My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 118: Sleepiness Meets Pillow
The new mining site selected by Li Guozhu is a river beach with a wide and gentle flow of water.

During the recent torrential rains and floods, in many places with rapid currents, the riverbed was cut down to a depth of one or two meters. But here, it was only cut down to about a foot.

However, the riverbank was covered with a lot of dead branches, leaves and weeds washed away by the flood, making it look messy.

During this time, Wu Yang had been following Zhou Jingming and had heard him talk a lot about how to determine where there were gold deposits in the valley based on the terrain. Based on his own thoughts, he gave an evaluation: "This place is nothing special. Why would they choose this place as the mining site?"

Zhou Jingming was also scanning the area, and only said one sentence: "Take a good look!"

Wu Yang looked around for a while, and finally looked at a piece of terrain about 30 meters below Li Guozhu's mining site, which was jagged and protruded into the river about 10 meters. It was similar to a small peninsula, but much smaller.

That place was clearly a gold mine, because on a slightly higher, barren slope, there were two dilapidated and collapsed dugouts, indicating that they had been mined. Judging from the state of the dugouts, it must have happened within the last two years.

One of them was renovated by Li Guozhu and people made do with it.

That place, with its jagged terrain, is where the gold accumulates.

The place where Li Guozhu and his men were panning for gold didn't look like a place with gold at all, so he shook his head and said, "I can't tell!"

Zhou Jingming smiled and pointed to a spot a little above where Li Guozhu and the others were searching, saying, "Look there, the terrain is raised. Although it's not very obvious, it is definitely higher than the sides. Is it possible that there used to be a small ridge on this hillside, and that it once embraced a piece of land like an arm?"
However, over time, the constant erosion from rain and the scouring of flowing water have worn away its sharp edges.

After his explanation, Wu Yang took a closer look and exclaimed, "Judging from the appearance, it really is!"

Zhou Jingming continued, "Of course, this is just my guess. I estimate that Li Guozhu chose that location for another reason."

Wu Yang pressed, "What's the reason?"

"On that riverbank, there grows some jointed grass, which looks like bamboo joints, with each joint nested together. I don't know if you've ever played with it, but when we were kids, we would use it to lock onto our eyelashes and blink our eyes."

"We have this stuff where I'm from. Livestock really like to eat it, especially sheep... But I never played with it like you described when I was a kid."

"Its scientific name is horsetail, and it is also called the greedy grass. It is considered to be the richest and most ambitious plant in nature. In ancient times, this plant was used by the ancients as a marker of the location of gold mines."

Since it was a day off and there was still plenty of time, Zhou Jingming wasn't in a hurry to go back, so he explained things to Wu Yang in more detail: "When the ancients were searching for gold mines, they constantly summarized their experiences and discovered that gold mines often existed where there was horsetail grass."

Because horsetail has a very developed root system, it can even absorb substances from gold mines, and horsetail grows very lushly in gold mines.

Believe it or not, back in ancient times, when people were looking for gold, there really was a practice of hiring people to find areas where horsetail grass grew abundantly.

Even in geological teams, when we are exploring, the characteristic of horsetail grass is used as an indicator of whether there is minerals. If we see a large area of ​​it growing luxuriantly, we will investigate it.

Because it grows not only in places containing gold, but also in other metallic minerals such as silver, iron, copper, magnesium, and aluminum.

Now, Wu Yang became interested: "If that's the case, then there's gold in my hometown too. I know of a hillside with a large patch of horsetail grass."

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "Nothing is absolute. While gold deposits can be found where horsetail grows, not all horsetail grows in places with gold. This kind of thing needs to be analyzed in conjunction with other factors; it's just a possibility."

Wu Yang clicked his tongue: "I knew it. If finding horsetail grass means finding gold, then I could just go back and guard it and dig for gold. There's horsetail grass in my fields that I can't seem to get rid of.

This is quite interesting... Are there any other plants?

"Yes, it's called Luoyang flower, also known as wild carnation. Look, those red-flowered ones growing on that rocky slope over there are..."

Zhou Jingming looked around and casually pointed to another plant not far away: "This wild Luoyang flower has a symbiotic relationship with gold mines."

Because a large quantity of carnations was discovered at the Sanshandao gold mine in Jiaodong, experts established a symbiotic relationship between carnations and gold, making them indicator plants for gold prospecting.

Wu Yang went to pick one to examine it: "We don't see this kind of thing much where we're from! It's all thanks to you, Brother Zhou... you're so knowledgeable."

Zhou Jingming glanced at him and said, "Get lost. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were possessed by Peng Yuanchao. You always sound so sarcastic."

Wu Yang quickly explained, "I didn't mean that. I genuinely admire you. If it weren't for you, where would I have learned so much?"

Zhou Jingming hissed, "It's getting even more sarcastic."

"I……"

Wu Yang suddenly realized he was speechless, and finally rolled his eyes: "Fine, don't believe me if you don't want to!"

Hearing this, Zhou Jingming laughed instead: "This is the normal way to communicate, stop with the formalities!"

The two talked as they walked, and by then they had descended to the riverbank and arrived at Li Guozhu's mining site.

Zhou Jingming greeted him, "Brother Li..."

Hearing the shouts, Li Guozhu, who was shaking the gold bucket by the chute, looked up and asked, "What brings you here?"

"The mine is closed today, so I asked them to prepare some food and I'd like to invite you over for a drink to thank you for your advice yesterday."

"It didn't help at all."

