My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 194 Incorporation
Zhou Jingming didn't know how Zhao Li would change after experiencing such a thing. After all, things that could easily lead to death were not something that most law-abiding people could accept; it was a completely different ideology.

We can only wait and see how he behaves in the future.

At first glance, Zhao Li seems to be quite capable; at the very least, he came to help when they were chasing Zhang Debao.

His greater discomfort stemmed from the stark contrast between his impression of Zhou Jingming and reality.

The son of the old boatman at the rural ferry crossing used to seem very gentle, but I never expected him to have such a ruthless side in this valley.

Furthermore, he felt that Zhou Jingming had experienced these things more than once or twice, otherwise he wouldn't have been so ruthless as to not even flinch.

Is this still the Zhou Jingming he knows?
Fortunately, before they arrived, Zhou Jingming had already told both him and Li Guohua about the general situation of the valley, so they had a better understanding and it wasn't so hard to accept.

Moreover, judging from the way those people acted today, they've even arranged for someone to shoot them in the back. If we show the slightest weakness, we'll likely be the ones who suffer.

He had only heard about gold panning in the snowy region before, but now that he has witnessed it firsthand, he realizes that he had underestimated the chaos of the Gold Rush Valley.

The three returned to the mine site, where Zhang Debao's group of men, under the watchful eyes of Peng Yuanchao and others, seemed at a loss.

Zhou Jingming scanned the crowd: "Now I'm giving you two choices. One is to leave all your valuables behind and get out of here immediately; the other is that I'll take you to a mining site, and I'll have someone lead you there to pan for gold, without taking any gold."

Five hundred each per month, one hundred less than the people I lead, is your punishment for this offense.

In addition, I provide food, drink, and necessary supplies, as well as protection.

Since Zhang Debao has already been dealt with, and the remaining people can't all be rendered useless, it's better to recruit them and settle them in the valley to pan for gold than to let them wander around and cause more trouble.

Transferring those good mining sites to other gold mining teams and earning only a few kilograms of gold is far less profitable than letting those people mine directly.

I was worried about not having enough manpower before, but now it's a good time to use these people.

After this incident, if they have any sense of propriety, they should behave themselves.

The man who had fled earlier, terrified by the sight of three people killed, was somewhat incredulous upon hearing Zhou Jingming's words: "You're just letting us go like this?"

Zhou Jingming chuckled lightly: "What, do you want me to shoot you too and send you to join them?"

The man shook his head repeatedly.

If there's a chance to live, who would want to die?

Zhou Jingming looked at the group of people and asked, "Are you even capable of doing this?"

He used to follow Zhang Debao, and now that the leaders are all crippled, he should still have some prestige, so leading this group shouldn't be a problem.

The man turned to look at the crowd: "How about we pan for gold in this valley? Anyway, if we go out, we'll either end up in someone else's group or go home. Maybe it's better to pan for gold here. We'll be provided with food and drink, and we'll get five hundred a month. After a few months, we can make several thousand..."

No one spoke; most people looked at Zhou Jingming with puzzled expressions.

Zhou Jingming was well aware of their concerns: "Don't worry, after this matter is over, I won't bother you anymore, provided you behave yourselves. If you dare to try anything funny again, don't blame me for being impolite. I'll give you three minutes to make a decision!"

After he finished speaking, he took out a cigarette, went to greet Peng Yuanchao and Li Guozhu, and handed each of them a cigarette to smoke: "I thought you would complain that I didn't offer enough here and wouldn't come anymore."

If Li Guozhu, Peng Yuanchao, and others hadn't arrived in time, adding so many more people, they probably would have really clashed with Zhang Debao and his gang.

Their arrival, and the overwhelming disparity in numbers, was one of the reasons that completely deflated this group.

Knowing full well that you can't win, yet still recklessly charging in, that's more than just stupid.

Of course, Zhou Jingming was not afraid. The person who was going to shoot him from the shadows had been dealt with by Old Liu, and the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle that he was particularly wary of had been taken back. In addition, he had so many guns on hand, so he was not worried about losing.

However, if a real fight breaks out, casualties are inevitable, and the aftermath will be very troublesome to handle, which will also affect mining operations.

"Where else can I go if I don't come? This is the only job I'm suited for in this life. It's better to follow you than to lead a team and mess around on my own, which would cause a lot of trouble and trivial matters!"

Li Guozhu took a few puffs of his cigarette: "Work hard for a few years, save up some money, hire a nanny, go to the south to find a comfortable place, and that'll probably be how I live the rest of my life."

Peng Yuanchao smiled and said, "I told you before, I only have that much skill, I can't make it here. It's more stable for me to come here. As for how much I'll be paid, that depends on the individual. It costs a lot to supply all the resources at the mine and to bribe officials."

Some people think it's too little, but they don't consider how many teams can find good mining sites, and how many teams can guarantee that each person can earn five or six hundred a month.

I don't have that much ambition, and I know I don't have that much ability... Speaking of which, Brother Zhou, has Xu Youliang come to see you yet? He set off a day before me; he should have arrived by now."

"Xu Youliang?"

Zhou Jingming shook his head: "No!"

"This kid has big ambitions. From what I heard, he's planning to bring a group of people here, choose a spot in the valley, and go it alone."

