Chapter 131: Priceless Treasure It was rumored that in the late Qing Dynasty, a foreign tributary state presented a pair of jade watermelons to the person who cherished jade the most in the entire world—the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Empress Dowager Cixi held these twin jade watermelons dear to her heart during her lifetime. She assigned dedicated guards to watch over them, and whenever she was in a good mood, she would have them brought out to admire. She was so unwilling to part with them that even in death, she had them interred with her in the Eastern Mausoleum, placed right beside her feet inside the coffin.

Later, in the summer of 1928, Sun Dianying, a brigade commander in the Nationalist Army, breached Cixi’s tomb and stole the pair of watermelons along with other burial treasures, including the famous Jade Cabbage currently housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

After being looted, the fate of the jade watermelons became unknown. Nearly a century has passed; most of the people involved are long dead, making verification almost impossible now.

Just how valuable were those jade watermelons? When Wang Zhuo first entered the jade trade, he specifically consulted Qi Fei about them. At that time, they were just casual friends, nowhere near the intimate level they shared now. Moreover, jade prices had seen another surge in the last few months, making their previous valuation seem inadequate.

Qi Fei calculated the value for Wang Zhuo as follows: In the late Qing Dynasty, the annual budget for the Beiyang Fleet was two million taels of silver, though they typically received only about one million. Back then, one tael of silver had the purchasing power equivalent to about three hundred yuan today. Thus, the Beiyang Fleet’s actual annual expenditure was roughly equivalent to 300 million yuan now.

When the jade watermelons were stolen, many believed they were worth five million taels of silver at the time, making them one of the most significant national treasures of the entire Qing Dynasty.

Emperor Qianlong spent 4.48 million taels of silver to build the Summer Palace’s predecessor, the Qingyiyuan Garden, which was later burned down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces. The Empress Dowager rebuilt the Summer Palace on the same site, which experts estimate cost between five and six million taels of silver.

Hearing this might seem staggering—that a massive structure like the Summer Palace was valued comparably to two jade watermelons? However, even if the five-million-tael valuation for the watermelons remains debatable, the Empress Dowager's affection for them was surely no less intense than her affection for the palace.

Five million taels of silver, Qi Fei told Wang Zhuo, translates to 1.5 billion in current RMB.

And that’s not all. If the pair of jade watermelons were ever to resurface and go up for auction, they would undoubtedly fetch far more than that. Haven't you seen that just a few bronze heads scattered in the Yuanmingyuan courtyard, battered by sun and wind, are valued at over a hundred million? The artifacts lost from the Yuanmingyuan—those of this caliber—number in the tens of thousands. Yet, in the late Qing, the Old Buddha viewed such items as nothing more than scrap metal; those jade watermelons were the true treasures of the nation.

“Even shattered, they would sell for over a billion,” was how Qi Fei defined the value of the twin watermelons.

Armed with this profound understanding, Wang Zhuo naturally knew that even if it wasn't the exact pair beloved by the Old Buddha her entire life, even a decent imitation would see its value soar alongside the legend. Furthermore, everyone who had seen the jade watermelons was now dead, and no photos or sketches had been passed down. As long as whatever was presented was a jade melon, it would be extraordinary.

Wang Zhuo immediately made up his mind: he had to acquire that massive rough stone, even if it meant bankrupting himself.

“Wang Zhuo, what are you thinking about?”

Seeing him lost in thought, Qi Fei walked back, looking puzzled.

Wang Zhuo didn't turn his body, just pointed backward over his shoulder with his right hand: “Sis, I’m thinking of taking a gamble on that recumbent ox stone.”

“That’s a huge risk…” Qi Fei took a breath and asked him, “How confident are you?”

Wang Zhuo deliberated, then shook his head: “Can’t say for sure yet. Let’s ask the price first.”

Seeing Wang Zhuo’s interest in the colossal rough, Old Myanmar immediately became excited and went to find his brother-in-law. A moment later, he returned with a much younger, shorter man who turned out to be the brother-in-law.

Old Myanmar’s brother-in-law was a China expert. He introduced himself as Lun Kuang—an approximation, of course. Due to the Burmese custom of preceding names with "Mr.," pronounced "Wu," Wang Zhuo and Qi Fei ended up calling him Wu Lun Kuang, which sounded a little awkward.

Upon hearing that the pair was interested in gambling on the large rough stone, Wu Lun Kuang asked his current clients to wait briefly and hurried over from the other end of the yard.

“Twenty million.”

His back to the courtyard, he quoted the price to Wang Zhuo.

“This busted looking thing is still twenty million?” Wang Zhuo was slightly surprised but wasn't discouraged; haggling was, after all, an expected part of the process.

Wu Lun Kuang just smiled and offered a single sentence: “That piece is from Hpakan.”

Hpakan material? Wang Zhuo’s expression immediately tightened. Qi Fei also showed a flicker of surprise. Hpakan was a historic mining area, famous for rough stones whose outer skins were as black as coal. Hpakan jade boasted fine crystallization, excellent structure, high translucency, rich color, and often came in large sizes, sometimes hundreds of kilograms, with occasional giants weighing tons not being unheard of.

What was surprising, however, was that Hpakan was the earliest jade mine to be depleted decades ago. All the rough stones with the black, sooty skin seen on the market now usually came from Maw-moung. To see such a large piece of old Hpakan rough here was unexpected.

“If it’s truly Hpakan material, it’s certainly interesting, but the price is too high. This piece is too badly ruined.”

