Chapter 104: Imperial Jade

At 2 p.m., the three of them reached Yunnan. Zhang Jiefang’s business partner came to escort them. When they got off the plane, he welcomed them with enthusiasm.

“Boss Zhang, how have you been since I saw you last?” The person shook Zhang Jiefang’s hand graciously.

“Boss Wu, your car has changed to a Hummer already. Looks like you have earned quite a lot this year!” Zhang Jiefang said with a laugh.

“Not at all. Isn’t it true that you guys are looking after me like a fortune god?” Wu Facai said.

Wu Facai’s name was interesting. His family was poor when he was young. His parents hoped that he could make a fortune, so they named him, Wu Facai. But his surname was Wu, so it sounded like not getting rich! However, Wu Facai struggled a lot these few years – starting from earning several ten thousand yuan and now he was a billionaire. [1]

“How are the items? You know that I’m not an expert. I am rarely involved in such business except when the items are good in quality!” Zhan Jiefang explained.

“Boss Zhang, don’t you worry. The stones that came from Myanmar this time are the best. If it weren’t because we got along drinking, I wouldn’t have asked you to join!” Wu Facai said.

“How’s the price?” Zhang Jiefang was mostly worried about this problem.

“A items, the price is about the same as B items, one piece for five hundred yuan!” Wu Facai said.

“Five hundred yuan, so expensive? Last time, it was just two hundred yuan?” Zhang Jiefang asked in an exaggerated manner.

“My boss Zhang, you’re in this business, but you don’t know the price? Last time, they were B items, and the stone wasn’t bigger than this either!” Wu Facai said, “You’ll know when you see the items!”

Wu Facai had arranged a place to stay; it was a three-star hotel. The environment wasn’t bad. Zhang Jiefang didn’t nitpick because it was arranged by the other. Besides, it was comfortable here.

After he settled his luggage, Wu Facai arranged a dinner to welcome Zhang Jiefang. When Zhang Jiefang saw Wu Facai’s manner, it was clear to him. Even if tomorrow’s items aren’t ideal, I still have to take several ten thousand yuan out of respect.

The most important thing in business was face. Although profit should come first, face must be considered in a situation that didn’t damage each other’s profit.

When he returned to the hotel at night, Zhang Jiefang gave Zhang Bing ten thousand yuan and said, “Tomorrow, you two go and enjoy yourselves. If you don’t have enough money, call me again!”

“No problem!” Zhang Bing immediately accepted the money. When Zhang Jiefang usually gave Zhang Bing pocket-money, it was only a few hundred. This was the first time he was so generous.

“Oh yeah, Uncle Zhang, What did you discuss with that Uncle Wu today?” Yang Ming was curious, just now, he got lost on the topic during the dinner. One piece of cheap jadeite can sell for about five hundred yuan? There still exists such a huge profit? Yang Ming really couldn’t understand that Wu Facai became a billionaire by just selling stones for three years!

What speed was this? If I could find a similar business, then, I will be richer than Wang Zhitao sooner or later!

“Oh, you’re talking about the gemstones!” Zhang Jiefang was quite drunk, so he wanted to show off in front of a junior! Zhang Jiefang usually could maintain the dignity as a senior, but now, he was like their brother, sitting on the hotel bed and talking big. “Yang Ming, you know Uncle Zhang has a jewelry business. Besides gold and platinum. Jade is one of my key businesses too!

“Real jade has two types, soft and hard. Common jade usually refers to soft jade; hard jade has another popular name – imperial jade. We and your Uncle Wu were talking about the unpolished stone, so we don’t know whether the stone is jade or not. Since there are different grades for jade, the best is what we call jade, and the latter is an inferior quality product. Jade looks like a stone, so we in the field usually call them gemstones.

“Original gemstone trading is the most mysterious business in the market of jewelry. It was mysterious because of gambling, so the buyer has the statements of gambling jade, gambling stone. Gemstones usually have a layer of stone crust; the crust turned brownish-red, brown-black or other mixed colors because of oxidation. Therefore, it was hard to inspect its real value by just observing the appearance. Even today with scientific advances there isn’t an instrument to distinguish through the outer crust whether it was a real jade or a ruined stone.

