Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui was overjoyed. He had been putting on an act all day, trying to steer the conversation toward the raw jade, but he hadn't expected Boss Yu to bring it up himself.
"Stay calm, you must stay calm."
Zhuang Rui kept reminding himself, but put on a nonchalant look and said, "Boss Yu, I'm young and I might not speak very well. Please don't take offense. Your broken rock is only good for filling out a latrine. You're thinking of selling it for money?"
Zhuang Rui's words were somewhat hurtful, and Boss Yu became agitated upon hearing them. He called for Xiao Huzi to lend a hand, and they took several semi-rough stones from the shelf near the corner to the ground. Then, he bent down and pulled out the fully rough stone.
To be honest, this Boss Yu, despite his lean build, is quite strong. He managed to move and drag the large rock, weighing over 100 pounds, out from under the shelf. However, Boss Yu was also covered in sweat and panting heavily.
“Young man, let Master Peng take a look. If this isn’t raw material from the old mine pit at Damukan Factory, may I, Lao Yu, be struck by lightning if I’m lying.”
Boss Yu didn't seem to be faking it; he was genuinely angry. No wonder, these rough stones were his treasures. Although this one was of poor quality and showed no signs of being jadeite, he had indeed gotten it from an old mine in Myanmar.
Chapter 184 Wishes Fulfilled
"The outer skin is brownish-black with a slight yellow tinge, which resembles rough jade from the old mines of Damukan. However, Mr. Zhuang, most of the rough jade from Damukan is multicolored, although they do produce top-quality red jade, but..."
After squatting on the ground for a while, Master Peng stood up and shared his own opinion, but he only said half of it, clearly not very optimistic about this large piece of rough jade.
Although the price of 1,000 yuan per kilogram is not expensive, the raw material is huge. Even if we calculate based on 50 kilograms, it would still cost 50,000 yuan.
"Is this rough stone really a raw material? The kind that can yield jadeite?"
Zhuang Rui's words left everyone speechless. There is no instrument in the world that can see through the outer layer of a rough stone, and no one dares to guarantee that a piece of rough stone will definitely contain jade. This is why it is called gambling on stones.
"It is indeed rough material from the old mine pit of Damukan, but whether it can yield jadeite is hard to say."
Master Peng spoke the truth.
"Young man, I didn't lie to you, did I? Old Yu has been in the raw material business for almost twenty years, and his reputation is impeccable."
Boss Yu had just caught his breath. If it weren't for that rough jade worth over 100,000 yuan, he wouldn't have bothered talking to Zhuang Rui.
"But I keep feeling like I'm spending money on a worthless stone, it's really bothering me. How about this, Mr. Yu, I won't haggle over the other rough stone which is 6,000 yuan per kilogram, but this rough stone you mentioned is a bonus, 500 yuan per kilogram, I'll take both of them and find a place to cut them open later, just to practice my skills."
Zhuang Rui remained calm, as if he were simply haggling over a price in a normal business transaction, without showing the slightest fluctuation in his expression.
"Alright, I'm having a clearance sale today, even if it means I lose money."
Boss Yu gritted his teeth and agreed to Zhuang Rui's offer. The piece of rough jade he was using as a lump sum weighed over 110 jin (approximately 55 kg). He had kept it for seven or eight years, and during that time, at least fifty or sixty people had looked at it, but all of them lost interest after a single glance. Boss Yu had even considered cutting it himself, but that would mean he would bear the risk, which is a major taboo for rough jade merchants. That's why he had kept it until now. Selling it off cheaply would put his mind at ease.
"The rough jade from the Damukan factory weighs 58 kilograms and costs 29,000 yuan. The rough jade from the Pak Kong factory weighs 26 kilograms and costs 156,000 yuan. Together, they cost a total of 185,000 yuan. Young man, am I right?"
Mr. Yu calculated the price of the two rough stones on the calculator, but since he didn't make much profit from them, he didn't suggest waiving the 5,000 yuan difference.
"That's right, Brother Song, should you go first or should I go first?"
Zhuang Rui nodded, took out his bank card from his wallet, and turned to ask Song Jun a question.
"You little rascal, you're practically throwing money away! You go first..."
Song Jun glared at Zhuang Rui with annoyance. In his opinion, the two rough stones Zhuang Rui bought, whether for hoarding or for cutting, had no potential for appreciation; they were simply two pieces of worthless trash.
"Hehe, Brother Song, you don't know, after that kid Da Chuan made more than ten million from cutting stones, he's been nagging me on the phone all day long. Let's cut a rough stone worth tens of millions to annoy him too."
Zhuang Rui walked to the table with a simple smile, swiped his card, entered the amount of 185,000 yuan, and then entered the password. The transaction was then completed, and the two rough stones at his feet now belonged entirely to Zhuang Rui.
