Although Mr. Tang is a jade collector, he has a special fondness for antique collecting and has a considerable collection at home. In his opinion, gambling on stones is just a minor pursuit, while China's long-standing traditional collecting can truly reveal a person's level of appreciation.
"I wouldn't dare say that. I only have a slight interest. If you have any interesting items, please feel free to discuss them with me anytime..."
Zhuang Rui dared not boast in front of Old Tang. As the saying goes, old people are wise and experienced. These people who have lived most of their lives all have very sharp eyes.
Of course, he wouldn't underestimate himself. With his keen eye for detail, there's no antique in the world that Zhuang Rui can't see through.
"Alright, let's stop standing here like tree stumps being watched. The trade fair has started, let's go in..."
While Tang Lao and Zhuang Rui were talking, the doors of the jade trading center had already opened. The Myanmar jade trade fair is held four to five times a year, and everyone knows the rules, so there is no so-called opening ceremony.
After entering the jade trading center, Zhuang Rui looked around. It hadn't changed much from a few years ago, except that there were more and more people coming to gamble on stones. Almost every area was packed with people.
Seeing this magnificent scene, Zhuang Rui shook his head slightly. Almost 90% of these people were from China, but these 90% of them would probably lose everything. Gambling on stones can make you rich, but it can also bankrupt you.
After entering the jade gambling area, Old Tang frowned slightly, looked at Zhuang Rui beside him, and said, "Xiao Zhuang, there are too many stones here. Let's look at them separately. We can have lunch together later..."
"Yes, Mr. Tang, you must treat me to lunch..."
Zhuang Rui nodded in agreement. His purpose in coming to Myanmar was to stockpile a large quantity of jadeite rough stones to take back. If he stayed with Old Tang all the time, he wouldn't be able to act freely.
After parting ways with Old Tang, Zhuang Rui glanced at the sign and headed straight for the open bidding area. According to the rules, some of the rough stones would be auctioned off in the afternoon, and Zhuang Rui didn't want to miss the opportunity.
Chapter 959 Madness (Part 1)
This year, the number of people attending the jade trade fair in Myanmar far exceeded that of Zhuang Rui's last public auction. Walking through the huge venue, one could see a sea of people, shoulder to shoulder, and the only language one could hear was Chinese, a mix of various regional dialects.
If you closed your eyes and just listened to these voices, you would definitely think you were in some tourist destination in China.
Since the open bidding area opens every afternoon, the road to select raw jadeite is always crowded with people. The jadeite market is now changing prices almost every day, making many merchants and investors green with envy as they look at the raw stones scattered all over the venue.
The rise in jade prices in the past two years has also boosted the jade gambling market from another perspective. Almost every Myanmar jade auction has seen people unearth jade pieces that fetch astronomical prices. Talented people emerge in every generation, which is one of the reasons why Zhuang Rui has been gradually forgotten.
Therefore, relatively speaking, speculators prefer to choose materials with open bidding because they can get the raw materials on the same day. If they can get a price increase on the spot, they might be able to make hundreds of millions or even millions in a single transaction. Even drug trafficking is not as fast as this.
Of course, there are many more people who lose everything by gambling on stones, but the gambling industry only reports good news and not bad news. What is circulated is who made tens of thousands from a single stone, but there are very few reports about those unlucky people who lost everything and turned pale.
These days, there are plenty of wealthy people. When one group is eliminated from the circle, another group naturally comes in to fill the gap, and each time the number of people is larger than the last. This Myanmar jade auction is becoming more and more popular with each edition.
When Qin Haoran reached the fork in the road between the open and closed bidding areas, he looked at Zhuang Rui and said, "Zhuang Rui, you stay and look at the open bidding area, I'll go check the closed bidding area..."
Because Zhuang Rui helped Qin's Jewelry obtain a lot of good materials at the jadeite auction two years ago, and Hu Rong's jadeite mine also provided them with a source of jadeite raw materials through smuggling, Qin's Jewelry not only gained an advantage in the mainland jadeite market, but also had no worries about raw materials.
However, now that Hu Rong is preparing to sell the jade mine, the situation has changed. Although Qin's Jewelry will not be affected in the short term, from a long-term development perspective, it is now necessary to stockpile a batch of raw materials.
After all, according to the predictions of geological experts from various countries, jade mining in Myanmar can only be sustained until 2016. In other words, after 2016, it is very likely that there will be no mines to mine.
By then, all jade ornaments circulating in the market will become rare, non-renewable jewels, and their prices will surely skyrocket. Whoever has more raw materials and more supply will naturally be able to seize the largest market share.
Therefore, nowadays, no jewelry company, whether in China or Southeast Asia, thinks it has too much raw material stockpiled. Almost every time a public auction is held, a large number of people are sent with ample funds to stockpile raw materials for the company's future development.
Despite Hu Rong's plan to sell the jade mine, he has also been stockpiling a considerable quantity of raw jade stones for his companies in Southeast Asia over the past two years.
Moreover, in the past two years, Hu Rong's mine has rarely participated in the official auctions held by the Myanmar government, which can be seen as a way of preparing for the future.