"Going it alone... isn't out of the question!"

Zhou Jingming felt indifferent: "When it ended last year, I already said that those who wanted to come back were welcome, and those who didn't want to come back wouldn't be forced. Anyway, if we can get together, we are brothers. If we can't get together, it has nothing to do with me."

"No matter what, you two are the most important people to me. It's good that you're back. From now on, I'll be entrusting the management of the mine to you. Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly."

"Hey, Uncle Liu, you're here too!"

Peng Yuanchao suddenly noticed Old Man Liu sitting on the grass nearby, smoking a pipe, and quickly greeted him.

Old Liu nodded slightly: "Yes!" Zhou Jingming explained with a smile: "Last year, it was Grandpa Liu who helped me guard the mine and also managed Jinwang. If it weren't for him, it would be inconvenient for me to go back."

Li Guozhu was also curious: "How did you two meet?"

Last year on the small peninsula, he heard a lot about Old Man Liu, but he never actually met him. However, he knew that Old Man Liu had left the valley a long time ago, and Zhou Jingming valued him highly and had mentioned him several times. Now he had finally met him in person.

“You’ve all left. Wu Yang, Shunzai, and I went into the mountains and cleaned the cave for a few days. When we came back, we ran into Grandpa Liu.”

"Cave cleaning... Why weren't we invited to do something so good?"

"Aren't you all busy going back? Only Wu Yang and Shun Zai are willing to stay and keep me company. I can't force you, can I?"

"You can't leave us behind this year."

We'll see when the time comes!

The year has just begun, and who knows what will happen next? Zhou Jingming couldn't give a definite answer.

However, whenever possible, one should always try unorthodox methods like "cleaning caves" to quickly make a quick buck.

Having more people isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Otherwise, any Tom, Dick, or Harry might try to take advantage of you, which would be troublesome.

After exchanging a few brief words, Zhou Jingming turned to the group again: "It's almost time. Have you made up your minds?"

“I’ve thought it through. I’ll stay here in this valley. If I go out, I’ll either go home or join another team, which isn’t necessarily better than this. Last year, I worked for half a year and only made three or four thousand yuan. Several of us had our pay docked and only got a little over two thousand yuan.”

While Zhou Jingming and his group were talking, the rest of the group was also discussing and quickly reached a consensus. The leader then stepped forward to speak.

"In that case, go and move the supplies you brought today to my mine. I will provide them to you if you need them in the future! Wu Yang, Shun Zai, I'll trouble you to come with me."

Zhou Jingming waved to them: "Take the body away!"

As for those hunting rifles, Bai Zhishun had already collected them.

The number of hunting rifles in the team suddenly increased to twenty-one, plus a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle.

With so many weapons and over a hundred men, Zhou Jingming believed that anyone with a modicum of sense would no longer be interested in attacking the mining site.

As for the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, we should buy two more; that would make the mining site more secure.

Those people were also very direct; they threw the three dead men directly into the river, only taking away the man who had been shot and wounded by Old Liu.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Li Guozhu said to Zhou Jingming, "When we were in Tiemaike, we brought some supplies in and had people help us move them to the mine site."

Zhou Jingming nodded, then instructed Li Guohua to gather people to move things to the bridge.

As for Wang Youping and his two fellow drivers, after unloading the goods, they drove the tractor away early before it got dark.

Moving things was a trivial matter, so Zhou Jingming and the others naturally didn't need to do anything.

He led Peng Yuanchao and the others back to their dugout.

Upon seeing that there were only a few dugouts, Peng Yuanchao exclaimed, "Why are there only a few? Where are we going to stay tonight?"

"I don't even know if you guys are coming or not, so why should I dig so much? Enough is enough."

"Where will you stay? We'll be sleeping in tents tonight. I can't accommodate you guys; if you're afraid of the cold, you'll have to dig your own tomorrow!"

Zhou Jingming didn't want to make an exception for them. Asking people who were already living in dugouts to move out of their places was a very unethical thing to do.

“Xiulan…Xiulan…”

He then shouted twice into the dugout.

A clear, crisp response came from inside, making Peng Yuanchao's eyes light up: "You brought a woman into the mountains?"

Zhou Jingming ignored him and instead instructed Su Xiulan, who had crawled out of the dugout, "There are a lot of people today, so we need to increase the amount of food. Make more, and also add more meat as an extra meal."

Su Xiulan obediently responded and went to work by the tent.

Peng Yuanchao stared at Su Xiulan, his eyes wide: "So young and beautiful..."

"This has nothing to do with you. Keep your improper thoughts to yourself. This is my woman."

Zhou Jingming also gave a heads-up beforehand: "Tell the people below to be careful. If they dare to mess around, I won't show them any mercy. This is my advance warning."

"Ugh……"

Peng Yuanchao sighed: "If I had known, I would have brought one with me. That way, I wouldn't feel so heartbroken looking at her all the time, and she would have someone to keep her company."

At that moment, he suddenly remembered his childhood sweetheart.

Unbeknownst to him, the woman had also arrived in Tiemaike and was staying in a farmer's stable with a group of men. She huddled in a corner, watching the sky gradually darken, feeling a growing sense of panic.

(End of this chapter)