Wencha was on the verge of tears. He could never get on Hu Rong's good side, and now he was being blackmailed by Hu Rong's brother. Thinking about the Hu family's power in Myanmar, he worried that if Hu Rong were to speak ill of some important person in the future, he would never have a good life. Cold sweat dripped down Wencha's spine.
"I don't want to see this happen again."
Hu Rong gave Wen Cha a cold look, then beckoned Zhuang Rui to walk out of the airport. Given his status, he had nothing to say to this airport ground staff supervisor.
Chapter 481 Changes in the Eyes
The poorer the place, the less sound the legal system. In a country like Myanmar, under military rule, it's incredibly easy to frame someone. Compared to Hu Rong, Win Cha is like an ant; he could be crushed with a single finger.
Therefore, Wencha did not dare to neglect Hu Rong's words at all. After spending a sum of US dollars to send away the group of soldiers with guns, Wencha summoned his ground crew and held the most agonizing meeting of his life. The meeting focused on promoting integrity and prohibiting the acceptance of tips. The atmosphere at Mandalay Airport improved significantly in a short period of time.
Of course, Zhuang Rui and Hu Rong were unaware of these things. At that moment, Zhuang Rui was sitting in a motorhome driven by Hu Rong, heading towards the hotel.
"Brother Hu, can't we go to the mining area today?"
Judging from Hu Rong's expression, he wanted to stay in Mandela for a day. To be honest, Zhuang Rui's schedule had been really tight lately, and he really didn't want to delay any longer.
Hu Rong smiled and said, "Tomorrow then. The road to the mining area isn't great, and besides, there's not much to see at night. I'll have someone bring a helicopter tomorrow; it won't take much longer..."
"Alright then, Brother Hu, may I ask where your mine is located?"
Zhuang Rui asked casually, but he was actually a little nervous. If Hu Rong's mine was far from the treasure location, Zhuang Rui would have to give up this treasure hunt. After all, he had limited time and several things to do back home.
"Yes, I'll show you..."
As Hu Rong spoke, he took out a map from the car, traced the map with his finger, and finally stopped at a spot, saying, "It's here. This used to be an old pit, but it was filled in decades ago. Later, I had someone survey it, and they said there were still mineral veins, so we started mining again. I never expected it to be an abandoned mine. This is a huge loss..."
"Brother Hu, this is a mountain range, right? Don't worry, maybe if we dig a little deeper, we'll find a mineral vein..."
Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with a hint of joy. For the past few days, they had been comparing the map of Myanmar with the map on their digital camera and discovered that the location marked with the Japanese flag on the map was in the Degang region, which was exactly the place Hu Rong had pointed out earlier.
According to Peng Fei, the area is a tropical jungle and mountainous region with very difficult roads. It is also not particularly far from Ruili, the border with China. Therefore, Peng Fei has been making preparations for the past few days. The large backpack he carries, which is more than a meter long, is filled with all the equipment he will need for this trip.
"Forget about that, let's not talk about it. I just brought you here to have some fun. How about this, this afternoon I'll show you around Mandela. This used to be the site of the royal palace of Myanmar, and there are quite a few ancient buildings here..."
In every respect, Zhuang Rui was a distinguished guest, so Hu Rong naturally wouldn't treat him lightly. After Zhuang Rui put his things in the hotel, Hu Rong took him to the former palace of the Burmese king. Unexpectedly, Peng Fei didn't go with them. Instead, after Hu Rong and the others left, he quietly left the hotel alone.
Along the moat of the royal city, Hu Rong's RV drove towards the foot of Mandalay Hill. The royal city quietly faced Mandalay Hill. This last royal palace of the Burmese dynasty, like the Forbidden City in Beijing, buried the vicissitudes of a highly developed agricultural country that was crushed by Western industrial civilization during the great colonial era hundreds of years ago.
The first place Hu Rong took Zhuang Rui to was the Golden Palace Teak Temple, which was originally the bedroom of King Mindon of Burma. After King Mindon passed away, his successor, King Thibaw, moved the entire building to its current location to avoid any taboos, turning it into a monastery. This teak building is significantly more elaborate than ordinary double-eaved temples.
Myanmar is not only rich in jade, but also in teak. Teak is also known as rouge tree, purple teak, or blood tree. A small amount of teak also exists in Yunnan, my country, where it is called purple oil wood. It is a deciduous or semi-deciduous tree that can grow to 40-50 meters tall and have a diameter at breast height of 2-2.5 meters. The trunk is straight.
