money player

Rabbit Lake is located in the southeastern Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, Canada.

A group of people appeared furtively around the lake.

They were dressed in simple nuclear protective suits, holding portable Geiger counters, and listening intently to the clicking sounds.

Someone was holding a prospecting pickaxe, striking the cross-section of a rock. With a whoosh, a pile of debris was pried off. A hand wearing protective gloves sifted through the debris, picking out even finer fragments of black, yellow, and green.

The Geiger counter swept across, making a series of clicking sounds.

"Hydrogen bomb, hydrogen bomb, I am the atomic bomb."

"I am a hydrogen bomb."

"Rabbit Lake has radiation levels more than 10 times higher than normal, confirming the presence of uranium deposits."

"Define the scope."

“Copy.”

Southern Saskatchewan, Yorkton-Wayburn Block.

Bai Jiaxun, who used to work odd jobs at Dean Group, and Zhou Shangfang knelt on one knee in front of a spring. Bai Jiaxun scooped up some water with one hand and brought it to his lips, taking a small sip.

"Pah!" Bai Jiaxun spat out. "It's salty and bitter, my tongue feels numb, and my throat feels dry. It must be right."

Upon hearing the sound, Zhou Shangfang immediately took off his backpack and took out a glass test tube. He bent down carefully to collect a water sample and poured it into the tube, then added sodium cobalt nitrite reagent. He pinched the top of the test tube with his fingertips, gently rotated his wrist, and slowly shook the tube, allowing the liquids inside to slowly mix and react.

He carefully inserted the test tube into the damp mud to keep it upright, then took out two cigarettes from his pocket, lit them, and handed one to Bai Jiaxun.

"Old Bai, have you thought it through?"

Bai Jiaxun took the cigarette, put it between his lips, leaned back casually, looked up at the clear blue sky, and said in a nonchalant tone, "I haven't decided yet."

Zhou Shangfang leaned against the earthen slope, exhaled a wisp of smoke, and gently advised, "Why not stay and join the curry development together, settle down in Canada, and then we can look after each other and keep each other company?"

Bai Jiaxun's eyes flickered slightly as he gazed at the distant cloud shadows, and he said softly, "I like the sea."

"Haven't we had enough of the war yet?"

"It's just dealing with pirates, there's no danger."

"I'm not getting any younger, and I want to settle down and get married. The exploration team pays well, so I plan to work there for a few years, save some money, buy a few hundred acres of land, and then farm in peace."

"Never thought about going back?"

“What can I do if I go back? My hometown has many people and poor land. We can’t survive by farming alone. Sooner or later, we won’t be able to make a living.” Zhou Shangfang held a cigarette between his fingers, his eyes filled with a hazy melancholy. “I came to Dajia with my uncle when I was fourteen to make a living. Before the war, I spent all my savings to get citizenship. I’ve been stationed in Dabu for more than ten years. I can’t go back. I can’t go back for a long time.”

“I’m different. I chose the sea. After I finish my work here, I will go to Hong Kong to study.”

"Will you stay in Hong Kong from now on?"

"I don't know, I can't say."

"What about your wife and children? Are you going to stay in London?"

"The boss will help with the immigration status, the children can stay there to study, and my wife will work as a maid at the boss's house."

"Oh." Zhou Shangfang pulled out the test tube, looked at the bottom of the tube, and found a lot of bright yellow crystalline precipitate. "The potassium concentration is very high. We've found the right place."

What's the land price here?

“Uncultivable land is not worth much, only seven or eight silver dollars per acre.”

……

Camituga, a well-known mining town.

Located in South Kivu Province of Belgian Congo, deep in the mountains southwest of Lake Kivu, in the valley of a hidden tributary of the Mobale River.

The continuous tropical rainforests are layered upon each other. The humid and sultry air, carrying the stench of decaying leaves and muddy water, presses down on the forest. Towering broad-leaved trees block out most of the sunlight, making the forest dark and damp. Vines are intertwined like a net, and the mountain streams are rapid and turbid, with muddy yellow waves. The riverbed is covered with gravel, and beneath the sand lies a layer of placer gold deposits covering the entire valley.

This place is more than 100 miles from the small town of Bukavu. Belgian colonial officials only occupied the lakeside towns and main roads, and there were no patrolling soldiers or police in the deep mountains and dense forests.

The MGL corporation, which monopolizes the mining area, only tightly controls the main core mine. The vast tributaries, uninhabited riverbanks, and remote mountain valleys are all no-man's-land, without land deeds, registration, or jurisdiction. In the wild jungle, whoever sets up camp first, whoever guards it with weapons, and whoever actually mines it, owns the territory.

