Don.Filephoto马诺。资料图

What’sitliketohaveyourowngemstonemine?ThisjokeisallovertheChineseinternet,butforDonit’sarealitybecausehisfamilyreallydoeshaveagemstonemine!

家里有矿是一种怎样的体验？这一句经常在网上看到的调侃，马诺却可以做一个认真的回答，因为他家里真的有矿！

Don,aSriLankaninternationalstudent,cametostudyinYunnanMinzuUniversityin.Priortothat,Kunmingwasjustthenameofadistantplaceforhim,andheonlycaredaboutthebeautifulsightsandgemstonesofhishometown.SriLankaaboundsingemstones,whichintheSriLankancustomalsohavespecialsymbolicmeanings.Duringhischildhood,hewasfascinatedbythesegemstones.“Thesapphirestandsforgoodluck.Therubystandsforpeace,andpeopleusuallyweardiamondringswhentheygetmarried.”

马诺是一名来自斯里兰卡的留学生，年来到云南民族大学求学。在此之前，昆明对他来说只是一个遥远的地名，他的世界里都是家乡的美景和宝石。斯里兰卡盛产宝石，宝石在斯里兰卡的风俗里也有着特别的寓意，马诺从小就对宝石感兴趣。“蓝宝石代表幸运，红宝石代表平安，一般人们结婚的时候都要佩戴宝石戒指。”

DondisplaysdiamondsfromSriLanka.Filephoto

马诺展示斯里兰卡宝石。资料图

Don’srelativeshaveafewgemstonemines,andgenerallytheyselltheirrawgemstonesaftermining.Ataveryyoungage,Donwouldoftengointogemstonemines,lookatthebeautifulgemstonesthathadbeenextracted,andthenenvisionhimselflaunchinghisowngemstonesbusinessoneday.

马诺的亲戚家就有几个宝石矿，一般都是采矿后未加工就直接销售。年幼的马诺常常待在宝石矿里，看着开采出来的各种漂亮的宝石，他憧憬着以后也能有自己的宝石生意。

Donmadehisfirstpotofgoldattheageof18.WhenhevisitedscenicspotsinSriLanka,hefoundthatmanytouristswouldaskwheretobuygoodgemstones.Thus,hedecidedtocooperatewithtourguidestosellbothsimplyprocessedandcustomizedgemstonesminedfromhisfamilyminestotourists.Afterthat,Donfeltthathecouldnotsimplyconducttheretailsaleofthesegemstonesbutshouldinsteadbringthemoutofhishometown,thuslettingmorepeopleknowaboutthem.

马诺的第一桶金是在18岁时赚到的。他在斯里兰卡景点游玩时，发现很多游客都在询问哪里有好的宝石可以购买。于是，他就跟导游合作，将家里宝石矿的宝石经过简单加工后卖给游客，也会根据游客的要求进行设计。尝到第一桶金带来的实惠，马诺觉得不能简单地只做零售，应该把家乡的宝石带出去，让更多人知道。

Dongoingabouthislife.Filephoto

生活中的马诺。资料图

AfterarrivinginKunming,Donwasdeeplyattracted.“Kunminghasagoodclimateandabeautifulenvironment.Ithascountlessdelicacies,suchasYunnan’scrossing-the-bridgericenoodlesandroseflowercakes.”HebelievesthatKunming’sbiggestadvantageisinfacingSouthandSoutheastAsia,andinrecentyearsthecity’srapiddevelopmenthasmadeKunmingclosertobe