After the meal, Nuwen led the four of them onto his family's large truck, and after a bumpy ride of about half an hour, they finally arrived at the Zibi mining area.

This desolate place is a paradise for jade mine owners and merchants to make their fortunes, but also a purgatory for countless poor people in Myanmar.

The best time to mine jade is during the dry season, but in the eyes of profit-driven mine owners, there is no distinction between seasons, and some even don't distinguish between day and night.

Regardless of the weather or whether it's day or night, the mining area is always in operation.

Myanmar experiences a rainy season for most of the year. During periods of heavy rainfall, the mines become muddy and prone to landslides, making them virtually impassable. Summer in Myanmar is hot and humid, with rampant mosquitoes and a high risk of outbreaks of disease and epidemics.

Mine owners and jade merchants made their fortunes off the jade mined by the miners, but the miners' lives did not improve at all.

The harsh high temperatures, cramped and narrow environment, high-intensity work, and meager meals left almost every miner emaciated.

The resting conditions for jade miners in the mines can only be described as terrible. The conditions are limited, the environment is harsh, and they can even eat sand. There is no electricity, and they repeat the same heavy labor day after day.

Jade mining in Myanmar has a history of over two thousand years, but the mining methods are still very primitive. In this era, manual labor combined with some simple homemade equipment remains the main method of jade mining.

Upon entering the mining area, Luo Yunhang and his group saw a group of people manually mining on the cliff face. The people, like ants, climbed the rock face, risking their lives to extract the minerals. A moment's carelessness could send them tumbling into the abyss.

Above, there is a slag heap that could collapse at any moment. If hundreds of tons of slag heap collapse, the destructive power is self-evident, not to mention that we humans are so insignificant in the face of nature, and there is almost no chance of survival.

Miao Cuihua turned her head away with a hint of pity: "This is too cruel, it's practically risking their lives to work."

Nuwen smiled slightly: "The mining risks in the mining area are gradually increasing year by year. The longer the original ore vein is mined, the deeper the mine pit becomes, and naturally the greater the danger."

These workers need to support their families, and mining raw stones can provide them with relatively high wages.

The high price of jade is not without reason; it embodies the blood and tears of countless jade miners.

Luo Yunhang opened his mouth, but didn't say a word. He wanted to ask why they didn't change to a more stable job, but then he thought about it and felt it was like asking "why don't they eat cake?" So he didn't say it.

People are forced to do things by life. If there were any other way, who would want to risk their life to work?

As the trucks ventured deeper into the mining area, a wonder of nature unfolded before them.

“These are all mines that have already been mined out. My two mines are just ahead,” Nuwen pointed ahead.

"Look, these are my two mines, right next to each other. These two mines have been in operation for two years and are expected to be in operation for another seven or eight years."

They've produced a lot of high-quality icy jadeite, and also quite a bit of violet jadeite.

The group looked in the direction Nuwen pointed.

A continuous mining area unfolds before your eyes.

The first two mining areas belong to Nuwen.

From a distance, you can see many workers quarrying raw stones on it.

Luo Yunhang stood inside the truck, looking out at the mine. An idea popped into his mind: perhaps he could take a look at Nuwen's mining area and see what the quality of the raw stones was like.

So he used his X-ray vision to look, and the entire mountaintop turned into speckled colors before his eyes.

On one side is a vast expanse of green, and on the other side is a vast expanse of purple.

The quality of the Nuwen mine is generally quite good.

Luo Yunhang looked around curiously again.

A nearby mine has been partially mined, but there are only a few rough stones left, and they look to be of very poor quality.

The jadeite in this vein is less than a third of that in Nuwen.

Nuwen was very curious about the young man who remained silent but seemed to understand what he was saying.

Following Luo Yunhang's gaze, he explained, "This mine is already more than half-mined and has been losing money. If it doesn't break even in another month, the mine owner will probably give up on it."

Luo Yunhang thought to himself, "It's time to give up. This is a chicken rib—tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away."

He looked up into the distance and suddenly asked Nu Win in Burmese with surprise, "Nu Win, do those connected veins in front also have owners? Why isn't anyone mining them?"

"U" is not Nu Win's surname, but a respectful term in Burmese for elders or people of high status.

Nu Win was surprised that this young man could not only understand Burmese, but also speak fluent Burmese, even more authentically than the translator's Burmese. He immediately felt a sense of kinship with him.

When they answered, their tone was softer.

"Those mines are abandoned, so no one is mining them."

They originally belonged to a large mine owner, but after mining a quarter of them, he hadn't found many pieces of valuable jade. The quality was even worse than the previous vein, and he lost a lot of money, so his owner abandoned them.

"I see." Luo Yunhang appeared thoughtful, but his heart was pounding like a drum.

This isn't a wasteland, it's a gold mine!

In Luo Yunhang's eyes, the entire vein was a dreamy violet color, full of it, but its location was rather peculiar, being slightly below the center.

If its owner did not have enough patience and composure, he would not have discovered that such a magnificent treasure was hidden underneath.

Judging from the surface of the veins, the mine owner must have put a lot of effort into these veins.

Every corner of the vein shows signs of mining.

It's clear that the owner was eager to dig out the jadeite.

However, he ultimately could not withstand the pressure, and the mining operation abruptly stopped just two meters away from the jadeite ore.

It's such a pity. He only needed to persevere for another two months or even one more month to find the best vein.

This vein is of better quality than the two mines in Nuwen. It is continuous, abundant, and has a very good color and texture.

What a pity!

"That mine was very sought after back then, and I really wanted to acquire it, but I lost out to the mine owner in terms of price. In the end, I bought these two smaller jade mines. Unexpectedly, the original mine is now abandoned, but my two small mines are of pretty good quality."

This might be what you Chinese people mean by "a blessing in disguise" or something like that.

"Good fortune may be the foundation of misfortune, and misfortune may be the foundation of good fortune," Luo Yunhang said.

“Yes, yes, that’s it. Sometimes you really don’t know what fate will do,” Nuwen said with a smile.