My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 223 Another underhanded move
Upon arriving at Tiemaike, Zhou Jingming was no longer in a hurry to return to Haxionggou.

Neither he nor Wu Yang wanted to take all that gold back to the mine.

He didn't want more people to know what he had done on this trip. The gold he had worked so hard to bring back couldn't possibly be shared by everyone.

After finding an inn to stay in, the first thing the two did was divide up the gold.

Of the twenty-three gold bars, about eight kilograms of bran, and the more than 500,000 yuan, Wu Yang only took ten gold bars.

Zhou Jingming wanted to give him more, but he refused.

According to him, he knew exactly how much he should take. Originally, Zhou Jingming had been in charge of this matter, and he had only been responsible for dealing with two or three people along the way, all of whom were doing odd jobs. Zhou Jingming was the one who made the decisions. He felt that taking ten gold bars was a bit excessive, not to mention that there were also some gold coins, gold bracelets, gold rings, and some money that had been found in his bag.

Sometimes, Zhou Jingming felt that Wu Yang was actually quite contradictory. He was very greedy when he searched Wu Yang after killing him, but at the same time, he was always very restrained.

But it was precisely because of this that Zhou Jingming truly felt at ease with him.

Because he knows how to behave appropriately and when to advance or retreat.

Excessive greed or insincere refusal are factors to be wary of.

That evening, Wu Yang insisted on treating everyone to a meal. There were so many valuables left in the inn, he couldn't just leave them there. So, he went out by himself, went to a restaurant, wrapped a lot of roasted meat in brown paper, and also brought back some drinks.

The two sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed) and ate and drank slowly for quite some time. As for the wine, they only took small sips and dared not drink too much.

The next morning, Zhou Jingming left Wu Yang to guard the money, while he took the thirteen gold bars and eight kilograms of bran, rode his motorcycle, and headed to Death Valley early.

This is actually not a particularly long journey.

Last time he went, he came out of Haxionggou and arrived at Death Valley around noon. This time, he left from Tiemaike and arrived in about two hours.

After confirming that everything was in order, he followed the river to the rocky cliff where the gold was hidden. He then sealed the gold and gold bars in an oil paper bag and placed them together with the gold he had buried before.

Those gold bars must have been made by a blacksmith. Each bar weighs about one kilogram, so thirteen bars would weigh thirteen kilograms. Adding about eight kilograms of bran, the gold hidden by Zhou Jingming would amount to about seventy-one kilograms.

Is this much gold?

Or perhaps in a few decades, when the price of gold rises to six or seven hundred, it will be worth tens of millions. But now, according to market prices, it's only worth a little over two million, less than three million.

Not much really.

Zhou Jingming felt that he should continue to work harder.

After all, in the country, the time when you can really make money through gold mining is only a few years.

Perhaps due to the hot weather, the sulfur smell here was even stronger and somewhat pungent. He didn't linger here any longer, and after hiding his things, he immediately rode away on his motorcycle.

Back at the hostel in the afternoon, Wu Yang took over riding a motorcycle to Zangjin.

As for the 500,000 yuan, Zhou Jingming naturally took it back to pay his salary.

Wu Yang didn't return until evening.

It was already this late, and Zhou Jingming didn't plan to rush back to Haxionggou. He intended to spend the night in Tiemaike and return early the next morning.

The most important things were already in place, but Zhou Jingming wasn't too worried about the hundreds of thousands of yuan. When he left, he locked the door and went to a restaurant with Wu Yang.

I ate a lot of barbecue last night, and I'm still feeling a bit irritable.

Once at the restaurant, the two ordered some braised chicken, fish, and a serving of hand-grabbed rice.

While waiting for the food to be served, someone lifted the curtain and came in.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Jingming quickly stood up and greeted him, "Oh, Brother Liang... you've come to eat too, please have a seat."

The person who came in was Liang Mazi, dressed in plain clothes, and there was also a gold prospector whom I didn't recognize.

When Liang Mazi saw Zhou Jingming, he paused for a moment, but continued to walk towards Zhou Jingming without sitting down. He asked curiously, "You weren't panning for gold in the valley, so why did you come here?"

Zhou Jingming also found his question strange: "Brother Liang must have gone to Haxionggou to clear the mountains again, otherwise he wouldn't know I wasn't in the valley... Brother Liang, you didn't make things difficult for my two mining sites, did you?"

Zhou Jingming lowered his voice when he said the second half of his sentence.

Liang Mazi raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice, "Don't worry about what you promised."

Zhou Jingming immediately laughed, took out a cigarette from his pocket, handed one to Liang Mazi, and lit it for him: "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Liang. It's rare to meet in Tiemaike, and it's an opportunity. Brother Liang, do me the honor of having a drink together?"

Liang Mazi looked back at the gold prospectors who had come in with him, hesitated slightly, and then sat down on the bench.

Zhou Jingming also sized up the gold prospector and asked Liang Mazi, "Brother Liang's friend?"

Liang Mazi nodded: "His surname is Hou, and his name is Hou Xiangdong. He's a fortress on the other side of the Haiertes River." Zhou Jingming greeted him with a smile: "Oh... so you're Fortress Hou. Please have a seat. He's a friend of Brother Liang's, and also my friend. I hope Brother Hou will take care of me if we meet in the valley in the future."

