My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 41 Three Skills of Gold Mining
As the two were talking, Peng Yuanchao came out of the woods and saw Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang squatting by the riverbank wiping dishes. He frowned, crawled into the dugout, and glared at the group of people lying on the earthen bed: "Listen up, all of you. I don't want to see Brother Zhou and Brother Wu Yang doing things like washing dishes and wiping pots in the future."

Cao Qidong sat up abruptly: "Brother Peng, I won't talk about Technician Zhou, but why can't Wu Yang take a bath?"

Another Luo Yue man muttered, "I still don't understand why he got a bigger share of the gold!"

"We've only just started panning for the gold, and you guys are already causing trouble again, aren't you? So much nonsense! Why didn't you say anything when we were signing the contract and putting our fingerprints on it?"

Peng Yuanchao put on a stern face: "If you insist on a reason, fine, I'll tell you, just the fact that you're eating and drinking my food now, and that it was Brother Zhou and I who led you into the mountains, isn't that reason enough?"
"If you're not happy, you can leave anytime and find another job. I have no problem with it. You know nothing but nonsense, yet you cause trouble every day. Out of sight, out of mind!"

Having already found the gold, and with the gold rush imminent, who would want to leave at this time?

Seeing that Peng Yuanchao was angry, the others lowered their heads or turned to the side, not daring to say anything more, for fear that Peng Yuanchao would kick them out over such a trivial matter.

He who eats another's food is bound to him!
The key issue is that, as newcomers to the gold rush, they knew little about the Gold Rush Valley and lacked confidence.

After working hard for so many days, it's best to take a break.

"Brother Peng, come out for a second!"

Just as Peng Yuanchao got into bed and settled down, Zhou Jingming's voice rang out from outside the dugout.

He had no choice but to get out of bed, put on his shoes, and crawl out of the dugout.

Zhou Jingming first told him about having Wu Yang shake the golden bucket.

Two chutes were prepared, and two people were naturally assigned to shake the golden bucket.

Just as Zhou Jingming had expected, Peng Yuanchao indeed planned to have Xu Youliang shake the golden bucket, and he had no objection to the matter of shaking the golden bucket in Wuyang.

Peng Yuanchao also discerned something from the words and actions of those novices, and he was equally uneasy about them.

It doesn't matter who you teach, it's best to teach someone you think is reliable, because shaking the gold dipper is the part that directly touches the gold, and it's the easiest place for greed to arise.

"Brother Peng, there's something else I need to tell you."

Zhou Jingming took a deep breath: "Tomorrow we'll officially start panning for gold. There will be more and more gold prospectors heading back into the valley. This is a rich mine, and sooner or later someone will try to take advantage of us. So, I want Wu Yang to take some time each morning and evening to patrol the surrounding area. It's a kind of precaution. We can't be taken advantage of without even knowing it."

Peng Yuanchao thought for a moment: "Doing it this way would be much better... A bunch of newbies aren't very reliable, and if Wu Yang is alone, I'm afraid he'll be too tired. How about you and I..."

Zhou Jingming shook his head: "Wu Yang alone is enough. It's only right that he gets an extra gram of gold and does more work. Wu Yang is also good at this kind of thing!"

I know you've always wanted to know what Wu Yang did before. To tell you the truth, he used to be a reconnaissance soldier, but he got into some trouble and was discharged.

I can tell they're not entirely convinced. Doing more of this will hopefully make them talk less nonsense in the future.

Like you said, I don't think any of them are very reliable. Don't tell them about this; they're more likely to try something shady once they see gold. We need to observe them more closely.

Peng Yuanchao looked at Wu Yang: "A reconnaissance soldier, huh? That's impressive. Brother Wu Yang, really, why did you hide this from me? In the Gold Rush Valley, you're not the only soldier who got into trouble... What did you do?"

Wu Yang smiled and said, "Brother Peng, you shouldn't ask that. I'm embarrassed to say."

Seeing that Wu Yang was too embarrassed to say it, Peng Yuanchao became even more interested: "Let me guess, is it because of a woman, or was he caught messing around with a woman..."

Wu Yang blushed and quickly shook his head: "No..."

Peng Yuanchao blinked and lowered his voice: "Still not admitting it? I think it's true... I know a guy over in the West Sea who was discharged from the army and came here to pan for gold. He couldn't control himself while he was away, so he dragged a girl from a village near his post into a cornfield and messed around with her. That's how it all got out..."

