My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 251 Cannot Stay Any Longer
After thinking for a while, Zhou Jingming told everyone to stay put and remain on the grassland.

The gold prospectors didn't seem to care much, since they were paid even when they were idle. After lunch, they would gather in small groups to chat, boast, or play cards. Some even set up a chessboard and started playing, looking quite relaxed.

Zhou Jingming then called Wu Yang and Zhao Li, and they rode their motorcycles to the checkpoint at the Fourth Mine Bridge to check the situation before making further arrangements.

On this trip, the three of them only brought hunting rifles and some dry food and drinks.

Knowing that Liang Mazi and the others would use the "Five or Six Halfs" as an excuse, this weapon became extremely sensitive. If they took it out again and it was seen, they would be in trouble.

On the contrary, hunting rifles are very common and can be bought in many places. Even if you see one, it will at most be confiscated because you don't have a gun license.

Anyway, Zhou Jingming got most of these things from other people, so losing a few isn't a big deal.

The motorcycle roared and zipped along the bumpy mountain road. This dirt road through the forest was not easy to travel, and the motorcycle could not go very fast.

It wasn't until we left the forest area and got back onto the original road that our speed picked up.

Wu Yang sat in the middle, right next to Zhou Jingming, while Zhao Li sat at the very back.

Hearing the wind whistling past his ears, Wu Yang asked, "Brother Zhou, what are your plans for this trip?"

As Zhou Jingming drove his motorcycle, he said, "That guy surnamed Liang isn't leaving me any way out. If we want to continue this business, we have to get rid of him."

The checkpoint has already started intercepting them. In the days to come, the mountain clearing team will come into the mountains every few days. If we don't deal with them, they will have plenty of opportunities to target us and make us unable to move.

In this situation, we either have to abandon the mining site and end this year's gold panning, and next year we won't be able to work in this area that he and his Qingshan team are in charge of.

However, at present, most of the mining sites in the pincer-shaped ravines are located near the bottom of the old riverbed, which is the time when the gold yield is the highest. We can't just leave them like this.

Actually, the Qingshan team was deliberately targeting us because they were led by Liang Mazi. He was too greedy and only wanted to take advantage of us. He felt he couldn't control us, so he tried to use underhanded tactics. He and I were already mortal enemies.

If he weren't so greedy and left enough room for maneuver when doing things, I wouldn't really care about the Qingshan team or anything like that; I'd still be willing to give them benefits. That way, everyone could make a profit.

Unfortunately, he kept pressuring me, so I couldn't stay any longer.

Perhaps it would be more sensible to have someone else as captain.

Zhao Li, who was sitting at the back, said a few words, but the whistling wind carried them away. Zhou Jingming, who was in front, couldn't hear her clearly, so he raised his voice and asked, "Zhao Li, what did you say? Speak louder, I can't hear you!"

Zhao Li raised his voice: "I said, when I was in the army, I always thought that wearing a uniform meant you should be kind and righteous. But after coming here to make money, I found that on some people, that uniform is just a tiger's skin or a wolf's skin. They are all ruthless people who will eat you without blinking an eye."

"So, last time when the mine was surrounded, you finally chose to open fire. It wasn't just those in uniform; everyone who came to the Gold Rush Valley was no pushover. This isn't like working in a factory, nine to five, where at most you'd fight over a position. In the gold rush, a moment's carelessness could mean life or death. You can't get away with being soft-hearted."

Here, I only have one piece of advice for you: Take life and death lightly, and if you're not convinced, then fight.

Zhou Jingming asked with a smile, "After you go back home for the New Year this year, will you come back to pan for gold next year?"

"Come on, why wouldn't you come? Going back would only mean farming, a life where you're neither dead nor alive, which is meaningless. I made my choice the day I chose to fire the gun."

Zhou Jingming was very satisfied with Zhao Li's answer.

Mining sites need people who can genuinely help with management, as well as shrewd, tough, and willing to fight.

Zhou Jingming felt that if they could come back to pan for gold next year, it would be enough to have the current group of people who had already worked together quite well.

Wu Yang then chimed in, "Brother Zhou, since we're going to deal with Liang Mazi, the sooner the better. If you ask me, their mountain clearing team is causing chaos and disorder everywhere they go. It's good to take advantage of the chaos to get things done."

"That's what I think too. That son of a bitch Liang Mazi is like a bomb to me that will explode if I touch him."

When I met him yesterday, if I had been carrying a Type 56 semi-automatic pistol, he probably would have taken care of me. Fortunately, I had a Mauser pistol, which is far less lethal and has a much shorter range than the Type 56 semi-automatic pistol. Moreover, there are quite a few pistols like that circulating on the black market in this region.

