My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 224 Trouble comes from the mouth
Zhou Jingming felt as if he had been pushed by a tremendous force, thrown off the motorcycle, and crashed into another clump of bushes below the hillside, his head buzzing.

He vaguely saw his motorcycle slide off the hillside a short distance before crashing into a large larch tree trunk, falling to the ground with its wheels still spinning.

Seeing Wu Yang roll down the hillside for a few meters, crawl for a few seconds, and wait until the blasted rocks and dirt had mostly settled, he immediately stood up.

He also turned over and stood up, instinctively looking up at the woods on the slope, where he saw two people darting out from the woods above the road.

He recognized one of them as Hou Xiangdong, the one he had eaten with in Tiemaike yesterday, who had entered the restaurant with Liang Mazi...

Then he felt a wave of dizziness, his body fell uncontrollably to the ground, and his consciousness went dark.

When Zhou Jingming woke up again, he saw that it was already evening and he found himself lying in a hospital bed with Wu Yang, whose face had been simply bandaged, sitting beside him.

Upon seeing Zhou Jingming wake up, he quickly came over and asked, "Brother Zhou, how are you?"

Zhou Jingming felt a throbbing pain in his head. He frowned slightly and reached up to touch his head, only to find it wrapped in bandages. "Where am I?"

"At the clinic in Tiemaike!"

Wu Yang looked worried: "You've been unconscious for a day and a night."

Zhou Jingming tried to move his hands and feet and found that he could exert force, but his head was throbbing badly. However, he knew that the pain was a good thing: "I should be fine."

"It's nothing serious yet... When the explosion happened, you were hit on the head by flying rocks and bled badly. I thought..."

Wu Yang did not continue speaking.

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "I'm awake now, I'm fine. But how are you?"

Wu Yang shook his head: "No matter what, it's good that you're awake. I'm luckier than you; I only have minor injuries, otherwise I wouldn't be here to take care of you! Fortunately, you managed to turn the motorcycle downhill in time and go a few meters ahead. If you had reacted any slower, we would both be dead here this time."

Looking at his bloodshot eyes, Zhou Jingming knew without a doubt that Wu Yang had been by his side the whole time and probably hadn't even closed his eyes.

He just smiled at Wu Yang and said, "Wu Yang, we're brothers who've been through thick and thin together this time."

At this moment, Wu Yang truly became a trustworthy person in Zhou Jingming's heart, someone he could entrust his life to.

He then asked, "I think I saw them rushing down, what happened next?"

"They came down, and I went up to them and killed one of them. The one named Hou Xiangdong saw that things were not going well, so he turned around and ran into the woods."

I hadn't planned to let him go, but when I saw that you were in bad shape, I couldn't care less about chasing him. I just pushed the motorcycle onto the road, strapped you to my back, and carried you to Timbuk as quickly as possible.

"Those guns aren't convenient to bring into the hospital, so I didn't bring them. I hid them in the woods. I only brought the money, and also a double-barreled shotgun."

Walking down the street with a hunting rifle, whether or not you have a gun license, hardly anyone will question you.

But if you're carrying a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, then the situation is different. After all, it's a military weapon, and it won't easily fall into the hands of ordinary people. Even militiamen don't have many opportunities to get their hands on a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle. Besides, this is in the northern border region, a place that has always been rife with conflict.

Zhou Jingming nodded slightly: "I've survived this ordeal... Damn it, that son of a bitch really doesn't keep his word."

"Brother Zhou, what do you mean?" Wu Yang asked, puzzled.

Zhou Jingming thought for a moment: "This is the first time I've met Hou Xiangdong. We have no past grudges or recent conflicts. Why do you think he would do something so ruthless to me?"
In this Gold Rush Valley, it's either a fight for mining sites or a scramble for gold. I can't think of any other reason why someone I didn't know would try to kill me.

However, Hou Xiangdong was different. He had been to a restaurant with Liang Mazi, which gave me a third possibility: Liang Mazi had asked him to do it.

"But why would Liang Mazi do this?"

Wu Yang frowned as well: "In this Gold Rush Valley, how many people can give him so much gold at once? Shouldn't he treat our mine like a god of wealth?"

"God of Wealth?"

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "I told you about Liang Mazi's character before. Even if you are the God of Wealth, you have to be an obedient God of Wealth to him. That time when he came to our mine, I spoke back to him. He probably felt that he couldn't control me, so he thought of suppressing me... Damn it, I got into trouble because of what I said."

After a quick thought, he had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

Wu Yang thought for a while and said, "If that's the case, it is indeed possible."

Zhou Jingming is now more worried about the situation at the mining site: "I don't know how things are at the mining site."

As he said this, what he was thinking more about was: Liang Mazi, if it really was you who had Hou Xiangdong do this, then it's time to deal with you. That night, Zhou Jingming stayed in the clinic. He had already woken up and didn't need Wu Yang to keep watch over him anymore. Wu Yang went to the street to get some food, and after filling his stomach, he leaned against the bedside and soon fell fast asleep. Clearly, he was too tired to stay awake any longer.

