My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 2 The real purpose

For Zhou Jingming, that alleyway entrance, which was only four or five steps away, was nothing short of a fork in the road in his life.

Moreover, this fork in the road was so ridiculously wrong that it took him five whole years of struggling to get through it in his previous life.

Besides the long, wasted years, all that's left is physical and mental exhaustion.

What's even more dangerous is that these days, the power of the word "hooligan" is equivalent to a bullet aimed at Zhou Jingming that could take his life.
The opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream is now within reach.

If he were to return to Chengdu in his previous life and find such a great opportunity, Zhou Jingming would immediately rush in and hand over his switchblade.

But now, years of hard work have given Zhou Jingming the ability to easily suppress his impulses.

He wanted to find a more secure way to both deal with that woman and make up for the five years he had wasted in his previous life.

This is a bustling street with crowds of people. The alleyway next to the street leads to the bus station, and people come and go all the time. Otherwise, a single scream wouldn't have attracted so many people.

This is not a good place to make a move.

Moreover, things are not that simple.

At Shaping Farm, Zhou Jingming recalled the situation more than once and had many speculations.

Among the general public, there are heroes who are eager to help others, but there are far more ordinary people who prefer to avoid trouble and seek good fortune.

That is why, just because of a scream, so many men rushed into the alley and blocked him from both ends, giving him a good beating. This is something worth pondering.

Next, Zhou Jingming was simply questioned about his basic identity information at the police station before a verdict was reached.

After much thought, Zhou Jingming concluded that the woman's scream was intentional, and that the alleyway was a carefully laid trap waiting for him.

But... what's the point?
Things don't happen without reason.

Zhou Jingming worked in the geological team for several years. Although his salary was not high, only fifty or sixty yuan a month, he still managed to save more than a thousand yuan after spending money on food, clothing, and other necessities and sending money home to his parents.

A little over a thousand yuan may not sound like much, but money is valuable these days, enough for him to start a small business.

As for the rest, there were just some clothes, a few novels to pass the time, and a small notebook that would be of little use to most people.

Therefore, Zhou Jingming concluded that he had been the victim of a honey trap set for money.

The money was in the backpack he was carrying. In the chaotic situation in the alley at the time, he had no idea who had taken the backpack or who had ended up in its hands. He never saw it again.

There are definitely helpers...

Zhou Jingming looked around again and noticed three people across the street, huddled together smoking and all staring at him.

When their eyes met, they both turned their heads away, a clear act of avoidance mixed with a hint of panic.

He hadn't forgotten the brutal beating he'd received in the alleyway. Everything had happened so suddenly; he was stunned and could only curl up to protect his head, but he still had some recollection of it.

Those who stand out are always more easily remembered; otherwise, the saying "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down" wouldn't exist.

Therefore, upon seeing these people, Zhou Jingming immediately felt a strange sense of familiarity.

This is enough.

Right now, it would be unwise to go into that alleyway.

Even without that scream, there was still a possibility of being surrounded.

retreat!

Zhou Jingming turned and left.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the three men get up and say something to each other. One of them went into the alley where the woman was, while the other two followed behind him.

We need to get rid of them.

The half-month he spent back in Chengdu after being released from the labor camp wasn't wasted; Zhou Jingming knew a good place to go.

He pretended to be nonchalant, choosing crowded spots and wandering the streets for over twenty minutes, turning left and right. When he passed another alley, he turned in and then ran like the wind.

This allowed him to experience the benefits of youth once again.

His body, honed through countless battles in the wilderness, had developed considerable strength and stamina. Each step he took unleashed a burst of power, propelling him forward like a leopard. The two men trailing far behind clearly hadn't expected Zhou Jingming to start running as soon as he entered the alley. By the time they leisurely caught up to the alley entrance, Zhou Jingming had vanished from sight. Their expressions changed, and they immediately rushed into the long alley.

