My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 177 The Girl Who Was Dead Drunk

In the process of gold trading, as long as neither party has any ulterior motives, it is nothing more than weighing and counting money.

Sun Huai'an had that hideout, and whether he acted as a middleman to take a cut, engaged in prostitution, or traded goods in the mountains and valleys, it was all a long-term business.

He himself said these things were small gains, but Zhou Jingming knew that over a year, he would earn a considerable amount, and he would not ruin his reputation so easily.

Zhou Jingming was mainly wary of the people under him.

Once they are tempted by money, even the most inconspicuous person can do things that are hard to guard against.

The sound of the tractor was especially loud in the dark.

When Zhou Jingming drove the tractor back to the mine, he saw Old Man Liu, Zhao Li, and Bai Zhishun coming out to check with flashlights.

They didn't know what Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang had gone out to do today; their purpose in coming out to check was more out of necessity for the protection of the mine site.

"Hurry up and go back to sleep, otherwise the warm bed will get cold."

Zhou Jingming parked the tractor, turned off the engine, and called out to the group.

The three of them didn't ask any more questions, and each went back to their dugouts to sleep.

Zhou Jingming picked up the bag of money and led Wu Yang into his dugout. Seeing that Su Xiulan had also gotten up, he ordered her, "Wu Yang and I haven't eaten yet. Get us something to eat... Ugh, it's so damn cold. Make a hot pot. There's hot pot base in the bag hanging on the beam by the wall."

Su Xiulan didn't say much. She busied herself adding firewood to the earthen stove in the dugout, removing some ash, and stirring the firewood to make it burn brightly. Then, she took a flashlight and went to the tent outside where they were cooking.

Before long, he returned with a pot of antimony filled with water, placed it on the earthen stove to heat it, and then went out to bring back some washed and chopped potatoes and cabbage. Just then, he saw Zhou Jingming taking out stacks of money from his cloth bag and putting them into his canvas backpack.

When she first saw the bulging bag, she was wondering what it contained, never imagining it would be full of money.

How much would that be?

She was somewhat afraid to think about it and was stunned for a moment.

Zhou Jingming noticed her unusual behavior and simply smiled slightly: "Remember to lock the door when you come in and out in the future."

"okay!"

Su Xiulan snapped out of her surprise and tried hard not to look at the money. She busied herself taking the bag containing the hot pot base off the purlin, took out a piece of the base sealed in an oil paper bag, cut off a small piece and put it in the pot to cook, then asked, "Do you want to add some meat?"

"It wouldn't make sense to put meat in a hot pot."

Zhou Jingming paused his work of collecting money, shone his flashlight on the meat, and handed her a piece of venison: "Slice it thinly, cook it a little longer, and cut a lot."

This is smoked meat that has been preserved for quite some time and is no longer fresh.

If it's fresh, you can eat it as soon as you blanch it; if it's smoked, you'll have to cook it for a longer time, otherwise it won't be chewable.

He did want to eat fresh meat, but lately, the meat that Old Liu brought back was mostly pheasant and rabbit, which wasn't very interesting.

Su Xiulan took the meat and went to the tent outside to prepare it.

Wu Yang dragged a wooden stool to sit by the earthen stove and sat down to warm himself by the fire. He asked in a low voice, "Brother Zhou, with so much money, you're just planning to put it in a dugout?"

Zhou Jingming asked with a smile, "If we don't put it in the dugout, where else would we put it?"

Wu Yang took out two cigarettes, lit them, and handed one to Zhou Jingming: "If it were me, I would definitely put them in the bank. It's safer, and you can at least get some interest."

After packing up the money, Zhou Jingming hung his backpack on a small wooden stick driven into the mud wall above his bed: "Do I care about a pittance?"

It's safe to keep the money in the bank, but it's troublesome when I need to withdraw it. When I get paid, it's tens of thousands of yuan at a time. The bank won't prepare that much money for me to withdraw all at once. It's also troublesome to run back and forth. This money is all made of paper, so I can't hide it outside. If it gets damp or gets damaged by rats, I can't let it get destroyed. So I can only keep it in the dugout.

"You'll have to keep an eye on things for me from now on. Nobody's allowed in this dugout. If the money's too little, and the people they bring are all neighbors you know, it'll be difficult to explain and get along with them."

Wu Yang nodded: "I'll give them a few more instructions tomorrow."

Su Xiulan returned quite a while later with the meat, along with two sets of bowls and chopsticks.

In the dead of night, after going in and out several times, she was so cold that her face turned blue and she was shivering all over.

She put the sliced ​​meat in the antimony pot to cook, then moved it aside to make room for Zhou Jingming to warm himself by the fire.

Zhou Jingming glanced at her, moved over, and placed a wooden stool next to the earthen stove: "What are you standing there like an idiot for? Come over and warm yourself by the fire. If you get cold, you won't have the energy to cook tomorrow."

Su Xiulan looked at the seat, which was right next to Zhou Jingming, and hesitated, feeling embarrassed to sit down.

Seeing her still so reserved, Zhou Jingming had a headache: "No, am I a monster or something? Where did that drive you to come along go?"

