My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 176: Being on guard against others is essential

In the Altay region, areas where permafrost is difficult to excavate are often places with sufficient moisture, such as wasteland near riverbanks or shady mountain gullies, where the ground is more severely frozen.

In the pincer-shaped ravine of Haxionggou, near the riverbank, you can find frozen soil less than two feet down, but in the dugouts and higher places, the frozen soil does not affect the area.

Although it was in a forest area, the wild grass and scattered rocks on the hillside behind the dugout already indicated that it was a dry place.

It doesn't have much impact on the digging and transportation of materials at the mining site.

After the road was completed, Zhou Jingming gathered everyone together and wrote an agreement, which was nothing more than establishing various rules to prevent things such as hoarding or stealing gold, and how to deal with such situations.

Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun must have already discussed similar matters with them when they were recruiting, so the signing and fingerprinting of the agreement was quickly approved without any objections.

Although Zhao Li and Li Guohua were brought by Zhou Jingming, he did not treat them differently and let them participate in digging and transporting materials.

After all, this was their first time working on gold mining, and they needed to familiarize themselves with the entire process before certain tasks could be assigned to them.

Mainly, he didn't want the two of them to feel special and make unreasonable demands just because he had brought them there.

Zhou Jingming left the work at the mine to Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun. He only brought two people with him to drive a tractor along the newly built road to collect the felled trees, pick out the thick branches and cut them into firewood. They hauled the firewood back in truckloads and piled it up next to the dugouts for later use.

Before long, the half-month deadline agreed upon with Sun Huai'an was approaching. In the morning, Zhou Jingming took out all the gold he had hidden on the barren mountain behind his dugout, called Wu Yang, and, carrying a hunting rifle and bullets, led Jin Wang and drove the tractor to Tiemaike.

By the time they arrived in Timak, it was already late.

After finding a hotel and parking the tractor, Zhou Jingming tied Jin Wang to the side of the vehicle and went to a restaurant with Wu Yang for a barbecue. They saw that several gold prospectors had already arrived at Tiemaike.

For most gold mining teams, the competition in the Gold Rush Valley is fierce. To get a good mining spot, you have to arrive early. If you arrive late, the spots you can choose from are mostly the ones that others have left over.

A good mining site is crucial for a good gold rush harvest.

Of course, the premise is that you can endure it.

Looking at the gold prospectors chatting away, Zhou Jingming thought only of the business in Haxionggou, which should be coming soon.

The next day, Zhou Jingming, carrying a hunting rifle, led Jin Wang to the ravine north of Tiemaike. Under two stones hidden among the withered grass by the river, they retrieved the bran gold that he had buried in two cans the previous year.

At this point, all 5,580 grams of placer gold had been gathered.

He began to think about how to proceed with the deal.

This gold was the bulk of last year's gold rush harvest and the foundation for the operation of the Haxionggou mine this year. It is crucial to this year's harvest, so he cannot afford to be careless.

Sun Huai'an knew the weight of the gold.

Zhou Jingming was even more aware that this was a fortune that many people would be willing to risk their lives for.

After much deliberation, he decided not to rush back to Timak, but instead put the gold into his backpack and headed into the wilderness.

He didn't return to Timak until nearly noon.

Wu Yang, who had been waiting at the inn for quite some time, finally saw Zhou Jingming and breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Zhou, why did you take so long? I was worried something had happened to you."

"I went for a walk around the area to check out the terrain."

Zhou Jingming did not offer much explanation.
Wu Yang laughed: "Is it really necessary to make it so complicated?"

Zhou Jingming nodded seriously: "You can't be too careful. If something goes wrong with this gold, I'll have worked for nothing last year. The money from this gold is the operating capital for the Haxionggou mine. If it's gone, we won't be able to pay out the money, and that will cause a big problem."

Moreover, Sun Huai'an is no simple man.

Last time I was in their hideout's trading room, and from the way he talked, it seemed he knew my situation perfectly well. He has informants everywhere in Tiemaike Town; dealing with someone like that, if he were to do something underhanded, not even a bone would be left.

Selling him small amounts of gold here and there isn't a problem, but ten pounds at a time is a significant sum, so we can't be careless... Let's go eat first, then we'll go find him. Since we've roughly arranged a time, if he really wants to buy the gold I have, he should be waiting at the hideout."

Zhou Jingming led Wu Yang out of the hotel, drove the tractor to a restaurant on the street, had a simple soup meal, and then drove the tractor directly to the mud-brick flat-roofed houses on the edge of the town.

During the day, this place is quiet; it's only lively at night.

Even so, a glance around revealed a few people still strolling around.

As Zhou Jingming drove the tractor closer to the area, the man who had accompanied Sun Huai'an last time was already waiting outside.

He didn't get out of the car, but said to the man, "Go tell Brother Sun that I can't possibly carry the gold with me. I'll wait here and tell him to bring enough money so we can go get it together."

If he doesn't even dare to go along with this, then there's no point in cooperating. There are only two of us, so he can only go with two others, and they'll be coming with me.