Teak originates from Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos, and is a major afforestation tree species in Southeast Asia. It is also one of the world's most valuable timbers, and is known as the "King of Woods"!
The teak temple, known as a "national treasure" in Myanmar and Indonesia, is quite beautiful. It appears serene from a distance, with a square-roofed, double-eaved structure. However, this building seems to be more intricate than typical double-eaved structures, with many delicate wood carvings on the interior and exterior doors, windows, and walls. The entire temple sits on hundreds of thick teak pillars, and is also protected by teak pillars on the outside.
There were significantly fewer tourists in Mandalay than in Yangon. Apart from Hu Rong and Zhuang Rui, there was only the driver and his attendant. The huge temple was almost deserted, with only a few local children running up and down the temple's high steps.
The children's giggles echoed through the temple, clear and resonant, lingering for a long time. To Zhuang Rui, those children's voices, in the solemn and dignified temple, were like the chanting of sacred music, calming his eager heart as he searched for treasure.
Hu Rong turned out to be a devout Buddhist. After entering the temple, he took off his shoes and knelt down to worship the Buddha statue at one end of the corridor. After staying at the teak temple for a while, Hu Rong took Zhuang Rui to the Kuthodaw Pagoda, the most famous pagoda in Mandalay.
Kuthodaw Pagoda is proudly called "the world's greatest merit pagoda" by the Burmese. The merit refers to the fact that in 1857, King Mindon convened 2,400 monks from all over the Indochina Peninsula to hold the Fifth Buddhist Council to revise the Buddhist scriptures. The revised scriptures were then inscribed on 729 marble steles.
A white stupa was built outside each stone tablet, so the entire temple is a continuous stretch of white stupas, according to Hu Rong. If a person reads for 8 hours a day, it would take at least 450 days to read all the stone tablets under these white stupas.
The Burmese seem to have a great fondness for gold. In the very center of the Kuthodaw Pagoda stands a golden pagoda, surrounded by white pagodas in all four directions. The layout is symmetrical in all four directions, resembling a long, white square formation.
There were even fewer people here. Zhuang Rui and his companions walked through the snow-white pagoda forest without encountering a single tourist. They entered a Buddhist pagoda and looked at the scriptures with completely incomprehensible text. Suddenly, Zhuang Rui felt the spiritual energy in his eyes stirring.
It was hard to describe the feeling, but the golden spiritual energy in his eyes gave him a warm feeling inside the white tower, like being surrounded by warm water. It was so comfortable that Zhuang Rui couldn't help but groan. He even deliberately ignored Hu Rong's shouts outside.
Sitting quietly inside the pagoda, Zhuang Rui felt the pure aura that permeated the entire pagoda. His soul seemed to be cleansed by a belief, and he felt a sense of returning to emptiness and tranquility. It was as if all the troubles of the world had left him.
The greatest form is formless, the greatest love is without desire, the greatest virtue is without words, and the greatest kindness leaves no trace. At this moment, in Zhuang Rui's heart, there is no desire or want, and the spiritual energy in his eyes seems to be undergoing a slight change.
“Zhuang Rui, Brother Zhuang…”
He didn't know how much time had passed. Zhuang Rui was finally awakened by Hu Rong's voice. Startled, he quickly went outside.
Looking back at the pagoda, Zhuang Rui felt a pang of reluctance. Although the spiritual energy inside the pagoda was very faint, it made people feel very comfortable.
Zhuang Rui glanced at his watch and was startled. He had arrived at just past 2 p.m., and now it was already past 4 p.m.
“Brother, I didn’t expect you to have a Buddhist affinity! You’ve been in the stupa for quite a while now. How about becoming a lay Buddhist in this world? I’ll find a high-ranking monk to help you take refuge…”
Hu Rong looked at Zhuang Rui with a strange expression. Young people are always impatient to stay in places like this. He didn't expect Zhuang Rui to stay inside for more than two hours. He was getting impatient himself.
"No, please don't, Brother Hu, I'm not married yet..."
Zhuang Rui had just emerged from that ethereal state when he was startled by Hu Rong's words. He hadn't even enjoyed his wonderful life yet, how could he possibly become a monk?
"Hehe, lay Buddhists who are still alive can take refuge without being ordained. They are allowed to get married and have children. It's just about pursuing a spiritual state..."
Hu Rong laughed. He knew that Zhuang Rui was about to get engaged to his cousin, and he had prepared a gift for Zhuang Rui, but it wasn't time to bring it out yet.