If you continue like this, I'll take you to Tymak tomorrow, and you can go back by yourself.

Upon hearing that she was to be sent away, Su Xiulan's expression suddenly became resolute. She immediately walked over and sat down next to Zhou Jingming: "I'm not going back."

“If you’re not going back, then loosen up a bit. I prefer a more natural and confident girl. You’re always so hesitant and timid; it makes me feel awkward!” Zhou Jingming glanced at her: “Can’t you change?”

This time, Su Xiulan answered readily: "It can be changed!"

"As long as it can be changed..."

Zhou Jingming twisted his body, which still felt chilly, got up and went out. He returned with a wine pot and an extra set of bowls and chopsticks, which he handed to Su Xiulan: "It's getting late, eat something with us later."

As he spoke, he had Wu Yang hold the bowl and pour half a bowl of wine into each of their bowls. He took a big gulp himself, and the heat rising in his chest and abdomen finally made him feel a little better.

He then looked at Su Xiulan: "Would you like some too, to warm yourself up?"

Su Xiulan replied, "I don't drink!"

"How can you manage in these mountains if you don't know how to drink? It's cold here, and drinking is a great way to warm up. If you don't know how, just learn!"

"Then I'll drink less..."

"now it's right!"

Zhou Jingming picked up the wine pot and poured some into her bowl. Then he watched as Su Xiulan took a sip, swallowed it with difficulty, and her whole face contorted in pain. Driven by the smell of alcohol, she couldn't stop coughing.

Seeing him like this, Zhou Jingming immediately laughed: "Drinking is all about the smell of alcohol. Don't think too much about it, and don't be afraid. Just take a sip, hold your breath, and swallow the alcohol. You have to hold it in. Then slowly feel the smell of alcohol burning down your stomach and coursing through your body. After a brief period of discomfort, you'll feel better very quickly."

Upon hearing this, Su Xiulan took another small sip and did as Zhou Jingming instructed. This time, she did not cough again.

"Not bad... Hmm, the meat is almost cooked. Eat quickly, and then go to bed early!"

Zhou Jingming gestured for the two to start eating.

These days, beef tallow, unlike lard or rapeseed oil, doesn't require ration coupons to buy. Probably because many people aren't used to the taste, it's very cheap. So, when used to make hot pot broth, pure beef tallow is used, and it has a very strong flavor.

But it tastes the most authentic.

The problem was that it was too cold at night. Even in the dugout, it felt chilly. You would stick your chopsticks into the boiling soup, scoop out some meat, and put it in your mouth to chew. Before you could even swallow it, the chopsticks would be covered in butter.

The same goes for the lips; this is one of the more uncomfortable areas.

Wu Yang and Zhou Jingming were truly hungry, so they didn't care about such things. They only cared about eating a few bites of meat and drinking a sip of wine, and didn't say much.

Su Xiulan ate slowly as well. After a while, seeing that the meat in the pot was gone, she added some cabbage and potatoes.

Zhou Jingming glanced at her and saw that the wine in her bowl was gone. Looking at her face, it was just rosy, and she wasn't drunk at all. "You can hold your liquor well. Have some more!"

"Um……"

This time, Su Xiulan was much more willing, and took the bowl again.

Wu Yang chimed in from the side, "Don't be fooled by the fact that not many women drink; when they really get into it, many can hold their liquor better than men. There's an old lady in our village, over seventy years old, who drinks with every meal."

My dad told me that when she was young, she could easily drink half a jin of liquor, and it would just make her mouth dry. The time she drank the most, she once outdrank four men by herself. She was also incredibly good at drinking games. I heard she used to be a bandit's wife, but she was kidnapped and taken to the mountains.

Zhou Jingming nodded: "I believe you... The cabbage is almost ready, let's eat it!"

The three of them exchanged a few words occasionally. After about twenty minutes, they had almost finished eating the food in the pot and had drunk some soup. Wu Yang stood up, burped, and said, "I'm satisfied with the meal, Brother Zhou, Sister-in-law... I'm going to sleep now."

He opened the door, slipped out, and closed it behind him.

Zhou Jingming had almost finished eating. He put the bowls and chopsticks on the simple wooden table, kicked off his shoes, and jumped onto the bed: "It's late. We can clean up the dishes tomorrow!"

"it is good……"

Su Xiulan responded and stood up, but suddenly staggered, seemingly unable to stand steadily, swaying back and forth.

Zhou Jingming noticed something was off; was she drunk? "Are you even capable?"

"Brother... this wine, why does it turn sweet towards the end?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jingming's lips twitched involuntarily, completely certain that Su Xiulan was drunk.

Only when you're drunk do you start to feel that the more you drink, the sweeter the alcohol tastes.

"You didn't drink that much, how did you get drunk?"

He quickly got out of bed, put on his shoes, and helped her to the bedside.

Su Xiulan seemed to have found a support and leaned against him softly, as if she didn't even have the strength to stand up. He quickly put his arm around her waist.

Then, Zhou Jingming witnessed just how crazy a drunk girl could be.

(End of this chapter)