My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 158 Borrow some money

After eating layered naan bread for several days in the restricted valley, returning to the dugout with wine and meat, it was only natural to have a good meal.

Wu Yang had been eyeing Zhou Jingming's hot pot for a long time.

He lit a fire in the earthen stove in the dugout and began urging Zhou Jingming to start cooking.

Zhou Jingming also wanted to eat something he liked. After resting for a while, he asked Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun to wash and slice the meat. He then put an iron pot on the earthen stove and started preparing the hot pot broth. Once the broth boiled, the thinly sliced ​​meat was put into the pot and cooked for a while. The group gathered around the earthen stove, warming themselves by the fire while eating the piping hot meat, accompanied by sips of wine. They ate with great enthusiasm.

After a hearty meal, none of them wanted to do anything else. They hadn't been able to sleep well for so many days in the restricted valley, and coupled with their exhaustion, all they wanted to do was lie on the earthen bed with its thick mattress.

Perhaps Old Liu was also exhausted, and with the matter weighing on his mind resolved, he slept exceptionally soundly in the dugout, sleeping even more soundly than the three young men.

The group rested in the dugout for three days, spending their time eating, drinking, and sleeping. Only Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang would go out to the grass in the morning and evening to exercise.

On the morning of the fourth day, when Wu Yang stepped out of the dugout, he saw that the gloomy weather had finally cleared up. He turned around and asked Zhou Jingming, who was still sleeping on the earthen bed wrapped in a quilt, "Brother Zhou, the weather is clear. Are we leaving today, or do we want to stay a few more days?"

Zhou Jingming rolled over and lay face down, peering out of the dugout's small door. He saw that the sky had turned a clear blue, without a single cloud in sight: "It's definitely good weather. Let's set off today!"

After resting for so long, my physical fatigue has almost completely disappeared. When I get back to my hometown, there are still a lot of things to do.

He threw off the covers, rolled out of bed, and nudged Bai Zhishun, who was still fast asleep: "Shunzi, get up, pack your things, let's go home!"

The three of them—one in Sichuan, one in western Hunan, and one in Luoyue—had a long journey back, so they could travel together by train and look out for each other along the way.

Zhou Jingming was already familiar with the way home, and Wu Yang was skilled enough that he wouldn't have any problems either. It was Bai Zhishun who would probably have to ask around for directions, which would be quite difficult. Traveling together would keep him company and make it less boring.

Most importantly, the gold obtained from cleaning the cave in the restricted area hasn't been divided yet.

Originally, we planned to divide the spoils once we got back to the dugout, but now that Old Liu is here, we've put that on hold for now.

Trust is a subjective thing, depending on the person.

Zhou Jingming already felt that his decision to have Old Liu guard the mine was quite bold, given that his time with Old Liu had been relatively short.

The three of them began packing their things.

There wasn't much to take back, just some warm clothes. I quickly packed everything up and put my backpack on. To save time, I simply cooked some noodles to fill my stomach and baked a few flatbreads to keep as provisions for the journey.

We'll have to spend the night in the mountains halfway through the journey.

Once everything was ready, Zhou Jingming found a rope, went outside the dugout to call Jin Wang over, tied him up with a noose, and looked at Old Liu who had followed him out: "Grandpa, the dugout and the mine site are entrusted to you to guard, as well as Jin Wang..."

"Go with peace of mind. When you come back, try to bring me a bundle of tobacco leaves. I just can't get used to the tobacco here."

"Okay, I'll bring you some strong tobacco back then. My dad smokes leaf tobacco too, he's good at picking... Also, keep those thirteen guns safe in the dugout, we'll need them to guard the mine next year!"

Zhou Jingming originally wanted to give his Ma brand pistol to Old Man Liu as well, but after hesitating for a moment, he decided to take it with him and hide it when they arrived in Altan.

Along the way, we passed through many stations, changed trains frequently, and underwent numerous inspections.

