My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 175 This place is occupied
To Su Xiulan's surprise, Zhou Jingming simply pulled her inside, pushed her to the edge of the earthen bed, threw a mattress onto her previous bed, then turned around, slammed the wooden door shut, bolted it, added a few pieces of durable pine wood to the earthen stove, and then climbed onto the earthen bed himself.

As he lay down, he placed the double-barreled shotgun beside him, turned off the flashlight, and said, "These are the conditions in the mountains. Go to sleep now, and we'll get up early tomorrow to cook."

After saying that, he wrapped himself in the blanket, lay down, and remained motionless.

In the pitch-black dugout, the only sounds were the whooshing of the fire in the earthen stove being drawn by the chimney and the hissing of Jinwang scratching at the door outside.

Su Xiulan stood by the earthen bed, her heart pounding wildly. Just now, she thought she was going to...

After a while, Zhou Jingming was already snoring, and she finally relaxed and sat down on the earthen bed.

This dugout is the largest one; seven or eight people can sleep on the earthen bed without any problem.

She understood what Zhou Jingming meant. Being allowed to live in this dugout was already the best treatment he could offer. Did he expect her to squeeze into other dugouts or tents with the other rough men?
She also knew that Zhou Jingming's decision to let her live with him was actually a form of protection for her. If she were to live alone in front of such a large group of rough men, she might not dare to do so.

After figuring this out, she carefully spread out the mattress that Zhou Jingming had thrown on the earthen bed in the corner, and then cautiously crawled inside, curling up in the mattress, not daring to move at all, trying her best to fall asleep as soon as possible.

When you're asleep, you won't think about those messy things.

The more she tried to clear the clutter from her mind, the more chaotic her thoughts became. The more chaotic her thoughts became, the less she could sleep. The less she could sleep, the more she would think, as if trapped in a vicious cycle with no beginning and no end.

She didn't know how she fell asleep, but she knew how she woke up.

Zhou Jingming kicked her in the butt.

That kick was quite heavy; I could feel the pain even through the mattress.

Startled, she sat up abruptly and looked at Zhou Jingming in a daze. She saw him get out of bed, get dressed, open the door, and leave.

Another person left with him; she recognized his voice as Wu Yang.

Through the transparent plastic sheet on top of the dugout, you could see that the sky was only faintly lit and not yet bright. I wondered what the two of them were doing out so early.

Su Xiulan rubbed her bottom, first frowning, then blushing.

She knew Zhou Jingming was calling her to get up, so she didn't dare to delay. She threw off the covers and got out of bed. She had slept fully clothed last night, so all she needed to do was put on her shoes.

She hastily tidied her hair with a five-finger rake and hurriedly crawled out of the dugout.

Once outside, the sudden gust of cold wind made her shiver involuntarily. She quickly tightened her clothes, busied herself lighting the earthen stove on the grass, and then carried a bucket to the well she had dug by the river to fetch water. She also washed her face with the icy cold water, which made her feel completely refreshed.

While cooking and washing vegetables by the fire, Su Xiulan saw Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang practicing in unison on a slightly flat area of ​​the grassy slope behind them, as if they were practicing martial arts. They did push-ups, walked upside down, and then wrestled with each other.

She couldn't understand it, but it seemed very impressive, and for some reason, she felt much more at ease.

The group of people in the tent were freezing cold. After the fire in the earthen stove was lit, some of them got up and gathered around the fire to warm themselves. They also saw Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang training.

Among those who came with Wu Yang from western Hunan, some knew that Wu Yang came from the Armed Police Force and was extremely skilled; even without weapons, several people couldn't get close to him.

Some people tried to learn even a move or two from Wu Yang, but they quickly gave up the idea after learning how difficult the training was.

They didn't expect that Zhou Jingming could actually learn from Wu Yang and practice quite well, looking like he had a solid foundation, and was already able to exchange a few blows with Wu Yang.

As dawn broke and the bright red sun peeked over the eastern hills, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang finished their drills and sat on the grassy slope smoking.

