Li Du was busy pacifying his little ones while Hans was engaged in his so-called business.
Hans did not go home for two consecutive days, and when he finally came on the third day, he proudly gave Li Du a piece of printed paper.
Li Du took it with a curious look. The most conspicuous thing about the paper was the header, in large characters: Phoenix Blackstone Prison Warehouse Auction!
Li Du quickly glanced at the article and asked, “Prison warehouse auction? Hey, Phoenix does this kind of auction here? Interesting, interesting indeed.”
Hans nodded proudly and said, “Yes, the warehouse in Blackstone Prison will be auctioned off. I have a hunch that we can salvage a nice sum of money from here.”
Li Du rubbed his chin. “I will go all out. Speaking of this, how did the prison suddenly start an auction? Is it the profit-making strategy we suggested at Miami Prison that was popularized all over the country?”
Having said that, he laughed. “If this is the case, I deserve some credit. It was my idea in the first place.”
Hans opened his eyes wide as he heard this. “How can you be so shameless? Why is Blackstone Prison holding an auction? Don’t you have any ideas why?”
“I presume it’s all due to my brilliant suggestion,” Li Du said with a smile.
Hans pushed him and shouted, “You bastard! It was me! I’ve been going after the warden for the past two days and convinced him to auction off the prison warehouse!”
The five little ones joined forces and surrounded Hans. Ali jumped forward like a small cannon, punched Hans in the lower abdomen and then turned around and ran away in a flash.
It had learned from Ah Meow and Ah Ow, who had traumatized it. Now that it has gained some knowledge and learned its lesson, it immediately ran off after launching an attack.
Hans reached out to get back at Ali but it was too quick. Ah Ow then gave him a bite from behind, and he turned around, but Ah Ow got away too. Ah Ow clawed his back from behind again.
This made him grievous. “I have worked so hard, I’ve achieved so much, and now you discredit me, and I still have to bear the bullying of your little bastards.”
Li Du laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “I am joking with you, how can I not know that it’s all thanks to you?”
The prison was eager to get the extra funds, hence the auction was to be held two days later.
Hans went around informing the people of the treasure hunt business to prepare for the auction and left the work of exploring the prison warehouse to Li Du.
Treasure hunters generally preferred fewer participants at a warehouse auction.
However, this time Hans hoped that more people would participate because he had assured the warden that at least a hundred people will come to the auction.
It was not difficult to attract one hundred treasure hunters. The warehouses in each prison stored many things, usually for more than a decade, and the people would absolutely be interested in that.
The problem was that the auction would be happening in two days, which was too short a time for effectively promoting it, and this would lead to fewer participants.
Hans used his contacts and had the people pass the information along.
The upcoming auction garnered great interest. The rumor said that Li Du asked him to persuade the warden to agree to hold an auction. As for why Li Du asked him to do this, needless to say, there must be something good in the warehouse!
Almost everybody knew that Li Du and the others had been imprisoned, so they had the opportunity to find some goods in prison.
Certainly, they were jailed in Miami, but who knows, they could get some ideas about good things that might be found in Phoenix’s prison as well. Anyway, everyone believed in Li Du’s business sense.
In early November, the Blackstone Town Prison in Phoenix would hold its first auction in history, and the things stored in the prison would be auctioned out.
The news attracted a large number of people who came to participate in the auction. When Li Du drove his Rolls-Royce into the prison parking lot, he found that it was full of cars, all of which were trucks. When they arrived at the prison gate, Li Du took one look around and removed his sunglasses in shock. “Shit, how many people have you notified?!”
He knew that Hans said he expected a hundred people. At least two hundred people have shown up, however. The prison gates were crowded.
Hans, too, was stunned by the number of people. He smiled and said, “Damn, I only informed forty people, how can there be so many of them?”
Later, some people followed them and waited for them to stop to say hello. “Hey, Boss Li, Boss Fox, your new car is cool.”
“It’s so cool, this is the first time I see such a finely painted skull on a Rolls Royce.”
“Whoever painted it is obviously very talented. It’s so spooky! When you look closely, you see a map with rivers and lakes!’
Li Du pulled a wry face while the treasure hunters admired the painting on the Rolls Royce.
Some of the treasure hunters who had status in Arizona came to look for them, and asked with concern, “Boss Li, did the bastards in Miami wrong you?”
With this prison turmoil, not only did several big shots come to Li Du’s aid, but many of the treasure hunters also helped during the course of the case.
The treasure hunters in Arizona were very respectful to them. In addition to the Tucson community helping them out, many treasure hunters supported them through interviews, complaints, Twitter and social media.
In the flagpole city, Bearded Karl, Dickens, and others even launched a small-scale demonstration, asking the local government to interfere in the case and protect the rights of the people.
Looking at the treasure hunters who came to express their concern, Li Du said, “It’s OK, thank you for your help. Tell you what, after the auction, I will host a party to thank all of you. There will be plenty of food and drinks!”
“Will there be dancers?”
“Boss Fox will find at least fifty beautiful ladies to dance for you,” Li Du laughed.
The treasure hunters around them were all excited. “Okay, we will be sure to go!”
The treasure hunters were in good spirits and had the news passed around. When someone offered to treat everyone to a party, it would surely raise their popularity.
The armed policeman on duty was dissatisfied. He shouted into a loudspeaker, “Quiet, quiet, everyone be quiet, divide into four groups for inspection and get ready to come into the prison!”
“We are prepared to make money, but not ready to go to jail,” A treasure hunter joked with the prison guard.
It was very important to follow orders because the auction was held in prison. The prison guards were prepared to prevent any rioting at this time.
After undergoing a strict inspection, the treasure hunters lined up to pass through the X-ray detector, which would scan them for anything dangerous before they could enter the prison.
Even so, they could not explore too far into the prison. In the past two days, the warden made the prisoners work overnight and move all the things into the warehouse in front of the windy yard.
