My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 55 Who cares?

"Why don't you agree?"

Zhou Jingming first asked a question, then paused and continued, "When they first came to the riverbank down there, didn't we both already feel that there might be a problem?"
We've only just found a gold-bearing layer here, and this is only the third day of official mining. You're already eyeing it? Do you want to engage in a fierce battle with them right now and have your territory taken, or do you want to mine for a longer period, even if you're forced to cede territory, at least you can make some profit?

Peng Yuanchao hesitated for a while: "Of course, we should try to find as many opportunities as possible!"

Zhou Jingming laughed: "That's what I thought too, which is why I agreed to help him find Jin Miao."

They haven't found any gold on that riverbank yet, so they've got their eyes on us. If I help them find gold deposits, and there's a place where they can pan for gold, they won't be so eager to target us for a while.

Many things cannot be done by simply thinking about them and forcing them. In the Gold Rush Valley, there are still quite a few people who value human relationships and social etiquette. Helping them once might earn them some face in the future.

My thinking is simple: my title as a geological exploration technician is still quite valuable in the Gold Rush Valley. What if he needs my help to find gold seeds in the future?

Not just Lao Tang, but other gold-mining teams would also ask me to find gold seeds, and I would agree to help them.

There are so many gold panning spots in the valley, it's impossible for just a few of us to handle them all. We might as well do a favor; there are bound to be people who have helped us before who will give us face and not bother us. They might even be able to help us out sometime.

Only when both internal and external affairs are stable can we have time to work hard and make money. If we easily get caught up in fighting and brawling, our precious land will become a place that many people covet.

We can hold out once or twice, but what about the third or fourth time?

Twenty or so people is just a small team. What if we encounter dozens or hundreds of people?
In addition, even if Old Tang is ruthless and still wants to keep an eye on this area, if others make a move against us, will he consider helping us protect this place first?

Helping someone can turn many potential situations around.

Therefore, we should help!

Of course, this is only under ideal circumstances.

Although tomorrow's meeting might very well be a trap, we still have to go. We need to find out their true intentions before we can make any decisions.

Zhou Jingming explained his thoughts to Peng Yuanchao in detail.

Peng Yuanchao listened and felt more and more enlightened, and gradually smiled: "I understand... This method is only suitable for you. You are good at finding Jin Miao, but it probably won't work for others."

Zhou Jingming turned his head to look at him: "Not angry now? To be honest, were you about to yell at me just now?"

Peng Yuanchao turned his head to the side, refusing to admit it: "That's not true!"

"Tough mouth!"

Zhou Jingming reached out to Peng Yuanchao: "Take the Da Zhong Jiu earring from your ear as an apology!"

Peng Yuanchao hesitated for a moment, then took the cigarette off his ear and handed it to Zhou Jingming.

Zhou Jingming took the cigarette with satisfaction and lit it: "I remember you said that once we find gold and safely leave the mountain, you would buy me a carton of good cigarettes... A man should keep his word. I didn't force you; you said it yourself."

Peng Yuanchao grinned: "Can't your memory be a little better?"

Zhou Jingming said with a stern face, "What, trying to renege on your promise? If I had a bad memory, I would tell you that I remember you promised me four grams... no, five grams each time you divided the gold!"

Peng Yuanchao's face twitched a few times: "Alright, alright, I'll remember this for now, we'll talk about it after we leave the mountain!"

Seeing that Zhou Jingming's words were becoming increasingly outrageous, he quickly chose to compromise, otherwise he didn't know how shameless Zhou Jingming would become.

"now it's right!"

Zhou Jingming laughed, pushing his luck: "I remember, you just promised to give me five grams of gold each time, right?"

"roll!"

Peng Yuanchao immediately rolled his eyes: "How can a person be so shameless?"

Seeing that Peng Yuanchao had been teased to the point of exasperation, Zhou Jingming let him go. He let out a long sigh: "Old Tang said he wanted to visit our mining site to learn something. Anyone with eyes can see that he probably wanted to use this opportunity to further understand our gold production situation."

I'm contradicting you to see if he knows when to back down, and also to keep him guessing about our mine's situation.

The more you guard against it, the more he'll want to withdraw his winnings and the more he'll covet it. Under normal circumstances, if one person agrees and the other disagrees, the sensible one will choose to back down. Regardless of their motives, there's still room for maneuver.

