My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 190 The side of the bed
How could Zhou Jingming, who had always been on guard, not remember? He just didn't want to pay attention.

He was actually quite surprised that he would have a real encounter with Zhang Debao so early in the season, in a place like Haxionggou.

Judging from the way he arrived at Haxionggou with supplies and manpower, it was clear that he had made preparations in advance. They must have scouted Haxionggou last year, otherwise they wouldn't have come so directly.

But in Zhou Jingming's memory, he was the first to lead people to the pincer-shaped mountain pass of Haxionggou, and he also paid attention to the people who later entered the valley to scout the area, but he did not see Zhang Debao come.

He glanced at the group of people Zhang Debao had brought, and when he saw two of them, he vaguely remembered that these two had come here as guerrillas along the Haxionggou River Valley. He immediately realized that they must be the ones who led Zhang Debao here.

Zhang Debao was still talking about how he saw Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang panning for gold on the opposite bank of the main channel of the Haiertes River, and how he had specifically greeted them.

Zhou Jingming shook his head again, repeating, "I don't remember!"

Seeing that he couldn't explain it clearly, Zhang Debao didn't dwell on the issue any longer. He simply said, "Never mind if I don't remember... Guy, who's in charge of your mine? Could you take me to see them? We're planning to go upstream and would like to borrow a route."

Zhou Jingming smiled at him: "It's too late to ask for passage now. The road you came on was built by us... You can go up, but I've put up wooden signs at seventeen mining sites along this river. Don't touch these mining sites. As for the rest, you can do whatever you want. It's none of our business."

Zhou Jingming had previously considered setting up a toll booth on the small wooden bridge, but after thinking it over, he realized that it was just a river a few meters wide and not a difficult place, so he gave up the idea.

The situation inside the mine can be clearly seen from the hillside behind or the forest opposite.

Since it can't be hidden, there's no need to hide it.

Gold panning teams heading upstream would have to pass through pincer-shaped ravines due to terrain limitations.

Let them go through it, it doesn't matter.

As he said this, his gaze fell on a young man carrying a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle who was following behind Zhang Debao.

In addition, there were five other men carrying double-barreled shotguns.

What caught Zhou Jingming's attention in particular was the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle. He was familiar with this type of gun; with one bullet in the chamber, the magazine could hold ten more. It was highly accurate and had a long range, which was incomparable to ordinary hunting rifles.

Don't be fooled by their small number of guns; if a fight really breaks out, with this Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, things could get pretty serious.

In his memory, Zhou Jingming saw Zhang Debao robbing other people's gold at the end of the gold rush season in his previous life, and it seemed that he was also using a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle.

If used properly, the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle is not only a powerful hunting tool in this day and age, but also a deadly weapon for murder and robbery.

However, this thing is not easy to get.

Zhou Jingming thought for a while and began to consider whether he could get it from Sun Huai'an.

Zhang Debao didn't say much, just smiled at Zhou Jingming, and led his men and the supplies. Under the guidance of Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang, they passed through the mining site and went upstream along the riverbank.

After watching them disappear into the ravine above, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang returned to the mining site.

Wu Yang was a little worried: "Brother Zhou, these guys are not easy to deal with. They outnumber us by a few, and their guns are... I already saw it when I went to fight guerrilla warfare with you last time. This guy is ruthless."

Zhou Jingming nodded: "I understand what you mean."

"What if they resort to force and seize the mining site?"

"Take a hard line? We'll have to see if they have the ability. In short, whoever is tougher, we'll deal with them first."

"What if he attacks us first and then tries something underhanded..."

"We need to be careful with our defenses from now on. We can't be careless. Tomorrow, I'll go to Timac to see if I can get a few Type 56 semi-automatic rifles."

Wu Yang nodded slightly and said nothing more.

Zhang Debao and his group walked upstream along the riverbank.

Once they were a little further away from the pincer-shaped ravine, Zhang Debao looked back in that direction: "Their mining site is truly a good place to gather and retain energy. I thought I had arrived early enough, but I didn't expect them to arrive even earlier. Judging from the piles of ore by the river, they have been here for quite some time."

One of the men in the group, who had come here last year to scout out the location, said, "I've walked the entire river, both upstream and downstream. Their place is the best spot along the whole river."

With our current manpower, we can easily keep them there for two years.

However, when I came here last year, there were fewer than twenty people, but now the number is no less than ours.

"Boss, this isn't me exaggerating; the situation has changed."

"If it were me, with such a good mining site, I would definitely send more people... Forty-odd people, it's not like we're without a fighting chance..."

Zhang Debao pondered for a moment: "Let's go a little further, put our things down, and figure out how to deal with them. I came here specifically for this mining site."

The group continued upstream for a while and found a wooden sign that read "This place is occupied" in a ravine. Further upstream in a river bend, they found another one.

Zhang Debao squinted at the wooden sign and cursed, "Damn it, I didn't realize your ambitions were even greater than mine. You've taken over all the good mining sites along the entire river, with just a few dozen people?"

He looked around and told everyone to rest in the river bend, put down their supplies, and rest. The group huddled together and whispered among themselves.

Suddenly, the sound of rustling leaves came from the woods across the river.

