My Gold Rush Career Begins in 1984

Chapter 95 was well worth the effort.

Wu Yang didn't know how Zhou Jingming was going to catch fish. He simply went to the riverbank, chose a place with a gentle current, and had Zhou Jingming sit on a pebble by the river, shining a flashlight into the shallow water in front of him, without moving.

Zhou Jingming waited by with a shovel in his hand.

Wu Yang was a little confused: "Brother Zhou, can you catch fish like this? Don't lie to me. My hometown is Longshan. Although it's in the Wuling Mountains, there are plenty of streams and rivers there. When I was a kid, I often went to the ditches with a basket to chase and catch fish. I would find a sewing needle, bend it into a hook, and use it to fish. That's more reliable than you carrying a shovel, right?"

"We don't have the leisure to go fishing right now... We only have a few days to relax, don't worry, just wait and see."

The fish in this water all have a phototaxis. It's dark outside, but when they see light here, they'll naturally swim over. Then you can just shovel them down, stun them, and scoop them up..."

Zhou Jingming explained in a low voice, then turned his attention back to the water surface illuminated by the flashlight beam.

During the day, as gold panning teams worked, muddy water constantly flowed into the river from the sluices of the gold panning teams, making the river surface extremely turbid.

But in reality, the turbidity of the river water didn't decrease much by night.

The water surface illuminated by the flashlight was so murky that it was impossible to see anything.

But if fish do come and stir the water or peek out, you can still see them.

However, the fish in the river seemed to be very uncooperative. The two of them waited by the river for more than 20 minutes, but there was not a single movement.

Even Jin Wang, who had come along, after standing there with Zhou Jingming for a while, chose to lie down and wait to the side.

Wu Yang felt a bit bored: "Brother Zhou, let's go back, the fish probably won't come!"

"hold on……"

Zhou Jingming was somewhat skeptical. In his previous life, he had helped Boss Jin prospect for minerals in the Gold Rush Valley, and he had done this in his spare time, and it was quite effective.

Seeing Zhou Jingming's insistence, Wu Yang waited patiently.

About five or six minutes later, Zhou Jingming suddenly noticed that the water surface was stirred up, creating a mess of ripples. He immediately picked up the shovel in his hand, waited a moment, and when he saw the water surface stirred up again, he immediately slammed the shovel down hard.

"Snap... Crash..."

The shovel was used with great force, and the river water, which was already in shallow water, was suddenly pushed up to the sides, exposing the river sand underneath. The water was also pushed up and splashed in all directions, soaking the two men.

However, this time it was a real shock, and the fish immediately flipped over.

Ignoring the risk of getting his shoes wet, Wu Yang quickly got up and rushed into the water, scooped up the fish, and examined it with a flashlight: "Brother Zhou, what kind of fish is this? I've never seen one like it before!"

Zhou Jingming went closer and saw that the fish had an elongated oval body, was laterally compressed, and had a thin tail. Most notably, it had several black stripes on its body and a golden iridescent belly. "I don't know the scientific name of this fish, but the locals call it 'Five-Striped Black'... See? I told you I could take a picture of it."

Seeing that he had made some progress, Wu Yang's interest was piqued again.

They threw the five-striped black fish into the bucket, then moved to a different spot and continued to wait with flashlights. However, no matter how long they waited, they never saw a fish.

Zhou Jingming couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, after all this time, this is all I get? Are you trying to insult me?... Just you wait!"

Wu Yang smiled and said, "We still need to think of other ways!"

It was getting late, so the two decided not to bother with anything more and walked up the riverbank, intending to take their buckets back to sleep.

Before they even reached the bucket, they heard a crunching sound coming from it. Wu Yang shone his flashlight on it and saw Jin Wang using his front paws to hold down the five-striped black dog, tilting his head to tear at it and chewing it with a crunching sound.

Zhou Jingming grinned, walked over to Jin Wang, and raised his hand as if to hit him: "Hey, I didn't know you were so cunning!"