"Let's go, I'll take you to eat authentic Burmese snacks, and then tonight I'll take you to the Mandalay rough stone market. You might find some good stuff there; many people have been collecting old mine jadeite for decades, and they often put it up for sale there..."
Hu Rong glanced at the sky and realized it was getting late. He called out to Zhuang Rui and then led the way toward the mountain gate.
Zhuang Rui glanced back at the white pagoda forest. The setting sun shone on the pagodas, giving them a golden hue that made them appear even more solemn and majestic, and filled the air with an indescribable aura.
At this moment, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but feel a little strange about what had just happened. Could it be that there really is faith and gods in this world?
"Hmm, the distance of spiritual energy has become farther?"
Just as Zhuang Rui withdrew his gaze, he inadvertently felt that the spiritual energy he could originally only release within a distance of ten meters could now be sensed from the white pagoda thirty meters away. He could even see the faint but very special spiritual energy on the white pagoda clearly.
Chapter 482 Eyesight
"how so?"
Zhuang Rui immediately stopped in his tracks. He turned his gaze back to a spot more than thirty meters away and carefully sensed the spiritual energy in his eyes.
A few minutes later, Zhuang Rui withdrew his gaze and hurriedly chased after Hu Rong, who had left. He was extremely excited. After his investigation, he found that the distance at which his spiritual energy could be projected had indeed doubled.
Although there was no fundamental upgrade other than an increase in the distance the spiritual energy could be projected, it was still good news for Zhuang Rui, because the spiritual energy had not changed at all since he left the Jokhang Temple.
"I must visit some famous mountains and rivers in the future; perhaps I can truly elevate the spiritual energy I perceive to another level..."
Both breakthroughs in spiritual energy seemed to be related to temples. The first time was in the room with Thangkas in the Jokhang Temple, and this time it was among hundreds of stupas. This couldn't help but make Zhuang Rui's mind wander. However, he had never encountered such a situation when he visited some temples and tourist attractions in Beijing, which left Zhuang Rui puzzled.
Logically, the temples in Beijing should be older than the pagodas in Myanmar, yet no unusual spiritual energy could be sensed there. At most, one could only detect abundant spiritual energy within the buildings, but this was of no help to Zhuang Rui's perception of spiritual energy.
"Could this be the power of faith? But I don't believe in these superstitious beliefs..."
Even after getting into Hu Rong's RV, Zhuang Rui was still frowning and deep in thought. Seeing his expression, Hu Rong didn't disturb him. Buddhism speaks of "sudden enlightenment," and Hu Rong thought that Zhuang Rui had grasped some Buddhist truth in the pagoda.
After much thought, Zhuang Rui found only one thing in common between the Jokhang Temple in Tibet and the Pagoda Forest in Myanmar: their followers were extremely devout. In contrast, most temples in Beijing were just for show; who knew if the monks would wear hats and sneak into nightclubs at night?
Shaking his head, Zhuang Rui banished these chaotic thoughts from his mind. The spiritual energy in his eyes appeared suddenly and without any discernible pattern, but thankfully, as long as he could use it, thinking too much was pointless. Besides, Zhuang Rui dared not reveal the supernatural power in his eyes to anyone.
Once Zhuang Rui regained his senses, he saw Hu Rong observing him and quickly said, "Brother Hu, I'm sorry, I got a little lost in thought. There are so many pagodas in Myanmar, there must be many believers..."
"Of course, over 95% of the people in Myanmar are Buddhists; it's the state religion of Myanmar..."
Hu Rong's words confirmed Zhuang Rui's suspicions; perhaps the changes in spiritual energy really were related to faith.
"Peng Fei, do you know the Royal Restaurant in the west of the city? Let's take a motorcycle taxi and come eat here..."
"Brother Zhuang, you guys eat, I won't go, I have some things to take care of..."
After arriving at the restaurant, Zhuang Rui called Peng Fei, but the guy was acting mysteriously and hung up after a couple of sentences.
Hu Rong was clearly well-connected in Mandalay. As soon as he entered the restaurant, people kept greeting him. Hu Rong cupped his hands in greeting and led Zhuang Rui to a private room on the second floor.
Neither of them drank alcohol. After enjoying a seafood feast with distinctly Burmese characteristics, Hu Rong did not call a taxi but instead led Zhuang Rui on foot towards the jewelry trading center in Mandalay.
"Brother Hu, is this the place?"
The jewelry trading center in Mandalay was not far from this restaurant. After walking for three minutes, Zhuang Rui stared at the place in front of him, which looked like a vegetable market in China, and asked Hu Rong in astonishment.
