My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 48 Hidden Gold
After finishing their meal, Wu Yang didn't rush to practice his martial arts in the woods. Instead, he waited for Zhou Jingming to cook corn porridge and feed it to Jin Wang before they both crawled out of the dugout and headed into the woods behind it.

Zhou Jingming wanted to learn the Black Dragon Eighteen Hands, but he wasn't in a hurry. He watched Wu Yang practice those routines first, and then observed from the sidelines.

When Wu Yang unleashed those fighting moves, they were powerful and vigorous, exuding a grand and sweeping energy.

Zhou Jingming liked it more and more as he looked at it, and the routines didn't seem as complicated as he had imagined, so they shouldn't be too difficult to learn.

In fact, after his in-depth conversation with Wu Yang last night, he already knew that the core of this boxing style was never simply learning the routine, but rather an explosive force based on one's own strength and the integration of understood techniques.

After Wu Yang finished demonstrating the fighting moves three times, he took a few deep breaths and asked Zhou Jingming, who was imitating him, "Brother Zhou, what are your thoughts on learning the Black Dragon Eighteen Hands?"

When Zhou Jingming first had the idea of ​​learning boxing, he had thought about it carefully. Now that Wu Yang asked him about it, he didn't hesitate at all: "My idea is actually very simple. I just want to have at least one skill to rely on. I know that it's very difficult to become as good as you."

Therefore, the goal is simply to practice until you're proficient, and be able to handle two or three ordinary opponents when it really matters.

Wu Yang thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "If you put it that way, it's not that difficult. Let's spend some time learning those eighteen fighting moves, understanding the basic principles, and then just keep practicing..."

That's good too. I don't get the hang of practicing alone all day. Before, we always practiced in real sparring. Now we can exchange moves and break down each other's techniques, which will be more interesting.

I wonder how long you can keep this up...

Zhou Jingming laughed too: "You have to learn how to do it!"

"Alright, starting today, I'll teach you the routine moves first. Learn two moves first: Azure Dragon Probing Claw and Dragon Girl Gazing in the Mirror!"

As Wu Yang spoke, he demonstrated the two fighting moves, and then said, "The Black Dragon Eighteen Hands consists of eighteen different types of practical fighting moves, which are compiled according to the rules of boxing routines. Training in boxing routines can improve body coordination and proficiency, enhance the body's explosive power and endurance, and lay a good foundation for sparring."

"Now, do as I say. First, start with the stance. The key is to step back to the right with your right foot while turning your body slightly to the left. When you step back, your body should be shoulder-width apart, with your legs naturally straight and your toes pointing to the side and forward. Place your right fist under your right chin, slightly downward with your palm facing inward. Slightly bend your left arm and press your left palm about 20 centimeters outside your left hip, with the palm blade facing outward. Turn your head to the left and look straight ahead."

The requirement is to retreat quickly, shifting your weight to your rear leg and facing the enemy sideways.

As Wu Yang spoke, he pulled Zhou Jingming to practice the starting posture, which Zhou Jingming quickly memorized.

After watching Zhou Jingming practice several times, Wu Yang continued, "Alright, next I'll teach you the first and second moves. This 'Azure Dragon Probing Claw' is also commonly known as 'Disarming with Empty Hands' or 'Dragon Girl Looking in the Mirror.' Those names sound too girly; we don't like them. We prefer to call it 'Door-Blocking Throw'..."

Disarming an opponent bare-handed requires powerful right claw strikes and forward thrusts...

This blocking and sweeping motion needs to be coordinated and powerful, with the weight shifted towards the left leg…

While explaining, Wu Yang slowed down his movements and gestured, letting Zhou Jingming follow along and correcting any mistakes.

His explanation was very well-structured, suggesting he must have taken many such martial arts theory classes when he was in the armed police force.

According to him, you should first practice the movements to the correct standard. If you want to truly understand the techniques, you still need to break them down and experience them through sparring.

It only involves teaching two movements, which sounds complicated, but it's actually very simple. It only took a few minutes for Zhou Jingming to learn them.

Seeing that Zhou Jingming's movements were fine, Wu Yang let Zhou Jingming continue practicing, while he himself went to the side and began training in special push-ups and scorpion crawling.

Today, while digging mud and sand in the sandpit, the intensity of the work increased. When eating, Zhou Jingming, like everyone else, had his hands shaking so badly that he couldn't even hold his chopsticks properly.

Despite the unbearable soreness all over his body, he gritted his teeth and persevered, practicing the two movements more than thirty times until he was sure he had memorized them before stopping and starting to try other training.

He couldn't do the special push-ups like Wu Yang, but he could still do more than forty ordinary ones. He couldn't practice the Scorpion Climbing Technique, and he couldn't even do a handstand at all, but that didn't stop him from "relying on a big tree for shade" and using the tree trunk to prop up his feet to find the feeling of a handstand.