Jinwang was so frightened that he turned his head to the side, quickly let go and ran to the side, but then reluctantly looked back at the five black fish on the riverbank that had been bitten all over and covered in mud and sand.

Zhou Jingming sighed. Since it was already in such a state, it was no longer edible. He simply picked up the fish, tossed it to Jin Wang, and then went back to the tent with Wu Yang. After chatting for a few minutes, they changed into dry clothes, placed their guns by the bed, and lay down fully clothed.

Nothing happened all night.

The next morning, Wu Yang continued to explain fighting techniques to Zhou Jingming, and then they practiced sparring with each other. After they finished, Zhou Jingming went for a walk around the neighborhood and came back carrying two stalks of asafoetida.

At that time, Wu Yang found a sewing needle in a gold prospector's bag, heated it red-hot, and was bending it into a fishhook with a stone.

Seeing Zhou Jingming return carrying two stalks of asafoetida, he asked, "Brother Zhou, what are you up to now?"

"Let's catch some fish!"

How do you use this thing?

"Just you wait and see, wanting to eat fish is easy enough!"

"Brother Zhou, to be honest, aside from finding gold nuggets to pan for gold, I don't dare to say anything. But this fishing business still seems unreliable to me. I think I won't be able to eat the fish you provide. I'll just have to catch my own!"

After he finished speaking, he took the fishhook he had bent, went to the tent to find a line, cut a branch from the woods, tied it up for a while, and then took a bucket to the river.

Zhou Jingming ignored him, took out a large bowl, carefully cut out the ferns he had picked, chopped a small stick, mashed the ferns, put them in a jar, added some water to soak them, and then threw them next to the tent.

Then, he picked up his axe, went to the riverbank, found some thin and flexible branches, cut a bundle, and collected some vines. He then sat on the grass and began to tie and weave them.

After tinkering all afternoon, he managed to create a fish basket with a large belly and a small mouth, where fish could only go in and not out.

But he didn't rush to put the fish basket into the water; instead, he left it to dry next to the tent.

It must be said that Wu Yang is quite skilled at fishing. When he returned near dusk, his bucket was filled with seven or eight fish, and they were quite large.

Zhou Jingming went to see it; there were five black fish, a white-striped fish, and a pike.

Wu Yang also saw the fish trap that Zhou Jingming had made. As soon as he saw the setup, he knew that Zhou Jingming was serious.

However, he still didn't understand what was in the jar that had been casually placed beside the tent. He unscrewed the lid, and a rotten smell wafted out, making him quickly turn his head away. "Brother Zhou, why does this stuff smell so bad!" "Ah Wei always smells bad!"

"What's the point of you making this thing?"

"After fermenting for two days, I will use it to make bait for fishing. Some fish like to eat rotten things. When the bait is made, I will put it in the fish basket and put it in the water. I don't believe it won't attract fish."

Zhou Jingming wasn't a fishing enthusiast; he wasn't particularly interested in fishing or similar things, unless he was really bored.

But that didn't stop him from knowing that the bait made with asafoetida was quite effective.

During the transition from spring to summer, asafoetida is in full bloom and begins to bear fruit. Its stems secrete a resin similar to rosin, which has a rather foul odor, like the smell of rotting animals.

In his past life, he knew a fishing enthusiast who liked to use what he called asafoetida as bait for groundbaiting and fishing.

He did know a simple preparation method.

It is said that bait made with asafoetida is very effective for winter fishing because its aroma can travel quite far even in cold water.

The water in these deep mountain rivers mostly comes from snowmelt, which is perfect for using asafoetida.

Of course, he didn't go to such lengths just to show off to Wu Yang or out of boredom.

He just thought that if he could put a fish trap in the river and keep an eye on it, and catch some fish, it would be a good supplement to the fish.

That evening, the two built a campfire by the tent, grilled fish with salt and chili as a snack, and enjoyed another comfortable meal.

After the two had eaten and drunk their fill, they patrolled around the campsite and, finding nothing amiss, returned to their tent to sleep.

Meanwhile, Peng Yuanchao went to find Wang Youping in Tiemaike but found no one there, and was still waiting.

