Gold Rush Starts in the Bering Sea

Chapter 47: A Strange Fate

In the end, Jason went in.

Although the old man had a bad temper, he made Jason feel much more relaxed.

"Go see for yourself. Also, don't mess with my equipment. The rest is up to you," Old Rido said, waving to Jason from a chair under a tree.

Looking at the mine, which was deserted except for the equipment and Old Rido, Jason asked in a low voice, "Um, I wanted to ask, is nobody here at the mine?"

Old Lido glared at Jason, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and exhaled through his nose. "If they can't find gold, they'll all run away," he said irritably. "Kid, you come from a family of gold prospectors, don't you understand this basic principle?"

Okay, Jason calmly shut up. This old man was like a powder keg, too irritating.

Jason activated his detection ability and began to wander around the mine, his expression growing increasingly strange with each passing day.

The surrounding mines were bustling with gold panning, but no gold could be found here. It was strange. Looking at the location dug by the excavator and the distribution and results of the gold detected by his own detection capabilities, he really didn't know what to say.

There's not just gold here, there's a lot of it!

But the old man missed the right spot, and the gold content at the excavation location was pitifully low.

Although his attitude was terrible, he wasn't a bad person at heart. As the first person to allow Jason to visit, Jason didn't mind giving him some pointers.

Reaching the tree and sitting down in a chair, Jason asked, "I'd like to ask, how long has it been since you've found any gold here?"

"It's been almost two months~" Old Lido said with a sigh.

Jason struggled to control his words, afraid the hot-tempered old man might suddenly explode: "Um, do you think it's possible you dug in the wrong place?"

"Kid, do you know what a topographic map is? Do you know the direction of an ancient riverbed? I dug in the wrong place." His professionalism was beyond question. As a veteran gold miner with many years of experience, it was hard for Lao Li to accept being questioned like this by a novice.

"Calm down, calm down."

Jason waved his hand and said, "Here's the deal: you dig at the location I specify. If you find gold, we split it 50/50. If you don't find gold, I'll cover your postage for today."

"Are you sure?" Old Lido asked with a strange expression.

Jason didn't waste any words, took out a 10,000-meter knife from his pocket, and placed it directly on the table.

"Fine!" Old Li slammed his hand on the table. "It'll be as you say. If we have gold, we'll split it in half. If we don't have gold, you'll have to pay for the fuel."

"Don't worry, I don't do business at a loss," Jason smiled confidently, weighing down the 10,000-meter knife with something and placing it quietly on the table.

Standing in an area rich in gold, Jason pointed to his feet and said, "Right here, dig down six meters, and you'll definitely find gold."

Old Li drove the excavator and dug down to the location Jason had specified. He didn't hold out much hope, but since Jason was there to back him up, it would be best if he found it, but it wouldn't matter if he didn't.

One shovelful after another of gold was dug out and then spread out on the ground.

Jason scanned the detector back and forth.

While the detector cannot detect some tiny gold particles, it can still accurately distinguish larger gold particles.

Jason's movements appeared casual, but his goal was clear: he activated his detection capabilities and headed straight for the gold that had been unearthed.

Old Lido shook his head helplessly. He had still held a sliver of hope, but Jason's actions shattered that hope.

"Beep beep beep beep"

The piercing warning sounded, and the strong reaction instantly jolted Old Lido, who was operating the excavator, into action.

Old Lido stopped the excavator and ran over quickly, staring intently at the location where the detector had sounded.

Picking up a clod of dirt from the soil and wiping away the dirt, a glimmer of golden light appeared before my eyes.

"Shit, shit, there really is gold!" Old Lido almost jumped up, not caring about being dirty, and started wiping himself with his clothes.

It's quite large, about the size of a fist, and very heavy.

"Kid, give me the detector, I'll do it." He could have just let it go if there was no gold, but now that such a large gold nugget had appeared, he didn't want to lose the gold because of Jason's detection method.

Jason was relaxed, while Old Lido excitedly shouted as gold nuggets of varying sizes were discovered.

After washing away the dirt with water, when the gleaming gold was placed on the table, Old Lido choked with emotion: "Found it! Finally found it! I knew there couldn't be no gold here."

Jason stuffed the 10,000-meter knife back into his pocket and joked, "Old Riddo, don't forget half of my gold!"

