Chapter 43 Reencounter in an Alien Land
“Dadenghan” means big golden pond or lake in Mandarin. It is said that a long time ago, this area was one of the watercourses of the Ruili River. The high terrain resulted in a huge vortex, and after the river changed its channel, a village was gradually built on the land.
Along the road, each house in the village owns a clean and s.p.a.cious yard, as well as a huge backyard planted with various crops such as banana, grapefruit and bamboo. There are traditional bamboo houses and two-story brick and timber houses. No matter what the structures are, the houses are mostly tall, tidy and bright, and red couplets in Dai writing are stuck on the gate of some of the houses.
Flowers and plants thrive on the fence. A bucket hangs over the stone well, proving that this affluent village still enjoys watering the field and working in the traditional way.
Lin Luoran loves the environment here and she is quite exciting along the road.
Lin Luoran notices that some local people are looking at them. She smiles at them and can always get a friendly smile back.
Liu Zheng’s uncle is not used to doing a covert transaction of raw stones in such a pleasant place. He says with a frown, “How come the Burmese choose such a place this time? Professionals of our industry now act more and more like amateurs.”
Liu Zheng answers noncommittally, “Maybe the risky place is safer for everyone. n.o.body else will ever imagine us doing business in Dadenghan.”
A local person who has been peeping walks towards them and says, “My dear friends from afar, are you here to travel?” He touches his nose three times with his right hand.
“Drop it. We are friends of Mr. Zhang. Stop sounding out.”
The smile of the man becomes more vivid. He invites them in.
Lin Luoran laughs to herself. They look like members of an underground organization who are having a secret meeting.
The Dai man leads them into a farmyard. Under the large green leaves of the banana tree inside, a bunch of people are making noises. Lin Luoran sees that Mr. Zhang, Sister w.a.n.g and the guy from Guangzhou are here. Plus the unacquainted people, there are almost thirty persons huddling in the small yard.
Liu Zheng greets Sister w.a.n.g and chats with Mr. Zhang, then introduces to the crowd that Lin Luoran is the new purchasing consultant of his company. People who have witnessed Lin Luoran cutting open stone last time are here, and they all congratulate Liu Zheng for having this “G.o.ddess of luck”.
Certainly, the congratulations are all lip-deep. Lin Luoran doesn’t know their real thoughts and she doesn’t care at all.
It is strange that she can’t find Fatty Cui anywhere in the yard.
As Liu Zheng is chattering with the host, Lin Luoran checks on people here secretly. Fatty Cui’s figure is so outstanding and Lin Luoran is now sure that he is not here.
As expected, Lin Luoran sees Elly and Li Anping standing under a grapefruit tree. The ostentatious Miss. Elly brings several guards with her. However, Elly is still bitten by the bugs in Ruili and she is now losing her temper because of the red spots on her hands.
Li Anping notices Lin Luoran the moment she comes in.
The average temperature in Ruili is around 21℃. Even though the temperature varies greatly from morning to evening, Lin Luoran is only wearing a thin camel wind coat for her physique is improved by all the cultivation. Lin Luoran’s hair is in a ponytail, which is simple but cute.
Except for Li Anping, all the wealthy jade traders are checking on Lin Luoran. There are not many women in the stone gambling business, let alone a beautiful woman like Lin Luoran.
Noticing Li Anping’s resentful yet hot eyes, Lin Luoran almost pukes. She wants to tell Mr. Li that his current girlfriend is by his side. How can he look at her like this?
Liu Zheng is aware that Elly and her people are also here. He thinks of their quarrel at Mr. Zhang’s stone-cutting plant and takes a few steps to block Li Anping’s vision on Lin Luoran.
Elly has seen Li Anping’s expressions. A flash of irony fleets through her lips.
A slim Burmese man with dark skin who looks like the host asks in his nonstandard mandarin, “Is everybody here? We shall begin if so!”
Two thirds of Elly’s face is covered by her sungla.s.ses. She says in a cold voice, “It is so inappropriate to ask all of us to wait for one person. We shall just begin.”
The Burmese man is unpleasant that someone speaks louder than him, but he ignores it because Elly is a woman.
