As if he saw Zhuang Rui's thoughts, Peng Fei smiled and said: "Brother Zhuang, most of the taxis in Yangon are Japanese cars from the 1980s. Even if they have air conditioning, they have broken down a long time ago. This
The hotel is not low-end, so it should have a car, but there are so many people living here, and when the time comes to use a car, you may not be able to get one..."
The hotel that Song Jun booked is called Sedona. It is a five-star hotel. Most of the jadeite wool buyers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and many foreign countries stay in this hotel. It is also the country of Myanmar.
Hotel.
Every year during the Jade Public Sale season, it is difficult to reserve a room here, but the price here is not cheap either. It costs about three hundred dollars a night, which is much higher than five-star hotels in China.
There are thousands of wool merchants from various countries living in the hotel. The hotel's own car is simply not enough for them. Although the hotel's car fee will be higher, who can care about that if they can come here?
How much money?
"This weather is even hotter than Hainan, brother, let's go, why are you standing here..."
While Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei were talking, Song Jun and others also got out of the taxi. Fatty Ma even took a towel and wiped it hard back and forth on his face. The white cultural shirt on his body had long been wiped.
He was soaked with sweat and clung to his body, showing off his fat body.
Walking into the hotel lobby, a huge oil painting caught Zhuang Rui's eye. It was an oil painting with a sky blue background. On the painting stood a girl wearing Burmese traditional clothing, holding a white jar in her hand.
.
Behind the girl, there are Burmese jade merchants, bargaining with wool buyers from out of town, staying up late to select wool and reaching a deal, and toasting to celebrate. Their identities can be clearly distinguished from their clothing.
, and the facial expressions are drawn lifelike.
Businessmen from all over the world were taking photos under the oil painting. On a whim, Zhuang Rui found a digital camera from his bag and gave it to Peng Fei, asking him to take a picture of himself too.
"Hey, isn't this Boss Zhuang? Boss Zhuang, let's take a photo too..."
As soon as Zhuang Rui stood over, he heard the greeting. He turned around and saw, hey, he is really an acquaintance. It is Mr. Han who he met at the Pingzhou Jade Market. He is the helmsman of Han's jewelry. He even sold him a piece of it.
What about wool?
Fatty Han was not polite, he came over and put his arm around Zhuang Rui's shoulders, shouting for his people to take a photo.
"Boss Zhuang, I live in room 128. If you are free in the evening, I will be the host and we can have a drink. Oops, Boss Song and Boss Ma are also here. What a coincidence..."
Zhuang Rui wiped away cold sweat when he saw Fatty Han approaching Song and Jun. Mr. Han was a little too enthusiastic. He was not a woman, so he grabbed his hand and refused to let go.
But just as Boss Han left, a group of people cheered behind him and greeted Zhuang Rui. Some wanted to take photos, shake hands, and even wanted to sign autographs. Zhuang Rui couldn't help but be dumbfounded. He was nothing.
Celebrities, are these people sick or something?
However, among this group of people, there were quite a few familiar faces. They must have met them in Pingzhou. Zhuang Rui couldn't straighten up his face and dealt with it with a fake smile. After everyone shook hands and took a group photo,
Zhuang Rui was covered in stinking sweat, and he quickly called Peng Fei to get into the elevator.
"Hey, Zhuang... Ouch..."
As soon as Zhuang Rui entered the elevator, someone inside stretched out his hand to Zhuang Rui and patted his shoulder. However, Peng Fei, who was following Zhuang Rui, grabbed the hand and applied a little force, causing the other person to scream in pain.
"Peng Fei, you are my friend..."
Zhuang Rui couldn't help laughing when he saw this man. He and he were really destined. The first time he came into contact with gambling stones, he met this boy. The second time he accumulated initial funds, he also met him. He didn't expect it.
When I go to a foreign country, I can actually see him.
Seeing Yang Hao rubbing his hands, Zhuang Rui asked with a smile: "The people outside didn't know what was going on. They all pulled me. It was really weird. Don't worry, my friend didn't mean it...
…”
"You don't know yet, but your name is very famous in the stone betting circles. You are called... a lucky boy. Others want to taint some of your wealth..."
After Yang Hao heard Zhuang Rui's words, he also smiled. When Zhuang Rui was betting on stones in Nanjing, he was still not well-known. After all, it was normal in the stone betting circle to bet up to 8 million, but in the stone gambling circle,
Pingzhou really shined. He extracted the best jadeite from two pieces of scraps one after another, which surprised many people.
Not to mention the sky-high price tag, which brought Zhuang Rui a net worth of hundreds of millions. The story of Zhuang Rui's fortune through stone gambling is now widely circulated in stone gambling circles at home and abroad.
