I am a local in North America

Chapter 50 Running in both directions
The next morning.

Hangovers are always awful; it feels like a whole team of burly men in leather boots kicked a Super Bowl inside your head.

But his YouTube subscriber count skyrocketed to 29.2, and several mainstream media outlets gave Su Jierui free advertising, so he had to work overtime to edit new videos.

While the online buzz is still going strong, we need to release the second installment as soon as possible to continue attracting clicks and attention from other netizens.

My younger sister, Arou, had made breakfast. She carried a tray of congee, fried eggs, and milk to the study, and asked curiously:

"Brother, you didn't get back until after midnight last night? What were you doing?"

Su Jierui, his eyes fixed on the screen, replied:

"Thanks. It was just going to a bar with Tang Jie and the others. Including the tip, it cost about $300. I'm treating them to dinner again tonight. Are you coming?"

Arou decisively said:
"No way. Just listening to you talk about it, I can already picture you guys bragging. I saw your new video, and it seems to have a pretty high number of views. How much do you probably earn like that?"

Su Jierui pulled the tray in front of him and explained:

"You can see by clicking the 'Analytics' option in the YouTube backend. Last month, I earned a total of $3309 from ads and channel subscriptions. I'll withdraw that money to my bank account in a bit."

“When others place ads, I get 55% of the advertising revenue, and YouTube takes 45%. I didn’t post enough videos last month, so I’ll try to shoot more this month. With my current number of followers, I should be able to earn more.”

"Why don't you create an account too? Maybe someone needs house design and will contact you after watching your videos."

Arou was slightly tempted, but then she thought better of it and gave up, asking in return:
"What kind of videos can I shoot? I can't just keep my head down drawing all the time. Other interior designers can find more material more easily."

“Brother, if you buy the ranch, you’ll have so much more to film. I see a lot of farmers and ranchers sharing their daily lives on YouTube.”

"There's also a TV series called 'Yellowstone,' which tells the story of a super-large ranch where the rancher even owns his own helicopter just to easily patrol the area..."

In North America, farmers or ranchers are often considered middle-class or high-income earners, including some billionaires with assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars. They are landowners, not ranchers or farmers.

A small farm or ranch with convenient transportation, close to a metropolis, and its own luxury villas can even sell for hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Many wealthy people who are tired of living in the city dream of living a pastoral life, but unfortunately, the price of land is also very expensive.

Su Jierui temporarily put down his work and talked while eating:

"That's what I think too. It's such a big ranch, there's just so much footage to shoot. My requirements aren't high, I just need to spare some time to work on it occasionally, and be able to earn back my property taxes with my YouTube account..."

He just finished speaking.

The cell phone on the table suddenly rang urgently.

I picked up my phone and looked at it. On the screen, I saw the name of my agent, Ms. Ariel Connor.

Su Jierui had contacted her a few days ago. He took a deep breath, composed himself, and then answered the call:
"Hi, what's up?"

Agent Ariel Connor spoke with unusual enthusiasm, as if she had encountered some great joy, and asked:
“Mr. Su, is now a convenient time to talk? I am a real estate agent in charge of sales at the Beaver Ranch.”

"...Yes, I've added a name to the number."

Fearing that his strong desire to buy would be noticed, Su Jierui didn't dare to be too eager and asked in a calm tone.

He knew in his heart that no one had paid any attention to the advertisements that had been posted for so long, and even the billboards placed on the roadside had faded due to long-term exposure to wind and rain.

Having finally found a major client interested in the beaver ranch, Ariel Connor was afraid that Su Jerry would change his mind and run away, just like the previous potential buyers who had only inquired and then disappeared.

Even while she was vacationing with her husband in the Bahamas, she still made time to maintain relationships with clients, displaying a remarkably positive and enthusiastic attitude, saying with a smile:
"Mr. Su, I was wondering if the morning of January 5th would be convenient for you? The afternoon or any other time is also fine, whichever is convenient for you, I can accommodate you."

“We can schedule a time to visit the beaver ranch in person. The natural scenery there is amazing, with private beaches and snow-capped mountains within the national park. We’ve received a lot of inquiries, and many potential clients are interested in it.”

"You definitely don't want to miss it; ranches this large are extremely rare around Seattle..."

"..."

This sales pitch is so clichéd, it's like it was ripped straight from "The Wolf of Wall Street".

Su Jierui doesn't believe her at all. If there were really that many interested customers, why would the listing have been up for so long since last year?
It's been over a year and it still hasn't sold. This statement is hardly convincing.

In reality, even if real estate agents don't actively promote a property, people will naturally buy it if they can afford it. Now, with agents working on both sides, it's much easier and more convenient.

Frantically racking his brains, Su Jierui quickly organized his thoughts and continued in a calm tone, feigning indifference:
"Really? I don't necessarily need this ranch. I just unexpectedly received a large sum of money and plan to buy a suitable place to live. If the price is too high, then forget it."

