Because Liang En gave a gift, Mr. Verma quickly prepared a return gift for Liang En and Jeanne d'Arc—a ruby-encrusted tie clip and a ruby brooch.
Although Mr. Verma currently focuses on diamond processing, as an Indian, he actually prefers colored gemstones over transparent diamonds.
If you observe carefully in Indian museums or the homes of the wealthy, you will find that those diamond jewelry pieces are basically brought by outsiders or manufactured after the 19th century.
This is actually a reflection of global fashion changes. At least from the time diamonds were discovered until the 19th century, these transparent gemstones were only considered ordinary gems, without the prestige they hold today.
If you look at ancient artifacts and jewelry, you'll find that those ancient pieces are mostly inlaid with colored gemstones, and diamonds are only occasionally used as simple color complements.
The current high value of diamonds is purely because the diamond company De Beers spent over a hundred years reversing the public's opinion of diamonds through marketing and other means.
Based on Liang En's experience in the high-end jewelry industry, the trend in high-end jewelry has not changed much. Classic colored gemstones, such as emeralds, rubies, and sapphires, remain the main focus.
People are accustomed to using colored gemstones like rubies, sapphires, or emeralds as the main stone of jewelry, with a circle of diamonds around it for embellishment.
However, this method is now often considered old-fashioned. Although it is stable, the uniform style is hard to attract attention.
This is why Liang En quickly gained appreciation in jewelry design because he inherited Mucha's approach of making the design the core of the jewelry, serving the core without pursuing the preciousness of raw materials, which aligns with current trends.
Although trends change, and a company cannot rely entirely on trends, Liang En's master-level designs are widely welcomed regardless of the trend.
This is also why his status in the jewelry company is rising, as stability is more important than short-term profits for such an old company.
Due to this importance, he could represent the company in India to handle cooperation matters. His status as Mr. Verma's distinguished guest is also significantly related to his design skills.
Especially the ring he designed earlier, which perfectly met Mr. Verma's requirements, making Mr. Verma very happy.
After exchanging small gifts, Mr. Verma mentioned the upcoming hunting event, a common activity for Indian tycoons when hosting guests.
For example, the batch of hunting rifles Liang En found in Bath earlier was specifically for this purpose. During the colonial era, British colonizers would hunt tigers or leopards while riding elephants.
However, Liang En's hunting target this time was not such fierce animals. Although there are indeed ferocious tigers and leopards in the area, those animals actually roam in nearby wildlife reserves, not on Mr. Verma's land.
"Our target is some pesky wild boars," Mr. Verma said with a helpless look. "You know, my territory is not all plains, but includes over a thousand square kilometers of mountainous areas."
"These mountains are planted with economic crops such as pepper, cinnamon, and cloves, which bring me significant income each year."
"However, due to these wild boars, every harvest season we face certain injuries and deaths. For example, last year one person was killed by a wild boar attack, one was disabled, and three were severely injured and hospitalized for months. The wild boars also attack farmers and damage crops."
"So, I organize several large-scale hunts each year to kill these wild boars. After all, they destroy a lot of crops annually, and as the owner of this land, it's my duty to protect the people on it—"
Mr. Verma explained the reason for the hunt, and Jeanne d'Arc nodded in agreement. As someone from that era, she accepted Mr. Verma's seemingly outdated idea.
The hunting vehicle was still an elephant. Even though the mountainous area was actually just some hills, cars couldn't get in; only elephants could traverse such terrain.
Walking into the mountains was definitely not an option for Mr. Verma. Not to mention how dangerous it would be to encounter wild boars on flat ground, Indian traditions don't allow such actions.
In Indian tradition, exhausting oneself to the point of sweating is considered something for the lower castes. Even their Prime Minister sweeping the streets to promote cleanliness is criticized from this perspective.
So even while hunting, the overall experience remains elegant and leisurely, contrary to the strenuous image many might imagine of people carrying guns through the jungle.
Due to the wild boar targets, everyone prepared powerful rifles. Liang En used a brand new Capri rifle chambered for the popular .375 H&H Magnum cartridge.
This is a break-action double-barreled hunting rifle. Although it holds few rounds, its powerful impact is enough to take down large game with one shot.
As for Jeanne d'Arc and Fan Meng, they both chose semi-automatic M14 rifles. If their marksmanship is good, this weapon is sufficient for hunting wild boars.
Besides firearms, Liang En and Jeanne d'Arc also borrowed a set of cold weapons from the large house. Given their physical enhancements and proficiency with cold weapons, if a wild boar charged at them, cold weapons might be more useful than firearms.
At least with Jeanne d'Arc's specialized hunting spear, she could stand on the ground alone and fight off several wild boars, even killing them one by one.
In addition to hunting, Mr. Verma hoped Liang En could inspect an ancient ruin in the mountains, which was exposed a few weeks ago after a landslide caused by heavy rain.
Mr. Verma had been reporting to the local archaeological department, but they couldn't spare the manpower for excavation.
So he always hoped to find someone to look at the ruins, and now Liang En's arrival was perfect for this.
"I didn't dare touch the ruins before because I couldn't figure out what they were," Mr. Verma said with a troubled expression.
"You know, our archaeological department here is quite unsatisfactory. To protect the ruins on my land, it's better to handle it myself to avoid any damage to the artifacts and the responsibility falling on me."
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