My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 256 is simpler than I imagined.

The task of hunting argali sheep was naturally entrusted to Old Liu, who had extensive hunting experience, and Batu, a local herdsman.

The next morning, the three women got up early to cook. After eating, Zhou Jingming said, "Uncle, Batu, you two, let's discuss how to prepare a plate of lamb?"

Old Liu then turned to Batu and said, "I've been in Altay for two years and I haven't seen any argali sheep yet. Batu should know more about this. Let's hear what he has to say first."

Old Liu did not claim to be an old hunter; he had never even seen it before, so how could he talk about fighting it?

We can only be more confident in doing anything if we are based on understanding.

After spending two years in Altay, Old Liu spent the first year looking for his enemies, visiting many places, but mostly heading towards the Gold Rush Valley. As far as Zhou Jingming knew, argali sheep generally lived in high-altitude areas, so it was normal that he hadn't seen one. Even though he had worked in geological exploration for several years in his previous life, he had only seen argali sheep a handful of times.

Batu thought for a moment: "Bighorn sheep are relatively easy to fight. They like to live in mountains with lots of rocks. Usually, when they are eating grass, one of the big sheep will be watching from a high place. They can detect any abnormalities from a distance. As soon as they feel danger, they will bleat and run in a whole flock. They can run and jump on cliffs and are very agile."

They usually live in groups, ranging from three to five individuals to dozens. The group I saw yesterday had at least thirty individuals, and they are mainly active in the morning and evening.

Actually, hunting argali sheep isn't difficult. With so many of them, even someone who isn't very good with a shotgun can find one by chance.

The key is to find them and get close to them; once you can get close, everything else is negotiable.

Old Liu nodded: "Then let's find them first and check out the terrain!"

"Then it's settled! Since you like to be active in the early morning and evening, let's set off earlier so we can see it more easily."

Zhou Jingming then looked at everyone: "Shunzai, Brother Li, Gao Jianjun, the three of you stay at the mine."

Upon hearing this arrangement, Gao Jianjun immediately exclaimed, "Brother Zhou, I want to go too!"

Zhou Jingming shook his head: "What's so great about hunting? It may seem fun, but it's actually hard and tiring work. If you have the time, go to the mine and set up those explosives, detonators, fuses, and stuff. We should be able to use them tomorrow."

Also, it's not appropriate for only the three of them to be at the mine. You all stay here and help keep watch, preventing anyone from sneaking into this area. And don't forget about the bear we saw yesterday.”

"This place is so remote, who would come here? As for Ha Xiong, he's not that brave! And those explosives, we can use them on the spot. It's dangerous to put them in there beforehand."

Gao Jianjun has always been lively and loves excitement, so he still insisted on going.

Zhou Jingming looked at the group and said, "If you want to go, that's fine too. Talk to them and see who's willing to replace you."

Gao Jianjun immediately looked at Sun Chenggui: "Brother Sun..."

Sun Chenggui resolutely refused: "No way!"

Gao Jianjun grinned, then looked at the always amiable Wang Dong, ran to his side, and hugged Wang Dong's arm, shaking it: "Brother Wang... Chef Wang, let's switch?"

Looking at his fawning expression, Wang Dong felt a little embarrassed to refuse: "I'll accept since you call me Chef Wang!"

Everyone was amused by Gao Jianjun.

Zhou Jingming then looked at Li Guozhu: "Brother Li, while we're out, you take Shunzai and Wang Dong and look around here. See if you can find a couple of usable machine casings. We should be able to use them when we're blasting ore."

Li Guozhu is the oldest person in the team besides Old Liu. He is not good at handling guns or hunting, but he is the most calm and steady. Rather than letting him run around aimlessly in the mountains, it is better to make some preparations here.

The matter was settled.

The group packed up their tools, grabbed ropes, and headed towards the spot where they had spotted the argali sheep the day before.

When the crowd arrived yesterday, the argali sheep herd was disturbed, and they are no longer on that grassy slope.

But with Jin Wang around, nothing could stump them.

They climbed up the grassy slope to the patch of bare rock. With so many argali sheep scattered around the area yesterday, it was easy to spot their droppings among the rocks and weeds.

Zhou Jingming pointed to some relatively fresh-looking sheep droppings, which should have been left over from yesterday, and called over Jin Wang.

It had never gone hunting with Zhou Jingming, but the few months it spent guarding the Haxionggou mine by Old Liu's side were not wasted.

Upon seeing Zhou Jingming's instructions, it immediately understood what he meant. It sniffed the air and, after Zhou Jingming gave the order to pursue, it immediately trotted up the hillside.

Everyone followed.

Jinwang jogged ahead and, when he reached the middle of the mountain, he climbed over from the right side.

In fact, the herd of argali sheep did not go very far.

Just as everyone climbed onto the mountain ridge, they saw a herd of argali sheep wandering around on the grassy slope opposite.

The sound of ram horns clashing together rang out, and the few people who had never seen a argali sheep before finally believed that these things really fought with great force, otherwise the sound of ram horns clashing wouldn't be so loud.

Batu said that argali sheep mate in winter, and it is still autumn now. In a few more days, the argali sheep will be even more aggressive. As long as you hear this sound in the mountains, you can find them by following the sound.

Winter grazing is difficult, and the sheep are mostly fed with grain and hay. When there is nothing else to do, the herders will get together to ride horses into the mountains to hunt and earn some extra income.

Argali sheep are a type of sheep. Winter is the best time for their fur to be made. Their fur is good for making mattresses or for selling. It is also a fur-bearing animal that herders can easily find in the mountains.

However, in the past two years, more people have been taking up guns, not just Kazakh herders, but also Uyghurs and Han Chinese, and many have come to hunt, resulting in a decrease in the number of argali sheep. The chances of seeing argali sheep are slim each winter when you go into the mountains.