Qi Fei’s comment served both to exchange thoughts with Wang Zhuo and to bargain with Wu Lun Kuang.

“The price is negotiable, but it won't be drastically low,” Wu Lun Kuang gestured with both hands, smiling faintly. “You two could travel all over Myanmar and still not find another Hpakan piece this large.”

That statement wasn’t an exaggeration, but if the stone hadn't been so severely damaged previously, it probably wouldn't still exist today, uncut into smaller blocks.

Wang Zhuo used a subtle gesture, understood only between the two of them, to signal Qi Fei that this stone was a must-have. Qi Fei immediately understood, and so they began: one part haggling, the other listing the rough stone’s flaws, driving a hard bargain with Wu Lun Kuang.

The price was finally settled at sixteen million. This was a full six million higher than Wang Zhuo’s initial estimate of around ten million, yet the stone's Hpakan provenance entirely justified that difference. If the jade watermelons had come from a new mine, it would have been a real pity.

With the price agreed upon, a new problem immediately surfaced—Wang Zhuo and Qi Fei didn't have enough cash, and their accounts were running low.

But this didn't stump Wang Zhuo. Qi Fei waited to see how he would pull off this trick—conjuring money out of thin air.

“Wu Lun Kuang, I don’t have enough cash on me. Do you accept rough stones that show promise of a big win?”

“I don’t buy them,” Wu Lun Kuang said with a chuckle. “But if I make a few calls, more than five bosses will come over to bid. The condition is that your stone must be good enough.”

“Then that’s easy enough,” Wang Zhuo replied with a satisfied smile. “How about you give me three days to raise the funds for this stone?”

Wu Lun Kuang nodded repeatedly: “No problem. A week is fine too.”

Wang Zhuo then walked over and shook his hand: “Then it’s settled.”

The three-day grace period was merely a ruse, designed to mislead Old Myanmar, Wu Lun Kuang, and even Qi Fei. In just over an hour, news of a major win echoed from one corner of the yard: a customer who had just bought three rough stones had cut into a massive success.

After settling on the week-long fundraising timeline, Old Myanmar returned to his stall. Wang Zhuo grabbed his rickety little cart and wandered around the yard with Qi Fei, looking at rough stones. He casually selected three pieces, paid for them, and had them taken to a corner of the yard for the workers to cut open.

The first brick-sized stone was a total loss—a pure white porcelain base. In Ruili, it might fetch a few hundred yuan, but here at the border, at Old Myanmar’s shop, it was worthless. Wang Zhuo tossed it aside casually.

The second piece had a murky base, the green patches mottled. Wang Zhuo frowned and examined it for a long time. Although the workers shook their heads, he still loaded the stone, now split in two, into his small cart.

The third piece was different. This was the best stone Wang Zhuo had found after peering through most of the yard. The first two were mere distractions, intended to draw attention. This stone was the main event today; succeeding with this one was the key to acquiring that massive Hpakan stone.

“Colorless icy jadeite, vibrant green flower, beautiful!”

“The translucency is blindingly bright! That’s a huge win, friend! Are you looking to trade this piece?”

“I haven’t seen such a fine floating green flower piece in two years! And it’s not small either.”

“Hey, hey, what are you saying? I just bought a big piece of icy jadeite, I definitely don’t have the funds for this. Missed it, missed it!”

The courtyard instantly erupted in chatter because this stone was exceptionally beautiful, and it was about the size of a small watermelon. When cut, it was sliced close to one end, resulting in a huge cross-section, but almost no material was wasted; it was gambled through in a single cut.

Wang Zhuo beamed, repeatedly exclaiming about his luck. Qi Fei was also overjoyed, unable to stop smiling. She really wanted to take this piece home and have it fashioned into a large bowl for cold noodles—it would be so appetizing. But this wish was destined to remain unfulfilled, because Wang Zhuo had already set his sights on that recumbent ox stone; once he decided something, not even leading an ox by the head could turn him back.

Seeing this turn of events, Wu Lun Kuang couldn't help but feel a mixture of amusement and exasperation. The other party had turned a gamble worth a mere hundred thousand into a massive win. It seemed the giant rough stone wouldn't need to wait a week; the deal could close today.

He made a few phone calls, spoke animatedly for a while, and soon, the roar of motorcycles echoed as several bosses arrived one after another to enter the bidding.

Coupled with the existing customers in the yard and those called in by others, the area suddenly became quite lively.

In the end, a female purchasing manager surnamed He, representing a Hong Kong jewelry firm based in Ruili, acquired the stone. Her bid wasn't the highest among all contenders, but this jewelry firm had some prior dealings with Qi Fei. Moreover, if Shengshi Wangchao planned to make a major move in this sector later, they would need favors from this firm when expanding their Hong Kong business. Therefore, they chose to earn less by granting a significant courtesy.

Eighteen million—this eight-plus kilogram rough stone changed hands for this price, two million more than the Black Ox Stone.

After the triangular transaction concluded, Wang Zhuo’s pocket now held a cash check for two million. Wu Lun Kuang certainly lived up to his reputation as a major boss; that very night, just past midnight, he delivered the Black Ox Stone as agreed to a designated auto repair shop within Ruili city limits.

After verifying its authenticity, the repair shop's crane roared to life, hooking the steel cables wrapped around the massive rough stone and transferring it onto the dedicated freight truck Wang Zhuo had hired.

This transaction, modest in scale yet profound in meaning, finally reached its perfect conclusion.

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