"No problem, half it is, I keep my word." After putting the gold into a box, Old Rido jumped back onto the excavator.

At that moment, he was bursting with boundless energy!

Jason helped with the detector. Although the larger pieces of gold couldn't escape his detection capabilities, Old Lido would still grab the detector and scan the ground again after each paving.

Although the result was the same, Old Rido still enjoyed it immensely.

It continued until after 4 p.m., when Jason, who was starving, stopped working: "Old Rido, that's enough, let's take a break. Also, do you have anything to eat? Give me some, I'm starving."

"Kid, don't forget you still have half the gold," he said, but Old Li was also starving, so he went back inside and started preparing food.

Cooking was simple: I just fried a few eggs, some bacon and onion rings, and then sandwiched them in bread—that was a meal.

"Kid, how about working with me? You've seen it yourself, there's plenty of gold in my mine," Old Rido invited, placing a plate in front of Jason.

"Old Lido, don't forget, I was a gold prospector too," Jason mumbled between bites.

Old Li was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said with a pained expression, "Kid, the conditions remain the same, I'll still give you half the gold."

"You're so willing to part with it?" Jason was somewhat surprised, looking at Old Rido with astonishment.

"I couldn't find gold without you. You may not know, but if I don't make any money in a little over a month, I'll go bankrupt. So, there's nothing I'm reluctant to part with." He thought he was just being kind, but he never expected that it would change his financial crisis.

He acknowledged Jason's abilities, and although it hurt his wallet, he was willing to pay half as long as they could find more gold!

Jason shook his head and offered his suggestion: "Forget it, Old Rido. I don't want today's gold. Tell me about the gold panning situation in this area."

Old Lido fell into his memories and began to speak slowly.

"Victoria, you know?"

"It cannot be denied that there is indeed a lot of gold here, which is why it is known as the Golden Triangle."

"It has a great reputation and attracts many people. Many gold prospectors come here to pan for gold. Although there is still a lot of gold, large gold nuggets are very rare."

"Hey kid, let me give you a piece of advice: this place is really unfriendly to newbies."

"The best choice for beginners is Western Australia, where there is plenty of land and a small population, so the competition is not so fierce and it is easier to obtain mines."

Old Lido ate and talked, and offered advice to Jason.

"Old Lido, if, I mean if, you had twenty million US dollars, could you buy a mine here?" Jason wasn't afraid of fierce competition, as long as he could find a suitable location.

"Are you out of your mind? There are so many good things to do with that money, why are you thinking about panning for gold?" Old Li looked at Jason like he was an idiot, completely baffled by Jason's thought process.

Jason continued, "What if we continue panning for gold? Are there any suitable mines nearby?"

"Yes, I do. Twenty million isn't a small sum; I can definitely buy it," Old Rido said, his eyes growing increasingly strange as he stared at Jason with a peculiar look. "You're not going to tell me you have twenty million, are you?!"

Jason told a little white lie, shrugging, "No, I don't have that, but my family does, and we've always been in the gold mining business. We don't know anything else."

"Young man," Old Li said with a serious expression, "There isn't just one path in life. Gold mining is too uncertain. If you do it well, you can make money; if you do it poorly, you can lose everything."

This is advice, and also a lifetime of life experience.

The camera quietly recorded this scene.

Jason laughed, a hearty laugh, and patted Old Rido on the shoulder, saying, "Old Rido, thank you for your advice and suggestions."

"However, I will not fail!"

Jason didn't say this aloud; it would be too arrogant. He might have the ability to detect gold, but others didn't know that.

As the two chatted, Old Rido, who had been in the gold mining industry for a long time, had a deeper understanding of the current gold mining industry than Ronaldo and Swail, and his analysis for Jason was more targeted.

As the sun sets and its orange afterglow falls, it's time to say goodbye.

In just a few hours, the two formed a friendship and exchanged contact information.

"Hey kid," Old Lido's words made Jason roll down the car window. Before Jason could ask what was going on, a small cloth bag was thrown in.

"If you only say half, then you mean half. I, Old Rido, keep my word." Before Jason could throw it back, Old Rido turned and left.

It's truly amazing.

He was the one who pointed a gun at Jason, he was the one who allowed Jason to visit, and now he's the one giving Jason the gold.

Fate is always so unpredictable.