My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 218 What are you doing?
Wu Fusheng had been seeking such an opportunity for a long time, and was even willing to pay a high price to get guidance from Zhou Jingming. Now that he heard that Zhou Jingming also had the intention to cooperate, he was naturally excited and quickly nodded and said, "I will arrange things at the mine site tomorrow and then set off."

The two talked at length about finding mining sites and how to get connections to obtain permits. Zhou Jingming kept throwing out bait, mentioning places where gold veins had been discovered and which mountain valleys no one had yet visited, which excited Wu Fusheng.

Gradually, the night deepened.

That night, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang stayed in Wu Fusheng's dugout.

This guy is a very sophisticated person. He made his dugout quite nice. The walls were plastered with cement, the wooden bed was quite large and covered with a thick blanket, and the tables, chairs and benches inside were not simply made of rough wooden poles, but were all made of solid wood and even had carvings. It was more exquisite than the furniture in many people's homes.

This was the first time Zhou Jingming had ever seen such a well-made dugout in the middle of nowhere.

The two slept soundly that night.

The next morning, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang were awakened by the sounds of work outside. Seeing that Wu Fusheng had already gotten up, the two of them got up as well, washed their faces in the small river outside, and saw that Wu Fusheng was directing a group of people to dig for ore at the location that Zhou Jingming had casually surveyed the day before.

"Brother Zhou, we came here to teach him a lesson, why are you giving him pointers?"

Wu Yang looked at Wu Fusheng, who was pointing and gesturing on the earthen slope: "If you hadn't refused, I would have done it last night. I would have waited until he was asleep, then given that bastard a knife, and I guarantee there wouldn't have been a sound."

"It's just to lower his guard. It's inconvenient to deal with him in his den. If things get out of hand, there are too many of them, and it won't be easy for us to get away."

Besides, it's not just about taking his life; his three subordinates also need to be dealt with...

Zhou Jingming rolled up his sleeves, casually wiped the moisture from his face, and continued in a low voice, "When we go out together today, we'll take care of his three henchmen as well. Those three also participated in the ambush against me in Jin Guan City. We'll see what I say. Wu Fusheng's life can be spared for now, but we can't miss out on his money and gold."

Wu Yang nodded: "Okay!"

When the two returned to the dugout together, Old Jia had already brought over the cooked noodles. Half of the bowl of noodles was meat, making it a very hearty meal.

Without any ceremony, they devoured the noodles, meat, and soup in the dugout, then left their bowls and chopsticks and headed towards the hillside where Wu Fusheng was.

At this moment, Wu Fusheng was lecturing a group of people, basically complaining that they were working too slowly, telling them that this place was not for loafing around, and that they would not tolerate idlers. If they did not want to work at the mine, they should get out of there as soon as possible.

After a roar, one of his men stepped forward: "Same old rules, do exactly what our boss Wu does. If you don't meet the standards, your wages will be deducted from your monthly salary. Don't complain then."

Just then, Wu Fusheng walked to the ore mining area, took off his coat, revealing his belly full of fat, had someone bring him a cart, spat into his palm, picked up a shovel, and began loading ore into the cart.

At the same time, his subordinate started keeping time with a watch.

Wu Fusheng swung his arms and shoveled the ore into the cart one shovelful after another, quickly filling the cart to the brim.

As he threw down the shovel, his subordinate began to count the time: "It takes one minute and fifty-three seconds to load a truck. Even if it takes two minutes to load one truck, it can load thirty trucks in an hour. If you work ten hours a day, that's three hundred trucks."

Look, are you more valuable than Boss Wu? Boss Wu can work so fast, how much can you even do in a day?

Wu Fusheng then walked to a higher place: "Don't say I'm making things difficult for you. I won't even mention the 300 carts. I only need you to pull 200 carts a day. I'm being generous enough."

Then, he looked at another subordinate who was holding a notebook and responsible for keeping accounts: "Make sure you remember this clearly. The person in charge of hauling ore is responsible for 200 truckloads per day. If you miss a truckload, you will be fined one yuan."

"If the supply of such easy-to-mine ore can't keep up, then it's the miners' fault. Similarly, because of their delays, they'll be fined one yuan for every truckload of ore they miss..."

Wu Yang watched from the side, his jaw clenching. He muttered, "Damn, that's shady... He's only loaded a truck with ore and he's working like a man at full speed. Of course, it won't take him long. Try working at that speed for a whole day, and even a man of iron would be half dead. And he's still talking about benevolence and righteousness..."

Compared to them, those people at our mine are living in paradise.

Zhou Jingming just smiled and didn't say anything more.

The two waited there for a while before Wu Fusheng finally finished his lecture, telling the group to get to work. He then walked towards the two men with a smile: "Brothers, did you sleep well last night?"

Zhou Jingming laughed and said, "Brother Wu's dugout is so comfortable, of course he sleeps soundly... Brother Wu, shall we set off now?"

"hold on!"

"What are you waiting for?"

"Wait for my car to come. I had them deliver some furs to Golmud a few days ago. Judging by the timeline, they should have arrived yesterday. Those bastards must have been slacking off... If we don't have a car, it won't be easy for us to get out. Your motorcycles can't fit so many people."

