My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 142 hasn't really started yet.
In the Gold Rush Valley, regardless of where they come from, 95 percent of the gold prospectors, like migratory birds, embark on their journey home as soon as the weather turns cold.

In his previous life, when Zhou Jingming was working in the Altay Gold Rush Valley, he had seen this kind of thing over and over again, and had long been used to it.

Breakups and reunions have always been the norm in the Gold Rush Valley.

For him, the period between the end of each gold rush season and the arrival of the new one is a process of accumulating and filtering gold prospectors.

Every gold prospector, upon returning to their hometown, will always recall everything they saw, heard, and personally experienced in the valley.

As the new gold rush season approaches, everyone faces the choice of whether or not to return.

Some people are content; once they've made money, they just want to live a peaceful and quiet life.

Some people are afraid of losing their lives in the Gold Rush Valley, so even if they don't make any money, they dare not come out again.

Some people miss those days of "making a fortune every day," thinking that making money is easy and wanting to get more.

Some even harbored ambitions to make a name for themselves in this gold rush valley...

When these gold prospectors returned to their hometowns, they would always tell stories of their sudden wealth through gold mining, whether intentionally or unintentionally, or use their own transformations to prove the fact that they had become rich overnight. Once these stories spread, they would arouse the desire of even more people.

As a result, more gold prospectors came to this wild land, stirring up the waters of the gold-panning valleys into an increasingly murky state.

Gold panning involves sifting through mud and sand to find a tiny bit of gold. Gold prospectors are just like the mud and sand in these gold-panning valleys, violently shaken by ambition and desire, creating even bigger waves.

When everyone returned to their hometowns, Zhou Jingming proposed a new distribution method, which was also a kind of selection process.

Of course, these gold diggers who made a fortune this year felt that this distribution method was too unfair. They thought that if they came back next year, they might receive much less money, which would be a huge disappointment.

For this reason, some who originally wanted to return to the valley chose to give up, while others who came here did not choose to follow Zhou Jingming anymore. These are all normal.

Everyone has different ideas, and Zhou Jingming doesn't intend to force anyone.

He preferred to believe that some of them would realize that he, Zhou Jingming, himself was a piece of shining gold.

This was a consideration, involving Peng Yuanchao, Li Guozhu, and others.

As for Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun, they had already passed his test when they decisively chose to stay.

As for the others, he could understand even if none of them came.

As I said before, there's never a shortage of people in the Gold Rush Valley.

He never felt that his distribution method was too unfair.

In fact, a similar distribution method had already appeared in the Gold Rush Valley, but the wages that the gold foremen or gold bosses could give were only four hundred a month, and very few could give five hundred. Moreover, there would be deductions due to various delays.

He promised that no matter if it was cloudy, rainy, or other things caused delays, as long as you worked for a full month, you would receive 600 yuan. In addition, he would cover all your living expenses and give you a day off every week.

To be honest, these are actually very generous terms.

Not to mention now, even after 1990, the price offered by those wealthy businessmen was only seven or eight hundred.

The economic environment five or six years from now will be much better than it is now.

Of course, this distribution method is more suitable for ordinary gold diggers who don't have many ideas and just want to make money honestly and quietly.

Because a monthly wage of six hundred is hard to find these days, not only in rural areas but also in big cities, except for those shrewd business people who have made money.

As for those who harbor dreams but cannot stay content with their lot, no matter how much you give them, they will always be dissatisfied, so it's better not to give them anything at all.

Now, Zhou Jingming is thinking more about how to build a group of loyal and courageous subordinates.

Those who go back now, as long as they choose to work with me again next year, are people I can rely on.

As for the others, we can always sift through the recruited people and find a few trusted confidants, and that will be enough.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to acquire more gold is of paramount importance. With ample funds in hand, many things will become much easier.

Because he knew very well that everything happening in the gold rush valleys was only a small part of the gold rush world; the more advanced players had not yet truly entered the fray.

We must seize the time and do everything we can to improve our abilities.

Now, Zhou Jingming is only thinking about the chainsaw.

After everyone left, he, Wu Yang, and Bai Zhishun went to the poplar grove to cut down trees and gather firewood.

That grove of poplar trees was somewhat of an eyesore to him; it was too easy for someone to hide inside and not be able to see out.

Since we need firewood, let's choose these first.

Of course, he didn't intend to cut down all the poplar trees. He only cut down some of them to make the forest clearer. Leaving some would also be beneficial, as it would provide some cover in case of emergencies.

However, felling the large poplar trees one by one with just a large saw was really strenuous. Having a chainsaw would have saved a lot of effort and made the task much faster.

But right now, it's obviously not a good idea to make a special trip to Timbuk just for a chainsaw. By then, the firewood needed for this winter might have already been almost completely cut down.

He had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue taking turns with Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun, pulling the saw and sawing the fallen poplar trees into small sections. They then used a cart to haul them back to the dugout, where they were split into several pieces and piled up on one side of the dugout.

Because it had been cloudy for almost seven days, they chopped firewood for seven days, and a large pile of firewood was stacked up next to the dugout.

Poplar wood is not very durable when used for burning, so they went to the surrounding pine forests to collect a lot of pine logs.

When it's cold, putting some wood chunks in the earthen stove in the dugout can keep it burning for quite a while, saving you from having to get up in the cold middle of the night to add firewood.

