Li Du had known that many Africans loved to express their emotions through song and
dance. They would spontaneously start dancing and singing around a bonfire.
Now, he learned that they also expressed their sorrow and mournfulness using song
and dance. Once the party started, the Golden Gra.s.s tribe played the drums and some
sort of string instrument as they danced around the bonfire.
Initially, they sang in somber tones to praise the deceased as a gesture of mourning.
However, as they continued to sing, their voices became more spirited and their
dance moves merrier, losing the earlier melancholy. Li Du found them to be strangely
happy.
At first, almost everybody partic.i.p.ated in the dancing and singing. As time pa.s.sed,
however, people began to drop off for a hearty drink.
The alcohol lifted their spirits and the men became even more joyous. The drumming
became louder, and while some of the men blew the buffalo"s horn, the women danced,
the bells on their ankles tinkling. It was a scene of jubilance as everyone sang and
danced.
As Li Du sipped on the fruit wine that was a specialty of the Golden Gra.s.s tribe, he
remarked, "Back in my country, if someone dared to do this after a burial, he would be
scolded for a long time."
G.o.dzilla chimed in, chewing on a piece of grilled chicken, "In my hometown, we actually
have a similar custom. After the burial, we also sing and dance."
Brother Wolf said, "I feel that when a soldier pa.s.ses on, gunshots should replace the
drumming. That would reenact the scene of a battlefield, which is a soldier"s home!"
The tribespeople gave free rein to their love of singing, dancing, and drinking. The party
dragged past midnight, and other than the soldiers on duty, every other officer and
soldier was there to sing and dance with the tribe.
As the burial procession ended, Li Du was determined to bid farewell to Remonin and to
return to South Africa.
Remonin held onto Li Du"s hand, saying, "I hate to part with you so soon, Li. We are not
only business partners, but also close allies that had fought together. Are you sure you
don"t want to stay for a while?"
Li Du said, "I have other matters to attend to, General. I have overstayed my time here."
Remonin wanted to keep him and nurture their relations.h.i.+p further. However, he knew
he had no choice but to resign himself to say goodbye.
Li Du was happy to work with him. As he left, he would take with him the unrefined raw
diamonds that Remonin had harvested.
Since Remonin"s diamonds were considered blood diamonds, though there had been
no bloodshed at the mining site, they had not received international credentials. Those
diamonds would not be easy to work with.
Li Du"s offer was very low. Remonin had at least five thousand carats of diamonds,
some of which were high-quality, but there were also many bits and pieces of melee
diamonds.
"The melee diamonds are not valuable. In the international market, one carat of
diamond can fetch a few hundred US dollars. I would mainly profit from high-quality
diamonds. Regardless, I will give you five million US dollars, how about that?" Li Du
asked.
Remonin"s diamond mine was relatively new. Lion-Hunter was the only connection he
had in the diamond industry, and Remonin turned to him for advice.
Lion-Hunter nodded, "The price is reasonable, General. Even if they undergo Kimberlite
processing and have the Rough Diamonds International Certificate, the price can only
fetch up to ten million US dollars."
His words were only partially true. If the diamonds were all melee diamonds, five
thousand carats of them would not be worth more. However, the larger diamonds were
the size of green beans and some were even the size of peas. Such diamonds were
valuable.
Li Du estimated that if sales were good, those diamonds could fetch up to 50 million US
dollars.
Lion-Hunter looked at him and said, "50 million US dollars is too low, Li. I know who you
work with. In other places, these diamonds might only be worth ten million. But at Harry
Winston, even if they are just melee diamonds, the price can be a few times higher!"
Li Du said patiently, "That"s right, but General, there are other considerations as well.
Harry Winston specializes in luxury goods. The market for melee diamonds is very
small. If we bring in a lot of melee jewelry, our clients would look down on us and that
would cause the value of our merchandise to fall."
Nodding his head, Lion-Hunter said, "Harry Winston typically procures high-quality
diamonds."
Remonin showed his displeasure, saying, "My brother, you seem to be siding with my
opponent."
Looking aggrieved, Lion-Hunter said, "How can that be? I"m telling the truth with
absolute fairness and objectivity. Besides, how is Li your opponent? We are all friends,
planning to get rich together!"
Li Du nodded, "Yes, we will all get rich. But if I can"t make a profit, why would I do
business with you?"
Lion-Hunter was biased in favor of Li Du. He hardly had any choice. He was the cause
of the hards.h.i.+ps Li Du had suffered thus far, and so he had to fight for Li Du"s
understanding and friends.h.i.+p.
Hence, he sacrificed Remonin"s benefits for his own interests.
Five million US dollars was still a huge amount of money. A tribal leader like Remonin
had never seen cash amounting to that sum in his entire life.
He began to hesitate. Then Li Du patted the table and said, "Okay, I will add another
million. However, it is not for the diamonds, it is a donation to your army. I hope that
your troops can develop and improve further."
The gift of another million cheered Remonin up. "Oh? Just like that?"
Li Du nodded, "Yes. Good made me realize the terror of evil warlords. I hope that you
make use of your strength to protect and help more people."
Remonin patted his chest and said, "Rest a.s.sured, Li, I am the chief of Golden Gra.s.s
Tribe. I am not a crazy killer like Good. Besides, I am keen to become a top-ranked
official in the country. I will treat people in my territory well!"
"Don"t eat the pygmies" tintin anymore," Li Du said mockingly.
Remonin laughed, "I was never going to.. I wanted to let you eat it. That thing has a foul
taste, and no one in their right mind would enjoy it."
Hearing that, Li Du felt his back begin to break out in cold sweat. This guy must have
eaten it before, otherwise, he would not have known that.
However, he could not judge the locals with his own standards. Remonin did not kill
innocents for no reason or torture people mercilessly. He was already considered an
outstanding tribal leader.
He gave Sophie a call and after a short while, the funds were transferred successfully.
Remonin checked his international bank account on his computer. There were six
million US dollars added.
Li Du managed to sneak a look at the screen, and saw that the first digit was still 6. It
meant that the funds in Remonin"s bank account still amounted to less than seven
million US dollars.
That made him sympathize with Remonin. What kind of warlord was he? It was too
embarra.s.sing. To know that he just gave Remonin six million US dollars and his
account still had less than seven million!
This meant that before Li Du made the payment, Remonin himself did not even have a
million. It was no wonder that when someone cheated him of that small amount, he got
so mad.
Happy to have received the funds, Remonin smoothly struck up a business
arrangement with Li Du. Remonin would continue to mine for diamonds and Li Du would
come to collect them once a season.
After that, Li Du gave him another million as a deposit for the next batch of diamonds.