Fairy Tree

However, according to the current mining volume, it is very unlikely to dig out 50 kilograms of hematite in a month.

Unless he is lucky enough to dig up a piece of black iron ore, as long as there is a bean-sized piece of black iron ore, he can spend a month smoothly. However, since Bailiantang has such a low requirement for the amount of black iron ore, it must be very rare. It is estimated that digging a piece of black iron ore may not be more reliable than digging 50 kilograms of hematite.

"It seems that I have to think of a way. I can't dig like this." Xiao Lin muttered to himself. He looked at the mine through the dim light of the kerosene lamp. The mine was full of red soil, and the piece of hematite in his bamboo basket was also dug out from this red soil. So there is no doubt that hematite can only exist in this red soil.

Xiao Lin stared at the soil in the mine, and he remembered a sentence his father once told him. If you want to catch a fat flower deer, you must find some places with lush water and grass. Only in places with lush water and grass, the number of flower deer is not only large, but also fat and big.

In Xiao Lin's opinion, there is no doubt that this mine is a hematite vein, but the distribution and density of hematite in this vein must be different. He has been digging for four hours and only found a piece of hematite, which means that the direction he dug is not the direction rich in hematite.

Thinking of this, Xiao Lin stood up again, picked up the pickaxe, and dug another small hole in the wall of the mine according to the previous appearance. After digging a few meters deep, he expanded the mine, and then found the right direction and continued to dig.

Although the days of mining in the cave were hard, time passed quickly. Ten days passed quickly. Xiao Lin put down the pickaxe in his hand with sweat on his head, shook his numb arm, and turned his head to look at the bamboo basket.

Seven or eight pieces of hematite lay quietly in the bamboo basket. The big one was the size of a walnut, and most of them were the size of a thumb. Xiao Lin's face was full of helpless expressions.

In these ten days, he kept changing directions, dug five or six small branch holes, and carefully studied the soil near the hematite he dug out, but there was no substantial discovery.

This made him very distressed. The hematite in the bamboo basket was only five or six kilograms at most, far from fifty kilograms. At this rate, less than twenty kilograms of ore would be produced in a month. Xiao Lin knew what this meant.

He even planned to collect ten days of food and water when the month was approaching, and then sneak away at night. Although the entire mining area was full of Bailiantang's sentinels and hidden cards, it would be better to be discovered and killed than to be whipped to death.

With a helpless sigh, Xiao Lin walked out of the mine.

It had been ten days, and his food and water had been used up. He had to go out for a trip to replenish them.

On the way back, it was okay at first, but when it was almost the second half, Xiao Lin always felt as if there was a pair of eyes staring at him. That feeling was very similar to the feeling of being stared at by a wild beast in the forest when hunting. Xiao Lin's right hand was clenched tightly. If someone really attacked him, even if he couldn't beat him, he would fight to the death and make the other party pay a heavy price.

What comforted Xiao Lin was that no one jumped out to attack him along the way. He got out of the mine smoothly. When he got out of the mine, he couldn't help but close his eyes. Living in the mine for a long time made his eyes unable to adapt to the strong light. After a while, he opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. It was about two or three o'clock in the afternoon. He took a deep breath of fresh air outside and walked towards the cafeteria. Although Bailiantang had very strict requirements on the miners' mining tasks, it was not stingy when it came to eating. As soon as he entered the cafeteria, he saw baskets of steamed buns neatly arranged, and on the other side, there were several large wooden barrels filled with green vegetables. Xiao Lin went to serve himself a plate of green vegetables, took three white flour buns, found a seat, and sat down to eat. In the mine, he had been eating buns all the time. It was not easy to come out to eat a meal, and Xiao Lin ate it particularly sweetly. In addition to Xiao Lin, there were seven or eight miners in the cafeteria. Like Xiao Lin, they came out for supplies and took the opportunity to come out for a good meal. "Bajiao, how are you doing? Can you complete the task this month?" Three people were sitting not far from Xiao Lin. They obviously knew each other. One of them was a miner with thin arms and legs but a big head. He said to a very strong miner next to him.

"Don't mention it. This month is hanging. So far, only ten pounds of ore have been produced. I don't know what's going on. I used to dig two or three pounds a day in the mine, but recently it has suddenly decreased. I might really get whipped this month." The strong miner was chewing a steamed bun and spoke vaguely. After saying a few words, he glared at the big-headed miner opposite him.

"Big head, I heard that you are studying the distribution of mineral veins recently. What are the results?"

The big-headed miner had a mysterious look on his face when he heard this: "Hehe, you know what, I really have some clues." He stopped here and scanned the surroundings. There were only a few people in the cafeteria except them. Xiao Lin, who was the closest, was five tables away from them.