Most people who like to gamble are superstitious, especially Hong Kong people. Before coming to Myanmar, those people probably have to take a bath and offer incense to worship Mr. Guan. They also firmly believe that if they have more contact with lucky people, they will also become the same.
Contaminated with good luck.
"Damn, my brother is a boy..."
Zhuang Rui was a little speechless. We are now men, but we can't spread this word to the whole world. Looking at Yang Hao, Zhuang Rui asked: "Why are you the only one who came to Myanmar?"
"No, the elders in the family are also here. I've been here all day. I just went down for lunch. I said Brother Zhuang, your friend's hands are too strong..."
Yang Hao just felt that his right hand was clamped by iron pliers. He had no doubt that the thin young man next to Zhuang Rui could break his arm.
"Haha, it's because you don't exercise. Looking at your figure, you will soon compete with Brother Ma. Okay, I'm here. I'm going to take a shower first. Let's call later..."
When Zhuang Rui saw the elevator stopped on his floor, he quickly made a gesture to Yang Hao to call, and walked out with Peng Fei.
"Brother Zhuang, I was impulsive just now..."
After walking out of the elevator, Peng Fei said to Zhuang Rui sheepishly that he had only learned the skills of killing people to survive. When it came to protecting people, he was really not good at it. In addition, he had just entered the elevator and his vision was not very clear. When he saw
Suddenly someone like Zhuang Rui stretched out his hand, and he subconsciously subdued Yang Hao.
"It's okay, haha, we are all old friends. It doesn't matter. Let's take a shower and rest first. The jade sale will only start tomorrow. Let's recharge our batteries today..."
Zhuang Rui smiled and indicated that he didn't care, and opened the room with the door number. Song Jun booked all suites with one bedroom and two living rooms, and each room had a shower room. Zhuang Rui and his wife happened to be
There was only one room for one person, and Song Jun and Fatty Ma both brought two bodyguards, so they had to be a little aggrieved and squeeze into the same room to sleep.
After taking a shower, Zhuang Rui changed into clean clothes, walked to the living room, turned on the TV, and saw that there were satellite channels. You could see Kunming and other local stations. He couldn't help but watch it with interest. He heard Peng Fei say before
Myanmar was in chaos, and he had no intention of going out for fun. Compared with China, Myanmar's history was simply an uncivilized and barbaric small country with nothing to explore.
It’s just that Zhuang Rui was destined to have no leisure time. He just watched TV for a while when his cell phone rang. After the call was answered, his mother-in-law and Mr. Taishan arrived. Zhuang Rui didn’t dare to neglect, so he quickly greeted Peng Fei and took him with him.
Like rushing to a restaurant.
"You kid, why didn't you make a call when you came? I was just counting with your Uncle Qin that your flight should land by now..."
Qin Haoran came two days earlier. Qin's Jewelry also attaches great importance to this jade public sale. This is related to the company's raw material reserves for next year, which can be said to be a top priority. In addition to the couple, there are also four gamblers.
Shi Xing is a famous stone gambling master.
Due to the Myanmar military's restrictions on the export of jadeite rough, at least in the next two years, it will be basically difficult to smuggle raw stones directly from the jadeite mines in Myanmar. The big soldiers here in Myanmar will not tell you anything about human rights.
Anyone caught smuggling will be shot directly without you even saying anything.
Therefore, many large jewelry companies also hope to gain something in this jade public sale to ensure the supply of jade raw materials.
"Haha, I was talking about calling my uncle and aunt after taking a shower..."
Zhuang Rui was like a good boy at this time. He didn't want to give other people's women to him. He naturally had to be more respectful when meeting his elders.
"Well, let your mother have time to go to Hong Kong, and by the way, your sister and the others will come to have fun. When Xiaobing finishes her work, she won't be allowed to take care of the company's design. Then you will
The two can also spend more time together..."
Although Fang Yi looks like she is in her thirties, she has entered menopause. She sat there chatting to Zhuang Rui, while Qin Haoran took out an English newspaper and pretended to read it. It was rare.
If his wife doesn't bother him, his future son-in-law can help him suffer.
"Auntie, let me answer the phone. Who is so ignorant? Call now..."
Zhuang Rui was drowsy as he listened, but he nodded from time to time to express his concern. When he was feeling miserable, his cell phone rang. He was scolding others for being ignorant, but in his heart he wanted to pull the other person out of the phone and kiss him.
Take a bite.
"Hey, Yang Hao, I'm in the restaurant downstairs. What's wrong?"
Zhuang Rui talked on the phone casually, still thinking in his mind, buddy, please tell me if something happens, so I can find an excuse to leave.
