My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 179 Is it still cold?
In Zhou Jingming's eyes, Su Xiulan at this moment was like a blank sheet of paper laid out on the table, waiting for him to freely pick up his pen and write.

As the mattress and bedding were laid down, Zhou Jingming vaguely saw her tightly clenched lips and slightly furrowed brows, her eyes darting around like a curious yet somewhat frightened fawn, before instantly disappearing into the darkness.

Instinctively, she curled up her knees, immediately thwarting Zhou Jingming's attempt to stop her.

But these two seemingly locked doors, when he gently pushed them, stubbornly opened after only three seconds.

Relying on his intuition, Zhou Jingming finally found the right place to put his pen after several attempts. It was as if he had dipped the pen in ink in an inkstone, and with the pen tip fully saturated with ink, he pressed it heavily onto the white paper, following his heart.

Su Xiulan gasped, seemingly realizing it was inappropriate, and then restrained herself by covering her mouth with her hand.

Zhou Jingming, however, disregarded everything. Why should a blank sheet of paper be deliberately defiled? Would the capable be allowed to become dusty and yellowed?
A dozen minutes later, Zhou Jingming's body trembled a few times during the adjustment period. Once his heavy breathing had calmed down, he leaned down and kissed Su Xiulan on the forehead, then rested his head on her shoulder and asked softly, "Are you still cold?"

Su Xiulan did not answer, but simply shook her head slightly, reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly without moving.

Then she noticed that Zhou Jingming's breathing had gradually become long and even; he had fallen asleep.

For a moment, she was at a loss. She wanted to push him away, but she was worried about waking Zhou Jingming. If she didn't push him away, she found that she couldn't bear it, after all, he was a man weighing more than 140 pounds.

After hesitating for a while, she chose to silently endure it because it was really warm. She was sweating all over, but when she lifted the blanket, she felt a chill creeping into the quilt. She felt it was better to stay warm.

Little did anyone know that less than ten minutes later, Zhou Jingming suddenly woke up again.

By this time, it was already broad daylight. He peeked out, looked into Su Xiulan's eyes, held his breath, and approached her again.

Seeing Zhou Jingming's severely sleep-deprived eyes burning with a palpable intensity, Su Xiulan felt a similar fire ignite within her, and began to fan the flames.

After a brief moment of adjustment, Su Xiulan's slightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

Her mind was filled with the fragrance of peach and apricot blossoms, like a gentle breeze or a field of wheat swaying in the breeze, before a bright sun appeared, seemingly about to burn her to ashes.

A brief blankness appeared in my mind, but as I gradually regained my clarity, I found myself lingering with an uncontrollable sense of nostalgia.

Zhou Jingming fell asleep, sleeping soundly.

He was woken up by noises outside, probably saying: It's so late, and you're still not planning to cook? You promised that even if we can't work and can only rest, we'd still be provided with food. Are you planning to let people starve to death? Can this mine even continue operating? If you can't, you should have said so earlier.

Upon hearing these words, Su Xiulan hurriedly threw off the covers to grab her clothes, but Zhou Jingming pulled her down.

Zhou Jingming knew that those words were deliberately said to him, and he immediately cursed: "Damn it, there's plenty of rice, flour, cabbage, potatoes, and meat in the tent. Are you missing an arm or a leg and waiting for me to feed you? With your attitude, you can't even get a hot meal."

You all need to rest, but the cooks don't need to rest?
If you feel you can't stay here any longer, I can settle your bill and get out right now.

"You come here acting like a big shot? Does this mine have a father or a mother who spoils you rotten every day?"

The outside suddenly became quiet.

Before long, Wu Yang's voice also roared: "Damn it, don't you guys have any self-awareness? If you're hungry, can't you cook for yourselves? Such a small thing, and you have the nerve to yell at me? If you force me to get up, I won't be polite to you."

Then came Bai Zhishun's voice; he was arranging for people to cook in the tent.

