Sitting in a vineyard open to tourists, Xu Daming said to Ouyang Jun with a hint of resentment, "You know, although the scenery here is beautiful and the climate is cool, there are two film crews in Beijing waiting for me to go back to work."
"How should I know? I might stay here even if that kid doesn't come out of the mountains."
Ouyang Jun stuffed a grape into his mouth with a vicious shovel, forgetting to spit out the skin, and swallowed it whole, skin and seed.
Chapter 274 Avalanche
Ouyang Jun ultimately failed to meet Zhuang Rui. After spending ten days in Xinjiang, he finally returned to Beijing. Because he also ran a film and television investment company, which had recently produced several major patriotic dramas, he was usually quite busy. In addition, the famous actor Xu was in a hurry to go back to filming, so he had no choice but to head back home.
Zhuang Rui had no idea that someone was waiting for him outside the mountains. He had been living a very carefree life. Since the mining operation didn't require him to work, he had nothing to do every day. Seeing that the mining team was armed, Zhuang Rui would take Mengzi up the mountain to hunt during the day. He had caused quite a few damage to the wild goats in the Kunlun Mountains.
The mining of the jade vein is progressing smoothly. In just five days, the mine shaft has been dug more than ten meters deep, and nearly twenty tons of jade have been extracted. Old Master Adila was right; the deeper the mine goes, the higher the quality of the jade. The few pieces of jade recently mined are all of medium to high quality and are quite valuable.
However, a heavy rain yesterday caused the water level at the river mouth to rise considerably. Although it hasn't reached the height of the rock wall mine, it's not far away. Now the mining team is facing the problem of diverting the stream. In the past two days, Adila has been taking Engineer Zhao to observe the terrain, preparing to use explosives to block the river mouth and open up another stream outlet.
The stream doesn't look very deep normally, only up to waist level, but during the flood season, it can spread to a depth of three or four meters above the waterline, so diverting or changing its course is not a simple task.
After surveying several locations on the mountainside, Adila decided to use explosives to blast away a portion of the mountain above the river mouth, causing the debris to roll down and block the river mouth. He would then dig another ditch to divert the flash floods. ...
"When blasting is started, stay away from unauthorized personnel. When blasting is started, stay away from unauthorized personnel..."
The sound from the loudspeaker could be heard from four or five hundred meters away from the river mouth. Engineer Zhao and his men had set up more than twenty explosive points thirty meters above the river mouth. If they were detonated at the same time, the rocks would be enough to block the river mouth.
Although doing so would likely block the mine entrances, it was the only option. The terrain at the foot of the mountain is low-lying, and another heavy rain would probably turn the mine into a waterfall, making mining impossible.
"Xiao Zhuang, here you go. There's something good to see later."
Standing next to Zhuang Rui, the elderly Adila casually handed him a high-powered military telescope.
"What do you need this for? You can see it clearly up close."
Zhuang Rui was puzzled. At a distance of four or five hundred meters, with clear weather and high visibility, he could clearly see the people placing detonators and explosives at several detonation points.
You'll find out soon enough...
The old man smiled but said nothing.
More than half an hour later, a sharp whistle rang out, and the people who planted the explosives immediately ran from the mountain toward the camp.
"Time's up, detonate!"
Seeing that the workers had all run back safely, Adila shouted loudly. Upon hearing the order, Engineer Zhao pressed down hard with the remote control in his hand.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
With a series of rhythmic, massive explosions, Zhuang Rui felt the ground shake. Hundreds of meters away, the mountainside seemed to have been cleaved in two, with countless rocks cascading down. Large and small stones flew everywhere, some even landing dozens of meters away from Zhuang Rui and his companions. Had they been any closer, they would likely have been left with bloodied heads.
The explosions were detonated one by one, and the sound of explosions continued. Zhuang Rui quickly picked up his binoculars and put them in front of his eyes. Now he could see more clearly. Under the power of the explosives, the hard rocks were as fragile as tofu, breaking into stones of different sizes, which blocked the river mouth.
"One shot, two shots, three shots... twenty shots, twenty-one shots... Engineer Zhao, all the detonators have been detonated, there are no duds."
Someone nearby was counting the explosions. When the explosions stopped, the person breathed a sigh of relief and immediately reported to Engineer Zhao, who was in charge of the diversion.
Using explosives to clear a mountain is no joke. Due to various reasons, a slight mistake can lead to a dud, which is the most difficult to resolve. When this happens, someone has to be sent to check it, but during the check, the dud often detonates. And the fate of the person checking the malfunction is, of course, self-evident.
In some places where people rely on the mountains for a living, the use of explosives is commonplace, and every year a considerable number of people die from unexploded ordnance.
Hearing that all the explosive charges had detonated, Engineer Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. Clearing the duds was a job no one wanted to do; it was like risking your life.
At this moment, the originally low-lying river mouth seemed to have been instantly built into a dam, blocking all the water flowing down from the mountain. However, Zhuang Rui was puzzled. This was like drinking poison to quench thirst. Once the water level on the mountain rose and overflowed the rocks, wouldn't the water still flow down?