He probably felt that such an excuse wouldn't work on me, so he let me go for the time being. Otherwise, I might not have been able to get back to the mine.

Since it's a bomb, it needs to be defused as soon as possible.

If the Qingshan team goes to the Haiertes River, we'll follow them. If they can get people to do dirty work, so can I.

If I had died in a place like the Haiertes River, hundreds of kilometers away from the Haxiong Valley, where there were many more gold-digging teams and a more diverse population, no one would have associated his death with me.

Besides, given his greed over the past few years, I'm definitely not the only one who wants to kill him.

Zhou Jingming had already made up his mind. Ever since the bombing, he had been pondering how to get rid of this major threat.

Now that they've bullied us again, it's a fight to the death.

When the motorcycle was about three miles from the Fourth Mine Bridge, Zhou Jingming told Wu Yang and Zhao Li to get off. He then rode the motorcycle to a nearby ravine and left it there before returning.

The three of them stopped walking in conspicuous places on the main road and instead climbed up the hillside on the left. From the higher ground, it was easier to overlook the road below and find places with trees and rocks for cover.

Half an hour later, the three arrived at the fork in the road at the head of the Fourth Mine Bridge. They were in the pine forest directly opposite the checkpoint, observing the situation at the checkpoint.

It was already past 5 p.m. at this point.

The main road next to the checkpoint has been fenced off, and people with guns are guarding both sides of the road.

The Qingshan team probably won't be going into the mountains today.

All the horses were tethered in a row of stables next to the checkpoint and were being fed hay.

There weren't many people inside; Zhou Jingming guessed they were probably resting.

We arrived at Haxionggou just before dawn this morning, so we must have started our operation in the middle of the night.

Zhou Jingming wasn't in a hurry. He, Wu Yang, and Zhao Li went into the pine forest and broke off some branches and leaves to use as cushions. One of them stayed behind to keep watch while the other two took the time to rest.

It wasn't until nearly evening that Liang Mazi and the others came out; it was time for them to eat at the checkpoint.

During this time, Zhou Jingming also saw more than a dozen gold prospectors pass through the checkpoint, and all of them were stopped and searched. Several tractors and cars were also stopped.

The inspection was very thorough.

Zhou Jingming couldn't help but think that once the gold at the Haxionggou mine was all panned out, he wouldn't be able to take any gold with him when he left.

Fortunately, the surrounding area is full of mountains and deserts, and there are many places to detour. It's not that this is the only way out, it's just that it will be more difficult.

And so, the three of them spent the night in the pine forest on the mountain.

It wasn't until the next morning that the checkpoint became lively again.

After a night's rest, the Qingshan team members emerged from their mud-brick flat-roofed houses, ate breakfast, fed the horses, and prepared supplies for their journey into the mountains.

It wasn't until the sun rose that the group of about thirty people led out their horses, mounted them, and rode off toward the dirt road along the banks of the Haiertes River.

Last year, Zhou Jingming and Peng Yuanchao went to the Haiertes River to scout locations. When they arrived at the Gold Rush Valley, they had to stay overnight, as it was quite a distance.

Even if the horses could endure the long gallop, the riders couldn't. They wouldn't be able to enter the Gold Rush Valley until at least the afternoon.

Zhou Jingming was not in a hurry to go inside.

The gold rush valley over there has many ravines and covers a large area; it would take them seven or eight days to get out.

He told Zhao Li to go back and tell Li Guozhu and Peng Yuanchao to return to the mine and continue panning for gold; they couldn't just stay in the mountains waiting forever.

After Zhao Li left, he and Wu Yang, carrying hunting rifles, headed towards the Haiertes River through the mountains.

Among gold prospectors, there are very few who ride motorcycles; if one were to ride a motorcycle into the valley, it would be too conspicuous.

Zhou Jingming knew exactly what he was going to do, so naturally the more discreet he was, the better.

The two hurried along and finally arrived at the ferry crossing on the main river that evening.

There were quite a few people coming and going there today. Without them having to ask, they could tell the Qingshan team's movements from the grumbling and cursing of the crowd.

The Qingshan team's pursuit involved burning and driving away everything, which naturally angered both heaven and man.

Upon learning that the Qingshan team had gone in along the main river, Zhou Jingming was no longer in a hurry. He and Wu Yang had gone through the same route last year when they were fighting as guerrillas, so he knew the way well. He immediately chose the sunny slope, went in for a while, spent another night in the mountains, and followed them into the valley early the next morning.

(End of this chapter)