Detective: Open your eyes, I am handcuffed in the interrogation room.

Chapter 481 Ruicheng "Night Market"

The whole journey lasted seven hours, and Chen Yi and Liang Qidong chatted on the way.

They were not talking about the case, but about Ruicheng. Everyone else in the car also pricked up their ears to listen. As it is a city close to the border, curiosity is inevitable.

Liang Qidong is a local. He used brief words to help Chen Yi quickly understand the city, from food culture to tourism, from physical stores to e-commerce. Overall, Ruicheng is currently in a stage of decline from prosperity.

Ruicheng borders Bagan, so it definitely has exotic customs, and the strong ethnic minority culture is a major feature of Ruicheng.

"There are fewer and fewer people in Ruicheng now." Liang Qidong was quite emotional when talking about this.

In the past, the three pillar industries supporting Ruicheng's economy were jade, wood and border trade. Now wood and border trade are half-dead, leaving only jade and tourism.

Many years ago, Ruicheng's border trade was thriving, but with years of war abroad and certain force majeure factors, all the local trade tycoons who needed to move away moved away.

Only jadeite remains enduringly popular, fortunately Chinese people like and recognize it, otherwise it would be even more doomed.

The jade industry is the leader in Ruicheng, and no other industry can shake its position. However, it is precisely because of the uncertainty of jade profits that it attracts too many people to Ruicheng to seek gold and hope to get rich overnight.

As the profits were high, more people took risks, which directly led to frequent Ruicheng-related cases. As expected, the police cracked down severely, and the man was beaten to half his life.

"Are you just in the raw stone business?" Chen Yi asked.

"Yes." Liang Qidong nodded. "Everyone can see the finished jade products, and the profit is not too high, but the rough stone is different. You never know what you will get with one cut. Maybe the rough stone you bought for a few thousand yuan can be sold for tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions. This is gambling."

Chen Yi said: "The finished product business tests your patience, while the rough stone business tests your humanity."

Liang Qidong suddenly felt that chatting with Chen Yi was very relaxing and enjoyable, and said with a smile: "Captain Chen's summary is brilliant!"

Chen Yi: "To put it bluntly, it's all about interests. Is money more important or people more important? Is wealth more important or freedom more important? Everyone needs to think carefully and not rely on luck."

The topic soon turned to the development of e-commerce today. Online shopping has brought a second spring to the jade industry, which is now in an era of explosive growth. Netizens can learn about the process of Ruicheng jade from raw stones to finished products at home, hoping to buy the best products at the lowest price.

Unfortunately, there is no businessman without fraud. It is already considered conscientious if they sell you a jadeite worth several hundred yuan for thousands of yuan. They specifically bully those who don’t understand.

As for the public security issues in Ruicheng...

Although it is close to the border, the public security in Ruicheng is still very good. Bagan people can be seen everywhere on the streets. The people of the two countries have friendly exchanges and are working together to pursue a better life.

Of course, this only happens within the country. If you step beyond the border, the variables will be huge and unpredictable.

Speaking of Yulou Village, Liang Qidong said that he didn't know much about this isolated village. Ruicheng was originally under the jurisdiction of the autonomous prefecture, so no one cared about the autonomous counties under the autonomous prefecture and the old villages in the mountains under the autonomous counties.

As long as nothing serious happens, it is as if it does not exist and is full of mystery.

Chen Yi knew that there were many such villages in the country. Wasn't Zhongluo Village in Yicheng one of them? Except for the rare and strange customs, life inside was very normal. It was only because of the inconvenient transportation that it lagged behind in development.

If they can easily contact the outside world, they will also gradually become modernized.

Liang Qidong suggested whether more people could be sent this time, but was rejected by Chen Yi.

If there is a problem in Yuluo Village, too many people will not be conducive to the investigation. If there is no problem, too many people will disturb the original peaceful life of the village. Three people are enough.

Seeing that Chen Yi had made up his mind, Liang Qidong no longer insisted. He said that he would provide a satellite phone after arriving in Ruicheng so that he could call for support at any time in case of any emergency.

In a village without intelligence, anything can happen.