Wu Yang praised him highly: "You've made great progress in just a few months!"

Zhou Jingming took a few deep breaths: "Do I look like the kind of person who only practices sporadically? In the months since I went back, unless something comes up, I've practiced every morning and evening."

Wu Yang nodded: "If you keep practicing like this, you'll succeed."

Then, he changed the subject: "Brother Zhou, why was there no sound at all last night?"

"Did you eavesdrop last night?"

Zhou Jingming took a deep breath: "These kinds of things are best done when both parties are willing."

How could you stand it?

"You can tell from his voice that he's never seen a woman before."

"You talk as if you've seen a lot."

Zhou Jingming just smiled and didn't say anything more.

Who knew that after coming down from the grassy slope and having breakfast, Old Liu would quietly come up to Zhou Jingming and slip something into his pocket.

Zhou Jingming took it out and glanced at it. He saw that the thing was wrapped in a piece of yellow paper and emitted a very complicated fishy smell: "Grandpa, what is this?"

He unfolded the yellow paper and saw a fuzzy mass, which looked like something dried off an animal.

Old Liu puffed on his pipe, saying, "After you left, I hunted a roe deer in the mountains..."

Zhou Jingming immediately understood: "This is musk?"

Old Liu nodded: "Hmm... If a woman wears it, she won't get pregnant!"

Zhou Jingming's lips twitched involuntarily: "Grandpa, why are you like this too?"

Old Liu chuckled: "Young man, don't bottling things up!"

"I……"

Zhou Jingming was at a loss for words.

To be honest, he himself couldn't guarantee that he could really restrain himself and not have anything happen between him and Su Xiulan while he was in this dugout.

But Zhou Jingming was a man who had lived a full life. Musk could indeed affect a woman's fertility, but it was a double-edged sword.

In the past, when watching palace dramas and family dramas, every time I saw the favored "little vixens" finish serving their grandfathers, the principal wife would give them a bowl of contraceptive soup, easily controlling the fate of the concubines.

A successful matriarch wouldn't dare go out without one or two doses of this medicine on hand.

When Zhou Jingming was bored, he actually did study this kind of question. He knew that musk did have a contraceptive effect, but it could also cause infertility.

He even knew that mercury was a terrifying contraceptive, and that some prostitutes relied on taking trace amounts of mercury to achieve the effect. Otherwise, brothels would have been converted into kindergartens long ago. The madams didn't care about the toxicity of mercury; what mattered most was keeping those women busy making money.

If you take mercury long-term, it won't just be a simple form of contraception, but a form of sterilization.

Even if she gives birth to a child, the child might be mentally challenged.

Zhou Jingming immediately wrapped the things up and handed them back to Old Man Liu: "Grandpa, I don't need this stuff. You should keep it and sell it for money."

"You don't act like a young person!"

"Making money is the priority, I don't have time to think about anything else..."

"Alright, that's enough. If you don't appreciate it, fine, just keep it to yourself."

After finishing his sentence, Old Liu picked up his hunting rifle and headed towards the woods across the street.

Zhou Jingming didn't have any specific arrangements for him. Anyway, he didn't have to do any work. If he wanted to hunt, there was meat in the group. If he wanted to wander around the area, he could serve as a patrol officer.

In his view, it was more valuable than simply setting up a mine to extract ore.

Old Liu walked a short distance away, then turned back and called out to Jin Wang. Jin Wang just looked at him for a while but didn't seem to follow.

After spending the winter with Old Man Liu, it didn't seem to have made much progress. This led Old Man Liu to say to Zhou Jingming that Jinwang was a stupid dog, the stupidest he had ever seen.

He had clearly given up training Jin Wang long ago.

Even after Zhou Jingming returned, Jin Wang still preferred to follow him around.

Seeing that he couldn't get Jin Wang to do anything, Old Liu sighed and went into the woods alone.

Perhaps because they couldn't stand the cold last night, after Zhou Jingming planned the location of the dugout, the group dug quite hard. The excavated ore was loaded onto a cart and continuously transported to the riverbank.

