Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du looked at the black cloth used for blindfolding. He felt amused and helpless at the same time. Isn’t the general too careful? Isn’t this a bit redundant? Brother Wolf was not used to going blind. He shook his head at Li Du, indicating that Li Du should not consent to this. Li Du did not mind. He has the little bug, which was equivalent to a pair of see-through eyes. He mainly felt that this was unnecessary: “General, I understand your purpose and do not want your mine’s information to leak out, but unless…” At this point, he had a sudden realization and said, “What about your own workers? What happens when they leave the mine?” You can’t blindfold a worker every time he goes in or out of the mine, can you? Even if all is covered up and the territory so vast, if a worker spreads the news of a local diamond mine, someone could find it if they look thoroughly enough. Unless the message does not go out. “You don’t have to look at me like that. I said I’m not a brutal warlord. In my diamond mine, workers are free to come and go. I pay them with food and money,” said Remonin. He looked at Li Du earnestly and went on, “Believe me, Mr. Li, I am doing this to protect my property and my people.” Though he had just met Remonin, Li Du had a positive feeling about the warlord. He felt that Remonin was more honest than the lion hunter, less like a despot and more like the head of security at a great factory. Therefore, he nodded and said, “Alright, I am willing to cooperate with you.” Despite saying this, he kept in mind that he had just met Remonin. He still had to be careful, so he released the little bug.
Not only was he blindfolded, but the lion hunter was too. All except Remonin and his guards were led into two jeeps. Although Remonin was a warlord, he didn’t live in luxury. Most of his jeeps were rusted and were most likely repaired vehicles left behind by Europeans and Americans. Through the eyes of the little bug, Li Du saw that the car first passed the surrounding hills around and up. His rear bumped against the seat with every jolt. After a little while, the car headed straight southwest. Ten minutes later, there were more hills around. With the help of the little bug eyes, Li Du saw an old high stone pile that bore large printed words in many languages: Mozambique – Cecil border! Are we close to the border? As Li Du thought of this, the car stopped. Remonin and the guards got out of the car. They passed through the mountains and into a small forest growing over them. In a grove, there was a hole in the ground, supported by slabs of stone. The tunnel went deep into the hills and they entered it. Li Du suddenly realized that it was no wonder why Remonin wanted to blindfold them and was confident that no one would find his mine. The mine was in the hills, so it would not be easy to spot it from the outside. However, the work included mining the ore and then crushing it to reveal the diamonds inside. How did the mines keep all this work hidden inside the hills? The answer soon appeared to him. The burrow in this hill was a natural cave rather than an excavation. The cave stretched for hundreds of meters, tilted downward, and then a vast space appeared. As in karst landforms, there were tunnels and large hollow areas inside the hills. An underground river was flowing slowly. Some guards stood on the bank with guns in their hands, while miners rinsed the sieves in the river.
This was a good diamond mine! There was abundant Kimberley ore underground, and the ore has been washed away by the dark river over the years until it has become sand. Naturally, water would eventually erode Kimberley ore, but not diamond, which was the hardest substance in nature. As time went by, the flowing water washed out the diamonds and deposited them the sand layer of the dark river. As long as workers screened the sand, they would find diamonds in it. This was how diamonds were first discovered 4,000 years ago, along a riverbed in the Golconda region of India, where the natural conditions were similar. Many people thought of South Africa in association with diamonds, but actually, India was the first diamond source in history. Before the 18th century, most of the world diamonds were discovered in India. The diamonds were cut naturally, and the rough diamonds were once considered worthless because they were too hard to polish using old technology. Besides soldiers carrying guns, there were also buckets, tables and a machine on the shore. Li Du was about to identify the machine when a guard took off his blindfold. The light in the cave was very bright, which was necessary to find diamonds in the sand. Remonin had moved in a number of generators, that steadily rumbled as they provided electricity. Looking at the scene, Li Du feigned shock. He said, “God, is this real?” “Yes, Mr. Li, what you see is real. Welcome to my diamond mine. I hope you enjoy your visit.” Not long after their arrival, a boy who looked no older than twelve or thirteen raised his hand excitedly and shouted something Li Du could not comprehend. Remonin and the guards looked excited. They waved to the boy, who came up across the dark river and laid a small gray stone on the table.
A woman came up, took the stone and went to the machine Li Du had seen earlier. He now saw that it was a small X-ray machine. X-rays could detect whether a diamond was real or not. A real diamond would not appear on the negative when X-rayed. Therefore, some places use this intuitive method to identify diamonds. The woman nodded and began to speak in her native language. The boy sat at the table happily and the guard brought him a plate of food. The plate was full of bread, jam, butter, roast meat, fried meat, and other Western food. It was simple fare, but the child was so excited that he devoured most of it in a few minutes and put the rest into a broken leather bag which was filled to the brim. “Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t skimp on their food, but it’s usually traditional food like potatoes, onions, and tomatoes. To eat bread and roast meat, you must find diamonds,” said Remonin. Besides bread and roast meat, the boy also got something that looked like paper money. “That’s money and rewards. These are food stamps that I issue, and they can exchange them for food at the camp,” explained Remonin. The lion hunter added, “As you can see, the geographical location of this place is close to Cecil, and the locals use Cecil coins or Mozambican metical, both of which are very problematic and have little inflation resistance, which makes the general’s food stamps very popular in the area.”
