My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 217 Taking the bait
Zhou Jingming frowned and thought for a while before dragging out his words: "Oh... I think I remember now. But, Mr. Wu, you can't blame me. My job at the time was subject to a confidentiality agreement. There are some things I can't do recklessly, or I'll get into trouble. I hope you understand."

Wu Fusheng chuckled: "Everyone in the geological team says that... If you ask me, you guys have money but don't know how to use it."

"That's true."

Zhou Jingming nodded in agreement: "His mindset hasn't changed yet."

"Technician Zhou, I heard you're no longer with the geological team. What brings you back to this desolate place?"

"Just like I said, I hadn't changed my mindset about making money. Later I did, so I quit my job and prepared to start my own business. But I found that I wasn't cut out for business. I went to the south for a year, but I couldn't make any progress."

Then I thought, if others can make money by panning for gold, so can I. I'm in this line of work, and I have a natural advantage. I can't waste all the knowledge I have. So, after saving up some money this year, I came here.

That's why we came straight to the Altun Mountains. We knew from our previous explorations that not many people knew about this place, and that there were good mineral deposits. We were planning to come and take a look first. I didn't expect that you guys, Mr. Wu, were even faster and had already found the mineral deposit.

It seems I'll have to find another place.

Zhou Jingming had spent many years in the gold rush world in his previous life, and he knew the importance of speaking human language to human beings and ghost language to ghosts. The lies in his mouth were half true and half false, one after another.

He glanced back at Wu Yang: "This place is already taken. Let's find another spot."

As he spoke, he mounted the motorcycle, turned it around, and Wu Yang obediently sat on the back seat.

Seeing that the two were about to leave immediately, Wu Fusheng quickly stopped Zhou Jingming: "Technician Zhou, you're already here, don't rush off. It's already late, where else can you go?"

"Go back to Yitunbulak, stay there for the night, and tomorrow go to Altay to see if there are any people at the other mining sites."

Zhou Jingming knew that Wu Fusheng would definitely keep people, because each of the locations he had in mind was a considerable fortune.

Previously, she would try to get close to Zhou Jingming, hoping to get his guidance, and even planned to use underhanded tactics in order to find something.

How could he possibly miss such a great opportunity?

Zhou Jingming seized the opportunity to throw out an even more substantial bait.

Wu Fusheng quickly stepped forward and stopped Zhou Jingming: "It doesn't matter where you stay, you've already come to my mine site, so just stay here tonight. I'm not saying you'll stay in a fancy place, but you'll definitely get plenty of good wine and meat. It's a rare opportunity for us to meet, so let's have a good chat tonight."

Since Technician Zhou also intends to strike it rich, we can totally cooperate! You have the skills, I have the manpower, and we can all make money together, don't you think?"

"But don't you already have a mining site, and it's a pretty good one..."

“No gold prospector would complain about having too many mining sites… Let’s stay here, it’s getting dark soon, and it won’t be convenient to go back at this time!”

Zhou Jingming looked up at the sky: "It is indeed getting late... Well then, thank you in advance, Boss Wu!"

He rode his motorcycle, leading Wu Yang, and followed the path along the mining site directly to the dugout where they stopped.

After the two got out of the car, they saw a man near the mine who had been beaten and was bleeding from his nose and mouth, and was on the verge of death.

As Wu Fusheng led the three men closer, Zhou Jingming asked, puzzled, "What's the deal with this guy?"

"He... is a patrolman stationed at the Yixiekepati outpost. The Altyn Mountains set up some kind of bullshit nature reserve this year, and he's the one guarding it."

Wu Fusheng sneered: "Damn it, he has no sense at all. When I first brought people here to pan for gold, he came once and made me go to the nature reserve to complete the procedures. I got beaten up then, and my mouth was slapped into three pieces like a rabbit's mouth. He still hasn't learned his lesson."

Tonight, I sent a few men to the riverbank to keep watch, waiting for the antelopes to come to drink and come within range. Just as we were about to open fire, that bastard jumped out again, scaring the antelopes away and ruining today's plan.

Tell me, isn't this just asking for a beating?

