My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 65 Brawl
It's not Old Tang's gang!
Nobody was carrying a gun...

Zhou Jingming had already raised the gun he was carrying, but then put it down again.

Seeing the three hurriedly emerge from their dugout, Xu Youliang and the others knew something was wrong outside. They put down their bowls, chopsticks, and food and followed suit, watching the gold prospectors coming up the riverbank from afar.

Seeing their stance, the novices, who hadn't experienced much combat, realized what might happen and their faces became tense. Nevertheless, they grabbed iron bars, shovels, and pickaxes to be on guard.

From the moment they started gathering people and forming the team until they entered the mountains, Peng Yuanchao told them countless times about the fights that had taken place in the Gold Rush Valley and the dangers involved. He even asked them more than once if they would dare to fight back if someone came to seize their territory and steal their gold.

Before seeing the gold, people might not have taken it seriously, treating it merely as a source of amusement or a story for casual conversation. Even if they had thoughts about it, they would keep quiet, because no one was stupid.

But they had been officially panning for gold for more than a month, and Zhou Jingming clearly remembered that Sun Chenggui and his group of novices had 42 grams of gold in their hands.

At the current bank purchase price of 16 yuan per gram, that's 672 yuan. If you sell it to gold buyers on the black market for 30 yuan per gram, that's 1300 or 1400 yuan.

This is just the harvest from the past month or so. Considering that migrant workers earn only ten or so yuan a month, even if they sold it to the bank, those forty-two grams of gold would be worth at least three years of their labor.

If you work for half a year and bring the money from selling the gold back home, it means you'll have a new house, be able to get married, and buy livestock...

They can live a peaceful and good life for several years to come. If they have a bit of brains, they can use this as a basis to start a business and maybe even make a fortune.

Although they were a bunch of illiterate people who could barely read a few words, they all had their own plans.

How can I allow others to shatter my blissful dream?

Their desire to protect the gold they had acquired, and to safeguard the small peninsula as a goldmine, ultimately outweighed their fear of fighting.

Because the future rewards are something worth fighting for.

Moreover, when selecting manpower, those chosen are all able-bodied young men who can exert great strength, and their inner courage is most easily aroused.

Of course, not everyone was so brave. After Zhou Jingming came out, he paid close attention to their reactions. He noticed Cao Qidong, who had followed him out, picking up a weapon. Cao Qidong seemed to be a young and vigorous man, but in the blink of an eye, he had already hidden behind a group of people without leaving a trace. His eyes were rolling around, making him look sneaky.

He suddenly noticed Zhou Jingming looking at him, and his expression became somewhat flustered. He forced himself to remain calm and turned to look at the group of people rushing towards him.

This made Zhou Jingming feel even more that Cao Qidong was unreliable.

In the blink of an eye, the group of fifteen people had quickly approached.

Seeing that they were only about ten meters away, Peng Yuanchao took two steps forward and shouted at them, "Guys, what are you doing? Stop... all of you, stop right there... what do you want?"

The group was led by a burly man with a shaved head and a thick beard on his fleshy face.

Perhaps to make his imposing physique more intimidating, he wore only a vest, his chest and breasts exposed. As he walked quickly, the fat on his abdomen jiggled, making him look like a tall and strong bear.

As if he hadn't heard Peng Yuanchao's question or his shout, he took the lead and suddenly charged at Peng Yuanchao, slamming the shovel he was holding down on his head.

Whether it's to seize territory or to grab gold, they're serious about it.

In this day and age, Gold Rush Valley is largely a lawless place. If you really want to take action, no one will waste time talking nonsense. Just start fighting, knock people down, and break up the team first.

In Zhou Jingming's memory, the Gold Administration Bureau was not established until 1988. Occasionally, someone would investigate things in the mountains, but they wouldn't really take charge because they simply couldn't manage it all.

This is precisely why it's the best time to make money, and one of the reasons why Zhou Jingming chose to come to Altay to seek his fortune immediately.

Seeing the other man's ferocity, Peng Yuanchao knew that a blow from the shovel would be fatal. He quickly jumped aside to avoid it. As a veteran gold miner, the scar on his chest was proof enough that he was a man who dared to fight. Since the other man didn't say a word and showed no mercy, aiming straight for his head, he didn't hold back either. After jumping away, before the bearded man could retaliate, he swung his shovel back at him.

After using these shovels to dig temporary dugouts, Xu Youliang would go to the woods behind the village to select some sturdy wooden handles about the thickness of a wrist. He would gather firewood, burn them, peel off the bark, smooth them out, and then replace them with new ones.

