My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 117: Want to merge?
When the topic of the Qingshan team came up, Peng Yuanchao naturally couldn't help but ask a lot of questions.

Zhou Jingming only gave a rough outline, while Wu Yang explained it in great detail. Peng Yuanchao nodded repeatedly, saying that if he were guarding the mine site, he would definitely choose to hide when the Qingshan team came.

In Peng Yuanchao's view, Zhou Jingming's move was truly audacious; if he failed, it would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den.

Zhou Jingming just smiled and said, "We can't move the things. Rather than watching them get destroyed, we might as well take the risk."

But he was just saying it casually.

Going in recklessly without any certainty is not his style.

Everyone hurried back, carrying heavy loads. They walked quickly and were exhausted when they got back to the mine. After putting their things down, they were too tired to move and lay sprawled on the open ground next to the tents.

Peng Yuanchao didn't rush them. After resting for more than half an hour, he let Xu Youliang lead the people to make dinner.

Besides diesel fuel, Peng Yuanchao also bought a lot of meat on this trip, intending to have a good meal to celebrate the mine's narrow escape from disaster.

When it was time for dinner that evening, he explained the situation of the Qingshan team to everyone again, stating that the work would begin the day after tomorrow, and any gold found would belong to Zhou Jingming.

Having saved the mine from being destroyed, everyone naturally had no objections.

It was only at this point that Zhou Jingming asked if anything had happened on the trip.

When this matter was mentioned, everyone's expressions turned strange.

This piqued Zhou Jingming's curiosity, and under his questioning, he learned that something had happened during this trip, and Bai Zhishun had been detained.

It's not a big deal.

The first time Bai Zhishun went to Tiemaike with Peng Yuanchao, Peng Yuanchao led him to find women, but he was rejected. As a result, he refused to go to Tiemaike again the second time.

Now that he had money on hand, he had to go to Tiemaike to deposit it. Only then did Bai Zhishun go with him. After much persuasion, Peng Yuanchao led him to find women again.

With Peng Yuanchao's special instructions, this time it was finally successful.

However, after Peng Yuanchao finished and came out, he waited outside for a long time but Bai Zhishun did not come out. He went to knock on the door but there was no response. He thought that Bai Zhishun had gone back early again, just like last time.

He hurriedly returned to the hotel and saw that everyone else had returned, but he didn't see Bai Zhishun.

Peng Yuanchao became a little anxious. Bai Zhishun was someone Zhou Jingming had specifically asked him to take care of.

In the dark, he worried that something might have happened to Bai Zhishun on his way back.

After all, having money makes you an easy target for others.

Seeing that things were going badly, he quickly gathered a group of people to go out and search, starting naturally from the place where he was looking for women.

When they got back, they found Bai Zhishun surrounded by a group of people, making a scene and preventing him from leaving.

When Peng Yuanchao stepped forward and asked, he was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Bai Zhishun had just come out of the woman's room. The reason she wouldn't let him leave was that she wanted him to pay more money, which he refused.

Unlike others who usually finish in five or six minutes and leave, he took almost half an hour to finish.

The woman felt she had been taken advantage of.

Seeing the woman clutching her stomach, looking furious, Peng Yuanchao didn't know what to say.

Seeing that Bai Zhishun was about to be beaten, he quickly stepped forward to stop him, and made Bai Zhishun pay double the amount of money, which finally settled the matter and brought the man back.

Back at the hostel, everyone envied his extraordinary abilities while also finding it amusing.

This is probably the only thing I've ever seen in my life.

Zhou Jingming smiled slightly upon hearing this.

Only Bai Zhishun stood silently to the side, his face flushed.

After a while of chatting and laughing, Zhou Jingming brought up another matter with Peng Yuanchao: "Brother Peng, when the Qingshan team went into the mountains this time, Li Guozhu specially ran up to inform them. He was panting heavily from running, and he even thought of helping me and Wu Yang hide the diesel engine... It was a kind gesture. Tomorrow is our day off, and I want everyone to prepare some good wine and food to treat them."

Peng Yuanchao nodded: "That's right... Speaking of which, when we came down from the mountain, we also passed by their newly selected mining site. I even went down and asked them a few questions. I learned that their mining site had been robbed, so they moved downstream."

When they returned, they found their dugout destroyed, and a group of people were busy plastering mud on it. Fortunately, they didn't have much stuff; mainly just some food and tools, which they had taken and hidden beforehand.

Zhou Jingming thought for a moment, then said, "Brother Peng, I actually have another idea."

Seeing Zhou Jingming's serious expression, Peng Yuanchao's face also turned serious: "You speak!"

Zhou Jingming paused for a moment, then stood up and walked out: "Brother Peng, Wu Yang, you two come out with me for a moment!"

The two exchanged a glance, stood up, and followed Zhou Jingming outside.

By this time, it was already dark, but at least a half-moon hung in the sky, casting some clear light that was enough to barely see the road ahead.

Zhou Jingming walked all the way to the small peninsula, sat down on a pebble by the riverbank, took out a cigarette and lit one for himself, and then gave one each to Peng Yuanchao and Wu Yang, who followed him and sat down on his left and right.