The group of people looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old man carrying a double-barreled shotgun slowly swimming down from the woods on the other side.

The group watched the old man walk away, but didn't think much of it and continued to huddle together to discuss their matter.

At the mining site in the pincer-shaped ravine, Zhou Jingming took out the hunting rifles that had been stored in the dugout for the first time, inspected them one by one, loaded them with deer bullets, and after confirming that they were working properly, he asked Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun to gather everyone together: "Has anyone here ever handled a hunting rifle before?"

"Does handling gunpowder guns count?" "I've handled single-barreled shotguns!"

"I've received militia training, so I can handle not only hunting rifles, but also semi-automatic ones..."

……

To Zhou Jingming's surprise, when he asked casually, eight or nine people from the group actually stood up and said they had experience with guns.

Of course, having handled a gun doesn't mean one dares to shoot someone, but it was enough to give Zhou Jingming confidence. In any case, he was more skilled and had better mental fortitude than someone who had never handled a gun before.

"More and more people will be panning for gold in this valley, and the situation will become more and more complicated. Some people may be thinking of seizing the mining sites."

I admit that the salary I pay you is lower than what you would receive as gold, but six hundred yuan a month is still a lot of money. High returns always come with high risks.

I believe you've already heard about the complexities of the Gold Rush Valley from Wu Yang and Shunzai when you came here with them, so I won't go into details.

I don't expect all of you to be willing or dare to fight with those who come to seize mining sites, but I'm sure you won't be careless about protecting yourselves.

So if someone comes, you'd better hold on tight to your pickaxes, shovels, and chisels to protect yourselves.

Being robbed of a mining site is extremely dangerous; it can easily lead to injury or even death.

But I promise that anyone who dares to fight alongside me without flinching will be rewarded with 20 grams of gold. Anyone injured in the process will be rewarded with 100 grams of gold. And if someone loses their life, I will give them 1,000 grams of gold as a resettlement allowance.

In other words, I'm setting up a mine protection team.

There are still eleven double-barreled shotguns left. Anyone willing to join the mine protection team, please step forward and take a gun…

Zhou Jingming didn't believe in spontaneous will, but rather in the courage of men who were offered a generous reward.

At current market prices, 20 grams of gold is worth 800, 100 grams is worth 4,000, and 1,000 grams is worth at least 40,000.

This is a price that's sure to tempt you.

You should know that these days, the compensation for work-related injuries is often only a few dozen yuan, and if you lose your life, you might only get three or five hundred yuan in compensation.

Zhou Jingming could afford such a high fee.

First of all, fights don't happen every day at the mine. They only happen when someone is foolish enough to not know what's going on. During a gold rush season, three to five fights are considered a lot.

Secondly, considering the gold yield at the mining site, even if we only consider the surface grade of five points, the forty-odd people working there could easily get half a pound a day. And in the rich gold layer at the bottom, the yield would only be more.

Moreover, Zhou Jingming still felt there weren't enough people and planned to increase the manpower to about a hundred, clearing out this pincer-shaped mountain valley within a year.

Even if someone dies, the resettlement allowance of one kilogram is equivalent to gold that can be obtained in at most two days.

How can you allow others to snore and sleep on the side of the couch?

Besides, it was a cunning scorpion that could sting you at any moment.

From the moment Zhou Jingming saw Zhang Debao leading his men here, he began to plan how to deal with it. Since they were potential troublemakers, it would be best to eliminate the threat once and for all if they dared to come knocking.

After he finished speaking, the group fell silent. The next moment, someone immediately stepped forward: "I'll join the mine protection team..."

"I'll join too..."

Those guns were practically gone in their eyes; they snatched them all up in a frenzy.

Those who got a gun were delighted, holding it high and looking around. Those who didn't get one looked disappointed.

"Guns are weapons of war and cannot be used indiscriminately. The items are now in your hands; please take good care of them so that you can step forward immediately if anything happens in the future!"

Zhou Jingming was very satisfied with their performance. Before leaving, he specifically told Wu Yang, "Take a good look and see if they really know how to use a gun. Don't let them pretend to be skilled."

Wu Yang nodded: "Okay!"

Zhou Jingming went to find Su Xiulan, who was washing clothes by the river: "If someone comes to fight over the mining site and a fight breaks out, I might not be able to take care of you. Be careful and go back to your dugout to hide as soon as possible. Don't come out."

Su Xiulan blinked her big eyes: "Are you worried about the group of people who just went in?"

"It's not just them, there might be even stronger teams coming in the future, we have to be on guard... Also, try not to go too far from the mining site in the future, we have to make sure that if something happens, we can run back immediately!"

"it is good!"

Seeing Zhou Jingming's serious expression, Su Xiulan thought for a moment and then nodded earnestly.

With the arrangements nearly complete, Zhou Jingming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This is all the arrangements he can make right now, mainly because he only has so many people available.

He originally planned to wait and see if Peng Yuanchao and the others would come, and then make arrangements when they did.

When they left last year, Zhou Jingming specifically told them that if they still wanted to return to the mine, they should come back as soon as possible.

But now, he has come from Sichuan and has been in the mountains for more than half a month, and he still hasn't seen any sign of them. He feels that he can't count on them anymore.

(End of this chapter)