Three jeeps drove out of Hotan County and marched eastward in a twisty and twisty manner.

It was the second day after Liu Qingshan arrived here. When Liu Qingshan proposed to go to the Yulong Kashgar River, Old Man Alimu happily accompanied him.

This place belongs to the Hotan Oasis, so the plants and trees are still very lush. I also see several poplar forests along the way.

When everyone came down to watch, Li Likun sang a few lines of poplar euphratica in Kashgar, which attracted Niyazi and others who were accompanying him to nod and praise him.

The car ran for more than three hours, and in the oasis ahead, he saw a winding river.

The rivers are in the north and south direction, and have silently nourished this oasis for thousands of years.

In fact, in the frontier, a place with countless magnificent natural landscapes, this river is too common.

However, it is famous for Hetian jade. As the saying goes: Mountains are not high, but immortals are famous; water is not deep, but jade is spiritual.

The old man Alimu introduced to Liu Qingshan with great enthusiasm:

"We call this river Baiyu River, which is Yulong Kashgar River; there is also a Moyu River, which is called Karakashgar River, which mainly produces jade."

Liu Qingshan finally knew that the old man Alimu had great prestige in the local area. His family had been jade pickers for generations and had a profound study of Hetian jade.

A few years ago, everyone thought that the ore veins on the mountain were exhausted and that they had lost their livelihood.

It was the old man who proposed a theory: the ore veins of Hetian jade are distributed in melon and vines.

So based on the old man's theory, everyone discovered new mineral veins.

The old man obviously also attached great importance to Liu Qingshan and actually accompanied him to the Yulong Kashgar River in person.

A person who dares to buy a lot of money if he is not sure about the value of a stone like gold silk jade, must not pay attention to it.

Everyone got out of the car and came to the edge of the main river. The ground was covered with stones of all sizes, mostly washed smoothly by water.

Large stones cannot be held by anyone; small ones are the size of ordinary pebbles.

The river water is not deep and extremely clear at this moment. The water and grass on both sides of the river are lush, and cattle and sheep are hidden in it.

"The clear water, blue sky, green grass, cattle and sheep are so good."

Liu Qingshan couldn't help but sigh, because he had seen the introduction of the Yulong Kashgar River decades later. The scene was like it was just plowed by a bomb, full of devastation.

Various large excavators directly dig more than ten meters deep in the river channel, and even hundreds of kilometers of Yulong Kashgar River are all riddled with holes.

Not only this river, but also the ancient rivers around it, are now dried up and buried in the sand, and have not been let go later.

Human nature is greedy, and wealth is touching.

Of course, the old man Alim doesn't know what will happen decades later. At this moment, he is still very excited:

"The best mutton fat jade among Hetian jade is only produced in the Baiyu River. Only those who are destined to be able to pick it up."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Likun, Cao Xiaofei, Lu Fang and others ran towards the river beach.

Liu Qingshan didn't feel a smile and shook his head: "I don't know how many times have people picked up the river beach here?"

Niyazi took over the conversation: "It's okay. Every year during the rainy season, a batch of new stones will rush down from the mountain torrent. There was just a heavy rain a few days ago, and maybe I could really pick up jade."

So that's how it is. The layers of pebbles in the river are several meters thick. I guess that's how it comes from.

Liu Qingshan nodded, and then saw dozens of figures shaking on the river beach in the distance, probably all of whom were jade pickers.

He pointed to the other side: "We haven't seen Caiyu yet. Can you go over and take a look?"

Of course this is fine, and the group slowly walked over there.

"Boss, I picked up a piece. Can you see if it's jade?"

Li Likun ran back excitedly, holding an egg-sized stone in his hand.

"If you ask me, I'm an amateur."

Liu Qingshan smiled, but Master Lu took the stone and took a look, then twisted it with his fingers:

"This is an ordinary stone. Do you think Hetian jade is as easy to find as golden silk jade."

Li Likun couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, and lowered his head and went to the river to touch it.

After Liu Qingshan and the others approached the group of jade pickers, they couldn't help but look a little dazed.

I saw more than 20 local people standing in the waist-deep river, dancing with their own national dances.

They were very close to each other, putting their shoulders on each other, pulling them into horizontal rows, and slowly moving forward.

"What are these people doing?" Liu Qingshan really couldn't understand.

Old Man Alimu replied with a smile: "Of course it's picking jade."

"How to pick it?"

"Step with your feet."

