Chapter 1066: Treasure Hunting in the Jade Market

That soldier couldn't understand a word He Yuzhu was saying at all, but he just happily took the one thousand US dollars and waved his hand at them: "You're all together, right? Hurry up and go. It's very hot today, don't get heatstroke."

The few of them had originally prepared themselves for a big fight, never expecting to pass through the checkpoint so smoothly.

Driving a few kilometers forward, the group stopped to rest; nominally to eat, but in reality, they wanted to sort out the current situation.

Hu Bayi looked suspicious: "Master He, isn't it a bit too smooth for us to pass through this checkpoint?"

Xu Damao immediately chimed in: "It must be that our previous diversion of the enemy aircraft reached the higher-ups. They issued orders to transfer all personnel to the Shan State border to block us, so the checkpoint is too lazy to conduct thorough inspections."

Dajinya said: "In my opinion, it was still Master He's one thousand US dollars that did the trick; who would turn their back on money?"

But He Yuzhu felt uneasy inside; he kept suspecting this was a trap set by the other side to lure them in.

He became increasingly cautious, keeping the System Scanning Function on at all times, constantly guarding against someone taking potshots from the shadows.

He did not know that all checkpoints had received instructions from superiors not to seriously inspect passing personnel.

Since the order had reached the grassroots level, the soldiers below naturally wouldn't take this matter to heart.

After finishing his food, Xu Damao finally regained his senses and slapped his thigh hard: "Zhuzi, I almost forgot the important business! All our jade was packed in that luxury car; it wouldn't have been blown to bits along with the car, would it?"

He Yuzhu nodded.

Xu Damao's face instantly turned mournful: "Zhuzi, this trip was all for nothing. I was counting on making a fortune, but now, I've lost both the wife and the soldiers."

Dajinya also looked at He Yuzhu with a suspicious expression.

Only Hu Bayi and Wang Pangzi appeared indifferent: "Neither of you has the look of someone who plays with antiques. In our line of work, you have to understand that wealth is an external possession; if it's gone, it's gone."

Hearing this, Xu Damao could only insincerely agree: "That's true, we weren't lacking this bit of money anyway. Getting these things was just the icing on the cake; even if they're lost, it won't hurt our foundation."

He Yuzhu chuckled: "I won't hide it from you all, I have hidden everything well. I originally planned to contact the hotel Boss after we were safe to help ship the goods. Since we are going to Yangon, I will take the items out and distribute them to you then."

Xu Damao was instantly overjoyed: "I knew it, how could you be so unreliable in your work? Zhuzi, how did you do it? I clearly saw several heavy bags being moved onto that car with my own eyes."

He Yuzhu's lips curled into a smile: "Didn't I tell you long ago that I know how to perform magic?"

Hu Bayi patted Xu Damao on the shoulder: "Damao, following Master He, you will definitely not suffer a loss."

Xu Damao nodded: "That's true, I just have an attachment to those few jade bracelets."

He Yuzhu was not angry: "Once we are settled, I will hand over your share to you as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao was immediately happy: "If we can stay in Yangon for a few more days, I plan to sell this batch of goods on the spot. I've long heard that the largest jade market in Yangon has bosses from Southeast Asia and Hong Kong buying goods all year round, and the prices are much higher than taking them back to the country."

He Yuzhu nodded after listening: "Damao, your foot hasn't fully healed yet; we can only set off once your injury has recovered."

Hu Bayi interjected from the side: "Master He, for the shares belonging to me and Pangzi, please still trouble yourself to help us ship them back to the country."

He Yuzhu nodded.

Wang Pangzi hurriedly agreed: "That's right, that's right! Hu is right. I would rather take the items back to the country to leave for my children and grandchildren than sell them here on the spot."

Dajinya's thoughts were exactly the same as Xu Damao's: "I also want to follow the idea of Uncle Damao and sell the goods locally."

After the group finished eating, they discussed it and decided to stay in Yangon for three to four days.

The group rode motorcycles into the city, and surprisingly, no one came to question or stop them along the way.

At He Yuzhu's suggestion, they did not stay in a high-end hotel, but instead found a small inn run by local Chinese to stay at.

The inn's frontage was not large, but it had the advantage of being in a remote location; for them, this was far safer than a five-star hotel.

The Boss was from Sichuan and specially made them a table full of Sichuan Cuisine, with Boiled Fish, Kung Pao Chicken, and Boiled Meat Slices, having everything one could wish for.

The few of them ate with great delight; after all, they hadn't tasted authentic Chinese food for many days.

After the meal, He Yuzhu greeted everyone and went out, using the excuse that he was going to retrieve the batch of jade.

In reality, he went out to scout for information. The checkpoints were so lax that they didn't even check identities; this matter seemed strange. He Yuzhu was full of suspicion about it.

He infiltrated a military base in the city, where soldiers responsible for protecting the government's safety were stationed.