Behind the alleyway was a dilapidated old factory area and staff quarters, with a maze of narrow lanes. They didn't know which lane Zhou Jingming had taken.

Seeing passersby, the two immediately went up to ask if they had seen anyone run by, but all they got was a shake of the head.

I asked several people in a row, and they all said the same thing.

Little did they know, Zhou Jingming was on the second floor of an abandoned factory building not far away, where every single glass window had been smashed and was now broken, leaning against the window and watching the situation at the entrance of the alley.

The two men went into the alley to look around for a while, then came out. Not long after, the man who had left earlier led three others out of the alley, and the six of them reunited, including the woman in the plaid coat.

Zhou Jingming couldn't hear what they were discussing; he only watched as they pointed and whispered among themselves before splitting up and disappearing into the alleyways to follow.

Only the woman, after hesitating for a while, turned back into the alley.

This is about getting back to the streets!

Looking at the direction the five people left in, and then at the woman, Zhou Jingming felt that this was an opportunity.

He put down his backpack, took off his military overcoat and earmuffs; this outfit was still too conspicuous and bulky.

He took out a set of ordinary cotton-padded clothes from his bag, put them on, and then put on a liberation cap. This ordinary outfit made him look like a different person.

He then put his most important possessions, his money and notebook, into his pocket, hid the bag in a broken wooden box in the corner of the factory, quickly went downstairs, and jogged into the alleyway.

Hearing footsteps behind her, the woman turned around, but she didn't recognize Zhou Jingming, who had changed his clothes, was looking down, and had pulled his cap brim down. She just thought he was a worker living in the old factory area who had to go out in a hurry, and she even moved to one side of the alley to make way for him.

Little did she expect that Zhou Jingming, who was standing nearby, would suddenly make a move.

He suddenly grabbed the back of her plaid coat, covered her head with it, and then yanked her to the ground, followed by punches and kicks.

Zhou Jingming didn't care whether the person he was hitting was a woman or not.

They were quite ruthless, and their kicks were heavy.

If it weren't for the fact that they were in an alleyway where someone could slip in at any moment—a fatal accident in the city would be a major incident, causing huge trouble and ruining his future plans—Zhou Jingming would have really wanted to kill her right then and there.

He struck the woman repeatedly on the head and abdomen, until she curled up in a ball, convulsing and unable to utter a sound.

Seeing that it was almost time, Zhou Jingming didn't linger. He took the small leather bag from her shoulder, got up, and left.

As I walked, I opened my bag and was quite surprised to find a thick wad of cash inside, all ten-yuan notes, probably a few hundred yuan.

In addition, there was a thin, carved gold bracelet, not very heavy, weighing about twenty grams. According to the market prices these days, it would be worth over a thousand yuan.

He didn't know how badly he had injured the woman, but he knew she definitely wouldn't die.

Zhou Jingming took the money and gold bracelet out of the bag and put them in his pocket, then casually threw the bag away.

Consider it as collecting some interest first.

This was done simply to disguise it as a robbery and steer the situation in a different direction.

Zhou Jingming emerged from the alley onto the street, but did not leave immediately. Instead, he scanned the street and, finding nothing amiss, walked a short distance before entering a shop, buying a pack of Guobao cigarettes, lighting one, and squatting down under a telephone pole across the street, peering into the alley.

After waiting for a while, the woman, clutching her stomach with one hand and supporting her lower back with the other, staggered out of the alley with a panicked expression.

She didn't make a fuss when faced with strange looks from passersby; instead, she walked away in a hurry.

Zhou Jingming hadn't forgotten her accomplices, and he followed them from a distance on the other side of the street, trying to find out their background.

To his surprise, the woman went to a Sichuan restaurant.

A man was slowly eating and drinking by the window, while a woman stood beside him.

Upon seeing the man, Zhou Jingming immediately understood that it wasn't a honey trap, but rather that there was another purpose behind it.

These people's real purpose was probably the small notebook with a calfskin cover that he was carrying in his pocket.

(End of this chapter)