Chapter 215: Participating as a Team
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du liked Kobe very much. He looked cool when playing basketball; in college, those who looked cool playing basketball would have many groupies surrounding them…
Since he knew that Kobe was not far off, he wanted to try and get close to him to say something to him like: "Sighs for the first and second attempts, and rebounds for the third and fourth"—that would be ideal.
It was a shame there were so many people and he could not squeeze through the crowd. There were security officers maintaining order. If they had wanted to enter, they would have to pass through security checks; the crowds of people they saw were all waiting to pass through the security checks.
Because of this, the best thing Mr. Li could do was have Godzilla take a photo. Being tall, he could see over the people to catch a glimpse of the towering Kobe from afar.
After he sent the photo to his circle of friends, along with the caption: "Meeting Peter Pan," he pocketed his mobile phone and asked, "Godzilla, who would win if you were to go against Kobe, one-on-one?"
"Me," Godzilla said confidently.
Li Du cracked up. "You can outdo him by force, is it?
Godzilla was momentarily surprised. "No, I’ve trained in karate, aikido and boxing, and am especially powerful when fighting one-on-one."
Li Du was speechless.
As many people were attracted by the reality show, there were fewer people at the food stalls at the market. Li Du and party could stroll to wherever they wanted.
Hans brought them to take their seats at a sandwich stall. He brought back three sandwiches and said, "Be it the LA police, or those bloodsuckers from the financial district, they like to come here for this sandwich every day after work."
Li Du asked, "What’s the big deal?"
"This has been regarded as the birthplace of the French dipped sandwich," Hans said. "This small shop that you are looking at has been in existence for a whole century."
The sandwiches were French rolls with meat fillings, served with gravy. The sandwiches, eaten with the gravy, brought them immense satisfaction in no time.
After eating the sandwich, they went to try some Jewish food: chicken schnitzel, potato latkes, and macaroons—Li Du had tried something new.
There was a fast food restaurant at the square that stood out with its eye-catching décor. On the exterior, it looked like a theater. On the inside, it was brightly colored. Its furniture was reflective of the 1920s style.
Seated within, Li Du had an avocado quinoa salad and donuts. Of course he only had two mouthfuls—the rest was devoured by Godzilla.
There was also a Mexican torta stuffed with minced oxtail and Mexican stewed pork. Godzilla had gobbled down the large bulging sandwich with much enjoyment and satisfaction.
There were also beer counters at the market selling craft beer.
Li Du drank a cup of mint lemonade—he had minty fresh breath after drinking it.
Hans said, "There’s an eating championship here every year. I think the two of you can come and participate."
After downing the lemonade, Li Du ordered a large stick of Brazilian grilled meat— peppers and purple cabbage in between a large piece of pork—and demolished it with enjoyment.
Godzilla was eating curry waxed duck; his mouth was covered with oil as he gnawed at the duck leg.
Hans was right: they could participate in the eating championship.
After going around the market, Li Du was finally full after eating a freshly-made fried-cheese pita. He had eaten it as they walked toward the direction they had come from.
Godzilla brought along a smoked sausage. This could be cut whenever he wanted to eat it. He had also bought a barrel of beer, which he said was for supper later.
Li Du looked at his watch—it was already 11 p.m.…
Another day of fun in LA: they had seen the sights, checked out gorgeous women, and had also indulged on food. They were ready to start the auction for the movie storage units.
They got out of bed early and drove to the location of the Warner Bros storage units. When they arrived, there were already hordes of people waiting.
Li Du was shocked. "So many people?"
For 45 storage units, 100 treasure hunters were not considered too many. But it was only 7:30 a.m. There were one and a half hours before the auction was to start at 9:00 a.m. There were already 100 people, which meant that there could be 1,000 people at today’s auction.
The three of them found a place to park their car and then they saw the Rick father and son pair.
Lil’ Rick walked toward them. Li Du could not be bothered with the pair, and instead walked away to avoid them.
It had been almost half a year since Li Du had ventured into this trade. Since then, Li Du had attended many auctions and had gotten to know many treasure hunters.
But he did not see many familiar faces here—most of them were strangers.
Hans was acquainted with more people. People were greeting them non-stop once they got out of the car:
"Wow, Big Fox, you’re back again?"
"Welcome back to the City of Angels—how many hundreds of dollars did you bring back this time?"
"I thought you would not get involved in this industry again. ‘The tough get going,’ huh, Big Fox?"
Hans was initially a little depressed by everyone’s words, but he gradually became more excited. He put on a brave smile as people kept teasing him.
As the number of people grew, the Arizona team of treasure hunters started to appear.
Li Du saw treasure hunters such as Turís, Big Beard Carl, Ferris, arrogant Andrew, Rambis, and his mustached brother-in-law Carl Huron.
After everyone arrived, they started to form cliques. Soon, there were many teams, both large and small.
Li Du did not wish to join such teams. But Turís and Ferris went up to greet them, saying "Hi, Li, Big Fox—wanna form a team today?"
It was rare to see teams forming at auctions. Normally, people would only do this when there were many storage units put up for auction.
The purpose of this was to increase the number of storage units acquired. One person’s spending ability was limited, and it was also difficult to pack up all the storage if many storage units were acquired.
Instead of hoarding it all to oneself, one would seek out other treasure hunters with more authority and fame to form the core of their team and earn some gains in the process.
For such last minute teams, the core treasure hunter would be known as the leader, whereas the rest of the treasure hunters would be known as the followers.
Some storage units may not have been worth a lot to the leaders, but could be valuable to the followers. Under such circumstances, the leaders would make recommendations so that the followers could benefit.
In this case, the followers could earn some money while the core treasure hunters could gain fame—it was a win-win.
After hearing from a few treasure hunters, Hans looked at Li Du, who nodded and said, "Of course. We have a Chinese saying: ‘There is strength in numbers.’ We should team up."
"Li and Hans are the leaders," Ferris said. "I’ve got the feeling that they would be outstanding ones."
He had made money along with Li Du and Hans last month at an auction by the Bureau of Land Management in Phoenix. Li Du had singled out a storage unit with electronics and Ferris had managed to bid for it.
As the few of them were chatting away, cheers from the crowd could be heard from afar. It was as if someone of importance had arrived.