C1880 blood-stained gemstone

A small sapphire could sell for two hundred taels of silver in Beijing, fifty to sixty silver taels could be found there, and one could sell for a hundred and fifty taels in Jiangnan. However, in Sri Lanka, it only cost two silver taels.

This question troubled everyone present. In the middle of it all, a very large profit margin appeared, and the big ones even surpassed the arms trade. Xiao Letian was very interested in this trade, so he decided to personally take a look at it.

With the British leading the way, many of the villagers along the way were called out to help with the road construction. In the end, they even brought a team of elephants over, which allowed Xiao Letian and the rest to have a very wide field of vision.

Along the way, the British side intentionally spread the news, and from time to time, local chieftains would bring out some high-quality gems for the guests to choose from.

It was only then that Xiao Letian found out the reputation of the island. Before even reaching the mining site, Xiao Letian had already spent a thousand silver coins to buy a pair of pink sapphire the size of a pigeon's egg.

You didn't hear wrongly, it's just a pink blue gem. Before this, Xiao Letian had heard of the existence of this kind of gem, but he had never had the chance to see it.

Sapphire gems were commonly known as corundum gems. Most of them were blue in color, but that didn't mean they didn't have any other colors. This pink color was a very rare color, and it wasn't easy to successfully match it.

Xiao Letian decided to invite the top-notch craftsmen in Europe to design one of his wives.

Riding on the back of an elephant was very easy, and many stream elephants directly flowed past them. Even the crocodiles in the distance didn't dare to provoke these monsters.

Soon there was a wide open field at the far end of the road, and a small river ran through it. Outside the simple village were countless paddy fields, and in the middle of the paddy fields were many square shafts supported by logs.

"This is a gem mine, the bottom is filled with water and mud, it's too dirty, everyone take a look from the back of the elephant …" The guide shouted in his native tongue, and the workers around the shaft knelt in the mud and kowtowed.

Zai Chun turned pale with fright, "Is this a gem mine? Why is it in the paddy field, isn't it all mud? Shouldn't it be in the cave? " Maybe, Zai Chun thought that all of the needed to be excavated would be in the cave.

Jie Sen said, "Your Majesty, the gems here are all dug out like this, they are all hidden in a thick layer of sticky soil. The locals are digging a vertical well in the ground, which is only five meters deep with wood support, and then digging the soil horizontally.

"As soon as the clay meets water, it will disperse, and the stones will be kept by the bamboo baskets. The gems were picked from those stones!"

Xiao Letian had watched a documentary on the sights of the Sri Lanka before. He nodded and said, "Yes, the entire Sri Lanka Island is a huge mountain that extends out from the seabed, and gemstones are all caused by volcanoes and geological movements. After the rocks shatter, the gemstones are scattered on the ground."

"After thousands of years, the humus had buried the gem and formed a thick layer of clay gem …"

Xiao Letian almost threw out the theory of continental drift out, he hurriedly shut his mouth in time, but just like that, Jie Sen and the others were also stunned. This is really a very strange saying, I wonder where the exam results came from? "

Xiao Letian didn't dare to continue their conversation, and quickly changed the topic. "Look …" Why is the mine full of water? "

The local guy was confused and said, "Of course there's water. It's raining heavily here, and there's plenty of water in the clay soil. There must be water …"

In the eyes of the onlookers, there were three workers in the five-meter deep shaft, who were soaking in dirty water that reached their waists. They were looking at the big man with fear in their eyes.

You are five meters above, sitting on the back of the sacred elephant, and I am five meters below, soaking in the dirty mud. The two of them, who belonged to completely different worlds, suddenly intersected at this moment.

"Aren't they sick from being in the water for so long?" Xiao Letian asked.

The local guide shrugged. Not many of these people seem to have lived past the age of 35... But this is their life, isn't this what a lowly commoner's life is like? "

As he spoke, the guide shouted towards the bottom of the vertical shaft, the people inside were afraid and didn't know what to say. Then, the guide smiled towards Xiao Letian and said, "Respected Prime Minister, I have asked around, there's an eighteen year old man inside, a twenty-one year old, and the oldest is twenty-five years old …"

Ah? Xiao Letian and the others were in an uproar, "Is he that young? "Why do all of you look like you're in your forties now …"

Xiao Letian could not bear to keep looking. He felt that the pink diamond in his pocket was dripping blood, he had risked his life to obtain these gems.

"Zai Chun, Shang Tai... Now do you understand why the precious stones are so cheap? It was originally a treasure bestowed by nature and dug up by these slave-like commoners with their lives, but in reality, there isn't any cost to it.

Xiao Letian looked at Jie Sen, but Jie Sen was completely unable to understand the pity in Xiao Letian's words: "Isn't this their life? It's been like this for thousands of years, who can change it? "

Xiao Letian laughed bitterly and shook his head, "I would like to ask General Jie Sen, if I want to invest in a jewellery production and sales company, would the colonial governor be able to provide me with a license?"

"This …" Jie Sen was immediately embarrassed, he could not answer this question "Haha, hahaha … "Dear Chief, you are too good at joking. With your status as one of the world's top politicians, you should not be short on money, right?"

"As for setting up a company, I don't understand. I'm a soldier, so let's go back to the city, there's a banquet in Garle Castle, it's definitely Indian …"

Xiao Letian did not press anymore. He had already gotten the answer he wanted, it was the face of the European colonists, it was completely predatory, they would not invest even a little bit for the colony, and they would not invest anything that did not earn money.

There were more than 30 vertical shafts like this in this mining site. Every year, they would produce a lot of gems, but this group of greedy fellows were unwilling to even build a single one.

Not to mention repairing the road, look at these workers who have short lifespans. They might get sick once they turn 20. If they were to soak in dirty water and dig out mud all year round, all of them would definitely have severe rheumatism.

Although these people had mined an endless amount of wealth, the sales channels of these gems were firmly controlled by the Europeans. Perhaps the tourist merchants would be able to buy a dozen gems and play around with them without anyone noticing.

But as long as you took part in the trading of gems on a large scale and set up a company for trade, you would be attacked by the colonists at once, and you wouldn't even have the license to do so.

A gem worth two silver coins could be sold for fifty to sixty silver coins. It could be sold for two hundred silver coins in Jiangnan and the capital city.

The root of all this lies in the fact that Europeans are stuck at the source of upstream shipments.

Xiao Letian sighed: "Someone come! Give each of these miners three silver coins as a reward from me … "Go back and tell them to plant some more chilies, it's good for their health!"

Xiao Letian didn't even dare to reward them with more money, because he knew that even if he gave them more money, they wouldn't reach the hands of the miners.

"Let's go back to Gale!"