My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 121 I can reason with you while smiling

Since Li Guozhu and his team joined, the members have not been without the idea of ​​going back to cause trouble for those who seized their mining sites.

Although the other party did not forcibly retain their supplies or rob them of their gold, allowing them to leave safely, there must have been coercion and intimidation involved in the process.

It's like a bunch of robbers coming to a perfectly good house and demanding that the owner move out and give it up. If the owner doesn't agree, they beat him up and throw him out.

Given the vast disparity in strength, Li Guozhu was unwilling to let those he led get injured or die, so he chose to compromise, which was the best option for him at the time.

If he doesn't compromise, the result will inevitably be a bloody clash, and those few of them are no match for him.

Afterwards?
That mining site contains a rich gold layer beneath the Fiery Crater, and no one is willing to give it up so easily.

Moreover, it was raining at the time, and a group of people who were kicked out had nowhere to stay, which was a real hardship.

The group avoided a bloody battle, but their hearts were filled with resentment.

But they had no power to take it back, so they could only endure it.

Now that they've joined Zhou Jingming's team, they have both manpower and weapons, so naturally they're thinking of getting their revenge.

Therefore, during daily work, meals, and sleep, there are always people expressing their displeasure through idle gossip.

However, Li Guozhu suppressed the matter.

He believed that it was their own incompetence and a thing of the past, and that they shouldn't bring it into the current team and cause trouble for Zhou Jingming and the others. He felt it was inappropriate and wrong.

Zhou Jingming had heard bits and pieces of what they were saying, but he had no intention of standing up for them. At least until Li Guozhu explicitly told him that he had this idea, he would not take the initiative to get involved in this kind of cause and effect.

Of course, he also considered whether he could use this as an excuse to get some gold back from those people.

But after thinking it over, he realized that taking back the mine site wouldn't make much sense for him and would only create more potential trouble for his future gold rush. After all, there were more than twenty people involved, and if it turned into a tough battle and both sides were injured, he would suffer even more losses.

The key point is that these people haven't been here long, and no matter how hard they work, they won't have much gold. It's better to hurry up and pan for all the gold on the small peninsula as soon as possible, then quickly move to a new mining site to prepare for next year's plan.

Alternatively, we can wait until they've accumulated more gold through their panning efforts.

Unexpectedly, these people would come to their door on their own initiative because they were worried about being harassed.

The two people who arrived were clearly the leaders of that group.

Seeing their somewhat flustered appearance, Zhou Jingming couldn't help but chuckle to himself. It would be a shame not to take advantage of this opportunity to squeeze some money out of them.

On the other hand, if these people had been even more hot-tempered and domineering, it would have been a direct shootout, and Li Guozhu and his men wouldn't have had a chance to leave unscathed, let alone lose their supplies and gold.

In the Gold Rush Valley, gold prospectors have their own way of surviving, and gold mining teams also have their own way of surviving.

Some are fierce and explosive, some are submissive and accommodating, some are opportunistic and fickle, some are hypocritical and evasive... and so on.

The way a gold-mining team operates is often similar to that of the person in charge of the team.

These two are clearly the type who pick on the weak, and when they encounter someone stronger than themselves, they immediately back down and beg for reconciliation.

The main reason is that Zhou Jingming's team is "renowned" in this Chagou River Valley. Even teams of forty or fifty people have been defeated and sent back empty-handed when they encountered them once. They felt that they could not afford to offend them.

Instead of living in fear, it's better to take the initiative and seek the possibility of reconciliation.

Hearing Zhou Jingming's words, the two of them calmed down a little.

They had come here worried that they would be beaten up as soon as they arrived, but now, Zhou Jingming and his group were reacting relatively calmly, except for a few who were getting restless...

In their view, Zhou Jingming's words conveyed two meanings.

Firstly, the matter of them seizing Li Guozhu's mining site is not entirely over.

Secondly, there is room for negotiation on this matter.

So the leader boldly moved closer, took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket, and busied himself distributing them to the group.

Once everyone had taken their places, he smiled and bowed to Zhou Jingming and the others, saying, "We definitely came with sincerity!"

As he spoke, he took a small oil paper bag out of his pocket and handed it to Zhou Jingming.

Zhou Jingming didn't take it, but just glanced at the bran in the small oil paper bag and estimated that it weighed about 500 grams.

Counting the days, they have occupied Li Guozhu's mining site for almost a month now.

Zhou Jingming visited the mine and knew that the gold yield was considerable. With the panning speed of their group of more than twenty people, they should be able to pan for at least seventy grams of gold per day.

In other words, the amount of bran they produced was equivalent to the gold they panned for over seven or eight days.

Zhou Jingming glanced at the two of them and said indifferently, "Is this your sincerity?"

A simple sentence sent chills down their spines.

The leader quickly smiled apologetically, "We haven't finished taking them yet!"

He turned to the man who had come with him: "Hurry up and take out the things!"

The man took out another oil paper bag from his pocket, which contained about the same amount of bran, and it looked like it had been weighed.

Zhou Jingming glanced at the gold in the two men's hands again, but still did not reach out to take it.

