Happy Tycoon

Early the next morning, Yang Jing got into the jeep that he took when he came here again, and traveled westward through the high mountains and virgin forests.

As Wu Chin Maung said, the more than 100-kilometer road from Myitkyina to Hpakant is not a road for people to walk at all! Compared with this section of road, the road from Mandela to Myitkyina is simply a two-way four-lane highway!

You say this is not a road, but there is a clear boundary between the two sides of this winding and uneven road and the virgin jungle next to it, but if you want to say that this is a road, who the hell will believe it.

This is clearly a long strip of rotten mud that was trampled out in the jungle by elephants!

Yang Jing saw no less than a hundred elephants along the way. These elephants were either carrying huge bamboo baskets filled with rough jadeite, or they simply tied some huge rough jadeite with hemp vines. Get up and let the elephant drag you on the ground

Of course, more are Burmese locals who shoulder the burden.

The Hpakant mining area is deep in the mountains in the west of Kachin State. Although it is bordered by Sagaing State, the area is really a primitive jungle area. If it weren't for the discovery of emeralds in that area, it would have been designated as a no-man's land.

The jeep that Yang Jing was riding in couldn't run fast at all. Apart from the mud on the road, there were big puddles, and the car would sink into it if one didn't pay attention. On the road of more than 170 kilometers from Myitkyina to Pagan, the car got stuck 13 times. If there were not many elephants on this road, the stuck car could be pulled up. When you get stuck for the first time, you have to go to Pagan one by one.

Especially when crossing Kumen Ridge, Yang Jing's liver and intestines were almost thrown out.

This kind of road made Yang Jing really doubt how to transport the rough jade stones he dug out from the mining area. Could it be that they can only be carried out by elephants or people?

We set off at five o'clock in the morning, and did not arrive at the old Pagan mining area until after nine o'clock in the evening.

When Yang Jing got out of the car, he almost knelt on the ground and couldn't get up again. This is really not human's fault!

The jade mining areas in Myanmar are still far from being able to compare with the mining areas after the new century. In fact, even after entering the new century, the price of jadeite has skyrocketed, and the major jadeite markets are still dilapidated. Except for the places where the mine owners live and the emerald raw stone warehouses, other places are not places for people to live at all.

The owners of the emerald mines are all billionaires, but these billionaires will never spend money on the workers in the mines.

It is now 1986, and this place is even more unsightly. Although Yang Jing can't see anything, he can feel the dilapidation here from the place where he lives at night.

Yang Jing and Wu Qinmao lived in a bamboo building. It is the kind of bamboo building whose bottom is supported by bamboo, the floor of the house is about one and a half meters high from the ground, and the whole house is woven with bamboo.

To say that living in a bamboo building is quite romantic, but if there are a few pigs under the bamboo building where you live, and there is only a layer of bamboo rafts between you and the pigs, you probably won’t think that living in a bamboo building is romantic. up.

Although the bamboo building is not directly grounded, the pigs below are really unbearable. Pig humming aside, the smell alone made Yang Jing so sour that he almost spit it out.

In the end, Yang Jing still couldn't resist the sour taste, and regardless of the severe pain all over his body, he asked an officer who followed him to find another room for him.

This room cannot be called a house, it is a thatched cottage

Thatched huts are just thatched huts, at least they don't have that sour smell, which is enough for Yang Jing to sleep peacefully on the bamboo bed in the thatched hut.

After waking up the next morning, Yang Jing discovered that more than 95% of the houses here were thatched cottages. A bamboo building like the one I stayed in for the first time last night is considered a high-end house here. This kind of bamboo house is usually lived by mine owners or managers.

Of course, there are also houses built of stones in the mining area, and those houses are very large. Needless to say, they are all warehouses for storing rough emerald stones.

Whether it is in the new century or in the 1980s, manpower and even human life are worthless at the entrance of the emerald field. There are tens of thousands of miners working here, even if each person only has a salary of about twelve cents a day ——Even in 2016, the daily income of miners here was only $1

The only valuable things here are those stones of different sizes and shapes - rough emerald stones.

After breakfast, Yang Jing and Wu Qinmao started to act again. The entrance opened by Wu Qinmao in the Damukan mining area is still some distance away from the old Pagan mining area-Yang Jing and Wu Qinmao need to ride an elephant for about half a day.

The straight-line distance between the Damukan mining area and the old Pagan mining area is only about 30 kilometers, but even after the new century, there is no road connecting the two mining areas, only a mountain road stepped on by elephants.

Therefore, Yang Jing, Wu Qinmao and their entourage had to travel around the mountains on elephants for half a day to reach the gate. Not to mention, although riding an elephant is a bit slower, it is really comfortable. A rattan chair is placed on the elephant's broad back, and a person sits in the rattan chair. With the steps of the elephant, the wicker chair swings from side to side, just like a rocking bed, very comfortable and not bumpy at all.