Credit card transactions are much more convenient than cash transactions. At least for Song Jun's two million yuan, if it were all in cash, it would probably take several hours to count the money. While waiting for Song Jun to swipe his card, Zhuang Rui took out his phone and called Zhou Rui, telling him the address of Boss Yu's store and asking him to drive his Grand Cherokee over.
"What, you're planning to put these two pieces of raw jade in the car and take them back?"
After hearing Zhuang Rui's phone call, Song Jun asked with a surprised look.
"Yeah, I have nowhere to put it. I'll just put it in the car first. The hotel's security system is pretty good. Besides, with its size, it's hard for him to steal it without two people."
Zhuang Rui answered as a matter of course.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Song Jun said, half-laughing and half-crying, "Do you even know that there's such a thing as baggage handling? Can't you even afford the cost of baggage handling?"
Zhuang Rui really didn't know that these raw materials could be shipped. He thought that since these things were so valuable, the buyer would definitely rent a car to take them back. He didn't expect that they could actually be shipped.
Pingzhou has logistics companies that specialize in serving these raw material merchants. They are willing to handle the shipping of even the most expensive raw materials, although the shipping fees are exorbitantly high. Of course, if the raw materials are lost, they will compensate according to the insured amount on the shipping document.
"Forget it, I'm going to drive back anyway. These two pieces of rough jade aren't very big, so I'll just take them back together. Maybe I'll be in a good mood and unravel them here in the next couple of days."
After thinking for a moment, Zhuang Rui decided to take the rough stone back himself. Firstly, he was really worried about letting a logistics company transport the rough stone worth hundreds of millions. Secondly, he was thinking of finding a large group of people to clean the rough stone with green underneath, and if he could sell it, that would be ideal.
"Whatever you want..."
The Song army didn't take these 100,000+ pieces of raw material seriously.
"Come on... come on, gentlemen, have some watermelon. It's unbearably hot today."
After finishing his business, Boss Yu called his wife to bring over a plate of watermelon. The temperature in Guangdong in June had already reached 35 degrees Celsius, and even with the air conditioning on, everyone was sweating profusely. Eating the chilled watermelon was indeed much more refreshing.
After finishing the watermelon, Boss Yu made another phone call, this time to ask the logistics company to come and handle the shipping procedures. Due to the special nature of jade gambling transactions, some logistics companies offer 24-hour door-to-door pickup, which is much more convenient and flexible than shipping within the mainland.
"Boss Yu, please open the door, my car is here."
The group moved the raw materials onto a cart. Just as they were laid out in the yard, they heard a car stop outside, and then Zhuang Rui's phone rang.
"Okay, coming right away."
Mr. Yu first locked the warehouse door, then looked through the peephole before opening his own front door.
As soon as the door opened, a white shadow darted past Boss Yu, startling him so much that he stumbled and almost fell. Looking back, he saw a Tibetan mastiff the size of a calf pouncing on Zhuang Rui.
"This...this, Big Yellow, Second Yellow, go!"
Boss Yu reacted quickly, immediately calling his two wolfhounds to help Zhuang Rui. However, he found that his two Kunming dogs, which had always been very brave, were now hiding by the wall with their tails between their legs. When he looked at Zhuang Rui, he saw the Tibetan Mastiff affectionately sticking out its tongue and licking Zhuang Rui's face.
"You scared me half to death! Damn it, you two beasts eat plenty of meat usually, but you let us down when it matters. You good-for-nothings."
Boss Yu patted his chest. He now knew that the Tibetan Mastiff must belong to Zhuang Rui. However, when he looked at his own two wolfhounds, he couldn't help but feel depressed. They were all dogs, so why were they so different?
"Hehe, Mr. Yu, I'm really envious of that Tibetan Mastiff. You know, someone offered 40 million RMB, but that kid still didn't sell it."
Song Jun was somewhat surprised by the size of the white lion. In just a few months, the white lion's size was already comparable to that of an adult Tibetan mastiff.
"Forty million? Goodness..."
Upon hearing this, Boss Yu, the man with the mustache, and Master Peng all looked at the man and dog with much more seriousness, and their evaluation of Zhuang Rui was raised to an even higher level.
"Brother Zhou, give me a hand and help me put this piece of raw jade on the car."
Zhuang Rui called out to Zhou Rui, who came in after him, and the two of them struggled to lift the piece of raw material weighing more than fifty kilograms and walked outside the gate.
"What? Aren't you going to put it in the trunk?"
Zhou Rui noticed that Zhuang Rui hadn't opened the trunk, but instead opened the back door, and asked curiously.
"Put it in the middle of the car; this stone is quite heavy."
Zhuang Rui made up a lame excuse, got into the car, first lifted the back seat, then put the piece of wool under the seat, and then put the seat back. Because of the cover on the seat, it was not visible from the outside that there was a stone weighing fifty or sixty pounds under the seat.
"You little rascal, you're being so careful with such a broken rock."
