My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 210 finally appeared.

Over the next few days, normal work continued at the mining site in the pincer-shaped ravine of Haxionggou.

Wu Yang and Old Man Liu would carry their guns and wander around the surrounding mountains every day.

Zhou Jingming also frequently took time to go to the top of the grassy hill behind the mine to look around.

However, after several days, nothing unusual was observed.

Wu Yang and Old Man Liu never saw the three of them again.

When they returned to the mining site that evening, Wu Yang seemed a bit bored: "Brother Zhou, there are quite a few people coming and going at the gold panning site every day. Could it really just be a few gold prospectors scouting the site or playing hide-and-seek, or are we just overthinking it?"

Zhou Jingming nodded: "Maybe... It's not good to keep delaying like this, let's set off tomorrow."

He stopped dwelling on the matter.

That evening, Zhou Jingming explained the situation at the mine to Li Guozhu and the others. The next morning, Zhou Jingming tied up Jin Wang and handed him over to Old Liu to look after. He then slung a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle over his shoulder, rode his motorcycle with Wu Yang, and headed towards Maqin Snow Mountain.

With a motorcycle, you're no longer restricted by the bus; you don't need to wait, you can just go as fast as you can.

The two arrived in Tiemaike early, had breakfast there, bought some naan bread to take with them, filled their motorcycle with oil, and also brought a metal canister to their car before continuing their journey.

In this desolate Gobi Desert, the speed of a motorcycle far surpasses that of a rickety bus. The two traversed vast stretches of desert and arrived in Wucheng by evening.

Maqin Snow Mountain is located in the southeast of Xihai, extending to the southern border of Ganzhou. It is a branch of the Kunlun Mountains. To get there, you have to go to Xining first, which is at least 500 kilometers away, a long journey.

Carrying Type 56 semi-automatic rifles, the two avoided entering the city and checkpoints, spending the night at a farmer's house on the outskirts of the city. They arrived in Hami the next day, Jiayuguan the third day, and Xining on the fourth day.

This path actually involves going in a very roundabout way.

There is a shorter route from Wucheng to Maqin Snow Mountain, but this route requires traversing the Gobi Desert, wasteland, and Hoh Xil, which are vast uninhabited areas. Not only is it easy to get lost, but if the motorcycle breaks down and gets stuck in such an uninhabited area, even Zhou Jingming, with his rich experience in wilderness survival, cannot guarantee that he will be able to get out.

Although the chosen route is circuitous, it is in densely populated areas, so any problems that arise will be easier to resolve.

On the fifth day, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang arrived in Maqin County.

There, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang planned to rest for two days. Riding a motorcycle for a long time was quite tiring, and even though the two of them were physically strong, they couldn't take it.

Of course, the two of them didn't just eat, drink, and sleep during those two days; they also wandered around the county town.

Since Wu Fusheng was a fairly well-known foreman at the Maqin Snow Mountain Gold Panning Site, he must have been known by many people.

Maqin County is the closest place to the Maqin Snow Mountain Gold Panning Site; perhaps we can find out about him here.

Maqin Snow Mountain is full of mountains, grasslands, and snow-capped peaks, with numerous ravines. Searching through them one by one would take forever, which is not a wise move.

On the evening of the same day that Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang arrived in Maqin County, Hou Xiangdong, leading two companions and carrying backpacks, was hurrying along the dirt road leading to Haxionggou.

Upon entering the Haxionggou area, they did not rush into action but instead temporarily settled behind the mountains opposite Haxionggou.

As the weather got hotter, the number of mosquitoes in the mountains increased. Even with a campfire, they couldn't stop the mosquitoes from attacking. Not long after dark, the three of them were covered in itchy bites on their faces, hands, and feet, which made them very upset.

Finally, one of them couldn't take it anymore: "Brother Hou, if you ask me, let's not wait any longer. We found out which dungeon that guy surnamed Zhou lives in a few days ago. Let's sneak over there now, throw down a few explosives, turn around and leave. If a bundle of explosives doesn't kill him, it will at least stun him... If we stay here any longer, we'll be eaten by mosquitoes."

"Things aren't as simple as you think... Didn't you see they keep dogs at their mine? If we go there now, we'll probably be discovered before we even get close. How are we supposed to proceed then?"

Hou Xiangdong shook his head: "Wait patiently until they are all sound asleep in the middle of the night. Even if they hear the dog barking, they won't get up so quickly. That way, the chances will be much better."

These kinds of things, you either don't do them at all, or you do them ruthlessly and get it over with in one go.

Otherwise, we'll be in a lot of trouble. I saw a few pretty capable people at his mine, especially that old man with the goatee. Don't let his unassuming appearance fool you; he's always loitering around the mine. Like those two days when we came to check things out, we didn't even know when he got close to us.

We can't be careless.

Another person chimed in, "We really should be careful... If you ask me, we shouldn't move tonight. We've been busy preparing these explosives for several days now, and we're still not sure if that guy surnamed Zhou is even in the dugout. We should check first. If he's not there, then even if we blow it up, it'll be useless. Liang Mazi wants that guy surnamed Zhou dead. It's a pity that the three of us aren't good with guns. Otherwise, it would be more reliable to find an opportunity to shoot him from the shadows. Why go through all this trouble?"

