My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 62 How do others treat me, and how will I treat them?

Peng Yuanchao and Wu Yang went to the small peninsula first, and pointed out to everyone how to set up the poles and the winch.

Simply put, a pole lift uses the principle of leverage to more easily lift gold-rich mud and sand from a deep pit to a higher place.

However, a pit five or six meters deep cannot be reached in one go using a pole; it needs to be passed through once in the middle, which is where the winch comes in handy.

In a specific location, a support is erected with a wooden axle on which a handle rotates. A rope is wound around the axle, with one end of the rope fixed to the wheel and the other end tied to a basket filled with mud and sand. By rotating the handle, the wheel rotates around the axle, allowing the basket filled with mud and sand to be lifted out.

In the north, it is common to use a windlass to draw water from wells, and it can also be used for underground engineering construction and well drilling in mining.

Zhou Jingming waited for Jinwang to finish eating the sheep offal before leading it to the small peninsula.

Peng Yuanchao, being from Longzhong, had a simple, crudely made windlass installed at the entrance of his family's water cellar. It was easy to make, and he did it himself, so Zhou Jingming didn't need to help.

Zhou Jingming directed the men to set up a frame and tie poles in the pit. He heard the diesel engine humming again on the riverbank below and saw Lao Tang glancing at the small peninsula from time to time.

The pole and winch were set up in about two hours, and the people on the small peninsula continued their work.

The gold-bearing layer was located too deep. Originally, Zhou Jingming had planned to split into two teams, with him and Peng Yuanchao each leading one team. However, they had to work together in one place, otherwise the mud and sand dug out from the bottom of the pit would not be easy to transport out.

He replaced Xu Youliang, and together with Wu Yang, he was in charge of the sluice and washing, while Peng Yuanchao led the others to dig and transport the materials.

By now, Peng Yuanchao had completely trusted Zhou Jingming.

Fortunately, the gold in the gold-bearing layer did not disappoint. Almost every day, the gold panning yielded enough to be divided once, with some left over. Every few days, combined with the gold accumulated from the previous two days, they could get double the amount.

This greatly boosted everyone's enthusiasm for work; you could say they went to sleep with smiles on their faces and counting their money in their hearts.

There were three snowfalls during that period, one of which was quite heavy, covering the riverbanks and the foot of the hillsides, where the snow had already melted, with a layer of snow about half a foot thick again.

After the snow, it was overcast for three days, then the sun came out again. The snow melted quickly; it only took two days for the valley and the low-lying hillsides to melt completely.

Even in such cold and gloomy weather, the group only took a day off on the day the snow was heavy before picking up their tools again and starting to dig.

The river water was too cold for the people washing the sand, but they could peel off the surface layer of mud and sand and transport the gold-bearing mud and sand to the sluice.

It wasn't that Peng Yuanchao didn't allow them to be idle, but rather that they were willing to be.

At times like these, we certainly can't dampen everyone's enthusiasm.

The workers had long been accustomed to the intensity of the labor, and their efficiency had increased considerably.

During this period, nothing unusual happened.

May arrived in the blink of an eye.

In the morning, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang were exercising in the woods behind the dugout.

Over the past few days, Wu Yang has taught Zhou Jingming all eighteen routines of the Black Dragon Eighteen Hands, and Zhou Jingming has practiced them like gymnastics until he is proficient.

After this period of training, Zhou Jingming has made considerable progress.

He used to be able to do forty or fifty push-ups, but now he can do sixty or seventy. He has gradually found his balance and can barely hold his head up for two minutes. However, he still can't walk on his hands like Wu Yang. As soon as he moves his hands, he will immediately break his barely maintained balance and fall down.

He was already very satisfied with the training results and was becoming more and more confident, believing that if he persisted, he would definitely achieve some results.

He could feel it himself; the strength in his hands had increased considerably.

After training, the two stood on the hillside and looked out over the valley.

In recent days, many more gold-digging teams have arrived, and now the valley is filled with dugouts and earthen tents on peninsulas of all sizes, along the riverbanks, and at the foot of slopes.

When the morning comes and things get busy, you can see groups of three or five people with shovels and pickaxes everywhere in the valley, with chutes everywhere and carts speeding by – it's practically a huge construction site.

