pjbooks Chapter 100: Visiting Neighbor Old Bourne
Chapter 100: Visiting Neighbor Old Bourne
Jason was able to relax at the mine.
I wake up around 10 a.m. every day, wash up, eat at the restaurant, and then wander around aimlessly.
Sometimes I would quietly watch everyone work from the shade of the mine.
Sometimes they patrol in cars with security personnel.
But most of the time he stays indoors, occasionally reading books and looking through documents.
Jason has been back for five days now and has finally had a full rest.
Sipping a cold drink, with mosquito repellent incense burning beside me, I crossed my legs and swayed back and forth in the rocking chair.
While Swail rested, Jason came to his side, handed him a cold drink, and asked, "Swiel, you're quite well-informed, do you know of any mines nearby that are for sale?"
Sipping his cold drink, Swail looked at Jason in surprise and said, "Jason, you're not going to buy another mine, are you?!"
Jason nodded and replied, "This mine is quite stable now, and I also have some money on hand, so I'd like to buy another mine."
These words left Swil speechless.
He's spent his whole life struggling in the gold rush industry, and he's still working odd jobs now.
Others, who have only recently come of age, are already satisfied with a gold mine.
The more Swell thought about it, the more heartbroken he felt.
After taking a sip of his cold drink, Swail pondered for a moment and said, "Boss, I'm not really sure either, but you can ask around. However, I still suggest you finish mining at your current mine before making any purchases."
"I'll figure it out myself," Jason said, his head throbbing, but he quickly remembered his neighbor, old man Bourne.
As for Swell's suggestion to buy the mine after mining is complete, that was not part of Jason's plan at all.
It's 2006 now, and the price of gold is only $520 per ounce, which many people consider very high.
But Jason knows that the current price is far from its peak, and that the price of gold will continue to rise for at least the next decade or so.
Taking advantage of this time, Jason decided to carefully look for a mining farm again, because after a while, the price of buying a mining farm would not be so low.
After lunch and a short nap, Jason grabbed two bottles of wine and two boxes of cigars and headed straight for the Bourne Mine.
After a bumpy ride that kicked up a cloud of dust across the wilderness, Jason arrived at the Bourne Mine.
"Hey, are you sleeping?" A drowsy voice came from the phone.
Jason said enthusiastically, "I'm Jason, your neighbor, do you remember me?"
Byrne asked, puzzled, "Oh, why are you calling me?"
"I need to talk to you about something. I'm right at the door. Tell them quickly, I don't want any misunderstandings." He didn't dare to just walk in, lest he be mistaken for someone who steals gold and cause trouble.
"Okay, I got it. I'll have someone come pick you up in a bit."
After saying that, the call was hung up without waiting for Jason's response.
In just over ten minutes, a car drove out of the mine, executed a beautiful drift, kicked up a cloud of dust, and came to a steady stop in front of Jason.
Byrne opened the car door and got to Jason's side, his face grim. "Kid, what are you doing here in this sweltering heat instead of staying at your mine?"
"Let me go in first, it's too hot outside," he said, handing her a cigar.
Let's go.
The two vehicles, one after the other, drove into the mine.
At this moment, the mine had ceased operations, and the scorching weather relentlessly baked everything in front of it.
Upon entering the room, the cool air from the air conditioner dispelled the heat from Jason's body, causing him to let out a long sigh of relief.
"Here, I brought you some good cigarettes and wine especially for you," he said, placing the cigars and wine directly on the table.
He took a puff of his newly lit cigar, glanced at the cigarettes and alcohol Jason had brought on the table, and frowned, saying, "Speak, what do you want from me? Make it clear first, don't blame me if you can't do it."
Jason pulled a cigar from the box, cut it open, lit it, and said with a smile, "It's nothing, I just wanted to ask if you know of any mines nearby that are for sale."
Bourne looked Jason up and down with a strange expression.
After a long pause, Bourne asked, "You're quite the spendthrift, aren't you?"
"Not bad," Jason said with an embarrassed smile. "I have some money on hand."
Flicked his cigar, scattering ash into the ashtray, and said, "You're nothing like a young man. If I had that much money, I'd be out having a good time by now."
"Then how about you sell the mine to me?" Jason pressed on, probing the question.
Byrne snapped, "Get lost! My mine isn't for sale, don't even think about it!"
"But you just bought Nobel's mine, how come you're already thinking about buying other mines so soon?" Byrne asked, smoking a cigarette.
Jason chuckled. "I have some money on hand. Instead of wasting it, I'd rather invest it in a mine. Besides, the price of gold isn't high right now, so buying a mine won't lose me anything."
"Old Bourne, after saying all this, do you know if anyone nearby wants to sell their mine or not?" Jason looked at Bourne with a face full of question marks, which made Bourne laugh instantly.
Flicked his cigarette ash and said mysteriously, "Guess."
Jason's eyes twitched violently at those words.
He never expected that Bourne would actually say those two words.
Jason finally understood the origin of the phrase "old child, old child."
