Then they all gave Zhou Xuan and Zhao Junjie a quick military salute and said in unison, "Greetings, Commanders!"
The two men spoke loudly and clearly, attracting the attention of several nearby passengers who stared at Zhou Xuan and Zhao Lao Er. They wondered what kind of people these two young men were!
Zhou Xuan quickly waved his hands and said, "Alright, alright. Let's go now. Don't call me 'Chief' when there are other people around!"
The two soldiers replied in unison, "Yes, sir!"
The sound was completely gone, but the two soldiers were quick-witted and, without saying a word, snatched the suitcase from Jiang Jin's hands.
The two men arrived in two military jeeps. Zhou Xuan and Zhao Lao Er rode in one, while Zheng Bing and Jiang Jin rode in the other. Once the cars started and they were on the road, Zhou Xuan noticed that the soldier hadn't asked them where they were going at all. He asked curiously, "Why didn't you ask us where we were going? Do you even know?"
The soldier replied with a grin, "Sir, when Zheng Lianche went to Beijing to pick up the two comrades, he arranged for the two of us to be here. The mission here is to pick up the two comrades and take them to Tengchong County. We're soldiers here, we know the area very well!"
It seemed Li Lei had explained everything clearly. Zhou Xuan was somewhat helpless. He had only wanted to get rid of unnecessary people following him, and even the company commander, Zhang, hadn't messed with him. Who knew he'd still end up with a few tails? Not only were there these extra people, but they were all special forces soldiers, much harder to manage than ordinary soldiers. Although they seemed obedient to him now, except for the request to leave and not follow him, they listened to everything else.
In the distance, a cluster of indigo-colored buildings came into view. However, before the car even reached them, it turned a corner and headed towards another mountain road.
Zhao Junjie asked in surprise, "Why are you driving up the mountain instead of going into the perfectly good city area?"
The soldier quickly replied, "Sir, that city over there is Baoshan City. We need to go to Tengchong County, and this is the only road to Tengchong County!"
Zhao Lao Er gave an "oh." Then he looked at the scenery by the roadside. The terrain here was much higher and steeper than the mountains in his hometown, and this road was quite frightening. On one side was a steep mountain slope, and on the other side was a deep ravine and cliff. The road also twisted and turned, truly a winding mountain road.
Zhou Xuan felt dizzy from the shaking. He simply closed his eyes and leaned back to rest.
Zhao Lao Er chatted casually with the soldier: "What are your names? Are you soldiers under Company Commander Zheng?"
"Yes. My name is Zhang San," the soldier replied, skillfully driving the vehicle. The mountain road was winding and steep, but it seemed to pose no challenge to him. "We're both soldiers from the Seventh Platoon. Our platoon leader is Jiang Jin."
Zhao Lao Er chuckled and said, "Your name is Zhang San? Hehe, then the other one must be called Li Si!"
The soldier chuckled and said, "My 'three' isn't the 'three' of 'one, two, three, four,' it's the 'mountain' of 'big mountain.' My name is Zhang Shan. And the one who came with me isn't called Li Si either, his name is Wu Feng!"
Volume 1, Chapter 149: The Wool Market
The mountain road was winding and twisting. Zhou Xiao closed his eyes, trying to avoid the sight and the pain, while Zhao Xie was terrified. On one side was a sheer cliff, and on the other, a precipice. One wrong move and they would be smashed to pieces!
This perilous journey took at least an hour and a half. Only after entering Tengchong County did the terrain flatten out, revealing lush green mountains and clear waters. The deep cliffs disappeared, replaced by villas nestled among the green trees.
Zhao Lao Er felt a little better. The road was better and the car was more stable. He asked, "Zhang Shan, is this Tengchong County?"
Zhang Shan said, "This is not the actual county seat of Tengchong. To be precise, it should be the suburbs. If it were the actual county seat of Tengchong, the buildings would not be as nice as those here."
Zhao Lao Er was puzzled: "Are people in the countryside richer than those in the county town?"
“That’s true, people in the countryside are richer than people in the county town!” Zhang Shan nodded in response. “Because people in the countryside have land, which is perfect for building factories and warehouses, and opening jade wholesale markets. Many families with the means have built large warehouses in their own homes, importing large quantities of raw jade from Myanmar, as well as finished polished stones and jade products. Of course, the polished ones are more expensive.”
Zhao Lao Er praised, "Zhang Shan, you seem to know this place well. Where are you from?"
Zhang Shan chuckled and said, "I am from Sichuan, but it's not far from here. I have a cousin who is also in the jade business, but he's not very knowledgeable about it. I've only heard him talk about some things about gambling on stones in Tengchong. To be honest, I don't really know anything about it."