Zhou Jingming didn't say anything more, he just reached out and hugged Su Xiulan, wrapped himself in the blanket, and continued to sleep.

Then I slept soundly until it was completely dark before I was truly awake.

He didn't know when Su Xiulan got up, but he saw that the antimony pot on the earthen stove in the dugout was bubbling and smelling delicious.

Su Xiulan stood by the fire, her chin resting on her knees, lost in thought.

Hearing Zhou Jingming sit up, she turned her head and smiled shyly at him: "The snow outside is falling heavily, it's more than a foot thick, and it's still drifting down in bits and pieces."

I've already cooked dinner for them.

"Brother... are you hungry? The meat in the pot is almost cooked; you can eat when you get up."

She hurriedly got up and went outside to get bowls and chopsticks.

Zhou Jingming smiled slightly as he watched her somewhat strange gait. He turned to look for his clothes, but they were nowhere to be found. He noticed the blankets were bulging, and when he lifted them up, he found them covered inside.

It's obvious that Su Xiulan must have gotten up and, knowing how cold it was to wear clothes on such a chilly day, had covered him up in advance. She's quite considerate.

He had just finished dressing when Su Xiulan returned with the bowl and chopsticks.

Zhou Jingming first went outside the dugout to take a look. The snow was indeed falling heavily, and as far as the eye could see, everything around was covered in white.

Wu Yang also emerged: "I guess I won't be able to do any work for the next few days."

"It doesn't matter. It's just as well. Everyone has been working hard these past few days, digging dug dugouts, repairing roads, and mining for minerals. Let them take a break."

Zhou Jingming knew that this kind of high-intensity work would not be able to recover in a short time, so he took the opportunity to rest: "Tell them not to worry, despite the impact of the weather, they will not be shortchanged by a single penny of their wages."

Wu Yang nodded, looking at Zhou Jingming with a strange expression: "Brother Zhou... was it fun?"

"Fuck off!"

Zhou Jingming glared at him: "You'll know once you get married yourself."

"Ah, thank goodness for the extra help last night!"

Wu Yang grinned and said, "Now no one should be thinking about it anymore. You don't know, my sister-in-law seems like a different person today. She seems to have become much more cheerful. When she was making dinner, she was able to chat and laugh with everyone else."

Zhou Jingming said smugly, "Nonsense, look how much effort I put in. If I can't open up these eight extraordinary meridians, what will become of us?"

"Nonsense... I'm going to work out, are you coming?"

"I...I need a moment!" Wu Yang chuckled and headed towards the grassy slope behind him to begin his daily training.

Zhou Jingming watched for a while, then prepared to go back to his dugout for a meal.

But then Old Liu emerged from the dugout on the left and handed Zhou Jingming a large jar containing some things.

He picked it up and examined it closely, discovering it was deer antler cut into several pieces, seemingly having been soaked for some time: "Grandpa, you can keep it for yourself."

Old Liu rolled his eyes: "I'm all alone, why would I drink this stuff?"

"I don't need it!"

Zhou Jingming patted his chest: "I'm strong!"

"Hmph...Young man, let me tell you from my own experience, this is a matter of robbing the marrow out of your bones. You need to start taking supplements early. If you wait until you feel like you can't take it anymore before thinking about supplements, it will be too late."

Nothing can be kept secret in this tiny dugout.

What else could Zhou Jingming say? He had been through it all himself and knew that what Old Liu said was true. So he took the canned food and said, "Grandpa, would you like to have some more?"

"Fine, I won't go in and bother you!"

Old Liu took a small sip from his gourd of wine, then turned and crawled into his dugout.

"uncle……"

Zhou Jingming quickly called him to a stop.

Old Liu turned around and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"That whole incense..."

"Oh...I understand!"

Old Liu went into the dugout and took out the whole incense stick that he had previously given to Zhou Jingming but had been politely refused. He specifically instructed, "You don't need to carry the whole thing. Just take out a little bit of the musk inside, sew it into a cloth bag, and carry it with you."