After a day of trekking, we left the Gold Rush Valley and encountered a truck carrying supplies into the mountains. We stopped the truck, each of us paid a small amount of money, and arrived in Timak late that night.

Of course, nothing could be done at night, so we finally managed to knock on the door of a hotel and invited a group of people to stay there.

The next morning after nine o'clock, he led everyone to the bank and the post office on the street. They deposited some of the money and sent the rest to their hometown in Longzhong.

After a lot of trouble, we finally got the job done.

He originally planned to buy some potatoes and cabbage, and then buy diesel before heading back, but since the group had already spent quite a bit of time in the mountains, they all wanted to explore Tiemaike a bit more before heading back the next day.

He exchanged a few words with the group, agreed to meet them at the hotel that evening, and then they went their separate ways.

He simply followed Zhou Jingming's instructions and called Bai Zhishun to stay by his side, mainly because no one else wanted to take Bai Zhishun around aimlessly.

Diesel fuel was undoubtedly the most important thing, so he went to the supply and marketing cooperative first, but after asking around, he was at a loss.

At that time, diesel and gasoline were subject to state purchase and distribution. Diesel was priced at 70 cents per liter, which was not too expensive, but you couldn't buy diesel without a ration coupon.

This was something Zhou Jingming had already anticipated.

He immediately asked someone for Wang Youping's address and went there, but couldn't find him. His family told him that he had gone to deliver supplies into the mountains, so he could only leave a message and go find him again the next morning.

The next morning, it was Wang Youping who found the hotel first.

Upon meeting, Wang Youping immediately asked, "Adasi, what do you want to see me about?"

Peng Yuanchao lowered his voice: "I want to ask if you have any way to help me get diesel fuel tickets. I want to buy some diesel fuel, and I would also like to ask you to take me up the mountain."

Wang Youping hesitated: "Diesel vouchers...this is not a good thing!"

As he said this, he kept rubbing his right thumb and forefinger together.

Peng Yuanchao, having been through the wringer before, knew from his scouting trip back and riding in Wang Youping's tractor that Wang was a shrewd and calculating man, and he knew exactly what Wang meant.

He immediately took out twenty yuan from his pocket and handed it over. Seeing that Wang Youping was still unmoved, he added another ten yuan.

This time, Wang Youping took the money and put it in his pocket: "The boss made a fortune mining gold in the mountains... It's just buying some diesel tickets, it's no big deal, come with me!"

Along the way, he told Peng Yuanchao that these days, if a company uses diesel coupons to refuel its vehicles at gas stations or supply and marketing cooperatives, it can reduce the inconvenience of having to go back to the company for reimbursement when refueling with cash. Some employees in companies who use diesel and gasoline coupons can indirectly intercept and resell diesel coupons, and some people specialize in making money from this business.

Peng Yuanchao immediately followed Wang Youping out the door. They wandered around Tiemaike for a while and finally arrived at a family's door. He knocked on the door and called out a few times, and a Uyghur man came out.

The two spoke in their local dialect for a while, then Wang Youping turned to Peng Yuanchao and asked, "How many do you want?"

Peng Yuanchao thought for a moment. The diesel engine consumed about seventeen or eighteen kilograms of diesel fuel a day. He planned to make fewer trips and told the man, "The more the better!"

As a result, the man went back and counted the contents for a while, then came out and said, "There are 430 liters."

Peng Yuanchao calculated that it would be enough for a while, and quickly agreed: "I'll take it all!"

He immediately took out his money, counted it, and brought all the diesel coupons. He didn't ask for a high price; it was even lower than the original price.

There were more than ten tickets, some for fifty liters, some forty liters, and some other denominations.

These tickets were originally intercepted privately. In those days, not many private individuals could use the machines, and those who could were mostly employees of work units. If the price was too high, even fewer people would buy them.

In reality, with these coupons, you could get a liter of diesel fuel for just 50 cents.

This made Peng Yuanchao feel that the thirty yuan he gave to Wang Youping was not in vain, at least the matter was handled efficiently.

(End of this chapter)