Liu Qingshan seemed to understand a little. It is probably because these people have been engaged in this kind of work for a long time, and their toes can tell the difference between jade and ordinary pebbles.

Sure enough, one of the jade pickers shouted in his mouth and the team stopped immediately.

I saw the man bent down just now and his whole body was sank into the river. When he showed up again, a stone the size of a palm appeared in his hand.

The group ran to the shore, began to wipe their bodies one by one, and then wrapped them in robes and coats.

Their faces were all blue and purple, and they were obviously very cold.

Although it is summer now, the water in the Yulong Kashgar River is still very cold.

Because these rivers are all gathered after the ice and snow on the mountain melts, even if they flow here, they are still full of cold air.

The group of jade pickers saw Alimu and immediately rushed over, bowing and bowing, very respectful.

He also handed the jade he had just picked up to Old Man Alimu to check.

Liu Qingshan naturally went up to check it out. It was the first time he had seen the seed material of Hetian jade.

Hetian jade is roughly divided into mountain materials, mountain stream water materials and seed materials.

The raw stones in the ore veins are called mountain materials. The mountain materials are broken and washed into the river water, and are called mountain stream materials; only those jades that have been washed in the Yulong Kashgar River for tens of millions of years are called seed materials.

After thousands of years of erosion and friction, there is usually a thin layer of stone on the outside of the seed material.

The seed material of this piece of Hetian jade has a very smooth appearance, most of which are wrapped in a layer of earthy yellow leather, with only a small piece of land, revealing the jade meat, which looks very moist.

"It's not bad. When you get the Jade Raw Stone Collection Exchange, you should be able to get a second-level white jade, worth two or three hundred yuan." Old Man Alimu smiled and gave the answer.

The group immediately cheered. With this piece of jade as the foundation, they would not have been in vain today.

The most important thing is that with the words of Mr. Alimu, the salesmen on the exchange will not make a reservation for them.

Liu Qingshan was a little confused when he heard this. What is the Jade Raw Stone Exchange?

When he asked the old man Alimu, he realized that the jade found by the jade picker cannot be sold casually, and must be sold to the jade raw stone exchange.

It was an institution established by the local Light Industry Office, which specializes in purchasing jade raw materials.

The staff will determine the jade material, such as second-level white jade, and the price is fifty yuan per kilogram.

As for ordinary jade that cannot be put in, it only costs three or five yuan per kilogram.

Liu Qingshan blinked his eyes when he heard this: This is really a bargain price, this is not white jade, isn't this a cabbage?

Looking at the jade farmers again, Liu Qingshan couldn't help but sigh in his heart: It's really not easy for these jade pickers.

Compared with the hardships paid by the jade picker, this price is really too low!

What he saw was only a very small corner. The hardships faced by those jade pickers who went up the mountain in this season were even more conceivable.

After warming up the jade pickers who came ashore, they jumped into the water and continued to move forward in the water.

I don’t know when their next harvest will appear.

Even for these experienced Yunongs, it would be good to have a piece of harvest a day.

Liu Qingshan couldn't help but smack his lips: "Perhaps, the price of purchasing jade can increase it a little."

Old Man Alimu looked at the river with a faint look: "The Jade Raw Stone Collection Exchange is a state-owned unit. We pick jade and they set the price."

Liu Qingshan couldn't help asking: "But how did those jade dealers get jade? Their asking price is ridiculously high."

Old Man Alimu shook his head slightly: "Of course it is also from the Yuyuan Stone Exchange."

Liu Qingshan understood a little, obviously there was a chain of interests here.

He found a huge stone casually and sat on it: "Old man, I don't understand. Shouldn't you take the initiative to master the source of goods?"

Old man Alimu bent down and picked up a stone, then threw it into the river, and raised a wave, but soon the river water returned to its original state.

The old man smiled and clapped his hands: "Look, it's still very difficult to change."

"We cannot transport the jade outside, unless the jade we picked will no longer be sold to the outside."

Liu Qingshan stood up and pushed the huge rock that he was sitting just now. The stone weighed at least three or four hundred pounds, just like a lying cow.

Liu Qingshan actually turned the huge rock over, and he also patted the mud and sand on his hands: "If the stone is big enough, it can even cut off the river."

Old Man Alimu stared at Liu Qingshan with deep eyes. He knew that the young man in front of him was very ambitious, but he didn't know if he had the corresponding strength.

Liu Qingshan patted the huge rock just now: "At least, I can go and try it. Hey, it seems that there is jade inside?"
To be continued...