My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 103 Cut off the beard
In his previous life, Zhou Jingming had seen what the Gold Rush Valley would be like five years later, which could be described in four words: a chaotic and murky place.

The current situation is already considered good.

The two were not in a hurry. Under the cover of darkness, they followed the robbers at a distance.

As they walked upstream, not far from the riverbank, they kept their flashlights low and didn't scan around aimlessly. But the occasional flashes of light were enough for Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang to determine their location and the approximate distance between them.

And so, they watched as they seized three more mining sites in succession, and the situation was similar to what they had seen before, with almost no resistance.

Zhou Jingming secretly hoped they would rob as many as possible, because the more they robbed, the more gold they would have.

That way, the rewards will be greater when you finally get your hands on it.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; it's all about intercepting the prey.

But at their fourth mining site, they seemed to have encountered some troublesome gold prospectors.

When the gold prospectors in the dugouts knocked on the door, unlike at other mining sites where someone would immediately come out to check, it was as if they hadn't heard them.

The group waited for a while, but nothing happened.

Just as they were about to urge them, the door was suddenly ripped open, and several fireballs were thrown out.

The sudden turn of events startled the robbers guarding the entrance to the dugout, who hurriedly jumped aside.

To their even greater surprise, the people in the dugout still didn't come out. Suddenly, someone inside fired a shot, slammed the door shut, and then started yelling and shouting.

Furthermore, gunshots were fired intermittently towards the doorway.

The commotion suddenly became quite large.

The robbers didn't dare get too close either, as they were also afraid of getting hurt.

Even Zhou Jingming was stunned by this action. Looking at the commotion in the valley below, he saw people from several nearby mining sites crawling out of their dugouts and scanning the blazing mines with flashlights. He suddenly realized what was going on and couldn't help but exclaim, "Clever!"

Wu Yang also noticed something amiss: "It's really interesting. If those people who were robbed down there had done this earlier, they probably wouldn't have been so easily manipulated."

"Yes, since someone is coming to rob us, we might as well make a big fuss. Anyway, we're hiding in a dugout, surrounded by earthen walls, with the top covered with grass and mud. It's practically a natural little fortress, and it won't be easy for them to break in for a while."

Even if they forced their way in through the small door, they could only go in one by one. The space inside was not large, so the robbers could not maneuver freely and dared not enter easily.

The most ingenious part was the gunshots and the shouts; they were bound to alert the surrounding mines. The fireballs thrown out were even more conspicuous; everyone would know something was wrong at the mine.

The more Zhou Jingming thought about it, the more brilliant the operation seemed: "These robbers come to snatch people, and they do it at night to hide better, or maybe they are also a little guilty."

In addition, they robbed so many mining sites along the way. Aren't the victims furious?
This has angered the masses. If they were to launch a full-scale attack, with so many people, even if they had five guns, they would have to think twice. After all, if those people organized themselves, they would have more guns than they did...

Now, they're the ones who should be panicking.

Wu Yang laughed too: "Given the current situation, it's impossible for them to continue robbing the mines. If they're smart, they'll run..."

Those men were fierce; one of them fired two shots at the door of the dugout, but to no avail.

Another one simply jumped onto the top of the dugout, unaware that as soon as he got up there, the people below heard the noise and fired a shot at the top without hesitation, causing him to scream and jump down.

The leader looked around and saw flashlights flashing everywhere. He shouted, and the others grabbed their weapons and retreated into the woods above.

They could only retreat to the upper forest.

There are people upstream on the riverbank, and they've already provoked people downstream. I can't just jump into the river ahead; the current is quite strong, and it's not a good place to swim at night.

Running into the woods behind is undoubtedly the best option.

They probably didn't expect that the tricks that worked so well all the way here would be so easily broken here.

At this moment, the five of them couldn't care less about anything else. In order to run faster, they swung out the flashlights that they had been keeping low and dashed into the woods.

Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang did not move, but simply held their guns with both hands and hid behind a clump of climbing pines in the forest.

The area is too large, with high mountains and dense forests, so Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang couldn't determine where these people would run off to.

Moreover, if they were to take action, they couldn't choose to do so in this forest. It's too close to the mining sites below, and the trees provide cover, making it an area where they can easily pass out a hunting rifle.

In the pitch black, neither of them was confident they could keep these people here. If they were pushed too far, a chaotic fight might break out, and they themselves would be the ones getting hurt or losing their lives.

Even if it succeeds, it's uncertain whether the gold obtained from the mining sites below will actually end up in our hands if people from those sites come looking for us.

They might even mistake us for accomplices of the robbers.

For now, they have no choice but to follow suit and then look for an opportunity to strike.

At the mining site where the fireball was just thrown from the dugout, the gold prospectors didn't rush out to chase after it.

The people at the other mining sites also seemed to be observing, and there was no sign of them gathering together for the time being.

Those who weren't robbed are none of my business.

Those who were robbed all knew it was five guns, and despite the commotion, no one chased after them.

The group didn't run towards where Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang were. Instead, they climbed up into the woods and, in a clearing, looked back down. Seeing that no one was chasing them, one of them said with lingering fear, "When I jumped onto the dugout just now, that shot almost hit me."