Of course, it's just a precaution. Liang Qidong doesn't think there will be any real danger. If the police disappear in the village, not to mention the steep mountain roads, even if there is a big canyon in between, a helicopter will fly over.

It was not yet dark when we arrived in Ruicheng. Liang Qidong arranged dinner for us. We tasted the local specialties of Ruicheng and then went back to the hotel to rest.

Resting was naturally impossible, they just opened the room first. Chen Yi refused Liang Qidong's "tour guide" service, and after asking for a few special addresses, he took He Shixin and the others to take a taxi.

Ruicheng is no different from other cities. Its tourism industry is well developed and it is very lively at night.

If you come to Ruicheng and don’t visit the raw stone market, it would be a wasted trip.

It just so happens that the antique market and the raw stone market are next to each other and can be reached in just a few steps.

Chen Yike was not there for fun. Firstly, he wanted to familiarize himself with the place first, and secondly, he wanted to see if he could be lucky enough to find clues related to the case. They were not directly related. He was looking for intelligence.

What Qin Fei said in the provincial department during the day made a lot of sense. It is not impossible that the murderer just bought an "ancient book" on the street and "practiced" according to the contents of the book, trying to give it a try.

Just after ten o'clock, the Liulong Night Market was brightly lit. This night market is not a place to eat, but a raw stone night market. From a distance, the people stopping at each stall and lighting up the lights are as countless as the stars in the sky. The environment is bustling and lively.

Liulong Night Market is the largest raw stone trading market in Ruicheng, where most of the people are colleagues shopping, and a small number are tourists who come to see the world.

The stall owner will serve the dishes to the customer based on the customer. If they are in the same industry, he will ask for a lower price, but if they are tourists, he will ask for a very high price. He may charge more than 100,000 yuan for a item that costs 1,000 yuan. If the other party buys the item, he will have to close the business for three years and make a profit for three years after reopening.

This is not a scam. Jade is priceless, and priceless means there is no fixed price.

When they arrived at the entrance of the night market, a slogan attracted the attention of several people: one knife makes you poor, one knife makes you rich, and one knife makes you become a rich man.

Simple, direct, and rough, it reveals the truth about buying and selling rough stones.

In fact, the level of experts is similar. It is impossible for them to see the internal structure of the raw stone. Compared with laymen, the most they can do is reduce the risk of loss.

With the development of modern technology, a question has arisen in many people's minds, that is, can technological means see through the raw stone?
X-rays, infrared rays, CT scans, laser peels... can they really see through? The answers vary.

Chen Yi asked Bai Jiangbo, and he said:
High-precision instruments are certainly helpful in judging the value of raw stones, but the quality of jade is affected by many factors, so it is difficult to accurately measure through the weathered skin through scientific means, unless one day the raw stone can be made transparent without blind spots under the machine. The weathered skin on the surface of the raw stone has very low permeability. Grinding away the weathered skin is a gamble, which is called "opening a window" in the industry, not just cutting.

Windowing is half a gamble, cutting is a full gamble, the raw stone industry is very complicated.

Why is jade so expensive? The raw stones dug out from the Bagan mines are sold to Ruicheng. After the buyer buys them, they open windows and sell them. The next buyer may open windows or cut them directly, and then sell the cut sheets. The next buyer buys the sheets and makes them into rough materials. The last buyer buys the rough materials and processes them into bracelets.

With so many layers of price added in between, the finished product is of course very expensive.

This is the most complicated process, and some people choose to cut and make the raw stone directly after purchasing it.

If you want to survive in this industry, it all depends on your vision.

The deceased Midli and Rao Jiawu were able to gain a foothold in the jade industry. Regardless of other things, they definitely had the ability.

A few people stayed there for a while, and just as they were about to go in, a Bagan person came forward and enthusiastically promoted the finished product, and even kindly handed over a high-power flashlight.

A strong intensified flashlight is an auxiliary means for identifying the water head, structure, flaws, and water quality of jadeite. You can see it in the market. Except for tourists, every buyer has one in his hand. From a distance, they look like glow sticks at a concert.