"Let's go out for a walk. I heard that the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is world-famous. It would be a pity not to visit it when we are here. Do you have time?"
The amplification effect on Zhuang Rui's mobile phone was quite good. Fang Yi and Qin Haoran, who were sitting opposite him, both heard the voices coming from the phone.
"Well... maybe it won't work today. I have something very important here. How about we go tomorrow?" Zhuang Rui's answer made Fang Yi very satisfied. Chatting with him is of course much more important than going shopping.
"The jade auction will start tomorrow. How can we still have time to go shopping? If you don't go, I'll ask someone else to go..." Yang Hao just went back and begged his elders for a long time before he got the leave. It was just someone he knew.
Among people, only Zhuang Rui is about the same age as him, so you can't drag an old man to go shopping, right?
"Zhuang Rui, let's go. Some of the scenic spots and historic sites in Myanmar are pretty good. Now that you're here, let's have fun..."
Qin Haoran's voice sounded like the sound of nature to Zhuang Rui's ears. However, he still pretended to be reluctant and agreed to Yang Hao on the phone before saying goodbye to Fang Yi. He was very polite.
.
"Peng Fei, are you okay if you go out for a walk in Yangon?"
After coming out of the restaurant, Zhuang Rui thought about the safety issue, but at this time, even if there was a gunfight outside, he was unwilling to go back and continue to listen to his mother-in-law's nagging.
Peng Fei was a little embarrassed when he heard this and said: "Brother Zhuang, it's okay. It's my fault that I was too nervous before. This is the capital of Myanmar and is controlled by the government. It's not as chaotic as the remote areas..."
"Brother Zhuang, here, I heard that there is an antique goods market next to the Shwedagon Pagoda. Let's go and have a look later..."
As soon as Zhuang Rui walked to the door of the hotel, he saw Yang Hao. This guy was really impatient. He had already hailed a taxi and was waiting there.
The shower just now was in vain. When he got into the steamer-like taxi, the sweat immediately dripped down his forehead. Zhuang Rui was so hot that he rolled up the window and stuck half of his head out of the car. It was more comfortable this way.
, but the short taxi driver seemed to be used to this temperature, and there was no sweat on his face.
Fortunately, the hotel is not very far from the Shwedagon Pagoda, only a five- to six-minute drive. After turning around a building in front, the view in front of us broadened, and a towering golden spire appeared in front of us.
In front of Zhuang Rui.
"This...this is the Shwedagon Pagoda?!"
Looking at the slender tower spire shining with dazzling golden light in the sun, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but be shocked.
The Shwedagon Pagoda in the distance rises like a golden mystery from the horizon, a breathtaking miracle shining in the sun. Its shape is neither an Islamic dome nor a Hindu minaret, but like an upright
gourd-shaped,
"Yes, this is our Shwedagon Pagoda at Shedok Palace. The World Cultural Heritage Protection Organization once said that our Shwedagon Pagoda, together with Borobudur Tower in Indonesia and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, is called a treasure of oriental art.
, is the most famous pagoda in the world and a symbol of our Myanmar..."
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, the dark and thin driver unexpectedly explained to Zhuang Rui in Chinese. Although his Chinese was a bit stiff, he still expressed his meaning. When he spoke, his face was even more proud.
look.
Zhuang Rui originally wanted to use the Great Wall of China to refute the driver, but at this time the car had reached the outskirts of the Shwedagon Pagoda. Zhuang Rui was stunned when he saw the entire Shwedagon Pagoda. When the words came to his lips, he said no more.
Won't come out.
The Shwedagon Pagoda, which is more than 100 meters high, stands in front of Zhuang Rui. It feels like standing under a high-rise building with more than 30 floors. People are so small. There are several other people around the huge golden pagoda.
Ten small golden pagodas guard the Shwedagon Pagoda. Everywhere you look, the golden color is everywhere, strongly impacting the visual senses of Zhuang Rui and others, giving people a sense of grandeur and splendor.
After getting out of the car, Zhuang Rui saw that after Yang Hao paid the fare, the driver did not leave immediately. Instead, he opened the door and walked out. He respectfully faced the Shwedagon Pagoda with his hands clasped together and chanted something in his mouth.
Sutra, after almost a minute, he drove away again.
After the taxi left, Yang Hao said with a smile: "This driver is a bit interesting, he behaves like a monk..."
"I guess that driver really was a monk. You don't know the history of Myanmar..."
Before coming to Myanmar, Zhuang Rui had some knowledge about Myanmar. He knew that Myanmar, like Thailand, is a famous Buddhist country. Buddhism has been introduced to Myanmar for more than 2,500 years, and more than 85% of the people in Myanmar believe in it.
