Chapter 90: Persevered Through
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
April, in other places, was probably just a beautiful springtime.
In Phoenix, however, this period was sweltering hot.
Americans loved to give nicknames to their cities. New York was well-liked, so they called it "The Big Apple." In California, they discovered gold, so it was called "The Golden State." Phoenix was called "The Sunshine State," and one could feel the heat just from the name.
At 9 am, they rushed to the storage auction, and the two had managed to arrive in a rush. The pickup truck was in such a terrible state that the repair shop had been unwilling to fix it until this morning; Hans had raged at the mechanic until they fixed it.
Memorial Storage Co. was large, so the number of treasure hunters that were attracted to the event was also large. Li Du saw at least 80 people in the crowd after he got out of the truck. "Sh*t, looks like lots of sweating today."
The weather was already hot, and with such a large crowd, the heat would feel worse.
The two left their car, and there was a brief commotion from the crowd. Someone then came over and greeted them.
"Hi, Big Fox. Hi, Li. I saw the two of you two days ago. Pretty cool."
"I heard that a few days ago, you guys created a massacre in Flagstaff?"
"Reginald and Lambis; those guys decided not to do storage auctions anymore. What’s going on?"
"Who said that I’m not going to do storage auctions?" Lambis came walking over after hearing the conversation. "Stop spreading rumors, d*mn it. I will definitely enter the Hundred Thousand Club!"
Following behind him was a middle-aged man with a small beard wearing a cowboy hat.
Seeing the two, the bearded, middle-aged man curled his lips in a scheming smile.
Hans said, "Yeah, don’t spread rumours. How could Lambis pass on a charity auction? Such wonderful work that best shows his kind heart. Great job, buddy. Donate more—the folks of America need someone like you."
"F*ck you!" Lambis pointed his middle finger to Hans in anger.
The bearded middle-aged man slowly said, "Big Fox, when did your tongue become so fluent? Looks like you’ve been licking quite a few ladies."
Hans wasn’t afraid of anyone in a verbal fight. He pulled up his sleeves to begin his attack.
Li Du held him back as he shook his head. "I feel like something’s off with this guy—ignore him. First, focus on making money," Li Du said quietly.
But the middle-age man did not want to let them go. "Making money? You guys still want to continue making money in Phoenix? Don’t be naïve, kiddos. I know what you’re here for, but I bet that you won’t get what you want."
If Hans could find out that the storage units here had Ferrari parts, then, naturally, there would be some people who could obtain the same info. The bearded middle-aged man was one of those people.
Li Du said, "You want to make a bet? You like bets, huh? Nice. I’m a gambler myself too. How about this: let’s have a go?"
Beardy spit at him in disdain. "I like to bet, but why would I bet with you? What right do you have to bet against me? Find me when you’ve made over 100,000 dollars in profit."
Lambis added, "Yeah, dumb*ss. What right do you have to make a bet with my brother-in-law? He is a pending member of the Hundred Thousand Club, and the next time we meet, he’ll be in it. What about you guys? You’ve just picked up a few crap units and you think you’re the Treasure Hunt Tycoon?"
Li Du couldn’t be bothered with him. He snickered, "There’s such thing as a ‘pending’ Hundred Thousand Club member? Sh*t—that refers to all kinds of people in all types of places."
The auction began, and the auctioneer waved and said, "The viewing will begin, so those who want to fight get out and fight, stop wasting my time…"
Li Du knew that the first two units had no value, but he still had to go and act accordingly.
Hans spoke as he shone his torchlight, "These are rolls of cables? A pity we can’t see the quality through these plastic wrappings. I’m guessing they are copper wires…
"There is a briefcase over there that’s well preserved. Do you think the owner would leave something valuable inside? Maybe we can give a try?
"Too much trash, d*mn it. Our truck doesn’t have that much space. Is this the unit with the Ferrari parts?"
Li Du shook his head and said, "I don’t think so. This is an ordinary household storage unit. If you want to take it, I think 1,000 dollars is reasonable. Any higher and it’s not worth it."
Hans said, "No, anywhere within 2,000 is reasonable. These wires could be copper wires, and a meter can sell for a dollar. There are a lot of cables here—it could be worth about 2,000 dollars."
At the end of the viewing, the auctioneer raised his hand and started the bid. "Alright ,now we will begin the bid—the starting price is 200, 200…"
"Me!" Hans nodded.
"Alright 200 dollars has been taken! How about 300, 300, 300…"
"One thousand," Beardy said coldly as he crossed his arms.
The auctioneer pointed to him and said, "Alright, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000…"
"Two thousand!" Hans cut him off with his loud voice, staring at Beardy with daggers for eyes.
The others stopped talking and watched the commotion gleefully.
Beardy mimed the action of cutting his throat. "Fool, take this junk then. Two thousand? Seems like you’re planning to do some charity work too."
The auctioneer looked at the crowd. "Alright—2,000, 2,000, 2,000, any higher? Then 2,100, 2,100, anyone, anyone, anyone?"
The crowd shook their heads. Apparently, this unit was not worth much in their eyes.
Sold at 2,000, Hans shrugged and said to Li Du, "That guy’s much better than Lambis. He’s not as brainless as him."
"Then we’ll have to be careful when dealing with him," Li Du smiled.
Someone standing at the side said, "Can the things in this unit be sold for 4,000? I don’t think so. Why are you two still so happy then?"
Li Du was happy of course. From the way things went, the treasure hunters had stopped bidding against them blindly. They had finally persevered through that troublesome phase of their careers.
Of course, it was probably because they were afraid of them after what he had done in Flagstaff.
The second storage unit was not much different from the first. The starting bid was again 200.
Hans called for 300, and Beardy immediately shouted, "One thousand!"
Hans waved his hand. "It’s yours."
Lambis said arrogantly, "Don’t you even dream about taking anything from here!"
Li Du was speechless. "Are you a monkey that’s called over for making noise?!"
The third storage unit was opened. The treasure hunters started showing interest. There was a considerable number of people who knew about the Ferrari parts in this unit. This made the atmosphere even hotter when the third storage unit was opened.
Li Du looked in and then raised an eyebrow at Hans. The latter whispered, "Is it there?"
"Either way, the unit has a lot of value."
The auctioneer noticed the change in the mood. "The value of this unit— well, I think everyone has seen something, so those who want to take it come forward now. The starting bid is 2,000, 2,000, 2,000…"
"F*ck, the starting bid is that high?" someone voiced their discontent.
But there were many willing treasure hunters who took part in the bid.
"Two thousand! Here!"
"Two thousand five hundred, here!"
"Three thousand from me!"
Li Du watched in silence.
"Ten thousand!" Hans stepped in too.