As Batu said, there was indeed a sheep standing on a rock at the highest point of that hillside, looking around. The rest of the sheep, except for the two that were on the roof, were scattered on the grass among the rocks, grazing.

Old Liu surveyed the terrain: "The place is too open and there is no cover. It is not easy to get close. Only the woods at the edge of the grassland can provide cover. Once you enter the grassland, you will surely disturb them."

Gao Jianjun said with regret, "I should have brought some explosives with me. If I could sneak over there, light a bundle of explosives and throw it over there, bang... it would definitely take down a whole bunch of people."

Sun Chenggui joked from the side, "The old man said it himself, it won't be easy to get close. Besides, by the time you threw the explosives, these argali sheep would have run away long ago. Do you think they're as stupid as you? I heard you used to fish with explosives, didn't you even check if anyone was around? You're out hunting and you're still thinking about explosives. You shouldn't have come today."

Gao Jianjun rolled his eyes at him and said, "I'm a professional, damn it."

"A professional bomber!"

"you……"

Gao Jianjun was speechless for a while, then said, "When we go to blast the mine, I'll show you what I'm capable of, and I'll blast as many mines as you want."

"Don't make any noise!"

Zhou Jingming spoke up to stop the two from getting louder: "When you go hunting, the first thing you have to learn is to shut up..."

Then he looked at Old Liu and said, "Grandpa, we're just here to get some meat, not to sell the fur. We just need to get two or three. There are only a dozen or so of us, and we can't eat that much in a day. If we get two or three, it will last us a long time. If the weather doesn't allow it, we'll have to come out of the mountains. We can stay in the mountains for at most a month. I don't want to be trapped and die in the mountains because of the heavy snow."

"If it's just two or three..."

Old Liu examined the terrain of the opposite hillside again: "Here's what we'll do. Jinwang is unpredictable, and taking him there will easily disturb the sheep. You tie him up and let me lead him. You, Wuyang, and Zhao Li are all good marksmen. See that slightly higher pass on the opposite hillside? You guys sneak over there and block that pass. I reckon that if the sheep are disturbed, they'll most likely run away from there."

Batu and the other two will move diagonally downwards to encircle and bombard you, blocking your path in your direction.

Zhou Jingming considered it briefly and nodded: "Okay, let's do it this way."

After he finished speaking, he called Jin Wang, took a rope, tied a noose around Jin Wang, handed it to Old Man Liu, and then called Wu Yang and Zhao Li, carrying the five or six pieces of wood down to the bottom of the valley.

When Jin Wang saw Zhou Jingming leave, he struggled twice, trying to follow, but Old Liu held him tightly and he couldn't break free.

It now weighs over 140 pounds and is quite strong. It pulled so hard that Old Liu had to take a few steps and had to lean to keep it afloat.

Seeing that Old Man Liu was having some trouble, Peng Yuanchao hurriedly went to help, but was frightened away by Jin Wang's fierce howls.

Last year, when he was feeding meat to Jinwang on the small peninsula, he was almost bitten, and he has been wary of this dog ever since.

He knew very well that Jinwang was a creature that would bite people to death, and only its owner, Zhou Jingming, and Old Man Liu, who had led it to stay in the mountains for several months, could control it.

Fortunately, once Zhou Jingming went down the hillside and his figure was hidden by the fir forest below, Jin Wang stopped arguing.

Zhou Jingming and his two companions acted swiftly, and after more than twenty minutes, they had reached the bottom of the ditch and were below the grassy slope on the opposite side.

Old Liu had been watching the whole time, and only then did he call the others to follow him down into the valley.

Zhou Jingming and his two companions continued climbing up the pass, following the fir forest along the edge of the grassy slope.

They dared not appear on the grassy slope, for fear of being spotted by the sentry argali sheep, which would cause the flock to run away and all their efforts to be in vain.

The trees provided cover, which made a difference. The sheep couldn't see the three people. Even if they heard a slight noise, they would just look up and continue grazing if they couldn't see anything.

The mountains were too large; they could be seen at a glance, but it would take quite a while to walk through them. After about half an hour, Zhou Jingming and the other two reached the mouth of the valley. In that area where there were some rocks and trees, they could see the sheep below. They found some rocks and trees for cover and crouched down.

Climbing a slope can't be done as quickly as going downhill. When Old Liu led Peng Yuanchao and the others down to the bottom of the valley, they didn't rush out of the forest. Instead, they waited for a while. When it comes to things that require coordination, there always needs to be enough preparation time.

Estimating that the time was about right, Old Man Liu instructed Peng Yuanchao and the others to separate about thirty or forty meters apart. After they were ready, he untied Jin Wang's rope and made two "hoohoo" sounds at him. Jin Wang immediately darted out of the woods and rushed towards the flock of sheep above.

The group immediately rushed out of the woods, shouting as they circled around the flock of argali sheep.

The commotion suddenly escalated.

Caught off guard, the sheep instinctively ran uphill a few steps, then stopped and looked down. After seeing Jin Wang and Peng Yuanchao and the others rushing up, they turned and ran diagonally upwards.

Just as Old Liu had predicted, a large flock of argali sheep indeed rushed towards the pass.

Zhou Jingming and the others had already picked up their five or six half-cups.

When the flock of sheep got closer, Zhou Jingming fired the first shot, knocking down the leading argali sheep, which weighed at least 200 pounds.

Wu Yang and Zhao Li also fired their shots in succession.

Needless to say, the two men were skilled enough to be of average skill, let alone with such a large flock of argali sheep running towards them. As the gun fired, four argali sheep fell to the ground in succession.

Wu Yang's shot hit a string of candied hawthorns, taking down two with a single shot.

Things were simpler than I thought.

(End of this chapter)