The man paused for a moment: "No, isn't this inappropriate? You're worried about the gold being lost, but isn't Brother Sun worried about the money he's bringing being lost? Why should he listen to everything you say?" Zhou Jingming smiled: "The reason is simple. I have no connections here, but Brother Sun does. This is inherently unequal. Shouldn't I be more wary of him?"
You're not in charge, so I don't want to waste my breath on you. Just relay what I've said to him. I'll wait here for five minutes. If he doesn't show up, the deal is canceled, and there won't be a future transaction.

I don't necessarily have to sell the gold to him. I can't find a buyer in Altay, I can go to Altay, I can go to Doleburqin, or even directly to the south, where there are plenty of people eager to buy it.

"If you have gold, you won't lack connections. Let him weigh the options himself."

After saying that, Zhou Jingming turned the tractor around.

Without hesitation, the man hurriedly entered the mud-brick house.

Not long after, Sun Huai'an, dressed in a fur coat, strode out, followed by the person who had called him earlier, carrying a bulging bag.

"Hey bro, isn't this a bit too much trouble?"

"Last time you told me you'd decide the time and place... This isn't child's play, I don't find it troublesome, get in the car!"

After a slight hesitation, Sun Huai'an jumped into the truck bed, and the man carrying the bag followed him up.

Since he got on the bus, it means he agreed.

Zhou Jingming drove off in his tractor.

While Wu Yang was in the back of the truck, he was calling out to Jin Wang and keeping an eye on the two men's every move.

In fact, Zhou Jingming didn't choose a complicated place; he simply drove his tractor towards the Fourth Mine Bridge.

From Tiemaike to the Fourth Mine Bridge, a distance of thirty kilometers, the surrounding area is an uninhabited Gobi Desert that can be seen far into the distance, with almost no cover. If Sun Huai'an had other plans, his manpower could be seen from a great distance, and there was no way to hide them.

After driving the tractor along the pasture for more than twenty minutes, covering about ten miles, Zhou Jingming finally stopped the tractor: "Wu Yang, and you two, go and keep watch further away."

Wu Yang and the man exchanged a glance, jumped off the tractor, and walked about ten meters away, keeping a distance of four or five meters between them. While observing the surrounding commotion, they were also wary of each other.

Zhou Jingming jumped off the tractor and walked to the left side of the pasture road. In a clump of camel thorn on the Gobi Desert, he took out the bran he had put in an oil paper bag, which he had hidden that morning.

Gold is heavy; a kilogram of gold bar is only about the size of a bar of soap these days.

Although the bran gold was not melted and solidified into a block, appearing loose, it could still be easily contained in an oil paper bag.

Zhou Jingming handed him the gold: "Check the purity."

Sun Huai'an took it and examined the gold: "It's all good gold, the purity is fine... Let's weigh it!"

He then took out the balance scale and weighed the gold in six separate weighings: "Five thousand five hundred and eighty-three grams. I can only calculate it based on the amount you told me before, since there is some moisture in it."

Even if you put it in an oil paper bag and bury it in a canning jar, the seal is still not good enough. Over time, some moisture will still get in. That's a fact.

Zhou Jingming didn't mind: "No problem... Count the money, 267,840 yuan."

Sun Huai'an didn't waste any time. He poured all the money out of the bag and counted it in front of Zhou Jingming, turning each stack over to prove that the money was safe.

Zhou Jingming casually drew a few stacks of bills and counted them. Seeing that there were no problems, he took the money and handed the gold to Sun Huai'an.

The largest denomination is the ten-yuan note, so it's impossible to count them one by one. If the stacks that were randomly checked were fine, then the others should also be without problems.

He extended his hand to Sun Huai'an: "Brother Sun, it's a pleasure to do business with you!"

Sun Huai'an, looking annoyed, slapped his hand away: "Happy my ass! You two can drive off in a tractor, but I have to walk back step by step, more than ten miles!"

Zhou Jingming couldn't help but laugh: "Last time we met, I remember you said you were going hunting. Would someone who can go hunting in the mountains care about this ten-odd miles?"

Sun Huai'an sighed, "You're being too cautious. There's hardly anyone around at a time like this. What's there to worry about? This shows a serious lack of trust in me... all my sincerity was for nothing."

Zhou Jingming only said one sentence: "In the face of gold and so much money, so-called sincerity is worthless!"

Sun Huai'an thought for a moment and said, "That's right... I have to hurry back. Remember to come find me next time you find gold. Goodbye!"

After he finished speaking, he took the gold and, escorted by the man who had come with him, quickly left.

Watching the two walk away, Wu Yang turned back and jumped into the back of the truck.

Zhou Jingming helped Jin Wang into the car, had Wu Yangzhao help him, jumped into the driver's seat, shifted the tractor, which had been running, into fast gear, and drove quickly towards Haxionggou.

They rushed all the way and returned safely to the Haxionggou mining site in the middle of the night.

(End of this chapter)