Zhou Jingming remained conscious, still thinking about the bombing.

The next morning, after receiving an anti-inflammatory IV drip and inquiring about his condition, Zhou Jingming was told that it was a moderate injury and not particularly serious. He was only prescribed some anti-inflammatory medication and bandage powder that needed to be changed. He insisted on being discharged from the hospital.

This time, the two simply ate something on the street, and Wu Yang rode the motorcycle with both rearview mirrors destroyed, carrying Zhou Jingming towards the Haxionggou mining site.

In the open field, you can see far into the distance, so there's nothing to worry about. However, after crossing the Fourth Mine Bridge and entering the forest area, the two became very cautious. They didn't ride the motorcycle very fast and spent most of their time observing the woods on both sides of the road, fearing that something might happen again.

Upon reaching the site of the explosion, Zhou Jingming saw the large crater on the road and secretly rejoiced that he had reacted quickly enough to leave the center of the blast. Otherwise, he would be nothing more than scattered fragments of flesh and blood, dead beyond any doubt.

The motorcycle stopped briefly here. Wu Yang went downhill, carried back the guns that were packed in sacks, tied them to his money bag, and continued riding the motorcycle towards Haxionggou.

Fortunately, no further problems arose along the way.

The two successfully reached the hillside opposite Haxionggou. Standing on the high ground, they could see the people slowly digging for minerals in the pincer-shaped ravine, while two water pumps roared by the river.

The most eye-catching thing was the felt drying on the grassy slope, which covered a considerable area.

Having probably heard the sound of the motorcycle, Jinwang first stood up from the grassy slope, barked a few times at the hillside where Zhou Jingming and the others were, and then took off running towards the poplar grove by the river.

Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang met Jinwang at the bridgehead. After he got out of the car, Jinwang ran around him, whimpering as if expressing its longing.

As it leaped up, Zhou Jingming quickly used his arm to give it a place to rest its front legs, and then scratched its neck and rubbed its head.

This big guy is very strong now; when he stands up, his head can reach Zhou Jingming's chin.

It also took the opportunity to stick out its tongue and lick Zhou Jingming's face a few times, making Zhou Jingming's face covered in saliva.

Su Xiulan arrived right after.

She had just emerged from the poplar grove, her face full of joy, when she saw the bandage wrapped around Zhou Jingming's head. She froze for a moment, then quickly ran towards Zhou Jingming and asked with concern, "Brother... what happened to your head?"

Zhou Jingming smiled slightly at her: "It's nothing, just a minor injury."

The woman who was picked up has now fully adapted to life at the mine. Because she has worked under the scorching sun a lot, she looks much darker. However, the living conditions at the mine are no worse than those in her hometown, thanks to Zhou Jingming's management. She even seems to have gained some weight, and her cheeks have a healthier rosy glow.

Zhou Jingming put Jin Wang down and reached out to pat her head. This intimate gesture made Su Xiulan feel a little shy, but she quickly became relaxed and even seemed to enjoy it.

Wu Yang looked at the two of them, smiled slightly, and rode his motorcycle across the bridge first, returning to the mine.

Zhou Jingming watched him enter the woods before taking Su Xiulan's hand and looking at it. Her hands were fair, with long, slender, and beautiful fingers.

However, having worked at the mine for so long, his palms developed thick calluses.

He casually asked, "How's the situation at the mine while Wu Yang and I were away?"

Su Xiulan looked down at her hand being held by Zhou Jingming, momentarily lost in thought. This was the first time Zhou Jingming had made such an intimate gesture towards her in public. When she heard Zhou Jingming's question, she didn't hear him clearly and only instinctively let out an "Ah".

Zhou Jingming asked again.

Su Xiulan seemed somewhat worried: "Things have been fine lately, nothing's happened. But a few days after you and Wu Yang went out, those three people that Grandpa Liu first discovered came back. One of them sneaked up to the mine in the middle of the night with explosives, probably intending to blow up our mine. Jin Wang discovered them first, and Grandpa Liu and Zhao Li kept watch. In the end, they chased them to the opposite hillside and even lit the explosives..."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jingming frowned immediately: "There were no casualties, were there?"

"No, that's not true. That guy got entangled with Jin Wang and somehow ended up blowing himself up. Grandpa Liu and Brother Li almost got into an argument about it. Brother Li said that Grandpa Liu should have shot him when he got close to the mine, while Grandpa Liu wanted to find out more about the three men..."

Su Xiulan tried her best to explain the situation clearly: "Later, Grandpa Liu went with the remaining two men overnight, and they didn't return for four days. He said that the three of them were at a mining site in the Haiertes River Gold Rush Valley, and the leader was a foreman named Hou..."

"Hou Xiangdong?"

"Yes, it's Hou Xiangdong... Brother, you know him?"

"Now we know each other!"

Zhou Jingming pointed to his head: "The injury on my head is thanks to him."

(End of this chapter)