My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 141 Life is Like a Passing Guest

Slaughtering eight sheep at once took most of the day, mainly because the intestines were difficult to handle. Fortunately, Wang Dong was also an expert in this area, and his guidance made things much simpler.

In the morning, Batu and his family drove their sheep across the wooden bridge and climbed up the overgrown slope behind their dugout.

Carrying various goods on several horses, Batu waved to Zhou Jingming from the ridge behind them as they were leaving: "Adasi, we're leaving now, see you next year!"

"Bon Voyage!"

Zhou Jingming stood up and waved back at him, then watched as his family gradually disappeared into the distance with the flock of sheep.

For the next ten days or so, the valley became very quiet.

The frost that fell overnight grew thicker and thicker, and the river water became icy cold in the morning; even wearing waders, one could not stand in the water.

Gold panning became a very painful experience, and some people started talking about going back.

However, some people still wanted to take more and were reluctant to leave.

On this day, a light rain fell in the mountains, and some snowflakes were scattered. Looking at the gray sky, Zhou Jingming finally decided to end his year in the Gold Rush Valley.

"Looking at this weather, it'll probably be cloudy for several days, and it's getting colder and colder... Let's cook a pot of meat and have a good meal today as a farewell dinner for everyone. After we eat, you can all go."

It's already October, and there's not much point in staying any longer. Putting aside everything else, the icy coldness of the river alone is enough to make everyone shrink back.

Finally, it was time to go home. Everyone had different expressions; some were relieved, while others were reluctant to leave. But no one said much. They gathered firewood, stoked the fire in the earthen stove, put the iron pot on it, took out a small piece of the smoked mutton, scraped and washed it briefly, chopped it into small pieces, and put it in the pot to cook.

The group huddled around the earthen stove, warming themselves and smoking, all in a somewhat silent manner.

The meat in the pot was cooked around ten o'clock. When Wang Dong brought over the bowls and chopsticks, Zhou Jingming personally picked up the wine pot and poured each of them a small amount of wine, about two ounces.

"It's not that we're reluctant to drink, but alcohol is just something to warm us up. Everyone is carrying a lot of things, so for safety's sake, we should drink less along the way."

After pouring the wine, Zhou Jingming screwed the lid on the wine pot, placed it beside him, and invited everyone to eat.

The meal was eaten very quickly, and it was over in about half an hour.

Eager to return home, the group scrambled into their dugouts to pack their bedding and belongings, or went to retrieve the gold they had hidden away.

A few others weren't too busy, but Zhou Jingming urged them, saying that time waits for no one and they could still cover a lot of ground today, so they went to get their things and pack their luggage.

Seeing that Zhou Jingming didn't move, Peng Yuanchao asked hesitantly, "Aren't you going back?"

"I'm leaving. What will happen to the things at the mine?"

Zhou Jingming took a deep breath: "I have to guard this mine... This is my mine, and I can only rely on myself."

"Isn't that necessary?"

Peng Yuanchao looked at the sky: "It's cold in the mountains, even the herdsmen left early, there's hardly anyone around!"

"Not always!"

Zhou Jingming patted him on the shoulder: "Hurry up and pack your things, don't waste time."

Peng Yuanchao hesitated for a moment, then crawled into the dugout.

Li Guozhu also looked at Zhou Jingming, seemingly wanting to say something, but after hesitating for a while, he only said one sentence: "I want to go back to Jincheng this year to take a look!"

Zhou Jingming guessed what he was thinking: "You want to go see your nephew, right?"

Li Guozhu sighed: "After what happened to her, I have to give my sister an explanation. I don't have many relatives left!"

Zhou Jingming smiled and nodded: "I understand... Let's go!"

Then he looked back and saw that Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun beside him hadn't moved: "Why aren't you two going to pack up?"

Bai Zhishun was very direct: "I don't want to go back. If I go back, I'll probably just argue with my younger sister and live an uneasy life. It's better to stay here... Anyway, I'm not going back. The fortune teller said I should make a living in the Northwest, so I'll stay in the Northwest."

Wu Yang smiled and said, "I do want to go back, but what will you do if I leave? After thinking it over, I realize that I can't do anything if I go back, and I'll just get all sorts of criticism. It's better to go back with my money and have some peace and quiet."

I told you before, I came out here to make my own way in the world, and I think this place suits me well!
You've hidden so much meat away, thinking you can eat it all by yourself? No way!

Zhou Jingming just smiled.

He didn't go back because, besides guarding the mine, he had other ideas and needed manpower. Wu Yang was undoubtedly the one he valued most, and it would be good if Bai Zhishun could stay by his side and be of some use.

As for the others, to be honest, he doesn't really care anymore, and he can't be sure how many of them will come back after they leave.

In this life, we come and go, meeting many people, but most of them are ultimately just passersby in our lives.

The group of people were just temporarily put together to do this job.

Moreover, he has some things to say later, and I guess after he says those things, some people who were thinking of coming next year won't come anymore.

He warmed himself by the earthen stove and waited for more than twenty minutes. Seeing that everyone who was about to leave was almost ready, he stood up and said, "Come here for a moment, I have something to say."

Peng Yuanchao and the others gathered around.

