The Debtor System: Starting with a debt of 1 billion

Chapter 10 The Feast at Hongmen Upon Arriving in Yangon

As soon as the Yunnan Jade convoy pulled into the reserved hotel, Lin Yu sensed something was wrong.

The once spacious hall was now filled with people. These people were wearing traditional Burmese clothing called "longyi," but they wore Patek Philippe watches on their wrists, and the tables were not set with tea, but with pieces of polished jadeite rough.

"Mr. Lin, welcome to Myanmar."

At the head of the table, a dark-skinned, brooding middle-aged man stood up. He introduced himself as U Khin Maung, the vice president of the Yangon Jade Association, and one of the largest raw jade dealers in the area.

"I heard Mr. Lin is enjoying great success in Ruili, even boasting that he will win the jade auction?" Wu Qinmao said in fluent Chinese, his tone filled with undisguised contempt. "Our Burmese jade is not something you Chinese can just take back and make a fortune from. This meal today is to welcome Mr. Lin and also to set some rules."

This is no welcoming banquet; it's clearly a trap.

"Oh? What rules?" Lin Yu asked without changing his expression, and accompanied by Su Yuqing, he walked straight to the main table and sat down.

"It's very simple." Wu Qinmao clapped his hands, and immediately someone carried in three large boxes, which were full of dusty, unfinished jade stones.

"The rule is, it's all about skill. Each of us will put up three stones. If Mr. Lin can pick out one worth more than five million kyats (about 20,000 yuan), then you win, and we'll treat you to this meal. If you can't pick one out..." U Khin Maung chuckled, "then Mr. Lin, please take your men and get out of Yangon. Don't even think about getting your hands on a single piece of jade at the auction."

The surrounding Burmese merchants burst into laughter, their eyes full of mockery. These three boxes of fabric were a specially prepared pile of junk, meant to humiliate the layman.

Su Yuqing's expression changed: "This is too much! This is clearly deliberately making things difficult for us!"

"No, this is fair." Lin Yu suddenly laughed.

He slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping across the room, his tone calm: "However, the stakes are too low; it's pointless. If I win, I want all of you to share your purchasing channels during the auction. If I lose, I'll give you 10% of the profits from every stone Yunnan Jadeite buys at the auction. How about that?"

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Wu Qinmao narrowed his eyes: "Young man, bragging comes at a price."

"Whether it's bragging or not, we'll only know after we cut it open."

[Ding! Host detected facing a "establishment of authority" challenge. Assist mode activated: Probability calculation MAX.]

[Scanning all rough stones in progress...]

[Target locked: The third box from the left, the bottom piece of black jadeite with a rough outer skin.]

[Internal structure: Excellent quality, full color, high-grade icy jadeite, rich green hue, estimated value: starting from 50 million Myanmar Kyats.]

Without hesitation, Lin Yu walked straight to the old box, reached down and rummaged around at the bottom for a while, and then pulled out a fist-sized, pitted black stone.

"This is it?"

Wu Qinmao almost burst out laughing: "Mr. Lin, this is black jadeite, even a god couldn't judge its quality. Are you sure you want to gamble with this piece of scrap?"

"Whether it's waste or not, we'll know once we cut it." Lin Yu placed the stone on the stone-cutting machine.

"Cut it, don't leave the skin, just cut it in half."

As the stone-cutting machine roared, water splashed everywhere.

With one cut, the cut surface was revealed.

At first, the cut surface was grayish-white and there was nothing there.

"Haha, it's a disaster!"

"I knew it! How could you possibly find anything good in a garbage dump like this!"

Just as the surrounding laughter was about to erupt, Lin Yu calmly picked up the grinding wheel and said, "Scrub this."

With a gentle rub of the grinding wheel, a blinding green instantly caught everyone's eye!

Then, the green grew deeper and brighter. It was an intense, almost opulent imperial green, so vibrant it seemed to drip with moisture, shimmering brilliantly under the light.

"This...this is full green! High-grade icy jade!" Wu Qinmao's smile froze on his face, and the wine glass in his hand fell to the ground with a "crack" and shattered.

"This piece should be worth more than five million, right?" Lin Yu smiled slightly and pointed to the cut surface.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

The Burmese businessmen who had just been mocking Lin Yu were now gaping, as if they had seen a ghost.

"There are two more pieces." Lin Yu didn't stop and continued rummaging through the box.

With the system's assistance, he moved with impunity.

The second piece, a glutinous rice variety with floating flowers, is worth millions.

The third piece, though small, is a rare violet and is equally valuable.

Three stones, each a masterpiece!

Wu Qinmao's face turned deathly pale. He had lost not only face, but also the most important intelligence and channel resources during the public auction.

"President Wu, you flatter me." Lin Yu's smile faded, his eyes sharpening. "Now, it's time to fulfill my promise."

Wu Qinmao gritted his teeth, about to lash out, when suddenly a hearty laugh came from behind the crowd.

"Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic!"

A tall Burmese man stepped out from the crowd. He was wearing a military green camouflage uniform, with a silver Browning pistol tucked into his waistband, exuding a powerful aura.

"General Aung San!" The merchants present bowed their heads in greeting.

The visitor was the Myanmar military's supervisory representative at the jade auction, and also a powerful figure with considerable influence in Yangon.

Aung San walked up to Lin Yu, looked him up and down, and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes: "Young man, good eye. I heard you crawled out of the piles of corpses in Hpakant? It's no wonder that good-for-nothing Zhao Kun fell into your hands."

"Greetings, General." Lin Yu nodded neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Wu Qinmao is the kind of person who won't listen to reason and will only suffer the consequences." Aung San turned and glared at Wu Qinmao. "Since you lost, let's play by the rules. Mr. Lin is a VIP at our auction; anyone who dares to obstruct him is going against me, Aung San!"

Wu Qinmao trembled with fear and hurriedly nodded and bowed, "Yes, yes, General, please calm down. Mr. Lin, I was very rude just now. If you need anything in Yangon in the future, please feel free to ask."

Looking at the terrified vice president in front of him, Lin Yu thought to himself: This is Myanmar, the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak.

"Chairman Wu," Lin Yu patted him on the shoulder, "I like making friends. Since you lost, why don't you work for me? You'll be in charge of local relationships, and I'll be in charge of the technology and sourcing. During the auction, I guarantee you'll make a fortune, a hundred times better than collecting protection money."

Wu Qinmao was stunned. He hadn't expected Lin Yu to not only not kick him while he was down, but to actually try to recruit him.

Looking into Lin Yu's deep and confident eyes, Wu Qinmao gritted his teeth and finally lowered his proud head: "Mr. Lin, you are so magnanimous. I... I, Wu Qinmao, will obey your orders from now on!"

The trap of a banquet turned into a complete victory for Lin Yu.

That evening, Lin Yu established himself in Yangon and, through the channels of General Aung San and U Khin Maung, obtained an extremely valuable list—a preliminary selection list of all the heavyweight bidders for this year's public auction.

Lin Yu looked at the list of boulders, each weighing several tons, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Public auction, here I come."