My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 156 Reunion with Old Man Liu
Zhou Jingming examined the piece of ore in his hand and went back into the mine to thoroughly inspect it with a flashlight. Apart from the low-grade vein that had been blasted out, there was no sign of any hidden gold veins elsewhere.

He even re-examined the section of cave wall that Shen Wei and his group had cleared after bombing it, but still couldn't find it.

Zhou Jingming's plan was this: if they really found such a mineral vein, the three of them could mine in the cave until early winter before leaving. Anyway, they still had some supplies left in the valley, enough to last them. Once they came out of the mountains, they could sell them to other gold mine owners and make another profit.

As the weather gets colder and there are problems with the supply of materials, it's not appropriate for just the three of them to stay in the restricted area. It would be more suitable to sell it to the powerful Boss Jin and let them organize a team to excavate it.

Of course, they can only dig until spring and then they have to leave.

Because at that time, the patrol teams and the Qingshan team in the restricted area were keeping a close watch.

By next winter, I wonder who will take it over again.

Therefore, taking advantage of this gold mine to make a fortune is a good choice.

A perfectly good breakfast was ruined after only a few bites.

Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun could only keep the fire burning and bake the naan again. After they had eaten their fill, the three of them took their luggage and the three guns they had acquired and continued their journey upstream.

Although he thought it was unlikely, Zhou Jingming still wanted to see if the gold ore might actually have come from the mine that Shen Wei and the others had blasted.

They spent two days looking through all the mines, but still couldn't find it. They were pretty sure that the gold ore didn't come from the mines in this valley.

But its exact origin is now impossible to guess.

Zhou Jingming had no choice but to give up the search.

What interests him more right now is that he saw two intersecting quartz veins on the wall of an old mine shaft that hadn't been bombed. They were smoky gray and might contain gold.

However, despite expending a lot of effort and running out of explosives, they still couldn't find the gold.

The three of them had no choice but to give up.

However, Zhou Jingming did not feel any negative emotions such as disappointment.

The reason is simple: this time, when I came to clean the cave, I already had a considerable amount of gold on hand.

He immediately decided to leave the restricted area and return to Haxionggou.

To avoid getting lost, the three did not try to take shortcuts, but instead walked downstream along the riverbank, retrieving the buried gold along the way.

By the time they had completely left the restricted area and entered the main channel of the Haiertes River, it was already evening of the following day.

The overcast sky began to snow lightly again.

Zhou Jingming planned to find a sturdy dugout in the valley to spend the night there and continue his journey the next day.

Along the Gold Rush Valley, the most common dwellings are earthen houses, and choosing one is not difficult.

However, it is necessary to intentionally avoid guarded mining sites to avoid causing further trouble.

The snowfall wasn't heavy, but it lasted quite a long time, even though it was intermittent. After the three of them spent the night in the dugout, they opened the wooden door and saw that there was a thick layer of snow outside, and judging from the dark clouds in the sky, it might continue to snow.

The three of them dared not delay. After filling their stomachs, they quickened their pace and continued on their way.

Another day passed, and they arrived at the cliff where they had first encountered wild dogs when they went into the mountains with Peng Yuanchao to scout the area.

There are no dugouts to live in here.

Zhou Jingming could only call on Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun to hurry up and cut some fir saplings from the hillside, build a slanted frame against the rock wall under the cliff, and lay fir branches on it to block the snowfall. The other end was blocked with branches and leaves to prevent the cold wind from passing through.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the sloping shed, some firewood was chopped and a fire was built. The warmth from the firewood gathered by the sloping shed helped them get through the cold night.

Compared to dugouts, this sloping shed has much worse heat insulation performance.

Even with the roe deer skin, Zhou Jingming, to prevent any accidents, dared not sleep as freely as he did in the dugout. Instead, he discussed with Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun about taking turns keeping watch at night.

The main task was to keep an eye on the pile of firewood and make sure it didn't go out.

Otherwise, if it snows heavily at night and the fire goes out, you might freeze to death without even realizing it.

Zhou Jingming dared not be careless in this matter, nor did Wu Yang, who had witnessed the heavy snow in Northeast China. As for Bai Zhishun, who was a Luo Yue person, he was even more afraid of the cold.

It's almost early winter now, and the nights in northern Xinjiang are getting longer, so even if you take turns sleeping, you can still get a good night's sleep.

They spent a peaceful night, and the next morning, after filling their stomachs, the three continued on their journey. However, about an hour after setting off, Jinwang, who was following beside them, suddenly stopped and turned around to bark at the people behind them.

Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang immediately took off the hunting rifles they were carrying.

Bai Zhishun followed suit, taking off the four hunting rifles he was carrying and holding one in his arms, then looking back at the road behind him.

In the distance, a black dot was stumbling along the dirt road.

Just one person...

The three of them carefully looked around and, seeing that there was no one else, had nothing to worry about. They called Jin Wang and continued walking along the dirt road, glancing back every now and then to guard against any possible sudden attacks.

The man looked unsteady, but he was moving quite fast. A little over three minutes later, he was already more than twenty meters behind.

This person carried nothing with him; even his clothes looked very thin, without even a cotton-padded coat or trousers.