Once everyone had gathered, Zhou Jingming went to the dugout and retrieved a pack of Da Zhong Jiu cigarettes that he had been saving but hadn't really been willing to smoke. He gave one to each of the smokers. He lit one for himself and took a few puffs: "It's fate that we, a group of people from all over the country, can come together like this."

Over the course of this year, we've fought, struggled, and endured hardships, but we've remained united and of one mind.

So, I'm very grateful to you all.

I know that next year, some of you will still want to come, while others will not.

You've been in the Gold Rush Valley for so long, you know what it's like there, it's pretty brutal.

To be honest, I hope you guys come, because we're already familiar with each other, we all know each other, it's easy to get along and convenient to do things together.

But I also hope you won't come again. I know how much money you've earned this year. It's no exaggeration to say that you'll all be millionaires when you go back. With that kind of money, you can live a very comfortable and good life. There's absolutely no need for you to risk your lives in the Gold Rush Valley again.

It sounds contradictory, but that's really how I feel.

After a pause, Zhou Jingming took a few more puffs of his cigarette: "I won't take up any more of your time, let's get straight to the point. I won't go into the details of the small peninsula from before, but from now on, this mining site in the valley is mine. I believe you won't have too many objections, or if you do, it doesn't matter, because this mining site is mine."

The same applies to the mining sites I searched for later.

Humans are all greedy, and I'm no exception, but I always make sure that when I eat meat, everyone gets to drink the soup.

Just as you initially thought, that the method of dividing the gold was too unfair, after actually doing it and comparing it yourself, you didn't lose out.

Honestly, how many people who come here to strike it rich actually bring back more than ten thousand yuan after six months? Very few, pitifully few. Those who bring back three or four thousand are already considered quite successful.

Therefore, I don't think it's excessive for me to take more credit for it. The most crucial factor in making money by panning for gold is the grade of the gold ore you choose.

So, starting next year, I will hire people to work at the mine, and I will support them without spending a single penny on them. Of course, I will no longer pay them gold; instead, I will pay them cash.

As long as they come, regardless of whether it's cloudy or rainy, I pay each person 600 yuan a month.

One day off per week, with monthly settlement.

The income may be relatively lower, but it will be stable.

Upon hearing this, the crowd began to discuss it amongst themselves.

In the few words exchanged, it was clear that many people felt Zhou Jingming was too domineering. Of course, some people didn't seem to care.

Zhou Jingming didn't stop them and let them talk. Once they quieted down on their own, he continued, "Of course, I'm only talking about ordinary people who come to pan for gold. If you're planning to come back next year, I hope you can bring more people. I'll let you lead the people you bring and work with me. You can be the leaders and don't need to do any hard work. Just take care of them."

At that time, I will pay you 800 yuan a month, plus 20 grams of gold. After working for half a year, I believe you can earn nearly 10,000 yuan.

Of course, if you're capable of leading the way yourselves, I have no objection.

However, let me make this clear: if you don't work with me, whatever happens to you, it has nothing to do with me.

Alright, that's all for now. Hurry up and get on your way. Checks are stricter at this time of year, so be careful. Avoid certain areas and take necessary precautions. Don't lose the gold you've already acquired; that would be a real loss… Goodbye for now!

The group looked at each other, and for a moment no one spoke.

After a while, three men from Yuzhou, carrying luggage, left first; they were the three most eager to return.

The remaining few hesitated for a moment, then followed suit in twos and threes.

In the end, only Peng Yuanchao, Li Guozhu, Xu Youliang, Sun Chenggui, and Wang Dong remained, staring blankly at Zhou Jingming.

Zhou Jingming looked at Peng Yuanchao and Li Guozhu: "Brother Peng, Brother Li, was what I said too much?"

Peng Yuanchao shook his head: "It's not excessive... When the foreman leads people into the mountains to work, some get gold and some get money. Except for those who jointly invest, the gold they find is split equally. If the foreman invests alone, he usually gets the lion's share. As for the money, many teams are lucky to get four hundred a month. Here, you can get six hundred, which is already very good. After half a year of work, you can easily earn three thousand yuan without spending any money and have plenty of rest time. It's good enough. Such good things don't come around often."

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "Of course, if Brother Peng and Brother Li are still willing to work with me next year, they will be different from the others... Are you guys coming or not? Never mind, don't rush to answer me."

I'll go back and think it over carefully before making a decision. However, once I've thought it through, I still plan to work with you next year, so I'll try to come as early as possible.

"Go on your way, everyone, be careful on the road."

Li Guozhu smiled and said, "Alright, we'll think about it... Let's go!"

The group agreed to leave together.

Watching the group enter the poplar grove, Zhou Jingming let out a long sigh: "Wu Yang, how many of them do you think will come back next year?"

Wu Yang shook his head: "I don't know either, but I think Peng Yuanchao and Li Guozhu will probably come again. Why think so much? We'll know next year... What are the plans next?"

"Arrangements? Yes! Since the weather's bad and we can't do much else, let's chop some firewood. We don't want to freeze to death in the mountains, so we need to prepare more."

Zhou Jingming glanced at the group who had already climbed up the opposite mountain forest and said, "Once we're almost ready, I'll take you two to do something else."

"what's up?"

"They're definitely after gold!"

"I knew it! You definitely had other plans!"

(End of this chapter)