Chapter 1492: Fellow Townsman
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Godanwei was very good at reading people’s expressions. When he saw that Li Du was not happy with his words, he quietly held the teacup and sipped the tea.
Li Du knew more than Godanwei.
Hpakant, a historic jade mining site, was the oldest of the six sites in Myanmar, but it was not as ancient as Godanwei claimed.
According to historical studies, the jade mines in Hpakant could be traced back to the 14th and 15th centuries, when they were mainly used to supply precious stones to the royal family, and the smallfolk was not allowed to trade in jade.
Life in the mining area was very hard. The royal family did not treat the miners as human beings. For a long time, criminals were sent there to work.
The conflict between the hard and dangerous work and the precious ore found below ground made the miners desperate.
Sometimes, when they found good jade, they would hide it and secretly dig it up at night, take it away and sell it in other countries.
However, those who managed to escape were few, and most were captured and executed to frighten the other miners. The history of the jade excavation was a bloody story of human suffering.
Since 1992, Myanmar has allowed large companies in, and then modern machinery starting being used to mine, greatly speeding up the extraction of raw jade.
According to statistics, in recent years, the annual output of jadeite was about 7,000 tons, which was a sharp spike compared to previous years. However, the good quality raw jadeite was severely depleted, so the government had to take control.
Li Du saw a document according to which Hpakant’s jade ore would last for 40 or 50 years, but in the future, it would be more difficult to come across high-quality ore.
High-grade ore had a thin layer of coating, and the appearance was mainly hoary and yellow-white, finely crystallized, with high transparency. Raw ore looked like gravel of various sizes, and it was later processed and polished to produce finished jade.
In the past, Hpakant was famous for producing dark grit with coating as black as coal, which was a fine raw jade often found near water resources.
In addition to these, Li Du also knew a lot of information about jade ore, but nothing useful. The industry clearly had lots of hidden insider knowledge. Just some general information was not good enough to become familiar with it.
Of course, the things that Li Du remembered were nothing compared to the whole jade industry. He did not particularly recall any details, because the knowledge was useless to him. He had the space-time bugs to penetrate the stones to see whether any jade was hidden within.
Afternoon tea was a popular repast, and a dozen tables in the teahouse were occupied.
Li Du and Godanwei’s appearance was unusual in that place. The professionals knew they were laymen when they listened to what they were talking about.
Rookies were popular everywhere because they represented stupid people with money.
Soon, a middle-aged man with a shiny bald patch sidled over to their table, smiled and said, “Greetings to you, brothers. Would you like to share the table with us? I’ve got a nice pot of tea for you guys if you’re interested.”
Li Du nodded and picked up the backpack on the chair. The bald man sat down and waved. The waiter brought a finer-looking teapot.
“Where are you from, brother?” The man asked as he took a sip of his tea. “You look unfamiliar. From your accent, I assume you are Chinese? Oh, sorry to be impolite, I’ll introduce myself first. my name is Lu Dayou, and some people like to call me Dalu.”
Li Du smiled and said, “I am from Nanshan. I went to Germany for work-related matters two years ago. A friend invited me to visit Hpakant.”
Lu Dayou smiled and said, “Oh, a brother from Nanshan? We are practically fellow countrymen, then. My wife is from Nanshan as well. Surely this is fate.”
Li Du also laughed. “Certainly seems like it.”
After drinking two cups of tea, Lu Dayou began to talk about the people’s living conditions in Nanshan, and the local agriculture and industry. He was good at getting familiar with strangers and had a way of chatting, so he soon got friendly with them.
Li Du felt something was off, so he was on his guard. When he was asked personal questions, he made up something noncommittal. He introduced himself by the family name of Su.
Lu Dayou did not care. He continued speaking, and when he finished his tea, he came to the topic, “Brother Su, are you here for jade?”
Li Du nodded. “That’s right. I am preparing to marry my girlfriend, so I want to get a piece of carved jade for her as a wedding gift.”
Lu Dayou clapped on the table and gave a thumbs-up. “That sounds good, Brother Su. We, Nanshan men are indeed affectionate, and I admire your taste. But I’m afraid it would be hard for you to get a good stone here since you don’t really know where to look.”
Li Du pointed to the outside and said, “I see a lot of stones outside.”
Lu Dayou sneered, “Those? They are worth no more than bricks. You won’t find good quality jade in outdoor stalls. All they sell is trash for undiscerning tourists.”
Li Du asked, “Then where could I get good jade?”
Lu Dayou put a satchel on the table, and said, “I have a stone with a nice tint here. Do you want to see it?”
Li Du tried hard not to laugh. The fraudulent method was so crude he was amazed his new acquaintance actually thought he would fall for it.
He smiled and said, “Well, take it out and let’s see.”
Lu Dayou opened the bag and took out a yellow stone with a circle smaller than the fist of an adult. Then he wiped it carefully and said, “This is a piece of material I got from Damakan. Look at it.”
Damakan was a famous mine among the six areas, and the material produced there had a name of its own. It was called “ten fog nine have water”, meaning that there was a foggy layer inside the stone. This murky layer penetrates the stone, wrapping the color, absorbing it, and making it difficult to differentiate.
The place abounded with raw materials, like this kind of stone, weighing around one kilogram, which was very common and popular.
Li Du touched the stone and released the space-time bug in it to take a look. Then he froze.
Lu Dayou’s was not an obvious fraud after all. At least, he happened to get a piece of good jade to exhibit. The stone in the middle of the piece had an orange layer, which switched to water blue deeper in. There was actually jade inside!
Seeing Li Du’s surprise, Lu Dayou smiled and said, “How is my stone? Beautiful, right?”
Li Du shook his head and said, “I’m sorry, Brother Dalu. I don’t know much about this industry, so I really couldn’t tell. You tell me, is this jade good?”
Lu Dayou smiled and said, “Absolutely, this is very good material. I wouldn’t cheat my fellow countryman. If you are interested, I’ll sell it to you.”
Godanwei gave Li Du a wink and a cough. He saw that Li Du was interested, and was reminding him to be careful. There was no doubt that he and Li Du had the same thought, that is, that Lu Dayou was a scammer.