Yang Jing even had a good sleep in the wicker chair

As for the big box unloaded from the jeep that Yang Jing was riding in, it was placed on the back of the elephant together with Yang Jing.

In the afternoon, the team of eight elephants and more than fifty miners arrived at the Damukan mining area. The field opened up by Wu Qinmao is located on the edge of the Hangba field. It is a piece of land with a length of 2.3 kilometers and a width of 1.7 kilometers, covering an area of ​​almost 4 square kilometers.

On the north side of the mouth of the field is the winding main channel of the Wulu River, and there is also a branch of the Wulu River in the mouth of the field.

This area is relatively flat, and densely packed large pits have appeared on the ground. Countless miners are climbing up and down in the large pits, moving pieces of muddy stones out of the large pits.

This was the first time Yang Jing saw the site where the rough jadeite was excavated. Although the scene was spectacular, Yang Jing couldn't bear to watch it any longer after watching it for a while.

The main reason is that those miners are really a bit too miserable, their bodies are in tatters, worse than those worn by beggars. Some miners even wore only a loincloth, with yellow mud all over their bodies

In addition to these miners, there are also many naked children who are also helping the adults to carry some smaller rough jadeite.

In the past, I only heard about how hard it is for the miners to dig jadeite, but I never saw it with my own eyes. Now that I finally saw how these hard-working miners dig rough jadeite, Yang Jing really couldn't bear it.

Seemingly seeing that his big boss couldn't bear it, Wu Qinmao on the side said: Boss, the workers here are all like this. They can be said to have relied on mining for a living for generations. Although these workers earn They don’t get much money, but compared to those who can’t mine, they at least have a stable income.”

After speaking, Wu Qinmao pointed to the farther entrances and said: These openings are all connected together. In the Damukan mining area, there are 40,000 to 50,000 miners mining. The income of miners is basically 100,000 yuan. It's the same, this is something that every mine owner at the entrance of the field has tacitly understood. As newcomers, we naturally cannot break this default rule casually, otherwise, those mine owners at the entrance of the field will have trouble with us.

Yang Jing nodded silently, looked at it for a while, and then asked, How do the workers eat?

Wu Qinmao said in a low voice: This is not a problem. Although the wages of the miners in each field are almost the same, the food in our field is quite good, at least it can satisfy the workers. Yes, this is better than many games.”

After a pause, Wu Qinmao continued: Boss, you have also walked the way here, and you have seen the situation here, so all the supplies here, whether it is food, clothing or use, They all need to be pulled in from the outside. There are more than 3,800 people mining at the entrance of our field. For this reason, I specially formed a transportation team consisting of more than 100 people and 50 elephants to transport food. The team goes back and forth between Changkou and Mogang every day, and brings food and some necessary supplies from Mogang to Changkou.”

Yang Jing asked: Then how much money is needed for workers' wages and food and drink expenses over the past year?

It doesn't cost much, as long as the workers here have enough to eat. Counting their wages, food and other expenses, the total cost over the past year is less than two million U.S. dollars. Among them, security costs also account for Nearly half of it.

Hearing this number, Yang Jing also felt a little uncomfortable. There are almost 4,000 people, even with their salaries and food, they spend only one million dollars a year. The living standard here is really too low.

You must know that Wu Qinmao's annual salary is a full one million US dollars. The salary of this guy alone is equivalent to the hard work of nearly 4,000 people a year.

But Yang Jing knew that there was no way to do it, as Wu Qinmao said just now, this is how it is here, these miners have been here for almost generations. Especially in the old Pagan mining area, it is more cruel than here.

It is said that diamonds in Africa are blood diamonds, but in fact, the emeralds in Myanmar are similar to those blood diamonds.

But Yang Jing was powerless to change the situation here. This circle has been formed for a long time, and it cannot be easily changed by one or two people. And once the rules here are changed rashly, maybe it will be counterproductive.

The workers here are already used to this, or in other words, they have completely adapted to this kind of exploitation.

It's sad, but there's no way to change it.

Yang Jing could only feel sorry for these workers silently in his heart. But if you asked Yang Jing to give up the scene in front of him just because of this kind of regret, he would definitely not do so. This is not Huaxia, and these workers are not from Huaxia, Yang Jing will not give up this place because of his pity.

Old Wu, send more manpower and elephants, and bring over more food and meat every day. I can't change the status quo here, but I can make my workers eat better!

Wu Qinmao clasped his hands together and said, Boss, you are so kind. I thank you on behalf of these workers.

Yang Jing waved his hand and said, Where is our warehouse? I'll go and have a look first.

Under the leadership of Wu Qinmao, Yang Jing came to a very tightly guarded area. This area is full of big houses built with thick stones. Needless to say, this is the warehouse that holds the rough jadeite.