However, some other Burmese mine owners did not have Hu Rong's foresight. Taking advantage of the booming jadeite rough market, they supplied large quantities of rough stones each time. Because of the backwardness of Burmese jade processing technology, they felt that they could only feel at ease when they turned these stones, which could not be eaten, into cash.
"Peng Fei, Li Zhen, it's so hot outside, you two shouldn't follow me. Go find a shed and rest there..."
Since September is the hottest time of the year in Myanmar, there is a glass-roofed shed every few steps, with boiling water inside. This would not have been possible for Myanmar a few years ago, so it's quite modern now.
However, having traveled thousands of miles just to make money, every pavilion was empty. No one was willing to waste time selecting raw stones. Those who couldn't stand the scorching sun would just go into the pavilion to drink some water and then leave in a hurry.
"Brother Zhuang, it's alright, we'll stay with you..."
Li Zhen shook his head. Before coming to Myanmar, Zhuang Rui learned about his mother's illness and immediately brought her to Beijing, where she was placed in the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army and hired a special nurse at a high price.
With his worries gone, Li Zhen didn't say anything in front of Zhuang Rui, but he changed his usual carefree attitude and stayed by Zhuang Rui's side almost every step of the way since arriving in Myanmar.
"No need, you two can sit over there. You two wouldn't understand this rough stone anyway..."
Zhuang Rui waved his hand, indicating that they should find something to do on their own. The number of raw stones at this auction would far exceed the number he had participated in before. If he were to select them one by one, Zhuang Rui simply wouldn't have the time. Therefore, he planned to use his spiritual energy to sense them on a large scale. However, it would be inconvenient to have two people with him.
"Alright, Shura, it's safe here, it's fine..."
Peng Fei and Zhuang Rui had been here once before. In fact, countries with military control like this are much safer than developed countries. At least when entering the venue, weapons are not allowed.
"Safety my ass! I brought my Desert Eagle in with me, didn't I?"
Li Zhen muttered something, which startled Zhuang Rui. The gun barrel was so long, and he didn't know where Li Zhen had hidden it. Looking at his whole body, there didn't seem to be anything bulging.
Shaking his head, Zhuang Rui wasn't worried that Li Zhen would cause any trouble. Although Jia Hao was a bit talkative, he was very reliable.
"My darlings, I'm here!"
More than two years later, when Zhuang Rui walked into the open bidding area of the Myanmar public auction again, he couldn't help but feel excited. He started from the position marked one and walked straight in along the path in the middle.
The entire open bidding area covers more than a thousand square meters and is divided into more than twenty rows, each row being hundreds of meters long. Hundreds of thousands of jadeite stones from various mines are displayed, including fully rough stones and partially rough stones with windows opened, covering the entire venue.
After several upgrades, Zhuang Rui was able to control the spiritual energy in his eyes with ease, preventing it from taking effect on the human body rashly. At this moment, Zhuang Rui released the spiritual energy around him, which covered a distance of about five meters. As he walked, the spiritual energy swept through every stone.
"Damn, this is outrageous! Can these pieces of junk even be called jadeite rough?"
After walking about seven or eight meters and looking at about twenty jadeite rough stones, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but curse inwardly. Although it seemed that there were many more rough stones at this auction than before, the quality had dropped considerably.
Of the more than twenty rough stones that Zhuang Rui had just examined, only one contained jadeite, and the quality was extremely poor, not even reaching the level of "flower green" jadeite. If he bought it, he could only carve it into a low-priced ornament worth ten or twenty yuan.
Furthermore, many of these materials do not resemble those mined from original jadeite mines; they look more like roadside paving stones. This makes Zhuang Rui suspicious of the origin of these so-called raw stones.
After walking seven or eight meters, Zhuang Rui noticed that almost every piece of material that showed promise had several people gathered around it, making him shake his head. He thought to himself, "Damn, Myanmar really knows how to make money. They just put a random piece of broken stone here, and I bet someone will bid on it eventually."
Zhuang Rui sighed inwardly. These people were willing to hit and be hit, and he couldn't control them. He just quickened his pace and continued to walk deeper into the Mingbiao area.
They occasionally encountered acquaintances on the road, but at this moment no one had time to talk. At most, they would exchange greetings and then continue to look down at their own materials. Some people were afraid that Zhuang Rui would come over to check out the rough stones they liked, and they didn't even look up when they saw Zhuang Rui walking over from afar.
Fortunately, almost no one in the room noticed Zhuang Rui's strange behavior. He was holding a notebook and a pen and walked for about thirty or forty minutes, but he didn't stop in front of any of the stones. At most, he would slow down and look at the number of a certain rough stone.
"I won't come again, let's go crazy this time..."
After walking through another row of open bidding areas, Zhuang Rui breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the densely packed numbers in his notebook, he chuckled to himself. This public auction was very large-scale, and although the quality of the rough stones varied, Zhuang Rui still managed to pick out quite a few good pieces.
Next to the numbers in Zhuang Rui's notebook are listed the letters A, B, C, and D. This is how he categorized the raw stones, marking them according to their different qualities.
