My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 191 Everyone has their own plans
Jinwang started barking when Su Xiulan was making dinner.

Zhou Jingming helped add firewood to the earthen stove in the tent and warmed himself by the fire.

Upon hearing Jinwang's bark, he immediately grabbed his hunting rifle and crawled out of the tent. Seeing that Jinwang was barking towards the upper reaches of the valley, he was certain that it was Zhang Debao and his gang coming out.

Once inside the valley, Zhang Debao and his group must have seen the wooden signs posted at the mining sites.

If they, a large group of people, did not move those wooden signs as Zhou Jingming suggested, they would not be able to find good mining sites.

If the wooden signs at those mining sites are moved, it will give Zhou Jingming a reason to come knocking.

If they want to mine for gold peacefully and avoid conflict, the best way is to come back to Zhou Jingming and discuss spending some gold to buy a mining site.

But Zhang Debao was never a law-abiding person. Moreover, he gathered so many people to rush to Haxionggou before May when gold panning officially began, which shows that he had big plans. Therefore, it is more likely that he wanted to seize the pincer-shaped mountain pass mining site.

This is why Zhou Jingming immediately arranged for people to provide protection after watching Zhang Debao and his group enter the valley.

Wu Yang and Bai Zhishun had become accustomed to the conditions in the Gold Rush Valley and were more alert. They quickly grabbed their hunting rifles and moved closer to Zhou Jingming, peering into the valley.

After waiting for about a minute, they saw Zhang Debao leading two people down the riverbank, without any hunting rifles on them.

Seeing that no more people followed, Zhou Jingming breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Could it be that he wants to discuss mining sites?"

"Maybe!"

Wu Yang replied in a low voice.

"Let's see what tricks they're going to pull!"

Zhou Jingming slung the hunting rifle over his shoulder, returned to the earthen stove to start a fire, and called Jin Wang back as well.

Not long after, Zhang Debao led the two men to the tent where they were cooking, found Zhou Jingming, and handed him a cigarette with a smile.

Zhou Jingming took it and looked at it, then casually tucked it behind his ear: "What's up?"

"There's something I need to do!"

Zhang Debao sighed: "We walked uphill for a while and saw several mining sites with good terrain, but they were all marked with signs. The signs were really nice... All the good mining sites were fenced off. We can only come to the owners to ask what's going on. You don't have that many people, so you just took over all those mining sites, right?"

"What's this to you?"

Zhou Jingming smiled and asked in return.

"You can't possibly search that many places!"

"If you can't find it this year, you can find it next year... Of course, if someone wants to find it, that's not impossible. You can sell it for a little money."

"Oh... I see, I understand. So how much does it cost to transfer a mining site?"

“I have carefully inspected all those mining sites. The grade of each site is good. Depending on the extent of the mineralization, the estimated gold yield is as follows: for smaller sites, about one kilogram of gold is sufficient, while for larger sites, two or three kilograms or even four or five kilograms are required. It depends on which mining site is selected.”

"That's really a good business. If all ten or so mining sites are transferred, you can get at least twenty or thirty kilograms of gold for free."

"Free? If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all. Do you think I don't need to put in effort when I'm surveying? Do you think I don't need manpower to guard any mining sites? Is there such a thing as a free lunch in this world?"

"Uh...it's because I don't know how to speak."

Seeing Zhou Jingming's face suddenly harden, Zhang Debao could only force a laugh and try to smooth things over.

Zhou Jingming ignored him: "If you have something to say, say it. If not, do as you please. I'm busy!"

"Since that's the case, I need to go back and discuss it with everyone... I'll be going now. I've already moved everything here, so I guess I can only transfer one to you. Once we've discussed it, I'll come back to you tomorrow."

Zhang Debao winked at the two men who had followed him, then got up and left.

Zhou Jingming also stood up and watched the three of them walk away quickly.

He smiled and asked Wu Yang, "What do you think he'll do next? Will he buy it?"

"I can't say for sure."

Wu Yang shook his head: "Even if he buys it, we still have to be very careful."

Zhou Jingming nodded slightly and sat down again on the wooden stool next to the earthen stove.

When Zhang Debao could no longer see the pincer-shaped ravine, he wasn't upset about being thwarted by Zhou Jingming. On the contrary, he seemed very excited: "Damn it, why didn't I think of doing this? I could have marked out some mining sites early on, waited for someone else to come and resell them, and gotten dozens of kilograms of gold for free. Why didn't I think of that? What a great idea!"

"Boss, once we chase them away, all these unexploited mines in the valley will be ours," one of the men behind him said excitedly.

"Yes, yes, yes... hurry up and meet up with them, get ready, and once the third brother succeeds, we'll rush out immediately."

As the saying goes, "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter." With the leader taken down, the rest are just a pile of loose sand...

Zhang Debao stopped and looked towards the woods opposite: "I wonder where Lao San is hiding. We were talking to their leader just now, he should be able to recognize who the leader is, right? He didn't call the wrong person, did he?"

"Boss, don't worry. Third Brother's skill level is beyond question. He's a hunter from the Taihang Mountains, he's been playing with guns since he was a child, and he's carrying a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle. Not to mention his courage, he's killed people before..."

The person behind Zhang Debao seemed quite confident.