The leader immediately pleaded, "Men, we've only been working at the mine for about a month. The gold yield is decent, but the amount we pan for each day is quite limited. This is almost half a month's output. Please... please leave some for us. We need to eat, right? If we give you more, the others won't agree, and the team will fall apart." Zhou Jingming could easily see that the two men had taken out the gold they brought in two separate transactions. The first time they took out a small amount, they were hoping to get away with it.

Seeing that his expression was off, she quickly took out another small bag. Even her current act of feigning helplessness was a test.

Zhou Jingming scoffed: "Why do you make it sound like I'm the one trying to rob you? Get this straight, you're the ones who robbed us."

"To be honest, the reason we haven't made a move for so long is because we felt you hadn't been at that mining site long enough to extract much gold yet. We wanted to wait until you'd extracted more before taking action. Free labor is something I quite like."

Upon hearing this, the two were startled again, realizing that some of their own preconceived notions had come true.

Zhou Jingming was indeed trying to scare them.

But these two clearly didn't want to obediently hand over their gold and didn't want to suffer a huge loss.

The leader said with a bitter face, "Guys, we didn't have any designs on your mine. Back then, you hadn't even merged yet..."

Zhou Jingming smiled and picked up where he left off: "You mean to say that I'm standing up for them, right? That mine isn't ours, so it's none of our business? You think I'm forcing you?"

The two men exchanged a glance and remained silent, clearly sharing the same view.

Zhou Jingming snorted coldly: "Perhaps there's something you didn't understand when you were scouting the site. Brother Li and I have known each other for a long time, and we've been to their mine site more than once or twice. The volcanic layer beneath that mine is rich in ore... But let's not get into that. To put it bluntly, we've been friends for a long time."

We never cause trouble, but we're not afraid of trouble either.

You must have inquired about many things since you came to this side valley. Every time, it was others who provoked us; we never took the initiative to attack others.

But this time, you've gone after my friend.

Brother Li just didn't want to trouble me, so he didn't tell us about it and preferred to choose an ordinary mining spot to mine... That's brotherly loyalty.

Why should I tell you so much?
Whether you think it's being overly assertive or whatever, I feel your sincerity is lacking.

Or, let me do the math for you. Based on the output of that mine, your group could produce at least 70 grams of gold a day. After a month of work, you could make at least four or five pounds of gold. And that mine would be enough to keep you going for several months... You're just trying to fool us with this little bit?
I'm speaking to you nicely now because I gave Brother Li and his group some leeway when you were seizing the mining sites. I'm also giving you some leeway.

"How about we have a match right now?"

Peng Yuanchao was definitely a good accomplice. He turned around and went into the tent, took out the hunting rifles wrapped in two burlap sacks, and handed them out to everyone one by one.

Upon seeing this, the two men were greatly alarmed.

If that really happens, the mine will be gone, all the gold will be gone, and who knows how many people will survive.

"Gentlemen, please... let's talk this out."

The leader looked at Zhou Jingming with a mournful face and pleading, "Guy, tell me what you want. Make your request and I'll see if we can do it."

Zhou Jingming winked at Peng Yuanchao, and only when Peng Yuanchao stopped firing did he light a cigarette and take a couple of puffs: "It's not difficult to handle. Just give me all your output this month as compensation for Brother Li. That'll be the end of it. I won't bother you again in the future."

"Do you want to work hard for the next three months, or do you want me to come and kick you out too? The choice is yours."

The leader suddenly hesitated.

But things clearly didn't allow them to waste time. The leader weighed the options for a moment and carefully confirmed, "If we hand over this month's output, you won't bother us anymore, is that true?"

Zhou Jingming sighed: "Judging from your appearance, you're a seasoned gold prospector. Isn't it a bit redundant to ask such a question? No matter how much I assure you, you'll always have reasons to doubt."

But I suggest you choose to believe.

I can reason with you with a smile, or I can turn hostile and lecture you on the rules. You should know the rules of Gold Rush Valley: whoever is stronger always has the final say.

Having said all that, there's no need to dwell on it any longer.

The leader lowered his head and thought for a while, then said to his companion who had come with him, "Go back and bring back all the output from this period of time."

Seeing his companion hesitate and refuse to move, he frowned: "If you don't want me to die, you'd better hurry up!"

He knew very well that if the matter wasn't resolved, he definitely wouldn't be able to go back today.

Perhaps provoked by the word "death" he uttered, his companion dared not linger this time, and quickly disappeared into the woods with his flashlight, leaving in a hurry.

Zhou Jingming smiled at the pragmatic gold prospector: "Don't stand outside, come inside the tent for tea!"

After he finished speaking, he instructed the crowd, "Stop making a fuss, go back and do what you're supposed to do."

Everyone returned to their tents.

Zhou Jingming and the others returned to the tent and sat down around the table.

Wang Dong knocked a piece of tea off the tea brick, boiled some tea over the campfire outside, and brought it into the tent.

Zhou Jingming took a large bowl and poured tea for everyone.

The man looked frightened. He took the tea from Zhou Jingming, but neither drank nor spoke, seemingly lost in thought.

After waiting for about an hour, Jin Wang, who was lying outside, spoke up again.

Zhou Jingming and the others went out with their hunting rifles and saw that the man who went to retrieve the gold had returned.

(End of this chapter)