Wu Yang broke off a branch that was already sprouting new leaves from the side and waved it around a few times: "The valley is getting more and more lively!"

Zhou Jingming shook his head: "There will be quite a few more people coming, and things will get chaotic!"

He tiptoed to avoid the fir treetops that blocked his view and saw that the riverbank where Old Tang was was already half submerged.

During his time working on the small peninsula, Zhou Jingming paid close attention to what Old Tang and his group were doing. For a while, that group of people were working enthusiastically, starting work even earlier than Zhou Jingming and his group every morning.

The diesel engine sputtered from morning till night, sometimes even after dark, as people washed things in the river with flashlights.

It goes without saying that the old river produces an extraordinary amount of gold, otherwise they wouldn't be so eager to participate.

Seven or eight days ago, the personnel arrangements for Lao Tang and his group changed again. Every morning before ten o'clock, only one or two people would be arranged to come out to pump water.

However, instead of flushing the mud and sand from the sluice, they pumped out the water from the sand pits they had dug out.

The melting of the permafrost makes it easier for river water to seep into the sand pits.

The sand pit, six or seven meters deep, is far below the river's surface. Without pumping out the water, it's impossible to work while wearing waders. The seepage must be completely pumped out, or the work can be done while pumping.

Over the past few days, they've spent more and more time pumping out the water. The deeper they dig, the more water accumulates, and coincidentally, the gold is concentrated at the very bottom.

In Zhou Jingming's view, there was no better place for gold mining than a gold dredge.

But the conditions in the mountains are not suitable, so it can only be a dream.

If you want to dredge this riverbed now, you either have to go to great lengths to build a drainage ditch that is long and deep enough to drain the water from the bottom layer, or you have to use a water pump to keep pumping it out.

The riverbed, already silted up, is constantly leaking water. One pump might not be enough; two pumps might be needed simultaneously. Moreover, with the increasing flow of water in the river, it could collapse at any time.

On the other hand, both of these methods are unprofitable.

This was actually a trap set by Zhou Jingming for them.

If Old Tang had come to him with sincerity to consult on feng shui, Zhou Jingming would have pointed out the problems to him and helped them choose another place, which would have been a good deed.

Although Old Tang's actions were somewhat underhanded, he had the financial resources.

On the other hand, how many of those who come to the Gold Rush Valley don't have their own agendas?

Without brains and a ruthless nature, it's hard to even survive, let alone make a fortune.

For Zhou Jingming, this did not prevent him from trying to make contact and see if he had any value to them.

He wanted to set up his own gold-digging business and expand it, but that couldn't be done by him alone; he needed help.

Making money and recruiting manpower are the main purposes of this trip to Haiertes River.

Unfortunately, the invitation he gave Zhou Jingming turned out to be a trap. Before they had exchanged more than a few words, Zhou Jingming began to bare his fangs. His unpredictable and capricious behavior was enough to show that he was a ruthless and cunning person, which was not the style of a proper businessman.

Then there's nothing more to say. We'll figure it out after we get away.

If Tang, with Zhou Jingming's help, finds a rich mine at the bottom level and still refuses to let him leave, Zhou Jingming believes that by posing as a geological exploration technician and saying that he has many rich mine locations in his mind, and under the lure of gold, he believes that Tang will not easily harm him.

If all else fails, with the help of Wu Yang and Peng Yuanchao, capturing the leader of the bandits would not be entirely hopeless.

When Lao Tang uttered those threatening words, it wasn't just Peng Yuanchao and Wu Yang who were agitated; Zhou Jingming was no exception.

However, resorting to violence is ultimately a way to hurt both oneself and others, and Zhou Jingming doesn't want to take that step unless absolutely necessary.

But after years of panning for gold, he had to admit that force was always the simplest, most brutal, and most efficient way to make a profit, especially in the gold rush valley where desires were amplified many times over by the prospect of gold.

Zhou Jingming's consistent approach to life is: I will treat others the way they treat me.

Enduring too much tolerance will only embolden petty people to take advantage of you.

This was something Zhou Jingming already knew from his past life in the gold rush world.

So, since Lao Tang has his eye on the small peninsula mining site, it's only natural that he'd also be eyeing Lao Tang's water pump, Eagle Rabbit brand double-barreled shotgun, and the gold they panned for.

A tough battle is inevitable.

　I'm eager to continue reading!

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