“In your uncle’s level, I can only play around occasionally. There’s too much of an element of luck in play, and they will not let you bring an instrument in for jade gambling!”

It was the first time Yang Ming was hearing of such a business in the world. Isn’t this the same as buying lottery? Lottery…

Yang Ming had an idea. “Uncle Zhang, can we go to the place for stone gambling to have a look?”

“Yeah, you can. Why not? If you’re interested, uncle will give you a few pieces, and then you can play along with Zhang Bing!” Zhang Jiefang said.

“Yang Ming, let’s not go there. What fun is there? Why don’t we go around and play!” Zhang Bing wasn’t interested in it.

“Zhang Bing, I’ve never seen it before, so I’m curious. It won’t waste much time. Let’s go have a look!” Yang Ming suggested.

“Yeah, that’s right. Zhang Bing, what’s wrong with you? Yang Ming is a guest and you’re the host. The host is obligated to accompany his guest! Fine, I won’t give you pocket-money anymore if you’re not willing!” Zhang Jiefang, of course, wanted Zhang Bing to get in touch with this business because it was such a big family business. Zhang Bing will inherit it. A bigger connection will be helpful for Zhang Bing in the future!

“Ah? Alright then! I’ll go!” Zhang Bing became listless as soon as he heard about not getting pocket-money.

Yang Ming laughed. How could he not understand what Zhang Jiefang meant? However, he didn’t expose it as long as he could achieve his aim!

That night when they returned to their room, Zhang Bing wasn’t content. He asked with a bitter face, “Yang Ming, why are you interested in such a thing! So boring!”

“Hehe, I’m just curious only!” Yang Ming explained.

“Brother, why can’t you find something else to be curious about? I’m still hoping to get a girl!” Zhang Bing complained.

“Get a girl? Don’t do it in Yunnan. Didn’t you read about Wisely’s novel [2]? It is about a man having a one night stand. It turned out that the partner was a virgin. She kept forcing him to marry her. Of course, the guy disagreed and ran away! As a result, the lady was so furious that she cursed him with voodoo. In the end, the guy almost died by exploding!” Yang Ming said.

“F***, Brother, don’t you try to scare me! Why does it sound like a pseudoscience?” Zhang Bing couldn’t help but have a chill.

Science? Hehe, Yang Ming laughed. There are too many phenomena which can’t be explained by science such as my special abilities. So is it considered pseudoscience or science?

You’re saying that it’s science? It’s impossible to explain based on current technology. If you’re saying that it’s pseudoscience, then how can you explain the phenomenon on Yang Ming?

So, not everything can be considered as science or pseudoscience!

“I’m telling the truth. You can try if you don’t believe me!” Yang Ming was having fun with him.

“Ah? F***. I wouldn’t be here if I knew earlier. Oh my gosh, I’m having such bad luck!” Zhang Bing lay on the bed crestfallen.

“Hehe, I’m just trying to scare you. Truly, voodoo is quite rare now. In Yunnan, only Miao people [3] know how to do it. Of course, not all of them know how to do it! Only a small number of people know, and these people usually stay in a village that is isolated from the world!” Yang Ming looked at Zhang Bing’s expression, and he couldn’t help but find it amusing. “Besides, there are rules in this tribe, so they aren’t allowed to simply curse anyone!”

“F***, I still feel that it’s quite confusing. No way, I have decided!” Zhang Bing shouted all of a sudden.

“You decided? What did you decide?” Yang Ming thought he decided not to get a girlfriend anymore.

“I decided that I will check her identification card before making her a girlfriend and just look for the minority race!” Zhang Bing said.

“…” Yang Ming was speechless. Why is this so exaggerated? I’m only learning and applying immediately. I was just saying.

This night, Yang Ming slept so comfortably. Although the environment had changed, Yang Ming felt safe because he finally found a way to explore his abilities! Although he wasn’t sure about it, he could at least give it a try.

On the next morning, Zhang Jiefang called Wu Facai after breakfast. Then he brought along Zhang Bing and Yang Ming to Tengchong [4] in Yunnan. Tengchong is one of the major distribution centers in the country.

However, this was just a small business. Some jewelers didn’t import from Tengchong anymore; instead, they directly imported from Yangon [5]. Like Wu Facai, he imported from Yangon. Then he resold it when he was back in the country to earn the price difference.

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