My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 29 The Right to Survive

The reason for asking Wang Youping to help get a dog is that, for traditional reasons, herders never sell, kill, or eat dogs; they only give dogs to friends who need them when they no longer need them.

As a stranger, and a Han Chinese at that, Zhou Jingming knew that if he went to ask for it, he would likely be turned away.

With Wang Youping as an intermediary, the chances of success are much greater.

He'd be happy to make a profit from it.

Twenty yuan is enough to buy one sheep and still have some left over, that's quite a lot.

In fact, this is also a way for locals to make money. Every year when gold prospectors flock here, they inevitably need to prepare a lot of various supplies and tools. In the surrounding counties and towns of Altay, they can buy almost everything they want.

In addition, locals are trying to sell what they can, especially the local Han farmers who don't have many ways to make money, so they are trying every possible means.

Wang Youping drove the two men back to Tiemaike for free in his tractor. He not only found companions for traveling at night, but also finalized the deal to help deliver supplies into the Gold Rush Valley the next day. Now he could even "sell" a dog. It was a win-win-win situation, and it was quite a sum of money.

This person is very good at seizing opportunities.

Seeing that Zhou Jingming was really willing to spend money to ask someone to get a dog, Peng Yuanchao asked with a smile, "Brother, why are you so concerned about raising a dog?"

Zhou Jingming took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and shone a flashlight on them as he rolled them: "Didn't I say before that having a dog would be useful in the camp? Besides, I really like dogs!"

Seeing Zhou Jingming pacing back and forth in the car, struggling to roll a cigarette, Peng Yuanchao pulled out a Red Lotus cigarette and handed it to him: "What's so good about this dog?"

Zhou Jingming put away his Mohe cigarette, lit a Honglian cigarette, and took two puffs: "Only extremely fierce dogs can be called Kazakh sheepdogs. Sheepdogs often roam with their owners in harsh environments, encountering many wild animals. They have many opportunities to fight and hunt for survival, fighting with strangers, wild animals, and other dogs around them, which makes them fierce."

Regardless of strength, on their own territory, even if they are bitten to death, they will never back down.

Even if you don't have to herd sheep, owning a Kazakh sheepdog makes it an excellent watchdog and guard dog.

However, not all Kazakh sheepdogs can be called Tianshan Mastiffs.

The Tianshan Mastiff is very large, even larger than a grassland wolf, and its appearance is very similar to that of the Tibetan Mastiff. However, it is more symmetrical in size and has a longer snout, which gives it an advantage in fighting. In addition, it has a stronger wildness than the Tibetan Mastiff, making it more powerful in combat.

The Kazakhs have a long-standing legend of seven treasures, which include: men who protect their homeland, virtuous wives, knowledge, fine horses, eagles, swords, and hunting dogs.

The hunting dog, specifically the Tianshan Mastiff, is almost entirely a wild beast-like breed, inheriting the ferocity and wildness of its ancestors. Of course, it also has a gentle side, behaving like an obedient child in front of its owner, even more loyal than a Tibetan Mastiff.

The two men weren't speaking loudly, and it's unclear how Wang Youping, who was driving the tractor, managed to hear them amidst the tractor's sputtering noise. He interjected, "Adasi, you know dogs!"

Zhou Jingming smiled and said, "I know a little bit, mainly from what I've heard from others!"

Peng Yuanchao also offered Wang Youping a cigarette.

Wang Youping stopped the tractor, lit the fire, held it in his mouth, and continued driving the tractor forward, raising his voice considerably: "The local dogs here go into heat once a year. After they go into heat, male dogs within a radius of more than ten kilometers will run to join in the fun. After the fight, only the strongest male dog can win the female dog's heart and give birth to puppies between October and November."

At that time, it was already very cold in the mountains, with temperatures below zero.

The puppies are born outdoors and fed by their mother; a litter can have seven or eight puppies.

Normally, when one or two puppies have frozen to death and are about half a month old, they are kept by their owners and brought into the house to be fed. Puppies conceived this way are the strongest.

Only the strongest are qualified to survive in the mountains.

The only downside is that you'll get fewer female puppies, which is why male dogs from over ten kilometers away will come looking for a female dog when she's in heat.