"I've done some careful research recently, and I've discovered that the probability of hematite appearing is much higher in red soils that are relatively rocky." The big-headed miner spoke in a low voice, but Xiao Lin, who had pricked up his ears long ago, could still barely hear it.

His eyebrows moved slightly, and there was no expression on his face. He lowered his head and took a big bite of the bun.

"Oh? Is your statement reliable? Besides, how do you know which mine has more rocks?" Another miner with a bit of bald hair also approached with interest on his face.

"Bald man, you two have always been able to complete your monthly tasks. It's not because of my big head's guidance. The most taboo thing in mining is to dig a hole until it dies. You must know that if you dig in the wrong direction, you will definitely gain. It's so pitiful." Datou had a proud expression on his face, and his voice couldn't help but become a little louder.

A hint of joy appeared on the face of the sturdy miner: "You mean to constantly change the direction of mining and specifically choose places with more rocks to dig?" If it's like what you said, I only need to complete the task this month, and I won't take any extra money. I'll give it all to you. "

"Me too." The bald miner echoed.

"No regrets." The big-headed miner looked solemn and said to the sturdy miner and the bald miner.

"Of course." They both replied in unison.

"Okay, if I can become an outer disciple of Bailian Hall one day, I will definitely take care of you." Big Head Miner took a bite of the steamed bun in his hand, with a proud expression on his face, as if he had become Bailian Hall Same as the outer disciples of the hall.

"I heard from Li Hu that starting from this month, the amount of road money will increase, and it will probably double than before." The sturdy miner said in a low voice with a dissatisfied expression on his face.

"Shh." The big-headed miner's expression changed, he glared at the sturdy miner, made a gesture to silence him, and then lowered his voice again and said a few words.

Although Xiao Lin pricked up his ears and concentrated all his energy, he still couldn't hear clearly what the big-headed miner said. This made a puzzled expression appear in his eyes. He was a little confused as to what the robust miner meant by travel money. What is it? Why do the three of them look cautious when they mention these two words, as if they are afraid of being overheard by others.

Although he was full of doubts, Xiao Lin still felt that the meal was worth it. No matter what the big-headed miner said was right or not, he was ready to give it a try. For him now, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, he would give it a try. catch.

Seeing the three miners whispering a few words and hurriedly collecting food and water and leaving, Xiao Lin also stood up. He still received food and water according to the maximum ten days standard, and then headed straight towards the mine.

On the way, he took a look at the neat huts. He also wanted to go back to his residence and have a good sleep, but considering the amount of ore he had dug now, it would be difficult to sleep soundly.

He returned to the branch cave where he was mining. It was very peaceful along the way. The feeling of being stared at did not appear again. He held a kerosene lamp and looked carefully in the entire mine. While watching, he also While gently digging a few times with the pickaxe, after half an hour, the pickaxe suddenly made a clanking sound, as if it had hit something hard.

Xiao Lin's face showed joy, he picked up the pickaxe and dug into the position just now.

Half an hour later, Xiao Lin looked at a thumb-sized piece of hematite in his palm, with an ecstatic expression on his face. It seemed that the method the big-headed miner said was indeed effective, which made Xiao Lin's heart feel hot.

After that, every time Xiao Lin dug to a depth of five or six meters, he would carefully check whether there were stones mixed in the veins. As long as there were many stones, he would continue digging, and he would stop digging where there were few stones.

And during the mining process, Xiao Lin was surprised to discover a pattern. This dark red soil was actually mixed with an associated crystal ore. This kind of ore Xiao Lin also found in the mountains behind his home when he was a child. I've seen it before, but the crystal here is a little different. It's translucent. When you put it in front of a kerosene lamp, you can see a red halo inside.

Xiao Lin discovered that as long as he dug this kind of crystal, he would be able to dig a piece of hematite nearby. This made Xiao Lin very motivated. Except for the fixed three hours of sleeping time and eating time every day, he spent all his time On mining.

Another seventeen days passed in the blink of an eye. During this period, Xiao Lin only went out once to replenish food and water. Xiao Lin took a look at his bamboo basket, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and smiled on his face.

There are already more than thirty pieces of hematite in the bamboo basket. The largest piece is about the size of a fist. A rough estimate shows that the amount of hematite in the bamboo basket should have exceeded fifty kilograms, at least fifty-five kilograms. Six pounds, this month’s task is no problem.

There are still three days left to hand in the task. In these three days, he should be able to dig at least five or six kilograms of ore. Calculating this, he should have about sixty kilograms of ore, which is far more than he has. expectations.

But if you pay more, you can only get a 1% commission. One percent of ten pounds is one tael. Xiao Lin calculated in his mind. Although he didn't know the value of hematite, one tael would be converted into money. It was estimated that there wasn't much. He originally wanted to put the extra ore in the mine and wait until next month if the quantity was insufficient, then take it out to complete the task.