Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Ignoring the stunned people around him, Zhou Xin picked up a glass of beer from the table, tilted his head back, and gulped it down in one go.

"It tastes so good, I've almost forgotten what beer tastes like."

He put down his cup and let out a satisfied burp.

"Xin, you're finally back!"

Once they realized what was happening, Creek and Bemon each put their arms around Zhou Xin's shoulders, their faces beaming with joy.

The two of them had the best relationship with Zhou Xin and were the people who cared about him the most during this period.

Feeling touched by his friends' care, Zhou Xin warmly hugged each of them.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two naturally inquired about Zhou Xin's experiences during this period.

Many people gathered around, equally curious about Zhou Xin's experiences.

Most of the people in the bar knew each other, so when Zhou Xin said he was going to go gold panning, it naturally caused a small stir.

Of course, what they cared about most was whether Zhou Xin had actually obtained any gold.

After all, while gold panning in Alaska is not uncommon, it is rare to see someone like Zhou Xin venturing alone into the wilderness to pan for gold.

Moreover, Zhou Xin is an Asian who has never mined gold before, and he has made that bet with Slante. In a small town like Salcha, this is definitely enough to make him a hot topic.

Of course, most people didn't really have high hopes for Zhou Xin's gold rush.

The reason is simple: if gold were so easy to find, this place would already be full of gold prospectors.

Slant naturally thought the same thing, so he looked relaxed with a contemptuous smile on his face, looking forward to Zhou Xin recounting his failed gold rush.

Seeing a group of people looking at him expectantly, Zhou Xin smiled slightly and didn't say anything. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle the size of an oral liquid.

It contained about half a bottle of gold dust.

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the bottle in Zhou Xin's hand.

"My God, you've really struck gold!"

"Xin, you're amazing! You actually succeeded!"

The crowd gathered around, eager to get a closer look.

Zhou Xin was very generous and handed the bottle directly to Creek, letting him bring it close to his eyes for a closer look.

"I thought all the gold in Alaska had been mined out long ago, but I never imagined there was still some left!"

Just as everyone was expressing their surprise, Slant let out a disdainful laugh.

"This little bit of gold dust, at most 10 grams. You've been working in the freezing cold for half a year, and this is all the gold you've found? You might as well keep doing your renovation work, hahaha!"

His words also reminded the onlookers.

At first, everyone was shocked by the fact that Zhou Xin had actually found gold, and they overlooked the quantity of gold.

After Slant's mockery, everyone immediately realized what was going on.

Indeed, although gold is very valuable, this little bit of gold is worth at most a few hundred dollars.

After working hard for almost half a year, all we got was this little bit of gold, which is less than a waiter's monthly income.

Many onlookers' gazes towards Zhou Xin shifted from shock to pity.

In their view, this was just a young man who didn't know his place and acted impulsively in a moment of passion, doing something that seemed impressive but was actually very foolish.

Seeing that everyone seemed to agree with his point of view, Slant became even more smug.

He took out his wallet, counted out several hundred-dollar bills, and handed them to Zhou Xin.

"I'll keep my bet, buy your gold, and treat everyone here to drinks."

"No need to thank me for my generosity; consider this my compensation on behalf of Casey!"

Just as Slant was expecting Zhou Xin to accept the money with shame and embarrassment, he saw that the latter did not reach out at all, but simply smiled and shook his head.

"No, that's not enough!"

Slant raised an eyebrow: "What, want me to give you more charity?"

Zhou Xin ignored his provocation and turned to Bei Meng beside him, asking, "What's the price of gold today?"

Bemon took out his phone and checked, saying, "$2235 per ounce."

Zhou Xin nodded, took out his phone to do some calculations, and then looked up at Slant.

"As agreed, you should pay me $350448. I'll round it down, so $35 will be enough."

Clearly, you don't have enough money.

"What?" Slant's eyes widened, and the others looked at Zhou Xin in confusion.

Zhou Xin spread his hands: "I didn't say that what I'm holding is all the spoils. I'm coming back with a full load this time!"

Creek patted him on the shoulder and asked the question that everyone present had in mind.

"Xin, how much gold did you find this time?"

Zhou Xin took a sip of beer and said casually, "156.8 ounces."

……

When Zhou Xin took out the bulging cloth bag from his pocket and opened it under everyone's watchful eyes, revealing the glittering gold dust inside, the tavern erupted in cheers.

"Is this real gold? My God, it's such a huge bag!"

"I've only ever seen this much gold at Lucy's Jewelry Store!"

"Xin, you wouldn't have gotten fake gold just to spite someone, would you? That's not something a man should do."

This last person's words reminded the onlookers, and they all began to doubt the authenticity of the gold in Zhou Xin's hand.

Most of the people here grew up in Alaska, and they know better than anyone how difficult it is to pan for gold here.

How could a complete novice with no gold panning experience possibly amass so much gold in just a few months, especially by panning by hand?

Keep in mind that 156.8 ounces is a pretty good catch, even for a well-equipped small gold mining team.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Slant's shock and astonishment vanished, and he laughed, "It's definitely fake. You Asians are really shameless."

Zhou Xin raised an eyebrow: "You think it's fake just because you say so? Isn't there a gold expert here? Let him examine it and we'll know for sure."

After speaking, he looked at a middle-aged man in his fifties in the crowd.

That was an employee of Lucy's Jewelry Store, a renowned gold appraiser.

"Mr. Iliad, could you please help me determine the authenticity of this gold?"

Elijah nodded, walked to the table, took the bag from Zhou Xin, carefully picked up a bit of gold dust with his fingers, and examined it closely.

"Please set up the lighting for me."

Zhou Xin and Bei Meng simultaneously turned on the flashlights on their phones and aimed them at Iliad's hand.

Under the bright light, Iliad examined the bag carefully for a while, occasionally rummaging through it with his fingers and picking up the gold dust again to examine it.

Finally, he held the whole bag in his hand and weighed it in his hand.

Then, he handed the bag back to Zhou Xin and announced the results of the analysis:

"It is indeed real gold, and judging from the shape of the gold dust and the marks on the surface, I am certain that it was indeed gold panned from the soil."

The bar erupted in cheers once again.