My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 120 Apologizing in Person
When Li Guozhu saw his nephew off from the mountain, he specially bought some fresh meat on his way back.

In the mountains of Altay, the gold-mining teams who were willing to spend money on food and drink could easily find beef, mutton, and horse meat as their main source of sustenance.

But for people from other parts of China, the local tastes are not very familiar. Moreover, after eating beef and mutton for a long time, they feel uncomfortable and feel dry. Pork, which is more nourishing, has become a rare treat.

In the evening, Li Guozhu and Wang Dong served several dishes to the people who were resting after work.

Looking at the dishes spread out on two tables, everyone's mouth watered.

Li Guozhu asked Wang Dong to set out the bowls and chopsticks, and then personally poured wine for everyone.

"On this trip, I specially bought some meat so I could help Wang Dong cook it."

Hand-pulled mutton, mutton offal soup, braised pork, crispy duck, and braised pork knuckle are all delicacies that are only served during festivals in my hometown.

The main reason I made this dish is to apologize to everyone. My nephew did something awful the other day; I'm so embarrassed!

Li Guozhu raised his wine bowl and said, "Please forgive me, everyone!"

"Why bring it up when it's all in the past?"

“Yes, the gold was recovered and the person was punished. What’s unforgivable about that?”

"It wasn't you who did it. There are all sorts of birds in a big forest. You can't take the blame for other people's mistakes."

……

Everyone expressed their opinions, but their eyes were mostly fixed on the food on the table, and they all seemed impatient.

Li Guozhu smiled at everyone and said, "Then I'll drink first as a sign of respect!"

After he finished speaking, he tilted his head back and gulped down the wine in his bowl, then invited everyone to start eating.

Zhou Jingming nodded to himself as he watched this scene.

It must be said that Li Guozhu is quite good at dealing with people.

With wine and meat, the meal was enjoyable and satisfying. Needless to say, the braised pork and stewed pork were the first to be devoured, and the fattest pieces were the first to be taken.

Of course, nothing is left of the hand-pulled mutton. After eating most of it, a bowl of delicious mutton offal soup is a truly rare treat.

Her cooking skills are really good.

This made Zhou Jingming take the young man named Wang Dong in a new light.

Only after asking did I learn that before the reform and opening up, he had secretly started a business selling mutton and offal with his father to make a living for his family.

What he often did was push things to a secluded spot to hide them, then squat by the roadside, and when he saw passersby, he would quietly ask, "Do you want some mutton? We have mutton offal soup..."

Back then, private businesses were not allowed, so many things had to be done secretly, which was very difficult.

After the reform and opening up, restaurants started to appear and street stalls were allowed to operate. Finally, they could do business openly and legitimately. However, not long after they started, their stall was confiscated on some pretext, and they were fined a sum of money.

These days, there are quite a few people who have a little power and use it as an excuse to do whatever they want.

Wang Dong then went to the big city and worked in a restaurant. Although he didn't earn much money, he learned a lot of dishes thanks to his intelligence and wit.

However, he only worked there for about half a year.

A driver who was passing by went into a restaurant to eat. When he was serving the lamb offal, he was bumped by another person, and the soup was spilled on him. No matter how much he apologized, it was no use. The other person grabbed him and started hitting and cursing him.

Wang Dong was young, and being pushed to this point made him extremely angry. He picked up a stool and retaliated, knocking the driver to the ground with the stool.

This caused a huge problem. The driver was also a local, and his family kept making a fuss, coming to their door every day to argue and demand compensation. Not only did they lose a lot of money, but they also made it impossible for them to live a normal life.

Just then, Li Guozhu returned home and heard that he was going to the northern frontier to pan for gold, so Wang Dong followed him out, thinking that it would be quieter without him at home.

Li Guozhu also said that among the people he brought, Wang Dong was the most obedient and hardworking.

Wang Dong himself said that his biggest dream is to make money and open his own restaurant.

Zhou Jingming joked with him, "Then you should open your restaurant in Altay. There are many gold prospectors here, and plenty of people who are willing to spend money on food and drinks. It's easy to make money, and we'll have the opportunity to freeload at your restaurant."

Wang Dong just smiled憨厚ly: "It should be possible. If I really manage to open a restaurant, I'd love for you guys to come every day!"

Li Guozhu then added, "Work hard with Brother Zhou, and I believe your restaurant will be up and running in less than two years. We'll come and support you then."

The matter of Li Guozhu's nephew secretly hoarding gold has now been officially closed.

After spending these few days together, the group has gradually integrated. From being unfamiliar at the beginning to now being able to put their arms around each other and joke around, it's a great change.

Zhou Jingming remained the same as always. Unless it rained and he couldn't go out, he would always insist on following Wu Yang into the fir forest to practice the fighting techniques of the Black Dragon Eighteen Hands.

The task is too difficult and not so easy to master.

Even though Wu Yang repeatedly explained the key points of each movement to him, how to block, and how to counterattack while ensuring his own safety, these skills required repeated practice to become familiar, form muscle memory, and become an instinctive reaction before they could be truly practical. The Black Dragon Eighteen Hands, however, involved not only routines and fighting techniques, but also breathing methods and footwork.

