Li Du thought that this guy was actually quite interesting, or rather, very pure, very
naïve. It was hard to believe this man was the heir of a Boston tycoon family.
They had roughly figured out Porter’s identity back when they were trading Van Gogh’s
painting.
The Porter family was quite famous in the Boston area. They were a major tycoon
family, with power and influence not any less than that of the Vanderbilt family Steve
Tussenberg belonged to.
Although the members of this family weren’t very famous amongst any of the world’s
richest men, they were rich and powerful.
There were three types of rich man in this world. The first type was the one that
everyone knew was rich like Bill Gates. The second type was not that well-known but
would appear in the media sometimes.
There was one more type, like Porter and Steve’s family. They were rich but kept to
themselves. The media might know about them but wouldn’t dare to write about them
without explicit permission.
Li Du reckoned that these wealthy families trained their next generation to be elites.
In fact, this was a misconception. There were many members in the next generation of
every family, and each and every one of those would get training fit to their abilities and
interests. Those who had strong leadership traits would prepare to become the pillars of
their family, so they could grow up to be the ones in charge.
The other children would choose their path according to their own interests. They could
do whatever they wanted, as long as it wasn’t anything that would damage the family’s
name.
It seemed like both Porter and Steve belonged to this type. Their families gave them
enough money to invest in their own hobbies, and they could sometimes help their
families out.
As for their family business, it would depend mainly on an occupational management
team to operate. The CEO would lead and supervise these high-level wage workers.
Porter discussed all this with them on the way there. He did not give too much
information, as the music got louder as they neared the lawn of the bungalow, and Li Du
couldn’t hear his voice clearly anymore.
In the lawn area of the bungalow, a musical fountain danced along to the thudding
music. At least fifty young people swayed their heads and bodies to the rhythm.
As they got onto the lawn, Porter frowned without noticing it.
Hans shook his head when he saw that. How could this kind of attitude win him any
girl’s heart?
Hans just went along and took his shirt off, pulling him into the party crowd.
Li Du did not like this type of atmosphere. He thought that the African tribal dancing
around campfires was much more interesting.
Li Du found a shaded spot with Brother Wolf and Godzilla beside him, unfolded a
recliner, and took out his mobile phone to do some work.
The purchase of the Australian island was progressing in full power. Stuart Burr and
Tony Theodore were working hard on helping him with the purchase, and both of them
were doing a great job.
Coincidentally, just as he thought about Steve Tussenberg, he saw a message from
Steve on the screen of his mobile phone.
The message was friendly and simple. Steve asked what he had been up to and what
plans he had.
Li Du replied with a text message, saying that he had just returned from Africa and that
the experience was quite exciting. He would talk to him again when he had the chance.
However, a few seconds after he sent the message, Steve replied, You’ve been to
Africa? Did you go on an adventure? I didn’t misjudge you, you have an adventurer’s
blood in you.
Li Du shook his head. He had no adventurer’s blood in him at all. After returning to
America this time, he decided not to go out and risk it anymore. He just wanted to deal
with Seagull Island and the diamond mine in Amengda.
Steve was very interested in his adventure. He even followed up with a phone call.
However, the surrounding noise was just too loud and they were unable to talk properly,
so they could only chat via messages.
Li Du briefly told about his journey to Africa, and as Steve asked some questions, he
answered them.
Just as their conversation was about to end, the music that was blasting through the
speakers suddenly stopped. A tall, handsome young man hopped onto the ledge of the
fountain and yelled, “Hi, ladies and gentlemen, and our cute Queen Ariana. Let me put
your happy dancing on hold for now…”
Li Du glanced up from his phone and looked towards this young man, not understanding
what he was about to do.
Porter spoke at this moment instead. He said, “Sean, don’t stand there, the fountain was
made with hollow tiles. Its ledge is just for decoration, it is not sturdy, be careful not to
break it.”
Sean, the handsome young man, laughed. “Don’t worry, little Porter, I won’t break it. I
know you paid quite a large deposit to rent this bungalow. We won’t make you pay
more, don’t worry.”
His words were misleading. It was as if he was mocking Porter that he wanted to show
off by renting this bungalow, was such a cheapskate that he was afraid to break
anything in it.
The young men and women, who were already high with drink and weed, were easily
misled. They all chimed in and laughed, “That’s right, pal. How can this break?”
“Why don’t you worry that we might break the bricks on the lawn?”
“You’re so uptight about everything, it’s bloody annoying. We would’ve gone to party on
the beach if we knew.”
Porter was embarrassed and angry at the booing. He was not good at talking and
couldn’t explain any better, so he just lowered his head and got frustrated. His silence
only aggravated the misunderstanding. Li Du was upset for Porter too. What are all
these people thinking? This man was their host, but they were not just being ungrateful,
they shamelessly teased and mocked him. He could not watch this anymore.
As he snapped his fingers, the little bug flew towards the tile on which the tall young
man was standing. Then it used all its energy to suck in the time capability under the
hollow tile.
After Sean led his mates to attack Porter, he was rather complacent. He shouted as he
stood on the fountain ledge, “Attention, attention, ladies and gentlemen. Let us quiet
down for a bit, but we will get high again soon. As we get into the next segment, tell me,
which one is it?”
A group of young men howled, “Gifts for the queen!”
Sean was indeed looking for trouble. He started stomping on the fountain ledge. As he
stomped he shouted in a rhythm, “Yay yay! Yay yay! Yay yay! Queen! Yay yay!
Presents! Yay… humph!”
The hollow tile was not sturdy in the first place, and as the little bug sucked in the time
capacity inside of it, it became even more unsteady. When Sean stomped like that, it
finally crumbled!
The big piece of tile that supported his body cracked under his weight. He lost his
balance, flipped over and fell into the fountain.
The water in the fountain splashed out and crashed over him while he flailed his limbs
like a drowning rat. The young men yelled out in surprise as they hastened to reach out
and pull him up.
Sean was in a difficult situation. His mates were busy helping him out of the fountain,
while he growled with frustration, “What stupid thing is this? The bungalow looked great
but the things inside are all low-grade stuff. Was it all made in China?”
Li Du squinted. Hey, why didn’t this son of a bitch drown? Does he have anything
against China? Very well, then. Today we will play with you slowly and make you suffer!
Sean’s words embarrassed Porter. He knew that Li Du was Chinese, so he quickly said,
“Don’t say that, Chinese tiles are renowned for their quality. The tiles here are from
Italy.”
Hans pulled him back and hinted that he should stop talking. Any smart guy should
remain silent right now. There was an angry man beside them, and unless they wanted
to anger him, they should just let him be.
