My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 1 Why Not Be Wild Again, Like a Young Man?
The woman in the plaid coat wasn't actually that pretty.

Zhou Jingming didn't even know her name.

But that doesn't stop her from becoming the person who changed his life.

Zhou Jingming just wanted to take a shortcut to the Jin Guan Cheng bus station. When he turned into the alley near the station, she was inside.

As they brushed past each other, she suddenly screamed and grabbed Zhou Jingming, yelling, "You pervert..."

What happened next was that a group of people rushed into the alley and blocked him there. He was given a label and spent five years in labor camp at Shaping Farm.

This made him realize a profound truth: you can't just walk into an alley where girls are, it's damn dangerous!
This memory from decades ago is hard not to be etched in one's mind, and the subsequent events only fueled Zhou Jingming's hatred.

After being released from the labor camp, Zhou Jingming went home for two days before heading to Chengdu. He bought a switchblade in a store and carried it around the street every day, trying to find the woman and make her scream again.

However, by the time he arrived in Chengdu, that alleyway no longer existed.

The old houses were demolished and replaced with several row of four-story buildings, all of which are storefronts.

He wandered around the city for most of the month before finally realizing the reality and giving up on revenge.

Because he discovered that the woman was the type who could blend into the crowd and become indistinguishable from everyone else. Five years was such a long time that he could no longer remember what she looked like, or rather, when he looked at women of similar age on the street, they all looked the same.

But you can't just hand a knife to everyone you meet.

He could only keep his frustration bottled up inside, hoping that one day he would actually encounter it and awaken the deepest memories in his mind.

This repression lasted a lifetime, becoming Zhou Jingming's lifelong regret.

At that moment, when Zhou Jingming suddenly saw the alleyway entrance, his memory was instantly awakened. As if facing an abyss, he immediately became alert and stopped.

"I was clearly leading my team in Hong Sawaddy, operating a sand dredger to pan for gold... how did I suddenly end up back here?"

He was a little dazed, wondering if everything he was seeing was a dream.

……

In 1974, after graduating from junior high school, sixteen-year-old Zhou Jingming responded to the call and, with a naive enthusiasm, went to the Great Northern Wilderness to become an educated youth. With his down-to-earth and capable nature, as well as his cleverness, he was well liked by the farm manager.

In 1976, on the recommendation of the farm manager, Zhou Jingming went to the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University. He graduated three years later and was assigned to a geological team in Wucheng to do exploration work.

This continued until 1984.

At this time, Zhou Jingming was twenty-six years old.

It was also in this year that, with the changing climate of reform and opening up, the stabilization of policies on individual and private economy and the improvement of the status of practitioners, a large number of officials and intellectuals in their studies changed their identities and devoted themselves to the private business sector, setting off the first wave of people going into business.

In those days, the term "going into business" also subtly implied a desire to go from a higher social class to a lower one.

Traditionally, Chinese people have always discriminated against merchants, calling them unscrupulous merchants, and considering craftsmanship even inferior.

This is understandable, as the Chinese people have always praised the sayings "Of all professions, only studying is noble" and "Those who excel in their studies will become officials."

But it's an undeniable fact that going into business can make money and quickly lead to a better life.

Zhou Jingming was also tired of digging trenches and prospecting for minerals in the wilderness every day without making much money. He gave up his job in the geological team, took a leave of absence without pay, and planned to try his hand at business.

I never expected that after taking the train from Wucheng and transferring several times to get back to Chengdu, I would encounter such a thing on my way to take a bus back to my hometown. Instead of going to sea, I ended up going to a labor camp.

When they came out five years later, everything had changed.

Although it was called the Reform and Opening Up, society was still relatively closed. In Zhou Jingming's case, not to mention that he had completely lost his job in the geological team, he was looked down upon for anything he wanted to do.

It seems that all he can do is follow the path he set five years ago, just like most people who have been to jail or labor camps: go into business.

However, starting a business requires capital, and for Zhou Jingming, who was penniless at the time, even getting started was difficult.

Therefore, he had no choice but to choose another way that was quick and easy to make money, and one he was more familiar with: gold mining.

If you want to spend a year, you should save up some capital first.

