Gold Rush Starts in the Bering Sea

Chapter 12: The Division of Half

"Mom, are there any job seekers in town lately?" Jason asked.

As soon as he said it, Brent, who was standing to the side, immediately perked up his ears.

"Yes, a small gold-digging boat capsized in the Bering Sea, and the crew members are still unemployed," Lillian pondered.

"How is he?"

"He's alright, he just likes to drink a lot, but otherwise he doesn't have any problems."

"You like to drink, huh?" Jason hesitated.

Lillian explained, "It's nothing serious, and the boat was capsized by an inexperienced novice; it has nothing to do with the person I'm talking about."

"I see," Jason nodded.

Brent, feeling uneasy, hesitated and asked Jason, "Did I do something wrong?"

Jason's words made Brent, who had been looking forward to a share of the profits, uneasy. They had worked together quite well at sea, and he hadn't noticed anything Jason was unhappy about. Why was he suddenly going to replace him?!

"Brent, there are only the two of us on the ship, and the work is too tiring," Jason explained.

"Besides, I'm the boss. I can't always be the one going out to sea to pan for gold," Jason said, shrugging his shoulders with a self-righteous air.

"That's true, Jason. As long as you don't fire me, you can hire anyone you want."

Brent said he didn't care as long as he wasn't fired. As for bringing in new crew members, he said he understood, since his so-called gold-digging experience had proven useless in front of Jason during his time on the ship.

Lillian, on the other hand, began to look at her son with new respect.

The results of this recruitment are still unknown, but they seem substantial. She did not comment much on the recruitment of new employees.

The car drove to the separation warehouse, and Jason and Brent unloaded the plastic barrels.

Sitting in front of the separation equipment, Jason instructed, "Brent, clean up those felt blankets; I'll separate these first."

"Mom, could you please prepare some food for us?"

"No problem, I'll bring it over to you in a bit."

Lillian was somewhat worried about Jason's decision to separate the gold, but she didn't show it.

No one is born knowing how; you can only do it by trying.

Moreover, the technology involved isn't that advanced.

As the separation equipment was started, the gold, which was originally mixed with black impurities, became purer, and the dazzling gold shone brightly under the light.

"Jason, it needs to be separated three times, and don't throw away the tailings from the separation."

Lillian, who was placing the food on the table, reminded him, "There's a fair amount of gold in these tailings, and some of the more valuable metals aren't cheaper than gold."

After separating out a portion of the gold, Brent took over the drying process.

Jason picked up a simple hot dog and ate it while looking around. Separation work didn't need to be rushed; it was a meticulous and patient task.

Lillian then sat down in front of the separation equipment and began the separation work in Jason's place.

The separation process took a total of two hours and twenty-three minutes to complete!

"Jason, this time it's definitely more than last time!" Brent was already excited even before the weight was weighed.

Despite her extensive experience and considerable knowledge, Lillian, standing to the side, was still captivated by the sheer amount of gold before her.

As the numbers on the scale kept changing, the final result was revealed: a total of 429 ounces of gold!

Including this gold harvest, Jason has harvested 759.2 ounces throughout the gold rush season.

In 2005, the overall price of gold was between 440 and 500 US dollars. Even at the lowest price, Jason earned more than 300,000 US dollars from these two voyages.

If this gold were stored for ten years, it could easily double in value.

In general, gold, as a strong currency, will continue to appreciate over the next decade or so!

"Brent, this is for you," he said, handing a 4.3-ounce jar of gold to Brent, who was already rubbing his hands excitedly to the side.

Jason couldn't help but laugh when he saw such an expression on the face of a burly man who was 1.9 meters tall.

"Brent, you can get some rest. We'll be on shore for two days this time," Jason told Brent.

"No problem, boss."

"Boss, I'll be going now if there's nothing else."

Brent gave Jason a strange salute, then carefully put away the gold and eagerly dashed out.

"Jason, would you like to learn how to smelt gold?" Lillian asked, looking at the gold that had already been packed.

Jason looked both amused and exasperated: "Mother, I just want to rest now."

