Chapter 676: Big Shot Mr. Li
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
With a large number of Harry Winston’s shares and a few million dollars in his possession, Li Du’s attitude toward work had changed. He wanted to combine living and working.
Even though doing so was not considered enjoying life, it was still considered enjoying work. He didn’t want to be overly exhausted ever again.
Of course, if there was a chance for him to enter the national park, he would not mind expending his energy to frantically search for gemstones. After all, the energy he’d expended during that period had been exchanged for millions of dollars.
After lunch, the small wooden boat wandered around the meander for a while. After two o’clock in the afternoon, the weather began turning cold and they returned to shore.
They continued working after returning to the small town.
Li Du went into various old goods shops and used items to exchange for those that the little bug was interested in.
Many old goods markets not only used bartering but also allowed for currency, which was just like a general shop.
However, the old goods market in Horseshoe Town didn’t do so. The shops here only allowed bartering and did not accept the exchange of money for goods.
Initially, Li Du could not understand the reason behind it. Was the purpose of the owners of the old goods shops, the Native Americans, and the treasure hunters not to earn money when doing business here?
He figured it out afterward. For them to earn money, the old goods market in Horseshoe Town must be able to attract large amounts of customers to trade with them, and the exclusive use of bartering was its appeal.
Everyone understood this point. As they were protecting this market, they would definitely not accept cash and only accepted bartering when trading within the town.
There was also still a way to earn money, which was through the market’s old goods auction that traded using cash.
Li Du shopped very quickly. The little bug was like a guided missile and searched automatically for valuable items. For the items that the little bug was interested in, Li Du would think of a way to obtain them.
However, the old goods markets in America were like Chinese antique goods streets. Even though there were a lot of old goods, those that had value were rare.
Trying to find antiques in an old goods market? It was too difficult as all the owners had sharp eyes and were also very crafty.
When they had an item that looked to be valuable, they would think of a way to authenticate it and ascertain its value. If there was really no way of ascertaining the item’s value, they would rather price it incorrectly than let it go. As such, they would place a high price on it.
What if no one was willing to trade an item of equal value for it? So long as the item was valuable enough, this was not a concern. People who knew the value of these items would always turn up.
After spending the entire afternoon, Li Du hadn’t found any items that were of very high value. Most of the items that caught the little bug’s eyes only contained a little bit of time energy.
Despite that, as “many a little makes a mickle,” the little bug was still able to absorb quite a bit of time energy.
During this period, the items used for trading were all from Li Du’s private stash and were not recorded in the company’s account.
As the area of the town was not huge, they finished shopping by evening. When they were shopping, Li Du traded unceasingly and the total value of the goods they had obtained was over a million dollars.
This placed him in the limelight. The owners of the old goods shops sent messages to each other, which said that there was a fat sheep in town and to get their knives prepared.
Despite that, everyone was unable to comprehend the way Li Du traded. He seemed to trade in a freewheeling manner and his unconventional thought processes left those who observed him in bewilderment.
Of course, what everyone could ascertain was that he was very wealthy and didn’t mind spending money.
When the sky darkened, Li Du and the others found a small hotel in the town to stay in.
After resting for a while in their rooms, they were getting ready to go out for a meal. Big Quinn knocked on Li Du’s door and said, “Boss, someone wants to speak with you.”
“Who?” Li Du asked lazily.
Big Quinn replied, “The boss of the local auction house. His name is Suradi Feuille. He and his assistant are waiting in the lounge downstairs. What do you intend to do?”
“Let him wait a while,” Li Du responded. “I’ll go down and have a look.”
Every old goods market had a place where old goods auctions were carried out regularly. The name of Horseshoe Town’s auction marketplace was “Feuille Auction House.” From the name of the auction house, the identity of its boss could be worked out.
After washing his face, Li Du went downstairs energetically.
Both parties met each other unexpectedly. Suradi Feuille was a 36 year old middle-aged man, who had the blood of both a Native American and a Caucasian. He had a burly physique, slightly dark-colored skin, and sparkling eyes.
Seeing Li Du, Suradi was stunned for a while before extending his hand and speaking in a sincere manner, “Hi, Mr. Li, you sure are full of vigor.”
As Li Du did not lust for women, loved working out and taking care of his health, and lived in a disciplined manner, he was able to maintain his exuberance, which could be seen from the expression in his eyes.
As someone who was experienced in living healthily, Suradi was naturally able to observe that Li Du had an extraordinary amount of energy and vitality.
At this moment, Li Du was indeed full of vigor as the little bug had been absorbing time energy all afternoon. Although it was not enough to evolve the little bug, it increased the size of the little bug by a little, which also gave a small boost to his energy.
After both of them shook hands, Li Du complimented Suradi and Feuille Auction House before they began talking to each other.
Suradi’s father was the boss of the auction house and was the first person to trade old goods here. He had purchased treasures from Native Americans and even married a Native American for this purpose.
Subsequently, a lot of casinos had left the town and huge amounts of old goods shops emerged. Old Feuille saw a business opportunity in this and set up the old goods auction house, which had been in operation to this day.
After exchanging greetings, they got to the point. Li Du asked, “Mr. Feuille, how can I help you?”
Young Feuille smiled. “You can call me ‘Suradi.’ You don’t have to address me so formally. I am here to experience the presence of Arizona’s treasure hunter king. I’ve heard about you but I’ve never got to meet you. A real pity.”
Li Du also smiled. “You are overpraising me. I am not some treasure king of Arizona. I am just lucky and have indeed made some money.”
“You are being humble,” Young Feuille responded. “In the community of treasure hunters, who doesn’t know the name, ‘Boy Wonder?’ Even though you’ve traveled all over Arizona, you have never returned empty-handed.”
“Can I say that this is all because of God’s blessing?”
Young Feuille smiled. “I am envious that God treats you so well. I come to you to comply with God’s order. I would like to invite you to participate in tomorrow’s old goods auction.”
The scale of the old goods auction in Horseshoe Town was similar to Hoffman’s. The old goods auction took place twice every week during peak seasons and once every week during offseasons. Spring and summer were peak seasons while autumn and winter were offseasons.
Li Du had chosen to come to Horseshoe Town at this time as he also wanted to participate in the old goods auction. However, according to what he knew, the auction was taking place the day after tomorrow. Why had it changed to tomorrow?
Feuille gave him the answer: “After seeing you exchange your items, many fellas who have good items in their hands became restless. They requested for me to start the auction as soon as possible as they were worried that you would spend all your money.”
Li Du was delighted. The change in the date of the auction was specifically for him? I have just entered this market and I’m already a big shot?
