My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 40 Shifting the blame
The group didn't have much money on them, and even in a place like northern Xinjiang where cattle and sheep are everywhere, they couldn't bear to eat meat more than once.

Unlike Zhou Jingming, who knew the days in the mountains would be difficult and ate as much of the best meat as he wanted.

All that was brought into the mountains was rice, wheat flour, and some pickled vegetables. For the next few months, let alone meat, we would have to wait until the weather warmed up and wild vegetables and mushrooms sprouted so we could have a change of pace, or we could see if we were lucky enough to catch a few fish in the river.

From the moment they got off the tractor, transporting supplies into the mountains, digging dugouts, to now digging drainage ditches, it's all physically demanding work that takes a toll. Not to mention the others, even Zhou Jingming felt that his mouth was too bland.

It's normal that everyone's mouth waters at the mere mention of meat.

Peng Yuanchao asked Xu Youliang to cook the smoked mutton, and the others rushed to help, some fetching water, others tending the fire. When the chopped smoked mutton was put into the tin pot to cook and began to steam, everyone involuntarily gathered around the earthen stove, greedily inhaling the aroma that spread.

Although it was just a formality, as Peng Yuanchao said, he had never seen such a good seedling before, and whether he could make a fortune depended on this opportunity.

So, when the smoked mutton and rice were cooked, he solemnly led a group of people to scoop out a bowl of mutton and rice, poured some wine, and took it to the woods behind the dugout. Under a birch tree, he found three stones and arranged them in a triangular shape to serve as a mountain god temple, and led everyone to kneel down in unison.

He took out three red lotus cigarettes, lit them, and held them in his hands like incense sticks: "Mountain God, we have come to worship you. The conditions are difficult, and we are all from poor backgrounds. We cannot slaughter a pig to offer to you in the mountains, and we don't even have a chicken. We only have some smoked mutton, but we are sincere. We hope that this year, Mountain God will bless us to find more gold and protect us all. When we leave the mountains and earn money, we will slaughter pigs and sheep to reward Mountain God."

After finishing his peaceful words, he placed three cigarettes in front of the stone and bowed three times respectfully.

Zhou Jingming didn't object, after all, it was a beautiful vision that everyone hoped for, and he followed the others and bowed three times.

After Peng Yuanchao put a few grains of rice and a small piece of mutton into the wine and poured it at the base of the tree, he took the food he had brought, returned to the dugout, moved a sawn-off wooden stump to use as a stool, and gathered around the pot, waiting for Peng Yuanchao to speak.

Seeing everyone's eager expressions, Peng Yuanchao's lips twitched, and he finally sighed: "We didn't bring much meat. After this meal, there's only enough for one more. Don't say I'm being mean to you, but not many gold-digging teams bring meat into the mountains... Eat up!"

This sentence was like a floodgate being opened, and everyone reached out with their chopsticks to scoop food into the pot, wolfing it down.

If it weren't for the fear of ruining most of the broth in the pot, I probably would have preferred to use my hands instead of chopsticks.

They were so fierce, they almost came to blows over it.

Peng Yuanchao cursed as he watched, "Damn it, slow down..."

But the group seemed not to hear, busy chewing and swallowing.

He quickly joined in, afraid that if he was too slow, there wouldn't be any left to eat.

The meal was devoured in no time; even the rice soaked in meat broth tasted better. Despite having cooked extra rice, it was all eaten clean, along with the broth.

Peng Yuanchao shook his head and sighed, "Look at you all, what's the difference between you and jackals? I hope that when you're panning for gold and protecting our gold mine, you can show this same spirit. Then who will dare to mess with you?"

Everyone just smiled, and one by one they lay back on the earthen bed, some smoking, some picking their teeth, and quickly stuffing the bits of meat they found between their teeth into their mouths and eating them.

Seeing their utterly disgraceful behavior, Peng Yuanchao cursed again, "What the hell are you expecting me to do? What kind of garbage are you?"

After saying that, he rubbed his stomach and crawled out of the dugout, probably to relieve himself in the woods.

Zhou Jingming was busy picking up the bones from the ground and feeding them to Jin Wang, who was lying outside.

Seeing that the two main people in charge of the dugout had left, the three people from Yuzhou and the two people from Luoyue exchanged glances.

Cao Qidong picked at his teeth: "Brother Wu, we've been washing the dishes and wiping the chopsticks these past few days, why don't you do it for once?"

"Okay!"

