Xie Lao Hou sat on the couch, relaxed. He put one of his legs up and surveyed the jade in the room. Then he caressed a small milling machine beside him.

Those were the stones that he had collected over the years. It was all he had.

His field had produced many stones. However, not all of them belonged to him. He only had the priority to make the purchase.

The real owner of the stones was the government. That displeased Xie Lao Hou. Those stones were obviously mined from his own land, but they did not belong to him. That was ridiculous!

However, with the current situation, he could only resort to keeping his anger pent up. If someone asked him to take the stones illegally, he would not dare.

Although Xie Lao Hou was a ruthless, brave man, there were even braver and more ruthless men all around Hpakant. None of those men dared to covet the stones. That was because the government was more ruthless than them all.

According to the laws of the local government and mining bureau, those who stole jade ore would be sentenced to more than five years of jail. However, that law was just on papers, while the enforcement was weak.

The government enforcers engaged in another form of punishment. After being caught, the officials would cut off both arms of the offender and then let him die from loss of blood…

All of the bosses in the fields knew that. Hence, they all obeyed the government like loyal dogs. They did not have much protection, and if they tried to defy the law, they might even lose their lowly life!

The government treated them pretty well. All of the field bosses enjoyed many privileges. For example, they had the priority to purchase the newly mined stones.

The first buyer could purchase the stones at a lower price. Those bosses would then re-sell the stones for a higher price, making a pretty penny.

The difference between the first transaction and second allowed for room to make a profit. However, it would not be able to help them make a fortune. The bosses bought more stones mainly because they hoped that they could gamble and find a treasure all at once in one of their pieces of jade ore.

Under such circumstances, it was essential to have a stone gambling expert.

Xie Lao Hou was not lacking in resources. All he was lacking was a capable assistant.

What was the most expensive quality in the 21st century? It was talent! Xie Lao Hou learned of that theory rather late. By the time he did, the stone gambling experts in the various field areas had all been snatched.

Fortunately, the heavens were kind to him. Recently, they sent him a new talent. It was Da Mao, who had become famous after spending just a couple of days in Hpakant.

There were many people interested in Da Mao. There was Xie Lao Hou, and there had been the King of Hpakant.

However, Da Mao was in the hands of the infamous Zhong Da Pao, who was someone difficult to shake off. The latter was well known for being fearless. Hence, nobody took action casually. They were all observing.

In the end, the King had been the one who left the world first. Typically, those who died first became martyrs. The King had unexpectedly turned into an innocent victim.

Although the news that has been permeating the outside world said that Zhong Da Pao had no direct links to the death of the King, the two parties definitely had some linkage. That was certain. Definitely, there would be people who wanted to deal with Zhong Da Pao. After all, the King still had some powerful local connections.

Under such circumstances, Xie Lao Hou decided to strike. He went to look up Zhong Da Pao and asked to borrow Da Mao for some time. It would be a win-win situation. He could make money with Da Mao’s help and Zhong Da Pao could get one thing off his chest.

However, Zhong Da Pao, that stubborn man, refused. Not only did he rejected the proposal, he almost beat him up.

Xie Lao Hou was extremely pissed off. Later, he let the word out that whoever could send Da Mao to him would receive a neat reward.

He had initially said that without thinking too much. His motive was just to pressurize Zhong Da Pao and get more people to notice him, making his life difficult.

However, that day, he had really received news of success. Someone rang him up and said that they had Da Mao with them. As long as he would be willing to make a fair offer, those men would send Da Mao over.

Xie Lao Hou was pondering about that when there was knocking on the door.

The bodyguards at the door opened with expressionless faces. An old man with a pseudo-innocent look appeared. “Master Hou, I’m Liu Dao. I’ve given you a call previously, did you see it?”

Xie Lao Hou waved and said lazily, “I know, you can come in and talk. Where is he?”