As he said this, Zhou Jingming cupped his hands in a humble manner.

After Hou Xiangdong sat down, Zhou Jingming went to greet the shopkeeper and asked him to add a serving of mutton stew with flatbread and a serving of naan bread with meat, as well as some extra drinks.

Lamb stew with flatbread is a very authentic dish in northern Xinjiang. A layer of flatbread is placed on top of the stewed lamb. When it is served, it looks like there is only one flatbread, but in fact, the tender lamb is hidden under the flatbread, making it very delicious.

The naan-wrapped meat is also quite good. It uses high-quality mutton, which is stewed, then seasoned and reduced to a thick sauce, and finally stuffed into a naan. It is very soft, sticky and sweet.

Adding the braised chicken and fish we ordered earlier, it's more than enough for four people; it's quite a feast.

When the dishes were served, Zhou Jingming frequently toasted the two of them, and naturally they also whispered a lot of things. He asked Liang Mazi about the recent mission of the Qingshan team and asked Hou Xiangdong about the general situation of the Haiertes River Gold Panning Valley.

Liang Mazi acted quite normally, but Hou Xiangdong seemed very uneasy, and his eyes darted away when he occasionally glanced at Zhou Jingming.

The meal didn't last long. Liang Mazi and Hou Xiangdong ate in a hurry, only about ten minutes, drank two ounces of wine, ate a few bites of food, and then left in a rush.

Zhou Jingming was away and unaware of what had happened in Haxionggou. He just felt that Hou Xiangdong and Liang Mazi getting together and leaving in such a hurry must mean they had something to hide.

But Zhou Jingming thought this was normal and didn't want to pay too much attention to it, since there were plenty of people who wanted to curry favor with Liang Mazi.

After he and Wu Yang finished their meal at the restaurant, they paid the bill and returned to the inn.

Unbeknownst to the two, someone else had been quietly following them. After watching them enter the inn, the person immediately rushed back to the edge of town to meet up with Hou Xiangdong and Liang Mazi: "They're staying at the Ayiguli Inn."

"Aygul Inn...Moonflower!"

Liang Mazi repeated it in a low voice, then looked at Hou Xiangdong: "Didn't you keep saying you couldn't find this Zhou guy? Now that we know, there are only two of them. This is a good opportunity to strike."

"Captain Liang, this is in town. It's not appropriate to make a move here... isn't it?"

Hou Xiangdong looked troubled.

"Oh, I didn't realize you had moments of fear. You gold prospectors always say that fortune favors the bold, so you're scared now?"

Liang Mazi scoffed: "With your cowardly appearance, it's no wonder you only dare to hide in the ravine and not dare to make a move in the inn. Surely you can do it on the road? Judging from their appearance, they look travel-worn and must have just come back from outside. They must be heading back to Haxionggou... Do I need to think of a solution?"

Damn it, if I'd known you guys were this useless, I shouldn't have bothered with you.

Hou Xiangdong turned to the side, looking annoyed, but dared not show it in front of Liang Mazi. He was probably thinking to himself: Who the hell would want to do this kind of stupid thing?

Finally, he thought for a moment, then forced a smile at Liang Mazi: "Captain Liang, my brother and I aren't very good with guns. If we were good, we could ambush someone on the way and get a shot off. But even if you gave me two guns, I wouldn't be confident of hitting them."

The only means we have is explosives... So, my brother and I will leave now and guard the road to Haxionggou. When they come, we'll throw explosives at them.

All I can say is that I did my best.

Liang Mazi glanced at the two men, looking at them with a disappointed expression. He sighed slightly and said, "This is a rare opportunity. Make the fuse shorter, preferably so it explodes as soon as it's thrown out, giving them no chance to react. If that doesn't work, I'll have to find someone else."

Of course, there's nothing I can do to help you with your affairs. Don't come to me with anything in the future.

After saying these words that put immense pressure on the two men, Liang Mazi turned and left.

Hou Xiangdong and his brother exchanged a glance, then looked at Liang Mazi walking away, muttered a curse under their breath, and hurriedly left as well.

Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang slept soundly that night.

Since they had a motorcycle, it wouldn't take too long to get back to Haxionggou, so the two of them slept until they naturally woke up.

When I woke up, it was already past ten in the morning.

They tied the sack of money to the motorcycle, rode together, ate a bowl of soup and rice at a roadside stall, and then rode back home.

With the slightly warm morning breeze blowing along the way, Zhou Jingming was in a great mood and rode his motorcycle very fast, kicking up a trail of dust.

More than an hour later, the two rode their motorcycle across the Fourth Mine Bridge, turned into the direction of Haxionggou, and gradually entered the forest area.

The mountain path was not as easy to walk as the pasture trail, so he had to slow down.

Just as they were crossing a valley and climbing halfway up the hillside, a rustling sound suddenly came from the woods.

Immediately afterwards, something was thrown out of the woods.

When Zhou Jingming suddenly saw that thing, he was first stunned, then he saw it emitting sparks and thick smoke, and he was greatly alarmed. He quickly turned the car around and rushed down the hillside into the woods.

Just as it crashed into the bushes beside it, a loud bang echoed through the valley.

(End of this chapter)