After reading some information, Li Du said to Sophie, "You don"t have to look for a job."
"President Cole offered me a job?" Sophie guessed. "No, Li, you know me…"
"No, I got you a job," Li Du laughed.
He stopped for a few seconds, gave a gentlemanly bow, put out his hand and said, "h.e.l.lo, Dr. Sophie Martin. I sincerely invite you to join my team of treasure hunters and be part of our medical staff."
Sophie smiled and took his hand. Then she asked, "Are you going to look for the gem again? Back to Australia?"
Li Du stood up, shook his head and said, "I"m not sure about this time. It could be Africa, or Russia, or Canada, or maybe Antarctica."
These places were in the global diamond mining belt, where more than 90 percent of the world"s 1.75 billion carats of diamonds have been produced so far.
He called Hans, put him through and said, "I guess it won"t be long before we go abroad again."
"You can join the collector, President Hill. You"re a typical example of someone who had success in making his business aboard," laughed Hans.
"No kidding, I mean it. Maybe we"ll go to Russia or Africa," said Li Du.
"Really?" Hans was surprised. "To Russia or Africa? In this season I suggest you go to Russia, not Africa, otherwise, when you come back you will be like the black brothers!"
After considering this for a few seconds, he asked, "What do you think, will you go to Africa or Russia this time? I don"t think it"s possible to go to Russia. d.a.m.n it, it"s too dangerous. I heard they are having a war with Ukraine."
"There are many considerations. I have to look into this," said Li Du.
His decision to seek out diamond mines was a combination of factors, not just a bet with Calston.
The first reason was that he wanted to make the most of it, and the ability of the little bug was well suited to finding gemstones, as the black opal discovery proved. If he could find a diamond mine, the money he"d earn would be more than he could ever spend in his whole life.
Second, he was desperate for money at this time, and plans were afoot in Australia to buy the island, which was estimated to cost tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars because of its size.
Li Du didn"t have that much money, and he couldn"t make that much from a warehouse auction, but if he found a diamond mine and started producing diamonds, he could make that money.
What"s more, if he sold the diamonds to Tang Chaoyang, he could gain the relations.h.i.+p of Cao Fan and Tang Chaoyang.
In addition, Sophie"s delay in finding a job, which made her feel upset, was another reason. What he could do to help was offer her a job.
If he went to work in the field, Sophie would certainly be willing to go with him, and then everything would be in order. Sophie would be provided with work on the team medical staff.
Most important was his agreement with Calston, which would make him the second largest shareholder in Winston if he found a diamond mine and bought out Calston"s shares.
It was with these considerations that he made the decision. Still, it was a somewhat hasty one. The hunt for diamonds was certainly not as simple as finding opals, but there were still four months to go until the year"s end.
He didn"t tell the reasons, however, he only said that he had to go with someone to find some diamonds.
Hans said, "Looking for diamonds? You don"t have to go to Africa. There are plenty of diamond mines in the United States as well, like the Crater of Diamonds state park in Arkansas."
Li Du laughed bitterly. He knew about the Crater of Diamonds state park, which, like the opal national park in northern Arizona, produced gems.
However, even if there were diamond mines there would be no contract to buy them… but since Hans reminded him, perhaps he could go to the park and get a feel of things.
Crater of Diamonds State Park, located in southwest Arkansas, claims to be the only diamond mining park in the world where visitors can dig and play at will for just eight dollars of the entrance fee. All the diamonds dug by visitors would belong to them.
Leaving New York, Li Du took Sophie, Brother Wolf others, and went to Arkansas.
Arkansas was an important part of the vast American landscape, but it is not well known. This place produced famous political and military celebrities like MacArthur and Bill Clinton, as well as the famous writer John Grisham and actor Billy Bob Thornton.
The state lay between the Midwest and the Deep South, and between New York and Arizona.
Less well known than the surrounding states, Arkansas is locally called a little-known treasure.
Here is the nature lover"s Shangri-la, with the Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains, where the rocks are high and steep and the river clear and turbulent, making for beautiful natural scenery.
Li Du and the others landed in Little Rock, where the state capital was located, then hired a car to make the hour"s journey to the national park.
Arkansas had a number of well-maintained state parks. They looked out from their cars. The empty roads crisscrossed, and they pa.s.sed by thick patches of jungle from time to time.
The sight of flat pastures, horses, cattle and sheep, and sheepdogs and shepherds in the middle of the jungle was a novelty to the New Yorkers. New York was a modern city of electricity and steel, while this place was beautiful countryside.
The pace of local life is slow, and drivers sometimes see stalls on the side of the road and stop to pick up goods.
On the side of the road, there are unmanned stalls selling things like honey, air-dried beef and mutton, chicken and duck eggs, fruit and vegetables, and other agricultural products. People can pick them up at will. There are steel boxes next to the stall, like donation boxes, where people have to put in the money.
The shopping experience was a novelty for Li Du, who asked, "Does this system actually work?"
The driver laughed and said, "Of course, everyone follows the countryside shopping rule. You see the price, take things, leave money… good for both sides, right?"
Li Du nodded. Indeed.
"If someone doesn"t behave, no worries. There are cameras, and if they go too far, the police will contact them," the driver went on, pointing to the trees on the shelf.
Li Du laughed. Is that right? How could the United States security be that good?
Seeing that Li Du and the others were empty handed, the black driver told them, "This place is very famous for cheese and lamb. Why don"t you buy some? There"s no good place to eat next to the diamond mines."
Li Du didn"t want to be bothered, but he was so interested in the shopping experience that he went on to choose some food since there was plenty of room in the trunk anyway.
So they stepped down and went to buy just a couple of things, and ended up filling the trunk.