Chapter 245: The Boss Li
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du was not a cheapskate. He understood how terrible it was to stand in the elevator for one minute—he had just experienced it.
Seeing these treasure hunters heavily sweating, he immediately pushed the small barrel of beer forward. "Help yourself."
The treasure hunters were cheered, forgetting about the check-in procedures. They sat at the table beside them and filled some gla.s.ses with the cold beer.
"Thank G.o.d we have the beer! I can’t live in this scorching hot weather." Hans waved his hands to order two more barrels.
"Indeed," one of the treasure hunters said. "I have no idea who stole the method of making wine from G.o.d. Whoever did was greater than Prometheus, who stole fire."
"I would rather just die in the spring if there were no beer."
"Thank G.o.d, and thanks Li Du. One beer down in my belly, and my soul is flying in the sky!"
"Keep drinking, buddies!" Hans laughed. "We are brothers!"
The hotel was on the peak of the mountain, so the food and beverages up there were more expensive than those on the ground. After all, it was not easy getting them up there, even though there was the elevator.
In this scorching hot weather, the most expensive thing was cold beer. A small barrel only contained a little over one gallon, and was sold at 80 dollars in this hotel.
A normal treasure hunter would have to consider the price before drinking this cold beer up on the mountain. Li Du and Hans didn’t care about it—the beer money was just pocket change to them.
He ended up buying ten more barrels of beer. The number of treasure hunters who joined the drinking raised from five to ten more people. Eventually, all the treasure hunters staying in the hotel were drinking together—approximately 20 people.
Li Du got two more barrels, pushed one at G.o.dzilla, saying, "There’s nothing you need to do here—you can help yourself."
The bulky Mexican guy loved to drink, but he didn’t usually drink because he had to drive. When he didn’t need to drive, Li Du would ask him to drink and help himself.
G.o.dzilla laughed happily, opened the barrel, but didn’t pour the beer into a gla.s.s. He directly lifted it up to his mouth, content and satisfied.
Sitting together with the treasure hunters, Li Du became the topic of conversation.
"Why did you give up on that opportunity?" they asked. Everyone was concerned about him joining the Hundred Thousand Club.
Li Du smiled crookedly. "We made a few mistakes, so we couldn’t join the club together."
"Perhaps you could join the club first."
Li Du shook his head. "No, this wasn’t Big Fox’s fault. He shouldn’t have to bear the responsibility. So, I have decided to wait for the next opportunity when we can join together."
Hans smiled while he was drinking his beer.
"You have found a good partner, Big Fox," one treasure hunter said, everyone staring in envy.
"My sister is a devout Christian. She prays for me day and night. G.o.d was moved by her and sent Li Du to me." Hans was serious while speaking about G.o.d, which was rare.
"Gos.h.!.+ You’re gross." Li Du splashed his beer at Hans.
"Li, is your team still looking for people?" someone asked. "I want to join you."
"I want to also, buddy. Count me in."
"I can share less of the profit—just give me ten percent."
"Carl, you’re dreaming. Ten percent? I’m willing to join as long as they give me five percent."
"We are not intended to increase our manpower," Li Du smiled. "That’s enough of a team with me, Big Fox and G.o.dzilla."
He and Hans didn’t plan to increase their manpower. Furthermore, these people were not up to their standards.
He was willing to work with Hans, not only because he felt like a brother to Li Du, but he also knew the customs, culture, and business rules of America well. He was really helpful.
Now, he had immense popularity Flagstaff, in the industry of storage auctions. He was often addressed as the bellwether.
Since his debut, he made a profit at every auction, beating Carl, Rambis, and the Rick father and son pair. These victories caused him to become famous.
The Los Angeles movie storage auction was where he had gained the most fame and respect. He beat out the members of Hundred Thousand Club, earning a big name in the treasure hunting industry.
The treasure hunters in Flagstaff respected him not just because of this.
In LA, when Olly had been bullied, he was the only one who had helped. The Americans advocated heroism, and he well-deserved to be called a hero after that incident.
Afterwards, he had the opportunity to join the Hundred Thousand Club, but Hans didn’t. He purposely declined the club’s invitation and decided to join with Hans in the future.
He had shown more of his compa.s.sionate spirit with this behavior. This news had reached the ears of treasure hunters, and everyone who knew it gave him a big thumb up.
The treasure hunters were mostly obstinate people—once they were impressed, they stayed impressed.
With all these factors, everyone wanted to join his team. They would make money, they would be well-treated, and Li Du had a brotherhood-valuing spirit. Where could you find such an amazing boss?
It was too hot outside; Li Du felt too lazy to investigate all the storage.
There were only five storage units. Now that he was good at controlling bug, it would be able to check everything very quickly.
It was not that he wasn’t used to hards.h.i.+p, but Jerome was too hot. He was scared to have a heat stroke while checking all the units, which would not be worth the effort.
Back in the room, Hans opened the window. Lying on the bed and breathing in the breeze, Li Du was comfortable and felt a little sleepy.
One more advantage staying on the mountain: one could stargaze at night. The stars were much better at this alt.i.tude.
Jerome was once a mining town, and had been seriously polluted. With the depletion of mining resources, many energy firms had withdrawn from the town. With help from the government, the environment was slowly recovering.
That night, they felt too lazy to go down into the town for dinner. So, they bought some barbecue from the hotel and prepared to barbecue on the top of the mountain outside the hotel.
"This building belonged to the owners’ family who lived in the apartment downstairs. After that, the mining firm moved. So, this building was empty, and now it has become a hotel."
The courtyard outside the hotel was provided for the families of miners.
Just like the hotel, the courtyard was a bit rugged. But it was tough and steady so people didn’t need to worry about the danger caused by the movement of rocks.
They rented a grill from the hotel and brought it to the courtyard, preparing for the barbecue.
Some treasure hunters walked out from the elevator. Seeing them barbecuing, one of the treasure hunters held a cooler and said, "How could you eat barbeque in such hot weather? I’ve got some fruit—here you go."
"Thanks, buddy," Li Du raised his bottle and said.
"Boss Li, you are welcome. We hope that we all have a good warehouse to work with— as long as we can each claim a share." The treasure hunters were astonished.
Li Du nodded his head. "Sit back and relax—we’ll make money together!"
"Thanks, Boss Li."
"We’ll drink together again, Boss Li."
"I ordered some pizza—it’s the best. You must have a slice."