Seeing that Peng Yuanchao's words were becoming increasingly outrageous, Wu Yang quickly stopped him: "Brother Peng, it's really not like that, so stop making wild guesses!"

Peng Yuanchao laughed: "Alright, I was just kidding. If you don't want to tell me, then don't. You've served in the military, so we can trust you. From now on, I'll have to trouble you, Brother Wuyang."

Wu Yang nodded: "No problem!" And that was the end of it.

After Zhou Jingming took the pot and bowl from him, Wu Yang went straight into the woods behind the dugout.

The next morning, the gloom that had obscured the sky for several days was swept away, replaced by a pure azure blue.

Urged on by Peng Yuanchao, the group got up early, ate some baked buns, and, carrying their tools, rushed to the small peninsula to begin peeling away the layer of sand and gravel covering the surface.

Ten people worked together to transport the excavated sand and mud to the upstream of the small peninsula using a cart to pile it up as a way to block the water. The purpose of this was to prevent the sand pit from being filled or breached by the rising water during floods, which would be a difficult situation.

It took most of the morning to clear out a sand pit of about three or four square meters that contained gold.

Once the pit was big enough for people to stand in, after a short rest, Peng Yuanchao assigned two people from Yuzhou and two people from Luoyue to dig sand in the pit, while another person from Yuzhou and Sun Chenggui were responsible for collecting baskets of sand from above and loading them into carts.

Zhou Jingming and Peng Yuanchao transported the sand to the two chutes and dumped it on the beach.

There isn't much sand coming out right now. Wu Yang is shoveling sand into one of the sluices, while Xu Youliang is wearing rubber waders and standing in the river, carrying bucket after bucket of water up the sluice to flush the sand.

Apart from a short break at lunchtime, we were busy until evening.

Generally speaking, when extracting gold from a sluice, the sluice needs to be emptied every ten or so cartloads of sand.

Peng Yuanchao removed the wooden raft from the chute, and Zhou Jingming carefully took out the felt from the bottom of the chute. Then they went to the riverbank, put it in a large aluminum basin, and used water to wash the felt, cleaning out the mud and sand stuck in the gaps of the felt.

After letting it settle slightly, pour out most of the water, leaving a thick layer of mud and sand at the bottom of the basin.

Zhou Jingming asked Wu Yang to bring a golden bucket shaped like a small boat. He scooped some mud and sand into the bucket and began to demonstrate how to shake it.

This was the first official panning, and everyone was concerned about the gold yield, so they all dropped what they were doing and gathered on the riverbank to watch.

Peng Yuanchao and Zhou Jingming understood their feelings and didn't say much, taking it as a way to let them rest.

"Normally, you have to learn to choose the right washing location. A water depth of about 15 centimeters is just right, and the water flow speed should be appropriate. If it is too slow, the debris in the gold container will be cleared out slowly, and if it is too fast, the gold will be easily washed away."

Also, it's best to have a place to sit down; otherwise, squatting all the time is uncomfortable and will strain your back.

Zhou Jingming looked around, chose a spot in the shallow water by the river, moved a smooth pebble to the shallow water, and began to scoop some mud and sand from the large basin into the golden bucket with a small shovel, explaining as he did so.

"There is also a point to consider when putting mud and sand into the golden bucket. Generally speaking, it should be filled to three-quarters of the bucket's capacity. It's better to fill it less than more. If you fill it too much, it will be difficult to control and the mud and sand will easily spill out of the bucket. The bucket should be lowered so that the river water just covers it."

Next comes the three most important skills for gold mining, namely, techniques.

The so-called three skills for gold panning, I also call them the three-word formula.

First, the "shaking" technique.

Shake the golden bucket vigorously back and forth, left and right, to make the water swirl. The mud and sand inside the bucket will then form a vortex, causing most of the mud and sand to quickly break down and the gold sand to sink to the bottom.

Second, the "carrying words" technique.

It involves holding the gold bucket with both hands, raising it slightly, tilting it at a certain angle, and swaying it back and forth to let the water flow carry away the lighter objects floating on the surface.

Third, the key to success lies in grasping the essential words.

Inside the gold container, there may be tree roots, rotten debris, or large stones. Simply pick them up with your hands and throw them away. Remember to rinse them first to prevent gold from adhering to them.

Next, repeat these three techniques repeatedly. As the sand in the gold container decreases, slow down the intensity of the "carrying words" technique to prevent the gold dust from being lost.

(End of this chapter)