"Little yellow dog, if you dare to disobey me again, I won't take you out anymore."
"Awoo~"
The little Tibetan fox drooped its ears.
It lay listlessly by the lake, gazing at the wildflowers swimming in the distance.
Lu Fangfang gave a light "humph," then handed the wild duck in her hand to her husband.
Once outside the woods, she led the chestnut horse and the little wild donkey to the lakeside.
She plans to stay here for the next two days, panning for gold, and won't go home tonight; she'll just stay here.
After unloading the things from the little wild donkey, she found a spacious spot and set up the tent.
By the lake, Zhuang Mingcheng was holding a small basin, collecting duck blood.
Just then, Xiao Hua swam back with another wild duck, and he took care of it as well.
Little Flower and Little Tibetan Fox sat in front of him, their faces full of anticipation.
As soon as Zhuang Mingcheng opened the wild duck, the two little guys started squealing loudly.
He was about to throw the entrails to Xiaohua and the little Tibetan fox when he heard his wife shout, "Zhuang Mingcheng, keep the duck intestines."
"Oh, and keep the duck heart and liver too, they're delicious too."
"Um?"
Zhuang Mingcheng looked at the entrails in his hand, then at Xiao Hua and the little Tibetan fox, whose faces were full of anticipation.
"Yes, the wife is the most important," he said, turning around and putting the bowl in the small basin.
"Awoo~"
"Meow~"
The two little ones were tugging at Zhuang Mingcheng, they were getting anxious.
"Alright, alright, you two will get your turn."
Zhuang Mingcheng was a bit of a headache; he hadn't expected his wife to like eating offal.
There was nothing he could do but prioritize his wife's needs.
He took out a dagger and cut off two duck legs.
He cut the remaining duck in two and gave one to the little Tibetan fox and the other to Little Flower.
"Alright, go eat. After you're done eating, you two keep watch around the area. If you spot anyone, just let us know, understand?"
"Meow~"
"Awoo~"
Little Flower and Little Tibetan Fox glanced at the internal organs in the small basin, and were slightly disappointed.
The two of them picked up half a duck and went to eat it.
"Hey, we're giving you duck meat, and you're not happy about it."
Zhuang Mingcheng shook his head. He squatted by the lake and started processing the duck intestines again.
In the woods, Lu Fangfang set up her tent, then took her homemade gold panning tools and walked towards the upstream stream.
"Splash~"
Lifting her skirt, she slowly walked to where the stream flowed into the lake.
She placed the pot lid-shaped gold panning tool on the water's surface, then took the entrenching tool and vigorously scooped it underwater.
"call……"
She lifted the full load of mud and sand, put it into a wooden plate, and then gently swayed it on the surface of the water.
Soon, the muddy water was shaken out, and the mud and sand in the wooden plate gradually decreased.
Lu Fangfang was very patient; she continued to gently shake it.
On the shore, Zhuang Mingcheng watched his wife panning for gold and forgot all about dealing with the ducks.
He quickly ran to a high place and used binoculars to observe his surroundings.
After looking around for a while and not finding any other people or animals, he finally felt relieved and walked towards his wife.
When he reached his wife's side, he watched curiously as she shook the wooden plate.
Gradually, the silt inside decreased, and he vaguely saw a golden hue.
Lu Fangfang splashed some water and gently shook it.
The last of the mud and sand in the plate was washed away, leaving only seven or eight grains of golden sand at the bottom of the plate.
"This...this really does contain gold dust."
Zhuang Mingcheng looked on, utterly astonished.
"Would I lie to you? Not only here, but every river in these mountains has gold dust, it's just a matter of how much."
Lu Fangfang rolled her eyes at him.
Feeling quite excited, she took out the bottle of liquor she had brought from her handbag, and then carefully poured the gold dust from the bottom of the plate into the bottle.
She estimated that the gold dust she found this time was less than one gram, about 0.2 grams.
The current national gold recycling price is about eight yuan per gram, which means that the gold she pans for is worth one yuan and sixty cents.
Of course, the purity of the gold dust isn't that high, so it needs to be reduced a bit, but it's still worth a dollar.
"I can probably get at least ten grams a day."
Lu Fangfang muttered to herself, suddenly realizing it wasn't that much, but it wasn't as profitable as picking up a gold nugget.
She shook her head, then forcefully shoveled up the mud and sand, continuing to shake it in the wooden plate.
Zhuang Mingcheng looked at it curiously, then went ashore to process the duck again.
Little Flower and Little Tibetan Fox had finished eating, and the two little guys ran to the northern hillside, warily looking around.
With two little ones on guard, Zhuang Mingcheng felt relieved.
He went into the woods to find some firewood, started stewing the duck, and then took a small basin and went to the lake.
The two men bent over and diligently panned for gold dust.
The lake water was very cold. After washing for more than an hour, the two of them couldn't stand it anymore and quickly came out to warm up for a while.
Once they regained feeling in their calves, the two continued panning for gold in the stream.
...
In the evening, the two sat by the campfire and took stock of the day's harvest.
The bottle of liquor they brought already had a thin layer of gold dust inside, which looked exceptionally beautiful.
Zhuang Mingcheng ladled out a bowl of duck soup and handed it to his wife, saying, "Stop looking at this, have some duck soup to warm yourself up."
Lu Fangfang shook it again before reluctantly putting it down.
They worked non-stop all afternoon, their legs were numb from the cold, before they finally managed to clean these things. It was a very arduous task.
"Mingcheng, how heavy do you think these are?"
Zhuang Mingcheng picked up the bottle of liquor and tested it in his hand. "At most seven or eight grams."
"Seven or eight grams, and that's not even pure gold, it's not even worth fifty yuan."
Lu Fangfang muttered to herself, suddenly feeling somewhat dejected.
The two of them worked hard all afternoon and only earned less than fifty yuan. How long would it take them to save up enough to buy a courtyard house?
Seeing his wife's expression, Zhuang Mingcheng shook his head. "That's quite a lot. The two of us did in an afternoon, which is equivalent to half a month's salary for me."
"That's true."
Lu Fangfang grinned foolishly again; her monthly salary was only thirty yuan.
The two of them used wooden pans to pan for gold, but it was still too slow. She planned to make a chute out of wooden planks when she had time, so that the process would be faster.
Over the past few years, she has had to fill this liquor bottle with gold dust, otherwise she wouldn't be satisfied.
Holding the small bowl, she took a small sip, then nodded, saying the duck soup was quite delicious.
It was already dark in the woods, and all around was quiet except for the sounds coming from their side.
Lu Fangfang stroked Xiaohua's head, with a semi-automatic rifle right next to her, so she wasn't afraid.
One duck and half a pot of duck soup were not enough for the two of them to finish.
There was a little bit left, which was fed to Little Flower and Little Tibetan Fox.
Zhuang Mingcheng patted the two little ones on the head and whispered, "You two keep watch tonight. If there's any noise, wake us up."
"Meow~"
The little flower's eyes glowed green. It licked Zhuang Mingcheng's hand and then looked around.
The little Tibetan fox did the same, pricking up its ears to listen to the sounds around it.
Seeing the two little ones looking so serious, Zhuang Mingcheng felt relieved. He picked up his wife and headed towards the tent.
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