My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 237 Using Money as a Bargaining Strategist
Unlike the herders, who are used to eating the meat of horses, cattle, and sheep, and drinking milk such as cow's milk and sheep's milk, the tastes and smells they are accustomed to in their daily lives are not so easy to accept in Wuyang.

When Wu Yang returned to the pincer-shaped ravine mining site with Zhou Jingming, he lifted the lid of the plastic jug containing goat milk, sniffed it, and looked somewhat disgusted: "It smells fishy. How can we drink this stuff back home? I even saw wool when it was being filled. Also, when Nara was milking a goat, the goat's tail jerked, and some goat droppings rolled out. She was a little slow in pulling her hand back, and a few of them fell in..."

"Could you... please stop talking?"

Zhou Jingming frowned upon hearing this: "They poured in that milk too?"

Wu Yang nodded: "There was already quite a bit of goat milk in the bucket at that time, so you couldn't bear to throw it away!"

Zhou Jingming sighed: "It's nothing. Do you remember when Brother Peng vomited up sheep droppings while drinking water? Humans aren't necessarily cleaner than sheep. Sheep eat all kinds of grass and aren't afraid of disease. It's just a few sheep droppings... Take it back and boil it. It should be fine. Herdsmen have been doing this for generations. We can do it too. Fresh milk is a good thing."

"Don't tell them when you get back. Cook it up; anyone who wants some can have some. Don't let it go to waste if they can't finish it. In the mountains, there aren't many things better than goat's milk."

Wu Yang laughed: "Anyway, I definitely won't be able to drink it then."

Zhou Jingming glanced at him and said, "Brother, tell me honestly, have you met with Nara alone in private? You two were exchanging glances, it doesn't seem like you haven't had any dealings before."

"You... figured it out?"

Wu Yang was a little embarrassed: "I haven't seen her much this year, but I did meet her a few times last year."

"Last year... you really hid it well."

Zhou Jingming looked surprised: "Where is it? How come I've never found it before?"

Wu Yang scratched his head: "In the poplar grove by the river!"

"grass!"

Zhou Jingming cursed, "No wonder you were so distracted when you heard about Nara's accident. Turns out you've been hooking up for a while. Confess, did you sleep with her?"

"No no……"

Wu Yang waved his hands repeatedly: "It's just holding hands and hugging!"

"You acted quickly, and you're really dishonest!"

Zhou Jingming then asked, "You really haven't seen her this year?"

"I've...seen it a few times!"

Wu Yang said hesitantly, "During my rest time, I would wander around the mountains, ostensibly to hunt, but actually to see her."

"I knew it! You always said you'd go for a walk in the mountains whenever you had a break, but I never saw you bring back any nonsense. Turns out you went hunting for women."

Zhou Jingming shook his head and sighed: "I saw Batu giving me a lot of meaningful glances today. I reckon he probably knows about your relationship. Anyway, you have to make the decision yourself. Don't ruin a perfectly good girl."

"Brother Zhou, could you please not tell them about this when we get back?"

"I don't have that kind of time."

As they walked back, talking, Wu Yang asked about something else: "Brother Zhou, do you think the mining site Batu mentioned is real?"

Zhou Jingming thought for a moment: "I think it's very likely. People have been panning for gold in Altay since the Ming and Qing dynasties, and many Russians have also crossed the border to mine illegally."

After liberation, the two sides cooperated, just like with the mica mine. Do you remember the old Maozizhuang I told you about? In those years, they not only cooperated in mining mica and other things, but also in gold mining.

They also collaborated during the Republican era.

Based on what Batu said, there are houses and machines in that area, and it is very likely that it has been heavily mined.

I estimate that such mining is mostly extracting lode gold. Those pieces where you can see visible gold are likely mined from the mine shafts, but for some other reason, they have stopped mining.

When I was in the exploration team, I visited several such places based on records, searching for gold in the tailings.

There are still several such mining sites that are state-owned mines.

It's possible there are still undiscovered sites. If such a place really exists, we'll be rich.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yang immediately became interested: "What do you mean?"