Ali's two female mastiffs were both excellent, bred with a male wolf. He couldn't bear to see their puppies freeze to death, so he brought them back to the house early. Two months later, they were taken outside to face the harsh winds and snow. Several puppies died, but most survived.

Ali said that those dogs, when they were three months old, were already guarding the house and herding sheep with him; they were very smart and good dogs. He planned to give them to relatives and friends when they reached the summer pasture.

Zhou Jingming casually asked, "Do you have any with nicer fur colors?"

He'd decided to get a dog, but he still wanted one that was pretty and attractive. "I haven't seen them all yet. I'll go look tomorrow morning and try to pick a nice one for you!"

Wang Youping didn't make any guarantees, but what he said was fairly honest.

After the tractor crossed the Fourth Mine Bridge, it was still about 30 kilometers to Tiemaike. Although the tractor was not fast, it was still much faster than a person jogging.

More than an hour later, Wang Youping, as if to familiarize himself with the route, escorted Zhou Jingming and Peng Yuanchao to the stable where they were staying.

After the two got off the vehicle and retrieved their luggage, they agreed on a time to meet the next day, and then he drove off in his tractor.

Startled by the sound of the tractor, the owner of the stable came out to take a look, then went back inside.

Wu Yang and the others were still awake and went to greet them outside the stable.

Xu Youliang leaned closer and asked eagerly, "Brother Peng, have you found Jin Miao yet?"

Peng Yuanchao chuckled: "Isn't that obvious? Brother Zhou's abilities are no joke... Hurry up and get us some hot food. Damn it, we've been eating dry rations for days, our mouths are practically watering!"

A group of people escorted Zhou Jingming and Peng Yuanchao into the stable.

Zhou Jingming saw a deck of cards lying haphazardly on the hay in the stable, with their bedding scattered on the hay as well. It was clear that the men were still awake and playing cards wrapped in their blankets.

They waited patiently in the stable, with nothing to do all day, so playing cards to kill time was normal.

The cleared space in the stable was filled with half-burnt firewood, mostly smoke.

While Wu Yang was busy tending the fire and adding firewood, Xu Youliang brought over an antimony pot from the side.

After Wu Yang moved the four stones around the fire to their proper positions, he placed the antimony pot on it, then lifted the lid, his face beaming with excitement: "Brother Peng, this is good stuff!"

Zhou Jingming and Peng Yuanchao went over to take a look and saw a shallow pot of soup with meat inside.

Peng Yuanchao picked up a spatula and stirred it inside: "This doesn't taste like mutton, what is it?"

One of the Luo Yue people replied with a grin, "Dog meat, I made it!"

Upon hearing this, Peng Yuanchao frowned: "Bought it?"

Seeing Peng Yuanchao's unfriendly expression, Xu Youliang's voice became much softer: "Brother Peng, I...I did it. I was bored yesterday, so I went for a walk in the Gobi Desert and saw this wild dog. I thought it was pretty strong, so I shot it."

I was thinking of giving everyone a change of pace, which would also save some money..."

"This is on the edge of a town, it might be kept by a herder or farmer, is it a place where you can mess around like that? Let me tell you this first, if it's a stray dog, no problem. But if it belongs to someone else and comes looking for it, you better watch out!"

Having lived in the Western Sea region, where there are many herders, Peng Yuanchao knew the importance of dogs to farmers and herders, and the same was true in Altay.

The key point is that if this were done by other newbies, he wouldn't find it strange, but Xu Youhao had been around in Xihai before, so he must know about it.

Peng Yuanchao's anger flared even more: "I told you to guard the stuff properly, what the hell are you doing wandering around like that?"

Xu Youliang lowered his head, not daring to say anything more.

It was the man from Luoyue who spoke up for him: "Brother Peng, calm down. Brother Xu is just thinking of everyone and saving you money. Others are also beating dogs... They got them back yesterday, and no one has come looking for them yet, so everything should be fine!"

Peng Yuanchao glanced at the Luo Yue man, then at Xu Youliang, and softened his tone: "Learn from this, and don't cause trouble like this next time, understand?"

Xu Youliang nodded: "Brother Peng, I've got it."

(End of this chapter)