Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 105 The Final Sprint

"Don't mention it, we're friends now. The people here are the most helpful to their friends," Evans said with a smile to Zhou Xin.

Zhou Xin felt a surge of emotion. These indigenous people, living a primitive life, were indeed much more pure and sincere than people in the civilized world.

The two agreed that after Zhou Xin finished his gold panning work, he would bring the gold here, and he would send someone to help him transport the gold out of the jungle from Gaia.

Zhou Xin's request to go along was not because he distrusted the natives, but because he was concerned about the follow-up support.

They lack communication tools and are unfamiliar with the situation in Suriname or Brazil. If they don't go along, it will be a huge problem to provide support later.

Of course, during this process, Zhou Xin needed to dress himself up as an indigenous person.

Fortunately, after the intense sun exposure in Western Australia, his skin has now turned bronze, so he won't be easily detected when disguised as an indigenous person.

After agreeing on the terms, Zhou Xin did not accept Evans' invitation to stay for a few days, but instead set off directly back to the gold mining factory.

To avoid any unforeseen complications and attracting the attention of local officials, he needed to speed things up and finish the gold panning work as soon as possible.

In the days that followed, Zhou Xin did nothing else but spend all his time panning for gold with Edward and the others, except for searching for food.

In order to meet the deadline, they would even work for several more hours at night using the lights, and only stop to rest after nine o'clock.

With such a tight work schedule, the progress has indeed accelerated a lot, and the daily gains have also increased considerably.

At their peak, they could harvest more than 20 ounces of gold a day.

As progress accelerated, their harvest began to decline sharply after more than ten days, indicating that the gold at this mine was nearing depletion.

At this point, their harvest had reached 1168.6 ounces, just 31.4 ounces short of their target of 1120 ounces.

However, due to the depletion of gold at this mine, this goal seems to have become increasingly unlikely.

"Why, why is it always just a little short?" Edward asked, somewhat frustrated.

Previously in Western Australia, they also fell short of their goal and did not achieve it.

I never imagined that the same thing would happen again.

Although this harvest is already quite considerable, even large mines may not be able to harvest more than a thousand ounces of gold in about four months.

Zhou Xin looked at the numbers on the scale and was somewhat dissatisfied.

Having gone through so many hardships, he wanted to make the ending even more perfect.

However, based on the remaining reserves at this mining site, the maximum yield is less than 20 ounces, and the remaining shortfall seems impossible to make up.

Just when all three thought things would end with such an imperfect number, Zhou Xin suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

Yes, there's another place where you can harvest gold!

Dreamy Creek!

He had previously discovered a lot of gold deposits in the sand along Dream Creek, and he even panned for some gold there.

Later, due to the sudden appearance of the indigenous people, the matter was put on hold.

Although the soil there is limited, it is extremely rich in gold. If all the gold there were panned out, it might be enough to make 1200 ounces!

Zhou Xin thought about it more and more and felt it was very likely, so he told Edward and the other man about it, and the two of them were naturally very happy.

"Next, one person will stay here to continue operating the gold panning factory, while the other will come with me to Dream Creek to pan for gold."

At this point, he patted the two men on the shoulders and shouted, "This is our final sprint, for our goal!"

The two nodded in unison.

The next day, Zhou Xin took A Luo to Dream Creek.

Edward staying at the gold mining factory ensures the machinery operates smoothly and can handle any emergencies.

Zhou Xin led A Luo to Dream Creek, and after finding a gold deposit, he began to teach A Luo how to pan for gold using a gold pan.

Alo quickly mastered the gold panning technique, and the two began to squat by the stream and wash the gold.

To make the most of their time, they started working at almost six in the morning and continued until nightfall.

When they were hungry, they would nibble on some dried meat and palm hearts; when they were thirsty, they would drink a few mouthfuls of boiled stream water.

In the evening, we simply set up camp and rested by the stream.

Often at the end of the day, I'm so tired that I can't even straighten my back.

However, their achievements are also remarkable.

The two of them could harvest about two to three pans of gold a day.

Six days later, Zhou Xin looked at the gold particles in the glass jar. Even without a scale, he knew that his goal would definitely be achieved.

Zhou Xin didn't linger any longer and returned directly to the camp with A Luo.

Although the gold mining factory's harvest has decreased sharply in the past few days, it is still able to harvest a few ounces each day.

Edward looked on with anticipation as the two returned.

"So, did you find the gold?"

Zhou Xin smiled and took out the jar containing the gold, shaking it.

"Great! It seems we've achieved our goal!"

The three returned to the treehouse, gathered all the gold, and began to examine their final harvest.

Looking at the mountain of gold piled up on the scale, the three of them couldn't contain their excitement.

As the last bit of gold was poured into the scale, the three of them nervously looked at the display screen.

1204.2 ounces!

This is the culmination of their gold rush in the South American rainforest!

Zhou Xin's goal was perfectly achieved with a weight accurate to the single digit.

"Yay!" Edward raised his hands and cheered loudly.

Even the taciturn Alo grinned.

"Thank you all for your hard work. I hereby announce that this gold panning operation has been successfully completed!"

Edward and Alo's work was indeed finished, but his own work was far from over.

Next, he told the two about the tax increase and his plan to use the natives to transport the gold out of the country.

"This, this seems a bit too dangerous."

Edward immediately sensed the danger involved.

Putting aside the difficulty of traveling through the jungle, the very act of disguising oneself as a native to cross the border is fraught with danger.

If discovered by the border guards, not only will the gold be lost, but the person may also be arrested as a spy.

"There is indeed some danger, but we have to take the risk, otherwise our gains will be halved."

Zhou Xin had certainly considered the dangers involved, but he was unwilling to be exploited like this.

Moreover, he knew that Evans had lived in this jungle for more than a decade and was extremely familiar with the place.

Since he dared to propose this method to me, he must have a certain degree of confidence.

"Mr. Zhou, let me go with you!" A Luo said.

Although he wasn't as aware of the danger of the matter as Edward, he could tell from Edward's unusually serious expression that it was definitely not a simple matter.

Zhou Xin shook his head: "No, the more people involved, the more dangerous this matter becomes."

"You and Edward have more important things to do, which is to go to Suriname and meet me there."

He has decided to make Suriname his destination for a simple reason: the jungles in Brazil are too vast, and even if he manages to get in, it will take a considerable amount of effort to get out.

Moreover, compared to Brazil, Suriname has more lax border control and less strict management of foreign nationals.

After all, once he infiltrated Suriname, he would still need to consider things like completing the necessary entry procedures, and he clearly couldn't withstand close scrutiny.