Even Wu Yang, who witnessed his actions, was full of praise.

Regardless, what Zhou Jingming is doing is a form of training for strength and balance, and over time, it will have some effect.

After spending more than an hour rummaging around in the woods, Wu Yang finished his training, and Zhou Jingming was also exhausted. The two sat on a half-dead fir tree trunk that had fallen down due to a landslide and were smoking.

It was already dark, and rustling sounds could be heard from the woods below, along with the occasional flash of a flashlight.

Zhou Jingming whispered, "They're probably out hiding gold! In gold panning teams, once they get their hands on gold, they usually don't carry it with them; they each find a place to hide it. In this gold-panning valley, people are always wary of each other, and of course, it's best to be wary."

Gold has always been the most tempting thing; even among the closest of relatives, blood ties become thinner in its presence.

Few people can control their greed, especially those who are terrified of poverty. In such cases, there is no trust to speak of, and all sorts of petty schemes emerge, making them impossible to guard against. It's a very realistic situation.

Like Peng Yuanchao, who hung the remaining undistributed gold on the purlin so that everyone could see it and keep an eye on it, without worrying about each other embezzling it.

Wu Yang nodded: "Now that you mention it, I understand. I was wondering why Peng Yuanchao didn't accumulate more gold and distribute it when they were about to leave the valley. That way, he could keep people under control and be more stable..."

Now that I think about it, if someone had run off with it, everyone else would have suffered as a result.

Zhou Jingming added, "Also, fights often break out in the valley over territory or other issues. When things get bad, not everyone is willing to risk their lives. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter and go their separate ways. They also don't allow the gold they've found to stay together."

Therefore, this gradually formed a rule: most teams would distribute the gold according to a pre-agreed method, distributing it immediately once they had enough to go around, and then each team would hide the rest.

Wu Yang looked down at the valley below and said, "Brother Zhou, you told me before that if things went smoothly, I could earn enough to buy two 21-inch color TVs a year by panning for gold. I didn't quite believe it then, but now I do."

"Why would I lie to you? Given the current gold output situation in this area, even if they only take one gram each, they can still get more than 20 grams a month."

The current gold purchase price from banks is sixteen yuan per gram.

The banks offered very low prices for acquisitions, while the black market was better, offering more than double the prices offered by the banks.

In the valley, unless they are intercepted, few people are willing to honestly deliver their gold to the bank for a low price; they all choose to sell it on the black market for a higher price.

So, earning six or seven hundred yuan a month shouldn't be a problem. We came into the mountains early; it's not even May yet. We can work in the mountains for six months. You can do the math and see.

Zhou Jingming gave a brief explanation.

Wu Yang was puzzled: "Why are the prices so high on the black market?"

Zhou Jingming laughed: "Last year, the authorities began to regulate the production and circulation of gold and gold products, prohibiting individuals and enterprises from freely buying and selling them. In other words, they relaxed restrictions on private gold mining, but the gold mined had to be handed over to the bank because there was a shortage of gold in the country."

The price on the black market is not high, so who would dare to take the risk and sell to them?
Actually, the price of gold on the black market isn't that high; the international price is the highest. Those involved in the black market still make a lot of money.

Wu Yang asked curiously, "With such strict controls, where does all that gold go?"

"As far as I know, they all go through underground channels. Some flow south to Hong Kong and Macau, and some go to Southeast Asia. Don't forget, this is the border region. Going abroad is actually quite easy."

At this point, Zhou Jingming stood up, smiled at Wu Yang, and said, "It's getting late. I need to find a place to hide the gold. You should also find a secluded place to hide it where you won't be easily discovered!"

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked into the woods on the left.

Wu Yang's voice came from behind: "Thank you, Brother Zhou, for letting me get two grams of gold at once."

Zhou Jingming didn't turn around, he just waved his hand: "That's what you deserve, because I really think it's worth it."

He wandered around the woods for a while, flashlight in hand, and found a fir tree with two branches that had split open. A thick layer of moss covered the branches at the base of the tree. He lifted the thick layer of moss, thought for a moment, and realized that the traces of the moss were obvious after it had been disturbed, and that it would dry out easily in the sun, making it easier for people to spot. So he covered the moss back up.

He wandered around the peculiar pine tree again, and found another fir tree. Under the base of the fir tree, he saw an abandoned mouse hole hidden under the base of a climbing pine. He thought the location was quite good, so he stuffed the glass bottle filled with gold dust into it and covered it with some dry climbing pine branches and leaves.

As if to remember the place, Jin Wang raised his leg and urinated on the trunk of a nearby fir tree to mark it.

By the moonlight, Zhou Jingming carefully surveyed his surroundings, memorized the location, and led Jin Wang back to the dugout.

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(End of this chapter)