However, this situation was clearly within Adila's expectations. Just three or four minutes after the first round of explosions subsided, Engineer Zhao pressed a button on a remote control on his left hand. Instantly, deafening explosions rang out again, this time with the blast points laid out in a long, dragon-like pattern. The explosions spread downwards in a line, starting from the foot of the mountain and extending fifty or sixty meters upwards.
The situation through the telescope was different from before. This time, the blast point was relatively shallower. Zhuang Rui could only see that the land where the blast point had passed was plowed up, turning over to both sides, and a deep ditch appeared in his sight.
"Xiao Zhuang, look up."
Then came the words of old man Adila from the side.
"above?"
Zhuang Rui, somewhat puzzled, raised the binoculars, and what he saw there left him completely stunned.
The place where Zhuang Rui and the others camped was already at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, while the peak in front of them was even higher, with an altitude of over 5,000 meters. The mountaintop was covered with snow all year round, and even in summer, only the snow on the mountainside slowly melted and flowed into the Wild Buffalo Gully.
"avalanche?"
Through the telescope, Zhuang Rui saw a crack appear in the ice and snow, which were frozen solid like iron, on the mountainside that was almost reaching into the clouds.
Zhuang Rui could almost hear the cracking sound of the ice breaking. Then, the massive snow began to slide. As it slid downwards, it quickly gained speed, and the avalanche became a white snow dragon that plunged almost straight down, soaring through the clouds and rushing down the mountain with fierce momentum.
The snow layer broke apart, and white, layered snow chunks and slabs rose up in response... It was as if the mountain god suddenly unleashed his inner force, shaking off a white robe, or as if a white snow dragon soared through the clouds, roaring down the mountainside, like a white behemoth, devouring everything Zhuang Rui could see.
"Wild goat?"
Suddenly, Zhuang Rui spotted a group of wild goats running for their lives. However, their speed was far slower than the snow, and within a few seconds, the dozen or so wild goats disappeared from Zhuang Rui's sight.
The avalanche lasted for more than half an hour until the slope of the mountain became gentler, at which point the speed at which the snow fell down slowed down. However, the bushes that were originally on the mountainside had all disappeared and were completely covered by thick snow. It is believed that in a few days, all of this snow will melt into water and flow down.
Zhuang Rui knew a little about the principles of avalanches. On snow-capped mountains, there's always a struggle: gravity pulls the snow downwards, while the cohesive force of the snow tries to keep it in place. When this struggle reaches its climax, even the slightest external force—such as an animal running, a rolling rock, wind, a minor tremor, or even a shout in the valley—can trigger a catastrophic avalanche if the pressure exceeds the cohesive force that binds the snow particles together.
For example, when the wind blows, it not only causes a large accumulation of snow, but also causes snow particles to condense and form a hard and brittle snow layer, which allows the upper snow layer to slide along the lower snow layer, causing an avalanche.
This avalanche was clearly caused by human error. The enormous explosion far exceeded the cohesive force of the snow particles, causing the years-old snow on the mountain to succumb to the pressure and resulting in this avalanche.
The power of nature left Zhuang Rui speechless and deeply moved, making him feel powerless. Humanity seemed so insignificant in the face of such natural power, and life seemed so helpless.
"Get to work. Clear the rocks at the mine entrance. You guys, come with me up the mountain."
An hour later, no more rocks fell. Engineer Zhao organized people to start clearing the mountain. The explosion was very successful. The original river mouth was completely blocked. A gap appeared more than ten meters to the right, and the melting snow on the mountain turned into a stream that flowed down from it.
The water in the stream was even colder. Zhuang Rui put his hand in the water and felt a bone-chilling cold. Every now and then, ice blocks the size of millstones would rush down from the new river mouth.
The original mine entrance was now completely blocked by rubble, but clearing the rocks was much easier than excavating the mine. By noon the next day, the area outside the mine had been cleared, and the deafening sound of the diamond drilling machine began to echo through the canyon again.
Today is the day to head back. Zhuang Rui and the others have been in the mountains for half a month. The jade vein has been identified and mining has begun. Adila decided to take the mined jade back first and then send some more people over. After all, there are only seven or eight people working right now, and the mining progress is too slow.
Apart from the donkeys used to transport the jade, all the other tools and supplies were left behind. As the person in charge of the mine, Engineer Zhao also stayed there, while Zhuang Rui followed the Jade King out of the mountains.
Chapter 275 Notarization
In addition to seven or eight mining workers, there were also five mine protection team members armed with live ammunition who remained on site.
There has never been peace in Xinjiang. Not to mention before liberation, even after liberation, Xinjiang was the place with the highest concentration of heavy prisons in the country, gathering serious criminals from all over the country. Some prisoners were imprisoned for more than ten years, and many stayed here after their release.
In addition, Xinjiang is vast and sparsely populated, which makes it a hiding place for many criminals, so the public security has never been very good. Hotan region, in particular, is a mixed bag, with all kinds of people. Jade mines, such a lucrative commodity, are often targeted by some people with ulterior motives, so the existence of mine protection teams is very necessary.
