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承和36年西历2015年12月8日09:48临州通宝城集古斋

After parking the car outside the store, Zhang Jing opened the door of Jiguzhai.

"Uncle Baoping, good morning!"

"It's Hongjian, come on, come on, sit down, come and take a look if you have time today?" Mr. Zheng Han was sitting on an imperial chair reading a newspaper. When he saw Zhang Jing come in, he stood up with a smile and greeted him.

"I brought some things to show you." Zhang Jingyang raised the plastic bag in his hand.

Sitting down on the sofa, Zhang Jing took out the contents of the plastic bag. It was the rough stones he had purchased in Khotan before. At this time, he had already removed part of the stone skin. These were the stones he had used for himself these days. Tools completed.

"Khotan jade seed material?" The old man took out his reading glasses and put them on his face. He picked up a fist-sized jade and looked at it carefully.

"Yes, I brought it back from Khotan before. Do you think it's okay?" Zhang Jing said with a smile.

"It's quite good..." The old man looked at several pieces in succession and nodded: "I didn't expect that you have the ability to pick jade. But let me tell you, you still have to be careful when buying rough stones. If you don't pay attention, you will drill... "

"What you always said is that this is also good luck. That time I saw someone wanted to sell a batch of stones. The price was not high. They were all seeds with skins. I bought them because they looked good, but when I opened them, I couldn't see them. Not bad." Zhang Jing couldn't say that he had secret skills, so he came up with a different explanation. However, in the collecting circle, all kinds of things are common, and the old gentleman didn't ask much about such things.

The old gentleman quickly looked at several pieces of jade and said with a smile: "Then you really bought it. You look like a lucky person." He and Zhang Jing are now getting closer. The conversation became quite casual.

"What? Are you looking for someone to take action?"

"Yeah, thinking that you have a bright future, I brought it to you to see. I wonder if such rough stones are easy to sell?" Zhang Jing said with a smile. In fact, he still had some jade merchants in his hands that he received during his last trip to Khotan. business card, but he still planned to inquire about the market in Linzhou. After all, the southeast economy has always been the leader of the empire, and Linzhou, as a southeastern port, has one of the best spending power in the country. Zhang Jing felt that if he could find some powerful buyers, Home, the income will inevitably be higher.

"Of course it's easy to sell. There's nothing difficult to sell. As for jade, there will never be a shortage of buyers for good materials. The key is the price." The old man stroked his beard and said: "If you want to sell it at a higher price, then go to more trouble. , I will help you find a jade carving master to cut and process it, and then make some Zigang tiles, pagoda tiles, bracelets, rings, etc., and sell them here on my behalf, but I am not sure when they will be sold out."

"Another way is to directly find a strong merchant to take over the rough stone. Of course, since they are all insiders, the price will be cheaper."

Zhang Jing knew that although the old gentleman sold antiques, there were also quite a lot of jades in the store.In fact, even though it mainly deals in antiques, many of the low- and medium-end products in the store are still mainly modern imitations. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that the old man has rich experience in this area of ​​transactions.

"It's too troublesome to make carvings. I'll just use the original stone. I have to ask Uncle Baoping to help me with the operation." Zhang Jing said without hesitation.

He had brought back a total of 10 rough seed stones from Khotan before, but he did not intend to sell them all. Instead, he kept two of the ones that looked the best for his own collection.There are a total of 8 rough stones brought this time, some are large and some are small, but they are all white jade seeds. The whiteness of the worst one can reach level [-] or above.

"What are you talking about? Please wait a moment to connect someone." The old man waved his hand, took out his mobile phone and dialed a number...

"Hey, Zizhong, yes, I guarantee peace... Hahaha, no, no, I didn't ask you to join in the trouble... I have business, I have a batch of good Khotanese seed materials here, um, they are all white jade, white. Very good, there is mutton fat... A little brother of mine wants to take action, and is going to find a few capable people to take a look. Okay, okay, wait for you to come over and take a look, I know, keep it all, you come over quickly. "

"Hey, Fatty Jin? Yes, it's me. Are you in Linzhou today? It's good to be there. I have a batch of good Khotan seed material here. Well, the skin color and whiteness are very good, and there is suet material. ...A little brother of mine is going to take action..."

........................

