My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 189 Not so forgetful, right?
After several transfers, Peng Yuanchao and Wang Dong finally arrived in Tiemaike.

Peng Yuanchao originally planned to lead his people to Haxionggou the next morning, but Wang Dong said that he had arranged a meeting time with Li Guozhu and would have to wait two more days until March 30th.

Peng Yuanchao thought about it and realized that it wouldn't be easy to come out once he entered the mountains. Since he was only going to wait for two days, he could eat, drink, and play here for a couple of days, so he found a hotel to stay in.

As was his habit, he would naturally take the group of people who came with him to restaurants in town for food and drinks, and of course, he would also wander around Sun Huai'an's hideout.

A group of people who hadn't traveled far from home really didn't find anything worthwhile to do in Timbuk, which looked even more desolate than their hometown.

What interests them are the various kinds of meat that Peng Yuanchao can provide, and the women that are exciting just to look at.

After two days of eating, drinking, and playing, the group of guys who had previously seemed timid and hesitant around the women in the hideout started to indulge themselves after letting loose. They all wanted to stay in the hideout all night long, embracing the soft, fragrant women in their arms.

Li Guozhu and his men arrived in Tiemaike from Doleburqin in the afternoon. They found that Tiemaike had already attracted a lot of gold prospectors, making the quiet town lively.

When he found Peng Yuanchao and Wang Dong's group, he saw that half of them had dark circles under their eyes and were in poor spirits, and he could tell at a glance what they had done.

After confirming that Peng Yuanchao was also going back to Haxionggou to find Zhou Jingming, Li Guozhu looked at him speechlessly: "How can you manage people like this? You don't teach them anything good. In the future, they won't do their jobs properly. Once they have some money, they'll just think about going out to find women and indulging in all sorts of eating and drinking."

Li Guozhu was much more responsible than Peng Yuanchao, and he treated the people he brought with him better.

Peng Yuanchao, who also had dark circles under his eyes, chuckled dryly: "Isn't it because we're thinking of going into the mountains? It's boring in the mountains, and it'll be too much trouble to come out later, so... it's all a bunch of lonely men."

Li Guozhu looked at Wang Dong, who waved his hands repeatedly: "Uncle Li, I haven't done anything reckless. These past two days, besides eating and drinking, I've only been sleeping."

Li Guozhu nodded slightly, then turned to Peng Yuanchao: "Let's go, let's go to town to buy some supplies, then go find Wang Youping, he'll take us into the mountains tomorrow."

"What supplies are we buying? Zhou Jingming didn't mention these things; is he going to handle everything by himself?"

"No... this is just something we happened to be doing. What's wrong with you taking more supplies to the mine? You're so calculating... I suggest you lead your own team and do it. We worked together for so long last year, and you don't understand Zhou Jingming at all. A lot of things are reciprocal. Since you want to work together, you'd better be less calculating and more dedicated. The more you calculate, the less you'll benefit, and you might not last long."

Peng Yuanchao thought for a moment and said, "I was being petty. I'll pay for the supplies."

The two men led a group of people around town for half a day. They didn't know what supplies Zhou Jingming had bought at the mine, and they didn't dare to buy anything indiscriminately. They only bought some rice, flour, cooking oil, tea bricks, salt, and other things. They also bought some onions, cabbage, potatoes, and some meat such as smoked mutton and smoked horse sausage, which are easier to store.

That evening, Li Guozhu and Peng Yuanchao went to see Wang Youping again.

The three men brought together a total of forty-one people, plus the supplies. One tractor couldn't carry them all in, so Wang Youping found two more tractors.

I also learned from Wang Youping that Zhou Jingming, Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun had led more than forty people into the mountains more than half a month ago.

The next morning, without delay, everyone loaded the supplies onto the trucks and then rode on tractors, braving the biting cold wind, to Haxionggou.

Meanwhile, the woman who came to Wucheng with Peng Yuanchao and his group, being unfamiliar with the area, illiterate, and somewhat frightened, asked around and finally boarded a bus to Altan, arriving there last night.

After spending a nerve-wracking night at the hostel near the bus station, I bought a few of the cheapest naan breads early the next morning and stuffed them into my bag. I ate one myself and then went to the station to inquire about the train to Temak.

During the time Peng Yuanchao spent back home, he also told the woman a lot about gold panning, and that he would be panning for gold in a place called Haxionggou this year, which is why she came all the way here.

Men and women have very different views on relationships between men and women.

Generally speaking, men tend to focus more on the sense of conquest and satisfaction, and after the act, they are always worried about the woman's entanglement.

Women are different. Once they've made a progress in getting to know each other, they'll always worry that the man won't want them anymore after it's over.

And that was indeed the case. Peng Yuanchao ate his fill in his hometown and left without a second thought. When women came to him, he was worried about being bothered and tried to avoid them at all costs.

But the woman was in a bad situation. If the man she married hadn't treated her badly, and if she still had some feelings for him from back then, how could she have gotten what Peng Yuanchao wanted?

