learned to cook with before, so she seemed a little flustered.

Fortunately, Zhou Xin was in charge of tending the fire, which helped him control the amount of fire.

And so, under Zhou Xin's watchful eye, she finally poured the beaten egg mixture into the pot.

swoosh-

Smoke rose and the aroma filled the air.

"Good. Fry until it's set before flipping it. You don't need to worry about the heat; I'll control it." Zhou Xin offered guidance from the side.

Zhang Jianing nodded, staring intently at the pan, afraid of burning it.

Seeing her adorable expression of being on high alert, Zhou Xin found it somewhat amusing.

In the end, the fried eggs turned out very well.

It was intact and not broken apart, with a slightly yellow and charred exterior, emitting an enticing aroma.

"Please try it for me!"

Zhang Jianing held a plate of eggs in one hand and used chopsticks to pick up a piece and feed it to him.

Zhou Xin opened his mouth to catch it and began to taste it.

Zhang Jianing looked at him nervously, afraid that he would say something that was too salty or tasteless.

"The taste is excellent; you're ready to graduate."

Hearing Zhou Xin's evaluation, Zhang Jianing's face was full of joy.

Encouraged, she continued to stir-fry shredded pork with green peppers, and it was still quite successful.

"Thank goodness we didn't waste any ingredients; pork is so expensive here!" She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, Zhou Xin continued to finish cooking the remaining dishes.

Braised pork belly, stewed beef brisket with tomatoes, pan-fried ribbonfish, Mapo tofu, and stir-fried watercress.

With the addition of the two dishes made by Zhang Jianing, there are a total of seven dishes for dinner tonight.

Zhou Xin moved the table to the open field outside the shed, planning to have a starry dinner.

"My goodness, dinner is so delicious tonight!" Edward exclaimed in amazement as he looked at the table laden with food.

Ingredients are already expensive in Western Australia, and the prices in the remote town of Kulgadi are even more outrageous.

The ingredients alone for this meal are estimated to be worth four or five hundred Australian dollars.

The three sat down around the table, where a sumptuous meal and bubbly ice-cold beer were laid out before them.

"Cheers!" Zhou Xin raised his bottle and spoke first.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

In the boundless wilderness, under a sky full of stars, the three of them ate and drank to their hearts' content.

……

At 10 p.m., the table was a mess, with bottles lying all over the place.

They emptied all the beer and got quite drunk.

Zhang Jianing, who doesn't usually drink much, drank two bottles of beer. Her cheeks were flushed, adding a touch of charm to her beautiful face.

They had already bought a new moon chair, and now the three of them lay side by side on the moon chair, looking up at the starry sky above.

"This was the happiest and most unforgettable holiday I've ever had, and also the happiest night I've had since leaving China."

"I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time. Even before coming to the United States, I rarely had such a relaxing moment."

As Zhou Xin thought about those unpleasant experiences, and the people and things that drove him to keep running forward, he felt a little emotional.

"Edward, how can I be as happy as you every day?" Zhang Jianing asked.

Edward, unusually, remained silent for a long time, until the two thought he had fallen asleep, before he slowly spoke.

"I used to think that people are born happy, but I later realized that staying happy is actually a very luxurious thing."

Zhou Xin and Zhang Jianing were both somewhat surprised to hear him say such serious words.

"So, you were just deliberately acting very happy?" Zhang Jianing continued to ask.

All three were drunk at this point, so they spoke much more casually.

"No, I really want to be happy every day because she once told me that seeing me happy makes her happy too."

"Her?" Zhang Jianing's gossipy instincts were piqued.

Zhou Xin also perked up his ears. He had previously suspected that Edward's occasional unusual behavior might be related to his previous girlfriend.

Now that Edward seems about to reveal his secret, they are naturally very curious.

Edward remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Her name is Sophia, and she was my ex-girlfriend."

"In the past?" Zhang Jianing asked, somewhat puzzled.

"She's dead," Edward said, his voice filled with sorrow.