“I believe that. He deserves the credit for the few jobs we did in Genhe at the end of last year.”

"He's incredibly accurate with a hunting rifle, hitting every target from dozens of meters away. If it weren't for his accuracy, I wouldn't have specifically asked someone to get him a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle. This time, it's come in very handy again." Zhang Debao quickened his pace: "Hurry and gather the men closer together. As soon as we hear gunfire, we'll rush over immediately. Don't hold back, shoot a few down, and they'll scatter."

Before long, the three returned to the river bend and gathered their men. Zhang Debao addressed the group, saying, "We've found out that all the mines with signs in this valley are good mining sites. These people aren't good people; they're just hogging the land. If someone wants to mine, they have to pay them gold, sometimes several kilograms at a time, as if gold falls from the sky... Damn it, they're practically robbing people."

"What do you all think? Is this something we can do?"

"That's definitely not possible!"

"Why?"

……

The crowd looked very unhappy, and several of them even shouted, "Let's get them..."

"We're going to take them down. Since they're not letting us have an easy time, then don't blame us for being ruthless. Brothers, their mine is the best. Follow me and let's seize it. The gold we pan for in the first month will be split equally among us."

It must be said that Zhang Debao's words were even more persuasive!
His men, already resentful, became even more eager upon hearing that the gold mined in the first month would be divided equally.

Seeing that the effect was working, Zhang Debao picked up his hunting rifle and led the way. The others, who were also carrying hunting rifles, followed closely behind, followed by a group of gold prospectors carrying various tools, as they approached the pincer-shaped ravine once again.

Jinwang's barking stopped for a short while after Zhang Debao and the other two left, then it started barking again.

Zhou Jingming stood up again to look and found that this time Jin Wang's shouts were directed at the mountains and forests opposite the mine.

However, after looking at the opposite mountain forest for a long time, he couldn't see anything unusual.

Wu Yang was also watching, but he didn't find anything unusual either.

But Jinwang wouldn't call out for no reason; there must be a reason for it.

"I'll go over and take a look..."

Wu Yang picked up his gun and headed towards the poplar grove, intending to cross the bridge and go around to the other side to investigate.

Zhao Li also picked up a hunting rifle: "I'll go with him!"

After spending these days together, he had a general understanding of the chaotic situation in the Gold Rush Valley. He got along very well with Wu Yang; one was a demobilized soldier, and the other was from the Armed Police Force. The two had a lot in common.

Needless to say, Zhao Li is also a skilled marksman.

It was rare to see Zhao Li take the initiative, so Zhou Jingming naturally had no objections.

If there's nothing going on in the mountains across the way, that's fine. But if there is, the two of them can look after each other.

He hoped that this incident would allow Zhao Li to break free from the rules and regulations he had followed in the military.

Once people like them are freed from those constraints and start acting freely, they are far more formidable than ordinary bandits.

Looking at the forest opposite, Zhou Jingming felt uneasy, but he couldn't figure out why. He just thought that if someone was hiding in the forest and trying to do something sneaky, he would definitely be the first one to be dealt with.

In any case, it's always good to be on guard.

He thought for a moment, then gave Bai Zhishun an order: "Have them grab their weapons and be on guard."

While Bai Zhishun went to deliver the message, those who had been assigned guns were busy getting them from their dugouts, while Zhou Jingming huddled in his tent. With the tent providing cover, it wouldn't be easy for him to find the right spot to launch a sneak attack.

At the same time, he told Su Xiulan to drop her vegetable washing work and hurry back to the dugout. He told her not to come out unless he called her, and to wait until he figured out what was going on in the mountains across the way.

As for the upper and lower reaches of the valley, they can be seen from within the mining area; it's all barren grassland, making it difficult to hide, so it's easily visible. Areas that aren't visible are relatively far away, and even if there were guns, it would require a very high level of skill to injure anyone, so there's not much to worry about.

Meanwhile, in the opposite mountain forest, the young man who had been following Zhang Debao with a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle was now hiding behind a clump of bushes halfway up the mountain.

He's very angry right now.

While Zhang Debao led the two men to scout the situation in the pincer-shaped ravine, he was already on the opposite hillside, having identified his target to shoot.

After Zhang Debao left, he saw Zhou Jingming burning firewood by the earthen stove in front of the tent. The location was conspicuous, and he felt that it wouldn't be too difficult. As long as he got close enough, he was confident that he could succeed.

So he began to stealthily approach.

To everyone's surprise, the first part was fine, but then the dogs at the mine suddenly started barking.

He was a hunter, and when he saw the big dog barking at him, he immediately realized that he had most likely been discovered by the dog, so he quickly hid behind a bush.

But the current distance seemed quite tight, and he wasn't entirely confident. He could only curse under his breath, "Damn dog," and patiently wait, hoping to try to get closer after the big dog calmed down.

But he soon realized that he had probably miscalculated.

At the mining site, his target had retreated into a tent, two men were heading towards the poplar grove to cross the river, and several others were busy getting guns.

He had a feeling that these people had noticed the situation here and started to take precautions.

What can I do?
He dared not move, so he raised his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle from behind the bushes, aimed at the tent, and waited for the target to show himself.

boom……

Little did he know that just as he raised his gun to aim, a gunshot rang out from the side.

(End of this chapter)