“Wait…” Lin Luoran hears a panting voice. She knows it is Fatty Cui before he enters the yard.
Fatty Cui arrived in Ruili a few days before Lin Luoran did. Lin Luoran wonders where he has been since he is not together with Sister w.a.n.g and gets here so late.
The minute Lin Luoran has this thought in mind, she sees Fatty Cui running into the yard with sweat all over his head.
Lin Luoran smiles, “Brother Cui, why are you so…” The word “late” is on the tip of her tongue, but Lin Luoran swallows it when she sees the man behind Fatty Cui.
Foppish Mu? G.o.d, why is he here?
Mu Tiannan sees Lin Luoran, and his expression changes like a rainbow. In the end, he snorts and puts on the same face as the last time they met.
Lin Luoran looks at Fatty Cui then at Foppish Mu who is wearing a snorty face, and she can’t figure out how they are related. Hence, she chooses to remain silent and pretends she never sees Mu Tiannan.
G.o.d, this kind of reencounter in an alien land is such a huge test on her psychological endurance!
Lin Luoran asks w.a.n.g Miao’e in a low voice about Mu Tiannan’s origin.
w.a.n.g Miao’e almost loses her temper, “The piece of Purple-green Mix you brought to my house on the other day was sold to him by Fatty Cui. Fatty Cui knows I like the piece and dares to disobey me for the first time… This man is such a robber!”
Lin Luoran can see from Mu Tiannan’s arrogance and sports car that he is rich. However, that piece of Purple-green Mix is not the one and only nice jade in the world. Why does he force to buy it? Lin Luoran has a vague sense that something is not right. She says, “Maybe he and Brother Cui are good friends and Brother Cui only sells the jade to him to spare his feelings. Sister w.a.n.g, don’t be mad. All of us can see that Brother Cui treats you very well.”
w.a.n.g Miao’e looks much better. She complains to Lin Luoran, “They are not friends. Last time he bought a jade stone from us and asked us to hire a carver and make it into a decoration of ‘birthday congratulation from the eight immortals’. This man is so strange. Later, he called us and asked for the leftover bits of the jade. How could we find those?”
There are some petty rich men, but it’s not normal for a foppish man like Mu Tiannan to be petty. Lin Luoran thinks for a while and whispers, “Maybe that piece of jade is different, so he wants to find the leftover bits at all costs.”
w.a.n.g Miao’e frowns and says moments later, “It is quite transparent, but that is all. It was the stone I bought from Mr. Zhang… Right! Luoran, you were there on that day! The day we met!”
Lin Luoran becomes nervous hearing that it is the stone Sister w.a.n.g bought from Mr. Zhang. On that day…
G.o.d, can it be the raw stone she probed with Reiki?
“Is it the one Brother Cui bought with 1.05 million yuan?” Lin Luoran holds back her panic and asks, pretending that she just remembers.
“Luoran, you do have a good memory. It is the one! I wouldn’t have sold it to him if I knew he can make such a trouble!” w.a.n.g Miao’e sighs. Despite the fact that she just said that, she would have sold the stone as long as she could make a profit.
Lin Luoran is alarmed. No one may know better about the uniqueness of the spirit stone than her.
On that day, she probed the raw stone with Reiki. How could she know that the bead immediately absorbed the Reiki inside the jade? It was the first time that Lin Luoran did such a thing and she was unavoidably guilty. Therefore, the bead fed back some peaceful and clear Reiki back to the jade after sensing her emotions.
As a result, the raw stone Fatty Cui bought was the first piece of jade that Lin Luoran refined. She becomes even uneasier after knowing what Foppish Mu has done.
Lin Luoran secretly looks over there. Fatty Cui is introducing Foppish Mu to the other jade traders with a bitter face. It seems that Foppish Mu has detected Lin Luoran’s eyesight, and he casts a glance at her—
Lin Luoran shrinks. She suspects that it is not a coincidence that Foppish Mu comes after her for the ginseng seeds.
Does he really want the ginseng seeds back, or is he trying to find the person who has refined the jade?
Does it mean… Foppish Mu, or whoever behind him, has discovered the secret that Lin Luoran is a cultivator?