Gold Rush Starts in the Bering Sea

Chapter 76: Gold Rush Team Composition

As evening fell and the last rays of the sun faded, the mine returned to silence.

In the restaurant, Li Guoming and Xing Ronghua spared no effort in preparing their signature dishes, making everyone linger and want to return.

After a meal together, they became quite familiar with each other and chatted more or less.

When everyone had almost finished eating, Jason stood up, looked around, and smiled under everyone's gaze, "Everyone, although I already said it this morning, I'll say it again: welcome!"

"I believe you are already familiar with my mine. That's right, initially, due to manpower shortages, we could only mine gold during the day. Now that you've arrived, the mine will operate on a two-shift system, and you can discuss the day and night shifts."

"Andy, Swail, stand up first." After a confused Andy stood up, Jason introduced them: "This is Andy, he's on night duty; this is Swail, he's on day duty."

"Of course, the day shift and night shift will rotate every fifteen days, or half a month."

"Starting tomorrow, there will be a one-week adjustment period."

"Here, I allow everyone to make mistakes, as long as you don't repeat the same mistake next time."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you all work to earn money. I can guarantee that as long as the gold price reaches the expected level, I will give you three percent of the gold!"

"Wow, the boss is so generous!"

"Don't worry, boss, I'll definitely work hard!"

Everyone started talking at once, and the atmosphere instantly became lively.

Brent sat calmly in the crowd, a slight smile playing on his lips, silently calculating his salary, a sense of pride welling up within him.

Aside from him, Lillian, Albert, Ada, and Old Hart were pleased. In their view, a good team must have a good leader, and Jason was at least quite competent for now.

Jason pressed his hands down, and after everyone quieted down, he pointed at Swail and Andy and said, "Everyone, you can choose yourselves now."

As for whether it's the day shift or the night shift, Jason won't make a decision; he'll let Swail and Andy choose for themselves, trusting that the two of them can plan it out.

The mine currently has a large workforce, enough to operate in two shifts.

When they came to Australia, there were eight people in total: Lillian, Ellie, Albert, Old Hart, Young Hart, Brent, Andy, and Ada. Of course, Lillian and Ellie did not participate in the gold mining work.

After arriving in Australia, the group consisted first of Swail, then of the security team of three, including Kanos, then of four, including Raul, and two chefs, Li Guoming and Xing Ronghua, making a total of 10 people.

The newly hired employees are the father-son duo of Shure and Dana, both professional mechanics, and a team of eight operators, totaling 10 people.

Of course, there's also the team of three photographers led by Cass, and two more photographers who will be joining us in the future.

Currently, the entire mine has a total of 32 people, including himself. Excluding three people who don't work, two cooks, three photographers, and three maintenance team members, there are a total of 21 people who can actually participate in gold panning.

Ada moved over to Jason's side and patted him on the shoulder. "Jason, not bad, you're getting more and more like a boss."

Jason shrugged and said helplessly, "Still acting like the boss, bro? Have you even considered how much I spend every day?"

If it weren't for the 20 million USD base, the current expenses and expenditures would have bankrupted me long ago. Fortunately, the mine has now started to make a profit.

While the two were talking, the two groups had already been assigned. Albert and Ada were assigned to the day shift, while Old Hart and Brent were assigned to the night shift.

This outcome was the result of communication between Albert and Old Hart; after all, it's always more reliable to rely on one's own people.

"You two, your workload will increase starting tomorrow. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll take care of it," Jason said, looking at Xing Ronghua and Li Guoming, wanting to know their thoughts.

Li Guoming thumped his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, there are only so many people, the two of us are enough!"

Xing Ronghua looked around, did some silent calculations, and then said to Jason, "It's not a big problem, it just means the afternoon working hours will be a little longer. We'll make the necessary arrangements."

"Okay, just let us know if you have any questions," Jason reassured the two of them.

Swail and Andy each arranged their own time and gave each other instructions, making arrangements based on each person's strengths. Of course, they still needed to work things out.