Wu Yang stood up, put the bowls and chopsticks into the antimony pot, and prepared to wash them.

Sun Chenggui hurriedly went to take it: "I'll do it... How can I let you do it..."

Although he didn't see anything special about Wu Yang, he knew that there must be a reason why he could get an extra gram of gold. Even if there really was nothing special, Wu Yang was still his fellow townsman, and it wouldn't hurt to have a good relationship with him. Otherwise, he would be all alone in this group.

As for the other newcomers, the reason they gave such instructions was because, in their view, after spending so much time together, Wu Yang had remained silent and unassuming, showing no particular talent, and they assumed he was only benefiting from Zhou Jingming's connections. Zhou Jingming shared the same amount of gold as the foreman, Peng Yuanchao, and his ability to find gold seedlings was undeniable, even the foreman admired him greatly, so naturally they had nothing to say.

However, since Wu Yang received one more gram of gold than them, they were all somewhat resentful, but since Peng Yuanchao hadn't spoken up, they didn't dare to show it.

When speaking and acting, he didn't dare to say much in front of Peng Yuanchao and Zhou Jingming, but behind their backs he started trying to shirk responsibility, because among those present, Wu Yang was the youngest.

It was just a small matter, and Wu Yang didn't really care about it; he didn't think much of it.

"No need, I can handle it, it's no big deal!"

He refused Sun Chenggui's help, carried the antimony pot containing bowls and chopsticks out of the dugout, and walked towards the riverbank. There was no soap or other washing utensils, so he could only scrub the pot and bowls with mud and sand, without much care.

In the countryside, you could just boil some hot water, wipe it off, and that would be it.

Seeing Wu Yang emerge from the dugout to wash the dishes, Zhou Jingming glanced inside and followed him down to the riverbank, squatting down to help him scoop up mud and sand to wipe the dishes: "Brother, are you used to it?"

Wu Yang smiled and said, "What's there to be unaccustomed to? It's similar to working on a construction site. I've done plenty of heavy work. My back and waist will ache for a while, but it'll be fine once I get used to it!"

"The backaches and pains are yet to come..."

Zhou Jingming thought for a moment: "Would you like to learn how to shake the golden bucket?"

"It looks simple, it shouldn't be too difficult."

"That's hard to say. Shoveling gold is an art... We'll start panning for gold tomorrow. Once the sandpit is bigger enough for people to stand in, the ten of us will be divided into two groups. Peng Yuanchao will lead one group, and I will lead the other. We'll each use two sluices, which will allow us to pan for more gold."

It's obvious that Peng Yuanchao will definitely have Xu Youliang, whom he trusts, shake the golden bucket. As for me, I want you to shake it. Those people from Yuzhou and Luoyue, I told them to get to know each other better, but it seems they've instead banded together and have a lot of ulterior motives. I'm not entirely at ease with them. Of all these people, I only trust you.”

"Brother Zhou, I'll learn!"

"It's still quite cold now, and it's uncomfortable to have my hands soaked in water all day. It will be a little better when it gets warmer, but it won't be pleasant either."

"It's nothing! By the way, Brother Zhou, there's something I need to tell you."

"What's the matter? Tell me."

"Over the past few days, I've heard a lot about gold panning from you all. I know how dangerous the Gold Rush Valley is. After I was discharged from the Armed Police and went home, I felt that the Black Dragon Eighteen Hands technique was no longer useful, so I stopped practicing it."

But mastering martial arts requires years of dedicated practice. Now that it's proficient, I want to pick it up again and practice every morning and evening. But you want me to keep it hidden… This is a bit of a dilemma.”

"I understand what you mean. You know that in today's world, firearms are king. If people know that you are good at hand-to-hand combat, it will be easy for them to target you from a distance, and nothing else will matter."

"Hand and foot techniques are more effective when used in close-quarters combat, especially when necessary. That's why I told you to keep them hidden... I don't know anything about hand and foot techniques, so I don't know if I'm right?"

Zhou Jingming may not know martial arts, but he had spent many years in the gold rush world in his previous life, and he had seen and experienced a lot of people. His words were not unfounded.

Wu Yang clearly understood this principle as well, and nodded: "I know that!"

"Later, I'll find an excuse to talk to Peng Yuanchao. You can continue training as you please. It's not appropriate not to tell him anything about your identity. If he asks again, just say... say you're a reconnaissance soldier who was dismissed for committing a crime, how about that?"

"can!"

……

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(End of this chapter)