A bearded old Burmese man entered from outside. Seeing Brother Qing from a distance, he greeted him as if they hadn't seen each other in a long time.
Brother Qing beckoned him over and introduced him to Brother Bao.
Brother Qing said, "This is Mr. Teng Ji, my old friend. He owns five or six mines in Damahkan, and many of the raw stones at this public auction were supplied by him."
At this, Brother Bao stood up. Brother Qing continued, "This is my brother from inland, Ah Bao. He's a dominant figure in Ruili. You two should keep in touch, exchange ideas, and collaborate more in the future. Let this old man benefit from your success."
Teng Ji did not speak much Chinese, but he understood. He nodded continuously. Then, the two men shook hands and performed a Burmese greeting, signifying their introduction.
I didn't know Brother Qing's motive for introducing this bearded man to Brother Bao. Did Brother Bao want to go into the jade business? Or did Brother Qing have other plans?
Teng Ji spoke a few words in Burmese, and Brother Qing translated, "Teng Ji wants you to inspect his mines. He can directly export raw stones up to 100 kilograms without needing to report to the government."
Brother Bao nodded and said to Brother Qing, "We'll decide after the public auction concludes."
Indeed, Brother Bao was interested in the raw stone business. This meant Brother Qing was not merely acting as a mediator; there was definitely some kind of transaction involved.
Given this, the colossal stone became much simpler. At least subjectively, Brother Qing wouldn't scheme regarding this stone. Whether it contained jade was purely a matter of luck.
At this moment, a bell chimed from outside. Brother Qing invited everyone to move out; the public auction had begun.
On a temporarily erected stage, an official-looking man was speaking entirely in Burmese, with no translation. Everyone looked bewildered.
Although this was an internal public auction and the guests were mostly from mainland China, they should have considered the guests' comfort.
Fortunately, most of the service staff communicated in Chinese, which made things much easier.
After the man finished speaking, another bell sounded, signaling the official opening. Bidding for the stones could now commence.
Brother Bao was here for the colossal stone and was not interested in other raw stones. I told Brother Bao that the moment for the colossal stone had not yet arrived and that I would go and examine other stones first.
I had heard from my master that public auctions were the true showcases for raw stones, where one could find genuine top-grade pieces. Of course, if one misjudged, they could lose everything.
In other words, here, apart from fully exposed jade (Ming Liao), gambling on unrevealed stones (Meng Tou Liao) depended on skill and luck.
I did not linger among the Ming Liao. The Ming Liao were almost all exquisite pieces, priced at their absolute peak. Unless one was involved in finished product sales, jade gamblers wouldn't stop here. Damai Gallery.
I went directly to the Meng Tou Liao section.
There were many Meng Tou stones, from various mining areas. Their outer surfaces were scrubbed very clean and divided into piles based on weight.
When I arrived, I had obtained a bidding card from Jing Lei. If I found any suitable stones, I would try my luck at the public auction.
I bypassed the black sand-skinned stones and went straight to the Damahkan raw stone area.
The Damahkan mining area is located downstream of the Wudu River, west of the old mining area. Damahkan is adjacent to the old Hpakant mining area, about 30 kilometers from Hpakant.
Shortly thereafter, the staff returned my card. I took the slip and went to collect my bidding number.
On the other side of the bidding stage, a row of cutting machines was set up, ready to cut stones for guests.
I took it over and handed it to a young craftsman, telling him to make a cut on the top.
The craftsman secured the stone and made a cut about one centimeter deep on the smaller end.
After the stone was cut, it was handed to me. The cut surface was very flat and smooth. The water content of the jade could not be seen; it was a layer of black-grey mist. Even with a flashlight, the inside was not visible. It looked like a lump of black stone.