Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 255 Gold Vein
In the blink of an eye, it was early August, and Chen Yunzhe returned to Maoer Mountain with two men in their forties, who were sturdy and strong.

“Brother-in-law, these are the people you are looking for, Lao Hu and Lao Han.

They have worked in gold mines such as Laojingou and Jiapigou, and are experts in gold prospecting.

They can tell where the gold veins are and how much gold they contain.”

As soon as they met, Chen Yunzhe introduced those people to Qu Shaoyang.

"Oh, we've been waiting for you two, Brother Hu, Brother Han, please take a seat."

When Qu Shaoyang heard this, he quickly invited the two to take a seat. "Bai Zhi, go and boil some water and make some tea, and bring two plates of snacks and fruits."

Baizhi is the name of a maid in the family.

Chen Xiuyun bought four maids and changed their names to Baizhi, Baiwei, Baibi and Baiji.

Bai Zhi responded and went out quickly to make tea. She then brought two plates of snacks and two plates of fruit and placed them in front of Lao Han and Lao Hu.

At the beginning of spring, the guys at home planted some cantaloupes, watermelons, etc. They grew well and the fruits were sweet.

The grapes planted two years ago are bearing fruit this year. The grapes are quite thick and ripe now. I just picked a basket of them this morning.

Nowadays, without so many preservation technologies, it is not easy to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

The small amount of land that a small family has is not enough to grow food, so how can they afford to grow these?

Even if it is sold in the market outside, it is very expensive.

Only wealthy families who own their own farms can grow whatever they want to eat.

Lao Hu and Lao Han have been working in gold factories all year round, and most of the gold factories are located in remote areas far away from human habitation. Where can they get fruit?

So when they saw Baizhi bringing out the snacks and fruits, they kept a straight face but their eyes involuntarily glanced towards the table.

Qu Shaoyang could naturally see it, so he warmly invited the two of them to eat and drink tea. He was not in a hurry to get into the topic, but just chatted with them.

After the two of them had eaten two pieces of watermelon, had some snacks and drank some tea, Qu Shaoyang finally got to the point.

"Brother Hu, Brother Han, this is what happened.

A while ago, I was leading some people into the mountains. When we were drinking water by a river, I felt that the sand in the river was not right.

I don't know much about gold mining, but I suspect there is gold sand inside.

So this time, I specially invited you two to come over and ask you to help me see if it is a gold vein and whether it can produce gold."

Qu Shaoyang bowed towards the two of them and spoke very politely.

Hu and Han looked at each other and then laughed.

"Sir Inspector, if you want to talk about other things, we two may not understand, but if you want to find gold nuggets, you have found the right people by looking for us two.

In this way, the adults can arrange a time and then take us over to see if there is any gold. We will know once we get there."

“As soon as I saw the two elder brothers, I felt that they were of the same temperament.

Okay, let’s not play around. Tomorrow morning, I’ll take you two brothers over to take a look.

If there is a gold vein, I will definitely reward you handsomely." Qu Shaoyang liked people who were quick and decisive, so he made the decision immediately.

So Qu Shaoyang ordered people to arrange accommodation for Hu and Han, and asked the kitchen to prepare a table of fine food to entertain the two.

That evening, Qu Shaoyang called Liu Dongshan and Doctor Chen over to drink and chat with Hu and Han.

The two were treated to delicious food and wine, which made them very happy. They drank a lot of wine, and finally they were sent back to the guest room when they were drunk.

"Master, what about these two people?" After seeing off the guests and the Chen father and son, Qu Shaoyang turned around and asked Liu Dongshan.

Liu Dongshan pondered for a moment and nodded, "I think the two of them are really capable, not the kind of charlatans who brag about everything.

Besides, this is someone your uncle-in-law found. If he doesn't have any real skills, can Yunzhe take him back?"

Qu Shaoyang nodded, "Well, let's go to Sandagou River tomorrow to take a look. If these two are really capable, I will find a way to keep them and let them manage the gold factory for me."

A gold factory is different from other factories. It must have knowledgeable people to serve as the chief steward or the head clerk.

You have to know how to observe the direction of the gold veins and find places where gold seedlings are abundant in order to produce more gold.

Early in the morning on the third day of August, Qu Shaoyang arranged for Hu and Han to have breakfast, and Chen Yunzhe also came to join them.

Then a few people led their men, took some tools, and drove the horse-drawn carriage straight to the Sandaogou River.

As soon as they arrived at this place, Hu and Han's expressions changed immediately.

The two of them walked while mumbling something, gesturing with their hands, looking at the sun and the direction of the water.

Qu Shaoyang and Chen Yunzhe, who were following behind, were both confused.

Every profession has its own expertise, and when it comes to gold panning, the uncle and aunt really don't understand it.

I saw the two men muttering to each other for a while, then they took shovels and baskets and scooped up a basket of mud and sand from the nearby river bank.

Then, the two of them used the golden dustpans they brought with them, picked up some mud and sand, and washed them in the river.

The two of them scooped a basket here, searched and filtered, but were not satisfied, so they moved to another place and scooped and filtered again.

They walked and tested like this, and the people behind followed in confusion, until the two people in front exclaimed, and Qu Shaoyang and others hurriedly followed.

"Brother Hu, what's wrong?" Qu Shaoyang asked hurriedly.

"Gold, look, there is gold. There is indeed a gold vein in this place, and the gold seedlings are thriving."

Old Hu pointed at the golden dustpan in his hand and said excitedly.

Everyone looked in the direction where Lao Hu's hand was pointing, and sure enough, they saw some golden-yellow objects the size of green beans under the golden winnowing basket. They were small naturally formed gold nuggets.

There is also some fine sand that glows with golden light, which is gold sand.

Gold is heavier than ordinary sand and soil. After being filtered with water, it will sink to the bottom of the gold dustpan.

"Brother Hu, are you saying that the gold veins in this place are good?" Qu Shaoyang was also very happy and couldn't help but repeat the question.

"That's quite good. The inspector has a good eye to discover such a rich mine. Congratulations." Old Han bowed to Qu Shaoyang and congratulated him.

"If we can recruit two or three hundred goldsmiths to work here, I can't say anything else, but it won't be a problem for us to produce thirty or fifty kilograms of gold a month."

When Old Han said this, Qu Shaoyang and Chen Yunzhe were both quite surprised.

Thirty to fifty kilograms of gold can be produced in a month? How much is that in a year?

With this gold, they can do something big.

"My two brothers, I know another place that also seems to have gold.

It's better not to bother two people with one thing. Can you two brothers follow us for a walk?"

Qu Shaoyang thought of the Starry Sky Outpost. Since they had invited an expert, there was nothing else to say. They could just do it together.

Hu and Han naturally had no objection, so everyone left Sandaogou and walked upstream along the Yalu River.

The Starry Sky Sentry Post is roughly located between the 11th and 12th gullies.

Qu Shaoyang and his team arrived at the destination in the evening of that day, found a village to stay for the night, and headed straight to the sentry post the next morning.

After confirmation by Lao Huang and Lao Hu, there is indeed gold at the Mantianxing outpost, but the gold content is not as high as that at Sandaogou.

Moreover, most of the gold veins here are at the bottom of the river, and it is difficult to mine them under current technical conditions.

"Sir, in our opinion, this place is not suitable for mining for the time being.

If the inspector trusts us, we can go back to where we were yesterday. We can look around more and maybe find some mineral veins."

(End of this chapter)