Zhou Xuan dozed off for a moment, then opened his eyes. How could he possibly sleep while navigating such treacherous mountain roads? He stretched and then asked, "Brother Zhang, do you think it's better for us to stay in Tengchong County or in this village?"
"Oh, well, we've already booked a room for Chang at the Tengchong Grand Hotel in the county town. Let's stay in the city then."
Zhou Xuan thought about it and decided against it. Li Lei's temperament was such that once he made up his mind, he wouldn't allow anyone to argue. For a high-ranking figure like him, once he made a decision, you simply had to obey; he didn't expect you to ask questions. Take these soldiers he sent, for example; they didn't even know the reason, only that it was an order from their superior.
At the Tengchong Hotel, Zhang Shan and his group booked four rooms in total: one each for Zhou Xuan and Zhao Junjie, one for Zhang Shan and Wu Feng, one for Jiang Jin and Zheng Bing, two single rooms, and two double rooms.
After Zhou Xuan took a shower and changed clothes in his room, he went to Zheng Bing's room. Zheng Bing and Jiang Jin quickly stood up properly.
Zhou Xuan waved his hand and smiled, "Don't be so formal. To be honest, I'm here to do business. How can I do business with you soldiers following me? But I know you're on orders from your superiors, so I can't just send you back. However, I have a condition, and I hope you can cooperate!" Zheng Bing saluted again and said, "Yes, sir. Please give your instructions!"
"See, here we go again?" Zhou Xuan frowned and sighed. "Company Commander Zheng, I can't stop you from following me, but could you please not reveal your military identities and act like ordinary people? Those two vehicles... if possible, it would be best to change them to ordinary license plates, not military plates. Otherwise, wherever you go, people will be afraid, how am I supposed to do business?"
Zheng Bing thought for a moment and immediately nodded. Turning to Jiang Jin, he said, "Jiang Jin, inform Zhang Shan and Wu Feng to go back immediately, change into civilian clothes, and get two cars with ordinary license plates. Where are these cars?"
Jiang Jin nodded, then picked up his phone. While dialing, he said to Zheng Bing, "Zheng Lian, about the cars, I think I should contact the Baoshan City Public Security Bureau and have them send two small cars over?"
"Well, let me handle this. I'm quite familiar with Deputy Director Li and Captain Liu from the Municipal Bureau, so it's better if I do it."
"Zheng Bing immediately made the call himself. Here, because drug traffickers and other illegal and criminal activities are far more common than in other parts of the mainland, Zheng Bing and his special forces have a lot of cooperation with the local police. Over time, they have become familiar with each other, so borrowing two cars is no big deal."
Seeing that they had agreed, Zhou Xuan waved and left the room. He didn't need to oversee what they would do.
After staying in his room for a while, Zhao Lao Er was fast asleep and couldn't be woken up by pushing or shoving. He was exhausted after being overly excited.
Although he had arrived in Tengchong, Zhou Xuan was still somewhat confused. He had arrived at the biggest market for raw jadeite, but he had no idea where the market was or who he should deal with.
Zhou Xuan then realized that he had been too reckless. He hadn't consulted an expert beforehand, and now that he was here, he felt completely lost.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Xuan left his room and went down to the front desk in the lobby. There were two people on duty there, both girls in hotel uniforms. The one in front was quite tall and pretty, except for a few freckles on the tip of her nose.
Zhou Xuan tapped his fingers lightly on the counter at the front desk, and the girl immediately smiled and asked, "Sir, what do you need?"
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "I'd like to hire a tour guide. Do you have any recommendations?"
The girl smiled and said, "Of course! Tengchong is a tourist area, and there are plenty of tour guides. However, the prices vary. Sir, what kind would you like?"
"Price doesn't matter, the key is that the guide is familiar with Tengchong. I'm here in Tengchong to do business, so the guide should ideally be very familiar with the jadeite rough market here. I'm not going to the tourist areas, but the rough market."
Zhou Xuan stated his requirements, including the price. He didn't really care, as long as he could take them to some of the best rough jade markets, preferably all of them, since jade is hidden inside rough stones and no one can tell except for him, Zhou Xuan.
In Zhou Xuan's view, the size of the rough stone wholesale market doesn't matter. After all, none of the owners of these gambling stone markets can tell which stone actually contains jadeite. A large market with many stones does not necessarily mean a lot of jadeite. With icy jadeite in hand, it's best to visit all the gambling stone markets.
According to the girl at the front desk, even if a tour guide is expensive, it would only cost a few hundred yuan a day at most. That's not a problem. As long as Zhou Xuan finds one more stone with jade, he'll have more money.
The receptionist smiled and picked up her phone, dialed a number, and then held it to her ear. Once the call connected, she said, "Come quickly! A customer needs a guide who knows about the jade market. Didn't you used to work at your uncle's raw jade factory? I think you'd be perfect!"