66: Chapter Sixty-Six: Some people refuse to share the spoils, while others earn thousands a day.

Upon hearing Zheng Jing ask this, a smug look immediately appeared on Zhao the Second's face!

However, he didn't tell Zheng Jing directly; instead, he waved his left index finger and said, "Jingzi, let me keep you in suspense for a moment. I'll tell you when we start eating."

"Fine!" Zheng Jing smiled knowingly and looked Zhao the Second up and down. "Judging by that smug look on your face, it seems you found something good today."

"Just luck, just luck…"

Zhao the Second chuckled dryly, absolutely refusing to reveal even the slightest hint beforehand.

Zheng Jing didn't continue to press him.

Not long after, Boss Zhao returned from washing up, and Guo Jianjun also returned to the camp after finishing with the field mice.

Without waiting to eat, the two worked together to skewer the plump field mice with thin twigs and set them over the charcoal fire to roast.

Before long, fat began to sizzle and drip, and the enticing aroma of meat spread all around…

The four of them moved stones to sit around the campfire, picked up their respective aluminum lunch boxes, and prepared to eat along with salted mushrooms and salted duck eggs.

Zhao the Second slapped his forehead: "Almost forgot, yesterday I went to the supermarket with my wife and specifically bought some hard plastic cups. They'll be perfect for serving soup!"

After saying this, he went to the vehicle to retrieve the cups.

"Whoa, Second, you bought the right thing!"

Boss Zhao quickly took the cups and ladled a cup of fresh and sweet wild lily soup for everyone, one by one.

"Thanks…"

Guo Jianjun and Zheng Jing took the cups and nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Boss Zhao.

Guo Jianjun smiled and remarked with emotion, "Second is still the most thoughtful. I've been in the mountains for so long and never thought to get cups like these for drinking soup."

Boss Zhao scratched his head: "Me too!"

After a busy afternoon, everyone was hungry, and the group quickly ate every bit of food in their aluminum boxes.

By the light of the fire, they each took their tableware to the stream to wash them clean.

Zheng Jing casually gave the iron pot used for soup a thorough scrub, then picked up the aluminum kettle nearby, filled it with mountain spring water, and set it on the fire to boil.

Once the water came to a full boil, he grabbed a few handfuls of dried tea leaves, threw them in, and poured a cup of fragrant, hot tea for everyone.

Everyone held their cups of aromatic hot tea and drank with great satisfaction.

Zheng Jing was the first to speak, asking, "We've been busy all afternoon; why don't you all share how your harvest went today?"

Upon hearing this, Boss Zhao rolled his eyes and waved his hand: "Isn't asking me like taking off your pants just to fart—completely unnecessary? Didn't I say it before? I didn't earn a single cent today; I only caught a nest of field mice."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something and exclaimed, "Oh no, it's almost burnt!"

With that, he immediately called out to Guo Jianjun, and the two scrambled over to the campfire to flip all the field mouse meat.

After tending to the field mice, Guo Jianjun sat back in his original spot, chuckled, and said with a touch of pride:

"My harvest this afternoon was pretty good. Even though I only worked half a day, I still managed to dig up several lumps of silver. Altogether, they're worth about two hundred and eighty yuan."

Boss Zhao said enviously, "Not bad, Old Guo. To have that kind of harvest in half a day is pretty damn good."

"Just luck, just luck. What about you, Second?"

Guo Jianjun nodded in agreement and then turned his gaze toward Zhao the Second, who was sitting to the side.

For some reason, Guo Jianjun felt that Zhao the Second was acting a bit strange today, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Zheng Jing knew Zhao the Second's harvest today must have been good. To play along and also out of curiosity, Zheng Jing followed up on Guo Jianjun's question: "Yeah, what about you, Second?"

Zhao the Second chuckled softly, slowly reached into his chest pocket, and pulled out the jar used for storing his finds. He feigned humility: "I'm not very talented. The things I dug up today aren't very heavy—probably only two or three grams."

Upon hearing this, Boss Zhao quickly tried to console him: "That's still pretty good. Two or three grams of silver can sell for forty or fifty yuan; that's definitely better than me, who spent the whole afternoon with nothing to show for it."

Guo Jianjun chimed in: "Yeah, we didn't even expect to find anything this afternoon. Even though your few dozen yuan isn't as much as mine, it's still not bad!"

Zhao the Second finally dropped his feigned low-key demeanor, opened the iron jar, and carefully poured the contents into his palm. "Sorry, Jianjun, sorry, Boss. The two or three grams I mentioned—it's not silver."

"Holy crap, could it be gold?"

"Wow! That's amazing, Second!"

Guo Jianjun and Boss Zhao exclaimed simultaneously.

Zhao the Second nodded smugly and waved the gold in front of everyone: "Exactly, it's the real deal!"

Guo Jianjun's face burned.

Just a moment ago, he was consoling Zhao the Second, saying that a harvest of a few dozen yuan for the afternoon wasn't bad… Now, looking at that glittering piece of gold in his hand, he felt his own consolation was absolutely ridiculous.

Boss Zhao, on the other hand, was happy from the bottom of his heart! Even though he hadn't dug up a single cent of gold or silver today, he was genuinely delighted by his own brother's bountiful harvest.

Guo Jianjun teased, "Second, you've earned at least two or three thousand today. It looks like, in addition to that hot pot from Zheng Jing, you'll have to treat us to a meal too!"

Zhao the Second nodded readily and replied, "No problem, no problem! Put it on the tab, put it on the tab. When Kuizi gets better, we'll all have a feast!"

After some laughter, everyone turned their gaze toward Zheng Jing, waiting to hear about his harvest for the day.

There was no helping it; who knew where this guy picked up the bad habit of waiting until everyone else had finished before he would speak.

Zheng Jing smiled slightly. Naturally, he wouldn't reveal his entire harvest. He reached into the small iron jar at his waist, pulled out the heavy, natural silver nugget, and placed it gently on the stone surface in the middle of the group.

"I didn't have any harvest at all for the whole afternoon; I thought I was going to come up completely empty-handed today. Who knew that just as I was getting ready to pack up and head back, I stumbled upon a patch of mineral soil that looked promising. Unfortunately, the place was heavily waterlogged and extremely difficult to dig. I struggled for a long time before I managed to pry this thing out."

The firelight reflected off the glistening, pearly-white luster of the silver nugget, and everyone gasped in unison.

"Holy crap," Guo Jianjun couldn't help but swear. "So, after all that, I'm the clown?"

Boss Zhao said in a muffled voice from the side, "With me at the bottom, what are you afraid of?"

Then he picked up the silver nugget and examined it carefully, grinning at Zheng Jing: "Whoa… good heavens! This must weigh at least an ounce, right? That's about a thousand yuan!"

Zhao the Second also couldn't help but exclaim, "Zheng Jing, you really have the luck of a koi fish! We've been Gold Panning in the mountains for so many years and haven't even encountered such a large, complete piece of natural silver twice. You've only been in the mountains for a few short days and have already dug up such rare finds one after another!"

Guo Jianjun laughed along and patted Zheng Jing on the shoulder: "If Second hadn't dug up a piece of gold today, you would definitely have been the champion again. Your beginner's luck is just too strong!"

"Just luck, just luck!" Zheng Jing mimicked someone's catchphrase.

As the group was drinking tea and chatting, a sudden "clatter" sound gave everyone a start.