My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 74 is quite greedy.

Jin Wang jogged along, constantly making his way up into the mountains and forests.

It sniffed around as it walked, occasionally stopping to wait for the three to catch up. This was most likely a gesture of bowing its head to offer incense, which disappointed Zhou Jingming somewhat.

The three of them watched as it sniffed here and there.

The places you smell are mostly places that have been rummaged through.

It's unclear whether Cao Qidong left it behind or if it was discovered when the group came to check the hidden gold.

When they arrived at the place where the two often trained, even Wu Yang began to doubt: "Brother Zhou, could it be that Jin Wang didn't actually follow us at all?"

Zhou Jingming also felt that Jin Wang was just familiar with the place and probably came here because he was used to coming out for training in the morning and evening.

But soon, he realized something was wrong.

Jin Wang arrived at the two-pronged fir tree where he had planned to hide gold and sniffed at the clump of moss at the base of the tree.

This moss is the same moss that Zhou Jingming first uncovered when he came to Zangjin. Over the years, it has long since dried up, but now it is scattered at the base of the tree along with the other fresh moss.

In addition, there were signs of tampering on the dead branches and leaves under several shrubbery canopies around the twin-stemmed fir, including the abandoned rat hole.

Zhou Jingming had long since stopped hiding gold here, so naturally he wouldn't come to search for it. He turned to look at Wu Yang: "You hid gold here before?"

Wu Yang shook his head: "I stopped hiding this place a long time ago."

"That must mean Cao Qidong was here!"

Seeing this, Zhou Jingming was not surprised; on the contrary, he was somewhat pleased.

Because they often train in this area, many paths have been worn into the ground. Cao Qidong probably thought this was Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang's hidden gold, since the two of them usually shared a lot of gold, so he came here specifically to search for it.

Every morning and evening, they trained in this area. Over time, everyone in the team knew that the two of them often frequented this spot, and Cao Qidong was no exception.

Seeing Jin Wang sniffing at several places with fresh traces, Zhou Jingming felt a glimmer of hope: "Jin Wang is indeed tracking! That bastard Cao Qidong has searched many places, and the places Jin Wang sniffed just now should be the ones."

Having obtained so much gold, instead of leaving quickly, they were thinking of taking as much gold as possible from everyone else… How greedy!

Peng Yuanchao's brow never relaxed: "He's usually so timid and hesitant in everything he does, but I never expected him to be so bold at a time like this!"

Wu Yang also shook his head: "Brother Zhou thought Cao Qidong wasn't an ordinary novice and told me to keep an eye on him. I didn't expect him to be so extraordinary!"

"It's too late to say all this now. The most important thing is to find people quickly and keep a close watch on them!"

Zhou Jingming smiled and gave Jin Wang another command: "Hey hey..."

Jin Wang started jogging uphill again, and the three of them quickly followed.

The fir forest wasn't large; it ended about two hundred meters up, turning into a large grassy slope, with snow that hadn't completely melted yet.

Upon reaching the edge of the fir forest, one could see several flashlight beams flickering between the dugout and the riverbank where Lao Tang and his group had been. It was Xu Youliang and his men carrying the supplies left behind by Lao Tang's group.

It was already dark; at this time of day, it was around 8 p.m.

The sky in the northwest is clean and pure, and the moon is always bright. Although it is not full, its silvery glow still covers the wilderness.

Jin Wang reached the edge of the top of the forest, but instead of climbing any further, he headed north and walked horizontally down the hillside.

Peng Yuanchao took out a flashlight and turned it on, but Zhou Jingming stopped him: "Brother Peng, don't use the flashlight!"

Peng Yuanchao was somewhat puzzled: "The road is difficult to walk on without the lights on!"

"The moonlight is enough."

"But we can't walk fast!"

Why are you walking so fast?

"If we can't walk fast, how can we catch up?"

"You don't understand this!"