How can one endure such cold weather and such thin clothing?
Zhou Jingming did not let his guard down because of this.

More importantly, another person came from behind, turning out of the bend in the mountain and walking slowly towards them.

The person walking in front stopped about ten meters away from Zhou Jingming and the others, looking at them warily.

Zhou Jingming was also observing him. He noticed that the man was shivering from the cold, his face was ashen, he had no hat, and his hair, eyebrows, and stubble were covered with a layer of white ice crystals. After a closer look, he finally recognized him.

Isn't this one of the dozen or so people Zhou Jingming and his group encountered in the valley where they found the gold vein and dug out the gold after entering the restricted area and cleaning the cave?

The group that blasted mines all the way, the ones who did it really hard.

Wu Yang nudged Zhou Jingming; clearly, he recognized him too.

It was precisely because they had entered that valley, and because they already had a considerable amount of gold on them, that Zhou Jingming chose to leave immediately to avoid conflict with them, and instead went to another valley.

Unexpectedly, this person appeared here alone.

He couldn't help but wonder, where were the others?
As he had this thought, he glanced around again, but apart from the person who had followed him, he didn't see anyone else.

The man glanced back at the people following him, looking very nervous.

He moved aside to keep his distance, indicating that he wanted to bypass Zhou Jingming and his group and continue on his way.

Zhou Jingming didn't want to get involved in anything, so he gestured to Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun to take a few steps back to the other side of the road.

The man quickened his pace, but after passing by, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Zhou Jingming and his group, his lips trembling: "Brothers, do you have anything to eat? Please give us something to eat!"

There was food, of course, but Zhou Jingming looked at him, then at the person following closely behind, and decisively shook his head: "No!"

The man then looked at the military water bottles slung over the three men's shoulders: "If you have any alcohol, you can have a sip!"

Zhou Jingming shook his head again.

Seeing this, the man's expression turned to despair, but he quickly perked up again: "Could you please do me a favor and help me deal with the man behind me? I have gold, I can give you gold!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun both looked at Zhou Jingming.

Zhou Jingming laughed: "Even if you have gold, you can't stop the person behind you from following you. Do you think we would do something so stupid?"
Besides, judging from your appearance, you don't seem like someone who owns gold.

The man grew increasingly anxious: "I really do have gold, I've hidden it. If you deal with him, I can give you a lot of gold."

"a lot of……"

Zhou Jingming became interested: "How much can you give?"

Upon hearing this, the man seemed to think there was a chance, and held up five fingers at Zhou Jingming: "Five taels!"

"Five liang, which is two hundred and fifty grams..."

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "It sounds like a lot, but why do I feel like you're cursing me? Sorry, but people say that if you take someone's money, you have to help them get rid of their troubles. You want us to help you get rid of your troubles first before we take your money. I don't think that's reliable, so I can't agree to it."

"If you turn your back on us once you're safe, we'll have to take the blame for you. Murder is no small matter."

Seeing that Zhou Jingming still refused, he felt somewhat like he had been played. He glared at Zhou Jingming with resentment and continued to stagger forward.

The three of them did not rush on their way and continued to wait by the roadside.

As the person who had come with him approached, Zhou Jingming's expression suddenly changed: the person who came was actually Old Man Liu.

It was the old hunter from the Qinling Mountains that Zhou Jingming and his group met while panning for gold on the small peninsula in Chagou, and who followed Zhang Batou.

Since he left the valley, Zhou Jingming had been hoping to meet him again someday and recruit him into his team.

Such a seasoned hunter, and also a skilled gunman, would be a great asset to the team, even if he did nothing else.

Old Liu was quite surprised when he realized that the three people standing by the roadside were Zhou Jingming and his companion.

He stopped in his tracks: "You haven't gone back yet?"

"Sir...that's what I should be asking you. Why haven't you gone home yet?"

Old Liu glanced at the man who was staggering away ahead, said to Zhou Jingming and the others, "We'll talk about it later," and quickened his pace to catch up.

Not long after, the two disappeared into the mountain valley, one after the other.

Immediately afterward, a gunshot rang out from the mountain valley, and a short while later, another shot was fired.

Zhou Jingming and the other two exchanged glances, all realizing what had happened.

They continued on their way, and after about a mile, they saw Old Liu sitting on the snow by the roadside, drinking wine from the gourd at his waist.

Right in front of him on the dirt road, there was a pool of blood and drag marks.

Things were clearly as Zhou Jingming and his group had guessed.

After Old Liu left, Zhou Jingming asked Zhang Batou about him and learned about some things that had happened to him.

Seeing that the two had followed him all the way, Old Man Liu could have easily dealt with the man long ago, but he didn't. He just kept following behind, simply wanting to torment him.

This behavior clearly stems from deep resentment.

He looked into the river and saw the body under the thin ice, not washed away. He asked, "Sir, is this the enemy who killed your son?"

Old Liu was taken aback: "How did you know?"

Zhou Jingming explained, "After you left, I went to ask Zhang, the foreman, and he told me some things about you."

Old Liu nodded slightly: "It's him!"

(End of this chapter)