Chapter 287 - 150: Spring in the Northern Country

Chapter 287: Chapter 150: Spring in the Northern Country

The high-speed train continued its journey north.

The weather grew colder and colder.

Spring had already arrived in the Northern Country, but the air temperature after the ice and snow melted actually made it feel even colder.

This was especially true the closer they got to the Northeast Region.

He transferred trains once along the way, right at Shanhai Pass.

They passed through many cities, and although he only got a fleeting glimpse of them, his appraisal panel could read information within a 1.6-kilometer radius.

This was another method of use that Jiang Miao had discovered some time ago. All he had to do was close his eyes to rest and focus his mind, sending his thoughts outward in all directions. This would prompt the appraisal panel to actively maintain its maximum range for information collection.

Of course, it was impossible to browse the information in real-time this way. The human brain couldn’t withstand such a massive, instantaneous influx of data. He could only review it all later.

If he were in a car, Jiang Miao wouldn’t use this method of clearing his mind to gather information. It would temporarily render him unable to observe his surroundings, preventing him from detecting potential risks in time.

But on a high-speed train, it was different.

The probability of a high-speed train having an accident was very low. Besides, before boarding, he had already checked the detailed information of this specific train and would only get on after confirming there were no major issues.

Along the way, he collected a vast amount of information.

This data included the activities of every person on the train, the various items they carried, and the geological strata beneath the route they traveled.

Jiang Miao didn’t browse the information on the other passengers. After all, he wasn’t some kind of pervert.

The information he focused on was that of the underground rock layers, as his scan created a cross-section with a 1.6-kilometer radius centered on the train.

After a rough review, he discovered quite a few mineral resources.

Aside from common minerals, there were three particularly valuable deposits. One was discovered in the mountains on the northwestern edge of the Dabie Mountain range, at a depth of 930 to 970 meters. It was a molybdenite-scheelite vein with very high concentrations of molybdenum and tungsten. The section his scan had covered alone contained 470 tons of tungsten and 109 tons of molybdenum.

Another was underground in the mountains near Shanhai Pass, at a depth between 1,425 and 1,444 meters. This was a thorite vein, which contained a significant amount of thorium, a small amount of uranium, and large quantities of rare earth elements.

The last one was found on his way to Home County in Zhelimu City. It was located beneath the highway on the east side of Sanjiazi Town, at a depth of approximately 1,279 to 1,301 meters, and was a chromite spinel vein.

Since this last vein was very close to his destination, he had someone drive him around the area for a look. He discovered that the vein was massive; if fully excavated, it could yield 7.4 million tons of chromium.

Unfortunately, it was buried too deep.

Just as Jiang Miao was about to reach Kulun Town, he discovered a composite gold and silver vein in the nearby desert. Moreover, this vein wasn’t buried too deep, only about 350 to 410 meters down.

This vein contained 44 tons of gold and 276 tons of silver, and the ore grade was quite high.

In the biting cold wind, Jiang Miao’s group drove toward the Yangxumu River, north of Kulun Town. This river was an important barrier preventing the southward spread of the Tamin Chagan Desert and was also the main river in Home County.

The convoy passed through Kulun Town, turned north, and after driving for about 17 kilometers, they saw the very shallow Yangxumu River.

After crossing the highway bridge over the Yangxumu River, Jiang Miao saw large stretches of farmland and residential houses.

The Yangxumu River could be considered Home County’s mother river. It was 112 kilometers long with a drainage basin of 825 square kilometers. It was about 200 meters at its widest point and 30 meters at its narrowest.

The river was perennial, fed mainly by springs, with tributaries like the Hu Jier River and the Chagan River. Its average annual flow was 110 million cubic meters, and it remained frozen for about four months of the year.

As they passed the residential area, the temporary base of the Monan Branch gradually came into view in the distance.

「The convoy arrived.」

Lü Weibin, his skin slightly chapped, jogged up to Jiang Miao. "Boss, welcome to the Monan Branch."

"You’ve worked hard." Jiang Miao could already feel the fierce March wind of Zhelimu City. It was dry and cold, laced with grains of sand that stung his face—an especially harsh sensation for a southerner like him.

Lü Weibin quickly led him, Li Zixuan, and the others into the base. "Boss, the wind and sand are bad out here. Let’s go inside and rest."

The base wasn’t located near Kulun Town but 17 kilometers to the north of it. Not far away was Yangxumu East Village, whose houses were arranged in a long strip along the highway.

The Monan Branch’s base covered an area of 500 mu. Currently, it utilized 100 shipping container homes, which had been assembled into three zones: an office area, employee dormitories, and an equipment warehouse.

The outside of the base was enclosed by concrete pillars and barbed wire fencing.

They entered one of the container offices.

Lü Weibin gave him a brief overview of the situation. "Boss, right now, besides the 50 people I brought with me, the Monan Branch has recruited 150 people from Ji Province, 70 locally in Zhelimu City, and another 80 from across the Northeast. The total number of employees is 351."

Next, Liu Zhiben, the manager of the Monan Branch, spread out a detailed map of Home County. A large area on it had already been circled in red. He pointed to the region and began to explain:

"Boss, this is the cooperative agreement we reached with the local authorities. It covers a total of 350,000 mu. The specific area is along the southern edge of the Tuodian District north of Kulun, at an elevation between 250 and 300 meters, running in an east-west strip."