pjbooks Chapter 78: Corinna's Arrival
Chapter 78: Corinna's Arrival
I woke up feeling refreshed and energized.
After washing up, while Jason was having breakfast, Dolino's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Boss, two vehicles are heading into the mine, carrying four photographers, a woman named Corinna, and a man named Eric."
Jason, holding the walkie-talkie, replied, "Let them in."
Soon, the two cars stopped one after the other in the parking spaces of the residential area.
"Hi Jason, long time no see!" Corinna greeted Jason as soon as she got out of the car. He was eating.
Eric got out of the car and greeted Jason, saying, "Jason, long time no see."
Jason waved and replied, "Long time no see, Corinna, Eric."
The two approached Jason. Corinna, being very outgoing, plopped down on the stool next to him, while Eric seemed a little reserved, his eyes unconsciously drifting towards the distant mine where mining was underway.
One choice led to regret that I still have now.
Eric looked at Jason's business, which was growing bigger and bigger, and Brent, who was always by Jason's side and doing better and better, with envy in his eyes.
"Jason, I can't believe you've become a mine owner in just two months," Corinna said, her voice filled with a mixture of emotion and amazement.
"It's alright, the mine isn't that big," Jason replied casually, sipping his coffee, but it felt like a thousand arrows pierced Corinna and Eric's hearts.
"Damn rich people!" Corinna gritted her teeth, making a crunching sound.
Jason asked, "Let's not talk about that. By the way, what are you guys doing here?"
Corinna glanced at the cameraman, moved closer to Jason, covered her mouth, and whispered, "There's not much gold to be found in the Bering Sea these days. The production team let us come here because we knew each other from the beginning, just to add some buzz to their show."
The reasons were valid, but Jason didn't quite believe them.
Although he hadn't known Corinna for long, she was definitely not someone who would give up easily, especially now that she was in debt. He didn't believe Corinna would come here if there wasn't something in it for her.
Jason asked meaningfully, "How much money did you receive?"
Corinna chuckled, secretly holding up one finger to Jason, and whispered, "Ten thousand US dollars, round-trip fare covered."
Jason suddenly realized.
"How's it going on the Bering Sea now?"
When Jason suddenly changed the subject, especially to the Bering Sea, Corinna looked at him strangely, causing Jason to shift involuntarily.
"What kind of look is that? Is there something on my face?" she said, wiping her face with her hand.
Corinna said in a low voice, "Jason, you grew up in the Bering Sea, don't you know what the situation is like there?"
Jason shrugged: "I grew up in the Bering Sea, but I've never been interested in gold panning."
Corinna almost cursed at Jason after hearing this. He wasn't interested in gold mining? Then whose mine was this? And who was making a fortune in the Bering Sea?!
Corinna rolled her eyes and moved further away from Jason, looking disgusted.
"Jason, I advise you to shut up, or I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back and hit you."
Jason simply shrugged, seemingly unfazed.
After a long silence, Corinna suddenly exclaimed, "Jason, I really envy you!"
Jason, who disliked gold panning since childhood, found more gold in the Bering Sea in just one gold rush season than many people could find in a lifetime, and now he owns his own gold mine in Australia.
As for myself, I've been panning for gold for years, and I'm still drowning in debt.
The contrast between the two made Corinna feel increasingly uneasy.
Jason leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms behind his head, and said in a flat tone, "What's there to envy? I don't know when I'll ever get my money back from what I've invested."
"Jason, do you know that the way you are makes me want to hit you?" Corinna couldn't help but clench her fists.
Although she knew Jason was telling the truth, Corinna was still devastated by his nonchalant attitude; it was too Versailles!
Jason made a zipping motion with his right hand, "Okay, okay, I won't say anything more."
"Alright, I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm going to check out your mine."
Corinna walked ahead while the photographer followed behind, but after doing this so many times, Corinna had clearly become desensitized.
Excavators dig, transport vehicles transport, and ore washing machines wash the materials.
Water from a nearby source is continuously pumped to the ore washing machine. Under high-pressure nozzles, the gold-rich soil is separated and, under the influence of gravity, is trapped in the gold slugging trough.
Everything proceeded smoothly, and the entire mine operated like a tightly wound gear.
"That's truly amazing!"
Corinna brushed aside her wind-blown hair and looked at the mine before her, unable to help but exclaim in amazement.
What she saw was too shocking for Corinna, who had been making money in the Bering Sea. After all, she had only ever encountered small machines, let alone this huge ore washing machine in front of her. The two were not even in the same league.
Corinna turned her head and asked, "Eric, how do you feel?"
Eric slowly uttered two words: "Shocking."
Although I had been in contact with Brent and knew that Jason had set up a large operation, I was still quite shocked when I actually saw it.
"Do you regret it?" Corinna suddenly asked, causing Eric to give a bitter smile.
How could he not regret it? He had thought more than once that if he had switched places with Brent, would his situation be much better now?
"Don't worry, we'll have that in the future!" Corinna patted Eric on the shoulder, her eyes fixed on the mine, her face resolute.
Eric smiled wryly and did not answer.
They watched the mining area where they worked for a long time, until the sun was high in the sky, before reluctantly leaving.
"Corinna, Eric, what brings you here!" Brent, who had gotten up to pee, saw the two of them, rubbed his eyes, and after confirming that he wasn't dreaming, looked on incredulously.
"I arrived this morning," Eric said with a hug and a smile.
After loosening his grip, Brent lightly punched Eric and complained, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"No," Eric smiled. "I was just thinking of giving you a surprise."
"How long do you plan to stay?" Having come from the same place and panning for gold together in the Bering Sea, even though they're not together anymore, the friendship remains. Brent was still very excited to see him again.
Eric smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's not certain yet. I guess I'll be going back in a while."
"Brent," Corinna called out, looking Brent up and down, and clicked her tongue, "Looks like you've been doing quite well lately."
Brent scratched the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly, "Haha, not bad, not bad."
As they walked and talked, Eric and Corinna settled down at the mine, led by Brent.
At lunchtime, there were only a few people, including a few photographers, the newly arrived Eric and Corinna, Jason, Lillian, and Ellie.
The people on the night shift were sleeping; even Brent kept yawning and was persuaded to go back inside by Eric and Corinna.
Those on the day shift would take pre-packaged fast food and eat it quickly while operating the equipment.
"Jason, as far as I know, you're the first person from the Bering Sea gold rush to own a mine here in Australia," Corinna said between bites, then suddenly asked curiously, "How's the harvest from your mine going?"
In her view, with so many people and equipment, plus 24-hour digging, the harvest would be considerable!
"The first wash yielded over 260 ounces, and the second wash yielded over 450 ounces."
Jason didn't mind and directly told her the results of the two washings. After all, the cameraman was filming, and she would know when the show aired.
"Fu**!" Corinna completely broke down.
I knew Jason would gain a lot, but I didn't expect it to be this much.
She had worked herself to the bone to pan for gold and ended up with a mountain of debt, while Jason's mere week's earnings were equivalent to her entire year's earnings.
Seeing Jason's nonchalant attitude, if Corinna weren't so good-natured, she would have grabbed Jason by the collar and shaken him violently from side to side.
Eric, standing to the side, also gaped in astonishment.
The difference is just too great.
They ate and chatted, and when they talked about some interesting stories about gold panning in the Bering Sea, everyone laughed, which added a lot of fun to the show.