Chapter 398: Berkshire
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
He was slowly pulling his tail from the water before he wrenched it out, the tail looking like a furious lightning bolt at that moment. With a swoosh sound, it disappeared.
Ah Meow turned around and changed his position to face to the water with his body. Then, he swung his claws and caught the pikes.
He was growling. The clenched muscles of his front legs were very apparent; his tendons looked like steel. He caught the pikes and pulled them to the shore.
The counterattack had happened too quickly; the pikes hadn’t known how to respond, and they were dragged out from the water a second later.
Crispy Noodles immediately jumped on the pikes and scratched them with his claws. He opened his mouth and bit them quickly.
Ah Meow pounded the head of the pikes with his front claws, leaving his back paws on the ground. He tilted his head. The way he held his head tall and opened his mouth to roar was just like a tiger in the forest!
Olly was shocked and dropped his beer can on the ground; stunned, he said, “Oh my God, this ocelot is really impressive.”
Hans turned and said, “You’re not the first one to say so.”
Ah meow was terrible. After his revenge, he let the pikes go, as he didn’t care about them anymore. The lion attacked the mouse just because the lion was simply unhappy with the mouse. This was the king’s style!
Ah Meow roared for a few seconds while he was stepping on the pikes. Ah Meow proudly swung his tail and limped in Li Du’s direction. He sat on Li Du’s legs and showed him his injured thigh.
Li Du picked him up and cut off the fur around the wound. Then he washed his wound with hydrogen peroxide to sterilize and disinfect, and finally he sprayed a hemostatic agent on the wound.
Seeing them preparing the dishes and the grill, a treasure hunter came over and asked, “Are you guys going to have a party here?”
They had only intended to hold a small gathering. But it had turned into a small party as there were many people at the storage site.
Li Du said, “Yes, we are open to anyone who is interested.”
A treasure hunter said, “Have you all prepared the meats? “
Li Du shrugged. “We bought a lot of meat from the market in the morning, surely enough for tonight’s party.”
“Then what about the main course?” a treasure hunter said. “I’ll tell you what: there is a Black Pig going up for auction today. Let’s bid on it and make it our main course.”
Li Du asked, “Black Pig? Chinese Black Pig?”
He saw a student start-up program during his university time. There was one popular university student who returned home to China to rear pigs. It was shocking news at the time, and what he reared was the Black Pig.
Big Quinn said, “No, I think this is the Berkshire. It was a type of pork reared by people in Berkshire of England 300 years ago during Oliver Cromwell’s reign.
“This is a hybrid of the domestic pig and the wild boar. One hundred years ago, the British shipped the hybrids to the United States and Japan. After that, the Japanese promote them to the world.”
A treasure hunter said, “This is the Black Pig. Seriously, it is really delicious. I really admire Japanese—they really know how to rear pigs and cattle.”
“Yes, it’s definitely worth tasting. The black pork is as valuable as Kobe beef.”
Everyone had different points of view. Li Du ended up searching the Internet to discover that this was indeed a very precious type of black pork.
The Berkshire pork grew more slowly than the average pig, and therefore had more time to accumulate fat. Its muscle fibers were also very fine, and tasted like beef. Therefore, it was valuable; it was the highest grade of meat, even compared to other types from all over Asia, Europe and the United States.
Li Du was convinced. He said, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go to Hoffman’s to bid for this pig so we can enjoy it tonight!”
The fall was also the harvest season, so it was the peak season for auctions. Hoffman’s auction was held two to three times a week.
During the evening, Big Quinn prepared the dinner in the cabin. Li Du, Hans, and other treasure hunters went to the old goods market.
Before they left, Big Quinn said, “Boss, cooking a pig is a challenging task. I don’t think we’ll be able to cook it tonight.”
Li Du patted his cheek and said, “Big Quinn, my good brother, I know this well. This is not for tonight.”
“What do you mean?” someone asked.
Hans responded quickly, “Oh, you little b*tch, are you going to buy it to please Sophie?”
Li Du shrugged. “Since the Black Pig is so valuable, I don’t think you guys can appreciate it. Not only Sophie—I will also share it with Hannah and Big Quinn’s family.”
Big Quinn smiled. “So we can enjoy the pork together?”
Li Du said, “Yes, at least five pounds of meat and five pounds of bones for you.”
Black Pig grew very slow so its bones were high in calcium. Because of this, stewed black pork was very suitable for children and the elderly to replenish calcium.
After listening to this, Big Quinn said happily, “Safe trip and all the best.”
They arrived at the market in the evening right at the auction was about to begin.
The Berkshire was a big-sized pig. In order to prevent it from defecating all over, the auctioneer had decided to auction it off before any other products.
“There is no doubt this is good pork. Look at the shiny fur of this sprightly pig—it is definitely healthier than a lot of people here!”
“God can prove that the pig was raised for twenty-two months. It has a weight of 220 pounds so far. It’s really valuable!”
“After listening to the discussions going around,” the auctioneer, Sayder, shouted, “the starting price is 1,000 dollars. We will start the auction now and every increment must be at least 50 dollars. Let’s start now!”
Li Du was determined to win the bid. He shouted, “1,100!”
Someone immediately increased the price: “1,200!” Hans whispered to Li Du that the person was a restaurant owner.
“One thousand two hundred fifty!”
“One thousand three hundred! “
The price rose all the way from 1,000, to 2,000, to 3,500 dollars.
Seeing this, Li Du raised the price again. “Four thousand!”
Four thousand dollars was enough to purchase a cow. Everyone shook their heads to indicate they thought that the price was too high for a pig. Sayder pointed at Li Du and shouted the price for three times. The pig was won by him.
Two treasure hunters came and shook hands with Li Du. These were the men who had brought the pig to the auction, and this was the social rule to show respect for the person who had won the auction.
“May I know who reared the pig?” Li Du asked. “Are there any other pigs?”
One of the treasure hunters said, “Yes, he reared a lot of pigs. The pig was reared by the Amish. As you know, it only eats vegetables and fruits. It doesn’t eat food pellets at all.”
Li Du asked again, “What did you trade for a pig?”
“Sets of furniture for the living room, bedroom, and study room.”
Li Du nodded his head. He had an idea after hearing this.
