Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 118 A Good General with a Good Horse

Chapter 119 A Good General with a Good Horse

After careful consideration, Zhou Xin decided to buy the car.

He discovered that a high-performance car was indeed a necessity for him.

I don't know how many places I'll be traveling to next, and most of them will definitely have terrible roads.

Moreover, during the preparation for opening a mine, it will definitely require traveling back and forth between the mountains and the city. Without a decent car, things will almost be impossible to carry out.

As long as I'm still working in the gold rush in Alaska, I can't live without this vehicle.

After careful consideration, Zhou Xin decided to go all in and buy this performance monster, which can be considered a long-term investment.

Of course, one of the reasons is that he really likes this car.

A good general deserves a fine horse. After fighting a lifetime of war, can't he enjoy himself?

The shop owner was visibly stunned when he heard that the young Asian man in front of him intended to buy his prized possession in full.

He really couldn't understand how this guy, who was only somewhat handsome and looked completely ordinary, could suddenly pull out such a large sum of cash.

Even he, a car owner, currently has less than a million dollars in disposable cash flow.

Could this young man in front of me be the child of a high-ranking official in the East?

However, regardless of his identity, his current identity is that of his own God.

"Full payment? That makes things even simpler. I never imagined you were so young and already so wealthy. It's truly enviable."

As the shop owner spoke, he led Zhou Xin into the house.

It has to be said that with money, everything becomes incredibly simple.

Before noon, Zhou Xin had already driven this monster-like car onto the road.

You get what you pay for. The driving experience of this Mammoth is completely different from my old, beat-up secondhand pickup truck.

Like everyone who has just picked up a car, Zhou Xin excitedly drove around Anchorage, experiencing speed and passion.

Fortunately, gas is cheap in the United States; otherwise, this 6.2L engine, which is comparable to a gas-guzzling monster, would really be too much for him.

To test the car's performance without delaying his business, he returned to the hotel, picked up Logan, bought a hamburger, and drove towards a piece of land that was up for rent.

Currently, the land in Alaska that can be used for mining and gold panning can be roughly divided into four categories.

The first category is federal and state public land. The rental prices of these lands are relatively transparent and the cheapest, but mining rights must be obtained through bidding, which is extremely competitive.

Although such land is cheap and only requires a mineral royalty fee of 3%–8% of the net income, it is difficult to obtain approval and the process is lengthy, so Zhou Xin is not considering it at present.

The second type is land owned by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The price of this land is determined by the state assessment and is generally slightly higher than that of federal land. It also needs to be acquired through bidding and a corresponding royalty fee must be paid.

These two items are relatively inexpensive, but extremely difficult to obtain.

The third option is land owned by local indigenous companies, which has higher rental prices but is the most common and feasible approach.

Land prices for local indigenous companies need to be negotiated. Generally, a deposit plus annual rent is required, or a low rent plus a 10%-25% gross profit share model can be adopted.

This is the type of land that Zhou Xin is currently focusing on and is heading to today.

As for the fourth type of land owned by individuals, the price is highly arbitrary and needs to be negotiated directly with the landowner.

Unless the landowner is an acquaintance and willing to rent it to you at a low price, there's no need to consider this kind of land.

As Zhou Xin drove, he pondered how to negotiate with the local indigenous company should the land become suitable for mining.

He knew very well that even if he was certain that the land was rich in valuable assets, he couldn't appear too eager.

You can't act like a complete novice, nor can you act too experienced.

Of course, when it comes to negotiating the price, he will still bring two people with him; the more people, the better in this negotiation.

If possible, it's best to hire an agent to handle this kind of thing.

Pay the agent a small fee, and they will use the most professional language to negotiate.

These are all things for later; the most important thing now is to survey the land.

He had contacted the local indigenous company before setting off, and they said he could go and check it himself as long as no machinery was used for the survey.

After all, the land is there, and there's no fear of it being stolen.

Zhou Xin followed the navigation and walked on the road that had been cleared of snow.

At this time, most of Alaska was still covered by ice and snow, and cars could not travel in many places.

The land he chose today is expensive because it's close to the road, but it's also the only land he can reach at the moment.

In the afternoon, Zhou Xin arrived at the location marked on the map.

This is a very ordinary piece of Alaskan land, mostly covered by larch forests.

To test the performance of his new vehicle, Zhou Xin drove it directly onto a small road in the area.

This road was simply carved out by an excavator and was not paved.

Fortunately, the road was not icy, just a bit bumpy and uneven.

"It really is a great car!"

As Zhou Xin drove along the rugged dirt road, he couldn't help but sigh.

Driving on this road is like driving on flat ground; even some deep potholes can be easily navigated.

Especially on a steep slope of nearly 60 degrees, Zhou Xin only lightly pressed the accelerator, and the car drove up steadily.

It seems this car was a worthwhile purchase; I can drive it to every destination I'm looking for.

After parking the car halfway up a mountain, Zhou Xin got out.

Since it hasn't snowed recently, there isn't much snow on the trees, but there is still a thick layer of snow in the forest.

Zhou Xin changed into snowshoes, waved his hand, and led Logan into the jungle.

Logan seemed unusually at home in this environment, running through the jungle like a wanderer returning home.

Zhou Xin strolled through the woods, paying attention to the scents around him.

Nowadays, he can smell gold as long as there is enough within two or three hundred meters.

Of course, if there are only a few tiny specks of gold the size of sesame seeds or mung beans, you'll need to get much closer to smell them.

He wandered around in the woods for over an hour before returning to his car in disappointment.

At least in this area, there is no value worth mining.

He continued driving forward, surveying several different locations.

Finally, he concluded that although the land contained a small amount of gold, it was not worth mining.

If some unlucky person rents it to mine, they will definitely suffer huge losses.

As it grew dark, Zhou Xin drove back to Anchorage.

On the same day, the other two teammates were also completing their tasks in an orderly manner.

Edward visited several machinery companies, roughly surveyed the prices of various types of machinery he needed, and made a table for comparison.

Alo is studying diligently in the machine operation training course, and according to him, he feels pretty good about it.