Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

"This place pays state mining tax and land tax every year, which adds up to about $30,000. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency requires this land to undergo an environmental assessment every year, which costs another $10,000 to $20,000."

Oh, and those two hills... the slopes are too steep, causing severe soil erosion. The state requires you to plant trees to stabilize the soil, and the saplings and labor will be another expense. Alright, I wish you find your gold mine soon, hahaha!

After saying that, he quickly led his men away.

"Hahahaha!" Victor laughed so hard he almost fell over. "I knew it! All these years, even selling at low prices, I couldn't sell anything. Turns out there were so many hidden pitfalls! Little Arend, you're in luck!"

Arendt's lips twitched.

I thought it was just that we hadn't found a gold mine for over a decade, but I never expected there to be so many pitfalls here.

But since he'd already come all this way and spent all the money, it would be even more embarrassing for him to show weakness now.

He snorted:

"So what? It's just paying a little more money every year. Even if those millions go down the drain, it's still better than your Crawford family—the tungsten mine was destroyed a few days ago, resulting in a loss of tens of millions; the molybdenum-rhenium mining rights that were just auctioned yesterday were destroyed today, resulting in another loss of tens of millions. Compared to you, we're really just small fry."

As soon as Arendt finished speaking, Viktor and Victor stopped laughing—those words really hit them where it hurt.

After finishing his rant, young Arendt said, "Let's go. First, let the exploration team take measurements and familiarize themselves with the environment, then have them analyze it. Even if we don't find any minerals, camping and having a barbecue here would be nice. I brought a tent, a grill, and plenty of good wine and meat this time."

Little Arend was never there to prospect for minerals; it was there to enjoy the scenery—the place was beautiful, with mountains, water, and grasslands, perfect for camping.

At this moment, Jackson, the arrogant exploration expert from the Arendt family, led seven or eight people, took out instruments, and began measuring the stream, discussing and recording as they went, looking very professional.

The other team consisted of agricultural experts who led people to survey the surrounding soil and vegetation.

Soon the two groups of people returned and met up.

First, Jackson said, "Mr. Arendt, based on my many years of exploration experience, there is indeed gold dust in this stream, as well as a rich amount of precious metal residue."

The problem, however, is that we only know the gold dust comes from upstream, but there are over a dozen valleys and countless tributaries upstream, so we have no idea of ​​its exact location. We can only keep measuring upwards. But given this situation, the Thompson family must have measured it as well. The fact that they haven't found it after so many years suggests things aren't that simple.

Little Arendt waved his hand: "It's alright, we're just here to take a look around and search slowly. Even if we don't find it, we can do something else."

The agricultural expert reported: "Mr. Arendt, the geological and climatic conditions here are suitable for three directions: First, sheep farming, with good pasture resources, and sheep can be ready for market in a year, but the downside is that prices fluctuate greatly; second, planting pine trees for timber and resin, which takes five to eight years to generate revenue, but the income is stable; third, planting forage grass to supply surrounding ranches, with two harvests a year, but the downside is that the profit is thin. We still need to investigate in detail which one to do."

Victor, hearing this, sarcastically remarked, "Little Arendt, your team isn't much better. The Thompson family must have had professionals test this place; they already know what's here. But the problem is, even though they detected gold dust residue, they can't find the mine. What's the use?"

Viktor laughed heartily: "If it were that simple, someone else would have found it long ago. You wouldn't have a chance!"

Arendt shrugged: "It doesn't matter whether we find it or not. We'll continue our exploration. We'll find a place to pitch our tents this afternoon and camp while we look around."

Jackson's lips twitched, then he looked at Su Wanqing, whom little Arendt particularly respected—she was playing with the little boy while handing out various snacks to everyone.

He immediately said, "We'll be going in this direction and that direction, and our route for the next few days will roughly circle this valley. I'd like to ask Ms. Su, didn't she seem to be able to spot the mine with her eyes? What are her thoughts? Perhaps she has a better method?"

Jackson directly shifted the blame onto Su Wanqing.

Little Arendt looked at Su Wanqing: "Oh, dear Su, do you have any opinions on this route arrangement? Of course, if you have a different route, we can follow yours."

Anyway, he wasn't really here to look for minerals, so it would be best to give Su Wanqing some face.

When Su Wanqing arrived, she had already scanned the area within a three-kilometer radius and also activated the surveillance eye with a maximum range of ten kilometers.

While the surveillance eye cannot scan the composition of matter like radar, it can instantly go up to the sky and down to the ground—it can reach everything from clouds in the sky and the surface of mountains to the rock structure underground.

So Su Wanqing quickly checked the geological structure. But after looking at it, she became even more certain—there was nothing around.

It seems that the truly valuable mineral veins are located further upstream.

After all, this area covers several thousand acres, and even a rough tour would take a day or two, while she could cover the other party's route with a scan. Therefore, she had no objections and nodded: "Following Mr. Jackson's route is fine."

Jackson snorted, thinking to himself, "He really is a fraud." He said:

"Since Ms. Su can see with her own eyes, why don't you tell me what you just discovered here? What clues did you find?"

The group of professionals behind him whispered among themselves, "We only detected gold dust residue through instrumental analysis. The other party was just looking at the scenery and eating. What clues could they possibly have?"

"Haha, I'm not trying to be mean, but China's technology is so backward that they don't even have this kind of exploration equipment. What do you expect them to find?"

Deputy Commander Zhao frowned. While it was indeed true, it was far too ruthless for the other party to say it in public like that.

Seeing the two sides locked in a confrontation, Zhou Yanshen frowned and stepped in front of Jackson, just about to teach him a lesson in polite conversation, when Su Wanqing gently tugged at his sleeve and smiled:

"Yan Shen, Mr. Jackson's side relies entirely on instrument analysis, which is indeed a rather outdated method, and the clues are incomplete. In that case, I'll teach them."

Others: "?"

Everyone looked at Su Wanqing in shock.

When Su Wanqing's words were translated, the entire exploration team was in an uproar. No one expected a Chinese person to dare to say such a thing.

"Wait, you mean...we're relatively backward because we rely on precision instruments?"

"Are you kidding me?"