Buddhism.
There are many pagodas, many temples, and many monks. These are the three major characteristics of Burmese Buddhist culture. Burmese men must shave their heads and become monks at least once in their lives. This is considered to accumulate virtue through practice. Zhuang Rui just said that the driver might have been a monk, because
this.
Myanmar Buddhists believe that building pagodas can bring blessings throughout life and the next life. According to statistics, there are more than 100,000 large and small pagodas across the country. Therefore, Myanmar is also known as the "Pagoda Country"
The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, built more than 2,500 years ago, is the representative work of Burmese pagodas. It is a masterpiece of Buddhist architectural art in the world and is also the oldest and most expensive pagoda in the world.
The Shwedagon Pagoda is 100 meters high, surrounded by 64 small towers. The tower is covered with gold foil. The main tower alone has nearly 30,000 gold pieces and weighs more than 7 tons. The top of the tower is made of gold and is inlaid with gold.
With 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 rubies, the entire Shwedagon Pagoda is radiant, resplendent and spectacular.
"This is the most valuable antique in the world..."
Zhuang Rui was amazed when he saw it. The price of those diamonds and gems could not be measured in terms of money, let alone more than 7 tons of gold. You must know that this gold tower is equivalent to the United States' gold reserves in the World Bank.
One thousandth of that.
As the saying goes: Hearing is false and seeing is believing. When Zhuang Rui saw the description of the Shwedagon Pagoda in the topography of Myanmar, he was still a little dismissive. When it comes to man-made buildings, the Forbidden City in China represents the ancient times.
It was the highest level of architecture, so when he arrived in Myanmar, he had no intention of visiting.
However, after seeing the Shwedagon Pagoda, Zhuang Rui realized that he had been a little arrogant before. This Shwedagon Pagoda was indeed worthy of the pride and pride of the Burmese people.
The Shwedagon Pagoda is built on the mountain. Zhuang Rui spent three dollars at the door to buy a coloring page introducing the Shwedagon Pagoda. It has Chinese, English and Burmese characters and introduces the history of the Shwedagon Pagoda in detail.
There are many fairy tales.
The legend started when a pair of businessmen brothers met the Buddha - they received eight hairs of the Buddha and prepared to send them to Myanmar for worship. The brothers arrived in Myanmar and with the help of the local king, they found the holy mountain where many treasures of the Buddha were enshrined.
When the eight Buddha hairs were taken out and enshrined in the gold box of the two people, something incredible happened: the light emanating from the hair penetrated heaven and hell, making the blind able to see, the deaf able to hear, and the mute able to speak.
It is clear that drought and thunder from the sky shook the earth and even Mount Sumeru was affected. Precious stones fell from the sky like rain, reaching as deep as the knee. The trees in the Himalayas were blooming and bearing fruits even if they were not in the flowering season.
Already.
Of course these are all legends, but the relics of the four Buddhas are indeed enshrined in the Shwedagon Pagoda, including the crutch used to detain Sun Buddha, the water purifier waiting for the Enlightenment Buddha, Kassapa Buddha's robe, and others.
These relics of the eight hairs of Buddha Sakyamuni are worshiped and burned by countless devout Buddhists every day.
When you walk into the mountain gate, you can see the huge tower base. The circumference of the tower base is 433 meters. It is surrounded by 64 small towers and 4 middle towers of different styles built of wood and stone. The four entrances of the tower are guarded by stone lions.
After the entrance, there is a series of steps leading up to the platform on the mountain.
There are more than 15,000 gold and silver bells hanging around the tower. When the wind blows, the bells ring, clear and sweet, and the sound spreads in all directions.
There are gates in the southeast, northwest and northwest of the Shwedagon Pagoda. In front of the gates are a pair of tall stone lions, similar to the gatekeeper lions often seen in front of Chinese temples. There are corridor-style stone steps inside the gate to climb to the top of the tower. Both sides of the steps are lined with merchants.
The stalls include Buddha statues and human figures carved from wood, bamboo, bone, ivory, etc., as well as incense, candles, flowers for the Buddha, and various Burmese snacks.
Zhuang Rui and Yang Hao are now standing at the entrance to the south gate of the Golden Pagoda. On both sides of the gate, there are a pair of lion-faced statues guarding them. Zhuang Rui does not know that this building is said to be built 2,500 years ago.
Is there any mysterious connection with the pyramids of Egypt?
At the prompts of the staff, Zhuang Rui and others took off their shoes and entered the Shwedagon Pagoda. This was to show respect for the Buddha. Even foreign heads of state and presidents had to remove their shoes when they came.
