15: Chapter 15 The Hidden Circle

Guo Kui opened his WeChat payment code: "Old Yang, you're asking a redundant question. It's not like it's the first or second time we've dealt with each other."

As Old Yang entered his payment password, he said with a chuckle: "Alright! Among you guys, you, Kuizi, are the most straightforward. Remember to come and look after my business next time."

Guo Kui said cheekily: "Old Yang, if I were to tell them that Old Yang said they weren't very straightforward, do you think they'd still come looking for you in the future..."

Old Yang's eyes widened, and he shouted with a resonant voice: "Get lost!"

"Hahaha!"

Seeing that Old Yang had already transferred the money, Guo Kui immediately threw an arm around Zheng Jing's shoulder and walked outside excitedly: "Let's go. Brother Kui made a fortune today. I'll take you to a restaurant, and we brothers can have a good chat."

Zheng Jing took out his phone, pointed at the clock on it, and smiled helplessly: "What time is it, and you're already thinking about eating and drinking?"

Guo Kui shook his head: "Why care what time it is? I've been cooped up in the mountains for over half a month; I'm fucking starving for a good meal! Besides, we can't just stand here; we need to find a place to sit and talk, right?"

"That's true, let's go!" Zheng Jing nodded in agreement.

The two walked one after the other, heading straight for a small family-style restaurant by the street.

After sitting down, Guo Kui picked up the menu and ordered several hearty dishes in one go. If Zheng Jing hadn't stopped him in time, he would have kept adding more.

"Brother, that's enough, that's enough. There's only two of us; we can't eat that much."

"Fine." Guo Kui closed the menu and handed it to the owner: "Make it quick~"

Being able to get an order in the middle of the day, the restaurant owner was grinning from ear to ear.

He took the menu: "Alright~ There aren't many customers right now, it'll be ready soon."

The owner didn't lie.

Before long, vinegar-braised pork intestines, braised eel slices, salt and pepper duck heads, and stir-fried river snails were served one after another, accompanied by two plates of refreshing cold dishes, plus a case of ice-cold Snowflake beer placed by the table.

Guo Kui casually pulled the beer tab, filled a glass for Zheng Jing, filled his own, clinked glasses with Zheng Jing, then tilted his head back and took a big gulp, letting out a long sigh.

"Ah... comfortable! After suffering in the mountains for over half a month, I didn't want anything else, just this sip of ice-cold beer."

As he spoke, he picked up his chopsticks and started eating the food in big mouthfuls, without the slightest bit of restraint.

"Into the mountains?"

Guo Kui nodded: "Yeah, but let's not talk about that yet; let's eat and drink well first!"

Although Zheng Jing was still full of doubts, seeing that he was truly starving, he didn't feel it was right to press further, so he picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

He wasn't very hungry to begin with, so he just accompanied Guo Kui, eating slowly, clinking glasses, and chatting with him intermittently.

After a few glasses of ice-cold beer, the atmosphere instantly warmed up.

The sense of distance from not seeing each other for many years was swept away, and they returned to the way they were in their youth, talking about everything.

After three rounds of drinks and the dishes were mostly eaten, Guo Kui was finally full.

He put down his glass, wiped his mouth, and took the initiative to ask: "Zheng Jing, are you planning to stay long-term this time you're back?"

Zheng Jing nodded: "I think so. It's really not easy to get by outside."

Guo Kui smiled: "That's true. I've always felt that it's not necessarily easy to get by outside. By the way, do you have any plans for what kind of business to do now that you're back?"

Zheng Jing's heart tightened slightly.

He did have a business, which was to use his system to find treasures, but at the same time, this secret must never be revealed to anyone!

After a moment of hesitation, Zheng Jing shook his head: "I really haven't decided what to do yet."

As he spoke, he took the opportunity to throw the topic back: "What about you? I haven't seen you for so many years, what have you been busy with? Seeing how familiar you are with Old Yang, and that you have gold sand and silver scraps in your hands, I'm actually quite curious. Can you tell me about it?"

Guo Kui looked indifferent: "With our friendship, what is there that I can't tell you?"

Then he sighed softly, his face filled with emotion: "For the past few years, I've been muddled, wandering around without any real purpose, and didn't have a stable job. Later, thanks to my cousin, I finally found a way and started following them into the mountains to do Gold Panning."

"Gold Panning?"

Zheng Jing leaned forward slightly, his face full of disbelief: "I've grown up seeing the mountains and rivers of our Hezheng County, but I've never heard of Gold Panning. Does our place actually have gold to pan?"

Guo Kui curled his lips, showing a mysterious smile, and deliberately lowered his voice: "Hehe, you don't understand this! Our area has been a genuine major production area for gold and silver since the Song and Yuan dynasties. It's just that the veins and the methods of Gold Panning have always been controlled by a few people in the circle, and ordinary outsiders can't touch them at all. Even the county annals only mention it in a few strokes; ordinary people never know about it in their whole lives."

"Yeah, before chatting with you today, I had never heard that we had gold mines here."

Zheng Jing nodded subconsciously and raised his glass to signal Guo Kui to continue.

Guo Kui drank another large glass of ice-cold beer and continued: "I also benefited from my cousin to have the luck to squeeze into this circle. And we aren't officially mining gold mines; that's the business of big capital and big bosses."

"You also know that private Gold Panning is illegal, so we just go to the abandoned slag heaps after large-scale gold mines have been exploited to pan for the remaining scattered gold sand and silver scraps. This can be considered a way for those big bosses to leave a way for us locals to make a living, but how much you earn in this line of work depends entirely on personal luck."

After hearing Guo Kui's words, waves immediately surged in Zheng Jing's heart!

Panning for gold and silver in abandoned slag? Abandoned means ownerless! This is simply a path tailor-made for him!

He had the system detection radar in his hands. Others might only be able to rely on luck and fumble around, working for a long time and potentially returning empty-handed, but for him, the situation was completely different!

As long as there was gold or silver hidden in the slag or strata, and the burial depth was within the detection range, the radar could pinpoint it with a single scan; it was impossible to make a wasted trip.

With this thought, he could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart and looked at Guo Kui earnestly: "Kuizi, oh no, Brother Kui, since that's the case, can you take me with you? I want to go into the mountains with you and try Gold Panning too."