The old gentleman made three calls in a row, then turned to Zhang Jing and said, "Okay, just wait, they will be here in a while. I called three people, all of whom are capable and reliable. This way, you divide these into two groups..."

........................

About a quarter of an hour later, a fat man with narrow sleeves and straight pants in satin pushed open the door and walked in. As he walked, he wiped his sweat with a handkerchief. When he walked in, he cupped his hands and complained: "Brother, but You drove me to death, I came over immediately after I answered your call."

"Isn't this good? You can also lose weight. Come on, let me introduce it to you..." Zheng Han also simply cupped his hands, and then joked, obviously he was quite familiar with him, and then pulled Zhang Jing aside who had already stood up. : "My best friends are Zhang Jing and Zhang Hongjian."

"Jin Wang, courtesy name Fuyuan, everyone calls me Fatty Jin. This brother Hongjian is really a talented person! It's a pleasure to meet you!" This fat man was obviously a well-rounded person. He didn't need to be introduced before he held his hand with a smile on his face. Maitreya is general.

"Brother Fuyuan is polite, I'm glad to meet you!"

After greeting each other, the three of them sat down again, and the atmosphere quickly became harmonious.During the chat, Zhang Jing learned that this golden fat man was a wealthy jade merchant who ran more than twenty large shops throughout the south. His main business was the jade and jade business. It was said that his wife's family was related to The Shen family, a wealthy family in Linzhou, still has family ties.

Not long after, two more people came one after another.One of them was a middle-aged man wearing a thin down jacket who came in with two walnuts in his hand, and the other was a white-haired old man who looked to be about the same age as Zheng Han, so everyone greeted each other again. .

After some introduction, Zhang Jing learned that the middle-aged man's surname was Ma Mingbo, also named Duzhi, and he was the shopkeeper of the century-old brand "Qian Yufu".Another old man, whose surname is Li Xuezhe and whose courtesy name is Zizhong, is a large local jeweler in Jiangdong. He mainly deals in the business of traditional Dazhao jewelry such as gold and jade.

It was obvious that these people were familiar with each other. After sitting down and chatting with each other for a while, Zhang Jing took out 8 rough stones at Zheng Han's signal. He divided these rough stones into two groups of roughly equal value. Three pieces, and another group of five pieces were placed on the coffee table for the three people present to examine.

..............................

"Hongjian, if you want to get rid of these jade stones, this is the main reason why I asked you to come here today." Seeing that the three of them had almost seen it, Zheng Han coughed lightly, and said seriously: "Everyone has seen the things. They are all experts and have their own psychological accounts, so I won’t say more.”

"We are all friends who know the basics. Let's keep it simple. The one with the highest price will get it. No problem, right?" The old man glanced around and saw that no one had any objections, so he nodded with satisfaction and said: "Eight pieces of Khotan white jade seed material , with leather color, divided into two groups, the starting price is 70, so we will take the first group first..."

..............................

The final transaction price of the two sets of rough stones was a total of 280 million yuan. One group was bought by Fatty Jin Wang, and the other group was sold by Mr. Li Xuezhe.And this price is indeed much higher than Zhang Jing's psychological price. If calculated based on the market price in Khotan, Zhang Jing feels that the transaction price of these jade stones should not exceed 220 million.

These people are all fastidious people. They paid with one hand and delivered the goods with the other. As a result, Zhang Jing's bank card had an additional 280 million yuan in cash, and the total cash on his bank card reached more than 2490 million yuan. Yuan.

"Thank you for your help today, Uncle Baoping. I know a few seniors. I will serve as a host at noon, and we will have a casual meal at the Juyuan Building next door. Everyone will appreciate it..." Seeing that it was almost lunch time, Zhang Jing stood up and said with a smile.

Several people here also wanted to get acquainted, and even Ma Bo, who returned home empty-handed today, did not refute his favor.

..............................

Juyuan Restaurant is located about 50 meters away from Linzhou Tongbao City. It is a traditional Chinese restaurant that mainly serves Linzhou local dishes. It was the dining peak when several people arrived, so they waited for a while. A private room facing the street.

At the dinner table, the atmosphere gradually became lively as people exchanged glasses of wine.

Because most of the people present were businessmen in this field and were all acquaintances, there was no scruple in the conversation. The main topic was business matters.

