My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 110 I'm Only Targeting You

On the way back from Li Guozhu's mine, Zhou Jingming kept thinking about one question: Why did Li Guozhu explain his past so clearly, even including the fact that he changed his identity?

Logically speaking, a veteran gold prospector who has been a drifter for many years, panned for gold in the West Sea for two years, and spent a year in Altay should be very clear about the importance of not speaking too deeply with casual acquaintances.

It is inappropriate to have in-depth conversations with people you are not close to, as this may lead to misunderstandings or unnecessary trouble.

Especially in the gold mining industry.

But Li Guozhu said it anyway.

Zhou Jingming became increasingly confused about Li Guozhu's thoughts and suspected that what he said was likely false or a mixture of truth and falsehood.

He didn't believe that saving someone, meeting them twice, and exchanging only a few words would lead to a deep friendship.

But Zhou Jingming wasn't in a hurry. Li Guozhu's mine was in good condition and hadn't been destroyed by the flood. If nothing unexpected happened, they would stay on that small peninsula for the next six months.

There are still a few months left, and I believe we will continue to interact and have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other better.

A day passed quietly.

The work on the small peninsula resumed as usual the next day.

Instead of digging for gold, the people peeled back the surface mud and sand, continuously transporting it upstream to dump it and use it to block the river.

This process lasted for three whole days. Only after the surface layer of nearly forty square meters of mud and sand was removed and the gold-bearing layer was discovered did the panning officially begin.

Because of the deep erosion caused by the flood, the riverbed has collapsed, and the water level has dropped significantly compared to when we first arrived. Even though we can now see the gold-bearing layer, there is still not much water in the sand pit, which makes it quite convenient for work.

However, when transporting materials, they are moved from low to high places. When climbing the reserved earthen slope, it takes three people to push and pull a cart.

Even so, the speed of transporting materials is much faster than carrying them basket by basket using a pole and a windlass.

Previously, the diesel engine installed on the riverbank would only start when a certain amount of material was transported and accumulated, and water would be pumped into the chute for washing.

The materials that have been delivered are more than enough to supply the needs, and the machines have been running non-stop since they were started.

Although it was just surface mud and sand with a low gold content, there was a lot of it, and by the end of the day, the amount of gold panned was quite good. When the gold was divided in the evening, Zhou Jingming still got six grams of gold.

Furthermore, over the next few days, as they continued to dig deeper, more and more gold was mined each day, and by the fourth day, Zhou Jingming would be able to receive nine grams.

The same thing happened for the next two days.

But by this time, there was already a lot of water in the sandpit, so we had to wear waders to work, and drainage became a problem that had to be considered.

That very night, it started raining again, though it was just a moderate drizzle that continued intermittently for a day and a night without stopping. The river level rose considerably, but it was still far from submerging the small peninsula. The pumps and chutes set up on the peninsula remained untouched.

The main problem was that the sandpit was also filled with water more than a meter deep, making it impossible to continue drying.

In the past few days, groups of two or three people have come to the valley to inspect the sand and select mining sites, probably also to investigate the situation of the various gold panning teams in the ravines.

There were outsiders inspecting sand in the Chagou River Valley, and there were also gold panning teams whose mining sites in Chagou had been destroyed. Unable to find suitable mining sites, they chose to leave and their whereabouts were unknown.

Wu and Zhao, the foremen downstream of the small peninsula, both left.

They didn't come over to say goodbye when they left.

Zhou Jingming had only heard that Wu, the foreman, was leading a group to Donggou to take a look, while Zhao's group had scattered. The people in the group felt that gold panning was dangerous, with fighting and robbery happening all the time, so the men under his command had lost the will to continue panning for gold and felt that their lives were more important.

These things are perfectly understandable.

People coming and going is a common occurrence in the Gold Rush Valley.

In Zhou Jingming's view, their friendship with him was simply a desire for harmonious coexistence and non-interference.

Since I've already decided to leave, it's hard to say whether we'll ever see each other again, so why bother saying goodbye?

Of course, Zhou Jingming didn't really care.

The rain finally stopped around 10 a.m. the next morning. As the sky brightened, Zhou Jingming and Peng Yuanchao thought the weather would clear up in the afternoon. However, after the sun shone for more than an hour, it started raining again around 2 p.m., just as Peng Yuanchao was calling everyone to go up to the small peninsula to start digging ditches.

The group had no choice but to return to their tents to rest.

With nothing to do, some people slept in their tents, others played cards, and still others took out their tattered clothes and mended them.

Zhou Jingming, feeling bored, took out the novel he had bought on the train in the middle tent and prepared to read it again.

Just as the rain was at its heaviest, Jinwang, who was sleeping in the tent, suddenly got up, ran to the tent door, and started barking wildly at the outside.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Jingming quickly got up, went to the tent entrance, lifted the tarpaulin, and saw a large group of gold prospectors approaching rapidly in the rain.

I'd estimate there are forty or fifty of them.

Although the rain obscured their faces, Zhou Jingming could still discern their ill intentions from the pickaxes, shovels, and hunting rifles they carried.

Startled, he yelled at Wu Yang, who was lying on the bed reading a comic book and wrapped in a blanket, motionless: "Get up quickly! A large group of people are coming for us! Call for help!"

Perhaps because of the noise of the rain, and because Jinwang was inside the tent, it only noticed these people when they were about fifty meters away.

