Chapter 841: Africa’s Legend
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After drinking the wine, Cao Fan introduced Li Du to the men in the room. Wang Kun, who had first come to tease them, was a real estate developer with a good property company in China. He had come to Australia to explore overseas markets.
Li Du was quite surprised. This person looked to be about 30 years old, but was in charge of a property company that had assets of possibly billions. Also, his character was very different from Li Du’s impression that bosses should seem more mature.
Others were in positions of great power, either by starting companies or by being the executives of large groups, working in a variety of jobs from Australia to the Congo, China to the United States.
After listening to Cao Fan’s introduction, they realized they had known each other before and had a good relationship with each other.
The reason for the party was because some people were traveling in Australia and some were there on business, so they made an appointment to get together.
Cao Fan’s introduction of Li Du as a major shareholder in the Harry Winston group attracted a lot of interest. Sitting in the crowd, Li Du and the people around him were constantly toasting their drinks.
In the same circle, there were still different cliques among them. Those who sat with Li Du were engaged in the luxury industry, including Cao Fan, and a man named Liu Junhui, a senior director of Giorgio Armani in the United States.
A middle-aged, dark-skinned man named Wang Zhongshi attracted Li Du’s attention. He worked in a way similar to how Li Du did, digging for gems. Li Du was digging for black opals, while Wang Zhongshi was digging for diamonds.
Knowing that Li Du was a major shareholder of the Harry Winston group, Wang Zhongshi was particularly attentive to him and offered him a glass of wine. He said, “Brother Li, I’m older than you, so I’ll call you brother from now. I’ll finish this cup, you do what you wish with yours.”
Li Du finished the cup after he did, smiled, and said, “Brother Wang, you’re too polite.”
Wang Zhongshi patted him on the shoulder and said, “No, not me being polite. You are indeed a good man. You are a good man of our Chinese descendants.”
Cao Fan chimed in, “Brother Li, you’re good at drinking, but don’t try to make each other drunk. We Chinese people need to get together outside.”
Li Du laughed without saying a word. Cao Fan was warm-hearted and sincere, but he couldn’t help thinking of MaZhian, who had cheated him in Arizona.
Wang Zhongshi glared at Cao Feng and said, “Who is making him drunk? This is the first time we have met, and we should drink to celebrate. I don’t want to talk to you. Come on, Brother Li. We have met for the first time, and we should chat.”
He was in the diamond business, the Harry Winston group was one of the top diamond companies in the world, and they did business with each other. Wang Zhongshi approached Li Du to find out about the diamond market, but Li Du did not know much about it. He bought the Harry Winston share with a bet, not by analyzing the data. So he changed the subject and asked, “Brother Wang, you dig for diamonds in the Congo? I heard that the country of diamonds in Africa is South Africa.”
“It is true that South Africa has the highest diamond reserves and output of any country in Africa, and the mines in the Congo are mainly copper, cobalt, and gold, which account for 80 percent of their mining output,” Brother Wang said.
“However, everybody knows that South Africa has diamonds, and they are all looking for diamonds there. The Congo has a small diamond mine and a low yield, but there is little competition. I don’t like competition, so I went to the Congo.”
“How about harvesting in the Congo? Is your output stable? If it’s stable, I can help you get in touch with the CEO of the Winston group,” said Li Du.
Wang Zhongshi’s eyes were bright. This was his purpose. He wanted to sell to the Winston group.
“Thank you. The diamond mine is less, production is unstable, but even if I’m not stable, the Chinese in the Congo are united. I have a lot of acquaintances, probably because of my age. I am considered a big brother of the league,” he said cheerfully.
Li Du asked, “What is the approximate production volume of your league? Tell me some data…”
Cao Fan touched him lightly with his elbow and interrupted again, “It’s not easy for us to sit together. Talk less about work and more about life. Come here and drink.” Li Du knew he had interrupted on purpose but did not understand why.
“Brother Li, you are also in the gem business. You should know that in this industry, it is taboo to ask for the core data of gemstones if you are not familiar with them,” Cao Fan whispered to him after he tasted his drink.
Li Du was a bit nonchalant. He had not realized this, however, he could understand.
Cao Fan said, “Don’t rush and ask this. Go back to Harry Winston to see if the group is interested in buying diamonds from the outside world, and then contact Old Wang.”
Li Du suddenly realized and said, “I understand. Thanks for your advice, Brother Cao.”
Cao Fan laughed. “Don’t call me Brother Cao. You can call me Er Gou like other people. That is my nickname, and I like my nickname quite a lot.”
Later Li Du and Wang Zhongshi continued to chat without discussing the specific data of mining. Their conversation steered more toward telling each other about some of the interesting things they had encountered.
“Brother Li, if you are interested in the mining industry, I suggest you go to Africa. Africa is indeed a treasure trove,” Wang Zhongshi said.
Li Du said, “I am in Australia digging black opal. I would not know what to do if I went to Africa.”
“When you go, you will surely find a business that can make a fortune,” said Wang Zhongshi firmly. “Do you know the average length of time it takes for Chinese mine owners to become millionaires in Africa?”
“How long?”
“Sixteen and a half days! If we dig for diamonds in the right mines, we will make an average profit of $30,000 per car, two cars a day, and the net profit will be $1.8 million per month as long as we continue to work,” Wang Zhongshi said.
Li Du marveled. “Is the business that good?”
“It’s certainly not that simple,” Cao Fan laughed.
Wang Zhongshi nodded and said, “Yes, the biggest problem with mining in Africa is law and order. If you can keep your life, you can make money.”
A man named Song Hongjun chimed in, “Keeping yourself alive? It’s not that easy. One of my fellow villagers digging diamonds in South Africa worked for half a year, just got a bit of diamond, and on the way to the airport, a black driver shot him dead in the head!”
Wang Zhongshi sighed and said, “You’re right. It’s not uncommon in the Congo, either. I’ve been almost shot in the head several times.” He paused and added, “But to make a fortune, you have to take a risk.”
Listening to their conversation, Li Du became a bit curious about Africa, which, though dangerous, seemed to have a lot of opportunities.