Zhou Jingming laughed: "When I was in Northeast China, I heard hunters say that many people who have never hunted before, when they spot the prey, will chase after it relentlessly. But often, the more they do that, the faster the prey disappears, because they are so startled that they just keep running. If you turn on your flashlight, and Cao Qidong sees it even once, he will be on high alert and won't dare to stop at all. He will only run faster and be harder to catch."

A seasoned hunter, even if he wounds his prey, will not rush to chase after it. He will sit down, light a pipe, and finish smoking before continuing.

Instead of rushing after the wounded prey, it will run for a while and then stop when it feels safe to lick its wounds. The continuous bleeding will also cause it to lose strength, making it less able to resist when it is found, and easier to kill.

You might not believe it, but this person's endurance is much stronger than that of many wild animals.

Do you think Cao Qidong would keep walking alone at night in the middle of nowhere? Wouldn't he be afraid of suddenly bumping into something?
I estimate that he'll travel for a while tonight, find a safe place to hide and spend the night, and then get back to work at dawn tomorrow.

Peng Yuanchao thought about it for a moment and agreed that it made sense, so he put the flashlight away.

The three of them followed Jin Wang in silence, circling the mountainside for most of the way, then crossing the pass between two mountains to reach the other side. After that, they descended the slope and began a long trek.

After walking at least twenty miles, Jin Wang, who was leading the way, finally stopped, looked up at the southeast, and let out a fierce howl.

Looking around, there are large hills covered with weeds and shrubs, and the constant rain has created gullies and embankments everywhere.

Zhou Jingming couldn't determine whether Jin Wang had discovered wild animals or Cao Qidong, but it was enough to raise their alarm.

All three of them busied themselves taking the hunting rifles off their shoulders and holding them up.

But after looking around for a while, they still couldn't see any wild animals or hear any strange noises.

Seeing that Jin Wang kept staring in that direction and making fierce growling noises, Zhou Jingming felt that Cao Qidong was likely in the southeast direction.

Having run so far without noticing anyone chasing them, they should have let their guard down.

Zhou Jingming slowly squatted down and waved to Jin Wang.

Jin Wang turned to look at Zhou Jingming, then bumped into him and licked his face twice with his tongue, leaving a fishy smell.

He didn't look down on it.

Zhou Jingming still remembered what the hunter had told him: If you want to raise a dog, you have to accept its habit of eating shit. If it smells you and licks you, it means it recognizes you. If you can't even accept that, then what's the point of raising it?

He gestured to Peng Yuanchao, signaling him to squat down: "Brother Peng, you hold Jinwang and pinch its mouth shut so it doesn't make a sound. Wu Yang and I will go check on it. Don't pinch it too tightly!"

Peng Yuanchao nodded and did as instructed.

Then, Zhou Jingming and Wu Yang, carrying guns and cautiously wary of each other, crept towards the southeast.

I walked for about a hundred meters, but still didn't see anything.

Just as Zhou Jingming thought he was overthinking things and was about to go back and have Jin Wang continue the investigation, Wu Yang suddenly whispered, "Brother Zhou, listen carefully, there seems to be a sound!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jingming stopped making any unnecessary movements and listened attentively.

After listening for a while, he actually caught a strange sound: "Whoosh...whoosh..."

The sound was quite rhythmic, one sound following another.

"It sounds like snoring..."

Zhou Jingming was all too familiar with that voice.

Putting everything else aside, the most distinctive feature of a group of grown men sleeping in a dugout all night, besides the lingering stench of their feet, is the constant snoring.

Zhou Jingming also snores, but his snores are relatively soft. Peng Yuanchao's snores are the loudest, almost as loud as a horse snorting.

Zhou Jingming didn't hear snoring; only Wu Yang did.

Wu Yang nodded slightly to Zhou Jingming, clearly indicating that he shared the same assessment. He pointed to the left front and cautiously approached, gun in hand.

Zhou Jingming also crouched down and followed.

The further they went, the louder the snoring became.

About ten meters away, the two found Cao Qidong in a small, two-foot-deep earthen ditch that was sheltered from the wind on two sides. He was wrapped in Wu Yang's new cotton quilt and was sleeping soundly.

(End of this chapter)