Zhou Jingming knew that with his talent, it would take him two or three years to see any results in integrating all these things.

His greatest achievement so far is that he can do about a hundred push-ups and walk a short distance on a relatively flat surface while doing a handstand, but he is still far from mastering the true scorpion crawling technique.

In addition, the strength in his hands has increased considerably, and the muscles in his body are beginning to take shape.

When he sparred with Wu Yang, he was no different from a chick being held up by Wu Yang. He could be easily crushed by Wu Yang and had no power to fight back.

In other words, the two underhanded moves—suddenly striking the groin and gouging the eyes—could occasionally force Wu Yang back a step or two.

According to Wu Yang, Zhou Jingming's current skill level is only enough to barely handle two or three thugs, assuming they don't have knives or clubs.

If the other party has a weapon, it's best to run away as soon as possible.

When Zhou Jingming heard Wu Yang say this, a sentence naturally came to mind: No matter how good your kung fu is, you're still afraid of a kitchen knife!

Regardless, this is a form of affirmation, which makes Zhou Jingming feel that continuing to practice is still very meaningful.

Life on the small peninsula returned to normal, with a decent daily gold production that, as if by magic, kept everyone motivated for several days in a row.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. That evening, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang returned from training. When he went to the river to set fish traps, Jin Wang, who was habitually following beside him, suddenly spoke up.

Zhou Jingming instinctively looked in the direction Jin Wang was barking and saw two flashlight beams flashing in the dim woods, indicating that someone was heading towards the camp.

Unable to make out who it was at first glance, Zhou Jingming quickly returned to his tent, grabbed his hunting rifle, and called out to Wu Yang, Peng Yuanchao, and Li Guozhu, who were already sprawled on the bed, "Someone's coming down from upstairs!"

Upon hearing this, the three quickly got out of bed, each grabbed a hunting rifle, and followed Zhou Jingming out, peering into the woods.

As the two men drew closer, Jinwang's barking grew increasingly fierce, as if it were about to pounce.

Startled by its call, the people living in tents and dugouts all crawled out, grabbing the tools that were placed nearby, and stood guard.

Once the two men were closer to the camp, Zhou Jingming finally asked, "What are you doing here?"

The two men stopped and shouted back to Zhou Jingming and his group, "Guys, we mean no harm. We came down here specifically to talk to you about something."

Zhou Jingming turned on his flashlight and scanned the two men. Seeing that they weren't carrying guns and didn't seem like much of a threat, he said to them, "Come down!"

The two men didn't dare get down immediately: "Could you please pull the dog aside..."

Jin Wang's body has become much stronger, and he probably weighs around 100 pounds now. His slanted eyebrows and droopy eyes are still there, but his large bone structure and physique make him quite intimidating.

Moreover, the Tianshan Mastiff is indeed quite reliable in guarding its territory; if anyone gets close and is discovered, it will really dare to rush out and bite.

Zhou Jingming bent down and put his arm around Jin Wang, and the two of them carefully got down, but they didn't dare to get too close, standing about four or five meters away from a group of people.

At this point, Li Guozhu spoke up: "Aren't these the two who led the group to rob my mine a while ago? What, are you eyeing this place again now?"

The two men looked somewhat nervous, and one of them shook his head repeatedly, saying, "We wouldn't dare to have such a thought."

Li Guozhu chuckled: "Then what are you doing here?"

The man who had spoken earlier quickly explained, "Sir, we sent someone out to buy things today, and we only found out when the person who came back told us that you were at this mining site. We didn't know you knew each other before. If we had known earlier, we would never have dared to let you move."

As you know, competition for mining sites is a common occurrence.

As we've said before, we don't want to start fights and create deep-seated grudges, but since we've taken over that mining site, we've inevitably offended some people..."

Upon hearing this, the group of people's expressions turned strange.

Zhou Jingming scanned the two of them: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"We...we're just here to apologize. We only occupied the mining site; we didn't beat anyone, we didn't steal their supplies, and we didn't steal their gold. You see..."

The man still seemed too nervous, and his speech was somewhat incoherent.

Zhou Jingming found it quite strange how someone like him could survive in the Gold Rush Valley.

Zhou Jingming understood what they meant: they were worried that Li Guozhu would bring a large group of people to their door after they discovered that Li Guozhu had merged with their team.

They had been in this ravine for some time, and they should know the "notorious" reputation of this mining site on the small peninsula. They had fought three tough battles, all of which they won with fewer troops. Several bodies had already floated down the river.

Moreover, some time ago, when the Qingshan team went into the mountains, they chased away many people and destroyed many mining sites, but the small peninsula guarded by only two people was completely unharmed.

It seems they know the Kiyoyama team...

They must have been too worried, fearing trouble would come their way, so they came early, hoping to resolve the matter peacefully and avoid further trouble.

Now that Li Guozhu is part of the team, it wouldn't be right not to say a few words in his defense. Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "You're coming to apologize, but all you're doing is talking. Isn't that a bit insincere?"

(End of this chapter)