"Let's not talk about whether we were helpful or not. Just for the sentiment, we should thank you properly. There are so many teams and so many people in Gold Rush Valley, how many would do this? Don't you think... Can we come and take a look?"

“Of course!” Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang walked straight to Li Guozhu’s side and watched him carefully scoop up water and pour it into the golden bucket to wash away the black sand powder inside.

At the bottom of the gold pot, tiny specks of gold dust and three or four pieces of bran were visible.

"Brother Li, this gold extraction isn't going well! With this amount, it would take several shakes to get even a gram or two."

Zhou Jingming commented, "This is somewhat of a waste of time; the daily earnings are too low."

This amount of gold can be obtained by simply scooping some mud and sand from a sandpit on a small peninsula, putting it directly into a gold container, and shaking it.

What Li Guozhu is shaking now is fine sand that has been washed off the felt after being rinsed in the sluice.

Li Guozhu sighed: "I know... maybe digging deeper will yield a slightly better gold yield. I'm oversimplifying things. I've looked at several places and found that the places with good gold deposits are almost all taken. Even if we find good gold deposits, we don't have enough people to hold onto them. It's better to find places like this, where others don't even want them and won't covet them."

Zhou Jingming could easily hear the helplessness in Li Guozhu's words.

This is actually a dilemma faced by many teams in the Gold Rush Valley, including Zhou Jingming's team. When they first had only ten people, they were in the same situation. They were guarding a good mine, which became a place that other teams that thought they were a little stronger wanted to occupy. One thing after another happened, and they could not have any peace at all.

On the contrary, the mines guarded by Zhang and Wu, which were either mediocre or had been previously mined, didn't have many problems.

But, since we're here to pan for gold, who wouldn't want to find a rich mine? Who wouldn't want to make a fortune every day?

It was precisely for this reason that Zhou Jingming felt confident he could persuade Li Guozhu to join his team.

He thought for a moment and then simply stated his purpose: "Brother Li, actually, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you."

Li Guozhu collected the tiny bit of gold from the gold bucket into a small basin, walked out of the shallow water, and sat on a river rock on the bank: "What is it?"

“Our team is short-handed, and we’d like to ask if you would be willing to join our team. I’ve discussed this with Peng Yuanchao. If you’re willing to come, you’ll get the same amount of gold as us, and the rest of you will be treated the same as everyone else in our team.”

Hearing this, Li Guozhu looked at Zhou Jingming with some surprise, but quickly shook his head: "There is still a lot of time before autumn. There are twenty of you now, and that small peninsula should be enough for you to finish the next six months. If we are added, you will have to work for much less time."

His concerns were similar to Peng Yuanchao's.

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "Brother Li, since I'm here to discuss this with you, I certainly don't have any worries. Just give me a straight answer: are you going or not? To be honest, you guys are just wasting your time here."

"I definitely want to go, but will doing so put you in a difficult position? Will the amount of gold allocated to me be too much?"

"See, you've been overthinking it again."

Li Guozhu took out a pack of Honglian cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang. He lit one for himself and took a few puffs. "Brother, let me be honest. I judge people by my feelings. Although I heard some rumors about you guys at first, and they all sounded pretty fierce, when I met you guys after you saved my nephew, I felt that you were all pretty nice people."

Later, when you came to our mining site and told me you were an exploration technician from the geological team, I started thinking about whether I would have the opportunity to pan for gold with you.

I've been working in the Gold Rush Valley for two years now, and I've mainly lived here for the past few years, so I know all too well the importance of an exploration technician, and I know your team is amazing.

But we'd only met two or three times back then, so it wasn't easy to bring it up..."

Zhou Jingming laughed: "So, when we were chatting back then, you told us all about your past, including the time you changed your identity."

Li Guozhu was taken aback for a moment, then asked somewhat awkwardly, "You already knew?"

His words were, in effect, an admission that Zhou Jingming was right.

"I just found out... I was thinking that you, a veteran of Gold Rush Valley for so long, must know the importance of not speaking too frankly with casual acquaintances. I thought you weren't telling the truth."

"I have always believed that the best way for people to get along is to be honest with each other. Hiding things will only lead to more suspicion."

"So...you agree?"

Li Guozhu nodded: "I've found the perfect pillow for me. If I don't lie down right away, it would just mean I'm stupid."

Zhou Jingming stood up: "Then let them pack their bags, and everyone will go together."

Li Guozhu didn't waste any time. He shouted to the few people who were still digging and carrying materials in the sand pit, "Stop! Stop working! From now on, we're joining Peng's team... Haven't you been thinking about joining their team for a while? Here's your chance."

Upon hearing this, the group became incredibly excited and jumped out of the sandpit, busily packing their belongings in the dugout where the mud plaster on top was still wet.

Li Guozhu asked again, "Did the Qingshan team give you any trouble yesterday?"

Zhou Jingming nodded: "No, I just slipped fifty grams of gold in and that settled the matter."

"They're really generous... These people's pockets are bottomless pits that can never be filled. If you give them fifty grams this time, they'll dare to ask for a hundred or even more next time. I've given them some before, but the next time they come, they're still the same old devils!"

"It's okay. Spending a little money for a period of peace is worth it."

At this moment, Wu Yang interjected, "Brother Li, did you choose this location to pan for gold because this area has those horsetail grasses growing here?"

Li Guozhu's gaze towards Wu Yang also turned strange: "How did you know?"

(End of this chapter)