Zhou Jingming ignored the matter, but called Li Guohua to go to the woods across the street, sawed a few pieces of wood, and then used a handsaw to cut some rough planks.

He didn't let Li Guohua get involved in what happened next.

Zhou Jingming used a basin to find some frozen, hardened mud by the river. After softening it by the fire, he put it in an oil paper bag, cut a small hole in the corner of the bag, squeezed out the mud, and painted on the wooden board.

Su Xiulan watched from the side as a wooden board was painted over. She recognized a few mud characters on it: "This place is owned?"

Zhou Jingming glanced at him, continued what he was doing, and casually asked, "Can you read?"

“I attended primary school, but later we couldn’t afford to continue my studies, so I went home to work.”

"Since you've attended primary school, keeping accounts shouldn't be a big problem. You'll be in charge of recording the daily work attendance of the people working at the mine. They'll have one day off per week. If they can't work due to the weather, you need to make a note of it. Also, record any absences due to other reasons. If they don't work when they're supposed to, they won't get paid."

"it is good!"

"There's paper and pen in the dugout. Go find it yourself and start taking notes from yesterday."

With something new to do, Su Xiulan, who had nothing else to do, seemed quite happy. She went to the dugout, found paper and pen, and began to ask for names and register them one by one.

After working for a while, I brought back the completed register and showed it to Zhou Jingming.

Zhou Jingming glanced at it and saw that it was covered with dense writing without any organization, looking like a mess. He gave a comment: "The handwriting is quite neat, but everything else is worthless."

He thought for a moment, took the notebook, went back to the dugout, used another magazine as a ruler, drew a chart in the notebook, and registered the names in the table. He then handed it to Su Xiulan: "Circle for normal work, triangle for rest, cross for those who are not working, and mark special cases in the blank space below."

Su Xiulan looked at the notebook in her hand. She hadn't seen this kind of form much before, but she could understand it at a glance, which made her even more impressed.

Zhou Jingming spent the whole day making a lot of wooden signs.

Those boards that were covered in mud and burned black over a fire, once the mud was removed, revealed the original wood lettering.

He prepared seventeen such boards.

The next morning, he called Bai Zhishun and, carrying the wooden planks, walked up and down the river, placing wooden signs on all seventeen decent mining sites that had been surveyed and registered before the new year.

When the gold prospectors arrive at Haxionggou to scout the area or pan for gold, it will be time to discuss business.

If you're thinking of taking it by force, you'd better think twice.

He believed that the thirteen hunting rifles he had on hand were enough to deter others.

In this Gold Rush Valley, to make money, you still have to be a little shady.

With many people involved, the progress of digging the dugouts was greatly accelerated.

In just three days, a dugout large enough to accommodate fifty or sixty people was built, and everyone moved in.

Only a tent was left outside, with an earthen stove set up inside as Su Xiulan's cooking area.

Taking advantage of the good weather, the next day Zhou Jingming called on everyone to bring pickaxes, axes, and shovels and begin repairing the road.

Having traveled from Haxionggou to Tiemaike several times, Zhou Jingming knew the route like the back of his hand. He directed the group to cut down trees and dig ditches in the mountains, trying to choose the easiest path possible.

Because it's a forest area, the most troublesome thing along the way is the trees. In many places, as long as the shrubs and some small trees are cut down, we can proceed without any obstacles.

Moreover, there are also many sizable grasslands interspersed among the mountains and forests. Those areas don't require much maintenance and can be driven through directly.

It just takes a little more effort when crossing the mountains. Some small ditches need to be filled with wood and stones, and some earthen embankments need to be dug.

The road repairs were completed quickly, taking only five days.

The tractor, which had been abandoned in the wilderness for several days, was finally started after Zhou Jingming wrapped the belt around it and several people took turns cranking the handle. It could then be driven smoothly directly to the open space at the mine site.

Traveling will be much more convenient from now on.

(End of this chapter)