As for earthen beds and the like, Zhou Jingming had no intention of considering them.

Among the supplies we received from Lao Tang were several cotton quilts, which would make our bedding very thick when we slept at night.

In addition, most of the dugouts are buried in the soil, similar to the underground dwellings in Northeast China. They are very effective in keeping warm and resisting the cold in winter. With a fire inside, they can survive even when the temperature drops to minus 30 or 40 degrees Celsius.

In fact, Zhou Jingming didn't really intend to stay in Haxionggou for the whole winter. When the mountains were covered in snow and the temperature dropped to the point where people could freeze to death if they weren't careful, no one would come anymore. At that time, everyone could go back and stay for a month or two, and then come back early after the New Year.

On the eighth day, the gloomy sky finally cleared up.

In the morning, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang were sparring by the dugout. Bai Zhishun squatted to the side, watching Zhou Jingming being knocked to the ground by Wu Yang time and time again, making him crawl and roll all over the ground, and he couldn't help but laugh.

He finally figured out what the two of them were doing running into the mountains every day, and he truly witnessed Wu Yang's prowess, understanding why Zhou Jingming had given him so much gold.

However, he knew he didn't have the talent for it and lost interest. But at Zhou Jingming's request, he sparred with him a few times and found that he was even worse off than Zhou Jingming was against Wu Yang, completely powerless to fight back.

He was mostly busy with chores like tending the fire and cooking while the two of them were having fun.

On that very day, the weather cleared up, and after a simple breakfast, Zhou Jingming rummaged through the dugout where supplies were stored and found a gold bucket, a pickaxe, and a steel chisel.

While washing dishes with hot water, Bai Zhishun casually asked, "Brother Zhou, are you planning to pan for gold? Just the three of us... it's not impossible. We can use a cart to haul the materials, and I can do it all by myself. I can also help dig the materials."

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "Shunzai, we have an easier and simpler way to make gold faster!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yang laughed: "Brother Zhou, are you planning to fight a guerrilla war?"

Zhou Jingming nodded: "Let's play guerrilla warfare for now... We can do something else when the weather gets colder."

Wu Yang looked at Zhou Jingming curiously: "Can we do something else?"

"There are ways to make gold faster than guerrilla warfare, but the time isn't right yet, so don't rush to ask. You'll find out when the time comes!"

After Bai Zhishun finished cleaning up the dishes, Zhou Jingming went to the dugout to get the hunting rifles and gave them each a rifle to carry. Then, he took the gold bucket and waders and walked towards the river: "Let's take advantage of the slightly warmer weather and first work on the places in the upper and lower reaches of Haxionggou that are prone to gold accumulation. Also, let's explore the mining sites."

Wu Yang was even more puzzled: "Don't we already have a mining site? You said when we came here that with just this one, there are about a hundred people, enough to work for a year. Why do we need to look for another mining site?"

As Zhou Jingming walked, he said, "Brother, you have to think ahead to have a chance to make money. Our current mining site is the best in Haxionggou, but there are still some other pretty good sites. What do you think if I find these sites and claim them in advance, and then sell them to the gold-panning teams, would they be willing to pay?"

Zhou Jingming already had this idea.

Moreover, judging from the fact that people have been coming to Haxionggou from time to time recently, there will definitely be a lot of gold prospectors flocking to Haxionggou next year.

Anyway, it's impossible to pan for gold from every single mine in this valley. Besides, in his opinion, he wouldn't even consider many of the mines, since there are better options.

When the time comes, you can resell it and make a profit. Why not?
"Oh, so that's what you were planning."

Wu Yang exclaimed in sudden realization, "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

Zhou Jingming glanced back at him and said, "Stop flattering me, I don't like hearing that!"

"By now, Peng Yuanchao and the others should be home, right?"

"I don't know. Longzhong and Jincheng are relatively close, so if all goes well, they may have already arrived. As for those from Yuzhou, Luoyue, and Xiangxi, they may not have arrived yet. Once they get to Tiemaike, they'll have to figure out how to exchange the gold for money. Some of them might want to stay a couple more days, since they won't be as free once they go back."

As they spoke, the three of them arrived at the riverbank and walked upstream along the riverbank.

After leaving the pincer-shaped ravine, Zhou Jingming walked upstream for a short distance before choosing a small mud pond on the grassy bank of a river that had dried up due to the drop in river level.

This small mud puddle is inconspicuous. Judging from the condition of the riverbank, this area was completely covered by river water before the heavy rain.

Now, all the small ponds are exposed, and even the surrounding area is overgrown with weeds. The ponds are full of dark silt, and there are no pebbles or gravel in sight. So, several groups of gold prospectors came and rummaged around in the valley for several days, but no one touched them.

"Let's start with this mud pit. Once we peel back the top layer of mud, there should be gold-bearing mud and sand underneath. We can just dig it out and wash it!"

Zhou Jingming instructed the two men, "Shunzai, you go dig sand, Wuyang Tan. I'll go upstairs first to check the mining site, test the sand, and demarcate the area!"

Too much time had passed, and Zhou Jingming could no longer clearly remember the exact locations of those mining sites. His small notebook only contained some important locations; he couldn't possibly record everything. Now, he could only rely on his experience to confirm them again.

(End of this chapter)