The shovels were used to shovel mud and sand in the mine every day, and they were polished to a shiny shine by the sand, and their edges had become sharp.

Peng Yuanchao's shovel strike was also aimed at the bearded man's head.

The bearded man, whose body resembled a bear, arrived panting heavily. He looked fierce, but his agility was lacking. When he saw the shovel coming at him, he tried to dodge, but he was a step too slow. The blade of the shovel grazed the flesh on the bearded man's face, instantly leaving a deep gash. The flesh rolled back, and the blood, as if it hadn't even realized what was happening, didn't flow out immediately, leaving the white skin exposed.

He felt a sharp pain on his face and instinctively reached out to touch it. He touched the long gash on his face, paused for a moment, then quickly looked at his fingers. Seeing no blood, he touched it again, and suddenly blood gushed out from the lacerated wound. He wiped his hand with blood, and his expression changed instantly.

If it weren't for the people rushing up behind him, some of whom were wielding pickaxes to dig at Peng Yuanchao, forcing him to dodge, Peng Yuanchao would have definitely hit him hard with a shovel during that moment of hesitation.

Anyone who's been in a group fight knows that when people are scattered, they're most vulnerable to being chased and attacked by a group. The best strategy is to stick together, wait for an opening, and then strike.

The two groups collided instantly, their weapons consisting mainly of pickaxes, shovels, and wooden sticks—all considered "long weapons." Neither dared to rush into the other's ranks, shouting and arguing as they launched probing attacks, causing their tools to clang and clatter.

These instruments are tools, but also dangerous weapons. They can also easily injure one's own people. When there are many people around, they are not easy to use and seem somewhat restricted.

Peng Yuanchao knew that in this situation, ruthlessness was the easiest way to break the opponent's morale. He was already at the forefront, and he was wielding the shovel wildly and haphazardly, showing the most ferocity and effort.

Perhaps intimidated by the ruthless look of the bearded man's stubble and the gash on his face, those who faced him instinctively retreated, fearing they might get hurt.

However, people surged forward from behind, causing panic and making it difficult to focus on one thing at a time. Peng Yuanchao seized the opportunity and knocked one of them down with a shovel, throwing the enemy into disarray.

Wu Yang was clever; instead of immediately rushing into the crowd, he wandered around the perimeter.

The Black Dragon Eighteen Hands are, after all, close-quarters combat techniques. In a chaotic battle where everyone is shovels, pickaxes, and iron chisels, rushing in would make it difficult for him to utilize them effectively and would likely result in him suffering losses.

But he was clearly the one who knew the most about fighting.

He was seen carrying an iron cudgel, and amidst the chaotic crowd, whenever he saw someone from his team being attacked, he would immediately intervene, either knocking the attacker to the ground with the cudgel or seizing an opportunity to use a "dragon claw" move to grab the weapon being attacked and deliver an elbow or a kick to the opponent's joints.

He was very heavy-handed. The limbs of those he attacked would bend strangely, whether dislocated or broken. Almost anyone injured by him would fall to the ground screaming in agony.

To Zhou Jingming's surprise, Sun Chenggui, who looked thin and weak, was also unusually fierce. After being hit on the forehead with a stick, he staggered backward and fell back, feeling dizzy for a moment. He shook his head, reached up and wiped his forehead, saw that his hand was covered in blood, grabbed a handful of dirt from the side and pressed it onto the wound, then picked up his pickaxe and charged at the person who had stabbed him, digging and stabbing wildly at the person.

The man was forced to retreat repeatedly, and fear gripped him. He turned to run away.

But because he turned around, his dodging movements were a little slower, and Sun Chenggui finally seized the opportunity, digging into his leg with a pickaxe, causing him to fall to the ground with screams of pain.

Those men from Yuzhou were also formidable. Two of them had their tools knocked away, but they still rushed forward, grappling and wrestling with the attackers, rolling on the ground screaming, kicking and punching wildly.

Cao Qidong was incredibly cunning. While everyone rushed forward, he darted around with a shovel, looking very busy, but in reality, he didn't lift a finger. As soon as he saw someone eyeing him and heading towards him, he would immediately turn and run.

The fight ended briefly, lasting only about two minutes, with the bearded man being struck in the groin and pushed in the chest by Wu Yang, leaving him clutching his crotch and curled up on the ground howling in pain.

　Please continue reading...

　　There will be another chapter this afternoon!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)