That's way too close.

Zhou Jingming didn't have time to retrieve his double-barreled shotgun; gathering his men was the most important thing right now. He rushed into the rain and then dashed into the tent on the left: "Get up quickly! Someone's here to take over our territory! Grab your weapons!"

Inside the middle tent, Peng Yuanchao threw down his comic book and ran to the door. He was shocked to see that Zhou Jingming had already entered the left tent. He didn't even bother to put on his shoes and ran into the right tent, shouting.

With the two leaders in charge so tense, the rest of the members dared not be careless in the slightest and rushed out of their tents.

Just then, I saw that group of people rushing towards me.

They must have known there were dogs, so they deliberately chose to come during this rainy time to catch them off guard.

Now that we're so close and have already been discovered, it's time to act quickly.

Everyone was startled. Those who had been given guns rushed into the middle tent to get them, while those who didn't grab pickaxes and shovels. But seeing the enemy's fierce approach, they dared not linger outside and followed the crowd into the middle tent.

Meanwhile, inside the middle tent, Wu Yang, who had been awakened, threw off the covers and jumped out of bed. Without even putting on his shoes, he rushed to a corner of the tent, took down the hunting rifles that were wrapped in burlap sacks, and poured them all out by tilting the sacks upside down.

Those who received guns hurriedly picked them up and held them.

In an instant, chaos erupted inside the tent.

Zhou Jingming was the first to enter. He grabbed his Eagle Rabbit brand double-barreled shotgun, put another handful of bullets in his pocket, and as soon as he crawled out of the tent, he saw that the men had already pounced on the tent about ten meters away. He immediately raised his gun and pulled the trigger into the air.

boom……

The sound of gunfire instantly drowned out the sound of rain.

Zhou Jingming did not injure anyone; this shot was both a warning and a deterrent.

This situation is different from dealing with Old Tang's gang. The other side has far too many people and several guns. If they start by injuring or killing someone, it could become a fight to the death with no room for maneuver. The final result could very well be a lose-lose situation, and the gold mining business would be unable to continue.

Sure enough, upon hearing the gunshot, the other group was startled and stopped in their tracks, not continuing their charge, as everyone was afraid of being shot.

Only a few men with guns pushed their way to the front.

The leader was a young man of medium height and thin build, around thirty years old, with a pointed chin and a small black mole the size of a bean.

Zhou Jingming had some recollection of this man. He and Wu Yang had seen him when they were panning for gold upstream along the main river. He was a foreman at a mining site. It must have been because the flood destroyed the mining site that he decided to come out and seize territory.

The young man, holding a gun, looked at Zhou Jingming with disdain: "Brother, who are you trying to scare with that shot? If we were so easily intimidated, we wouldn't have come all this way here in the rain."

As he spoke, Wu Yang and Peng Yuanchao squeezed out of the crowd and stood next to Zhou Jingming.

His gaze swept over the hunting rifles the two men were holding, but he didn't seem to care much. He continued, "I had someone investigate you. I know you've defeated two groups of people. To tell you the truth, two of the men from the group that were scattered by the Tang guy are in our team. They know you got their stuff, including those four guns. You have five guns, right?"

Xu Youliang and Sun Chenggui emerged at this moment, also carrying guns.

Zhou Jingming smiled faintly and said nothing, but took the opportunity to load a bullet into the gun.

"Five guns are enough to intimidate most people, but that's not enough. They might fool others, but they won't fool us. We have six guns, and more than forty of us..."

The young man glanced at Xu Youliang and Sun Chenggui, and continued, "Gold mining is tough. So many of us are just trying to make a living. If we can talk things out and give up our territory, we can all live in peace. I'll let you leave with your gold, but of course, you have to leave everything else behind. If you don't agree, then we'll have a real fight. You should be the leader, so think it over carefully..."

A man next to him pointed at Zhou Jingming and told him, "He's that exploration technician. We suffered a great loss because of him!"

"No need to think about it!"

Zhou Jingming glanced at the man pointing at him, found him familiar, and quickly remembered that he was one of the scattered members of Lao Tang's group. He resolutely refused: "This territory cannot be given up."

"Don't be so harsh. I like people who know when to back down. I heard you used to be an exploration technician and are good at finding gold and seedlings, that's why I'm talking to you nicely, hoping you can help me..."

He stopped abruptly, his brows furrowing and his expression becoming hesitant.

Just then, two more members emerged, carrying hunting rifles.

Then, three more people came out carrying guns.

Ten guns...

"I told you, we won't give up this territory!"

Zhou Jingming looked at him coldly: "I have no chance with you. And let me give you a piece of advice: you'd better go back to where you came from... We are not people to be trifled with."

He paused for a moment, then shouted, "Brothers, keep an eye on this guy. If he says another word to me, ignore everyone else and just take out your weapons on him."

Since you're in charge, we'll keep an eye on you.

If you bring such a large group of people here and they die, all the benefits and advantages will be gone. The question is whether you're scared and whether it's worth it.

"It's as if you're not afraid of death yourself..."

The young man with the black mole looked solemn. After pondering for a while, his brows gradually relaxed.

However, before he could finish speaking, Zhou Jingming moved with lightning speed, raising his hand and firing a shot.

boom……

A dozen or so bullets flew straight toward the young man's right arm.

　Thank you to readers Guanyinshanren and ljx73 for the generous donations!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)