Zhang Jing listened on the sidelines, but also heard some knowledge that was unclear in the past. For example, in recent years, because the overall economy has been prosperous, there is generally more money left in society, and the demand for collectibles is also rising.Therefore, those who engage in this line of business are actually relatively prosperous. For example, several people at the dinner table are considering opening new stores to varying degrees, or have already opened new stores.

However, it also brought a happy trouble, that is, the demand for raw materials has increased. Recently, high-quality jade materials, gemstones, etc. on the market have increased to varying degrees, and what makes them feel the most The troublesome thing is that there are fewer and fewer high-quality goods, and there are even many middlemen who are hoarding supplies and waiting for further price increases.

"By the way, are you guys going to take a look at Nanzhao Zhaozhong Gongpan next week?" Jin Wang suddenly said after taking a sip of wine.

"The public auction?" Ma Bo, who was sitting next to him, thought for a moment after hearing this and asked: "Fat man, is yours the newly opened public auction? I did receive the invitation, but I haven't decided yet whether to go see it. look."

"Yes, that's it. I heard that it was because the locals saw how big the public sales in Lishan and Guizhou were, especially the record-breaking public sales in Guizhou at the beginning of the year. It really stimulated them."

Chapter 98 The Land of Demons

When Zhang Jing heard this from the side, he understood in his heart that what they were talking about was the Jade Gongpan in Nanzhao Province in the southwest.This world also has jade, and the main production area is the Kingdom of Bago, a vassal state in the southwest of Jozhao. The jade trade is also an important source of finance for the Kingdom of Bago.Therefore, since more than ten years ago, the kingdom has banned private trading of jade. The only public channel for buying and selling raw jade is the annual Bago Public Sale guaranteed by the royal family.

Because of this, the price of jade has been rising again and again, and it has now become the most expensive jade variety.In Jozhao, jade rough stones imported from Bago will also be traded in the form of centralized public sales. Currently, the two largest public sales in the country are in Nanzhao Province, which borders Bago. They are located in Guizhou, the provincial capital. Gongpan and Lishan Gongpan in Lishan City, which directly borders Bago.

"With white money, red eyes, and a turnover of nearly [-] billion, how can you not be jealous..." Li Xuezhe took a bite of food and said: "However, I heard that the security at the border is not very good. After all, it is a new development, and the place of life is not very good. Cooked."

"I specifically asked Cai Ruoxu, the local snake," Jin Wang lowered his voice: "I heard that this time, the local government also wanted to build this brand, so the local government took the lead in uniting several local wealthy families to form a joint insurance company. This public sale has been completed, and it is said that several prince residences in Guizhou City have also had a hand in this matter."

"If that's the case, it would be interesting..." Li Xuezhe said thoughtfully.

"I'm thinking, since everyone knows the basics, why not go explore the road together this time. If there is something that we all like, but the price can't be met, we can still join forces. There are many people, and we can take care of each other. What do you think?"

"What about the main thing? I'm afraid there won't be any good stuff and the trip will be in vain..." Ma Bo said excitedly.

"Zhaozhong is bordered by Bago. According to Cai Ruoxu, in the past because of the bad roads, there were few caravans going there. However, I heard that roads there have been repaired in recent years and the trade routes have become more prosperous. And I thought, since they want to do it, they have to come up with something good. There must be few people competing for the new project, so why are they taking advantage?"

"In that case, let's go and have a look together." Ma Bo hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

"I am one of them. I am indeed planning to stock up on another batch of jadeite materials recently." Li Xuezhe also nodded.

"Where's Brother Baoping?" Jin Wang turned to Zheng Han again.

"I mainly do antiques there, and jade is just incidental. And since I'm old, I don't want to bother with it anymore." Zheng Han smiled and waved his hand. Jin Wang obviously expected his statement, and his question just now was also more... Mostly polite.

"Brother Fuyuan, I don't know, can I go and get to know you better?" Zhang Jing now had a general understanding of the matter, so he raised his hand and asked.

"Of course you're welcome, I'll call you in advance when the time comes!" Jin Wang said, patting his chest.

........................

Everyone ate this meal for more than an hour, and then the host and guest left happily.

