Along the way, Li Du saw a lot of people looking for food in the garbage, as well as many world-class luxury cars such as Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, and Maybachs.
The gap between the rich and the poor was particularly obvious in this place. Sometimes when a car drove by and someone threw out a cigarette butt or half a cigar, someone would rush to pick it up.
Li Du looked northeast, which was the border of China. Although many friends and classmates in China complained about the country and the government, as Li Du saw more, he felt that the Chinese government was actually doing quite well.
The Hpakant area was indeed worthy of the name of the international jade capital. There were traces of jade ore everywhere.
As long as the car could drive, there were small stalls on the streets. They did not sell food and small goods, but piles of ore.
Along with the ore, there was a large electronic scale. If someone liked a piece or a pile of ore, they would put it on the electronic scale and then trade.
There was no bargaining here. As the government introduced a series of policies to limit the production of jade, the price of ore rose all the way, and even the mine owners and ore merchants became stronger.
They dominated the ore market. After setting the price, they no longer haggled. If they wanted to buy, they could buy. If not, they did not.
The streets of Hpakant were full of jade shops. Li Du looked at the unfamiliar area, and the people outside were also looking at their motorcade.
Godanwei asked carefully, "Boss, this is Hpakant now. We are here. Do you still need a guide?"
Li Du glanced at him and said, "Why, are you in a hurry to go? We haven't been together for long. "
Myitkyina was not far from Hpakant, less than two hundred kilometers away, but they had walked for more than six hours.
The poor road conditions were one reason, and Godanwei had led the wrong way many times.
Through the journey, Li Du could see that he was a king of verbal attacks and a keyboard warrior. When it came to national affairs, he was reasonable and indignant, but when it came to serious matters, he was not reliable.
Take this time for example, this guy probably had not walked the road from Myitkyina to Hpakant many times, so he repeatedly led the wrong way.
If it weren't for the fact that Li Du was unfamiliar with the place and that he couldn't find a guide along the way, Li Du would have wanted to replace Godanwei with someone else.
Godanwei also wanted to replace Godzilla. On the way there, he had seen Godzilla open some of the packages in the trunk. There were traces of long guns in them!
Looking at the stature of Li Du and the others, and then considering the equipment in the car, he had to worry that these people had come to Hpakant to loot!
Both of them were dissatisfied with each other, so they looked at each other.
Godanwei had a plan in mind. When his eyes met Li Du's, he was startled and quickly turned his head to look out the window.
Li Du said coldly, "Young man, what's wrong? Is there something on your mind?"
Godanwei hurriedly explained, "No, no. I was just thinking that if you don't hire me anymore, where can I find some work to earn money? I have to make a living, right?"
Li Du nodded and said, "Don't be afraid, I will continue to hire you."
Although Godanwei was not a good guide, he was a good translator. He spoke Mandarin very well, better than some of Li Du's southern classmates.
Hearing him say that, Godanwei almost cried.
He used to think that when he arrived in Hpakant, he would be free. Now it seemed that he had been dreaming.
Li Du's destination was in the area of Dena Mountain, but when he arrived in Hpakant, he had to look around. After all, this was the world's famous jade capital.
It was not easy for him to get here. Because of the value of jade, Hpakant had always been a battleground. The government and the guerrillas were eager to take over the place. The jade ore here was of great value. Taking a jade mine was equivalent to taking ten gold mines.
In order to better maintain law and order, the Hpakant area usually did not allow ordinary foreigners to enter. Tourists could not come directly to Hpakant to travel, unless they had a tour guide with a strong relationship.
Godanwei certainly did not have a strong relationship. Li Du was able to get here because of the Harry Winston group. Cole had prepared an admission pass for him, so he was unimpeded.
In fact, from Myitkyina to Hpakant, especially after approaching Hpakant, they encountered many checkpoints along the way, and each checkpoint was guarded by elite soldiers.
As a foreigner, it was not easy for Li Du to get so deep into Hpakant. Under such circumstances, how could he not take a good look around?
However, the situation in Hpakant was different from other towns. This was a field area, which was the jade production area. There were six major fields in Myanmar, and each field had many entrances. If you wanted to buy or see good stones, you had to enter the field.
There was a famous saying in the jade industry, "If you don't know the field, don't gamble on stones." Li Du certainly did not understand this, so he asked Godanwei, "Are you familiar with the field in Hpakant?"
Godanwei did not dare to lie at this point. He shook his head honestly. "Boss, look at me. How can I know the field here?"
Li Du said, "Doesn't your cousin's family live here? And didn't you say that there is no one in Myanmar who doesn't know about jade? "
Godanwei continued to say honestly, "I was bragging, boss."
Hearing this, Li Du almost wanted to slap him.
Godanwei sensed his anger and quickly said, "Actually, I know a little, but jade is a big business. I dare not talk about it. I'm afraid I'll affect you if I say too much."
Li Du said, "It's okay. Tell me, what do you know?"
They found a teahouse and sat down. Li Du ordered a pot of tea. Godanwei drank the tea and said,
"There are a total of six fields, Hpakant, Mukan, Nanqi, Houjiang, Xin, and the old and new factories, right?"
"We are now in the Hpakant field, so I won't introduce the other five fields. If you want to make money in Hpakant, the Ji family knows that you have to go to Huika, Muna, Dagudi, Sitong, and Hpakant. There are 28 fields here!"
At this point, he wanted to continue, but he felt that Li Du's expression was not right, so he asked carefully, "Boss, what's wrong?"
Li Du's face was gloomy. "Tell me something I don't know. I know all of this."
Godanwei rubbed his hands and said, "Well, the Hpakant field is an alluvial deposit. It has been mined since two thousand years ago. Do you know this?"
"Speak."
Godanwei hurriedly continued, "Okay, okay. The deepest pit dug here is the fifth layer, which is 30 meters deep."
"The first layer has a yellow sand crust, the second layer has a red sand crust with a wax crust, the third layer has a black sand crust, the fourth layer has a greyish-black crust, and the fifth layer has a white and yellow crust. Most of them have a wax crust. Based on this, we can identify them. Do you know this?"
Li Du had completely given up on him. What Godanwei said was basic knowledge. Since he had decided to come to Myanmar, he must have done his homework. Now it seemed that he knew more than Godanwei.
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