The key point is that this kind of thing can be done secretly once or twice without being discovered, but if it happens too often, it will eventually come to light and rumors will start to circulate in the village.

Naturally, increasingly severe beatings were inevitable.

This meant she couldn't go back to her parents' home because she was too ashamed, and she couldn't stay at her husband's family's home either.

Therefore, knowing that Peng Yuanchao could not take her away, he chose to secretly follow her, hoping that Peng Yuanchao would want her.

But this clandestine following was far too difficult for a woman like her.

She lost her way. In this unfamiliar place, she felt like a fish thrown ashore, so panicked she couldn't even catch her breath. She thought about going back, but after being away for so many days, and considering what had happened in the village, she didn't dare to think about what she would face if she went back. She could only grit her teeth and continue searching.

She arrived at Altan station and asked around, only to find that the bus to Timac wouldn't depart for another two days. Looking at the gold prospectors from all directions, their unfamiliar faces and the strange looks they gave her, she became increasingly flustered and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

She didn't even know where Temek was, and she couldn't understand the locals' language, even when they spoke in broken Mandarin. The key point was that the locals couldn't understand what she was saying either.

Watching the tractors and cars carrying gold prospectors leave early in the morning, she could only muster her courage and approach a gold prospector who was calling people to get on the trucks to ask, "Brother... do you know how to get to Timac?"

She spoke with a thick Longzhong accent. The gold prospector's eyes scanned her up and down, then suddenly he smiled broadly and said, "You don't even know where Tiemaike is? How did you get here?"

The woman took two steps back warily: "I...I came here to find someone!"

"Looking for someone? Who are you looking for?"

"My husband said he's panning for gold in a place called Haxionggou!"

"only you?"

"Only me!"

The gold prospector thought for a moment and said, "I know Tiemake, and I know Haxionggou. Come with us, I'll take you there. Get in the car..."

The woman looked at the car full of men, each one staring at her as if they wanted to devour her, and dared not get on.

Seeing this, the gold prospector urged, "Our truck is going to Tymaek. Are you going or not? If not, we're leaving. Honestly, we saw you were all alone and wanted to help you out, but you don't appreciate it..."

The gold prospector snorted, seeing that the woman had gotten enough, he ignored her, opened the passenger door, and the car kicked up a cloud of dust as it drove off.

The woman watched the car drive away. Having finally found someone who knew where Haxionggou was, she was afraid of missing out. Moreover, she felt that her situation in Altan was not much better. So she hurriedly chased after the car, swaying her hips and bobbing her chest.

She thought the car, which was driving further and further away, would never stop, but unexpectedly it stopped after she stumbled and fell.

She saw the gold prospector get out of the car, and without even brushing the dust off her clothes, she hurriedly chased after him: "Brother, I need to go... please give me a ride, I can pay for the fare..."

The gold prospector shook his head and chuckled, "Who wants your paltry sum? The car's all chartered. Once you've decided, get on board..."

This time, the woman didn't hesitate. She threw her package into the carriage first, then clumsily climbed into the carriage and quickly hugged her package again. Inside were her food for the next few days, as well as more than two hundred yuan that Peng Yuanchao had given her after his mischief. It was quite a sum of money for her.

She dared not approach the men with their burning gazes. Instead, she crouched in the corner of the car's rear, clutching her package. She dared not look at the men, much less speak to them. After the car started moving, she held onto the door panel with one hand, watching the dust kicked up by the car obscure the ever-receding town of Altan.

Since leaving Wucheng, she had become accustomed to the desolation of the 500-kilometer-long desert and Gobi, and wondered what Tiemaike would be like.

She hoped to find Peng Yuanchao in Tiemaike. If she did, since she had already followed him all the way to this place, Peng Yuanchao shouldn't abandon her.

However, she was more anxious: Could she really find Peng Yuanchao?

That afternoon, in Haxionggou, five tractors lined up in a row, chugging along the road that Zhou Jingming and his team had repaired, and arrived at the wooden bridge leading to the pincer-shaped mountain pass mining site.

When Zhou Jingming was repairing the road, he covered the wooden bridge with another layer of wooden strips, branches, and mud.

The tree trunks that were felled to build the bridge were thick enough to support a good load. Tractors carrying heavy loads dared not cross them, but those carrying a little cargo could pass.

More than forty gold prospectors jumped off the four tractors, several of whom were carrying shotguns.

The leader got out of the car to check, and after confirming that it was impassable, he told everyone to get out.

Hearing such a commotion at the mine site, Zhou Jingming quickly called Wu Yang to go and check the situation.

Upon seeing him, he spotted Zhang Debao, nicknamed "Scorpion," directing everyone to move things.

Zhang Debao also saw Zhou Jingming and immediately greeted him with a smile: "Hey, buddy, we've met before!"

Zhou Jingming frowned slightly: "Why don't I remember this?"

Zhang Debao was taken aback: "I can't be that forgetful!"

(End of this chapter)