Also, since I'm going to inspect the mining site, there are quite a few things to take care of. I need to sell off the inventory I've acquired these past few days before I have enough money. I'll wait a bit longer..."

This was something Zhou Jingming hadn't expected. He hadn't realized that the car the driver had sent away was Wu Fusheng's only car. How could he possibly wait for it?
Things can't wait, otherwise problems will definitely arise.

After all, those guys who delivered antelope pelts to Golmud, although they were all shot, still survived.

It seems we'll have to find another way. "Indeed, it's not easy to get out without a car... If your car doesn't come today, will we have to wait until tomorrow?"

Zhou Jingming considered it briefly and decided he should urge the matter to be resolved quickly: "This person shouldn't be allowed to die from holding in his urine, right? We can go to Itunbulak to find a car."

"That's true, but the car we find isn't really our own, so it's not that convenient to use... Brother, there's really no need to rush. The mines are all located in the mountains, they're not going anywhere. A day earlier or later won't cause any major problems."

Wu Fusheng suddenly looked at Zhou Jingming with a scrutinizing gaze: "Or is there something urgent, brother?"

Zhou Jingming could sense the doubt in his words and felt that urging him too much was not appropriate, so he quickly softened his tone: "How can I not be anxious? I'm so anxious! I see you guys making a fortune every day, while I have nothing. It's already July. In another three months, when the weather gets cold, I won't be able to pan for gold anymore. Every day I delay means one less day of money. Besides, going to look at other mining sites will also take up a lot of time. If this continues, how long can I work this year?"

Hearing this, Wu Fusheng's slightly gloomy face turned into a smile: "I guarantee that the car will definitely arrive today and we can leave tomorrow. If the car doesn't come today, I will leave with you tomorrow."

Zhou Jingming knew that pushing too hard would arouse suspicion, so he could only back down slightly. After thinking for a moment, he came up with another idea: "Leaving tomorrow is fine too... Brother Wu, I heard that hunting antelopes here is quite profitable?"

"It's quite profitable. After hunting an antelope, skinning it, you can easily sell it for four or five hundred yuan."

"Hey, that's great. We've got nothing better to do here anyway. I'll go out with my buddy and see if we can find a bunch of guys to fight and make some money."

"It's broad daylight, and antelopes are not easy to hunt!"

"How will we know if we don't try? What if we hit it?"

“Then you guys go ahead, remember to come back early… Or, I can send two brothers with you. You’re not familiar with this area, so having a few more will be helpful. Besides, hunting antelopes is my side job here anyway, I was going to look for a flock of sheep.”

These words were exactly what Zhou Jingming wanted to hear, and he immediately nodded: "In that case, why don't you go too? Anyway, I see you have so many people under you, they'll manage things well. You can just stay here and look around, relax in the shed and drink tea, and then lead the two of us to see what it's like."

Wu Fusheng hesitated for a moment: "Okay, we're just killing time anyway. Let's go track down the antelope's tracks first. If we find them, we can make a killing tonight. It'll be a good way for us brothers to get closer."

Seeing Wu Fusheng agree, Zhou Jingming chuckled inwardly: "It's truly a case of 'after many twists and turns, one finds a new path opening up.'"

We must get Wu Fusheng under control no matter where we are, and this is no different in the Altun Mountains.

Once the matter was settled, Wu Fusheng immediately turned back, gave instructions to the few people in charge at the mine, and sent his three henchmen back to the dugout to get their guns.

At Wu Fusheng's mine, he hired a foreman to lead the group. Wherever he went, the three men followed him. They were his assistants in managing the mine, or you could say his bodyguards.

Before long, the three men came out carrying four Type 56 rifles and two bags containing food, water, and some bullets for the road ahead.

Without a car, they can only drive themselves on their feet.

Led by Wu Fusheng and his three henchmen, the two walked upstream along the river.

According to them, when it gets hot, antelopes can't live without water, and the grass they like to eat along the river is also more abundant. Following the river is the easiest way to find antelope herds.

Zhou Jingming simply gave a perfunctory response.

The hunting of antelopes was just an excuse.

Now that Wu Fusheng and his three men have come out, that's the best thing.

The small river that flows through Wu Fusheng's mine is actually just a tributary of the main river. A group of people followed the tributary to the main river and then headed downstream.

Because other gold panning teams have already set up camp in some of the upstream gullies, and almost everyone panning for gold here hunts antelopes, the chances of finding antelope herds further upstream are too small.

And so, the group followed the river, looking around as they went. Unfortunately, by noon, they hadn't seen any antelopes except for some worn-out antelope footprints and droppings on the riverbank.

It's estimated that Wu Fusheng rarely participated in such events before. He seemed to have walked very little before he was already exhausted, with his clothes on the back soaked with sweat.

Upon spotting a small birch grove on the hillside by the river, they immediately clamored to go and rest there.

Just as the group approached the birch forest, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang, who were following behind the four, fired their five-and-a-half-shot guns.

bang bang bang...

Three gunshots rang out in quick succession, and the three men fell one after another.

Only Wu Fusheng remained frozen, asking in a trembling voice, "Brother, what are you doing?"

(End of this chapter)