The other person wasn't much better: "These people in the dugout are tough nut to crack, and they're really good at hiding. The fireballs they threw smelled like kerosene; they were blankets soaked in kerosene. And they were firing their guns indiscriminately... Damn it, I really wanted to set their dugout on fire."

Another person suddenly realized, "That's right, I didn't realize that. If we had put those fires back in, the dugouts would have been on fire very quickly, and then they wouldn't have been able to stay inside..."

"Stop talking nonsense... How long are we going to keep this up? There are so many people around, do you really think they're pushovers?" The leader sneered.

Some people disagreed: "What's there to be afraid of? We're not pushovers either... Boss, they don't seem to be planning to chase us. How about we go up a bit more?"

"No way, you guys really think this is a sightseeing trip? Damn it, with such a huge commotion, don't you have any self-awareness? Anyone who wants to die can go ahead, I won't stop them..."

The leader cursed and growled a few times before continuing to venture into the mountains with his gun.

The other four hesitated for a moment, but still chose to follow.

Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang naturally didn't hear what they were saying. They were just looking at the gold prospectors on the riverbank, who were wandering around with flashlights, and they felt quite disappointed.

He sighed and said, "This is human nature. They are timid and only care about themselves. Even now, no one can take the lead. They deserve to be robbed."

But then Zhou Jingming thought again that he had spoken too soon.

To be honest, in the past few years, due to the limitations of the environment, only a few people could come to the mountains to pan for gold.

It wasn't that complicated back then.

The influx of gold prospectors occurred after the lifting of the gold rush ban. In reality, this is only the initial stage of the gold rush, and it hasn't really reached its peak yet.

It was precisely because of the frequent occurrences of various territorial disputes and gold grabbing that the situation in the Gold Rush Valley became increasingly dangerous and complex.

Experienced gold prospectors have realized that only by banding together can they barely find a safe place in the gold rush valley.

But to form a group, there needs to be a leader.

Thus, gold prospectors or foremen who had accumulated a certain amount of initial capital gradually grew their businesses and became gold bosses with dozens or hundreds of people under their command.

Some gang leaders also contacted other gang leaders in the same area to form a group, which led to the later Ganzhou Gang, Yuzhou Gang, Xiang Gang, etc., in order to resist risks.

However, these leaders were all disloyal and quite loosely organized, and their level was far inferior to that of the powerful bosses who controlled everything and had several leaders under their command.

Things always develop in a process.

With all this in mind, Zhou Jingming had only one thought: save money, save as much money as possible, and build up a team under his control as soon as possible so that he could have a place in this Gold Rush Valley.

Even though he was a reincarnated person, he wasn't entirely confident that he could thrive in the Gold Rush Valley. There were too many uncontrollable factors involved, so he still had to work hard to build up his team before he could truly make money.

As the group walked away, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang slowly stood up, crouched down, picked up their guns, and followed them at a leisurely pace.

The group left the forest, crossed a mountain, and entered a vast area of ​​hilly Gobi desert. Looking back and seeing that no one was chasing them, they stopped.

Zhou Jingming looked into the darkness and saw a few sparks flickering; they were lighting cigarettes.

He lit a cigarette before continuing on his way with his flashlight.

"The only way to take them all out is to ambush them and catch them off guard. Otherwise, we're in trouble... It's almost dawn, we need to act fast!"

Zhou Jingming looked at those people and said something in a low voice. He then looked at the sky, which was already slightly bright, and the outline of the mountains and fields could be barely seen.

These people spent a lot of time seizing those mining sites in the middle of the night, and now they've traveled several miles, past the darkest hour before dawn.

Unfortunately, this place is full of hills and gullies on the mountain slopes. Walking in such a place, you may turn at any time, and without knowing their specific destination, it is difficult to find a good ambush location.

"Let's hurry up and go around to the side. They're making their way with flashlights. Once we catch up and see their flashlight beams, we can roughly estimate their direction, adjust our movements accordingly, and intercept them!"

Wu Yang gave a suggestion.

Zhou Jingming thought about it and realized he didn't have a better solution. He guessed the best way was what Wu Yang had mentioned.

He immediately nodded in agreement.

Although it was still dark, that's how the human eye works; after spending a long time in the dark, it will gradually adapt and be able to see some things. Now that there is a little light, it's even more convenient.

The two immediately quickened their pace and went around to the side.

Keep your distance from those five people so you won't be easily spotted.

It took the two of them more than twenty minutes to finally overtake the five people.

They suddenly stopped, shining their flashlights around, seemingly discussing their route.

Zhou Jingming noticed that their flashlight beams lingered the longest between two small hills on the left, and he also saw that they then walked along the area between those two hills.

I reckon that's the direction they're planning to take next.

The two followed and headed towards the blockade between the two small hills.

It was a shallow gully, surrounded by barren slopes and Gobi desert, with no shelter or obstruction. Fortunately, there were a few small gullies in the shallow valley formed by mountain streams during heavy rains.

The ditch wasn't large, but it was big enough to accommodate a person and provide some shelter.

The two men immediately darted into a deeper ditch, lay down on the edge of the ditch, set up their hunting rifles, and peered out to watch the five men approaching.

　Just wanted to mention something. Some readers have commented that my updates are too demanding, so I'll set a schedule and change it to one chapter each in the morning, noon, and evening, totaling over 10,000 words in three chapters...

　　Thank you for your support, fellow readers!

　　Get up!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)