A mixed team quietly occupied this section of the valley mouth. The core of the team consisted of five Chinese men, all dressed in durable coarse cloth work clothes with their trousers tucked in to protect them from rain, leeches, and poisonous insects. They carried old-fashioned revolvers on their waists, canvas ammunition pouches on their shoulders, and mining picks and gold panning sieves in their hands. Their expressions were cold and their eyes were warily scanning the surrounding dense forest.

The more than thirty local black miners under his command were mostly young men from surrounding tribes. Barefoot, they walked on the soft, wet riverbed, with short burlap sacks around their waists. Each of them carried a gold panning basket made of polished logs, a coarsely woven sieve, and a short-handled hoe. They were silent and obedient, having long been accustomed to the gold panning business in this mountain forest.

Several low thatched huts had already been erected on the shore, with wooden stakes as the base and thatched roofs, barely providing shelter from the wind and rain. They served as both guard camps and secret outposts for sorting and collecting gold dust.

The Chinese leader stepped over the slippery pebbles, walked to the edge of the riverbank, bent down and used a pickaxe to dig away a layer of surface sand, then dug down half a foot deep into the sand layer, where fine sand mixed with gravel surged out.

He grabbed a handful of wet sand, put it into a wooden sieve, walked to the shallow water, squatted down, and slowly swayed and washed it with the current.

The turbid water washed away the mud, sand, and gravel again and again, leaving a layer of heavy black sand at the bottom of the sieve, with fine gold particles mixed in, which, in the dim light of the day, revealed a warm and solid reddish-yellow glow.

"It's pure gold, with a purity of 90% or higher," he murmured, picking up a tiny gold flake the size of a needle tip with his fingertip. It felt dense and heavy in his hand, typical of high-grade river placer gold from Lake Kivu.

The Chinese deputy beside him leaned against a tree trunk, gazing into the depths of the distant mountains, and said in a flat tone: "The white company guards the main mine. They don't care about the tributaries and the muddy riverbeds here, and they're too lazy to go into the mountains. The Belgian officials are far away by the lake, and the mountain roads are difficult to travel. It might take them three days to get here."

The entire valley had no boundary markers, no documents, and no registration or record with the colonial authorities.

The group cleared the area by cutting down trees and marking the tree trunks on both sides of the valley. They also set up sentry posts around the camp. During the day, they panned for gold and mined sand, and at night they took turns guarding the area with guns. In the most primitive and direct way, they claimed the entire abandoned gold mine tributary.

Occasionally, the low growls of wild beasts and the cries of monkeys echo from the distant mountains. The vast rainforest isolates it from the outside world, and the border is blurred and chaotic. The smuggling trade routes between Rwanda and Uganda are secretly connected.

As long as a monthly bribe of gold is given to the Belgian colonial officials in Bukavu to smooth things over, this private mine hidden deep in the African rainforest can operate smoothly.

Not far behind the mixed formation, a geodetic survey team was working.

The captain squatted down next to the tripod and raised his hand to press down on the base of the steering wheel: "First, determine north and mark the reference firing direction. The entire defense area will be uniformly calibrated so that the subsequent data will not be confused."

The observer leveled the bubble level, and the telescope tube slowly rotated, aiming at the red and white markers erected on the distant hilltop: "The reference bearing has been determined, and the level is now zero."

Two soldiers, carrying wooden stakes and poles, quickly climbed up the high ground and drove the stakes into place at key points such as mountain passes, valley forks, and ridges, firmly planting the poles and standing still as live target points.

One person pulled out a 100-meter measuring rope, straightened and compacted it, and announced the number: "The distance between the two base points is 720 meters."

The recorder lay on the rock, opened his leather geodetic notebook, and held a pencil hanging in the air, waiting.

The observer squinted at the scope and whispered the numbers: "Eastward deviation, direction 2150 mils; elevation and depression angle, 12 mils."

The recorder quickly jotted it down, writing it down word by word.

At another preparatory observation point, readings were simultaneously transmitted back. The calculator quickly calculated with a mil ruler and a small arithmetic board: "Two-way intersection calculation shows a horizontal distance of 4,300 meters. The target terrain is low, with an elevation difference of -28 meters."

The team leader nodded: "Let's go one by one, numbering and documenting all the mountain passes, forest edges, riverbanks, and essential road intersections. First, calculate the basic angle of attack, and add the usual corrections in advance based on the annual wind direction and average temperature to prepare the preset parameters."

