The car drove into the mining area. Perhaps due to the heavy vehicles entering and exiting, the road was even more difficult to navigate. Two deep ruts, combined with the mud from the rain, caused the car to sway precariously from side to side, making it harder to drive than a mountain road.
The car finally arrived at the mine, wobbling all the way. Qing Ge was having tea with Teng Ji in a shed. Seeing us arrive, Teng Ji stood up to greet us.
Qing Ge did not get up, but waved at us from his rattan chair.
Brother Bao said, "It's really not easy to get to your place. We almost got stuck halfway."
Qing Ge replied, "That's a headache. They snatch everything. We need the government army to escort us when we transport raw stones; it's very difficult to get them out ourselves."
Brother Bao asked, "Does the Big Brother know who these people are?"
Qing Ge explained, "These people have some connection with Bo Gang. He was part of a splinter group of his former guerrilla team. After he surrendered, this group didn't follow him; they wanted to grow stronger on their own. Unfortunately, they were largely wiped out by the government forces. The remaining stragglers became bandits, robbing and plundering."
Brother Bao stated, "This force must be eliminated first, otherwise, our transportation channels cannot be guaranteed. We can't possibly have the government army mobilize for every small shipment of raw stones, can we? That would cost too much."
Qing Ge agreed, "You're right, but it's very difficult. They are entrenched in the deep mountains and can retreat at will. They can hide anywhere in the surrounding dozens of kilometers of mountains, and we can't find them. It's hard to catch them all at once."
Brother Bao acknowledged, "Yes, Big Brother, the difficulty is indeed great. But I still ask Big Brother to consider it. No matter the cost, we must eradicate this force."
Qing Ge revealed, "Actually, I've already spoken to them about this. They agreed to send troops, but you know, they lack funds. Whenever it comes to deploying troops, they claim they have no budget. As you know, I'm also stretched thin. If we're really going to fight, it will require strategy, and it will require money."
Brother Bao offered, "Big Brother, please make the contact. I'll figure out the expenses. As long as you can finalize the terms with them, I'll also pay you the commission for the first batch of goods."
Qing Ge agreed, "Alright, I'll contact Chief of Staff Wu now to see how many troops he can provide and how much money is needed."
Brother Bao said, "Big Brother, please take care of this matter. Hua Zi and I will go look at the materials."
Teng Ji led us to the warehouse. Brother Bao and I followed him, with Da Kui and Wen Siqiang trailing behind us.
What was called a warehouse was actually just a shed, filled with numerous raw stones of various sizes.
They were placed according to different mining areas. Most of them had not been numbered yet; they were just rinsed and piled there.
I squatted down and rummaged through them, finding a stone with a "python belt." It weighed about ten catties, a mountain stone with sharp edges, brown in color, with slightly abrasive sand grains. Several "python belts" were etched on its surface. I shone my light on it, and it had fluorescence. I told Wen Siqiang, "Go to the cutting machine and open this stone from the middle. I want to see the texture and clarity of this batch of goods."
The color of this stone was definitely fine; the main gamble was on cracks and water content.
I also randomly picked another unremarkable stone to open. This way, it would be representative. If both stones were opened, we could basically determine the quality of this batch.
The so-called mine refers to an entire mountain range that, due to crustal movement, earthquakes, or floods over thousands or tens of thousands of years of transport and erosion, reacts with surrounding materials, determining the texture, clarity, color, and quality of the raw stones in that vein. Therefore, the goods from the same vein are generally not too different, which is why mining areas are distinguished.
Wen Siqiang cut open the first stone and brought it to me. As I had guessed, this stone had no issues with color or clarity, but it had a fatal flaw: fine cracks that covered almost the entire stone.
I set it aside and would find another stone with a similar rind to open later. If it was the same, then this pile of stones would be worthless.
The other stone was quickly cut open. This stone had average texture and clarity, but its color was correct, a rich green. This could actually mask the flaws caused by insufficient water content.
I found another raw stone with a "python belt," similar to the previous one, also with a black-brown rind and abrasive sand grains. When illuminated, it also showed fluorescence. I handed it to Wen Siqiang.
This method of cutting stones in half was quite exciting; there was no need to gamble, whatever came, came.
Wen Siqiang seemed to have found his rhythm and quickly cut it into two halves.
This stone's color was slightly inferior, but it was still bright green. One side had some fine cracks near the edge, but they didn't penetrate inwards. The texture was like glutinous rice, with floating flowers. It was enough to make two pairs of bracelets, which could sell for over ten thousand yuan each.
I told Brother Bao, "This pile of stones is about three tons. We can buy it, but the price can't be too high. I'm afraid the proportion of cracked stones will be high."
Brother Bao nodded. He called Teng Ji over and asked for the price.
Teng Ji said, "The mining area for this pile of stones is good. Brother Hua also opened a few earlier. The main advantage is the color. Most of them have medium to good texture and clarity, but they do have cracks, which is a fatal flaw. So, if you want to take this batch of materials first, I'll give you a price of one thousand per kilogram. But you know, transportation is a big problem, and I can't deal with those people in the mountains. And that's the only way through."
Brother Bao nodded. His requirements were not high. After sorting them back, they could be priced anywhere from three thousand to ten thousand. However, I didn't see any particularly outstanding stones, so they could only be bought as ordinary materials.
We were back to square one; transporting them out was the main problem.
According to Teng Ji, these people had only been active in this area for the past few months, mainly robbing merchants coming from the interior. They dared not speak out, and if they were robbed but left alive, it was considered fortunate. No one dared to report it to the authorities, so they had to suffer in silence.
I went over and gave them some advice on the precautions for a new company's opening and the rules for dealing with people. I saw Xiao Hong was also in the service staff team, and she was in charge of this group.
A team leader was also chosen for the security team. He was an old employee from Da Shi Jie, named San Zi. He was big and burly, dark-skinned, and knew some martial arts.
I had them split into two groups, with one group going to another room.
The remaining security team received simpler training. A blanket was placed in the middle of the room, and they paired up for sparring matches. Those eliminated waited, while the winners proceeded to the next round.
Those eliminated in the first round would be responsible for intensive training by the team leader within ten days. After ten days, a second competition would be held, and the final five would be eliminated.
Elimination did not mean dismissal; they would only be assigned to ordinary positions, with the winning candidates taking over important roles.
The female staff primarily received etiquette and Mandarin training. I specifically hired an etiquette teacher from a training company to teach them.
At this moment, my phone rang. Lan Ya said that Brother Bao had arrived at the office.
I hurried over to meet Brother Bao.
Brother Bao had likely been briefed by Lan Ya, as his expression was as grave as mine. He must have also realized the seriousness of the situation; this Bo Gang was putting immense pressure on us.
Brother Bao stated, "We'll meet with Qing Ge tomorrow to discuss Bo Gang in detail. If we want to deal with him, we first need to find his base. I heard from Qing Ge that after the previous confrontation, he hasn't been back to that waterside villa in Yangon. He likely has a stronghold on the border. Qing Ge has already arranged for informants to scout his activity locations there. Once we figure it out, we should eradicate him completely! We can't be like Kang Gong, who couldn't be killed and became an additional enemy. If we can't kill Bo Gang in one go, we will be the ones who die."
I nodded. Yes, if we couldn't kill him in one go, our lives would be on a countdown.
Bo Gang came from a guerrilla background and had experience in jungle warfare. The mountainous terrain of Myanmar is rugged, with difficult terrain and inconvenient transportation. He could defend or attack, which was very disadvantageous to us. To deal with him, we needed to put in a hundred times the effort. We could only win, not lose!