Chapter 106: The Charm of Southern Xinjiang

  The next day, Xiao Ping set off with Mao Wenqing and Hu Qiang.

  Because of cooperating with Xiao Ping, a master of jade appraisal, Mao Wenqing also plans to make a big move at this stone gambling meeting. Although Mao Wenqing didn't explicitly state how much money he had prepared for this time, just by looking at the eight skilled partners he brought along, Xiao Ping could guess that it was definitely not a small amount.

  Hu Qiang and two of his men also came along with the two. He was originally collaborating with Mao Wenqing, so he didn't bring much money himself, just following to see the excitement. However, whether there was any intention to supervise Mao Wenqing, probably no one can say clearly.

  Xiao Ping still traveled alone, anyway he only brought the previously agreed 15 million yuan. This amount of money was nothing in the stone gambling meeting, and it didn't attract much attention when put in a bag, so he took the cash directly on the road.

  Everyone first took a plane to Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan Province, and then took a car to Xishuangbanna, a county called Mengla, which is very close to the origin of jade rough stones in Myanmar.

  Xiao Ping was visiting this remote small county town for the first time, looking around curiously at everything on the streets. Especially those tight-dressed Dai ethnic minority girls with their slender figures and charming appearance caught Xiao Ping's attention. As for Hu Qiang, he had been staring widely all along the way, and secretly asked Mao Wenqing's former subordinates if there were any entertainment venues to kill time.

  In comparison, Mao Wenqing was much more calm and composed. After arriving, he first found a hotel in the county town to stay in, while also sending several of his men out to gather information. Although gambling on stones wasn't an illegal activity, it did involve large sums of money and valuable jade stones worth a city's fortune, so the organizers were always extremely cautious. The specific time and location of the stone-gambling event would only be decided shortly before it began, and Mao Wenqing's men had gone to find out about this.

  Xiao Ping and Hu Qiang stayed in Mao Wenqing's room, waiting for his men to return with information. Mao Wenqing seemed calm, chatting with the two while playing with a wooden bead bracelet. In comparison, Xiao Ping was more relaxed, curiously asking Mao Wenqing, "Boss Mao, is this bracelet very valuable? I've always seen you wearing it."

  "Oh, this is a small leaf sandalwood rosary. It's not particularly precious, I'm just used to wearing it." Mao Wengqing said as he handed the rosary to Xiao Pingdao: "If you like it, brother Xiao, I'll give it to you."

  Xiao Ping hastily said: "No no, I'm just curious, I wouldn't dare ask Old Mao to give it up."

  Xiao Ping was well aware that although Mao Wenqing spoke lightly, the object he carried with him must be extraordinary. Xiao Ping didn't want to take something precious from someone else, so he noticed that Mao Wenqing specifically mentioned the material of the wristband and asked with interest: "Is this small leaf sandalwood very valuable?"

  "Small-leafed purple sandalwood is a treasure among purple sandalwoods, and has been one of the most precious woods since the Han Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was its heyday, but now it's extremely rare.

  As for his hobby, Mao Wengui talked endlessly: "This tree grows at an extremely slow rate, and can't be harvested in less than a hundred years. Moreover, under the bark, there are often hollows all the way through, which is why people say 'ten sandalwoods, nine empties'. This makes large pieces of this wood even more precious. Last year, I bought some big purple sandalwood logs, about two meters long and half a meter in diameter, and the price was 12 million per ton."

  "Is it that expensive?" Miao Weng's words made Xiao Ping take a surprise, and he couldn't help but secretly calculate in his heart: "The newly formed mountain slope inside the Lian Yao Hu is completely empty. If only some small leaf purple sandalwood could be planted."

  Xiao Ping hastily asked Mao Wenqing: "Is this kind of tree seedling sold outside now? Or seeds are also okay!"

  Mao Wenqing looked at Xiao Ping with some surprise and said, "Xiao younger brother is also interested in this? However, the growth rate of small leaf purple sandalwood is extremely slow. If you plant it now, even if you live to be 70 or 80 years old, it may not necessarily become a usable material."

  Xiao Ping smiled and said: "I'm just playing around with it, when I retire, as long as I can make a few strings of beads, I'll be content."

  "You've finally come to the right place this time." Mao Wengui also smiled and said, "The best Xiangshu trees are produced in India, but our country's southern border also has some. After the stone gambling meeting ends, I'll take you for a stroll around Chun City, we should be able to find some saplings."

  Xiao Pingxi said: "That's great, thank you first."

  "Everyone is a friend, why say thank you? Xiao brother, you're being too polite."

  Since Mao Wenqing said so, Xiao Ping also generously said: "Then I won't be polite."

  "That's right." Mao Wenqing also smiled with satisfaction.

  After chatting for a while, Mao Wenqing's men who went to gather information came back one after another. They brought back not-so-good news: due to the recent unrest on the border, the location of the gambling stone meeting had been changed and the time had also been moved up to tomorrow morning. The new location was somewhat remote, so if they wanted to arrive on time, they would have to set off immediately.

  Mao Wenqing didn't dare to be careless and hastily ordered his subordinates to prepare the vehicles for departure. Hu Qiang had originally planned to spend a night in the county town, also taking advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful women with exotic charm here. But after all, gambling was more important, although he was very dissatisfied in his heart, he could only follow everyone and leave together.

  Xiao Ping was delighted and encouraged by the news that the stone gambling meeting would be held ahead of schedule. Xiao Ping just wanted to get things done quickly, find the small leaf purple sandalwood sapling, and hurry back to the provincial city as soon as possible. Xiao Ping hoped that after Song Lei's emotions stabilized a bit, he could treat her wounds as soon as possible, so that Little Chili Pepper would suffer less pain.

  Mao Wenqing's subordinates found two vans, and a dozen or so people squeezed into the two vehicles, rushing to the new transaction location overnight. The southwestern border is rugged, with high mountains and valleys everywhere, and it's terrifying to drive on mountain roads in the middle of the night. Only local people who are familiar with the road dare to walk at night on the mountain, and others would never dare to do so.

  Many times, the narrow highway has a towering cliff on one side and a deep precipice on the other. Especially at night, it's often necessary to wait until the car reaches the edge of the cliff before discovering that just a few meters ahead is an unfathomable abyss, black and unknown in depth. This road can be described as thrilling, with Xiao Ping's spirit highly tense throughout, and the cold sweat on his back almost never drying. Mao Wenqing and Hu Qiang were also extremely nervous, the latter even pale-faced and leg-softened with fear.

  Fortunately, the journey was uneventful and when dawn broke, both vans arrived safely at their destination. As the cars slowly drove into a small patch of flat land between two large mountains, everyone on board let out a sigh of relief.

  Division line of interpretation

  In reality, there is indeed a county called "Meng Kan". To avoid trouble, the sea horse changed the name of the county, but the pronunciation remains the same. Please understand.

  Today's update is a bit late, sorry about that, everyone. Please forgive me and continue to vote and collect, okay!

  "Thanks for the reward from 'Dingfengbo0328', 'The end of the world is coming 5'"

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