Although gun control is not strict now, and some people carry hunting rifles on trains, they have gun licenses.

Furthermore, handguns and shotguns are not the same thing. If this thing is found, the problem will be even more serious. You should know that handguns are generally used by the military and police, and not just anyone can possess them. If the source of the gun is seriously problematic, it could get you into big trouble.

Also, the closer you get to Wucheng, the greater the chance of being checked and arrested as a vagrant... You have to be very careful about the gun issue.

Just carry a knife for self-defense; it's fine to carry it on the train.

Jinwang was very uncomfortable with a rope around its neck and struggled and cried out. When Zhou Jingming handed the rope to Old Man Liu to carry his luggage and leave, it pulled on the rope behind him, trying to keep up. It was very strong, and even Old Man Liu was pulled along by it from time to time, having to use even more effort to pull.

As Zhou Jingming walked away, it barked incessantly behind him until he was out of sight, at which point the barking turned into whimpers.

Old Liu looked at Jin Wang, who was gradually calming down, and tied him to a clump of bushes not far from the dugout: "You stay here and keep me company for a few months. When spring comes, your master will come back. Be good, or I'll beat you up."

As he spoke, he reached out to pat Jin Wang on the head.

Before anyone could even reach out, Jin Wang turned his head and bared his teeth, looking like he was saying, "If you dare touch me, I'll bite you."

Startled, Old Liu quickly withdrew his hand: "Oh ho, you have quite a strange temper and a fiery personality... Just wait and see how I deal with you."

Without Jin Wang's company, Zhou Jingming and his companions had to be even more careful on their journey, having to guard against wild animals that might suddenly appear, and even more so against the people they encountered.

Fortunately, they did not encounter any living creatures on the road that day.

No matter how hard you try, it takes two days to walk from Haxionggou to Tiemaike.

They spent the night in the mountains.

The frost was heavy at night, making it feel even colder than on a cloudy day. The three of them had to take turns watching over the pile of firewood, making sure it didn't go out.

The next morning, after walking for more than an hour, they could see the Fourth Mine Bridge in the distance. The checkpoint's doors were tightly closed, and there was no smoke coming out of the chimney, indicating that the checkpoint staff had left. The three of them did not need to take a detour and crossed the Fourth Mine Bridge with peace of mind. There was still a 30-kilometer journey ahead. In winter, the days are shorter, and it would be good if they could reach Tiemaike before dark.

Just last time Zhou Jingming went to Tiemaike, Jinwang barked, and Zhou Jingming felt that he was being watched. In that poplar forest, seven people emerged.

Zhou Jingming frowned, walking silently while observing the group.

He guessed that the last time he passed by this place, it was most likely these people hiding in the woods, but they didn't dare to come out because they saw that all three of them were carrying guns.

Seeing that none of them were carrying guns, Zhou Jingming felt a little more at ease. If they had been carrying hunting rifles, he would have had to run away quickly. Although he was also carrying a pistol, the range and power of the two were quite different, so using a pistol would be a disadvantage.

He reached to his waist, touched the Mauser pistol, and felt that bullets were precious, each one used was one less. Since those people didn't have guns, he couldn't help but look at Wu Yang: "Can you handle them?"

Wu Yang showed no intention of using his gun, confidently stating, "Just a few petty thieves, no problem." Zhou Jingming then turned to Bai Zhishun and said, "If they block your way, stay back, don't get hurt!"

Bai Zhishun nodded. He wasn't carrying any weapons, but he still bent down and picked up two stones from the ground, ready to use them.

The group walked at a leisurely pace, crossing the Gobi Desert sideways, and stopped when they reached the pastoral path.

Zhou Jingming looked at the group and realized they didn't seem to be gold prospectors. They were all wearing floral hats, a distinctive feature of Uyghur clothing, which they called "dopa".

Regardless of whether they are from north or south of the Tianshan Mountains, young or old, or whether it is spring, summer or autumn, flower hats are a part of the daily clothing of Uyghurs.