When returning to the store, Zheng Han specifically told Zhang Jing: "Fat Jin has a good character, so you can rest assured. However, jade is too risky to gamble with. It doesn't matter if you go and see it. Try to see as much as possible and buy as little as possible."

"Thank you, Uncle Baoping, for reminding me, I will pay attention." Zhang Jing knew that the old gentleman was doing it for his own good, so he said sternly.

...........................

It was already 14:08 when he returned home. When he returned to the main room, Zhang Jing called up the wish book again to check the current situation of the wish point.

Special event: You used the stage name "Yuluo Tianmen" as your stage name on "Shell Music" and released original music "City in the Sky", "Flowers Bloom and Old Friend Comes", "Missing Through Time and Space", "Rotten Grass as Firefly"... …

A total of 4125 wishing points were added. (An additional 897 wishing points were added yesterday)

Special event: You saved actress Li Yun. This event has been filmed by the crew of "After the Sword" and uploaded...

A total of 26184 wishing points were added. (An additional 2893 wishing points were added yesterday)

Special event: There is an incident of earthbound spirits causing trouble at No. 356 Mijiafang, Nanmen District, Hezhou City, and there are already victims...

A total of 52758 wishing points were added. (An additional 2819 wishing points were added yesterday)

Seeing the current situation of wishing points, Zhang Jing has a mixed feeling. Fortunately, his wishing points have grown rapidly and have now reached 64336 points, which is considered a rapid growth.At the same time, my points in music are also growing very fast. From this, it can be seen that my popularity is rapidly increasing, and the recommendations of Shell Music are indeed quite powerful.

However, what worries me is that the video of "Flower Master", which is currently the biggest source of wishing points, seems to have reached the end of its life cycle, especially after "Flower Master" admitted that it was just a marketing event. The growth rate of wish points has slowed down rapidly.

At the same time, Zhang Jing also discovered when surfing the Internet these days that there is obviously a mysterious force that is eliminating such news. Some videos or posts that were previously highly discussed have been unknowingly suppressed or simply deleted. .This kind of behavior is relatively secretive and cannot be noticed by ordinary netizens, but as a caring person, he has noticed this clue.

This obviously confirmed Zhang Jing's speculation that some kind of official force was involved.Fortunately, the wishing point provided by the crew of "After the Sword" is still popular. It seems that the official has not paid attention to this information. Zhang Jing guessed that this may be directly related to the scale of the event released in the video.

***

承和36年西历2015年12月8日荷尔斯泰因帝国东部时间09:02黑大陆莫努库瓦殖民地

December has entered the rainy season in Monukuwa. The heavy rain that has continued since last night has not stopped yet. The heavy rain has suppressed the sultry humidity in the jungle of the Black Continent and brought a sense of coolness.In this colony located in the middle of the Black Continent, such weather is really common.

This is the rainforest area in the northern part of the colony. A dozen soldiers wearing jungle camouflage, berets, lightweight auxiliary exoskeletons, and armed to the teeth are sitting around on the ground, vigilantly paying attention to the movements around them, and from time to time He raised his hand and took a sip of the food in his hand. It was a special high-calorie battlefield food.

These soldiers have strong bodies and fierce expressions. Many of them can clearly see the physical characteristics of the local mixed race. The cap badges on the berets show that they belong to the Anaconda Special Forces of the Colonial Corps of the Principality of Burgundy in Monukuwa. This is an elite force specializing in jungle warfare.

They are currently located in a hunter's camp that has half collapsed. It was supposed to be a temporary residence built by local hunters. However, it is obviously uninhabited now because of the intermittent local rebellion and the raging cholera. Such abandoned buildings are no longer in the jungle. Not uncommon.

After quickly finishing the military food in his hand, an officer with the rank of captain pulled out a pistol from his waist and inspected it carefully.This captain has blond hair, gray eyes, and a high nose. He has the typical characteristics of the people in the northern part of the Western Continent. His name is Andrew Weiss, and he is the commander of this unit.

"Dear Sir, we are almost at Sayulu Village, but...really, really can't go any further..." A man with dark skin and thick lips typical of locals spoke in the local dialect. , looking frightened and begging softly next to Andrew.

"That is a land of demons. Anyone who goes there...will die. Those who go there will not come back alive..."