The group worked efficiently, measuring directions, distances, elevation differences, and checking the firing tables, completing the survey of all the key sections of the entire mountainous area.

Someone took the opportunity to survey the position, kicking the soil: "The foundation here is solid, the formation is stable, and the firing arc to the left and right is wide enough to make it a basic position. The depression behind it provides cover and can be used as a reserve position."

The calculator closed the firing table and patted the thick handbook: "Once the points here are measured and the preset parameters are archived, we can just call the number and bind it directly. We can fire anytime."

The captain gazed at the rolling mountains and said in a deep voice, "If we can get a thorough assessment beforehand, there will be less bloodshed in wartime. We can still control the situation even in places we can't see."

"Captain, there aren't many Black Ghost guns here. Is it really necessary to set up an artillery position here?"

The captain chuckled, "Kid, you've only been in the team for a few days. The old captain once said that even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit, and that human life is always more precious than artillery shells."

"Who is the old captain?"

"Don't ask, you're not qualified to know." The captain looked nostalgic as he recalled the days of training when he first joined the Armadillo Squad.

"Fine, I won't talk then. Human life is precious..."

Lugushva, northwest of Kamituga, is a remote, rainforested area far from the city. There are no roads; the only way to get there is on foot or by canoe.

This place has high-grade mineral sands and quartz veins, and gold outcrops can be picked up easily; no white people have ever ventured here, only black tribes have been mining here privately, and there is absolutely no control.

Sang Meng sat on a boulder, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Below him, the members of the slave company, including the mule squadron, the cattle squadron, the raven squadron, and the honey badger squadron, were scattered in various places according to their ranks.

In 1951, there were no longer any "black slaves" in the American South. Some of them had been truly freed, while others had been given new titles, such as sharecroppers or prisoners.

Black people were often severely punished for minor offenses, such as homelessness, debt, or unemployment. They were often rented to plantations and mines for hard labor, often without pay, subjected to beatings, and had a high mortality rate.

The members of this sergeant squadron were all Black miners "rescued" from the mines of the American South. They were all physically strong, hardworking, and reliable. Most importantly, they were gentle, obedient, and willing to follow orders.

How long does it take for a dragon-slaying boy to become a dragon himself?
The answer is a fleeting moment.

Sang Meng slowly exhaled a smoke ring, his gaze cold and fixed on the black female corpse beside the black slave squad members.

The body was still warm, the blood was still congealed, and there were no putrefactive bacteria or maggots yet. Only the black bloodstains oozing from the mouth and nose attracted swarms of flies.

Sang Meng was very depressed because he was a Wa ethnic minority from Cangyuan and looked similar to a black person. He was assigned to manage the black slave squadron, which made him wish he were blind.

These black devils are useful, but they are also vicious and have excessive energy. They kill one of the women every few days, and the beautiful black women in the surrounding tribes have been almost completely plundered by these bastards.

His gaze shifted downwards, landing on the fast-moving consumer goods team members scattered at the bottom, his brows furrowing even deeper.

The members of the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Squad are from surrounding tribes and are between ten and fifteen years old. After joining the squad, they are given good food and drink for three days to recuperate, followed by a week of simple training. After that, they become official members and are given special supplies every day – Glory Candy.

At this moment, many team members had just consumed Glory Candy, some were manic and chattering incessantly, while others were doing push-ups around the captured Black girl, not stopping at all.

He looked at the bunch of bastards, a smirk playing on his lips. A company of 180 men, 180 mouths to feed—that's too many. Tomorrow's operation will give them half a base load of stink bombs, cutting off half the mouths to feed.

When the cigarette burned out, he threw away the butt, took out a notebook from his pocket, flipped through it for half a minute, and frowned again—this month's budget was over, gold production was barely up to standard, and if he didn't reduce costs and increase production, his KPI would be very bad by the end of the month.

"Damn it, I was hoping to use my year-end bonus to buy my wife another building."

After a grumble, he picked up his binoculars and looked at the Black people panning for gold in the valley, thinking about what new gadgets he could come up with to earn back the gold he had been given.

Panning for gold in the goldfields, but you won't be able to take a single one home.

……

Xian Yaowen carried the gifts downstairs and stopped at the garage entrance. Xie Zhanran went into the garage, pulled out a small trailer, and placed an object covered with a red velvet cloth on it.

"Walk."

