Chapter 6: Seeking a Buyer

The value of that sky-blue, high-ice-grade jade piece was more than enough to pay for this SUV. Zhao Chen felt a secret sense of relief; fortunately, he had obtained his driver's license back in college, or he never would have made such a smooth escape.

After driving at full throttle for dozens of kilometers, the adrenaline began to fade, and a grim realization suddenly dawned on him: he had no passport or national ID card. To go through the standard border crossing process, one had to present valid identification. The problem was that his documents had been burned by the scam compound two years ago. This stolen red SUV was also illicit, so wouldn't returning to the border be like walking straight into a trap?

Zhao Chen had no desire to end up in prison. He quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road and began searching the interior. A few minutes later, he actually found a few useful items: a stack of business cards printed in both Chinese and Burmese, and a pink wallet containing the woman’s identification and bank cards.

"Tang Yan? I didn't expect this woman to be the executive president of a jewelry company."

Zhao Chen continued rummaging, finding a large bag of snacks, half a crate of mineral water, tissues, sanitary pads, and other sundries in the back. As he ate some sandwich crackers, his mind raced. He couldn't use the woman's ID or bank cards—the gender didn't match—and the man's documents weren't in the car; he had likely carried them on his person. Clearly, these items alone weren't enough to get him back into the country through legal channels.

At this thought, he pounded the steering wheel in frustration, his heart sinking. After finally escaping, he was now stymied by a lack of paperwork. Since the legal route was impossible, he would have to go back the way he came. Once he reached the other side of the border, he could go to the local police station to report his ID as lost and have it reissued. But the prerequisite was money. The snakeheads who smuggled people across the border wouldn't be charitable enough to send him back for free. Moreover, he had to be wary of those scoundrels to avoid being sold off again. Therefore, money alone wasn't enough; he needed to find a powerful local figure to help him.

In other words, he needed more money to grease the wheels. Zhao Chen had searched the car several times, but aside from five or six hundred thousand Burmese kyats in the wallet, there was nothing else of value. The woman had likely purchased the raw stones via bank transfer, so she hadn't carried much cash. As for the car, it was his ticket to freedom; he absolutely could not sell it. After much deliberation, selling the jade seemed to be his only option.

He drove another dozen kilometers until he reached a town, where he bought a smartphone with a Chinese operating system from a shop. He slipped the proprietress some extra cash, asking her to help him get a SIM card. When he finally dialed his mother's number, his hands were trembling. He hadn't been home for two years; his parents must have been worried sick.

"Xiao Chen? Is that you?"

Hearing her familiar voice on the other end, Zhao Chen couldn't hold back anymore, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"I... I escaped."

"Oh my! Son, are you alright? Did they give you a hard time? You’ve worried your mother to death!"

Back then, Zhao Chen had been beaten until he was covered in injuries, forcing him to call home for ransom. His parents had scraped together over 200,000 yuan and transferred it to the compound, but those bastards had never intended to let him go. Thinking of the suffering he had brought upon his parents over the past two years, Zhao Chen wept with guilt.

He briefly described his experiences over the last half-year and said, "Mom, I can't come back yet. The border crossing requires a passport and ID; if I go back without them, I'll be arrested and jailed."

"What should we do? Should your father and I help you get new documents and find a way to send them to you?" his mother asked anxiously.

Zhao Chen thought for a moment and replied, "It's no use. I was tricked into coming here; I have no official exit records. Even if you get me new documents, it would still count as illegal border crossing. Besides, since I'm returning from Myanmar, the border guards will interrogate me strictly, and I'll still end up in jail."

To keep her from worrying, he lied, "Mom, don't worry. I've met a man here who specializes in helping trapped compatriots get home, but I have to wait a few days."

"Is that person reliable? You must be careful; the people there are too evil," his mother warned, still uneasy.

Zhao Chen spun a few more lies to eventually put his mother at ease. Only then did he remember that to save him, his family had incurred massive debts. He had to sell those raw jade stones as soon as possible to help his family pay them off. After checking the map on his phone, Zhao Chen decided on the Hpakant Jade Market.

There were two reasons for this. While Mandalay was the largest jade distribution hub in Myanmar, it was over 500 kilometers away, and no one could predict what might happen on the road. Secondly, the Hpakant region was very close to China, less than 200 kilometers from Yingjiang County. Many Chinese merchants went there to buy stones, and transactions could be made directly in Chinese currency, saving him the trouble of exchanging foreign currency after returning home.

The red SUV, bearing local Burmese plates, sped along the road. Whenever he encountered checkpoints set up by local militias, Zhao Chen managed to talk his way through using the simple Burmese he had learned.

More than an hour later, Zhao Chen successfully arrived in Hpakant and checked into a small inn. He parked the car in the backyard and immediately headed for the jade market.

Hpakant was the primary source of raw jade in the country. Raw stones of varying quality were displayed on the ground as casually as vegetables, and as a result, he could hear people speaking various Chinese dialects everywhere he looked. Zhao Chen observed the jade market, which resembled a dilapidated produce market, strolling around without rushing to find a buyer.

One shouldn't flaunt wealth; as an outsider who didn't fully understand the local jade market, he could easily be slaughtered like a pig if he wasn't careful. Therefore, he was looking for a powerful and fair-minded buyer.

After circling the market twice, Zhao Chen set his sights on an elderly man with slicked-back hair, wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt and black-rimmed glasses. The man was around seventy, and his attire and demeanor gave off the impression of a university professor. He was clearly an expert on jade origins, texture, and price ranges; when he found a piece he liked, he wouldn't haggle aggressively and was very prompt with payment.

After the old man bought a piece of oily green jade, he glanced at Zhao Chen and asked vigilantly, "Young man, you've been following me for over ten minutes. Is there something you need?"

Hearing his standard Northern Chinese accent, Zhao Chen replied in Mandarin, "Sir, I have a few stones. I was wondering if you might be interested?"

"You're Chinese?" the old man asked, slightly surprised.

At the Longtang mining area, Zhao Chen had spent every day exposed to the wind and sun while scavenging for raw stones, and his skin had turned as dark as the black-skinned stones of Maw Sit Sit. Without speaking, he was easily mistaken for a local.

Zhao Chen grinned, revealing a flash of white teeth.

"I've been working as a jade scavenger here for half a year, so I've gotten quite tanned. Sir, would it be convenient for us to speak elsewhere?"

"As long as the stones are good, that's no problem," the man with the slicked-back hair said, pointing outside the market. "There's a coffee shop over there; let's go talk."