"If a mineral vein is worth mining with machines, and the extracted ore contains gold, isn't that like getting something for free?"

Zhou Jingming smiled slightly: "This is God feeding us. Anyway, after the gold rush season ends, I was planning to go back to the mines. Perfect, we can stay there this winter and make a lot of things. Last year we only worked for a short time and got so much gold. How much will we get in one winter?"

Wu Yang grinned as well: "It sounds wonderful. Mining for lode gold definitely yields much more gold than panning for placer gold. But... can Batu really let go of his sheep?"

“What’s there to be so worried about? Batu said that entrusting the sheep to relatives is a good option.”

Zhou Jingming explained, "He had no other choice. His parents are old, his sister is getting married, and he is the main breadwinner. If he has to take care of his flock of sheep every day, life will be really difficult."

Kazakh herders live in places divided into winter dwellings, spring dwellings, summer dwellings, and autumn dwellings according to the four seasons. Generally, they live in one place for spring and autumn. In winter, they live in dugouts. If they live in forest areas, they live in wooden houses for the winter. In other seasons, they live in yurts. Several households are called an Awule.

Awule is composed of families with blood ties, living in areas where grasslands are connected, facilitating cooperative production and migration together.

Just like the land was distributed to individual households, the herders were also allocated grasslands.

He let his relatives manage his sheep, and of course, his relatives could also use his own pasture.

In reality, the livestock belonging to herders are not necessarily their own. They may be cattle and sheep that the herders gather from urban households, raise from spring to autumn, and then return to the livestock owners in winter.

Many of the wealthier herders have settled in the county town, and their pastures can be rented out... Of course, their cattle and sheep can also be raised by others.

Batu's willingness to say this shows that he has indeed given the gold rush serious thought.

Wu Yang then asked, "Can I take Nora with me to pan for gold?"

Seeing his eagerness, Zhou Jingming laughed: "Don't ask me about that. You should ask Batu and Nara's parents. If you really want to take her with you, you'd better marry her. That way, it will be legitimate."

Wu Yang was at a loss: "How should I put it?"

Zhou Jingming thought for a moment and gave an answer: "Money, money is the best way to talk things out. You've been to his house and seen his living conditions. Don't be fooled by the fact that he eats meat and drinks milk; just look at the household items and you'll know he's very poor."

The yurts of wealthy herder families are very elaborate, with different fabrics cut into various patterns inside, and the felt draped around the perimeter is also decorated.

The walls and fences were covered with tapestries and patterned felts, and the floor was covered with patterned felts, embroidered felts, and carpets. In addition, the latticework and pillars of the yurts were painted, and the wealthier ones were inlaid with carved bone and silver ornaments.

Look at Batu's family, they don't have any of those things.

After listening, Wu Yang laughed and said, "I understand!"

Zhou Jingming patted him on the shoulder: "I think Batu is trying to set you two up. Maybe he's just waiting for your money. As long as you're willing to spend the money, it should be easy to make it happen!"

"When I get back from the mountains, I'll take some time to prepare the money. Then... Brother Zhou, will you come with me?"

"This is a small matter. I just wanted to ask you, have you thought this through?"

"I've thought it through. I like this kind of girl. She's beautiful and unique, completely different from Han Chinese girls. I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Alright, I'll go with you then!"

Zhou Jingming took a deep breath and thought to himself: I hope this isn't just a passing fancy.

It has to be said that the beautiful girls of the Kazakh ethnic group are indeed different and can easily make people's hearts flutter. Zhou Jingming was no exception. When he first saw Nara, he also found her dazzling. However, as someone who had been through it all, he knew better what he really wanted and did not want to cause trouble because of this.

"By the way, don't tell anyone about Batu leading us to see the mining site this time. The people at our mining site are a mixed bunch, some of whom you brought yourselves, and some of whom you recruited. If there really is such a good mining site, I don't want it to be divided up by others like it was in Haxionggou. The fewer people who know about this, the better."

"it is good!"

(End of this chapter)