Sin Yiu-man took the lead, steadily carrying the gift basket on his shoulder, and slowly stepped into the banquet hall. Upon seeing him, the guests greeted him with smiles, cupped their hands in congratulations, and the atmosphere was filled with joy.

He responded to each of their requests, then went to the main table, put down his gift carrier, and sat down to Zhou Ruoyun's right. To her left was Xian Yaowu, and further to her was Guo Biting.

Zhou Ruoyun immediately poured him wine, then served him dishes, placing each dish with a symbolic meaning on his plate.

He picked up his chopsticks, ate slowly and deliberately, and then put them down.

The matchmaker, who had been waiting not far behind Guo Biting, quickly walked to Guo Biting's side, gently supporting her elbow with one hand and carefully smoothing the wrinkles on her jacket with the other. She then gently gathered the pearl hairpins in her hair and whispered some advice.

"Young mistress, young master, the food and drinks have reached the middle of the course, and the soup has been served. The auspicious time is just right."

After giving her instructions, the matchmaker bowed slightly, moved to Zhou Ruoyun's side, and reported loudly, "Madam, today is an auspicious day. The banquet is ready, and most of the dishes have been served. The newlyweds are all dressed up and have performed all the proper etiquette. Please allow them to toast each table in order of seniority to thank all the relatives and friends for attending the banquet and celebrating their marriage."

Zhou Ruoyun slowly nodded, waved her hand slightly, and said in a deep voice, "Granted. Follow the old customs and procedures, and do not deviate from the rules."

The matchmaker turned back to the newlyweds, her eyes gentle, and softly instructed them: "Son-in-law and mistress, you may stand up now. Remember to offer toasts to the superiors first, then to the inferiors, keep your glasses low, and speak humbly. I will be there to assist you."

Sin Yiu-man straightened his long robe, his expression dignified and composed; Bea Hayden lowered her eyes slightly and gathered her robes, her slender fingers lightly holding her wine glass. The two rose side by side and walked slowly to Sin Yiu-man's side, bowing respectfully in unison.

Immediately, Xian Yaowu spoke up: "Brother, today is my wedding day. I am grateful for your help in taking care of everything. My wife and I would like to offer you this toast."

As soon as she finished speaking, Guo Biting held the wine glass steadily in both hands and stood quietly waiting.

Sin Yiu-man, holding his glass in one hand, calmly rose and looked at the newlyweds with gentle and kind eyes. He slowly said, "May you two be of one mind and one heart, live in harmony, and enjoy a peaceful life together."

"We will follow your teachings, elder brother." The newlyweds agreed in unison, then raised their glasses and drank.

After the two gently set down their wine glasses, Sin Yiu-man took a small sip, placed the glass lightly on the table, and slowly walked to the gift carrier. He then lifted the lid of the front box. On the top shelf of the box were five pairs of dragon and phoenix bracelets, identical in style but different in size.

The golden light shone brightly, eliciting gasps of amazement from the guests staring at the gift carrier.

"There are five pairs."

"How heavy is the largest pair?"

"It weighs about two pounds, right?"

"How could it be two jin? It must be an auspicious number, one jin and eight liang."

"Each one weighs 1.8 jin, and a pair weighs 3 jin. Mr. Xian is truly generous."

"There are four more pairs of babies."

Amidst the murmurs around him, Xian Yaowen calmly picked up the smallest pair of dragon and phoenix bracelets. His gaze was gentle and calm as he quietly focused on Guo Biting. His voice was steady and solemn: "Sister-in-law, the men of the Xian family are born to protect and support their wives and children. There is no reason for them to mistreat or beat us."

From this day forward, Yaowu will be your lifelong companion and your soulmate.

You are partners who are equals, sharing both joy and sorrow, without distinction of rank or status. For the rest of your lives, you will support each other through thick and thin, weathering storms together.

Guo Biting felt a warmth in her heart. She slightly bowed and curtsied, her eyes gentle and dignified. Her tone was soft but her words were earnest: "Thank you for your understanding and guidance, brother. I will keep it in mind. From now on, I will definitely stay with Yaowu, respect and understand each other, live a good life, and live up to the Xian family's upbringing and your instructions."

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, this is just a small token of my appreciation, I'll put it on you."

Upon hearing this, Bea Hayden gently raised her right hand, and Sin Yiu-man carefully put the ribbons on for her one by one.

He then raised his hand, picked up the upper gift box, and solemnly handed it to Guo Biting. Guo Biting held the box firmly, turned around slowly, and gracefully presented this weighty gift to the guests.