Ms. Ariel Connor immediately panicked upon hearing this, thinking that "unexpectedly receiving a large sum of money" referred to inheriting a fortune or something similar, and quickly said with a smile:
"The original owner of Beaver Ranch was a well-known Seattle radio host who also wrote several best-selling books. In his later years, he had not lived there for many years because he had been living in a nursing home for a long time."

"The house lacks repair and maintenance, and the family members probably don't have a deep affection for this ranch. Now the beaver ranch has been inherited by the host's only daughter, who has long since moved to France."

"As far as I know, she hasn't paid the full estate tax yet and is in dire need of cash. You know, the federal tax authorities aren't as easy to talk to as I am, even though she's become a French citizen."

"So... based on my experience, Mr. Su, you should have the opportunity to acquire such a huge ranch at a very, very reasonable price."

"Its current owner is likely willing to lower the price somewhat. I'll inquire again in a few days. What price are you willing to pay for it?"

Su Jierui was still worried about saying the wrong thing and having his secrets revealed by the female agent.

After listening, he casually replied:
"Please ask around for me first and find out the lowest price. Let's meet on the 5th then, and make a decision after we've visited the site."

"I know too little about that ranch right now. The location seems a bit remote, and a lot of money will be needed for its later development."

“It’s a two-hour drive from Seattle. I just happened to see that ranch for sale, and I’m a little skeptical about whether my family can accept such a long distance…”

Living in the United States without a car is very inconvenient. In some small towns, it can take residents one or two hours to go to the supermarket and back.

Su Jierui mentioned the distance from Seattle only to lower the price; he didn't actually care about that.

Agent Ariel Connor chuckled awkwardly twice and quietly changed the subject, saying:
"It's alright, I have a few nice farms and estates that will be having an open house in Black Diamond City on January 6th. You're welcome to come. That small farm covers more than 330 acres and is mainly used for growing wheat. The scenery is also very beautiful..."

After agreeing on a date for the on-site visit to the beaver ranch, Su Jerry quickly hung up the phone. He was already thinking about how to raise funds and planned to call the "Living Alone in the Wilderness" program team in a few days to find out when the prize money would arrive.

Ah-rou listened from the side, blinked, pushed up her glasses with her finger, and asked:
"A real estate agent contacted you? Dude, are you sure you're not acting on impulse? It's a two-hour drive from home, and you're moving to such a far place?"

Su Jierui saw the worry in his sister's eyes, but the secret of the gold mine could not be revealed now. He only told Arou:
"Don't worry, I've done my research. That ranch has great potential. There are farms and ranches around Seattle, but they're expensive. This drive isn't too bad, unlike you going to university on the other side of the continental United States..."

Having arranged a meeting with the real estate agent, Su Jierui immediately felt a sense of urgency.

As early as the end of last year, shortly after the discovery of the gold mine at the beaver ranch, he had been doing his homework in private.

After researching, I learned that obtaining a permit to mine gold is an extremely complicated process involving approvals at the federal, state, and local levels, and it would definitely be necessary to hire professional lawyers and consultants for assistance.

In the United States, the cost of hiring lawyers and consultants is not low. More importantly, huge fees must be paid in advance to guarantee that the environment will be restored later. This environmental guarantee is often an astronomical figure.

In addition, there are various equipment needed for mining itself, from excavators and washing equipment to transport trucks, and the total amount of upfront expenses is expected to be several million dollars.

Even if everything goes smoothly, applying for a permit to legally mine gold can take anywhere from six months to one or two years, during which time there are many uncertainties.

He reviewed past cases and found several precedents of private farms or ranches attempting to mine gold. Some of them had been arguing with local officials for years because of environmental protection and other issues, and were unable to start mining for a long time.

Some landowners choose to sell their farms or ranches in bulk at high prices.

Those that eventually succeeded in mining gold mostly brought in external funding or partners because the initial costs of mining gold were too high for most people to afford.

The only saving grace is that, compared to the gold mines in Alaska, the gold deposits in Beaver Ranch are relatively shallow.

It belongs to placer gold deposits that are concentrated in ancient riverbeds, eliminating the need for crushing and grinding processes and producing no chemically polluting wastewater, which can greatly reduce upfront costs and approval procedures.

Besides, one could try to get a loan from a bank by using the gold mine as collateral. The trouble is that the official mining permits must be obtained first before the bank will be willing to lend money, which leads to a dead end.

Su Jerry had no clue about these things for the time being, but buying the beaver ranch as soon as possible was definitely the most important thing.

Even if we take a step back and announce the discovery of a gold mine, we could still make at least an eight-figure profit by selling it directly to a company with the capability to mine it.

There were bound to be minor annoyances, but overall it wasn't too worrying. Su Jierui quickly relaxed, finished breakfast, and continued editing videos...

(End of this chapter)