Chapter 1560 The Hospitable Mayor (1/2)
Li Du took in their get-up and had a rough inkling of what was going on. These people were dressed in white from head to toe, evidently here to visit a grave. Perhaps they had a relative buried on the mountain.
Burial ceremonies were a practice in Myanmar and burial grounds were often in the mountains. Myanmar was similar to China in that they both believed in Feng Shui. Yet when Li Du looked around the area, he could not find a single tomb. He had searched along the perimeter of the area before that and found no traces of a cemetery. He thought about it for a while longer before saying, ”Oh, I think you're mistaken, sir. We have no plans of unearthing anything here and we won't be starting any work.”
At the sound of this, the old man was shocked. He questioned, ”You have no plans of starting work here? How can that be? The mayor...hmph! You're lying!”
Although he managed to recover from that confusion, Li Du had a sense of what was going on when he heard the old man mention the mayor. They were not here of their own initiative; they were assembled by the mayor!
Li Du understood immediately.
The old man spoke as he pointed at Li Du, ”You cannot open a mining area here. Our ancestral tombs are here! You will disrupt the Feng Shui of our family if you shift the earth. This is absolutely not allowed!”
Li Du waved his hands, trying to placate the old man. ”I have no intention of shifting the earth. Besides, why would I need to?”
”To open a mine and look for jade,” the old man supplied. ”Don't think we don't know what you're trying to do. There are no gems or jade here or we'd have dug them up ourselves a long time ago. You're just wasting your energy!”
Li Du said, ”No, I'm not trying to start a jade mine here. Sir, please think about it. Your country has made it illegal for foreigners to start up mines. I'd be breaking the law if I decided to open up a mine here, and all the mayor would have to do is notify the police, who would arrest me.”
This was something Li Du could not wrap his head around: Maung Kyaw Zin seemed like he did not want Li Du mining for gems here, so why was he not trying to stop this through official means? Did he think that Li Du was above the law because of his connections, means, and money? Li Du could come up with no other explanation; there was no other way he could understand the mayor's actions.
After listening to Li Du speak, the old man was stunned. It was evident he thought Li Du made sense. He blinked, then asked Li Du, ”Then what are you here to do?”
Li Du said, ”I'm here to look for something. My ancestors buried something here some time back; I'm not here to open a mine.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Brother Wolf. His one look sent Brother Wolf into action; the man brought over a group of bodyguards who charged over with their brows furrowed in anger. The Markelov brothers led the other towering Ukrainians with sharp daggers in their hands. Just the sight of this sent the children running to hide behind the women.
Li Du fished out a couple of bills to hand over to the people, and said, ”I think you've all misunderstood me. I'm here to look for something, not to open a jade mine. I'll be leaving in a few days, with or without the item. I hope for your understanding if I inconvenience you in any way.”
The women stopped crying at the sight of the money. They accepted it gleefully and spoke quietly in Burmese, discussing something. The old man hesitated a bit before accepting his share as well. He warned, ”You're not allowed to open a mine here or I'll bring my entire tribe up. You'd be in real trouble then.”
Li Du chuckled and nodded in acknowledgment. ”I swear, I will definitely not open a mine here.”
Pocketing the money, the old man led the group and walked off. Da Mao watched as they retreated and asked, ”Boss, you're really not planning to open a mine here?”