The gold rush in the West in the 19th century gave rise to two cities named after gold mines: San Francisco in the United States and Melbourne in Australia.

In fact, there are two gold mines in China: one in the Greater Khingan Mountains in Northeast China, and the other in the Altay region of Northern Xinjiang. After several years of geological exploration work in Northern Xinjiang, Zhou Jingming knew the Altay Mountains, which are located at the junction of China, Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan, the most, so he naturally chose the place he was more familiar with.

Altai is the Mongolian word for gold.

The Altai Mountains are a gold mine.

In 1980, the government lifted the ban on private gold mining. Within a few years, hundreds of thousands of gold prospectors, dreaming of getting rich, flocked to Northeast China, northern Xinjiang, and other places with gold mines like a tidal wave.

Zhou Jingming also became one of them, and this journey led him on a quest for gold across the world, a journey that would last a lifetime—a different kind of world in the mining industry.

……

Just two months ago, Zhou Jingming's team went to the neighboring country of Hunsawaddy and set their sights on a gold mining area.

The area as a whole was under the control of the Hun Sawaidy government. The local militia cooperated with the government army, but 30 percent of the local fiscal expenditure came from the government, while 70 percent required coordination from the militia. As a result, the local timber and gold mining industries were basically controlled by the militia.

After Zhou Jingming arrived, he contacted their leader directly.

At first, they ignored him completely. Later, Zhou Jingming learned about the situation, transported clothes and other scarce supplies to them, paid them money, and warmly welcomed them when they came to China. Soon, the deal was settled, and the entire section of the selected river, which was expected to yield at least three tons of gold, was signed.

He set up another company and partnered with a gold mining company under the Hunsawaddy militia, bypassing the Hunsawaddy government's oversight, and officially began a new round of gold mining.

Three tons of gold, at market prices, would have made a fortune. After the project was completed, the elderly Zhou Jingming knew he could retire and enjoy his later years.

But how come they suddenly stopped on the ship and instead appeared near this damned alleyway in Chengdu?
……

"On the sand dredging boat, I thought I heard gunshots coming from the woods by the riverbank..."

Was that shot at me?

“In the early stages of the competition for mining rights for the Hongsawaddy project, there was a gold prospector from Heilongjiang. I successfully signed an agreement with him, and only then did he realize that he had been tricked and cheated out of millions. He was resentful and came to me again to propose cooperation. After being rejected, he vented his anger on me and resorted to underhanded tactics.”

"Well, very likely!"

"Could it be that I have been reborn?"

After quickly analyzing the situation in his mind, Zhou Jingming turned his head in disbelief to look at the weathered wall next to him. The slogans that were not yet finished looked fresh, and the propagandist who was applying red paint was right in front of him.

He reached out and touched the lettering; the paint on his fingers felt sticky and very realistic.

He then looked at the street, where people on bicycles were coming and going.

The crisp sounds of bells mingled together, creating a rather noisy cacophony.

Supply and marketing cooperatives, grain and oil shops, department stores, and the occasional old-fashioned Jiefang brand truck driving by...

That was an era that was deeply etched in his memory.

Then look at myself: wearing yellow rubber shoes, a military overcoat issued by my work unit, a hat with earmuffs, and a canvas backpack with the words "Serve the People" printed on it...

Zhou Jingming pinched his thigh hard, wincing in pain.

real!

To confirm further, he stopped a passerby and asked for the date. The man looked at him as if he were crazy and gave him the answer.

At that moment, Zhou Jingming was convinced that he had been reborn.

He reappeared after leaving the geological team and returning to Jinguan City, heading to the bus station at the point where he was about to turn into that alley.

He remembered the date; it was January 18th, and in about half a month, it would be the Spring Festival.

"Rebirth is wonderful. Since life can last for over a hundred years, why not be young again and be wild once more? I am truly young now."

They say the past cannot be undone, but the future can still be pursued. It's a good opportunity to retrace my steps on the path to gold. For me, the past is the future; there are many grudges and grievances from my previous life, and I can finally settle them all. That's good!

Zhou Jingming felt no disappointment, but rather a hidden excitement.

His gaze fell on the alleyway entrance, and he chuckled softly, "Waiting for me inside?"

(End of this chapter)