Chapter 203: A Weird Specimen
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Along the road, Li Du realized that the Amish were not what he imagined. They were not a close-knit community of people who survived by supporting each other.
The Amish lived in an open environment; their houses were not centralized, but scattered, and there was no proper village or any community areas.
As they rode along the way, he saw some Amish houses near Flagstaff. They were scattered amongst the homes of the average citizen, and everyone lived together.
It was simple to differentiate Amish and more common households, mainly because of the cars and electrical wires that most houses had in front of them. There was often a barn behind Amish houses, and there were also often small black carriages, either in the back or front yards.
However, Amish or not, the road stretched in front of every house.
Some of the Amish built their houses near the malls. What impressed Li Du the most was that people around them practiced a debauchery lifestyle, but the Amish were not affected.
When they reached Hannah’s place, Li Du got off the motorcycle and said, "I thought they lived in like a valley, away from the outside world, but they live together with average citizens."
Hans said, "Of course—but honestly, it was outsiders who settled near their community, and not the other way around. The Amish chose that place to live on purpose. They usually live in the traditional, agriculture areas, with rich and extensive flat land."
After lunch, he went to deal with the lease arrangement.
After the whole procedure, the three of them drove back to the place by evening. They could then put the second-hand furniture, electrical appliances, and trash from Carpenter town on the empty land.
Hans had brought a barbecue grill with them, and there was a small fridge with booze and food in the Iron Knight; they decide to have a nighttime barbecue here.
This was the lifestyle that Li Du had wanted for so long. They stayed on the barren land. There was a fire on the grill and the three of them were drinking, eating, and telling jokes.
There was an immense space in the trees around them, and as they stared up they saw there were many stars in the sky. The pressure from the bustling city disappeared and they felt relaxed in the simple pleasure of grilling outside at night.
However, the reality was not what they imagined.
Hans eventually brought a lamp from the car to get them some light.
The light soon attracted many insects, and the three of them were bitten all over by them. There were swatting sounds as Li Du quickly swatted a dozen mosquitoes.
Hans shrugged. "F*ck it—we can’t stay here anymore—let’s go back."
Godzilla sat still and ignored the mosquitoes, focused on grilling the meat.
Li Du could not stand it anymore—he looked at all the second-hand items they had piled on the property and asked, "Should we just leave it like this? What if someone steals some stuff?"
Godzilla said nonchalantly, "You guys can leave. I’ll stay."
Hans laughed, "What’s the point in staying? Do you want to feed the mosquitoes? Don’t worry, our neighbors are Amish. They love peace and they have high moral standards—they will not steal."
Li Du was not worried about the Amish. In fact, there was nothing to be worried about. This barren land was hidden, and there were many insects, rats, and snakes around. So nobody would notice such a place.
They went back to Hans’s yard to enjoy the food and drink some beer. They didn’t start to deal with the items from Carpenter town until a few days later.
Li Du was worried about getting rid of the stuff, so he decided to organize the items on the property. Godzilla made some signs and placed them on the barbed wire. On them he had written: "This is private property. Do not trespass. Enter at your own risk. "
A few sentences were enough to warn people, and they were not kidding. In America, if a person trespassed on someone’s private property, the owner of the property had the right to shoot and kill.
After putting up the signs, Li Du said, "Let’s one day build a house here. When we have a bunch of items on the property, Godzilla can live here as security."
The big guy nodded and said, "Sure."
Li Du said, "Although we can’t have electricity here, we’ll make you a diesel-powered generator. We can get you two big fridges filled with booze and food."
Godzilla could not stop laughing; he rarely had the chance to drink because he was the driver. But if he could live here, then he could drink as much as he wanted to. He could do whatever he wanted to.
After packing things up, on the return way home, they saw an Amish family and many items in the yard. There was a note on the tree nearby which said: "Second-hand goods to give away."
Li Du asked Godzilla to stop the car as he was interested in second-hand goods and Amish people. Seeing the combination of both, he couldn’t let this chance slip away from his fingers.
After getting out of the car, he walked toward the yard and asked, "Excuse me, miss. Are you giving these away?"
The lady was wearing a black dress and she was busy in the yard. There were many items scattered about; most of them looked handmade.
After she heard his question, the lady nodded but remained silent.
Li Du squatted down and took a porcelain container; he asked, "Did you make this yourself?"
The lady shook her head and finally said, "No, this was left by my grandfather."
Once he heard this, Li Du became more interested as he wondered if he had found an antique.
He quickly released the little bug to study the porcelain container.
However, the little bug was not interested in it, instead flying toward an animal skeletal specimen. Its quick speed showed that it was extremely attracted to the specimen.
The skeletal specimen was big: one meter high. The skeleton was sturdy, with a big beak. Li Du quickly recalled the little bug so that it would not ruin the specimen. He then studied the specimen carefully.
He was not an animal expert, so he could not see what it was by just looking at the skeleton.
So he released little bug again—he wanted to see the past of the creature with his time traveling ability.
But, using this ability, all he could see was that the specimen was once placed in a box.
Li Du had definitely seen the animal skeleton specimen. But why couldn’t the little bug see what it looked like before it died? Why was its state as a specimen the earliest image he could see of it?
There were so many questions in his head. He really cared about questions and answers in regards to the little bug, so he decided to have this specimen for himself.
He retrieved the little bug and pointed toward the specimen. "How much is this, miss?"
The lady looked shocked and said, "No, this is not for sale."
Li Du was disappointed. "Not for sale? But didn’t you say that you wanted to give all of this away? "
The lady thought about it and said, "Yes, but it’s not for sale. I want to give it away and I am willing to exchange if you have something that I want."
Suddenly, Li Du understood that she was trying to barter with him.
He was not familiar with bartering and this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. He immediately called Hans.