Zhou Jingming frowned slightly: "Boss Wu, you should release him. This is his livelihood. Why make things difficult for him? Besides, even though he's just a ranger, he's still a member of the reserve. If something really happens, it'll be troublesome if the reserve comes looking for him."

"What's there to be afraid of? Even if the armed police come, I'm not afraid, let alone that it's just a nobody watchdog."

Wu Fusheng was very arrogant: "Even if we kill him, at worst we can just spend some gold and settle things easily."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yang couldn't help but glance at him, a flash of murderous intent crossing his eyes.

Although he was dismissed from the Armed Police Force, Wu Yang still cherished the reputation of the Armed Police and would not tolerate being underestimated.

Besides, he was the one Zhou Jingming wanted to deal with.

"Let's just forget about it. I'm still not used to seeing this kind of scene. Let it go!"

"Technician Zhou, since you've chosen to pan for gold, you can't be soft-hearted, or you won't survive in the gold panning field."

“I’ve heard a bit about the gold rush, and I do need to get used to it, but these things can’t be rushed… Let it go.”

"Okay, okay..."

Wu Fusheng walked up to the patrolman, grabbed his hair, and lifted his head up: "You're lucky. I'll let you off this time for the sake of Technician Zhou. If you mess things up for me again next time, don't blame me for being ruthless."

He spat at the nature reserve ranger and yelled, "Get the hell out of here..."

Upon hearing his words, the men who were holding the patrolman down released him.

The patrolman stood up, glanced at Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang, then at Wu Fusheng, lowered his head, slung his rifle over his shoulder, and staggered away.

"Technician Zhou, let's... go into the dugout!"

Wu Fusheng politely ushered Zhou Jingming into the dugout, and then turned around and shouted to a man standing next to the dugout: "Old Jia, we have a distinguished guest today. Show us your skills and prepare a good meal. Bring it to the dugout. We're going to have a good drink today."

The man Wu Fusheng called Lao Jia was a fat, middle-aged man with big ears. He asked, "Eating antelope meat?"

"Get some antelope meat, beef, and horse meat. I told you you're a distinguished guest, why do you even ask? Of course, I'll get the best of everything."

Wu Fusheng rolled his eyes at him and continued to beckon Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang to walk into the dugout.

"Not urgent!"

It was clear that Wu Fusheng had no guard against Zhou Jingming at all. Zhou Jingming waved his hand and said, "Boss Wu, we've arrived at your mine. Show me the mine first. It's just my professional habit to get a little itchy to do something."

"also!"

Wu Fusheng immediately took the lead, leading Zhou Jingming to the mining site. Wu Fusheng and his group probably hadn't been mining there for long, as the pit they had dug wasn't very big yet.

The facilities at his mine site are rudimentary.

Zhou Jingming shook his head: "Mr. Wu, as far as I know, you're a pretty big boss, how come you don't even have a water pump?"

"Don't even mention it. I was doing really well back in Maqin Snow Mountain. I had three water pumps, three tractors, and three cars. But this year I was tricked by a bunch of people. I only managed to take one car with me and nothing else."

He didn't hide the fact that he had been defeated: "Damn it, when I rise again, I'll definitely get my revenge."

"Anyone who dares to lay a hand on Boss Wu must be quite formidable, right?"

"They're just a few clowns. If it weren't for the fact that they gathered a large group and caught me off guard, what would they be if they dared to come at me openly!"

Wu Fusheng said through gritted teeth.

It seems that being dealt with once has really taken a toll on him.

Zhou Jingming didn't ask any more questions about this matter. He just asked for a gold bucket, selected various places at the mining site to fill it with ore, and washed it in the river. The result was that the grade of this mining site was only average, with about five grams of ore produced from one ton of ore. This was already close to the bottom grade.

He looked around again, and finally went uphill towards the mine site. He dug around on the barren slope, revealing the red and yellow mud beneath the layers of sand and gravel.

These are all oxide minerals.

In places like these, the ore is more likely to contain gold.

With Wu Yang's help, they quickly dug out a three-foot-wide slope.

Zhou Jingming collected some mud and sand from the upper, middle and lower parts of the slope and put them into a gold bucket. He then went to the river to wash them, and as a result, he found a good amount of gold.