Jason patiently said, "Old Bourne, I guess 'knows'."
Byrne stopped teasing Jason and said with a smile, "Yes, there are indeed people nearby who want to sell their mines, but the price won't be too low, considering the current price of gold."
Upon hearing this, Jason immediately rushed to Bourne's side, grabbed his shoulder, and said obsequiously, "Thank you, sir. When will you introduce me to someone? I'd like to go and check it out."
Seeing Jason's face change so quickly, Bourne was amused: "Your face changes really fast, kid."
"Look at what you're saying, what do you mean by changing your face? This is respect and admiration." As he spoke, he continued to move his hands.
Jason didn't care about any of that. Swail was unreliable; now only Bourne was left.
Besides, saying a few more words won't hurt anything, as long as we get the result.
"Stop, stop, stop! You little brat, stop pressing me! My old bones can't take this much pressure!" He said, shaking his shoulders and freeing himself from Jason's grasp.
Rubbing his shoulder, Byrne said irritably, "How come you're so strong? You've almost dislocated my shoulder."
"Hehe," Jason grinned. "I just noticed you work a lot, so I applied a little more pressure. Or, could I use a lighter touch?"
Seeing Jason about to reach out again, Byrne quickly dodged and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, alright, I'm afraid you'll press it down. Let me tell you about the mine first."
"This mine isn't far from yours. It belongs to the Enks family. It stopped mining last December. The only problem is that they asked for too high a price; otherwise, I would have bought it long ago."
Jason, sitting opposite him, asked in confusion, "Hey, old Bourne, could you tell me about this mine?"
"Hmph~" Bourne exhaled a puff of smoke, snorted coldly, and said with exasperation, "It's all because old Enx passed away. The lower-ups don't want to mine gold anymore. If you ask me, they should have sold it to me when old Enx was alive, so it wouldn't have been left to these spendthrift sons!"
Jason asked in surprise, "Not a single one has been harvested?"
Byrne sighed, "All four children are vying for the inheritance. One wants to mine it, but the other three disagree. That's why we're at an impasse."
If you want to sell, then it's just a matter of price.
Jason asked, "How much did they ask for?"
"Four million US dollars"
"How much? Four million US dollars?!" Jason's voice changed. "No, what mine costs four million US dollars?!"
You have to know that your current mine only has 2.5 million US dollars, but this guy is talking about 4 million US dollars. How big and good must that mine be!
"Is their mine very big? Does it produce a lot of gold?" Jason asked uncertainly.
"If the land yielded a lot of gold, it wouldn't be your turn; it would have been bought up long ago."
Byrne gave Jason a look that said, "Are you stupid?" and retorted, "They're asking for four million US dollars so they can split the money better. It's negotiable, but unlikely. Those spendthrifts aren't going to be willing to give up their money."
Jason stroked his chin. Five thousand acres of land didn't yield much gold, but it was still a lot of money, so it didn't mean much to him.
However, we still need to investigate further before making a decision.
"Grandpa, when do you have time to take me to check it out?" Jason decided to go and see the mine, since it wasn't far away.
Bourne, puffing on his cigarette, said with a sly look in his eyes, "You're pretty rich, aren't you?"
"Not bad, not bad."
Jason's humble demeanor left Bourne speechless.
After thinking for a moment and calculating his time, Byrne said, "Tomorrow, come to my mine, and we'll go take a look then."
"No problem, I'll wait for your news, sir."
He stood up and said with a smile, "Then I'll head back first, so I won't disturb your rest any longer."
"Get lost, I'm about to start work, I don't have time to entertain you."
"Okay, I'm off then. See you tomorrow."
Jason waved goodbye to Bourne.
After receiving the good news from Bourne, Jason left satisfied.
In the evening, Jason was drinking beer and chatting with Little Hart and the others when Albert waved him over.
Albert asked curiously, "How's it going? Any news from the mine?"
Jason rolled his eyes, thinking something serious had happened, and said speechlessly, "I was only out for two or three hours, and I didn't even get to check out the mine."
"You have a goal?"
Jason nodded and replied, "Yes, it's not far from this mine, but it's a bit expensive, four million US dollars."
Albert gasped, his face filled with disbelief, and exclaimed, "So expensive?!"
Shrugging, Jason said nonchalantly, "Let's see. If the mine is good, we'll take it; if not, we won't. What's the big deal?"
Seeing Jason's expression, Albert said seriously, "Do a thorough investigation. If it doesn't work, have a prospecting company do some more. Four million is no small sum; we must be extremely cautious."
Jason smiled confidently and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I definitely won't suffer any losses."
Just kidding, I only recently upgraded my abilities, how could I possibly suffer a loss!
Cass, carrying a camera, rushed over, his eyes shining, and said, "Jason, when are you going to do the scouting? I'll go with you then."
Jason has had very few appearances lately, and now that he's finally not lying down, he's not going to miss this opportunity.
"Tomorrow, wait for my notification tomorrow."