Liu Dao smiled cunningly and said, “The expert? We’ll get to that in a moment. Just as I said over the phone, I’m here to see you…”

Xie Lao Hou’s expression changed. He used one of his palms to do a cutting gesture on his other palm.

Then, a bodyguard raised his feet and gave a kick to Mater Dao’s butt. That caused him to fly off from where he had been, hitting a piece of rock.

It looked rather merciless and Master Dao screamed in torment. His forehead turned blue and

started to swell quickly.

Xie Lao Hou’s expression changed again. He quickly walked over and bent down. Master Dao said, “Master Hou, you’re too kind. No problem, I’m fine…”

“Who cares if you are hurt? Move it, I want to see the stone. If something happens to the stone, you are doomed, do you understand?” Xie Lao Hou raised his voice.

Master Dao stood up with a terrible look and said, “Master Hou, there’s a saying: hit the man but don’t harm his face. Isn’t your blow to my face a little too harsh?”

Xie Lao Hou laughed coldly. “I’ve only hit your face and did not cut you. That means you’re lucky and my temper is good, do you understand?”

Master Dao said, “Master Hou, what’s the meaning of this? I wanted to help you with your task. Is this how you treat someone who only wanted to help you? Aren’t you afraid that if word goes out, your reputation will be damaged?”

Xie Lao Hou continued to laugh coldly. “Hey, Liu Dao, are you threatening me?”

A few stony-faced bodyguards started to crowd around. Liu Dao saw that things were going badly and quickly said, “No, no, Master Hou, you’ve mistaken me. Let’s talk about the real thing. The man is in our hands…”

“Then why isn’t he before my eyes? Do you know why I hit you just now? It’s because you are not obedient,” Xie Lao Hou interrupted him. “D*mn, I told you to bring the man over. What’s the meaning of you coming alone?”

Liu Dao said, “The man is near, but isn’t there some stuff that we have yet to agree on? Based on the trade rules, we will exchange the money and goods at the same time. I will definitely bring you what you want. But you have to tell us the truth, how much is this dude worth to you?”

Xie Lao Hou hmphed and said, “Why? You don’t believe Master Hou?”

Liu Dao also smiled. “I wouldn’t dare to doubt you. We have absolute trust in Master Hou. It’s just that we are unsure what price you will offer.”

Xie Lao Hou said with a dark expression, “What price do you guys want?”

Liu Dao said, “We are all very clear about the capabilities of this Mister Mao. Zhong Da Pao, that low-life, managed to make millions by just being with him for less than ten days. Now he is even revamping the Chinese village, not sure how much money he has spent…”

“Get to the point,” Xie Lao Hou got impatient. “D*mn, have you turned into a cheater or just an idiot Why do you have to talk so much?”

Liu Dao bore with it and said, “Alright, Master Dao, I respect those who act fast and speak fast. We are not asking for too much. 1.5 million US dollars. How about that?”

Hearing that price, Xie Lao Hou laughed again. “I say, Liu Dao, have you really gone bonkers? D*mn, with that brain of yours, how can you cheat others? No wonder you guys have not come too far. 1.5 million dollars? Do you think that you are holding onto d*mned nuclear bombs?”

Liu Dao said, “Then, Master Hou, what’s your offer?”

Xie Lao Hou said, “One million RMB. Hurry, bring him here!”

Liu Dao shook his head. “No, no, Master Hou, we had fallen out completely with Zhong Da Pao to get him in our hands. This money is a matter of life and death…”

Xie Lao Hou threw a cigarette to the ground and said, “Do you think this is a market? Or maybe an auction? Why don’t you guys give me some slips of those auction bid papers?”

Liu Dao quickly shook his head again. “I wouldn’t dare to do that…”

“I’m glad to hear it. D*mn, hurry and bring the man here. You guys give him to me and you can make one million. Otherwise, you would have offended Zhong Da Pao and also offended me, do you understand?” Xie Lao Hou said sternly.

Liu Dao shook his head helplessly and said, “I know, I know. I will call my friend to bring him over this instant.”