"Perform your duty as a guide. If you are unwilling to move forward, I can directly relieve your fear without using demons or gods." The black muzzle of a gun was pressed into the middle of the man's forehead. He seemed to have no emotion when facing the officer. With fluctuating eyes, the black guide rolled his Adam's apple and finally did not dare to say any more.

Andrew raised his arm and glanced at the military map navigation worn on it, then glanced at his subordinates. Seeing that everyone had finished eating the military food, he ordered: "Everyone should check their weapons one last time and wear them properly." Equipment, we’re not far from our destination.”

After finishing the repairs, the group put on their equipment in silence, finally put on their military raincoats, and walked out of the camp with their firearms.

The further he walked, the slower his pace became. He tried to speak several times along the way, but was forced to continue moving forward by the gunfire behind him.

"Captain, the navigation signal is lost." Suddenly, a voice appeared in everyone's Bluetooth headsets. It was the voice of Kalubi, the sniper nicknamed the Shooter, who was walking in the middle of the team.

At the same time, Andrew raised his palm and spread his fingers, and the entire army stopped.

"Tiger fangs, daggers, monkeys... please confirm the communication equipment, and others will be on guard."

"Captain, the short-distance communication link in the team can still be used, but our communication with the headquarters has been interrupted, and the connection with the satellite has also been interrupted. It seems that there has been some kind of strong interference."

"Be careful. We have entered the target area. We will act according to the plan..." Andrew nodded expressionlessly and ordered. Then, he shook the gun in his hand and motioned to the guide to continue moving forward...

........................

"Dear sir, it's just ahead. I... I won't go in, right?"

"Okay, just wait outside and turn back when we come out..." Andrew glanced at the local guide whose legs were trembling, snorted contemptuously, and finally nodded.

The guide watched a small group of special forces disappear into the forest, immediately turned around and ran towards the original route without looking back...

........................

Not far away, you can already see the houses on the outskirts of the village hidden in the forest.This is a traditional Monukuwa Aboriginal village with low wooden houses.This kind of wooden house uses tree trunks as the frame of the house, then scrapes clean branches tightly bundled into rows to make the house walls, and finally uses a special kind of leaves to lay the roof. This kind of house looks very simple and primitive.

Before approaching the village, the soldiers had used thermal imaging cameras and handheld drones to observe the situation in the village from a distance. They found no signs of human or animal activity. In the thermal imaging cameras, the entire village was empty. Nothing happens.

It's like an empty village.

The rain in the sky is still falling, with no sign of stopping, and I don’t know when it started. The sky has become darker than before. Looking up, the sky is now covered with dark clouds, and the dim light and rain make everyone’s eyesight. inevitably affected.

More than a dozen special forces formed a battle formation, covering each other and walking towards the village.In addition to the quiet houses in the village, you can also see some black continent-style wood carvings from time to time. Most of the carvings are abstract people or animals, with strange bulging eyes, staring blankly ahead.

"It smells of blood, have you noticed it?" A voice with a vague accent came from everyone's Bluetooth headsets. It was the voice of Lao Koch, the oldest commando in the team. He was the most experienced person on the battlefield. The richest one, participated in many small-scale military conflicts, and was also at the front of the team at this time.

"Look at your feet!" Another soldier's frightened voice came from the earphones.

But he didn't need to say anything at this time. Everyone had noticed something unusual. That was the shallow water that could be seen everywhere on the rammed earth within the original village. It was gradually rippling with dark red color. It was as if there was some red paint hidden under the earth, and it melted when it was soaked in water.

What followed was a sweet and fishy smell that lingered on everyone's noses. Everyone here was a professional soldier who had been trained for a long time. How could they not smell the smell of blood?

"Ahead, someone is approaching!"

At this time, the sound came from the Bluetooth headset again, and at the same time, another commando in front of the team also began to gesture to indicate the direction.

Everyone looked along the direction he indicated, and saw some figures dancing strangely in the rain curtain, approaching them while dancing.

These figures that suddenly appeared did not say a word, and just danced a strange and stiff dance in the rain curtain, approaching the soldiers as if they were performing a mime.

"Stop advancing! Identify yourself immediately!" The commando at the front of the team raised his assault rifle and shouted in the local indigenous language.

However, those figures didn't seem to hear his words at all, and they still danced towards them.

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