After the others rested, Swail and Andy sat under the eaves, each with a bottle of beer and a cigar, chatting idly.

Swail teased, "Andy, how's it going? Feeling any pressure?"

Andy rolled his eyes and didn't respond. "Swell, I think we should check our schedule for tomorrow, just in case something goes wrong."

"Relax, don't put so much pressure on yourself. Besides, you're not the boss yet." Swail exhaled a puff of his cigar, appearing completely relaxed.

Andy took a sip of beer. Unlike Swail, he was under considerable pressure. First, he lacked experience in land-based gold mining. Second, he didn't have Swail's management experience. Most importantly, Jason's attack was completely unexpected, without any prior consultation with him.

Although he wasn't averse to being suddenly given responsibilities, he lacked confidence and was afraid of making a mistake.

"Alright, don't think too much about it. Just finish your drink and get some rest." Swail clinked his beer with Andy's, then downed it in one gulp.

Andy nodded without saying a word and downed his beer in one gulp.

The next morning, as the machines roared to life, Swell and his team had already begun their work.

Andy, with dark circles under his eyes, stood not far away, watching Swail's commands and silently memorizing them.

Andy wasn't young anymore, but she looked much younger next to Swail. Seeing the obvious dark circles under Andy's eyes, Swail beckoned, "Andy, come over here."

When Andy came to his side, before he could speak, Swail said directly, "What can you learn over there? Stay by my side and watch carefully. Ask me anytime if you don't understand anything."

"Thank you, Swail." Andy gave Swail a bear hug, then took the water glass from Swail's hand. "Here, here, let me have it. Grandpa, just call me when you're thirsty."

Throughout the morning, Andy steadfastly followed along, asking questions whenever he encountered something he didn't understand, and diligently absorbing all the precautions and knowledge.

"Andy, what's wrong with you..." During the meal, seeing Andy's bloodshot eyes but high spirits, she silently took a few steps back.

"Get lost, I didn't smoke any tobacco!"

Seeing Andy's increasingly noticeable dark circles, Swell said, "Andy, you need to rest. You'll be staying up late again tonight."

"I......."

Andy was about to refuse when Swail interrupted him, saying seriously, "Andy, let's take things one step at a time. Safety comes first. If you don't rest, I'll have to tell Jason."

Andy was reluctantly ushered into the room, and soon after, snoring began.

The new hires were all veterans in the gold mining industry. After a brief introduction, they quickly got the hang of things. Although there was a brief period of chaos, everything proceeded smoothly under Swail's direction.

Of course, the speed still hasn't picked up.

Hart, Shul, and Denner observed from the shade of a tree not far away, keeping a close eye on the walkie-talkie and the ore washing machine.

Little Hart, in particular, was much more relaxed at the moment. After learning that Shul and Denner were professional mechanics, he gave Jason a bear hug.

Who knows how he got through the past few days? It wasn't easy, it was so incredibly difficult!

What's even more remarkable is that Jason has agreed to his vacation request, and he will begin his vacation once the Shure father and son officially take over.

Time flies, and soon it was evening.

After having dinner and sleeping for a few hours, Andy and his team took over the work.

After finishing his meal, Swail took a bottle of beer and went to Andy's side, who was giving instructions.

Andy followed along, mimicking the instructions of the experienced gold miners. After a quick familiarization, they got the hang of it, which put Andy's mind at ease.

He understood his situation; his experience in land-based gold panning was nowhere near that of others, and his biggest advantage was simply that he had come from the Bering Sea with Jason. Therefore, he placed great emphasis on his trust in Jason.

Fortunately, progress is going smoothly so far.

Swell stood beside Andy, looking at the well-organized mine, patted Andy on the shoulder, and said, "Well done!"

Jason, the boss, was completely relaxed. After confirming that Andy was alright, he went straight back to his room to sleep.

At night, the machines roared, and the lights illuminated the work area as if it were daytime.

Thanks to the maintenance work done by Little Hart and Brent a couple of days ago, the equipment has been running smoothly since this morning, giving this gold rush a good start.