After finishing his meal, Chen Feng packed his things and said goodbye to Liu Ping. Liu Ping saw him off to the door and watched the two cars drive away before returning home.

As the sky grew brighter, Chen Feng popped a piece of chewing gum into his mouth and chewed it as he walked.

Around 6:00, they finally arrived at the abandoned mine.

Just as they were about to enter the abandoned mine, Chen Feng stopped the car, and Huang Fei also pulled over. Everyone got out.

After Lin Nian came down, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and started handing them out one by one.

"You guys go in later, I'll turn around here." Chen Feng took Lin Nian's cigarette and told everyone.

"Okay, then keep an eye on Fengzi. Call us immediately if anything happens," Yin Xing instructed.

"Definitely, don't worry. I estimate we'll get there around 8 PM, and the roads won't be easy to drive on after dark." Chen Feng glanced at the time.

"Then say a few words and leave. It's getting dark soon. An abandoned mine isn't like a main road where you can drive around without any problem," Zheng Ping urged for his safety.

"Okay, I'm off now. Brothers, I'll have to ask you to keep an eye on Lin Nian. After all, it's his first time traveling far from home, and it's also his first time seriously panning for gold."

"Please take good care of her."

Chen Feng asked everyone to speak.

"Don't worry, Fengzi, we'll definitely keep an eye on him even if you don't tell us."

"Haha, don't worry, Lin Nian is a very likable kid, we won't abandon him." Someone patted Lin Nian's head and laughed.

"Alright, then I'll thank you all on Lin Nian's behalf. I'm leaving now. Call me if you need anything." Chen Feng prepared to get into the car.

Lin Nian did seem a little awkward in the crowd, unlike the others who were more relaxed.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Chen Feng drove towards the old man's location.

"Let's go, we won't be panning for gold today. Let's find a comfortable place to have a meal and get some sleep, and start again tomorrow morning."

Zheng Ping put his arm around Lin Nian's shoulder and they returned to the car.

"Okay." Lin Nian nodded.

Chen Feng looked at the navigation and planned to call the old man halfway there.

I don't know if this place is suitable or not.

In reality, even if this place really had more resources than the abandoned mines in the hills, Chen Feng couldn't just bring Zheng Ping and the others here.

Although this place is unclaimed, logically speaking, it belongs to the old man.

The old man sent Chen Feng, but not anyone else.

If Chen Feng had just called Zheng Ping and his group over without warning, what kind of situation would that have been? What would the old man think of Chen Feng?

There's a saying, "A guest doesn't bring guests," which applies equally to the gold rush world.

Whether Zheng Ping and his group can ultimately come to this new place depends on the old man's decision; they can only come if the old man agrees.

After walking halfway there, Chen Feng called the old man.

"Hey, sir, I'm almost at your location. You're at the location indicated by the GPS, right?" Chen Feng asked.

"No, I moved forward a little more. I'll send you a new location. Come here," the old man replied.

"Okay, grandpa, we'll meet soon, haha." Chen Feng laughed as he drove.

"Okay, okay, I'll wait for you here. If you really can't find me, I'll come pick you up," the old man said warmly.

Chen Feng soon arrived at the abandoned mine. It felt a bit more difficult to navigate than the one in Qiuling City, and there were occasional crooked corn stalks to be seen inside.

You can see bits of litter on the road from time to time, like broken soy sauce bottles and the like.

After walking for another twenty minutes, he reached the location. Chen Feng saw a bonfire in the distance. An old man next to the bonfire shielded his eyes from the bright lights and waved to him.

Chen Feng parked the car next to him and got out.

"Grandpa, I've missed you so much!" Chen Feng went up and gave the old man a big hug.

"Oh dear, you must be exhausted from the journey. Come and warm yourself by the fire. Have you eaten yet?" The old man took his hand and led him to the fire.

"No, sir, you just finished panning for gold too?" Chen Feng asked, sitting down next to the old man.

"Yeah, I was a bit tired today, so I just waited for you here and came back."

The old man nodded, took out a stack of pancakes, soybean paste, and scallions from the bag next to him, and handed them to Chen Feng.

"Eat, have a bite if you're hungry," the old man said, offering his food.

"Grandpa, I brought some food in my car. Let's eat together. This dish is exhausting."

Chen Feng took the pancake, went back to his car to get a few red sausages, and came back to hand them to the old man.

"I don't want it, you eat it. I don't like sausages," the old man declined.

"Come on, grandpa, have something to eat with me," Chen Feng urged earnestly.

Although Chen Feng was a street thug with a slightly bad reputation, he was actually quite eloquent and not as annoying as other street thugs.

It simply depends on whether he wants to communicate with you.

After several refusals, the old man finally accepted the sausage, smiled a little embarrassedly, and said, "I'm just giving you some pancakes, and you're adding sausage on top of that. This isn't cheap, is it?"

"What's the big deal about cheap or expensive? It's just the two of us in this desolate place, let's just eat whatever we can find." Chen Feng said with a smile as he rolled the sausage into the pancake.

"Hmm." The old man took a bite of sausage, along with some pancake, and then took a sip of wine.

Chen Feng noticed that this wine was the same brand as the one from the tavern that day. It seemed that the old man had gotten used to drinking it and had been drinking the same one all the time.

"Would you like some? I still have some in my car," the old man asked, holding up the bottle of wine in his hand.

"I don't drink much, sir, you can drink, I'll keep you company with water."

Chen Feng clinked his bottle of mineral water with the old man's, and the two of them burst into laughter at the same time.

The two ate and chatted idly.

"Grandpa, where are you from?" Chen Feng asked, taking a bite of a scallion.

"It's nearby, about a hundred kilometers away, a small village." The old man pointed in a direction.

"Oh, grandpa, you're doing well here. It's close to home, so you can go home anytime," Chen Feng said, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, it is indeed closer than yours." The old man took a bite of the pancake, and the firelight reflected on his face, making him look even thinner.

"How many years have you been doing this, sir?" Chen Feng asked, looking down to pick up another pancake.

"More than thirty years, that's about right." The old man was a little unsure, but after calculating in his mind, he nodded to confirm.

"My goodness, after all these years of gold panning, you're truly a veteran!" Chen Feng's emotional appeal was off the charts.

"What seniority? It's all just empty talk." The old man shook his head with a smile.

"Sir, if I may ask, what is your surname?" Chen Feng took out a cigarette and offered one to the old man.

"My surname is Fang, meaning benevolent and righteous." The old man accepted the cigarette.

"Oh, Uncle Fang, my name is Chen Feng." Chen Feng introduced himself and lit a cigarette for the old man.