When Song Jun came out and saw this, he shook his head dismissively.
"You worthless rock. If you knew about the red jade inside, you probably wouldn't think that way."
Zhuang Rui didn't answer. After looking around the Grand Cherokee from all sides, he felt relieved. Unless someone stole the car along with it, no one except the people present would know that there was a piece of raw jade hidden in the car.
After placing the red jadeite rough stone, Zhuang Rui carried the more than 20-kilogram Hpakant rough stone to the trunk. He wanted to clean it up and sell it as soon as possible.
The group waited in the yard for a while, and then the logistics company that Boss Yu had called arrived. After taking photos of Song Jun's rough stones, sealing them, and completing the relevant procedures, they loaded them all onto the truck and drove away.
"Xiao Linzi, next time find a more straightforward boss. This one is just too slow."
After leaving Boss Yu's house and arriving at the jade market, Song Jun took out more than ten pink banknotes from his bag and handed them to the broker, Little Mustache.
After taking the money, the man with the mustache said repeatedly, "Of course, I will definitely make sure Mr. Song is satisfied next time. I will call you again after I have made the arrangements tomorrow."
"No, I'll collect the money next time Boss Zhuang wants to inspect the goods alone."
Seeing Song Jun's actions, Zhuang Rui counted out a thousand yuan and handed it to the man with the mustache, but the man pushed it back and casually handed Zhuang Rui a business card with his contact information on it.
"Brother Song, this family doesn't have many rough stones. Are they saving the good ones for the jade gambling convention?"
Half an hour later, Song Jun and Zhuang Rui, who had returned to their room and taken a shower, sat in the hotel's coffee shop. The reason was that Song Jun wanted to talk to his younger brother a bit more, as he didn't want to see Zhuang Rui invest his hopes of buying a villa in gambling on jade.
"This boss has quite a few good things on hand, like the warehouse we just saw. He has two more warehouses like this in other places. He's quite a 'big shot,' and I imagine he's one of the unpopular figures in Myanmar."
Song Jun chuckled lightly and said dismissively.
"What does this have to do with Myanmar?"
Zhuang Rui asked curiously.
"Nonsense, of course it's related to Myanmar. Myanmar has relatively strict rules regarding jadeite rough stones, requiring them to be sold through the jadeite gambling convention. However, good rough stones are already targeted by many Chinese buyers before the jadeite gambling convention is held in Myanmar."
Every "big player" involved in the trade of raw jade stones must have their own secret channel to bypass Myanmar customs, because truly good raw stones will not participate in the jade gambling conference in Yangon. Therefore, some people will take the risk of transporting good raw stones to China in advance instead of participating in the jade gambling conference. According to Myanmar regulations, this is considered smuggling. Boss Yu is probably one of these people.
Actually, the price of jadeite in China was driven up by these rough jadeite merchants from Pingzhou. We entered the market too late..."
After listening to Song Jun's words, Zhuang Rui finally understood the true situation of jade gambling in Pingzhou, which was much more complicated than he had imagined.
In the 1980s, jadeite was not worth much in Myanmar because jade culture was only found in China. Later, merchants from Pingzhou discovered jadeite in Myanmar and smuggled it to China, where they set high prices.
However, a few years ago, a dispute arose among several Chinese who monopolized the Pingzhou market over the distribution of profits. Someone exposed the matter, and only then did the Myanmar government begin to seriously investigate.
Since then, Myanmar has required that rough stones be traded only in the trading hall in Yangon. As a result, companies that import rough stones are no longer as ostentatious as before. However, due to the channels that have been established in the past, people who specialize in smuggling rough stones still gather in Pingzhou. These smuggling companies have established connections in Myanmar and transport goods directly by truck.
Although there are still some risks involved in smuggling raw stones, once they are successfully transported to China, it is generally a sure thing to make a profit.
"By the way, brother, listen to me, gambling on stones is always all about good news, not bad. All you hear are stories of winning big, but countless people have lost everything gambling. Your last encounter with Da Chuan was pure luck, but luck can't always follow you, can it? You've bought these two stones, but you should refrain from gambling in the future and know when to stop."
After chatting for a while, Song Jun remembered the purpose of his invitation to Zhuang Rui and earnestly offered his advice.
Chapter 185 Jade Cicada
"I understand, Brother Song. I'll only put up a maximum of five million to try my luck at the Pingzhou Jade Gambling Conference; I won't invest all my funds..."
Zhuang Rui appreciated Song Jun's advice; if someone wasn't genuinely looking out for you, there's no need to say things that might offend them.
"Okay, as long as you know what I mean. It's late, go to sleep. I'll call you first thing tomorrow morning and take you to see the Ghost Market."
Song Jun called the waiter over, paid the bill, and said to Zhuang Rui with a smug look on his face.
"Hehe, Brother Song, I've already been there, and I even had some success..."