Chapter 141: The Other One from the Mill
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Tina accepted the money, and then wrote an IOU note to Li Du. Although she wrote it seriously, there was also a seductive, red lipstick mark on it beside her signature.
Leaving behind the note, the black-haired girl waved to him with a bright smile, and went off with her four companions.
Li Du also smiled and waved back. Lending 2,000 dollars to these girls didn’t have to do with any impure motive toward them, but was simply due to him wanting to help them.
Last night, when Tina was singing "Stars and Midnight Blue" at the bonfire, Li Du was touched by her honest self.
He hoped that the girl would not deviate away from her original motivation due to money. What Li Du could do to help wasn’t much, and he could only express his sincerity with the 2,000 dollars.
As he kept the note and turned the other way, he found Hans and Godzilla right behind him, staring.
That made Li Du jumped. "Sh*t, what are you two doing, keeping silent over here. Trying to pretend to be ghosts?"
"Keeping silent?" Hans asked. "D*mmit, Godzilla, tell your boss: didn’t I call out to him just now?"
Godzilla took in a breath and said, "Yes."
"Did he answer me?"
"No."
Li Du said, "Alright, I didn’t hear you. But you guys are here early. I’m still a bit sleepy, so can we go back and rest for a while?"
Hans looked at him with jealousy. "You were with those five girls last night? You guys kept at it the whole night?"
Li Du pushed him away and said, "Kept at what? We were just singing around a campfire."
Hans curled his lips and said, "Yea, singing: "Ohh that feels good, harder, faster"—that song?"
Li Du couldn’t be bothered to have another word with him, and dragged him along to the hostel.
Hans said, "You’re violating the Bro Code, Li. This isn’t what a brother would do. Godzilla and I spent a night together, while you were having fun with five girls beside a campfire—that’s not right!"
"Just singing!"
"If it were just singing, then why did you give them money? I saw it all—a thick stack of Franklins—D*mmit, did you call for girls last night?!" When he finished his sentence, his face was full of shock.
Li Du flashed him the finger.
Hans wore an expression as if he were celebrating something. "Good thing Hannah didn’t choose you. Although Stephen, that guy, is pretty useless, he’s still an honest man that doesn’t call girls."
"I didn’t call any girls!" Li Du gritted his teeth and said.
Hans glanced at Godzilla and asked, "You believe him?"
Godzilla nodded his head without hesitation.
Li Du burst out laughing, "Ha! See? Not everyone is as ridiculous as you."
Hans stared at the muscled man in shock and said, "You actually believe such bullsh*t?"
The muscled man said, "Boss provides my meals and salary. I’ll believe whatever he says."
"If he doesn’t provide you food and salary?"
"Then I won’t believe him."
Li Du couldn’t hold back his laughter.
The storage unit was adequately cleaned up. While they drove back, Li Du took a nap. It was quite comfortable to sleep in the back of the truck.
It wasn’t unreasonable to buy the truck for over 100,000 dollars. The main compartment was grandiose like a hotel room, and the backseat was a small bed that even had a hydraulic anti-shock system.
On the way back, Li Du slept well. The turns and bumps didn’t affect him at all.
Back in Flagstaff, they had lunch together, then began clearing up the goods.
This time, they had gotten a batch of oak furniture. These things were very valuable. Although the material itself was common, the craftsmanship was spectacular. The furniture was exquisite, and after some polishing up, was as good as new.
Hans contacted some furniture stores, and then drove the truck over to sell them.
They were at the entrance of a furniture store where a brown-haired young man was on the phone. Li Du was slightly taken aback when he saw him, and asked, "Hi, Thomas? Thomas Yee?"
The brown-haired young man glanced at him, and then smile and waved back. After saying a series of "sweetie" to the phone, followed by a few passionate, air kisses, he hung up.
Hans asked, "You know this guy?"
Li Du said, "He’s my classmate from university. What a coincidence meeting him here."
He didn’t have many classmates in the same subject; only six. Most of them were from other countries, so once the school was shut down due to the investigation, they had never met again. He didn’t expect to meet one of them here.
Thomas ran over and gave him a warm hug. "Hey Li, fancy seeing you here. I heard from Jennifer that you went back to China. Apparently she made a mistake."
Jennifer was his girlfriend. Li Du had met her a few times. She was a blonde-haired beauty with a slightly haughty atmosphere about her.
Li Du asked, "You stayed here?"
Thomas said, "This is my family’s furniture store. I’m a local here, don’t you remember?"
Li Du was dedicated to studying, so his relationships with his schoolmates were fairly simple.
He felt something was strange and asked, "If you’re local, then why did you still attend that diploma mill?"
Thomas rubbed his nose, embarrassed. "Jennifer hoped that I would get a master’s, but I couldn’t attend those renown universities like Arizona State University, so I had to spend money on that one."
Hans patted their shoulders and said, "Alright guys, since you two were schoolmates, that simplifies things—give us an offer."
Thomas began examining the set of oak furniture, and said professionally, "Seems that it was made from a whole white oak. The quality is evenly well and firm, while the lines are natural and crisp. This is premium white oak furniture."
"Correct." Hans nodded pleasantly.
Oak furniture was very popular in America. Due to the strong properties of the wood and the clear rings, furniture made from oak was long-lasting, resistant to scratches, and resistant to decay.
This set of furniture had a very high value. The wood rings were unique. Not only were they prominent, they had a natural pattern, like rain flower stones in China.
This greatly bumped up the value of the furniture. Thomas looked through some of the finer details and then nodded his head and said, "Good stuff. How much do you guys want for it?"
When it came to business, his demeanor turned calm. Apparently, he wasn’t some amateur.
Hans said, "We originally wanted 6,000 for it, but since you are a former schoolmate, 5,500 dollars."
Thomas shook his head and said, "Right, since Li Du was a former schoolmate, I’ll give you guys a more realistic price: 4,500 dollars."
Hans looked at Li Du and said, "So, buddy, what do you say? You make the call."
Li Du gave a smack on the table and said, "How about this: we’ll meet in the middle. Five thousand."
Thomas walked two rounds around the table, and then sat in the chair for a while. He then stood up and nodded. "Alright, five thousand then."
Hans smiled, and then shook hands with Thomas. "Thank you, we really appreciate it, friend. Thanks for buying our goods."
Thomas smiled also and said, "Thank you guys as well. This is some good stuff. I think I’ll be able to make quite a bit by reselling. Many folks in Phoenix would love this exquisite furniture."
The set of furniture was bulky and heavy. After getting the payment, Li Du let Godzilla help carry the goods into the furniture store.
Thomas wanted them to stay in the store and catch up, but they still had to settle the alligator leather and specimens, so they had to arrange another time to meet again, and left swiftly.