Chapter 163: The Problem With Turfs
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The father and son team glared at Li Du resentfully.
Li Du continued to add fuel to the fire:
"Hey my fellow treasure hunters, I dare to swear in the name of God, that the storage unit is filled with electronic devices! Mobile phones, notebook computers, video camcorders, and I reckon that they should be well-preserved!"
Hans played along as well and asked, "Are you sure?"
Li Du replied affirmatively, "Of course! You see, Phoenix’s weather is warm and dry, that makes it a natural preservation haven for electronic products. If the electronic items are in working condition when they are first found, then there’s a very high chance that they will still be usable!"
A treasure hunter’s integrity was very important. Lucas had proven this point when he revealed the news about the LED advertising panel in an attempt to win back his integrity and reputation.
A commotion started after Li Du finished his explanation:
"I believe this young man—they have been earning a decent amount."
"Where the hell did they get such information from?"
"Electronic devices, sh*t! I’ll go for it, even if only ten percent of them are in working condition; I can still earn like thousands of dollars!"
The auctioneer perked up with a gleam in his eyes. He had been listening to the treasure hunters’ conversation and, realized that the storage unit could fetch a good price.
Without further ado, the auctioneer took control of the situation: "Ok now that everyone’s finished viewing the unit, let’s restart the bidding again at a starting price of 100 dollars …"
"One thousand dollars!"
"One thousand one hundred!"
"One thousand five hundred!"
"F*ck! Two thousand dollars!"
"Five thousand dollars! Me!" shouted another treasure hunter.
The price continued to rise. When it reached eight thousand dollars, Rick raised his hand, "Ten thousand dollars!"
"Ten thousand five hundred dollars!"
"Eleven thousand dollars!"
"Twelve thousand dollars!"
Rick’s big ears turned red with the increasing bidding price. His expression was indignant as well. A short while later, he waved to his team, "Let’s go!"
Rick indeed had some information: he knew that the storage units were organized by item type. And the two most worthwhile units, according to his information, were the bicycle unit and the electronics unit.
In the end, the bicycle unit had gone to Li Du, and as for the electronics one, the bid was still going up. As a veteran treasure hunter, he knew he would not be able to get the unit without paying a hefty price. The higher the cost, the greater the risk as well. He would rather not risk it.
Hans made a loud whistle at their retreating forms. "Hey pals, don’t be in a hurry to leave—there are still four units waiting to be auctioned!"
Rick turned around and cursed, "You two b*st*rds! Don’t be cocky! When I return to Flagstaff, you two will regret what you did today! I will show you whose turf you are walking on …"
"Hey, we know what’s your turf," Li Du interrupted Rick. "We also know a story of a dog with big ears that peed in every storage unit of Flagstaff. After that, he thought every unit was his turf."
Rick had a hideous smile on his face, "Very well …"
"Hey, hey, cut it out, we are all adults. Be mature, okay? Who do you want to scare with your barks?" Hans waved him off impatiently.
Li Du added, "If you want to fight, don’t bark. We can brawl here if you want. You have twice as many people as we do anyway."
Godzilla held up his fists and began to crack his knuckles. The popping sound of the knuckles, coupled with his unfriendly expression, meant that he was ready for a brawl anytime.
Rick gulped upon seeing Godzilla. He gave Li Du and Hans a malicious look and left.
Hans called and hired three big trucks to ferry the trash items. Their truck could not even contain all the trash for one single storage unit.
They spent around 20,000 dollars hiring the three big trucks—it could have been considered quite an investment.
Although the auction was still going, they decided they should focus on packing up instead. So Hans went to make the payment and then the trio started to work.
Godzilla went to the second storage unit, while Hans took the third one. Li took the fourth one, and immediately went straight for the famous watch.
The watch looked beautiful under sunlight; it did not turn. But when Li Du wore it on his wrist, the second hand immediately began to move, even without winding it.
As Li Du inspected the watch, the crystal of the watch showed a tiny gleaming Ferrari logo, another feature that could prove its identity.
Count Trossi had the Ferrari logo engraved on the watch crystal when he won the 1947 Italian Grand Prix.
Li Du looked at the news once again. In 2001, the watch had been bought by a mysterious, wealthy man. After that, there was no more news about it.
The world had thought that the watch was well-preserved somewhere; nobody could have guessed that it would end up in a pile of trash.
It was obvious the owner did not want to keep it in a display case and had likely lost it in the national park or a nearby tourist attraction.
Li Du was appreciating the fine watch when Hans yelled excitedly, "Li, get over here, hurry, look what I found in this unit!"
"A whole lot of bicycles right?" Li Du said, smiling.
Hans patted a few times on the bike seat of a shining, silver-looking bike and said, "Yes, a bunch of bicycles, but, not all of them are ordinary bicycles!
"Look! This is the Italian Colnago bicycle; many Tour de France champions have used this brand of bicycle!"
Colnago was founded in 1952 in Italy. It was a manufacturer of high-end road bicycles; as one of the most sought-after bicycle brands, it was reputed to be the Ferrari of road bikes.
No other rider did more for the Colnago brand than Eddy Merckx, who won just about every major title after he joined the Molteni team riding Colnagos in the early 1970s. Eddy Merckx was a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who was widely seen as the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling.
Hans carefully placed the Colnago bicycle aside from the other trash, and happily whistled as he uncovered more bicycles.
Li Du showed Hans the watch on his wrist and said, "Look what I found in the other unit. I like this watch, and I’m taking it."
Hans did not mind at all. "No problem, just take it if you like it. But now that we have mobile phones, who wears a watch nowadays?"
Godzilla worked hard, and fast too, to clear up the trash–like an excavator digging up a pile of soil and pouring the soil onto a dump truck.
Under the duo’s instructions, he also helped to separate useful items like the pots and pans, barbecue grills, and bicycles, while loading the trash onto the trucks.
The useful and valuable items were then loaded onto the Iron Knight.
With Godzilla doing the laborious work, Li Du and Hans had ample time to relax and chill. Both of them went over to the fifth storage unit where Rick and his team were working.
They were perspiring a lot, some people were drenched in sweat; they were busy with the magazines, books, and various publications.
Lil’ Rick did not like doing this type of strenuous work; he was sulking, kicking some books.
"Dude, don’t insult knowledge, you should respect it," Hans mocked. "We need a good amount of knowledge, and a good eye for detail, as treasure hunters," Hans mocked.
Lil’ Rick looked at both Hans and Li Du scornfully. When he noticed Godzilla was not with them, he suddenly felt like doing something; his facial expression slowly changed into a sneer.
Li Du knew what Lil’ Rick was thinking and wore a cynical smile. "Even without Godzilla, I can take you guys on, no sweat!"
Rick shoved his son aside, and pointed at the duo, "Get lost from my turf—when we’re back in Flagstaff, you two better watch your steps!"
Hans curled his lips in disgust. "This is also your turf? You peed here too?"
The surrounding treasure hunters and nosy onlookers all roared with laughter. Rick was so angry that he was shaking.
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