The security of the Military Camp was very loose; some sentries were drinking, and others simply found a place to squat and doze off.

He slipped into the Military Camp headquarters without a sound.

Inside the room, several officers were gathered together drinking and chatting, and one officer said: "Have you heard? Guo Min'ang is dead; he was the one with the most hope of being promoted to Major General."

Another officer replied: "I heard he was killed by a drone. Ever since suicide drones appeared in Shan State, we haven't been able to stop them at all! I heard that over two thousand people have already died at the border in these past two days."

An officer with a scar on his face said: "Do you know? The person we are catching everywhere is someone the CIA of M Country is keeping an eye on. But the General doesn't want to deal with this matter anymore..."

Listening to these conversations, He Yuzhu roughly understood what was going on.

This time, he didn't take action in the Military Camp and quietly withdrew.

Returning to the small inn, He Yuzhu handed two large tote bags to Xu Damao and Dajinya respectively.

"These are your goods, take a count."

Xu Damao pulled the zipper open, and the finished jade pieces he had been longing for were neatly arranged in the bag. He looked at He Yuzhu with a fawning expression: "Zhuzi, you are too amazing."

He Yuzhu's expression was serious: "I remind you, it is best to keep the few pieces of high quality; they might appreciate in value in the future."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao immediately said: "That's what I think too; sell the ones with average quality and keep a few fine pieces to take back to the country."

Dajinya rubbed his hands and leaned in: "Master He, do you think this jade will really rise to a high price later?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "Good goods will become more and more valuable, but it's hard to say for ordinary materials."

Xu Damao and Dajinya immediately spread all the jade from the bags onto the bed, looking them over and weighing them back and forth, calculating which ones to sell and which ones to keep.

Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, a rustling sound came from the hotel corridor.

The few of them were tidying up and dressing in their respective rooms, and when they pushed open their doors to meet, they almost didn't recognize each other.

Hu Bayi was sporting a slicked-back hairstyle, wearing toad-eye sunglasses on his face, and had a gold chain as thick as a little finger hanging around his neck, dazzling people's eyes.

Wang Pangzi was dressed even more exaggeratedly, in a floral shirt, also with a gold chain around his neck, and a cigar in his mouth, looking exactly like a nouveau riche from Hong Kong.

Xu Damao and Dajinya were not to be outdone, both wearing tea-colored sunglasses.

"Let's go, let's go stroll around the Aung San Market." He Yuzhu pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose and said.

The group hailed a local, sputtering old-fashioned tricycle and, after a bumpy ride, arrived at the largest jade market in Yangon—Aung San Market.

Once inside the market, one could see stalls displaying processed jade jewelry everywhere, and there were also many stalls piled with raw stones that had been opened.

After walking around for a circle, He Yuzhu saw how things worked.

The Government Army had strict controls; whenever a good piece of jade was cut, they would levy a tax.

There were indeed many wealthy people in this place; as soon as a piece of material was cut open to reveal jade with good color and high translucency, the Southeast Asia and Hong Kong merchants gathered around would immediately start bidding on the spot, no different from an auction.

He Yuzhu did not have much interest in finished jade, so he rolled his eyes and set his sights on a few large stalls in the corner selling raw stones.

With his hands behind his back, he strolled slowly to each stall, crouched down, tapped and knocked, and secretly activated his Scanning ability, looking through the inside of each stone as clearly as if using a sieve.

With this look, He Yuzhu knew what was what.

The stones at the vast majority of stalls looked very intimidating on the outside, some even having fist-sized windows cut open that looked dripping with emerald green, but the green inside was only a thin layer, with nothing but ordinary stone underneath.

He Yuzhu pondered to himself that the Government Army must have raised a group of experts who knew the trade, specifically to pick out the truly good goods from the raw stones and store them in warehouses.

To put it bluntly, this market was just for scamming out-of-town tourists.

He Yuzhu walked back and forth twice before suddenly stopping in front of a large-scale stall.

The stall owner was a Burmese-Chinese man with a goat beard; his small eyes were shining with shrewdness, and at a glance, he was an old hand who had spent his life in the underworld.

In front of him sat a basketball-sized raw stone with a grayish-yellow skin and a few fine python-stripe patterns, which looked quite promising.

He Yuzhu crouched down, held a flashlight against the stone skin to shine it, and spoke slowly, asking in Mandarin with a Hong Kong accent: "Boss, what's the price for this stone?"

The goat beard raised his eyes to size him up, and seeing his air of a wealthy Hong Kong tycoon, he hurriedly piled on a smile: "Boss has a good eye, this thing is not simple, one hundred thousand US dollars, not a cent less."

He Yuzhu stood up and made a move to leave, and the stall owner immediately reached out to stop him: "Boss, name a price!"

Hu Bayi, Wang Pangzi, and the others also followed closely and crowded around.