"Naturally, naturally," Teng Ji said, "even if you didn't bring it up, I would have taken out some inventory. Come on, I'll take you there."
With that, he led us out of the shed and to a nearby tin house. He opened a large iron lock, pushed open the iron door, and a strong smell of mildew assailed our nostrils, hitting us head-on.
It was a sealed, damp room, unlit and pitch-dark.
Brother Bao frowned and stood at the doorway without entering. I turned on my flashlight, adjusting the beam to scatter. Inside, there was a half-meter-high iron rack, about two meters square, like a large iron bed. In front of it were dozens of stones of varying sizes, mostly black and lustrous with rich skin, some with distinct bands. They felt rough and prickly to the touch, and even without opening them, they were incredibly appealing.
This was the most enticing of all the completely uncut jade – gamble for mountains of gold and silver, or lose everything!
The stones ranged from two to three hundred jin each to forty to fifty jin. In total, there were about a ton.
I asked him the price for this pile of material. He replied, "There's over a thousand kilograms here. Of course, these aren't kilogram-priced materials, so we can't calculate by weight. If you take it all, I'll give it to you for fifteen million."
At first glance, this price seemed exorbitant. But upon closer calculation, it came to just over ten thousand yuan per kilogram. It was possible that one or two large pieces could recoup the cost.
I went out and told Brother Bao, "Let's take this batch from the warehouse too, and then we'll pick up some miscellaneous materials. That should be enough to get us started."
Brother Bao said, "Handle the restocking yourself. I'm going to see how Brother Qing's matters are progressing."
Da Kui followed Brother Bao to find Brother Qing. I had Teng Ji take me to where the ordinary materials were stored. These stones were kept under a tarp, sorted materials piled up as scrap.
Teng Ji said, "There are about thirty tons here. After screening, we can still pick out over ten tons of finished products. I find it too troublesome and labor-intensive, so I'll sell them half-price, considering them as ten tons. Take them for five million."
I squatted down and examined them. Apart from their less-than-ideal shapes, these materials could indeed yield some with good flesh and substance. His offer of ten tons was quite reasonable, and I accepted it all.
Even if I bought them by the jin, I would easily make back my investment. I mainly wanted to buy them to attract individual buyers and small households, people who would spend a few hundred yuan for a stone to play with, creating some buzz.
With this addition, we would have about forty tons, which would look quite substantial at the winery.
Just then, Da Kui came to call me, saying Brother Bao was looking for me.
I went over to where Brother Qing and the others were. Brother Bao said, "Brother Qing's influence is great. The government forces have agreed to deploy a regiment to encircle and suppress the bandits. However, a regiment's strength is indeed a bit small for encircling tens of kilometers of mountainous terrain, making it practically useless. Brother Qing's idea is for the government forces to form the outer perimeter, while we ourselves go deep into enemy territory to outwit them."
Outwitting them would certainly be better, but it wasn't something that could be achieved by just talking. We didn't even know where they were, so how could we outwit them?
I looked at Brother Qing, then at Brother Bao, with a puzzled expression. Brother Bao continued, "You and Ah Qiang will disguise yourselves as locals and go in. Da Kui will lead Brother Qing's men to provide cover and support. We'll wait here for your news. Once the target is identified, Brother Qing's men will lure them out, drawing them into the government forces' encirclement."
This was indeed an excellent plan, much better than a large-scale encirclement.
Brother Qing's men found some local clothing for us to change into, and then we set off for the place where we had been ambushed earlier.
Since they had chosen that location to ambush us, their lair wouldn't be too far away.
It was now past five in the afternoon; it would be dark by the time we got there.
Da Kui, Wen Siqiang, and I sat in our vehicle. Brother Qing's men, about seven or eight of them, were in another vehicle, all equipped with American M16s.
One of them had ten magazines tucked into his belt. If it came to a fight, they could hold out for a while.
On the way, I endured the bumps and taught Wen Siqiang how to use a gun. The requirement wasn't for him to be accurate, just for him to be able to fire at the enemy.
Da Kui was still using the gun he had when he arrived, and he also gave another gun to Wen Siqiang.
Wen Siqiang was not stupid; he understood after a few words.
Actually, it wasn't that complicated. I had only ever held a gun once when Bo Gang had captured us, and now I could fire it.
I and Da Kui agreed on a code for communication. Although we were technically abroad, many people understood Chinese. If we spoke openly, anyone who understood Chinese would essentially be privy to our secrets.
Although this armed group only had one or two hundred men, in open terrain, even without government forces, we could have eliminated them ourselves. Brother Qing's men outnumbered them. However, once they entered the mountains and hid in some corner, they would become terrifying, capable of taking on ten men. We would become living targets, ready to be shot.
As the vehicle drove into the mountains, Da Kui used the walkie-talkie to instruct the vehicles behind us to enter level-one combat readiness, prepared to strike the enemy at any moment.
At night, with the vehicle lights on, it was easier to attract enemy ambushes. Therefore, we needed to approach the target area as quickly as possible and then shut off the lights and conceal ourselves before they spotted us.
I said, "I think if we encounter enemies, it might not be a bad thing. You guys engage them head-on, while Ah Qiang and I get out and blend in with them. That way, they might take us back to their camp. Once we get close to the location, we can slip away."
Da Kui replied, "That's true. Why didn't I think of that? Then let's create some disturbance to lure them out!"
He said this and signaled for the vehicles behind to stop. He then said to me, "I'll take them to provide cover for you. When you encounter the enemy, your vehicle should speed forward. When you reach a safe place, you two get out and look for an opportunity to infiltrate them."
After saying this, he got out of the car. I told the driver to continue driving forward.
The two vehicles honked their horns intermittently, like they were chatting, moving forward slowly, exchanging words.
Their sole purpose was to give the enemy time to move towards us.
I instructed the driver to turn on the high beams, which would illuminate the area for a considerable distance. Any movement in front of us would be clearly visible.
The two vehicles were spaced about a hundred meters apart, to allow for the movement of those behind.
If they were too close, it would restrict their actions and make us an easier target for concentrated enemy fire.
As expected, I saw figures moving in the grass ahead. They had indeed heard our movements, just as we had anticipated, and were preparing to ambush us.
I spoke to Da Kui via walkie-talkie, informing him that the enemy had taken the bait. When I got close to the target, I would accelerate, and the enemy's gunfire would reveal their position. He should then attack them from behind.
I instructed the driver to floor the accelerator and break through at full speed!
We quickly approached the target. At this point, all their firepower was focused on our vehicle. The driver hesitated not at all; within seconds, we had passed through the firing zone and disappeared into the darkness.
Brother Da Kui's vehicle, which had been following us with its lights off, saw us leave. Suddenly, countless streams of fire erupted towards our target, and he immediately suppressed the enemy. I said to Wen Siqiang, "Quick, charge in!"