Li Du wanted to apologize again. The lion hunter waved generously and said, "Maybe we shouldn"t blame your pet. It may have found this out."
As he spoke, he pulled up his clothes and revealed a bag the size of a child"s fist on his waist. The bag was yellowish white, seamless and looked like leather at first sight.
After he took out the bag, Ali became even more agitated, struggling madly and kicking forward as if it saw the enemy that killed its father.
"What is this?" asked Li Du.
The lion hunter said, "Samos, which was a gift from my business partner from Australia. It"s a coin purse, but I use it as a gemstone purse because it is made up of one piece of leather and I don"t have to worry about wearing out the jewelry."
"Why is my little kangaroo mad with your purse?" Li Du wondered.
The lion hunter smiled maliciously and said, "Because the bag is made of a kangaroo"s t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e or, strictly speaking, from the male kangaroo"s s.c.r.o.t.u.m."
Sophie frowned when she heard this and said, "It is worse than making it out of fur."
The lion hunter spread out his hands and said innocently, "This is not my invention. The prototype of Samos comes from an old Australian legend. In the past, Australian adults would wear a lucky bag to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune. The highest range of those bags is Samos."
Ali continued to struggle, squeaking and looking furious.
The lion hunter handed the bag to the bodyguard and waved, "Come, distinguished guests, allow me to take you to rest. You all must be tired after coming all the way here."
As he walked away from the bag, Ali quieted down, but its eyes were still glued furiously to the lion hunter, and it seemed ready to pounce on him at the first chance.
Thus, Sophie had to watch it all the time.
Ali was growing up. It was now as tall as Sophie"s knee, with dense bones and thick muscle fibers. Sophie could not hold it for long anymore.
At the edge of the hill area near the villa, there was a lawn planted with some unknown trees, which created a lush canopy area. Because of the season, there were not many leaves, and the sun could s.h.i.+ne freely down.
Under the canopy, there were log tables and chairs. The lion hunters invited them to sit down. A maid served them hot tea.
The lion hunter said with a warm smile, "Please taste it. Once I knew that my guest is Chinese, I specially asked my friends in China to find these teas. It is said that they are called Jin Jun Mei, which is most suitable for winter tea-drinking."
Li Du thanked him. Jin Jun Mei was really a top cla.s.s black tea, but he did not think that the lion hunter could get the real product of Jin Jun Mei. It was seldom brought into the market and could not be readily bought even with a lot of money.
However, in this beautiful environment, even drinking plain water would be enjoyable. It didn"t matter what type of tea they drank.
Sitting on the edge of the hill, he looked up at the clear blue African sky and the spotless white clouds. Then he turned around and looked at the fine sand dunes stretching for hundreds of miles.
The winter in South Africa was not cold. Some people still surfed in the sea and basked in the sun by the seaside at noon. Li Du had good eyesight and noticed that some of the girls on the beach were topless. The waves were rolling and gently lapping the beach. The sound of the waves was crisp and the tea smelled fresh. Living in such a place was surely enjoyable.
Behind, some children were running on the beach, with a few large and small pet dogs chasing after them. The children"s laughter and the bark of the dogs added some vitality to the beach.
Over tea, the lion hunter broached the subject and asked, "President Winston said you are here to investigate our diamond market in South Africa."
Li Du nodded. "Yes, sir, the condition of the luxury market is very serious now. We want to see if we can cooperate with you to find new diamond mines and provide more affordable diamonds."
The lion hunter laughed, showing his white teeth. "Diamonds are a non-renewable resource. Your suggestion does not seem likely. I mean, if a carat is dug out, there is one carat less to be mined. You want more affordable diamonds? Impossible."
Li Du frowned and said, "We have no choice. Just as I said, the market condition is too bad. We have to find a way to reduce the cost, or the profit will be too low. The group will not be able to operate well."
The lion hunter said, "I know. I believe you. I know that Winston Group almost faced bankruptcy. If I could, I would supply you with a quant.i.ty of cheap diamonds, but that is impossible."
Li Du wanted to negotiate more. The lion hunter laughed and said, "Well, you can have a rest for two days. Then I will show you around my mine, and you will know why diamonds are expensive."
As they had seen before, the lion hunter"s villa was large, almost like a little castle. It had forty or fifty rooms. It would not be a problem for them all to fit in.
The villa was large and luxurious, with a thick hand-woven carpet covering the floor. There were expensive well-known paintings on the walls, rare animal specimens, and ornaments made of precious metals.
On the wall of the hall hung the heads of two white rhinoceros, a nearly extinct animal that was illegal to hunt or display.
Lion hunter clearly intended to show off his wealth and power with such ostentatious displays.
Li Du and Sophie were led to a room covering hundreds of square meters. In the middle of the room, there was a stuffed lion specimen. The lion"s front paws stepped on a stone, showing the animal"s power.
The lion hunter said proudly, "This is the animal our family kills. Every year we kill at least a hundred male lions!"
What could Li Du say?
He noticed that there were many servants in the castle, but they were all white. He was a little confused to see that the only black man in the villa was the lion hunter.
The lion hunter had something unique about him that made him a millionaire. He was very accurate in observing people"s emotions. He noticed Li Du"s doubt and said, "You must be curious as to why all the people here are whites."
Li Du smiled and said, "I do wonder."
"It"s simply because white people are smarter, more knowledgeable, more capable, and more reliable than black people."
Li Du didn"t know how to answer this. The lion hunter was, after all, black himself.
The lion hunter, evidently unperturbed, said, "I know what you are thinking. Yes, I am black. Most blacks are lazy, stupid, and violent, and you must whip them to make them work."
"Are you a supporter of white people controlling the government?" asked Li Du without thinking.
There were two opinions among South African aborigines. One was that black people should govern South Africa, and the other was that white people must lead black people in order for the latter to survive. The att.i.tude of the lion hunters towards black people presumably supported the second option.
The lion hunter laughed. "No, South Africa can"t have white people in power, although white people can lead the country to better development. Do you wonder why my att.i.tude is so contradictory?"
Without waiting for Li Du to answer his question, he went on, "Quite simply, I know that it would be the right choice for the country and the nation if white people were to lead the government. But then I could not get enough benefits. I would not be able to control them. I can, however, control some stupid, greedy, short-sighted black people. Haha."