My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 183 I know this stuff!

Following the river downstream for about a mile, Jin Wang, who was running ahead of Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang, stopped and began barking at the riverbank in the mountain bend below.

They knew that those people should be at the mining site in the mountain valley.

"They've chosen a pretty good spot. The silt deposits are quite deep in the river bend, and the area was exposed after the river cut through it. The higher areas also had river sand deposits a long time ago. The gold yield is decent, and there's no need to worry about drainage."

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "The leader should know as well."

"Brother Zhou, shall we just go for it and give him a scare?"

Wu Yang brandished the hunting rifle in his hand.

Zhou Jingming shook his head: "If you scare them away as soon as they arrive, how am I supposed to do business? Take it easy, we still need to be reasonable."

Wu Yang laughed: "I'm afraid it's just the two of us. They might take advantage of our numbers and not give in."

"We'll talk if you don't buy it."

Zhou Jingming said with a smile, "I believe they are people who can listen to reason."

The two turned around the bend in the mountain, but did not rush toward the mining site. Instead, they first looked at the group of thirteen people, all of whom were digging dugouts on a slightly higher part of the river bend. There were no other people around.

I didn't see anyone carrying hunting rifles or other weapons; they were probably working and didn't take them out.

However, in any case, they probably won't start shooting as soon as they meet.

After Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang had clearly seen and aimed, they led Jin Wang to continue down the river bend.

Seeing them approach, the group of people who were digging dug dugouts stopped what they were doing, picked up their tools, and gathered together.

The dugout looks quite deep; they've been here for three or four days.

"What brings you here, gentlemen?"

The leader of the group was a strong, muscular man in his thirties. He looked very capable and asked Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang in a loud voice when they were about twenty meters away from the mine.

“We’re looking for a wooden sign. It says ‘This place is owned’ and it’s stuck in this bend in the river. Have you seen it?”

Zhou Jingming spoke casually.

Someone interjected, "I didn't see any wooden sign!"

"How could that be? I personally put down the wooden sign, how could it be gone? Could it be that someone pretended not to see it and pulled it out and threw it away? If that's the case, there are some things that are hard to say."

Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang continued to approach, and after scanning the surroundings, the wooden sign was indeed gone.

He frowned slightly and looked at the leading young man: "They really did get rid of them... But it's okay, it's not too late to tell you now. I had my eye on these mining sites. Along this ditch, I had my eye on seventeen mining sites, and I put up wooden signs for them all."

I'll ask you one more time, are you really sure you didn't see it? Arguing and twisting things won't work with me. If you can talk things out, then let's talk it out, otherwise…”

"What else can we do? Is this valley yours? And you have seventeen mining sites? I've never seen anyone act so domineeringly."

Someone in the crowd said with dissatisfaction, "At mining sites, it's always been whoever occupies it first. You put up a wooden sign and claim it as yours. I'll say we had our eye on this mining site last year, so what do you say about that?"

“Dude, it’s not impossible to be earlier. Since you said you had your eye on this mining site last year, you must have known that we were already panning in the valley. Can I say that we had our eye on this valley last year?”

Zhou Jingming chuckled lightly: "I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you. I've put up a wooden sign here to mark this place. This spot is mine. I claimed it first. You can't just pretend you didn't see it and call it a day. I'm telling you today, I'm going to be domineering."

In the Gold Rush Valley, it's true that whoever occupies the mining site first owns it, but in the valley, the strongest has always been in charge.

"If you're not happy, let's have a go." The man snorted, ran to a cart still loaded with supplies, and retrieved two hunting rifles. "Isn't that a bit too arrogant? There are only the two of you now; who doesn't have a couple of guns?"

Upon seeing him raise his gun, Wu Yang immediately took off the double-barreled shotgun slung over his shoulder, held the gun to his face, and aimed it directly at the man who ran to retrieve it.

Upon seeing Wu Yang draw his gun, the group's expressions changed drastically. The man who had drawn the gun initially intended to hand it to another person, but seeing that he was being targeted, he dared not move.

"I didn't draw my gun the moment I arrived, but you've brought one up to me instead. Looks like we can't talk this out properly."

Zhou Jingming turned and left, leaving behind the words, "Then you just wait!"

Wu Yang, gun at the ready, retreated with Zhou Jingming.

They hadn't gone far when the leader, a young man, spoke up: "Guys, wait a minute!"

Then he roared at the man with the gun: "Put the gun back! If you're going to act like this again, you can go home right now!"

"Brother, they're bullying us. So what if they outnumber us? What's there to be afraid of?"

"You don't know anything, you don't want to go back alive, do you? Don't drag me into this... I'll say it again, put the gun back."

The young man with the gun hesitated for a moment, then finally put the two hunting rifles back on the cart.

Zhou Jingming turned to look at the young man in the lead, but said nothing.

"Gentlemen, we did see the wooden sign. We were here last year, which is why we came so early this year. We were afraid that the mine would be taken over by someone else. We encountered several groups of gold prospectors in the valley. This valley is sure to be bustling this year."

The young man leading the group took a deep breath: "You've marked so many mining sites, and only two of you have come. You probably don't want to make a big fuss, but rather have other intentions. Tell me, how can you let us continue panning for gold here?"

"You are quite sensible!"

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "I have examined the sand and estimated the grade of each of these marked mining sites. This mining site has a grade of at least four, which means that at least four grams of gold can be extracted from one ton of ore."

I'm not going through all this trouble to select seventeen good mining spots just for fun. Do you think that some of us can't possibly occupy so many mining spots?

Then you're wrong.

"Our team hasn't all arrived yet. Once they all come, there will be a lot of people. We plan to recruit even more, maybe two or three hundred. If we can't finish mining this year, we'll continue next year. To be honest, we've been guarding these mining sites all winter. You weren't the first to arrive."

Since he was going to sell, he needed a reason, and Zhou Jingming easily found one.

"Two or three hundred?"

The young man leading the group was clearly somewhat skeptical: "It would require a lot of upfront investment, and there are very few people in the Gold Rush Valley with that kind of ability."

Are you doubting my abilities?

Zhou Jingming waved his hand: "Think whatever you want. Let me tell you clearly, if I say this mine is mine, then it is mine. Even if the King of Heaven himself comes, it's still mine."

He paused for a moment, then changed the subject: "Of course, there's room for negotiation. I'll give you two choices: First, leave this mine. Don't even think about getting involved in the other mines. You can mine anywhere else you like. Whether you stay or leave is none of my business."

Secondly, you can continue mining at this site, but you'll have to pay a sum of money; it will be considered a purchase.

The leading young man hesitated for a moment: "How many do you want?"

"I'm sure you've all looked around. There are quite a few sampling points for testing sand within the entire mining area. I've estimated that this mining site can yield at least 30 kilograms of gold. I don't need much, just one kilogram of bran gold. I don't care if you think I'm domineering or arrogant, that's how it is. You can decide for yourself."

Also, don't doubt my estimates. Before I went gold mining, I worked in geological exploration. I'm an expert in this field.

(End of this chapter)