Hearing Li Du's words, the man said seriously, "No, what I'm telling you is the truth. My name is Zhong Da Pao. People on the street call me Brother Pao. That's a well-known fact."
Hearing this, Li Du became serious. "Is that really your name?"
What kind of parents would give their child such a name? Li Du was stunned.
Zhong Da Pao was not surprised at all. He smiled and said, "My father is a soldier. He's in the artillery. When I was born, he was training a new cannon. Then, he gave me this name. Haha."
Li Du cupped his hands and said, "Brother Pao, how are you?"
Zhong Da Pao said, "I want to treat you to tea, and then I have something to discuss with you. I don't know if you're interested."
Li Du laughed and said, "I just came out of a teahouse. Tea again?"
Zhong Da Pao waved his hand and said, "You were in a teahouse just now? That's a liar's den! Come with me, I'll take you to a proper place. You don't have to worry, after all, you have so many bodyguards. "
Li Du shook his head and said, "I'm not worried, I just don't want to waste time. Just tell me what you want."
Zhong Da Pao said, "Alright, then I'll get straight to the point. Little brother, are you a jade expert? I know a few good stones have appeared recently, but I don't have good taste. I want to work with you. "
Li Du smiled and waved his hand. "You'd better find someone else. I can't do it. First, I'm not here to gamble on stones. Second, I'm not an expert. I'm a rookie. "
Zhong Da Pao sighed regretfully and said, "Little brother, if you don't want to work with me, that's fine. But you don't have to use such excuses to fool me. How boring is that?"
"That's right. Who doesn't come to Hpakant for stones? Are you here to travel? To this remote place? If you want to travel with jade, go to Ruili. That's still our country's territory, "the bald middle-aged man who had been standing at the side said unhappily.
This man was obviously familiar with Zhong Da Pao. Zhong Da Pao was afraid that his words would offend Li Du, so he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Old Hei, these things can't be forced. We have a favor to ask."
As he spoke, he said to Li Du, "Little brother, your skill is indeed invincible. But you don't look familiar to me. It should be your first time here, right? You need a guide at the very least. Otherwise, it would be a waste of your sharp eyes! "
Li Du pushed Godanwei out and said, "This is my tour guide."
Zhong Da Pao glanced at him and said, "Little brother, you are from Kachin Delang, right? The Derang people also came to Hpakant to play with stones? Forget about the ancestral teachings? You'll have to chop off your hand! "
Godanwei smiled apologetically. "Master Pao is right. I won't play. When Mr. Li hired me, he said he wasn't here to buy stones. That's why I accepted the order."
As soon as he said that, Zhong Da Pao laughed and said to Li Du, "Brother, it's not right of you to do that."
Li Du said, "I'm really not here to buy stones. That's not my destination. I'm just passing by to take a look."
The bald middle-aged man curled his lips and said, "Who would believe such nonsense?"
Zhong Da Pao kicked him and said, "I believe you, I believe you. But with your skills, it is a pity that you did not play with stones when you came to Hpakant. "
Li Du asked curiously, "How do you know that I'm very capable? I'm really a rookie! "
Zhong Da Pao laughed out loud. "Six chickens. You just casually looked at them and touched them, and you knew their value. You even found the only two stones with watercolors to show the liar. I, Old Zhong, have not seen many people with such discerning eyes in my life!"
Li Du said, "I was just lucky."
Zhong Da Pao shook his head. "If you are really not willing, then forget it. But if you are willing to cooperate, we can really make a fortune. Your skills and my information are a match made in heaven! "
Seeing that he could not persuade Li Du, he left a business card and left with the bald middle-aged man.
Li Du looked at the simple business card and asked Godanwei, "Do you know this person?"
Godanwei nodded. "I've heard of him. Zhong Da Pao, Master Pao. He is quite famous in Hpakant. He was a soldier in your country. I don't know if he retired or defected, but he came to Hpakant. Now he is considered a local here."
The journey was bumpy, and Li Du wanted to find a place to rest.
Godanwei was quite worried. "Mr. Li, if you don't want to stay in Hpakant to buy stones, let's leave early. I'm afraid those liars we offended before will not be easy to deal with!"
Li Du said, "Let's rest first. Hpakant is chaotic, but there are still laws governing it, right? Let's find the best hotel here. I don't believe that a few liars would dare to cause trouble in such a hotel. "
Godanwei reluctantly agreed and led them along the street.
In a residential area, they found a hotel. The hotel had five floors and the decor was average. It looked like it had been there for a long time. It would not even be a three-star hotel in China or America.
There were stalls at the entrance of the hotel, selling fast food, non-staple food, clothes, and so on. However, there were no stalls selling stones. It was completely different from the outside.
Seeing that Li Du was curious, Godanwei explained, "The stones sold by those stalls were brought out from the landfill. They are used to fool outsiders."
There were many people in the group, and Li Du booked ten rooms. Each room cost 2,200 RMB, the same price as a five-star hotel in China.
The currency in circulation here was also RMB. Perhaps because domestic businessmen were the majority, this kind of hotel must have been prepared for domestic businessmen.
Li Du took out the money to book a room. Someone came out of the elevator and saw them. A young man curled his lips and said, "Yo, where did this old man come from? There are so many foreign bodyguards. "
The person next to him pulled him and said, "Don't cause trouble. Can we afford to offend this kind of person?"
"At most, I'll just lose my life. What's there to be afraid of?" The young man looked indifferent.
Li Du did not want to cause trouble. The other party was just making fun of him. He did not want to cause trouble because of that.
After paying the bill, he did not go straight upstairs. Instead, he walked toward the young men.
The young men suddenly looked like they were facing a formidable enemy. Some of them put their hands on their waists and stared at Li Du with a wary face.
Li Du did not look at them. After passing by, he squatted at the door and asked, "How much are the popsicles?"
The popsicle seller was a little girl, only twelve or thirteen years old. She squatted behind a machine that looked like a pressure cooker. It was a hand-cranked popsicle machine, which was popular in China in the sixties and seventies.
When Li Du was very young, he had seen this kind of popsicle machine. After seeing it, he became interested and wanted to reminisce about his childhood.
The little girl stretched out her hand and said in Chinese, "Five hundred dollars."
Li Du was shocked. "So expensive?"
The little girl pouted and said, "Five hundred Kyat, or two and a half dollars."
Only then did Li Du realize that it was indeed expensive. No one in China would eat this kind of popsicle, but it was sold here for two and a half dollars. The price was astonishing.
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