There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

As a result of this mutual influence, the entire area will become a talent desert, with only basic life service personnel left to provide social services to the remaining local residents.

This situation is very similar to that of Mineral Town.

Due to the massive impact of interstellar mining on ore production, the entire town was like a farmland abandoned by farmers, and the mining industry and related industries rapidly declined.

A striking feature is the significant scarcity of young people in the town, leaving only local residents like Mr. Dart and their underage or dependent children. For instance, Mr. Dick couldn't find any suitable young adults to hire for tasks like barrel making and portering.

Secondly, the town's industries became sparse and weak, and it had to rely on imports for daily necessities, becoming a dispensable link in the commercial route.

So, the fact that there are still ships willing to supply goods to the town and then continue their voyage with some worthless products is all thanks to Zach's connections.

The problem of labor loss has come to the fore.

The problem of industrial hollowing out has been addressed.

But the problem is, based on my analysis, the residents of these towns don't seem to be people left over from the mining industry...

What exactly happened to those people twenty years ago?

Where is this man named "Yorkson Providence" now?

"Twenty years ago...twenty years ago..."

I squatted down in front of the brick at the hot spring house, my fingers unconsciously sliding across the brick as I muttered to myself.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind like lightning, stirring up huge waves.

I feel that an important piece of information, which I had subconsciously forgotten and discarded in the temple of my memory, has finally surfaced after much contemplation.

The upheaval twenty years ago was not without any clues.

Through word of mouth among the residents, I had already received a crucial piece of information.

And this information was so insignificant that I had no memory of it at all.

But this is also the thing I should never forget.

Twenty years ago, I was convinced that someone had moved out of town and lost all his property.

That was the old rancher of Mineral Town Ranch.

The man who sold the ranch to my father.

The founder who built his ranch on the outskirts of Mineral Town, occupying a vital passage between the mine and the town.

"I should have remembered this sooner..."

Chapter 20: Hot Spring House Archaeological Incident

Oh, right, the mine!

After confirming one point of the puzzle, I also recalled another point that the clue pointed to.

On the way up the mountain, the forester Gotz mentioned that there was an abandoned mine near the hot springs.

This place is very likely an important site for miners' activities back then, and traces must have been left behind.

I stepped out of the hot spring house, wanting to look for tracks or remnants of railway tracks on the ground.

All that could be seen were clumps of wild grass and green moss, which densely covered the earth, leaving no trace.

Finally, not far from the hot spring resort, I saw a somewhat dark depression at a break in the cliff face. From a distance, it looked like an ordinary stone wall, surrounded by lush, overgrown vines and ivy.

In reality, the unnatural breaks in the vegetation indicate that these plants are secondary forests that grew later, barely enough to decorate the landscape with branches.

I walked forward gently, my footsteps passing through layers of floating grass, and finally landing on solid ground.

This feels like the ground is paved with stones.

I became even more certain that I hadn't gone to the wrong place.

I brandished my sickle, clearing a path for myself, and finally saw this ancient mine shaft, abandoned for at least twenty years and under construction for who knows how many years.

.........

On our first day on the island, we were all very excited. We had finally escaped the oppression of the trust group and were heading to a land completely different from the western continent.

Although we had to drain all our savings to secure the promise from the Sailors' Alliance to bring us to this island.

Old Yorkson has always encouraged us, saying that this will be a whole new world where we will own our own houses, land, families, and wealth, and we will fully own all of this wealth that produces its own products.

We all largely agreed with what Old Yorkson said, except for Little Hooker. After all, he was the most knowledgeable and talented among us.

But for young Hooker, a born skeptic, doubting everything was second nature. He scoffed at old Yorkson's words: "I doubt he'll join this voyage only because the trust has told him more lies."

But I believe.

God bless this is the first time I've known what freedom is.

…………

The development of the island has begun in earnest.

Since we only had six people, we could only use the most primitive method of land grabbing, starting from the landing point and gradually expanding inland.

This method was also taught to us by old Yorkson, who was a natural master in this area!

We set up a simple dock and placed the flag of the Navigators' Alliance. This way, when they see the flag, they will come to confirm the route.

