Chapter 1175: The Ford Brothers
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Seeing that Li Du was enjoying the krill, Steve reminded him, “Just eat a few, not too
much. They have a high amount of carbon in their body and need to be processed.
They are not suitable to be eaten directly.”
The krill had only one vessel for digestion and did not have a well-developed digestive
system. Hence, their digestive functions were poor and as a reason, there was a high
amount of carbon in their feces.
Of course, ‘high amount’ was a relative term. Other seafood also contained a lot of
biochar. Metabolizing the biochar in a human body might be more taxing, but it would
not be a problem.
Steve’s diet was restricted by nutritionists and he had to be careful about what he
consumed, unlike Li Du and other people.
The ice s.h.i.+p was not easy to drive. When the wind was blowing in the wrong direction,
they had to keep the sails down and rely on their paddles.
Li Du and Brother Wolf worked hard paddling together, but the s.h.i.+p continued to float
further and further away from where they had started.
As they became anxious, they could only put in more effort in paddling against the wind.
After floating around the ocean for a long time, they finally saw the sh.o.r.eline ahead of
them.
While he was paddling, Li Du noticed the richness of life in the Antarctic Sea. They had
encountered several groups of shrimps behind them. It was as though there was a
whistle that had summoned them to gather, as the amount of shrimps was almost
boundless.
Such an environment was a major habitat of the krill. The South Indian Ocean had a
cold current that flowed along the Antarctic continent. It sank when it flowed northward.
When the warm currents from the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian
Ocean descended south, they encountered this sinking cold current and formed an
upwelling.
The upwelling was rich in nutrients and the water was comparatively warm. That
encouraged the microorganisms to grow rapidly, creating an ideal ecosystem for the krill
to rest and feed in.
After the ice s.h.i.+p neared the sh.o.r.e, Brother Wolf anch.o.r.ed it using the rope and Li Du
pulled the krill off the s.h.i.+p. Ah Meow and Ah Meng followed behind and clawed at the
krill to consume it as they walked.
Once they got on the snowmobile, they started their journey back to where they had
come from.
Li Du and Brother Wolf had repaired the small snowmobile so that the brake could be
used.
In the end, they did not need the brake. Ah Ow remembered what had happened before
and when Sophie shouted to stop, it slowed down and gradually brought the
snowmobile to a halt. It was a very soft stop.
When the snowmobile stopped, Ah Ow turned to look at Sophie, its tail wagging. Ah Ow
wore an expression suggesting that she wanted to be petted and praised.
Sophie had no choice but to hold her head and kiss both sides of it. After all, Ah Ow had
indeed improved.
Elson got some people to bring the krill into the kitchen. He was an outstanding chef
and had always been in charge of Steve’s diet.
Paddling on the ocean had tired Li Du out as he had expended a huge amount of
strength. He was perspiring throughout.
When he walked out of the shower, he noticed that there were two more guests in the
living room. The two people looked alike, both of them fair-haired and blue-eyed. They
seemed to be discussing something with Steve.
The rock Ah Meng had found was placed on the coffee table in front of the three people.
Seeing Li Du, the three of them stood up and Steve waved at him saying, “Hi, Li, let me
introduce two new friends to you. This is Myron Ford, and this is Newman Ford.”
Li Du shook hands with both of them. From their appearance and last name, he
deduced the duo were siblings.
Elson handed Li Du a cup of warm coffee and Steve broached a new topic. He asked,
“Li, what’s your opinion of Ford cars? Do you like Ford?”
Li Du had no idea why Steve would ask that question. However, very quickly, it dawned
on him when he recalled the last name of the two new guys.
Li Du replied, “Of course, I love Ford cars. Ford is always the benchmark and leader in
the worldwide automotive industry. The first car I bought was a Ford Raptor pickup, and
it was awesome.”
These two brothers are from the Ford family!
Indeed, hearing Li Du’s opinion, the two brothers revealed reserved smiles. Steve
narrowed his eyes at Li Du and smiled, saying, “If you can make these Ford brothers
here happy today, perhaps they can give you a customized car.”
The younger brother, Newman Ford, was around thirty-four or thirty-five years old.
Compared to his brother, he was livelier. He smiled and said, “If Mr. Li is interested, it
would be our honor. We would be happy to provide a vehicle for the person who found
this piece of meteorite.”
Li Du put down his coffee mug and started on the niceties. That was the foundation of
socializing, everyone would have to exchange a few compliments.
Both the Ford family and Steve’s Vanderbilt relatives came from famous huge clans in
America. One was the master of land while the other was the king of s.h.i.+pping.
In terms of fame, the Fords were more famous. At least half of the entire world
population have heard of that family, and even those who didn’t would know of Ford
cars.
However, according to Li Du’s knowledge, the situation of the Ford family was not better
than that of the Vanderbilts. In terms of wealth, perhaps the Fords were richer, but in
development, the Fords were on a downward spiral.
Just as he said, the Fords were the pioneers of the car industry. However, that was
many years ago. Since 2005, Ford cars entered a decline that had continued for many
years.
Furthermore, the leaders of the Ford family had handed over the position of the
managing director in Ford. Now, a representative of the family was only the CEO of the
company.
Of course, Li Du would not voice out his thoughts. He had no wish to annoy these two
representatives of the powerful Ford clan. Their connections and wealth were far
beyond what Li Du could imagine. He was not on the same level as the Fords.
As they started to chitchat, Steve explained to Li Du that the Fords also had a living
area in Wilkes. Their area was much larger than Steve’s and there were more than thirty
people staying there.
Like Steve, they were also hunting for meteorites. The two of them had been searching
every day.
“However, in two years, the only piece we found was not even half the size of the one
you have here,” Newman gestured towards the rock and said to Li Du, “I really envy
your good luck, buddy.”
Li Du said, “This rock does not belong to me anymore. I’ve given it to Steve.”
Hearing that, Myron, who had looked very phlegmatic, was shocked. He asked, “Has
Steve explained the value of this rock? You know how much it’s worth?”
“It’s not just about the market value, buddy. It’s extremely hard to find. If someone is
selling a piece of the Wilkes meteorite, he can quote me any price, and I would buy it,”
Newman added.
Steve smiled and said, “Are you guys jealous of this rock that I’ve got? Don’t forget
about our agreement. What I have is also what you guys have, so you guys have the
same rights to it.”
Newman said, “We must get it through legal means, however. We were afraid that you
coerced Mr. Li.”
Steve said, “Then you guys have overestimated me. I don’t have such abilities. Besides,
Li does not care about the kind of money he can get from selling this rock. He has
enough cash. He spent 170 million to buy an island in Tasmania.”
The Ford brothers were further shocked. The two of them started to look at Li Du more
respectfully. When they continued to chat, it was clear they now placed Li Du on the
same level as them and paid special attention to him.
Steve did not stop praising Li Du throughout the visit. It was as though he was doing his
best to promote Li Du. Hence, the Ford brothers also paid increasing attention to him.
Li Du understood what Steve was doing. His friend was helping him to develop his
connections.