The fire was roaring below, and the water was boiling faster than Chen Feng had expected.

Open the pot lid, and everyone started tearing vegetables into it. Yin Xing then threw in an entire packet of noodles.

Boil one packet first, and if that's not enough, boil another pot later. After all, the pot is only so big, and it can't hold any more.

Chen Feng's noodle-cooking skills were average, so Yin Xing was the one adding the seasonings. A few minutes later, the aroma filled the air.

Looking at the vegetable noodles in the pot, everyone couldn't help but swallow.

Before long, a pot of vegetable noodles was cooked. Yin Xing used his clothes to support his hands and took the pot down. Everyone took their aluminum lunch boxes and came forward to choose one, each picking out a large box.

A series of slurping sounds rose around the campfire, and the aroma alone was enticing. Chen Feng ate a few bites of noodles and couldn't resist taking a sip of the soup.

At home, dried noodles are practically at the bottom of the food chain. People would never choose them if they had anything else to eat; even instant noodles are better.

But now, it has become an unparalleled delicacy, the only drawback being the lack of a poached egg.

Everyone decided that next time they would definitely bring some eggs, even if it was just for boiling to satisfy their cravings.

"It smells so good, I'll have another one." Huang Fei picked out another one from the pot with his empty aluminum lunchbox and scooped some soup into it.

"Eat up, we'll have another pot if you're still hungry. I brought two packs of noodles," Yin Xing said, holding a lunchbox.

"That's enough, that's enough. This is a huge pot of noodles, and there will be a lot after cooking hot soup noodles," Zheng Ping said quickly after looking at the pot.

Those with small appetites eat two boxes, while those with large appetites eat two and a half to three boxes.

Chen Feng ate two boxes, then filled another half box with soup and drank it.

In the end, there was only a little bit of noodles left in the pot. Everyone shared it and divided it up. It was quite frightening that a whole pot of vegetable noodles ended up with not a single drop of soup left.

"belch…"

Yin Xing put down his lunchbox with satisfaction and lit a cigarette.

Everyone acted in unison, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

"How many days have we been shopping here?" someone couldn't help but ask.

"Three days. I should go back in two more days," Zheng Ping replied after calculating.

"In this line of work, everyone's daily income never falls below 180, most earn 200 or 300, unless they're really unlucky," the man nodded and sighed.

“Go home and rest for a few days before coming back. Before, people always said that gold panning was addictive, but I didn’t think so. I thought they were talking nonsense. I’ve been panning for years and I’m not addicted. How could I be addicted?”

"Now I understand, this thing is like gambling, it's really addictive, I can't stop," another person said with a laugh.

"Yes, next time we'll be more experienced and can prepare more things. And if you ask me, next time if anyone wants to join, we shouldn't bring them."

"It's not that I meant anything else. The car is already packed full of people and supplies, and there will only be more next time."

“If there are more people, not only will we carry less supplies, but each person will also have far fewer supplies on average. It will be a question whether we can even last five days,” one of his companions said, taking a deep drag on his cigarette.

Zheng Ping thought for a moment but didn't say anything. In his heart, he didn't want to bring them along. The number of people was just right, mainly because the car was only so big.

If bringing one more person means missing a day of shopping, the cost will increase and the harvest will decrease, making it a losing proposition.

After all, no matter how many days you spend shopping, the travel expenses for one trip are fixed, there's only so much.

But if someone really wants to join and comes to him, how can he refuse? They're all from the same village, they used to pan for gold together, and now it seems like he's making money but not sharing it with others.

Upon hearing this, Yin Xing nodded in strong agreement.

“Yes, we’re not bringing anyone. Let’s be blunt. Did they really have something going on at home? They just wanted us to go first and scout things out.”

“They’ll come back if they actually make money. If they don’t make any money, we’ll cover their travel expenses, and they won’t lose anything. They won’t share our travel expenses either.”

"Why do they get all the good things, but we get all the bad things? Are they the smart ones and we're all stupid?"

"You like to play tricks, right? Go ahead and play at home. We're all in the same boat, from the same village. Why is it that someone always tries to be clever?"

Yin Xing strongly disapproved of this kind of thing. He was a straightforward person who said what he meant and never hid anything.

He is the same in his dealings with others; he never cheats or hides his true intentions, so he looks down on those who are cunning.

Actually, the companion who suggested not bringing others had the same idea in mind, but he was too embarrassed to be as direct as Yin Xing.

After all, the words were a bit harsh, and it wouldn't be good if they got back to other people.

But now that Yin Xing had finished speaking, everyone had no more concerns.

"Yes, it's not that we don't want to bring them, but what can we do if there's no room? We don't even have enough supplies to carry, how can we bring in another person? Am I supposed to go down and let them come up?"

"That's right. Since they can't come because of family matters, they shouldn't come at all. They should just stay home. It's fine to hire a car to go to the small abandoned mine. It's all the same whether you look for treasures or not."

"This time we can only take care of other people's cars. Even Dafei came with us. There are no more vans in the village."

Everyone started talking at once, and someone looked at Huang Fei and smiled.

Upon hearing this, Huang Fei pursed his lips and chuckled.

He wouldn't interfere much in such matters. After all, he was just a driver. Although he disapproved of those people's behavior, whether or not to give them a ride was their business and had nothing to do with him.

Even if you come to Qiuling City alone, as long as you pay for the transportation, he will come too.

He doesn't care if you bring a full load of people to Qiuling City, as long as you don't exceed the capacity. After all, you're willing to earn less, so what does it have to do with him?

Chen Feng remained silent, not because he was afraid of what others might hear, but because he needed to buy a minivan when he got back.

I'll have my own car then, so I can come and go as I please.

As for how many people Huang Fei's van carried, and whether they wanted to add more, that was none of Chen Feng's business.

Anyway, Chen Feng's car is definitely not going to carry anyone, so it won't matter who begs him later.

I can't poop!

"Zheng Ping, no matter who asks you, don't agree to anything. Don't bring anyone along. Don't be shy. Just say it's everyone's decision and you can't change it," Yin Xing instructed Zheng Ping.

Zheng Ping hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, but finally nodded.

"Okay, I'll just say it was a unanimous decision and I can't change anything. Besides, we really can't take any more with us. There's no room at all. We're using the supplies we brought very sparingly, and we don't even dare to drink too much water."

"If we bring one more person, they'll probably all starve to death here."

Hearing Zheng Ping's affirmative words, everyone nodded in satisfaction. Their gold-mining team was now officially established, and the personnel were all fixed.