Translator:Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor:Nyoi-Bo Studio
What was the most expensive thing in the 21st century? Talent!
What was the most valuable thing in the industry of gambling on rocks? Talent!
Da Mao pulled off an incredible feat when he made his mark with that one victory; he was now practically a demi-god. Before, when he had picked rocks for people like Zhong Dapao, no one noticed him. Now that his evaluation of Old Hua’s rock was validated and proven correct, everyone recognized his capabilities. Such situations brought out the true extent of his abilities and captivated his audience.
A wealthy-looking, middle-aged man with a bald patch on his head walked up to the boy with his name card and said as he smiled at him, “Brother, how do I address you?”
Almost immediately after, someone else rushed up to him with his own name card. “Hey pal, I look forward to working with you.””Brother, want to have a meal together?”
This was a first for the boy. These people suddenly surrounded him, and the crowd around him only seemed to be getting larger. He was clearly unaccustomed to this and kept shuffling backwards.
Liu Zi pulled the boy behind him and glared at the crowd. “What do you guys want? What are you trying to do?”
The wealthy-looking man chuckled. “Master Liu, what could we possibly want? We just want to get to know this lad, why are you so riled up?”
Old Hua shook himself out of his stupor and walked up to Da Mao from behind. In the split second that Liu Zi was preoccupied with the man in front of him, he shoved his brand-new iPhone into Da Mao’s hands.
Da Mao asked, “What’s this?”
Old Hua smiled, but the smile looked forced. “Brother, you look like you’re new around here, so you don’t really know Hpakant all that well, right? Take my phone and use it. I’ve got a list of contacts in it with some notes. Contact any of them if you run into any trouble. This number is mine, so they’ll—”
Liu Zi did not wait for the man to finish speaking. He dragged Da Mao away and swore up and down, “F*ck, have you guys gone mad? What the hell is all this? Don’t f*cking push my man like this.”
Old Hua retorted, “Master Liu, you’re being really two-faced right now. Just a moment ago, you were scolding and kicking the boy, but now he’s ‘your man?”
Liu Zi had no way to counter that, so Zhong Dapao responded, “You’re one to talk, Old Hua. You were this close to whooping the boy. And you would have gone ahead and hit him if we didn’t intervene.”
Old Hua barked out a laugh. “Haha, I was a fool not to recognize a talent like him!”
He then turned to Da Mao, looking markedly more humble than he had been before. He said, “Sorry, little man. I was wrong to have done all of that, and I hope you forgive me. Give this old man a chance to redeem himself. Let me buy you a meal when you’re free.”
Da Mao was at a loss. He hurriedly shook his head. “Please, no, don’t say that! It was no big deal. We’re all just human beings, right?”
“My ass,” Liu Zi scoffed. “Alright, that’s enough. Let’s get going. The air here is terrible, it’s no place for us to linger.”
Seeing that they were about to leave, the person in charge of the public market, who had been loitering behind, stepped forward to speak to them. “Master Pao, Master Liu. A word, please?”
The public market was not just responsible for cutting rocks; it was also responsible for recovering, selling, safekeeping and evaluating the cut pieces of jade. The person in charge was there to purchase their batch of jade.
The group filed into a waiting room. Zhong Dapao sipped a cup of tea and muttered lowly, “Manager Maung Kyaw, we have no problems selling the jade to you. But the selling price of a billion and 40 million…”
Liu Zi cracked open a pistachio and said, “That’s right. Whole load of rubbish, that is. A billion and 40 million is just too little. What about two? We’ll settle for two billion.”
One look at Manager Maung Kyaw sufficed to tell he was a Myanmar local. The man chuckled. “Master Liu, you’re so good with jokes. Two billion is too ridiculous a price, but we do have to make a compromise since we’re very keen on acquiring your jade. How’s a billion and a half?”
Zhong Dapao rolled his eyes at this. “Are you kidding me? It’s just too low, Manager Maung Kyaw. Do you know how many people I’m feeding back at my village? They’re all relying on what I bring back from selling this rock, so you gotta give us more.”
Manager Maung Kyaw stared pensively at Da Mao before saying, “Money and jade will flow in like water if you have this boy, no? Master Pao, your people will be eating nothing but delicacies from now on. With the help of this boy, they’d probably eat so much that they’d get sick of it.”
Zhong Dapao laughed raucously while waving his hands in denial. “You’re exaggerating, Manager Maung Kyaw. We’re fine just filling our stomachs with rice. Tell you what, we’ll add another two eights to the price you just quoted us, how about that?”
Manager Maung Kyaw shook his head with a smile. “I apologize, but we cannot accept this price. Nobody can.”
Li Du interjected, “I can pull some strings for you. Harry Winston, Inc. have their eye on the jade industry. Master Pao, perhaps you can consider the price they’re quoting?”
Manager Maung Kyaw threw Li Du a glance and chuckled. “Boss Li, you’re too polite and humble. You’re a major shareholder in that company so you can close a deal as long as it doesn’t exceed 20 million USD, right?”
As he said that, the people in the waiting room were shocked. Those who smuggled their way into the gemstone industry knew of Harry Winston, Inc. Zhong Dapao and the rest stared at Li Du in amazement when they found out he was a major shareholder in the company.
Li Du smiled. “That’s impressive, Manager Maung Kyaw. You know exactly who I am, then?”
Manager Maung Kyaw replied, “Don’t take this the wrong way, Mr. Li. We had no intention of invading your privacy, we just wanted to keep track of the people coming into our territory. Besides, your bodyguard is so eye-catching, we’d recognize you even if we didn’t mean to.”
Li Du deliberated briefly and said, “How about this, Manager Maung Kyaw? This is our first time meeting and working with each other, so why don’t you take this as a token of goodwill and friendship, and buy it for a billion and 55 million?”
Manager Maung Kyaw laughed brightly and extended a calloused hand. “I look forward to working with you, Mr. Li. I’m glad to be making friends with you!”
Li Du shook his hand then nodded at Zhong Dapao. The latter rubbed his hands together, hesitating, before forcing himself to go along with it. “Alright, as you wish, young Master Li, though we’re losing out on tens of millions!”
Li Du said, “Cash is easier to carry than jade. Also, I hate to break it to you, but there are quite a few people outside who have their eyes on us.”
Manager Maung Kyaw stood up to arrange the fund transfer. Hearing what Li Du said made him laugh. “Don’t worry too much, Mr. Li. No one here at Longken will lay a finger on you. If you feel like you’re in danger you can stay here instead of leaving for town. This is a decent place, at any rate.”
At the talk of safety, Liu Zi proudly declared, “Don’t you worry, Manager Maung Kyaw. We people from the Chinese Village are nothing if not gutsy. They can try to steal from us if they want to but we won’t take it lying down.”
The sum of money involved in this transaction was large and the manager did not have the clearance to transfer that much. They waited until around noon when the boss of the area gave the clearance. The manager then asked for their bank account number and deposited the sum. The full amount was deposited across two transactions: Li Du received a billion and 20 million and Zhong Dapao received the remaining 30 million.
They left behind the scraps from the cut rock, drove away from the village of Longken, and prepared to make their way down to the next area. They drove along the borders of the small town where several tall off-road vehicles swerved sharply and cut their passage.
Zhong Dapao took a look at the license plates and laughed coldly. “Huh, this is interesting.”
