When I arrived at the Grand World, Brother Leopard was already waiting for me in the office. I didn't let Jing Lei come up; some matters were better kept from her.
Brother Leopard beckoned me to sit on the sofa, and I told him about Bo Gang looking for me earlier.
The veins on Brother Leopard's face bulged. I knew his inner rage. It was true that Brother Leopard had establishments in Ruili and dealt in gray areas, but we never crossed the line, and especially not with that substance. The fate of the two people in the suburbs earlier was a testament to that.
Bo Gang knew us so well; he couldn't possibly be unaware of our principles. Yet, he still tried to force his way, to buy and sell by coercion. If this menace isn't eliminated, we will never find peace.
However, even if they came for a transaction, catching one or two people wouldn't solve anything. Bo Gang was the mastermind. If he wasn't removed, capturing more would only put us in a more passive position.
This was the most troublesome part.
Brother Leopard said, "This fight is inevitable. Brother, are you scared?"
I replied, "I'm not scared even with a gun to my head. Besides, what's the use of fear?"
Brother Leopard said, "Good. If he doesn't leave us a way out, we'll f*ck him up!"
Lan Ya gritted her teeth in hatred, regretting not shooting him yesterday, letting him live only to come and take our lives.
I said, "To fight Bo Gang, Brother Qing must be involved. Relying only on us might be too difficult."
Brother Leopard said, "Yes, I'll handle these matters. Brother Qing and I will arrange the details. There's no rush for now. Didn't you say you still had questions about that large stone? I've already put it in the warehouse, and we'll go take a look later."
Yes, that stone clearly showed potential, so why did it turn out to be white meat after cutting? I was a bit unconvinced.
Brother Leopard left first, and Lan Ya and I would join him later.
We watched Brother Leopard leave. Lan Ya came over, put her arm around me, and rested her head on my face. She was tall, and in heels, she was almost at my shoulder.
Last night, we slept in each other's arms, and she seemed to enjoy the feeling. Holding me gave her a sense of security.
Bo Gang had inflicted a profound pain on us, but it had also brought me and Lan Ya closer. Only after experiencing life and death together could one truly appreciate the preciousness of breathing freely.
Even the strongest exterior still encased a young girl.
I stroked her back and said softly, "Let's go downstairs. We shouldn't keep Brother Leopard waiting too long."
She stubbornly held me for a moment longer, then kissed me on the cheek, let go, and went to the wardrobe to tidy her clothes. She reapplied some lipstick before going down with me.
It suddenly occurred to me if she had left a mark by kissing me. I quickly wiped it with my hand. Fortunately, there was no color, so I felt relieved.
What would Brother Leopard think if he saw a hickey after such a short time?
Lan Ya saw me wiping my cheek and leaned in again. I quickly dodged.
Lan Ya said, "What, are you disgusted by me?"
I replied, "How would I dare?"
Lan Ya said, "Then why are you dodging me?"
I was speechless. One should never reason with women, because there is no reasoning to be had.
Fortunately, we got off the elevator. In front of everyone, she was the boss, and in fact, she was more serious than I was, putting on a formidable demeanor of a big sister.
I suddenly remembered Xiao Hong's matter and told her about it. She called the manager and arranged for Xiao Hong to come and see her directly that evening.
I made a call to the hotel reception and asked her to tell Xiao Hong to come to the Grand World later to discuss work with the manager.
Brother Leopard's warehouse was located in the urban-rural fringe, formerly a disused winery. Brother Leopard had bought the entire winery, intending to build a raw stone market here.
Following his idea, he wouldn't demolish the workshops and factory buildings, keeping them as they were and utilizing the old site for raw stone trading.
This was a very novel idea; not only did it reduce demolition and construction costs, but it also had a unique character.
Our car was parked in the original wine storage workshop. Inside were many large tanks, some ten to twenty tons. The open space was occupied by those two large stones.
A bright chandelier was installed on the ceiling, illuminating the workshop as if it were daylight.
I asked the security guard to turn off the main lights. After my eyes adjusted for a moment, I picked up a flashlight and went to the stone that had already shown color, shining the light into it.
This side had a layer of gray-black mist. Shining the light inside revealed fluorescence, very clear and showing ample clarity and texture.
Now, when I looked at this stone again, I was much more composed. The pressure was gone. If it yielded anything, it would be a pleasant surprise, and if not, it wouldn't matter.
Lan Ya had looked at quite a few stones these past few days and seemed to have developed an interest. She followed me closely.
Suddenly, I became excited. I swallowed and rubbed my eyes, shining the light into it again. Guess what I saw? Beneath the fluorescence, there were tiny "fly wings"!
"Fly wings" were a manifestation of the stone's crystallization and a sign of its crystalline structure. Large ones usually indicated coarse crystallization, large grains, and low clarity. These faint, almost hidden, and very clear indications suggested ample clarity and a very good foundation!
I had been too careless that day; I hadn't noticed these features at all.
I was a little agitated, and beads of sweat dripped down my face.
Lan Ya, seeing me sweating so much, quickly took out some tissues to wipe me.
I asked the security guard to turn on the lights. This stone had to be cut. No matter how good the indications seen through the mist were, they were still like "looking at flowers in a fog." We wouldn't know if there was anything valuable until we made the cut.
Brother Leopard had borrowed a small cutting machine from the engineering company. It was parked nearby, with a saw blade about 1.5 meters long, capable of cutting only vertically.
I drew a ten-centimeter line on this stone and told them to cut along it.
The workers began cutting the stone. We all retreated to the warehouse entrance to wait.
Brother Leopard mentioned that Brother Qing's side had been investigating Bo Gang's whereabouts these past few days and they would discuss their next move later.
I said I had an idea: to see if we could lure him to the mainland. That way, it would be much more convenient for us to act than over there, and we could take the initiative.
Brother Leopard said, "That would be great, but it will take some effort to get him to come. He's a cunning fox and won't easily follow our lead."
I said, "The place I visited today, we can try to scout it out. He was acting as if he were at home there. It's very likely a stronghold of his here, just a few meters from the border with Myanmar, allowing him to come and go freely. If danger arises, he can flee across at any time."
Brother Leopard said, "It's possible, but unlikely. He wouldn't easily expose his lair. Perhaps it was temporarily requisitioned to mislead us. However, what's certain is that he's familiar with the area. Even if this isn't his base, his residence here wouldn't be too far away."
Brother Leopard's analysis made sense. This wasn't Myanmar; he could arrange his defenses around his villa. Here, he could only bring a few escorts, and he wouldn't easily reveal his residence.
The older generation truly knew best; my perspective was too one-sided.
Brother Leopard said, "We can go and scout that place, see if we can find any valuable clues."