"Where could he be if he's not at the mine?"

The first person to speak wasn't particularly patient: "He just stands guard by the sluice gate at the mine every day... But then again, this mine is much better than ours. If we can take it over, the daily gold production will definitely be substantial."

Hou Xiangdong smiled and said, "Third brother, I advise you not to think about these things. With only about twenty people like us, we can't defend this mine. Don't count on Liang Mazi either. It's good enough if he doesn't trip us up... Second brother is right. Let's check the situation again tomorrow and make sure that the guy surnamed Zhou is in the dugout before we take action. Otherwise, it's not safe."

"Ah...we have to wait!"

The third brother looked reluctant, but seeing that Hou Xiangdong and his other companion had reached a consensus, he didn't say anything more.

The three of them baked some steamed buns to fill their stomachs, drank a few sips of wine, and then gathered around the fire, taking off their outer garments to cover their faces and going to sleep. However, in the middle of the night, the third brother was bitten by mosquitoes on his legs and feet again, and the itching was unbearable. Frustrated, he sat up again and scratched his legs and feet. Suddenly, he felt something sticky on his fingers. He took out his flashlight and looked down, only to find that his legs and feet had been scratched raw and were bleeding.

Looking at the other two, they were fast asleep, I really don't understand how they could stand it.

"This is really damn troublesome. If you guys aren't going, I'll go..."

He muttered something to himself, grabbed his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, hesitated for a moment, and then began climbing up the mountain ridge.

Before long, he reached the top of the mountain and stood on the bald head covered with wild grass. He looked at the pincer-shaped valley and saw that it was dark and quiet. He immediately took advantage of the darkness and approached the pincer-shaped valley.

As a result, just as he reached the halfway point down the mountain, thinking he had been careful enough, he suddenly heard Jin Wang's powerful barking from the mining site in the pincer-shaped ravine.

Upon hearing the shout, he froze, quickly crouching down in the woods.

Before long, several people emerged from the dugout, scanning the area with flashlights.

After watching for about seven or eight minutes, the group returned to their dugout, and Jinwang also quieted down.

The level of vigilance at the mining site exceeded his expectations, and for a moment, he dared not act recklessly.

"I refuse to believe you can stay up all night!"

He waited quietly.

About half an hour later, feeling that it was about time, he carefully went down the hillside again.

This time it went smoothly. He crossed the wooden bridge without hearing any barking. He was quite pleased, thinking that he must have made too much noise when he came down, which startled the dogs at the mine. Now it seemed that the dog wasn't so bad, otherwise it wouldn't have been so close without noticing him.

He tried to approach again, but even after passing through the poplar grove, he still didn't hear any barking. Looking at the dugout so close at hand, he couldn't help but smile slightly. He took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a few puffs, calmed himself down, took out the bundle of explosives from his backpack, and crouched down as he approached the mine site.

But as he walked on, he began to find it strange.

Logically speaking, they were only thirty or forty meters away, so even the dumbest dog should have noticed them by now. Why is there no movement now?

For a moment, he looked around suspiciously.

Until he saw a small, faint red light flickering in the tent next to the dugout.

Those were fireworks.

Someone is smoking inside the tent.

Doesn't that mean that your every move is already being watched?

He was terrified and didn't dare to make any further moves, so he turned and ran.

Just as he was running, a large dog burst out of the tent, barking wildly.

Two more figures emerged from the ground.

One of them raised his gun, ready to fire, but was stopped by the other.

The two people who came out were Old Man Liu and Zhao Li.

"Sir, why can't I hit him?"

Zhao Li watched the figure run away and asked the old man Liu next to him in confusion.

“What’s the use of killing them? We need to find the root cause. If we don’t find the root cause, there will be endless trouble. We’ve been waiting for so many days without seeing them, and today I finally spotted them in the woods. Of course, we have to follow them closely and at least figure out who they are. Now we can confirm that they are coming for our mining site… You stay at the mining site and I’ll go and take a look. As for the specifics, we’ll wait for Xiao Zhou to come back!”

"Are you sure you can manage on your own?"

"Xiao Zhou has never doubted me!"

Old Liu smiled confidently: "Don't worry about just a few people. You can handle animals that are even more cautious than them. I don't think anyone else is as good as you. We can't delay things during the day. After I leave, you'll be in charge of the mine."

As he spoke, he took the gourd from his waist, poured himself a swig of wine, picked up his double-barreled shotgun, and headed toward the poplar grove.

Jinwang charged forward at breakneck speed, chasing after Lao San so desperately that he leaped across the wooden bridge and disappeared into the poplar grove.

Along the way, even though his flashlight was on, it was useless in his panic. Instead, it made his eyes dizzy as he ran. He tripped over a branch of a bush and fell down. Then, a branch hit his eye, and his eyes welled up with tears.

Before he could even get up, Jin Wang pounced on him and bit down hard on his calf.

(End of this chapter)