After traveling through a few hills not far away from the army camp, a meandering river appeared in front of them.
This river flowed from the southeast to the northwest. The muddy river was relatively narrow, only a few meters wide, and the current was gentle.
There were a few black soldiers carrying loaded rifles by the river, acting as lookout posts at the river bank. And there was also a pickup truck mounted with a machine gun patrolling the river. The defenses were extremely tight.
At the river, there was a large number of people wearing clothes so worn out they looked as if they were naked. All of them were bending over as they sifted the sand in the water. Humming sounds came from an operating machine by the river. They washed the sand and put it on the conveyor belt of the machine. The conveyor belt ran as some of the people were standing at both side to check for any diamonds.
Li Du had seen this method not long ago at Remonin"s diamond mountain. The mining work at Remonin"s, however, seemed much more comfortable. Those miners wore rubber boots and proper clothes. The soldiers allowed them to take breaks, and they could get water to drink from time to time.
The miners here were like refugees. All of them were expressionless with absolutely no spirit in their eyes. They were working like robots. It seemed like there was no life in them.
Li Du took a deep breath and said, "Good commander, is this where you mine your diamonds?"
Good nodded. "Yes, this is my mine. This is my territory, and the diamonds here are my wealth."
As he spoke, he walked along the river bank with Li Du. "Just as you see, my diamonds are pure and natural. They were washed from the sand in the river, and are extremely good quality. Are they worth a lot?"
This was true. Generally speaking, diamonds mined from the sand in rivers were worth more than the diamonds found from crushed kimberlites.
Diamonds were naturally extremely hard. However, after being hit by the sand in the river over a long time, the surface of the diamonds eventually wore away.
As a result, if the diamond of the same size was taken to be processed, the diamond from the river would have a higher utilization.
The river was very long. It surrounded the mountains and stretched out to no end.
Good continued to walk upstream along the river bank with Li Du. After leaving the mining area, a lot of sand and stones on the upper reaches of the river still had clear excavation marks on them and in the waters around them. Obviously, this used to be a mining area and was abandoned now.
They continued to move forward. Soon enough, they could see Good"s military camp from a distance.
As they strolled along the river, Good lit a cigarette and said, "The diamonds that I own are from this river. So it may well be argued that this is a money river, right?"
Li Du nodded. "Yes. Congratulations."
Good waved his hand. "No, there is nothing to congratulate me for. Although this is truly a money river, it is not entirely under my control. The source of this river is under my territory. It originates from a hill. I always thought that its source was groundwater that flowed into the hill. But later I realized that this was not the case."
Li Du asked, "Then, what is it?"
Good casually blew out a smoke ring and said, "It was an underground river that brought diamonds from somewhere far away to where we are."
Li Du tried hard to look into the distance, but this was a mountainous region. His vision was blocked by mountains and hills.
However, according to the direction the river was flowing from, he knew that it was Remonin"s territory right in front of them.
It just so happened that Good pointed forward and asked, "You came from there, right? You do know who was there, right?"
Li Du quietly nodded. There was no point for him to deny it.
Good said, "I have been mining diamonds in this river for a long time. To be precise, it has been five years. In the past five years, there have been a steady flow of diamonds. No matter the size or the volume, we find them every day.
"However, six months ago, the number of diamonds in the river dropped drastically. At the same time, I heard that my good neighbor discovered a diamond mine." Good began to laugh. "There is no river in his territory. I know that there is no river there because I have been there. It"s a rotten place, a place where not even a single piece of sh*t can be found.
"But then, where do his diamonds come from? Why did I start finding fewer diamonds right when he started finding diamonds? I really don"t get it. Mr. Li, can you tell me the answer?"
He looked at Li Du with his bright eyes. His smile did not reach them.
Li Du forced a smile and said, "I only stayed with Remonin for two days. I did not have the opportunity to see it. However, I saw his diamonds. He really did find them."
Good waved his hand and said, "Not two days. It was close to three days. Moreover, that dog took you to a mysterious place not long after your arrival. He took you to the diamond mine, right?"
When he said this, Li Du had a realization. "You set up an undercover at Remonin"s?"
Good laughed with contempt. ""Set up?" I am the master of this place. As long as I step forth, many people are willing to work under me!"
"Your man but be close to Remonin, right? Not many people knew about our trip to the market. The fact that your people managed to arrive in time and get there so quickly means that it must be someone important inside."
Good flicked the ash off his cigarette and was about to speak. Suddenly, a soldier ran over to them and saluted. "Commander, someone tried to steal the diamonds! We are now waiting for your command!"
As Good heard this, his face gently lifted with a warm smile once again. He laughed, "Oh? Someone tried to steal my diamonds again? Let"s go and have a look. Who is so bold to steal from me?"
He realized that the soldier was afraid of Good"s smile. Obviously, he understood the hidden meaning of it and knew what was about to happen.
In a section of the river mine, two soldiers were holding a skinny black kid on the ground. The kid was screaming hopelessly. His voice was hoa.r.s.e from screaming. The situation looked insane.
As he saw that Good was walking over, his screaming became more frantic, and he struggled hard to escape. One of the soldiers ruthlessly kicked him. His entire face was covered in fresh blood.
Good went forward and asked, "He is the thief?"
One soldier saluted. "Yes, commander! It was him!"
After the soldier saluted, he extended his hand respectfully and there was a bean-sized gemstone in the palm of his hand.
Good took the stone and examined it under the sun. The sun s.h.i.+ned on it and the stone emitted a magnificent glow. It was extremely beautiful.
However, Li Du found something unusual from this diamond. Isn"t this diamond a little too beautiful? Can a raw diamond emit such a glow?