Chapter 1187: Close Down
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du knew how to deal with this kind of people. He took out his phone as well and made a call. He called the prince, Cao Fan.
He did not have much contact with Cao Fan, but he saw that Cao Fan had an unusual att.i.tude towards Tang Chaoyang. Now he and Tang Chaoyang were becoming very close, although they were only business partners.
Therefore, he believed that with the power of Cao Fan, he would surely understand the situation between him and Tang Chaoyang. If he asked for help, Cao Fan would be willing to a.s.sist him.
Sure enough, after he answered the call, Cao Fan asked warmly, “Brother Li? Ha, how come a busy person like you has the time to call me? I guess you ran into some trouble and want me to help you, right?”
Li Du smiled and said, “Brother Cao, you really are a mastermind. Normally, I would not dare to trouble you. However, this time there is a small issue that I might not be able to settle, and I would like to ask for your help.”
Then he told Cao Fan what had happened that day.
Cao Fan flew into a rage when he heard the tale. “d.a.m.n, these gangsters are just bullying us. Do they think we are poor Chinese laborers from a century ago? Do they take us for easy prey? You can do whatever you want in Phoenix, and I guarantee the local gang will stay out of it!”
Not long after he hung up, the motel owner’s phone rang again.
He answered the call, and then his expression changed again and again until finally, he hung up the phone with a sad face.
He stared at Li Du, who sat in the doorway with his legs crossed, idly playing with his cell phone.
The landlord walked slowly up to him and said in a low voice, “I, um, I’m sorry, sir, I’m sorry I offended you. I was wrong about this. I’m sorry.”
Li Du said, “Wasn’t I supposed to get in a lot of trouble? Where is the trouble?”
The motel owner smiled obsequiously and said, “I was talking nonsense just now. I’m so sorry, sir. Please forgive me. Don’t take anything I said seriously.”
Apparently, a local gang member who called him just now said something that scared him.
Li Du said, “I can let you go, but you bullied us in the afternoon, and blackmailed us, so what should we do about this?”
“I’ll pay you back, twice as much as I asked you to!” said the motel owner, gritting his teeth.
Li Du shook his head and said, “I don’t need you to pay me back twice.”
The boss looked pleased and said, “So…”
Without giving him a chance to go on, Li Du continued, “See those people in the restaurant? Those are my boys. You give them the money, five hundred bucks each.”
There were now at least a hundred treasure hunters in the restaurant, so five hundred dollars per head would amount to fifty thousand. Even the owner’s motel wasn’t worth this much.
After hearing his words, the owner was stunned and said, “Sir, I don’t have that much money…”
“Well, I understand. Starting tomorrow, you’ll have people coming to your restaurant for three meals a day. But you can’t expect them to order much, as these people are so poor they can only afford bread,” said Li Du casually.
The motel owner was getting crazy. Things were turning from bad to worse.
“I don’t have that much money, sir. Please let me off,” he pleaded.
Li Du looked at him coldly and said, “You blackmailed my brother, and he begged you to let him off. Did you do that? And you did not only blackmail us, but my other fellow countrymen as well. Do you deny it?”
The African American man cried out in despair, “Hey, you’re pus.h.i.+ng me too far, do you really want to test my limits?”
Li Du said, “Who forced you to be a mean, unprincipled bully? Either you do as I say, or you’ll have to shut the place down.”
He was so angry that now he could not communicate with Su Nan as he had done before. When he showed his power and connections, Su Nan would understand that they were at two different levels.
Originally, he has been trying to conceal this, but because of this b.a.s.t.a.r.d boss, it did not work out. Su Nan would know just who his old cla.s.smate was now.
Therefore, it was too late now for the motel owner to repent. Li Du would have to force him to close down!
The motel owner walked helplessly to one side. He dialed a number again. This time he called the police.
Seeing the police arrive, Li Du was very calm. The gangsters who had received a beating in the parking lot were scared. They quickly helped each other get in the car and drove away.
So the policemen stopped the car and asked about it, gave Li Du a curt warning, and drove off to chase the cars to chase the thugs who had just ran away.
The motel owner was genuinely desperate.
Li Du tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Think about my suggestion and close down on your own.”
The man gnashed his teeth and said, “Don’t force me, don’t force me!”
Li Du said, “If you did not force us, why would we?”
He walked over to the restaurant and shouted, “As long as the restaurant is open, we’ll be here for the day. I promise, there will be beer, grilled meat, and party every time you come here. Wait until the restaurant closes and I’ll take you to the auction!”
“Oh yeah!”
“This is great, since I don’t have any money to feed myself these days.”
“Boss, hold on for a few more days and let us have more big meals!”
The owner looked at the mess at the restaurant with a sour expression.
Li Du waved and said, “Let’s go.”
Su Nan was quiet all the way and when they reached the hotel, he asked, “What is going on with you these days?”
Li Du said, “Well, it is just as you saw. I do warehouse auctions, I’ve been successful, and I have some influence in this industry.”
Su Nan sighed and said, “Congratulations, this is great. Really, Old Li, I’m happy for you, but be careful. After all, we are foreigners here.”
Li Du put his arm around Su Nan’s shoulders and said, “I know. I will be careful.”
Su Nan wanted to speak but stopped, but finally said, “Well, I would not say much earlier. Since you have become so successful, I am sure you are cleverer than I. However, you make money at warehouse auctions, right? Then I can give you information, but it might not be true.”
“Go on.”
“Remember how, when I was in Philadelphia, I used to work at the museum? The museum is closed and a lot of things are up for auction.
“I once heard from the curator that there were some valuable items collected in the museum, but now no one seems to be able to find them. The museum is in a mess, and everything will be auctioned off together. So you can go and take a look, you might gain something.”
Li Du was intrigued by this information. This was indeed worth checking.
.
He happily patted Su Nan on the shoulder and said, “OK, I will go to check out this auction. Thanks for the tip-off.”
Hearing these words and feeling his excitement, Su Nan smiled and said, “Glad to help.”