Road to becoming the wealthiest: Starting From Treasure Hunting in the Cabinets
Chapter 314 - 253: Jade Scam

Chapter 314: Chapter 253: Jade Scam

Jadeite seed material was abundant in the Yulong Kashgar River - of course, only in those years.

"Can we dig up jade stones?" In the car, Aphrodite Johnson asked curiously, "I heard that people often dig up seed material here. Is that true or false?"

"False." Douglas Cooper was quick to say, "Since the price of seed material has risen since the last century, this river has been dug up countless times, and the easy-to-pick seed material has long been taken away. Now those who contract the river section dig with excavators. Picking up seed material? It’s almost like buying a lottery ticket!"

"But there are so many videos online, and Uigurian old men often dig up seed material, so beautiful."

"Deceiving people." Douglas Cooper wore an expression as if he knew an insider secret, "I once worked near here... oh, worked nearby."

He almost inadvertently mentioned that he had been here on a mission.

Seeing Elijah Hastings glare at him, he caught on and changed the subject, continuing:

"At that time, I met people who had lived here for a long time who said it was easy to pick up seed material in the past. They would take a mineral water bottle, poke several holes in the cap, fill it with water, and walk along the river channel. They would sprinkle some water on any stone that looked like jade. With good luck, they could pick up several pieces in one day.

Later, as the price of seed material went up and more people started picking, they had to dig. The river section had been dug up countless times. Afterwards, the shallow layers were turned over by iron shovels, so they started using excavators to dig deeper."

At this point, he lowered his voice:

"I also heard that there was an army base or something like that nearby by the river channel at the time. In those years, the army’s funds were tight, and they wanted to renovate the barracks. The superiors couldn’t allocate the money, so a boss came over to negotiate. He said that he would turn over their big courtyard, and in exchange, he would provide funds. They requested permission from their superiors, and then..."

"What do you mean?" Sean Knight asked, not quite understanding.

Douglas Cooper quickly explained:

"Think about it, the courtyard of the barracks is right on the riverbank, so all the pebbles are underground. The nearby area has been turned over by people, but this part hasn’t been touched since the camp was set up, so below..."

He didn’t finish, but everyone understood.

"Did the boss finally find seed material?" Aphrodite Johnson was also curious.

"I don’t know. I just heard that after the boss turned over the barracks’ courtyard, he added a few more excavators and went to the upstream contracted section of the river." Douglas Cooper left an answer that invited speculation.

After that, no one spoke.

Actually, like jadeite gambling stones, there are many legendary stories about jade seed material areas. Sean Knight had heard several of them.

Some good, some not so good, in any case, everyone passed them on.

There were those who stumbled upon a big seed material, turned their luck around, and eventually became billionaires.

There were also those who spent tens of millions of their fortunes to buy dozens of big seed material chunks, only to be deceived, yet remained obsessed with them.

This place best tests human nature.

When the car arrived at the riverbank, Sean Knight and the others got out, seeing that there were already quite a few people on both sides of the riverbank.

When someone saw Sean Knight and the others get out, they immediately ran over and asked:

"Rent a shovel?"

Sean Knight couldn’t help but smile at how thoughtful the service was.

"Aren’t these sections of the river privately contracted? Can we still dig?"

"There is a special place for tourists to dig." The person laughed, "Just pay the money."

That was expected.

Douglas Cooper preemptively paid the money, and they walked into the river beach. Looking at the pitted and uneven riverbank, Aphrodite Johnson suddenly asked:

"Where shall we begin?"

"Follow your instincts, and everyone can find a place to dig." Sean Knight said.

After saying that, he walked leisurely with an iron shovel in hand.

Indeed, as Douglas Cooper said, this place had already been turned inside out many times. Even with the Sky Eye activated, there was almost no jade in sight.

Rare jewels would occasionally appear, but they were usually of very poor quality, such as green jade or cracked green jade, which had no value in digging.

Elijah Hastings and Lincoln Harrington carried iron shovels and followed not far behind Sean Knight. They had no intention of digging for stones.

Not far away, there was a commotion. He looked up and saw someone on the river beach holding a mobile phone for a live broadcast.

"Wow! I’ve dug up seed material! It’s so big and so white...so lucky."

Hearing this, many tourists who were digging for jade ran over.

Sean Knight also walked over.

A Uigurian old man with a familiar face stood in the dug-up pit, holding a piece of very beautiful seed material in his hand, still covered in some sand, showing it to everyone.

The live streamer next to him was holding a mobile phone and speaking loudly:

"See it? This is the seed material that the old man just dug up! Look at the whiteness, it’s really beautiful! Old man, can I take a look?"

The Uigurian old man wiped the seed material on his clothes and handed it over.

"This seed material is really beautiful! It looks so smooth and it feels like it’s glowing!" A girl looked at the seed material, her eyes sparkling.

"That’s the sunshine, but it does look pretty," her companion commented.

The seed material was slightly larger than a pigeon’s egg, with white jade and a bit of reddish skin, full of greasy texture, giving it a mutton fat jade feel.

However, as Sean Knight’s Sky Eye scanned over it, he immediately saw that the jade material had been processed. Not only was it dyed, but the greasy texture was also faked.

It seems that the so-called on-site dug seed material is as fake as it gets.

However, with such a scam becoming more common, it would be harder for others to fall for it.

"Old man, this seed material is good. How about selling it to me?" The person holding the mobile phone pretended to look at the seed material carefully before asking.