This time, Zhuang Rui wasn't as picky as before. Apart from icy jadeite, he also noted down any rough stones that showed even slightly better quality, such as bean green jadeite and flower green jadeite, which he had previously looked down upon.
It's important to understand that a jewelry store doesn't rely solely on top-tier jewelry; items costing a few hundred yuan have a larger market and are indispensable products for every jewelry store.
"Peng Fei, why does it seem like Brother Zhuang hasn't stopped to look at these rocks?"
There were two people who noticed Zhuang Rui during the event: Peng Fei and Li Zhen.
These two were probably the most relaxed people at the Myanmar National Jade Center today, sipping the cool water provided by the organizers and leisurely observing the rough stone merchants who were rushing to and fro, their every step exuding a sense of dynamism.
Even the Burmese soldiers on duty in the distance kept glancing at the two of them, seemingly wondering why they weren't choosing any rough stones.
Peng Fei had complete confidence in Zhuang Rui. He curled his lip and said, "Why do you care so much? Brother Zhuang has an incredibly sharp eye. You can ask him to pick out a piece for you, and I guarantee your wife will have a complete set of jewelry..."
"You're just bragging, it's not that amazing..."
Li Zhen laughed upon hearing this, but when he looked in Zhuang Rui's direction, his smile immediately vanished, and he jumped up.
Chapter 960 Madness (Part 2)
"Something's happened, hurry over there..."
Li Zhen's gaze had only been off Zhuang Rui for a dozen seconds when, upon looking back, he found that Zhuang Rui was no longer in sight, and a group of people had gathered around where he had been.
After kicking Peng Fei, Li Zhen sprang up from the bench and rushed towards the crowd. His right hand unconsciously touched his ribs, but he thought about it and let go. It didn't seem like the right place to pull out that thing.
The two quickly ran to the crowd and saw that Zhuang Rui, who was surrounded, was safe and sound. They breathed a sigh of relief. Something had indeed happened, but the person who was in trouble was not Zhuang Rui.
"Everyone, make way, give us some space. If everyone crowds here, it will affect the patients..."
Zhuang Rui was also somewhat frustrated at this moment. He had been observing the rough stones all the way, but he never expected that when he got to this particular stone, the person who had been squatting on the ground observing the rough stones would suddenly collapse in front of him without saying a word.
Although Zhuang Rui wasn't exactly a Good Samaritan, judging from the man's appearance, he was probably a domestic colleague. He immediately carried the man to a nearby shed and loudly called out to the staff at the jade trading center.
Zhuang Rui's shout caused a stir among the people who were examining the jadeite rough stones. They thought they had found some good material and crowded around, making the already stagnant air even more polluted.
"Old Wu, this is Old Wu from Fujian, what's going on?"
"It's Old Wu. Looks like he's had heatstroke because of the hot weather."
"Hurry up, spit on my face..."
"Wasn't that Teacher Zhuang who saved the person?"
"Hey young man, do you know first aid? If you're not sure, move aside..."
Chinese people have always loved watching a spectacle, and Zhuang Rui's loud call immediately attracted a large crowd of onlookers. It's rare to see someone faint from gambling on stones, and everyone started discussing and expressing their opinions.
The onlookers outside were talking without any real understanding of the situation, which made Zhuang Rui extremely annoyed. Although he couldn't diagnose illnesses and didn't know what was wrong with this person, he couldn't help but have a keen eye for detail.
If Zhuang Rui hadn't used his spiritual energy to cleanse this man's body immediately, he probably would have been dead by now. And now there are people questioning him.
"Does anyone know him? Please keep an eye on him and take him to the hospital later..."
Upon hearing someone outside say they knew this person, Zhuang Rui decided he didn't want to stay any longer. Luckily, this wasn't in China, otherwise people might have blamed him for it.
These days, people on buses are afraid to give up their seats, and those who want to be Good Samaritans are afraid to save lives. If they see an elderly person fall and get hit by a car on the street, they all wish they could stay as far away as possible. Zhuang Rui didn't even know if the person was still alive. He didn't want to get involved in this trouble.
Just as Zhuang Rui finished speaking, a middle-aged man in his forties squeezed in and said, "I know him, we're from the same hometown. Young man, thank you so much..."
"It's nothing, no need to thank me. We're all from China, who wouldn't lend a hand if they saw this?"
Zhuang Rui found the man's words pleasant to hear, showing that everyone still has a sense of justice and that not everyone is an unreasonable and sophistry person.
After handing the patient over to the other person, Zhuang Rui said, "Let's get to the hospital quickly, I just saw that he seemed to have stopped breathing..."
Although Zhuang Rui had learned a smattering of acupuncture, he knew nothing about medicine. However, judging from the man's sallow complexion, he seemed to be quite ill.
"No... I don't want to go to the hospital..."
Just as Zhuang Rui finished speaking, a faint voice came from inside the shed.
"He's awake, that person is awake..."
"Old Wu, what's wrong with you?"
At this moment, Old Wu, who was leaning against the man behind him, struggled to open his eyes and said, "Old Li, I don't need to go to the hospital. I'm fine. It was too hot just now, and I got up a little too quickly. I'm fine now..."