57: Chapter 57 Myanmar, Here I Come

At 2:00 PM, the flight from Da Nang to Yangon took off on time.

Li Xin sat by the window; there was no one next to him.

The plane passed through the clouds, and the sunlight was blinding, so he pulled down the window shade and closed his eyes.

Two hours later, the plane landed.

Looking out through the porthole, the ground of Yangon was yellow, with sparse trees and low-rise buildings.

It was completely different from Da Nang.

Walking out of the airport, a wave of heat hit him in the face.

Myanmar was even hotter than Vietnam, and the air was dry, like stepping into an oven.

He took out his phone and dialed Old Wu's number.

"Old Wu, I've arrived."

"I'm at the entrance of the hall, in a white pickup truck."

Li Xin walked out of the hall and saw a white Toyota pickup truck parked by the roadside.

A man in his fifties was leaning against the car door, smoking. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, dark skin, and was wearing a grey short-sleeved shirt.

"Boss Li?" Old Wu looked him up and down.

"Old Wu?"

"Get in."

Li Xin pulled open the passenger door and got in.

The air conditioning was on inside the car, so it was cool.

Old Wu stepped on the gas, and the car drove out of the airport.

"I'll take you to the hotel first, and I'll treat you to dinner tonight so we can talk in detail," Old Wu said.

"Sure."

The car drove through the streets of Yangon.

This city was more dilapidated than Li Xin had imagined.

The streets were narrow, there were many cars, and motorcycles were darting everywhere.

The buildings on both sides of the road were mostly old two- or three-story structures with peeling plaster, revealing red bricks.

Occasionally, one could see a few golden pagodas shining in the sunlight.

"First time in Myanmar?" Old Wu asked.

"First time."

"Here for tourism?"

"You could say that. I like to walk around, look at things, and take photos."

Old Wu glanced at him: "Are you alone?"

"Yes. I'm used to being free; group tours aren't free enough."

"Where are you going to take photos?"

"The north. I heard the scenery there is nice, very pristine."

Old Wu was silent for a moment, then fished a pack of cigarettes out of the center console, pulled one out, lit it, and rolled down the window.

"The north, huh..." He exhaled a puff of smoke. "It's not peaceful there right now."

"I know. I've seen some news online."

"You're still going even though you know?"

"I'll go take a look. If it doesn't work out, I'll come back. I'm just one person with a backpack, and I don't have anything valuable."

Old Wu flicked the ash from his cigarette and said nothing.

The car drove for half an hour until it reached a hotel run by Chinese people.

It was a three-story building with faded red couplets pasted on the door.

The sign read "Hualian Hotel."

Old Wu helped Li Xin check in.

The room was on the third floor; it wasn't big, but it was clean.

It had air conditioning, hot water, and WiFi.

"Rest for now. I'll come pick you up at seven tonight and take you for a good meal," Old Wu said.

"Alright."

Old Wu left.

Li Xin took a shower, lay on the bed, and turned on his phone.

Luo Maifa sent a message: "When are you coming back? Yang Hong says the product needs to launch a promotion, and he's waiting for your final decision."

Yang Hong sent the product data: new users exceeded 150,000, and daily active users were at 50,000.

Qiang Zi sent photos of Tie Zhu's new shop.

The storefront renovation was finished, and the sign read "Tie Zhu Breakfast Shop."

Li Jiayi sent a message: "The investment agreement for Parody and DJI is just waiting for your signature."

Li Xin replied to them one by one.

To Luo Maifa: "Back in a week."

To Yang Hong: "You decide on the promotion."

To Qiang Zi: "I'll be there for the opening."

To Li Jiayi: "Wait for me to return to sign it."

Then he turned off his phone and closed his eyes.

At seven that evening, Old Wu came to pick him up on time.

The two went to a Yunnan restaurant in Chinatown.

The owner was a fellow townsman of Old Wu, surnamed Zhang, in his forties, chubby, with eyes that squinted into slits when he smiled.

"Old Wu, bringing a friend today?" Old Zhang greeted him with a smile.

"Yes, from back home, Xiao Li."

"Hello, Boss Li. What would you like to eat?"

"You arrange it," Old Wu said.

Old Zhang nodded and went into the kitchen.

Before long, the dishes were served.

Fish with pickled vegetables, stir-fried beef jerky, cold dressed fish mint, and a pot of bitter vegetable soup.

The taste was good, and it was satisfyingly spicy.

Old Wu poured two glasses of white liquor and pushed one to Li Xin.

"Can you drink?"

"I can drink a little."

The two clinked glasses.

The liquor was strong, and Li Xin choked slightly.

"Xiao Li, what do you actually do?"

Old Wu picked up a piece of fish. "You don't look very old, coming all this way alone."

"I just like to travel around." Li Xin smiled. "I run a small business, have a little spare cash, and want to see more while I'm young."

"See what?"

"See the mountains and water, see different places. I heard the scenery in northern Myanmar is very good, and I want to go take some photos."

Old Wu put down his chopsticks and looked at Li Xin.

"Just to take photos?"

"That's right. I don't have many hobbies; I just love photography. I've been to Tibet, Xinjiang, and Yunnan back home, and this time I wanted to try somewhere else."

Old Wu lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair.

"Kachin State does have nice scenery. High mountains, clear water, and the people are simple and honest."

"Have you been there?"

"I've been there many times. I know the roads and the people there well."

"That's great. Old Wu, can you take me in? I'll pay you a guide fee."

Old Wu took a drag of his cigarette and said nothing.

"I won't go to dangerous places; I'll just look around the outside and take pictures. I heard the river valleys there are beautiful, and I want to walk around."

Old Wu flicked the ash from his cigarette: "There is indeed a river valley there, and the scenery is nice. But there are checkpoints on the road—Government Army, local armed groups—you have to deal with them all."

"Can we get through?"

"Yes. But it will cost money."

"Money is not an issue."

Old Wu stared at him for a few seconds and then stubbed out his cigarette.

"Are you really just going to take photos?"

"I really am just going to take photos." Li Xin pulled up a few photos on his phone and handed it over. "Look, these are all photos I've taken before. Snow-capped mountains in Tibet, terraced fields in Yunnan, jungles in Laos."

Old Wu looked at the photos and nodded.

"Alright. I'll ask around for you. I'll give you an answer within a week."

"Thank you, Old Wu."

The two clinked glasses.

After dinner, Old Wu drove Li Xin back to the hotel.

When getting out of the car, Old Wu said something.

"Xiao Li, the roads in Kachin State are not easy to travel."

"I know. I've traveled the mountain roads in Yunnan."

"Alright then. See you in a week."

"See you in a week."

Old Wu drove off.

Li Xin stood at the hotel entrance, watching the taillights disappear around the street corner.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Chen Hu: "I need to wait a week here in Myanmar."

Chen Hu replied instantly: "Understood."

Li Xin put his phone in his pocket and went upstairs to his room.

Lying on the bed, he opened the map and zoomed in on the Kachin State area.

It was a mountainous area, close to the Chinese border.

River valleys, old riverbeds, upstream tributaries—these were the places most likely to have placer gold.

He turned off the light and closed his eyes.

One week. Wait.