When testing sand, it is often better to dig as deep a test pit as possible and take some ore from each part. The results obtained after screening will be more accurate.

The results obtained by taking only one line of ore are not representative.

“Mr. Wu, why are you so busy with the ore along the riverbank? I suggest you dig higher up. If my inspection is correct, the higher up the slope is where the silt deposits formed from the original ancient riverbed are located. Look at the color of the rust there, it's almost as yellow as gold. The ore grade there has already reached six points on the surface.”

Whether Wu Fusheng understood these words or not, the gold that Zhou Jingming was holding was indeed impressive.

"No wonder he's a geological exploration technician, he's really amazing."

He excitedly called out to the group, "We'll start mining ore from Technician Zhou's place tomorrow."

Zhou Jingming was just putting on an act to further dispel Wu Fusheng's doubts.

As darkness fell, he threw away the gold bucket and followed Wu Fusheng into the dugout. After drinking tea for a while, Old Jia, who cooked, brought over the food.

There wasn't a single leafy green vegetable in sight; it was all meat.

Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang naturally didn't stand on ceremony with him and ate freely.

It must be said that Lao Jia's cooking skills are quite good; he made the meat taste delicious.

Only after they had eaten and drunk their fill did Wu Fusheng ask, "Technician Zhou, how about staying at my mining site? As long as you help me find minerals, I guarantee you won't be treated unfairly."

"Thank you for your high regard, Mr. Wu!"

Zhou Jingming sighed: "Since we already have people here, I still plan to go and take a look in Altay."

After much thought, I decided it would be more interesting to get a permit and mine for gold.

He then threw out a third bait.

Placer gold is not in the same league as lode gold; the amount of gold extracted is incomparable.

Although a license is issued and most of the gold produced has to be handed over to the purchasing station, if the process is done properly and some gold is retained appropriately, the harvest can far exceed that of placer gold.

Of course, the requirements for mining are also more complex.

But it can be said that every gold mine owner's biggest goal is to find a gold mine that can be mined.

Upon hearing Zhou Jingming's words, Wu Fusheng's eyes widened, and he appeared somewhat excited: "You even know about gold mines?"

"I know of a few places... but things aren't easy. There are a lot of procedures to go through, and a lot of people to bribe. It's a headache... the key issue is that we don't have enough funds!"

Zhou Jingming said with a headache, "Or, let's go and take a look at a few other placer gold deposits. I remember there are a few places where the grade might be even higher than here, but unfortunately, the people there are more complicated. The reason I chose to come here was to find some peace and quiet, but it seems that I won't be able to find any peace and quiet."

"Indeed, more and more people are discovering gold here. There are probably seven or eight hundred people panning for gold here now..."

Wu Fusheng looked at Zhou Jingming expectantly: "Brother Zhou, I'm a bit older than you, do you mind if I call you brother?"

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "Brother Wu, what are you saying? Of course I don't mind."

Wu Fusheng continued, "To be honest, I've also heard that the gold rush is booming in Altay. When I contacted you before, it was because I had been thinking about going there to develop my career."

I get it, brother. You know a good mining spot, but you're a bit strapped for cash. I have connections and money, and I can help you pull some strings. How about we make a fortune together? You provide the technology, I'll provide the labor, and we'll split the profits. I can contribute a decent amount of gold to this spot, but it'll only last me a year at most. Also, it seems like some of my enemies are eyeing this place too…”

Zhou Jingming glanced at Wu Fusheng and knew he had taken the bait.

But he didn't agree immediately: "Brother Wu, let me think about it. How about I give you an answer first thing tomorrow morning?"

"What's there to think about... or is it that you don't want to cooperate with me, brother?"

Wu Fusheng seemed very anxious.

"That's not what I meant... I do lack a lot of funds. Besides, Brother Wu, you haven't even seen the mining site, so you wouldn't dare make a decision so quickly, would you?"

Zhou Jingming thought for a moment and said, "Since Brother Wu is also interested in developing in Altay, how about this: tomorrow we go to Altay together to check out the mining sites and then make a decision?"

(End of this chapter)