To Zhuang Rui's surprise, Mengzi was unwilling to leave the mountain and instead chose to join the mine protection team. In his words, the outside world was too complicated, and he was always being schemed against. It was better to stay here, hunt, and drink.
Because there was no heavy machinery to cut the mountain, and the jade was cut open and evenly placed on the backs of more than twenty donkeys, the journey down the mountain was much smoother and there were no accidents. Four days later, the group arrived at the transit station in a grand procession.
The car driven by Prince Yu had been waiting here. Without delay, everyone got in the car and returned to Hotan. The jade mine had only just begun to unearth the tip of the iceberg, and there was still much to be done. Gathering the miners, strengthening the security forces, and so many other things to do, Adila was still busy non-stop when she returned to the manor, even though it was already evening. She didn't even have time to see the old man.
Zhuang Rui was naturally of no help. Although he hadn't done anything for the past two weeks, he was exhausted. He simply went back to his room, took a shower, and slept soundly.
He slept for quite a while, and when he woke up it was already noon the next day. Zhuang Rui picked up his fully charged phone, called his family and Qin Xuanbing to let them know he was safe, and then went out of the room to find Grandpa Gu.
"You still remember your martial uncle, kid?"
Sitting in Adila's vineyard, sipping his own homemade wine, the old man had a contented expression, but what he said wasn't very pleasant.
"Uncle-Master, I came here to see you as soon as I got up."
Zhuang Rui had no idea what was wrong with the old man's temper, so he carefully apologized.
“Yesterday I was sitting in the living room watching you go into your room without even saying hello. Do you even respect me as your senior brother?”
"Huh? The lights were off then, and there didn't seem to be anyone in the living room, right?"
Zhuang Rui was dumbfounded when he heard this. He was also very tired yesterday and went straight upstairs to sleep. He didn't even notice that Grandpa Gu was sitting in the living room in the dark.
"Alright, take a look at these items I've carved."
The old man was just teasing Zhuang Rui. His old friend hadn't been around lately, and he had nothing to do except carve jade, so he was just bored.
"Is it done?"
Zhuang Rui asked in surprise.
Gu Tianfeng didn't answer, but instead handed over a palm-sized box. Zhuang Rui took it, opened it, and saw three emerald green Maitreya Buddha pendants.
With a broad forehead, a large belly, a perpetually smiling face, and sitting cross-legged, the folds in his clothes were clearly visible. His eyes, narrowed to slits, made Zhuang Rui feel as if this Maitreya Buddha was smiling at him.
What's even more amazing is that the three pendants have three different shapes and expressions: one is smiling at people, one is dozing with its eyes half-closed, and the other is lazily stretching its waist. They are all so lifelike that they seem to be alive, and Zhuang Rui couldn't put them down.
Next to the three jade Maitreya Buddhas, there are two pairs of earrings with a unique design. They are leaf-shaped, about three centimeters long and one and a half centimeters wide, with a hollow center. The veins of the leaves are carved so realistically that they look like real leaves. At one corner of the earrings, a stud is set in platinum, making them complete pieces.
The last piece of jade, about the size of a little finger, was completely uncarved. It was left by the old man to his old friend and could be polished into a cabochon.
"So, kid, are you satisfied?"
"Old Gu asked jokingly from the side."
"Satisfied, of course I'm satisfied. Your craftsmanship is superb; even the craftsmen from Yangzhou can't compare to you..."
Praise is free, so Zhuang Rui showered the old man with compliments. Zhuang Rui knew that this was only because of him; if someone else had brought materials to the old man, he would probably have been charged at least several hundred thousand yuan for jade carving.
Zhuang Rui's words weren't entirely flattery of the old man. The craftsmanship of these pendants was indeed superb. They didn't use many knives, but they perfectly captured the expressions of the figures. Compared to the Guanyin pendant that Qin Xuanbing had given him, the knife work was much better.
The old man pointed to an object covered with a red cloth on the table and said to Zhuang Rui, "It will take several months to carve this. I will study it carefully when I get back to Beijing before I start carving."
What is this?
Zhuang Rui lifted the red cloth with some curiosity, and immediately understood. It was the piece of jade with colored skin that he had brought, but the old man had already removed the colored skin, and the whole piece of jade was exposed.
"You're just lucky, kid. This piece of material alone is worth this much..."
Gu Lao raised one finger to Zhuang Rui.
"One million? That can't be that cheap, Uncle Gu. The quality of this jade is quite good."
Zhuang Rui frowned. Was it because the material had too many impurities that its value was reduced?
"You can't be so sure about your guess. Let me tell you, this piece of jade, even without being carved, can sell for ten million."
The old saying made Zhuang Rui's mouth drop in surprise. He could believe it if it was three to five million, but ten million seemed a bit much.
Zhuang Rui naturally didn't doubt the old man's words, and picked up the jade to examine it carefully.
"Uncle-Master, these colors are too chaotic. How can you possibly carve anything out of this?"