With Lan Ya and her group successfully picking up Bo Gang, a large portion of my worries subsided, leaving me to handle the remaining matters.
Wen Siqiang called, informing me that the raw stone they were working on had been peeled open on another side. It showed no cracks, no damage, and no mutations. He asked if I wanted them to continue.
I told him it was sufficient and to hand it over to Sister Xiang. I instructed him to drive, as we needed to go to the port to meet Qing Ge’s men.
Wen Siqiang acknowledged. I informed him I was at the main venue and asked him to pick me up.
I called Jing Lei, asking if she had her card on her, as I intended to gamble on stones with Prince Ye.
Jing Lei replied that she had the card and would come to find me at Kang Gong’s after settling Bo Gang and the others.
Wen Siqiang drove over. He intended to get out and open the car door for me, but I directly pulled it open and got in, not letting him out. His injuries hadn’t fully healed, and besides, we were in my own territory; there was no need for such ceremony.
I said, “To the port.”
Wen Siqiang didn’t reply, stepping on the accelerator and driving out.
Qing Ge had transferred ten men from elsewhere. They were all dressed as businessmen and could all speak Chinese, but by their appearance, they didn’t seem like they were from the mainland.
I wasn’t sure about their combat skills. Qing Ge mentioned that most of his men were recruited from the Golden Triangle, and they were all desperate outlaws.
The Golden Triangle was infamous, and people from there were indeed life-risking individuals. Qing Ge recruited them with generous offers to stay by his side, even Bo Gang was wary of them.
I discussed some hand signals with them, instructing them to spread out upon arrival and blend in with the merchants. I told them that Wen Siqiang would give them commands later for them to act.
Jing Lei called, saying she was on her way from the hotel to Kang Gong’s company. I told her I was waiting for her at the entrance, and we would go in together.
I hailed several taxis for the ten men, directing the drivers to take them directly into the trade fair.
We arrived at Kang Gong’s timber company. True to expectation, the gates were wide open, colorful flags fluttering. Two rows of glamorous hostesses stood at the entrance, each holding a stack of cards to distribute to arriving guests. I suspected they were discount vouchers, usable for cash deductions during transactions.
I told the ten men to go in first and familiarize themselves with the environment, and I would enter later.
Jing Lei came alone; Lan Ya had returned to the winery, as there were still many matters to attend to there.
I asked Wen Siqiang and Jing Lei to park the car in a spacious area, making it convenient for our departure later.
As we entered, the hostesses handed each of us a few vouchers. Just as I had surmised, they were discount vouchers, directly deductible from the transaction price of raw stones by ten percent.
It seemed Kang Gong had invested heavily this time. Ten percent of the transaction price was not a small amount. It wasn’t a fixed deduction but a tiered discount; the larger the transaction, the greater the discount.
For stones purchased in the millions, one could get hundreds of thousands off.
Stepping through the main gate, many local Burmese merchants had set up stones for sale along both sides of the road. They were not affiliated with Kang Gong’s trading fair but were purely there to join in the excitement.
They conducted direct transactions; if one fancied a stone, they would pay and take it.
There were over a dozen stalls lining the road, and many people, after entering, first inspected their stones.
This was a good strategy; attracting more local Burmese merchants could significantly boost the crowd.
I told Wen Siqiang that after we finished our business, we would go to the Sino-Burmese Street and find similar local Burmese merchants. We would invite them to sell raw stones at our location without any fees, and in return, they would be responsible for keeping the area clean.
It seemed Prince Ye never intended to adhere to the bet from the start. He hadn’t stopped preparing for this trade fair for a single moment.