The man drooped his head, refusing to speak.
At this moment, an old Burmese man with a full beard entered from outside. Seeing Brother Qing from a distance, he greeted him as if they hadn't met in a long time.
Brother Qing beckoned him over and introduced him to Brother Bao.
Brother Qing said, "This is Mr. Teng Ji, an old friend of mine. He owns five or six mines in Da Makhan, and many of the rough stones at this jade fair were supplied by him."
Brother Bao then stood up. Brother Qing continued, "This is my brother Ah Bao from the mainland. He's a prominent figure in Ruili. You two should keep in touch, communicate, and cooperate more in the future. It would allow an old man like me to also benefit from your success."
Teng Ji didn't speak much Chinese, but he understood. He nodded continuously, and then the two men shook hands. They performed a Burmese greeting, signifying their acquaintance.
I didn't know Brother Qing's motive for introducing this bearded man to Brother Bao. Was Brother Bao looking to switch to the jade business? Or did Brother Qing have other plans?
Teng Ji said a few words in Burmese, and Brother Qing translated, "Teng Ji wants you to inspect his mines. As long as the rough stones do not exceed 100 kilograms, he can directly export them without needing to report to the government."
Brother Bao nodded and said to Brother Qing, "Then we'll decide after the jade fair ends."
Indeed, Brother Bao was considering entering the rough stone business. This meant Brother Qing's role was far more than just a mediator. There was definitely some kind of transaction involved.
Given this, the massive stone would be much simpler. At least subjectively, Brother Qing wouldn't interfere with this particular stone. Whether there was anything valuable inside would be purely a matter of luck.
At this moment, a bell chimed from outside. Brother Qing invited everyone to move out, as the jade fair was about to begin.
On a makeshift stage stood an official-looking man, speaking entirely in Burmese without a translator. Everyone looked bewildered.
Although this was an internal jade fair and most guests were from the mainland, they should have considered the guests' feelings.
Fortunately, most of the service staff communicated in Chinese, which made things much easier.
After the man finished speaking, another bell rang, signaling the official opening. People could now start bidding on the stones.
Brother Bao was here for that massive stone and wasn't interested in other roughs. I told Brother Bao that the giant stone hadn't been revealed yet and that I would go and look at other stones first.
I had heard from my master that public jade fairs were the true rough stone exhibitions, where one could find truly superior pieces. Of course, if one misjudged, they could also be ruined.
In other words, here, aside from the fully revealed jade, betting on rough stones was about skill and luck.
I didn't linger among the revealed stones. Revealed stones were almost always top-grade, with prices already at their peak. Unless someone dealing in finished products was interested, stone gamblers wouldn't stop here.
I went directly to the area for "hidden head" rough stones.
There were many "hidden head" stones, from various mining areas. Their outer skins were thoroughly cleaned and sorted into piles based on weight.
When I arrived, I had obtained a card from Jing Lei. If I found anything suitable, I would try my luck at the fair.
I skirted around the black sand stones and went straight to the Da Makhan rough stone area.
The Da Makhan mining area is located downstream of the Wulu River, west of the old mining area. Da Makhan is adjacent to the old Paukkan mining area, about 30 kilometers from Paukkan. Centered around Da Makhan, the jade blocks found here are collectively called Da Makhan gamble stones. The jade deposits are mostly alluvial. In earlier times, miners extracted the top sand deposits from the banks of rivers. The jade mines here did not experience significant water erosion or long-distance transport, so the rounding is not pronounced. They are semi-weathered, semi-transported, accumulated deposits found in half-mountain, half-water sand formations. The lower ore layers are very hard, with the binding material primarily being calcareous and clay. It becomes harder to excavate the deeper one goes. Da Makhan has not been mined for a very long time. Represented by the Da Makhan mining area are famous sites such as Da Makhan, Que Bing, Da San Ka, Ying Ge Die, Huang Ba, and nearly 20 other mining areas.
The highest quality in Da Makhan is the half-mountain, half-water stone. The rough stones generally have thin outer skins and smaller jade pieces, usually not exceeding five kilograms. These rough stones are gambled for their "fog," which can be red, yellow, black, or white. Generally, nine out of ten fogged stones have water (i.e., are valuable).
Brother Qing mentioned earlier that Teng Ji's mines were in Da Makhan. These stones likely came from his mines. The Da Makhan stones were placed in three areas: mountain stones, half-mountain half-water stones, and water stones.
Mountain stones are on the surface of the ore deposits. Their size is much larger than half-mountain half-water stones, with distinct edges and varied shapes, resembling a pile of rubble used for building foundations.
I walked to a pile of half-mountain half-water stones and crouched down to look for a piece I liked.
Da Makhan has undergone years of mining. The mine pits have reached depths of twenty to thirty meters, from the original surface to the current fifth or sixth layer. Half-mountain half-water stones are now very rare; most are water stones.
These are likely accumulated stock.
Half-mountain half-water stones have experienced riverbed transport, so their edges are somewhat blurred, but they are not as rounded as water stones. They are still relatively easy to distinguish.
I picked out a stone weighing about five kilograms. It had a clay-yellow color, and its skin was very tight. When I shone a light on it, it didn't transmit much light. I suspected it might have a dark fog that absorbed the light.
This stone was about the size of a hand and ten centimeters thick, flat, like a thick pancake made of corn flour in the north.
If this rough stone had good flesh, a fine texture, and ample water, it could be made into bracelets, pendants, or charms.
I ran my hand over the surface. The grain was not very heavy, feeling like fine sandpaper. I saw no fissures or cracks. The color was uniform, like a very large mango that had been flattened.
I looked at the number and the reserve price: 03236, with a bid of one thousand US dollars.
This reserve price was not low. The final transaction price would include a 40% tax, so the tax had to be considered when placing a bid.
I wrote down a bid of one thousand eight hundred and placed the completed bid form into the bid box.
There were thousands upon thousands of hidden head stones here. As long as no one maliciously bid against you, you could generally win at your bid price.
The bid boxes were opened once every hour. One person read out the bids, and another recorded them, similar to village voting. The highest bidder won.
The revealed stones were opened only once a day, not until the afternoon.
After waiting for a while, I heard the bell and guessed that the hidden head stones were about to be opened. I walked over and stood by the stage to watch the staff read out the bids.
Since it was the start of the fair, there weren't many bidders. After only a few bids were read, it was time for the stone I had bid on. It was at my bid price, and no one else placed a bid by the end.
I went to the cashier to pay with my card. The staff helped me with the international currency exchange.
One thousand eight hundred plus seven hundred and twenty in tax totaled two thousand five hundred and twenty US dollars, which was about twenty thousand yuan.
The staff returned my card shortly. I took the receipt and went to collect the stone.
On the other side of the stage were a row of cutting machines, waiting to cut stones for customers.
I took the stone over and handed it to a young craftsman, telling him to make one cut on the top.
The craftsman secured the stone and made a cut about one centimeter deep on the smaller end.
After the stone was cut, the craftsman handed it to me. The cut surface was very smooth, and I couldn't see the water content. It was a layer of dark gray fog. Even with a flashlight, I still couldn't see inside. It looked like a black, lumpy stone.