Chapter 118: One Jade Street
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Jiang Zhen was in this important position, but he was not very old. He looked like he was in his thirties. He was tall, but not powerful. Instead, he looked a little thin. He was wearing a white shirt and black trousers. He looked ordinary, but he was very fair. There was a scar from his forehead to his brow bone. With such skin color, he looked even more conspicuous. When he didn’t speak, he looked a little sinister, giving people a sense of danger.
Tan Ming was attracted by the scar and took a few more glances.
Jiang Hai gave the two of them a simple introduction. He rubbed Tan Ming’s head and said softly, “Anan, Jiang Zhen is the same age as your brother. When you were young, you often played together.”
When Tan Ming heard her father say this, she understood what he meant. The Jiang Zhen family was trustworthy as an old management team. Hence, she used a more intimate way of addressing him. “Brother Jiang Zhen, I’ll have to trouble you today.”
When Jiang Zhen heard how Tan Ming addressed him, his expressionless face softened a little. “You’re welcome.”
Jiang Zhen drove while Tan Ming sat in the front pa.s.senger seat.
Although they played together when they were young, the two of them were indeed strangers now. Tan Ming personally felt that the atmosphere in the car was a little awkward.
Jiang Zhen seemed to have sensed it. He looked at the road in front of him and opened the central armrest box with one hand. He took out a mint candy and handed it to Tan Ming. “You liked to cat this kind of candy when you were young. I wonder if you still like it now?”
Tan Ming took the mint candy and took a look. She realized that it was her favorite brand. It was a little expensive. In the past, she didn’t have the money to buy it. She only bought a can as a reward a few months after working and earning money. However, after she married Si Cheng, she didn’t have a source of income. Tan Ming couldn’t bear to use her savings. Thinking about it carefully, she hadn’t bought it for three years.
Tan Ming smiled and replied, “It seems that I’ve been very loyal since I was young.”
Tearing open the candy wrapper, Tan Ming threw the candy into the air and moved her head to catch it. When Jiang Zhen saw that Tan Ming was eating the candy the same way she had when she was young, the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
The sweet taste spread in her mouth. Tan Ming savored it. “It still tastes the same as before. I haven’t eaten it in a long time.”
In the past few months, Tan Ming had become rich. However, it may be because she had not eaten it for a few years, and the fact that there had been a lot of things to do in the past few months, she had almost forgotten that she liked mint candy if not for Jiang Zhen giving it to her today.
With the candy breaking the ice, the atmosphere in the car became much more relaxed. Tan Ming was not as restrained as before.
Recalling Jiang Hai’s reminder, Jiang Zhen took the initiative to talk about the company’s business. “The Jiang Corporation’s business here is mainly three mines and one mountain forest. Two mines and one mountain forest are all in Myanmar. The remaining mine is in Xiyun.”
When Tan Ming heard about business, she could not help but be more attentive. “What mine is it? What trees are planted in the forest?”
Seeing that Tan Ming was interested, Jiang Zhen continued, “The mine in Xiyun produces jade. More than half of it has been mined. One mine in Myanmar produces rubies, and the other produces jade. Jewelry and jade are non-renewable resources. As time pa.s.ses, they will only become rarer. Furthermore, the quality of the goods from these two mines is very high. Therefore, when we mined 20 years ago, we planned to control the amount of mining every year. Currently, we can still mine for 34 years.”
“The forest is filled with teak. This wood is used to make high-grade wooden floors. Our planting area is 29 hectares.”
Tan Ming was rarely exposed to these things, so she asked, “How long does it take for teak to become usable?”
Jiang Zhen replied, “There are two ways of getting teak. One is where they are planted manually and cut down in 20 years. The other way is to grow it naturally. Our forests are naturally grown and only cut down every 70 years.” Speaking of the question she was most concerned about, Tan Ming turned to look at Jiang Zhen. “This cycle is so long. How much can we sell it for?”
Jiang Zhen looked at Tan Ming’s spariding eyes and replied with a smile, “The current market price is more than 20,000 yuan per cubic meter.”
Tan Ming nodded to show that she understood.
Soon, they arrived at One Jade Street.
Jiang Zhen parked the car and entered the market with Tan Ming. “This place is called One Jade Street, but it’s actually a medium-sized jade market. Initially, there was only one street. Later on, it became bigger and bigger. The neighboring streets also joined in. Hence its current scale. A third of the shops here belong to us.”
One-third!
Tan Ming hid her surprise very well and only shouted crazily in her heart. After all, she was in front of outsiders. She nodded calmly and managed to utter out, “Not bad..”