Zhou Jingming nodded. He didn't want to be delayed by pregnancy at this crucial moment in his gold rush.

He returned to his dugout, closed the door, lit the oil lamp, and called Su Xiulan over to cook a delicious meal together.

After eating and drinking his fill, he handed the whole incense to Su Xiulan and told her how to use it. That night, Su Xiulan sewed a small cloth bag under the oil lamp, filled it with musk, and hung it around her neck.

That night, the beds that were originally at opposite ends of the earthen bed were brought together in the middle, and the two S-shaped bodies were cleverly pressed together, radiating a fiery warmth in the cold night.

While idling at the mine site, Li Guozhu was also watching the snow fall in Doleburqin.

Before the Lunar New Year, he returned to his hometown of Jincheng to visit his sister and his nephew, whose face had been deformed by a shovel and whose leg had been broken by her.

Unfortunately, he didn't even get to step into his sister's yard. Amidst the curses, he left some money and quietly departed.

He was a perfectly healthy person who led her into the Gold Rush Valley, only to be rendered half-crippled. Even though he tried his best to make amends, in his sister's family's hearts, he was no different from an enemy.

He didn't say much.

That night, Wang Dong hosted him and let him stay in Jincheng for a few days.

He wandered around and found that his hometown had become unfamiliar to him, especially after his sister's family stopped welcoming him. He felt that he was even worse off than when he was in a foreign land.

He knew that this family bond would probably be severed from now on.

So, after a brief stay, he decided to return to the mud-brick flat-roofed house he had bought in Doleburqin.

Before boarding the train, Wang Dong saw him off at the station and asked him, "Uncle Li, will you still be panning for gold next year?"

Li Guozhu nodded: "This is what I'm suited to do. Maybe after saving up some money for a few years, I'll go to the south, find another place, and enjoy the rest of my life."

Wang Dong pressed further, "I'd like to go again next year, can you still take me?"

"Of course, if you're willing to come, just go to Haxionggou and find Zhou Jingming. I'll go there again next year."

"Going to Haxionggou again? I heard several of them say that they think Brother Zhou is too domineering. Moreover, according to his previous statement about paying wages, you won't earn much money in a year. If you want to pan for gold, you should find another team. It's not worth following him."

“Use your own brain and have your own ideas. Last year you followed me to the mine, and look at what you went through. Look at Zhou Jingming’s mine, who dares to mess with him in the end?”

Wang Dong, when it comes to gold panning, you have to be alive to earn it and live to enjoy it. Although Zhou Jingming's suggestion to switch to a salary system sounds harsh, as if he wants to monopolize all the gold, in reality, providing food and four days off a month, and giving him 600 is already quite good. That would require a lot of expenses and involve a lot of risk.

Some bosses only pay four or five hundred yuan, and they deduct all sorts of things. At the end of the month, the money you get is pitifully little. If you encounter a heartless boss, you might work for nothing for a year, or even risk your life.

I've been in Gold Rush Valley for quite a while now. Zhou Jingming isn't as simple as you think. Don't let his youth fool you; he's more shrewd than I am in dealing with people. And, after spending a few months with him, I'm sure you know he's a very trustworthy person and treats everyone very well.

If you really want to make money, you should go to him; at least it's stable. I can tell he actually thinks highly of you, otherwise he wouldn't be ordering you around so often.

"Then... I'll listen to you and go to Haxionggou again next year."

See you at Haxionggou next year.

Li Guozhu returned to Doleburqin and spent the New Year alone there. He had wanted to leave early, but felt it was too cold and Zhou Jingming should not have arrived yet, so he stayed at home and recruited a few familiar Han Chinese who were also looking to make money by striking it rich and who could accept Zhou Jingming's terms.

Before we knew it, it was already late March, and April would be here soon.

He felt that once the snow melted, it would be time to lead people into the mountains.

(End of this chapter)