He took a few puffs of his cigarette before speaking slowly, "I think we're still short-handed on our little peninsula. I'd like to bring Li Guozhu and his group over to work with us."

"Want to merge?"

Hearing this, Peng Yuanchao hesitated: "Brother, I don't think it's necessary. At our current pace, the mine on the small peninsula can only keep us going until the end of this year. If we add seven or eight more people, we'll probably have to finish mining for gold much earlier. At that point, we'll be stuck in a limbo, either looking for more gold or not, which will take too long.

"I know!"

Zhou Jingming nodded: "I just want to finish the work on the small peninsula ahead of time so we can hurry up and find another place."

The three of us have been working together for a while now, so we should know each other's personalities pretty well. Since you two both want to work for me next year, there are some things I won't hide from you.

As Zhou Jingming spoke, he pointed to his head with his finger: "As you all know, I came from the geological exploration industry. Why didn't I continue in geological exploration? It's because I wanted to make money. In those years, I traveled to many places, and that's how I accumulated a lot of ideas in my mind."

Moreover, many of these gold mines are of a much higher grade than those on the small peninsula.

To put it bluntly, the main reason I chose to come with you to pan for gold is actually to find reliable people to help me take over these gold mines.

If it were just about making money, I could easily find a few wealthy businessmen, sell them some locations, and make a lot of money without having to waste my time and energy messing around in the valley.

I just want to make more money through these mining sites.

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged glances, and after pondering it carefully, their expressions gradually became excited.

“I don’t lack mining sites here, but I lack manpower. In my opinion, although Li Guozhu has not had much contact with us, I have a good impression of him from his actions.”

Of course, I can't guarantee my intuition is correct right now, so I need more time to observe. Living and working together in one place, with extended contact, will allow for a deeper understanding. By the time the gold on the small peninsula is panned out, it should be about time!

After Zhou Jingming finished speaking, he turned his head to the left and right, looking at Wu Yang and Peng Yuanchao: "Do you understand what I mean?"

Wu Yang nodded emphatically.

Peng Yuanchao grinned and said repeatedly, "I understand, I understand!"

They certainly knew what those better mining sites meant.

Zhou Jingming looked at their bewildered expressions and smiled slightly: "So, you agree?"

Wu Yang countered, "If it's such a good thing, why wouldn't you agree?"

Peng Yuanchao chuckled and said, "I told you before, you're more suited to be the leader than I am. You decide."

"Then it's settled. Now there's another matter we need to discuss!"

Zhou Jingming didn't keep him in suspense and said directly: "That is, how to divide the gold that Li Guozhu has found after he arrives. My idea is that after he arrives, each time he divides the gold, it should be calculated as three grams. Also, Wu Yang's gold should be brought up as well. We should all get the same share."

As for the new mining site, we'll renegotiate the new gold distribution method.

Wu Yang remained silent this time.

Peng Yuanchao thought for a moment and said, "He's a leader, after all. It wouldn't be appropriate to give him a lower position. Let's do it this way!"

Zhou Jingming let out a long sigh of relief: "Brother Peng, I'll go see Li Guozhu tomorrow. If he agrees to work with us, then I'll leave this to you to talk to Xu Youliang and the others."

"no problem!"

Peng Yuanchao nodded without hesitation and agreed: "If they are not satisfied, let them go and find out for themselves which mine has such good conditions. We have treated them well, and they should all know that. If they are not satisfied, they should get out of here as soon as possible."

Zhou Jingming smiled at him and then offered a cigarette to both him and Wu Yang.

The three of them chatted for a long time on the small peninsula that night before returning to their tents to sleep.

Knowing they were off work tomorrow, the two tents were still filled with people bragging, playing cards, and making a lot of noise.

Zhou Jingming ignored them, simply lying on the bed fully clothed, and habitually placing the Eagle Rabbit brand double-barreled shotgun beside the bed for easy access.

He was still thinking about Li Guozhu's matter.

In his mind, managing a mine is far from enough if it is simply a matter of intimidation and violent management. Just like many gold foremen and bosses, who exploit others in various ways, in the end, most of them do not get anything good.

In Zhou Jingming's view, Li Guozhu was intelligent, bold, and decisive. He also had enough compassion for the people he led, knew what was permissible and what was not, and knew when to advance and retreat. Even so, he was still more concerned about the group of people under his command.

Zhou Jingming and others had helped him before, and he would think of repaying them.

For example, when his mining site was robbed, he didn't think of asking Zhou Jingming for help to take it back, because he was worried that it would cause trouble for Zhou Jingming and his group.

After learning that the Qingshan team had arrived, they thought of informing Zhou Jingming and offering to help hide the items.

These things are enough to show that he has a kind and righteous heart.

That's someone worth befriending.

Of course, as Zhou Jingming said, the matter still needs further consideration. It's hard to say whether what's presented on the surface is true or false, but after the test of time, the truth will naturally be revealed.

The next day, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang both got up rather slowly.

The two returned from their sparring session in the fir forest around ten in the morning.

Following Zhou Jingming's instructions, Peng Yuanchao began urging everyone to get up and arranging various matters related to cooking.

After Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang ate two simple baked buns and fed Jin Wang, they each put down their hunting rifles and headed down the riverbank towards Li Guozhu's current mining site.

(End of this chapter)