Just now when we parted at the hotel, Liang Qidong reminded me that if you want to buy jadeite, you should bargain hard and don't be polite or embarrassed. This is a normal phenomenon in the industry.

It's just a thousand yuan. Since the seller dares to offer a price of one hundred thousand, why can't the buyer bargain for ten yuan? ?

If you dare to open it, I will dare to return it. Let’s see who is more ruthless. If you don’t accept it, hit me.

Chen Yi glanced at the things on the tray. There were no bracelets, only ring faces, pendants and the like.

"If you are interested, you can buy it." Chen Yi looked at He Shixin and the others.

It is very common for people in Bagan to sell jade. There are generally no fakes in Ruicheng jade, only good and bad ones. Things that cost at least a few hundred dollars are unlikely to be fake.

He Shixin seemed a little excited. He thought that this trip to Ruicheng should not be in vain. He didn't know when the next time would be. It would be best if he could buy some souvenirs cheaply and bring them back for his wife and mother.

He took a fancy to a pendant.

The other party offered ten thousand and Chen Yi bargained for five hundred.

"You don't bargain like that, brother. Look at the color, look at the water." The young man spoke good Mandarin.

Chen Yi was indeed looking at it with a high-intensity flashlight. Under Bai Jiangbo's guidance, he has now become a half-expert.

A thousand dollar item.

Pendants are actually the leftover materials after making bracelets. After deducting the round bracelets from the square plate, the remaining parts on the edges or in the middle can be made into ring faces or pendants, which are relatively cheap.

"Six hundred." Chen Yi returned the high-intensity flashlight to the other party.

The young man waved his hand and was about to leave with the tray. Seeing that Chen Yi and the others were not going to call him, he turned back, looking distressed and said, "There is really no such bargaining, brother. This is Daqian's material. If you want it, I will sell it to you at a loss of 5,000."

Da Qian means seven thousand to nine thousand.

The jade industry has its own price terminology. For example, a small amount of Wan is between 10,000 and 30,000 yuan, a medium amount of Wan is between 40,000 and 60,000 yuan, and a large amount of Wan is between 70,000 and 90,000 yuan.

If it is above 100,000 and below 1 million, it is just small 6, medium 6 or large 6. If it is above 1 million, it is in the 10s, 2s or 3s. Tens of millions is another matter altogether.

Chen Yi smiled and said, "Da Qian's material? I can't see it. Just tell me the price. I'm not a tourist."

The young man realized that he had met an expert.

What cannot be seen means the quality is not good enough, and the selling price means the price at which the product is wanted to be sold. The asking price of ten thousand just now is a price set by the seller at random.

These are common sayings in the industry.

After a moment of silence, he asked, "How much can you see? Three digits is not possible."

Chen Yi: “One thousand.”

The young man shook his head: "The selling price is three thousand, it can't be any lower."

After five minutes of chatting, the pendant was finally sold for twelve thousand yuan. The seller made money and the buyer did not suffer a loss, so everyone was happy.

If it were in Yangcheng, twelve hundred would be impossible. Jewelry stores would definitely sell it to you for more than three thousand because of the brand premium.

He Xin happily paid the money and put it away, thinking that Chen Yi's decision to find someone in Yangcheng to learn about jadeite was really the right one. Otherwise, you could have become a leader. You think far ahead.

"You guys can just walk around. Call me if you want to buy anything. But don't touch the raw stones. If you really want to play with the raw stones, wait until the case is solved." Chen Yi waved his hand and gave them freedom.

Of course he can play with rough stones if he wants to. He is not so pedantic. He will buy one worth hundreds or thousands and cut it. If he loses money, he will lose it. It is a rare experience and nothing big. But he needs to finish the work first.

Everyone dispersed, leaving Chen Yi and Fang Shuyu together.

The market was still quite crowded. The occasional strong light made Chen Yi squint his eyes. The stalls were full of stones and slabs, and there were almost no finished products to be seen.

He was not here to stroll around. He scanned every stall, paying special attention to the stall owners.

The goal for tonight is to rely on luck to find intelligence in the night market and antique street. Other police officers who have come do not have his eyesight and ability to deceive. Han Yuedong probably has the same idea.

(End of this chapter)