The two chatted as they returned home, Jason joining in on his sister Ellie's chatter.

After taking a good shower, Jason returned to his room and fell asleep immediately!

Jason slept until dark, then got out of bed.

I found some fast food in the refrigerator and ate some to tide me over.

Although it was already dark, sounds could still be heard from outside the town from time to time.

The joy of the harvest permeated the entire town.

Back in his room, Jason took another nap, only to be woken up early the next morning by the noise from the house.

"Haha, Jason really helped a lot this time."

Lillian and Ada, who were standing nearby, couldn't help but shake their heads at Albert's words.

"Dad, I'm home, you should be more careful," Jason said, coming downstairs with a speechless expression.

"And, how about you consider giving me a share of the profits? After all, I'm the one who found the location."

Jason's teasing remark immediately silenced Albert's laughter, while Ada and Lillian burst out laughing.

"Divide, divide, divide"

Ellie, Ellie's younger sister, cheered her on from the sidelines.

"Kid, there's no way I'm going to split the profits. I'm the one who dug up the gold, and the mine is mine too, so there's no profit sharing."

Are you sure?

"certainly!"

Albert responded firmly to Jason's teasing.

Jason shrugged, his tone helpless: "Fine then. I was originally planning to let you mine some of the areas I'd scouted, but since you're not going to give me a share, forget it."

"Stop talking nonsense, you brat," Albert said irritably.

Albert, of course, didn't believe Jason's claim. He had been panning for gold in the Bering Sea since he was a child, so why would he listen to Jason, a complete novice?

"Never mind then, I'll just mine gold myself when I have my own gold-digging ship in the future," Jason said nonchalantly.

Seeing that her father was about to say something more, Ada quickly stopped him: "Jason, are you serious?!"

Jason affirmed, "Of course, if using the gold-absorbing ship weren't so expensive and time-consuming, I would have mined it myself."

How much do you want?

Anyway, the area is almost completely dug up, so why not give it a try?

"Twenty percent!" Jason held up two fingers in a peace sign, but what he said made Albert explode.

"You brat, twenty percent, do you even know what that means?"

"The rent for my mining area is only 15% at most, and you're asking for 20% out of thin air!" "And besides, this is my mining area, why should I pay you a cut?!"

Albert picked at his ear, his face full of disbelief.

"Yes, it's 20%, not a penny less. I can guarantee that if we don't find gold at the location I provide, I won't take a single penny," Jason assured him.

"Yes!" Ada on the side made the decision immediately.

Albert stared wide-eyed at Ada, clearly not expecting that it was his own eldest son who had betrayed him.

"wait for me"

Jason ran straight upstairs and came down with a notebook and nautical chart in his hand.

Amid Albert's grumbling and discontent, Jason spread the nautical chart on the table, opened his notebook, and pointed to the marked coordinates on the chart.

"Here, at a depth of nine meters, there's a considerable amount of gold about fifty centimeters down."

"Here, the depth is six meters, and there's a lot of loose rock, so be careful when digging."

"Here, and here..."

As he watched Jason pointing and gesturing on the nautical chart, Albert turned his gaze to Jason, scrutinizing him from head to toe with a look of confusion in his eyes.

"Jason, how did you know?" Albert frowned, his face full of disbelief.

Why is gold panning in the Bering Sea so difficult? It's because we don't know what's on the seabed. Now, someone is confidently saying there's gold here, especially since this person is his own son, a complete novice!

"You all know my reputation in the Bering Sea. Do you think I'd be so bored as to go diving here?" Jason said irritably.

I can't talk about my own abilities, but this reason can be used to explain it, though it's a bit far-fetched.

Jason and Albert locked eyes, neither showing any fear, but in the end Albert was the one who gave in.

Albert chuckled, "Fine, next time we go out to sea, we'll do it your way. I want to see if you can actually find gold while diving."

Jason was a little suspicious at the sudden question: "You're not going to embezzle my share of the profits, are you?"

"Am I that kind of person?!" Albert jumped up in anger.