We built a row of neatly arranged houses by the sea. Although even the nails were driven in crookedly, we proudly carved our names on the wooden planks of the house foundations.

…………

After several months of clearing and exploration, we have thoroughly understood the topography of the entire island. Old Yorkson drew up a detailed map and marked the future plans for the town on it.

The town was divided into agricultural and pastoral areas, residential areas, and trading wharves, with churches, hospitals, and administrative offices at the top. I was privately appointed by this small group as the town's first sheriff.

But young Hook still expressed his disdain. His stubborn, unwavering mind was filled with conspiracy theories; he even suspected that every blade of grass was plotting to cut him!

…………

The mining operation far exceeded our expectations!

Countless treasures of the earth poured towards us like collapsing sand dunes.

As a result, we even had to suspend mining operations after receiving the first batch of income, and instead imported a large quantity of building materials, with Dolanco acting as the carpenter to build an effective passage from the mine to the town.

During the months of rest, everyone settled down and moved their homes from the damp and noisy seaside to a more inland area. Only Little Hook still lived in the row of houses by the sea, like a sinister dragon guarding his treasure.

I do not doubt his character.

Everyone witnessed him handing over his earnings every day. After all, in this place, hoarding minerals, even gold, was just worthless scrap metal that couldn't be traded.

.........

The mine shafts on the mountainside have been fully developed, and old Yorkson suggested reinforcing the interior of this fragile and tilting mountain with wooden piles and supports, and developing the mine shafts in layers.

We also discovered that the sinkhole mining method that the company had taught us earlier was no longer applicable to this place.

So we began daily mining and reinforcement, digging down layer by layer to consolidate the structure, and bringing in electric lighting.

Little Hook mocked us, saying we were wasting our time and that a short circuit would ignite the entire underground space.

This chilling curse enraged Antonio.

The argument stopped when Antonio's fist struck Hooker's face, resulting in a prolonged period of icy tension between the two. Barring unforeseen circumstances, this silent war would continue until the sun goes out!

.........

How long have we been here?

That's not important. All I know is that every day when I wake up, countless riches will fall into our pockets.

Therefore, we called another group of companions, who, with the help of the Navigators' Alliance, also infiltrated this place to be responsible for the transportation and cleaning of ore at the foot of the mountain.

At the same time, another new mine shaft that was difficult to detect was discovered.

That night, we got our great hero, old Yorkson, completely drunk. We heard him muttering that good days were coming, and he was so drunk he was unconscious. Only then did we laugh and leave.

However, we unanimously voted to agree that only a few of us could go into the mountains to mine, and that if we died, our descendants or designated heirs would take our place.

…………

We built a fine house in the town and lived the life of a respectable person as we had imagined.

But every day they still carried their mining tools, humming songs describing the hardships of those years, and went into the mountains to mine in an orderly fashion.

"Crossing high mountains and small rivers."

We are a group of penniless people.

Pickaxe clanging

Pickaxe clanging

Silver ore was mined like pearls

The mined copper ore looks like seashells.

Ding ding dang dong, gold mine found!

It all went into the old turtledoves' treasure chests.

However, this group is now missing one person.

After building his own house, Little Hook finally moved out of the row house by the sea with some hesitation, giving the spot to the other men who came later to make a living.

But since then, he has never entered the mountain or touched the mine again.

…………

Old Yorkson's health is deteriorating, and he will soon become the second one among us to fall behind.

For a time, Antonio and his men erected scaffolding to transport old Yorkson into the mine in an attempt to conceal his weakness.

After all, the people at the foot of the mountain have repeatedly demanded equal exploration rights.

But old Yorkson's body could no longer withstand the thin air and the noisy, churning dust of the mine.

Fortunately, they were divided into the egalitarian faction, the seniority faction, and the younger generation faction, and only after my persuasion as the sheriff did they continue their work.

But such days are not the norm.

At this point, we came up with a solution.

We plan to build an annex on the hot spring outside the mine, using this natural spring water to nourish Yorkson's aging body and add some fun to his boring mountain trips.