28: Chapter 28 Newbie Protection Period

Reaching out to brush away the surrounding wet soil, a solid silver, cold-gleaming lump of silver was immediately revealed.

Its size was quite impressive!

It was about the same size as the glass marbles he played with as a child, and it felt heavy in his hand.

Zheng Jing weighed it in his hand; it was at least twenty or thirty grams.

"At least another 400 yuan!"

Zheng Jing grinned from ear to ear. "It seems this Gold Panning job is born for me!"

He took out his water bottle, washed the silver lump clean, and casually tossed it into the small iron can tucked at his waist.

The silver lump collided with the silver fragments he had dug up in the morning, making a dull "clang, clatter" sound that was music to his ears!

After putting his things away, Zheng Jing didn't stop; he continued to search in the abandoned mining area.

Although his luck remained good in the afternoon, it ultimately couldn't compare to the constant surprises of the morning.

He only intermittently dug up a few very small pieces of silver, not encountering any larger ones, and as for the more valuable gold, he didn't even see a trace of it.

These silver fragments, added together, could probably sell for around three hundred yuan.

Including that silver lump, his total harvest for the afternoon reached over seven hundred yuan!

Although it couldn't compare to the morning, it was still very substantial—definitely a high income.

The sun gradually slanted westward, and the sky slowly darkened.

Although it was his first time Gold Panning in the deep mountains, Zheng Jing, who had grown up in the small mountain city of Hezheng County, naturally knew that the mountain forests at night were filled with all kinds of dangers.

Time to call it a day!

After thinking for a moment, Zheng Jing took the iron can off his waist, poured out the silver lump he had dug up in the afternoon, and put it into a small iron box in the lining of his clothes, placing it together with that tiny gold particle. He left only the fine silver fragments in the iron can at his waist.

Don't show off your wealth, lest you invite jealousy!

As for that tungsten steel drill bit, forget it; although it was very valuable, it was too bulky and couldn't be hidden at all.

It was already past six in the evening when Zheng Jing returned to where the vehicles were parked.

The others who had gone into the mountains for Gold Panning had also returned one after another, all back at the camp.

Zheng Jing was actually the last one to return!

Guo Jianjun saw him first and waved with a smile: "Not bad, kid! First time in the mountains, struggling for a whole day, and you still managed to last until the end. Awesome!"

Boss Zhao also chimed in jokingly: "I thought you wouldn't be able to handle it and would have retreated early. It seems you can endure hardship pretty well."

Zheng Jing smiled and responded to each of them, put down his tools, and took a towel from the car to wipe his face.

The group gathered around, naturally chatting about their respective harvests for the day.

Guo Jianjun took the things out of his pocket and shook them.

When everyone saw it, good heavens, it was quite a lot!

Several pieces of silver fragments, small silver lumps, and mixed in between was a tiny gold grain.

Guo Jianjun's tone was full of pride: "Take a look at my luck today; I've completely hacked the game!"

"Roughly calculating, I got nearly six hundred yuan today, more than double my usual earnings. In all my time doing this job, this is the first time it's gone so smoothly!"

Boss Zhao looked on with envy and sighed: "Jianjun, your luck is truly beyond words. We brothers have it miserable."

Zhao the Second followed with a bitter smile: "Ain't that the truth. We dug for most of the morning and found nothing, a total waste of effort."

"Fortunately, we picked up some silver fragments in the afternoon. Added together, it's only seventy or eighty yuan, barely enough to cover the gas money and make ends meet."

"Hey, you guys are doing fine..." Guo Kui shrugged, looking sorrowful: "I purely came to exercise today; I came up completely empty-handed, didn't make a single cent!"

As he spoke, he made a gesture of collapsing and committing suicide, which immediately made everyone burst into laughter.

Boss Zhao teased him: "You used up all your luck last time; you need to rest this time."

Guo Kui rolled his eyes, didn't refute, and just looked like he had given up.

After everyone finished chatting, they turned to look at Zheng Jing, full of curiosity about how much a beginner like him, who was in the mountains for the first time, could have harvested.

Zheng Jing didn't hide anything; he generously poured out all the silver fragments from the iron can at his waist. A small pile of white, shiny silver lay in his palm, and the weight was visibly substantial.

When everyone saw it, they all widened their eyes on the spot, filled with shock.

"Holy... so much?!"

"Good heavens, this must be five or six hundred yuan, right? If it weren't for Jianjun having that tiny gold grain, your harvest would be even more than his!"

"Awesome! So fierce?!"

Everyone originally thought that Guo Jianjun had the biggest harvest today, but no one expected that this beginner, Zheng Jing, who was in the mountains for the first time, would be just as impressive!

Zheng Jing curled his lips and boasted: "That's right, I was born to make a living by Gold Panning."

"Tch, don't be happy too early. Do you know about the beginner's protection period?"

Boss Zhao couldn't stand his cocky appearance and teased him with a smile. His tone was entirely playful, without a hint of jealousy.

Everyone present was genuinely happy for him; after all, they were all honest Gold Panning partners with good hearts, only assuming it was beginner's luck and that he had benefited from the beginner's protection period.

"Is that so? Then my beginner's protection period seems to be very powerful!" Zheng Jing didn't get annoyed and remained grinning.

As he spoke, he took that huge tungsten steel drill bit out from the side of his backpack and casually placed it on the ground.

At first, everyone was just focused on looking at the silver fragments, thinking it was just a piece of useless scrap metal, and didn't pay it any mind at all.

However, Boss Zhao, who had the sharpest eye, inadvertently glanced over, his expression changed, and he immediately leaned in and crouched down.

"Wait, this thing isn't right!"