If he knowingly violates a taboo and still acts so tactlessly, he's either a reckless fool or determined to find out about us. Once we know, we'll have to be extremely careful.

Peng Yuanchao nodded, then looked at Zhou Jingming: "I didn't realize you had so many tricks up your sleeve!"

Zhou Jingming chuckled: "Don't you even know where you are? You can't be too naive!"

Peng Yuanchao also sighed, his anger rising from nowhere: "Damn it, the teams I used to be with had a headache when they couldn't find good prospects, and now that we've found some, it's still a headache... Damn it!"

That's how it is in the Gold Rush Valley. Either you can't find good gold nuggets and can't find any gold, or you can find good gold nuggets but can't hold onto them. Even if you do find gold, it's uncertain whether you can take it out of the valley.

The dream of getting rich overnight is always easily shattered.

Zhou Jingming looked down at the group of people on the riverbank for a while and said, "Brother Peng, tomorrow morning, Wu Yang and I will go help them find gold seeds. You take good care of the people panning for gold!"

Peng Yuanchao also looked up at those people: "No, I'm not at ease. What if this is a trap, like you said, and you and Wu Yang are detained by them? What will I do then?"

Damn it, we finally found such a treasure trove, we have to protect it no matter what! We live together, we die together!

He said this through gritted teeth, as if he hadn't thought much before blurting it out, and Zhou Jingming was willing to believe it was true.

But being willing doesn't mean one truly believes that.

"Get out! Stop saying such unlucky things! I don't want to die!"

Despite feeling a warmth in his heart, he still probed, "I think you're worried that Wu Yang and I might collude with Lao Tang, so you want to come and keep an eye on us!"

"Brother, those words are a bit hurtful!"

Peng Yuanchao looked at Zhou Jingming innocently: "With your ability to find gold seeds, do you really need to collude with others? I'm genuinely worried about you getting into trouble. Your gold-finding skills are so good, you'll definitely be panning for gold again next year. It would be a waste if you didn't. I even wanted to work for you!"
On the other hand, how much do you distrust me? Am I really that unworthy of your trust?

This series of questions clearly cannot be dismissed with a simple "joke".

Zhou Jingming looked at him very seriously: "Trust that is too simple can never stand up to scrutiny. I said I trust you, but I guess you wouldn't believe it, just like how you are still wary of me now. Don't deny it."

He was telling the truth. In this gold rush valley rife with greed, trust between people is not like a blind date, where you can simply take a liking to someone and hold hands without much effort.

True trust requires the test of time and the trials of life.

Not only Peng Yuanchao, but also Wu Yang and Zhou Jingming held back.

Given Wu Yang's abilities, would the armed police force really dismiss him just because he seriously injured a few people?
Based on my observations over this period, Wu Yang is not as impulsive as I had imagined; on the contrary, he is very self-disciplined.

This forced Zhou Jingming to consider other aspects.

Without sufficient caution, the path to gold mining is unlikely to lead to long-term success.

He just wanted to walk more steadily.

Hearing this, Peng Yuanchao seemed a little disappointed for a moment, but he seemed to quickly understand the true meaning of those words and laughed again: "You're right. It seems I need to gain your trust first. Or, how about I take a shower tonight... and you can make do?"

"Get lost... Your butt is covered in calluses, who cares!"

Zhou Jingming was also amused and stood up, taking a deep breath: "Brother Peng, don't blame me for being blunt. We'll talk about next year next year. If I really form a team then, and you still want to join, I'll save you a spot, just in case it's not fair to you."

Peng Yuanchao also sighed with emotion: "Forget about feeling wronged, you only wear the size of your pants when you have the capacity. After becoming a leader, I realized that things are not as easy as I imagined... There is still a lot to learn. I feel that you are more suitable than me!"

Zhou Jingming brought up another matter: "Xu Youliang was also someone who had been in the Gold Rush Valley. He didn't have any objections to sharing the same amount of gold as the other newbies?"

“I promised him that once I leave the mountain, I would take out some of my gold and share some with him… You will be the one who gets the most gold!”

Peng Yuanchao sighed, "I'm such a bad leader, what a terrible fate!"

Zhou Jingming laughed again: "It's alright, at least so far it's acceptable... Time's almost up, hurry up and urge them on, it's time to get to work!"

(End of this chapter)