This wasn't a deliberate display of wealth, but rather a blatant show of favoritism and importance. The more lavish the gift, the more it demonstrated Sin Yiu-man's complete approval of his sister-in-law.

With this confidence, she can stand firmly in the Sin family and represent the Sin family with dignity in public.

With the dragon and phoenix bracelets and jade ornaments in front, the five strands of natural South Sea white pearl necklaces displayed in the middle gift box seemed less eye-catching. The guests' exclamations of amazement subsided a bit, but those who truly knew their stuff understood that the finest natural pearls were always rarer and more precious than gold.

The lower gift box and the three gift boxes behind it all contained jewelry of similar value, each layer of which was then applied to Guo Biting's face.

Guo Biting remained the same as before. Even with a grand ceremony and all the glory before her, and others envying her for her glamorous marriage, her resentment towards Xian Yaowu remained undiminished.

Everything was fine at first; she just wanted to take some photos of sex in the wild, but she was forced into sex and got pregnant. And it was with her best friend, no less. Afterwards, the bastard didn't do anything to atone or make amends. She only felt resentment, not hatred, because there were some sensible people in the Xian family.

As she handed the gift box to the matchmaker, she unconsciously touched her lower abdomen as she withdrew her hand.

Her mother had already assessed the situation and analyzed it thoroughly for her. Marrying into the Xian family was the best possible outcome for her at the moment.

Although she was nominally a concubine, she entered the family with the same ceremony and respect as the principal wife. This treatment was enough to give her children a chance to compete for the family business.

Even if Xian Yaowu was unwilling and tried every excuse, he couldn't get around Xian Yaowen. With his elder brother in charge, he valued the family's reputation and rules, and would never allow him to treat him poorly and ruin the Xian family's name.

Moreover, she had long harbored the intention of having an affair with Sin Yiu-man. At first, it was merely for revenge, to vent her anger. But now, that's no longer the case. Her desire for revenge has faded, while her clear-headed assessment of reality and her affection for him have grown stronger.

If she had to choose between the two Sin brothers, she would choose Sin Yiu-man without hesitation. Even if she broadened her choices, Sin Yiu-man would still be her top choice. If he weren't a womanizer, he might be her only option.

After the gift was delivered, Xian Yaowen waved his hand, and a handcart was pushed in front of him. Just as he was about to lift the red velvet cloth, Guo Biting's burning gaze followed him.

He sensed it, and his heart skipped a beat.

He had already decided that Guo Biting was no pushover and was mentally prepared for her to cause trouble; he already had a strategy in mind to deal with her.

He thought she might cheat on Xian Yaowu, but he was slightly surprised that she would have the idea of ​​eating the grass next to her own nest. It was simply courting death. Of all the options, why did she have to choose between taking the mother and keeping the child?

The thought flashed through his mind, but he composed himself, bent down, and slowly lifted the red velvet cloth.

"hiss……"

Countless sounds of air being drawn out.

"What a huge piece of jade."

"High-grade ice mineral!"

"Old mine glass-type jadeite, excellent water content!"

A guest who was quite knowledgeable about jade exclaimed, "320,000 types, it's practically comparable to 320,000 types!"

Hearing the guests' exclamations, Sin Yiu-man pointed to the jadeite lying on the handcart—a piece of bright green glass-type jadeite weighing two hundred kilograms, lying steadily on a base made of one thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight taels of gold.

It's not exactly elegant, but it's certainly luxurious.

“Sister-in-law, this piece of jade is for you two to keep as a treasure. When you get married and your children get married, you can take some material to carve it and pass it down from generation to generation as a proper family heirloom.”

"family heirloom……"

Guo Biting was taken aback, truly astonished by this generous gift. Such a large, high-quality jadeite rough, if made into jade bracelets and jewelry, would be enough for more than ten generations to use; it was incomparable to ordinary objects.

At the main table, the Guo family's relatives and friends had different expressions. Some were filled with relief and secretly happy for the Guo family; others had envy in their eyes and their hearts were filled with mixed emotions.

But everyone knew perfectly well that the Xian family's gift was full of sincerity and substantial, and the Guo family had truly earned face at today's banquet.

With his job as a mere errand boy finished, Sin Yiu-man calmly returned to his seat.

Amidst the clamor and noise of the banquet, he sat quietly for a moment, waiting for the newlyweds to finish toasting the guests at the head table. Then, taking advantage of the crowd's distraction, he slipped away silently, leaving with a sense of peace and quiet, his accomplishments concealed. (End of Chapter)