After about two months of training and running-in, the joint exploration team was finally ready and officially set off.
And long before them, the pioneering team composed of adventurers had arrived. Unlike the exploration team, the task of the pioneer team is to establish camps and repair roads. The camp will be very large, able to accommodate three to four hundred people. Because this place will not only be used as a camping ground for the exploration team, but also a simple smelting site will be established. Once the ore is discovered, preliminary smelting will be carried out to determine its accurate quality and estimate the value of this vein.
Moreover, if it is determined that this vein will be mined, this camp will also be a transfer station between the mine and the outside world in the future. It will be a place similar to a processing plant and a small fortress.
There is a saying on earth that “if you want to get rich, build the road first”, and it is similar in this world. To do big things, you must first build roads. With convenient transportation, it will be much more convenient to transport people or goods.
Apart from anything else, if there are no roads and carriages cannot be driven, can the tools needed for exploration and the household items needed to build a small smelting plant be carried on the shoulders
How much manpower is needed! How much more risk to take!
Especially since the terrain here is relatively northerly, it's a little better now. In the middle of winter, waist-deep snow is common. If there is no road, internal and external transportation will be directly cut off. If something goes wrong at that time, it will really cause the heaven and earth to respond, and the earth and the earth will not work.
Road construction is not only to facilitate the development of mines, but also for their own safety.
In almost two months, a simple road was built. This road is really extremely crude. It is nothing more than clearing away the vegetation on the road, moving away the stones, and smoothing it a little. Although this kind of road seems to be just fine now, it will cause problems over time. Especially when it snows in the winter and melts in the spring, it will definitely turn into mud.
But in any case, it is enough to make do now and allow carriages to pass.
Let’s talk about the future in the future.
Not long after the road was repaired, the exploration team arrived.
Due to the delay of two months, the weather was already very cold at this time, but cold also has its benefits - when the weather is cold, all kinds of poisonous insects and snakes will hibernate, which is safer for exploration. As for the beasts and monsters that move around regardless of the cold, they still move around even when the weather is hot, there is no difference.
Adventurers are not afraid of the cold, and neither are exploration workers. In other words, compared to the less deadly cold, poisonous insects and snakes are more dangerous.
This is what the Ministry of Mines thought, so it deliberately delayed the start of exploration until winter.
What's more, even if you want to go faster, it is inconvenient to start exploration when the roads are not repaired and the camp is not built.
Exploration workers are not adventurers. They are not physically strong enough to fight a black bear or carry heavy supplies over mountains and ridges. However, they need to carry even more things than adventurers - someone has calculated that on average, an exploration worker will bring out at least twenty kilograms of various stones during one trip into the mountains. To carry such a heavy thing across mountains and rivers, of course you need a stable camp. With a reliable rear area, they can carry out such high-intensity work.
Hopps didn't think so much, he was just happy that the journey was over.
"Huh... it's really cold today!" He let out a breath of white air, jumped out of the carriage, looked at the mountain peaks covered with snow, and couldn't help but say, "But the scenery is really beautiful!"
Indeed, there was a heavy snowfall just a few days ago, and now the mountains are all covered in silver, and they are pure white under the clear sunshine. The sky is cloudless, and the blue sky and white peaks are set against each other, which is refreshing.
These days I am either studying or driving. When I look up, all I see is either the roof of a house or the hood of a car. In short, I don’t see the sun very much. Now I can finally feel comfortable. As the saying goes, suppress your desire first, and the joy you feel at this moment is even greater. Better than usual.
If he hadn't been repeatedly warned not to shout in the snow-covered mountains during this period of training, he really wanted to shout loudly at this moment to express his happiness.
At this moment, he heard a roar coming from a carriage behind.
"Ah-oh-ah-oh-"
Hopps covered his face with his hands, unwilling to look back.
But Ruby had already rushed over angrily, grabbed a shouting pig-headed man, and punched him hard to the icy ground.
"You stupid pig! Did you forget that you emphasized in class that you are not allowed to shout in the snow?"
The pig-headed man was really thick-skinned and thick-bodied, so he didn't even care if he got punched. He lied on the ground and said, "I'm not a prospector."
"Even if you are not a prospector, you must abide by the rules! If you yell and an avalanche is triggered, the people who are prospecting in the mountains will be in danger!"
"But everyone has just arrived and hasn't gone into the mountains to explore yet."
"There are other adventurers in the mountains!"
"What do other adventurers have to do with us?"
Ruby was so angry that her nose was crooked, and she didn't bother to talk nonsense with this bastard. She raised her fist and punched him left and right.
"I'm not as reasonable as the school teachers, and I don't know how to convince people with reason. I'm a rough guy." After the beating, he clenched his fists coldly and made a rattling sound, "Rough guys only He will use rough methods to solve problems, do you understand?"
The pig-headed man glared at him fiercely.
"Very good, next time you let me hear you yelling like this, I will hit you with a stick!" Ruby turned a blind eye to the ferocious look in the pig-headed man's eyes and turned away.
During the two months of training, he was recognized by his teachers and classmates and was elected as the captain of the prospectors. As the captain, he needs to lead the team to inspect the camp and prepare many things. He has no time to waste time here.
When he was far away, Hopps sighed and walked to the pig-headed man who was still lying on the ground. A faint green light emitted from his hand and fell on the pig-headed man.
"Fela, you know Ruby's temper, why do you still tease him?" He sighed, "Isn't it interesting that you got this beating for nothing?"
"Sooner or later I will... pay him back..."
"You just had a little conflict at the beginning. Are you always targeting him?"
"an eye for an eye!"
"How can it be so serious! Besides, you are a chef, how can you take revenge on him?"
"There's always... a chance."
Under the healing effect of natural spells, the injuries on the pig-headed man Fela's body improved rapidly, and after a while there were only faint traces left. He thanked Hopps, got up and turned away.
The chef Fela was a stupid young man. During the training camp, he and Ruby didn't know how to look at each other for some reason, and then the two sides quarreled and started fighting. Of course, Fela couldn't beat Ruby and received a beating. After that, this guy started to hold grudges. He would provoke Ruby every now and then, and he would get a beating every time, but he never knew how to repent.
Hopps has a gentle personality and knows some natural magic. Every time he is beaten, he will help him heal. Over time, my healing ability has improved quite a bit, and I have become friends with Fela.
It's just that Fela is relatively withdrawn and stubborn, so Hopps's attempts to persuade him were of no use, and it was the same this time.
Seeing him and Ruby going about their business, Hopps couldn't help but sigh.
(I really don’t know what the Ministry of Mines is thinking. Why does it have to let Fela participate in this exploration? People are divided, but it’s a big taboo!)