This is the real reason why Zhou Jingming frowned.

The hats suggested they were likely local bullies.

Unless absolutely necessary, Zhou Jingming was unwilling to provoke these people.

So he whispered to Wu Yang, "Don't make a move unless absolutely necessary. Let's go around to the side."

Wu Yang wasn't stupid, and he knew perfectly well why Zhou Jingming had taken the initiative to give way. He said "okay" softly and followed Zhou Jingming to the left side of the pastoral path.

However, the other party was clearly not going to let them off so easily, and they all grinned as they blocked their way.

Zhou Jingming then walked to the right, and those people blocked his way to the right.

Zhou Jingming stopped walking, looked up at the group, and said, "Gentlemen, please make way!"

"Make way?"

The Uyghur leader laughed loudly: "If we clear the way, what will we eat and drink?"

"We don't want to cause trouble!"

Zhou Jingming adopted a very humble attitude.

“It’s good that you don’t want to cause trouble… If I’m not mistaken, you three are bosses who come to the mountains to make a fortune. We brothers are a bit short on cash lately, and winter is coming soon. We’d like to borrow some money from you three to spend.”

"So you're determined to stop me, aren't you?"

"It's not that we're stopping you, it's that the three bosses aren't generous enough... or do the three bosses want us to come and take it ourselves?"

As he said this, the others pulled out knives from their pockets and fiddled with them in their hands.

Another person stepped out from the crowd.

He looked around, picked up a few stones from the ground, squatted down in front of the three people, rubbed his right hand, picked up one of the stones, and chopped it down with a chop. The stone didn't budge. He then chopped it twice more before the stone cracked.

He then picked up another stone and chopped it in half in a few strokes.

Take a third one...

Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang both knew that this was a deliberate display of force.

Looking at his hands, his fists were covered in thick calluses. It was easy to tell that this man had practiced martial arts a lot. Those palm-sized stones were just picked up randomly and were not faked. Being able to split stones with his bare hands showed that he was indeed quite capable. At least he had a lot of strength in his hands and was quite tough.

If it were an ordinary person, seeing this, they would probably start to worry about what would happen if that fist landed on them.

But they clearly fooled the wrong person.

Wu Yang scoffed, "That's a good move, but I'd rather see you try it with your head. If you can smash the rock with your head, I'll be impressed."

Upon hearing this, the man who had used a chopstick to split the stone froze.

The expressions of the others immediately turned ugly.

The leader glared at Zhou Jingming and his two companions: "Brothers, it seems we've run into some ungrateful people."

Wu Yang shook his head and smiled: "It's not that I don't know what's good for me. I've practiced for a couple of days, and now that I see a master, I'm itching to try it myself."

He looked at the man who was splitting the stone with his bare hands: "How about we have a few exchanges, the kind where life or death doesn't matter... Martial arts training isn't just for showing off and intimidating people, don't you think?"

Wu Yang's words were full of provocation.

Zhou Jingming knew that these people were determined to take him away, so he naturally had no objection to Wu Yang stepping forward.

They were thinking of bluffing people, and Wu Yang could certainly bluff people too.

It all comes down to who can keep whom in check.

Since things can't be resolved peacefully, the only option is to fight violence with violence. Who cares if he's a local bully? Gold that was risked to bring back isn't something to be given away easily.

The man who was splitting the rock with his bare hands, seeing that he couldn't intimidate the three men, turned around and glanced at the leader.

The leader was now in an awkward position: "He asked for it, why are you being so polite? Let them see what you're capable of."

The man who had split the rock with his bare hands stood up, spread his feet, and assumed a boxing stance.

Wu Yang glanced at him, a smile playing on his lips, and walked towards him.

Seeing that Wu Yang didn't take him seriously, the man immediately stepped forward and threw a punch at Wu Yang's face.

(End of this chapter)