Seeing that the boat was about to sink, the remaining guards went to Princess Jinyi and Xu Lin's cabins to pack their luggage. By the time the boat sank, Princess Jinyi had already boarded another boat.
As if by divine mercy, the remaining four ships were still in good condition even after the people were disembarked. After a group of people were let go, the crew continued along the route to other countries and sold the cargo on board.
The group of fifty miners, led by Princess Jinyi, disembarked at the Silver Mine Island. After disembarking, the guards went ahead to explore the way, while the rest of the people packed their luggage on the spot.
About half an hour later, Ah Er returned with a few islanders. A guide who had been out at sea for years gestured with the islanders and replied, "Princess, there are silver mines to the east, west, and south of the island. These few people will lead the way and ask us to leave some food."
Princess Jinyi asked, "Why don't they mine silver?"
The guide bowed and replied, "The locals still barter; there's no currency. Some of the natural silver lumps they use as stone for building walls."
Xu Lin and A'er took care of the rest of the things. They quickly found a place to stay and set up their residence. They had to let Princess Jinyi move into a tent that was sheltered from the wind and rain before dark.
The mosquitoes on this island were very scary, but fortunately, Empress Jing'an had prepared some mosquito repellent early on. Sitting in the shade, Princess Jinyi looked at the completely unfamiliar environment and for the first time felt that a long sea voyage was not a good idea, as it was too far away from her father, the emperor, and her mother, the empress.
Time passed quickly. Within seven days, mining had begun in the east, and a large number of naturally formed silver lumps had been found. Ah Er also collected what the villagers on the island had.
There were about 500 people on the island, including about 100 teenagers and men. Gradually, these people joined the mining effort. The food supply was plentiful, enough to feed 200 people for two months. Add to that the abundant fish available near the island, and the daily rations were quite good.
In the past few days, Princess Jinyi, besides visiting the silver mine to see its progress, has also been escorted around the island by Ah Da. The island boasts a myriad of exotic fruits, and the islanders even eat a somewhat smelly fruit. Once, while walking under a tree, he was nearly hit by a large fruit. After tasting the fruit, Ah Er told many people how delicious it was. However, after eating two in a row, Ah Er suffered a nosebleed that night due to excessive heat.
At first, Princess Jinyi didn't understand. But one day, she suddenly remembered the durian Queen Jing'an had mentioned in her childhood. She asked Er to pick one to try. The skin was covered in thorns and had a hard, pungent rind. When she opened it, it smelled foul, exactly as Queen Jing'an had described. Holding her nose, Princess Jinyi took a bite and was struck by the incredibly sweet flavor.
Princess Jinyi couldn't stop eating and ate three pieces in a row before Ah Er stopped her: "Princess, don't eat too much. It will cause internal heat."
Remembering that Queen Jing'an said that one durian was equivalent to three old hens, Princess Jinyi thought to herself that three old hens are very nutritious, otherwise how could she get angry?
From then on, everyone around Princess Jinyi started eating durian, except Ah Da. Ah Da never even tried it, and every time he just watched Princess Jinyi and the others eat it with indescribable smile.
Xu Lin, no one like Princess Jinyi, was busy making arrangements day and night, spending over ten days and nights organizing the excavation. After more than two weeks of excavation, the naturally formed silver lumps on the eastern side of the island had been nearly completely excavated. As they were turning south, four cargo ships returned to the island.
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