The jewelry and raw stone trading center that appeared before Zhuang Rui didn't even have a shed. It was just an open space surrounded by a wooden fence and wire. At the entrance, there was a large wooden gate with two soldiers carrying guns standing at the door.
Compared to the jade trading center in Pingzhou, China, this place is simply unbearable to look at; it's incredibly shabby.
"That's right, this is it. Our company also has a booth in here. Hehe, that's how it is in Myanmar. In the early years, they didn't care about jade at all. It was only in the last ten years or so that they started to pay attention to it. This market has been around for twenty or thirty years. It's become a habit, so no one tries to change it..."
Seeing Zhuang Rui's expression, Hu Rong laughed and continued, "Don't let this place's unassuming appearance fool you; it's produced quite a few fine items. Top-quality jadeite, like imperial green and purple-eyed jade, has been found here. It all depends on your eye and luck..."
Zhuang Rui nodded upon hearing this. He understood the principle that the meat in a bun doesn't lie in the pleats. The situation in Myanmar was somewhat like that of people living by the river. No one would care that the sand covering the riverbed could be sold for money. Similarly, the people of Myanmar did not realize in the early days that the stones covering the mountains and plains were actually treasures.
"Brother Hu, isn't this discrimination? Do Burmese people not have to pay?"
When Zhuang Rui arrived at the market entrance, he saw a sign next to the soldier that read "One Dollar for Entry" in both Chinese and English. Several buyers, who appeared to be Chinese based on their appearance and clothing, had to throw a dollar into the box under the sign before they could enter.
"Of course you don't need to..."
Hu Rong greeted the two men at the door with a smile, then led Zhuang Rui inside. He continued, "Most of the people here are Chinese. Although you have to pay, foreigners who break the law in Myanmar usually don't get imprisoned; they just pay a fine. Otherwise, where would so many people dare to come to Myanmar to smuggle raw stones?"
Upon entering the market, Zhuang Rui felt as if he had arrived in Pingzhou, because most of the people passing by spoke Cantonese. Most of the raw jade merchants in China were from Guangdong and Yunnan. Some individual buyers who did not have the funds to participate in jade auctions usually came here to hunt for raw stones.
Walking through the market, Zhuang Rui noticed that each stall had a shelf. Most of the items on the shelves were finished jade pieces, but the workmanship was poor and the designs were outdated. After looking at a few, Zhuang Rui lost interest. These worthless things would be beneath Qin Ruilin's standards if he were to sell them in his own shop.
Besides the finished jadeite jewelry on the shelves, the raw stones were all laid out on the ground. Zhuang Rui carefully examined several stalls and found that most of them were completely rough stones, with very few having windows cut or polished surfaces. This increased the risk of gambling on stones.
Buyers from all over the world squatted on the ground selecting raw stones, occasionally haggling with the stall owners.
"How much is this piece of material? Oh, by the way, you don't understand Chinese..."
Zhuang Rui squatted down, pointed to a piece of raw jade and asked the stall owner, but then realized what he was doing and asked again in English.
"200,000!"
Before Zhuang Rui could finish asking the price in English, the stall owner held up two fingers and answered fluently in Chinese.
This piece of jade, no bigger than a fist, has some green inside. Once cut open, it's probably worth 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. But 200,000 yuan is just outrageous. In Pingzhou, a stone egg like this would only cost 300 to 500 yuan. It's just something for people who have never played with jade gambling before to try out.
Zhuang Rui didn't haggle. He stood up and continued walking forward. Does this guy really look like an idiot?
"Hehe, Brother Zhuang, don't be angry. They're all overcharging. If you bargain down to 500 yuan for that material, they might even sell it for free..."
Hu Rong saw Zhuang Rui's indignant expression and laughed. The Burmese hadn't learned much from the Chinese, but they'd certainly mastered the art of asking for exorbitant prices and then haggling on the spot.
Zhuang Rui nodded. After looking at four or five stalls, he still couldn't find any good materials. Some stalls simply mixed broken stones with jadeite rough and sold them together. Zhuang Rui even found people buying them. He couldn't help but shake his head. There really is nothing in this world that can't be sold.
"Zhuang Rui, this stall is mine. Do you want to take a look? If you see any piece of jade you like, Brother Hu will give it to you to cut and play with..."
When Hu Rong reached a stall, he stopped. Upon seeing Hu Rong, the stall owner immediately stood up from his stall, put his hands together in a gesture of greeting.