On the top of a series of steps, there is a statue of the Buddha, and the bottom of the tower is made of bricks and covered with gold nuggets. These are real gold bricks made of pure gold, donated by Buddhists from all walks of life in Myanmar.
Coming out, jade Buddha statues of different shapes are enshrined in the niches in the pagoda.
Walking in the foreign Shwedagon Pagoda, from time to time monks would walk by wearing bare feet. Although this pagoda was extremely luxurious, standing inside, Zhuang Rui only felt a peace and tranquility that he had never felt before.
All the worries in the world seem to be gone.
Today is the last day of 2004. Many devout Buddhists have come here to prepare for the beginning of the new year. Therefore, there are crowds of people everywhere in the pagoda, but no one is making any noise. They are all in an orderly manner.
Follow the flow of people and pay homage to every Buddha statue enshrined in the pagoda.
After walking around the Shwedagon Pagoda and visiting several relics of the Buddha, Zhuang Rui and Yang Hao walked out of the Shwedagon Pagoda from the southeast corner. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, but Zhuang Rui and Yang Hao
I don’t feel so hot now, maybe it’s due to the tranquility of my mind.
In the southeast corner of the Shwedagon Pagoda, there is an ancient Bodhi tree. According to legend, it was transplanted from the sacred tree garden where Sakyamuni's Vajra Throne was located in India. To the left of the ancient Bodhi tree, there is another tree built during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty.
A Chinese temple named "Fuhui Palace" built with donations from overseas Chinese.
It's a lot more lively here. Many vendors are selling souvenirs and some antique coins on the ground. The high temples with Chinese characteristics, coupled with the vendors' shouts mixed with Chinese, give Zhuang Rui the feeling of coming here.
Go to the domestic antique market in general.
"Peng Fei, look at what's fun and buy some for Nannan and Yaya to take back..."
After Ouyang Wan took her daughter back to the courtyard yesterday, the little one immediately became familiar with Yaya. The rest of her brothers and sisters were much older than her and couldn't play together. Now that Yaya is at home, the little daughter will immediately become familiar with her.
He became Yaya's follower, and the relationship between the two little girls was extremely good.
Before coming, Zhuang Rui withdrew 30,000 US dollars and placed it with Peng Fei, so Peng Fei paid for all the expenses along the way.
Most of the stalls here are carvings of figures or Buddha statues. The materials used are nothing more than ivory and wood. Although the carving work is not bad, Zhuang Rui is not very fond of it. He never believes that foreign monks can chant sutras.
In this case, why do you come here to invite the Bodhisattva when you have nothing to do?
"Come and take a look at my place. They are all authentic ivory, bamboo, and old wood root carvings. They are guaranteed to be genuine..."
When a few people walked to a stall, the stall owner's pure Mandarin attracted Zhuang Rui and others. Many Burmese people can speak Chinese, but they can clearly hear the jerkiness in the language, and this one looks like
The fluent Mandarin spoken by a middle-aged man in his thirties shows that he is definitely Chinese.
The variety of items at his stall is relatively rich. In addition to the Buddha statues carved from wood, ivory and bones, there are also handmade bamboo vases and other items. Of course, they are only decorations and cannot hold water.
It is quite exquisite, and there are also rattan products and colorful sand cages covered with sequins, which are very characteristic of Myanmar.
Zhuang Rui was attracted by those sand cages. He knelt down to take a look and casually asked the stall owner: "Brother, from the accent you speak, is he Chinese?"
The stall owner replied: "Yes, it has been more than half a century since my grandfather's generation came to Myanmar, but I returned to my motherland to recognize my relatives the year before last..."
Zhuang Rui couldn't help being awe-struck when he heard this and asked: "Did your grandfather stay in Myanmar during the Chinese Expeditionary Force?"
There are quite a few Chinese people living in Myanmar, and they are all soldiers.
During the Anti-Japanese War, China sent two expeditionary forces with a total strength of 260,000 to fight in Myanmar. Due to poor command and poor coordination by the Allied forces, the first expedition ended in failure. In the defeat, they were captured and bombed.
The number of people who died, were starved to death, or were killed by infectious diseases or who were missing reached as many as 70,000.
Many surviving Chinese soldiers stayed in Myanmar. It was not until the 1990s that this dusty history was re-revealed. At that time, there was also a wave of activities to welcome the remains of the fallen heroes. Many of them
Veterans also returned to the mainland to trace their roots and ancestors.
The second type of people who stayed in Myanmar were the Kuomintang troops headed by Li Mi who were defeated from Yunnan and other places during the Liberation War, entered Myanmar, and established themselves in the Golden Triangle area.
