Chapter 409: I’ll Return the Money
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Hans went back into the office and heard Kellan chasing Frank and the other two out. He was so surprised that he looked at Li Du and gave him a thumbs-up silently. Amazing! Good job! he thought.
The three of them had to leave the office reluctantly as the police officer was coming over to shove them.
Just before they went out the door, Frank turned to say, "You’ll regret it, Kellan Pratt—for believing this lad, you’ll regret it!"
They could stay in the office and drink beer and coffee with the Pratt brothers earlier because they had helped them earn money.
Li Du had asked Turis and the group of treasure hunters, and he got to know that those crooks didn’t earn more than 10,000 dollars. After deducting the manpower costs and costs of the goods, both parties would only get around 4,000 dollars.
Four thousand dollars was nothing compared to the value of the storage company. The storage units and land the company was residing on had a value of at least 200,000 dollars! With 4,000 dollars against 200,000 dollars, it was obvious who would be asked to get out of the office.
Li Du had thought of this plan before entering the office and knew that he should be able to drive the three scums out.
The group of agitated treasure hunters was just outside the office. Rick took a look at the windows and said with hesitation, "Are we really going out now? D*mn, d*mmit!"
"We’ll just go," said Frank forcefully. "What’s there to be scared of? Officer Pratt’s here. If they dare use violence—"
"Officer Pratt will not interfere," Li Du interrupted with a chuckle.
The three of them tensed up and they looked at the police officer.
Many treasure hunters belonged to the lower class of society where they liked to use their fists to solve their problems as they were usually not highly educated nor self-cultivated. Outside the office were close to 30 such people. If they were to really use violence to deal with the three of them, they could get killed.
The police officer tightened his belt and said, "Derta is a simple and honest town. No brawl will take place here, right?"
Li Du said, "Yeah, there will only be friendly rough and tumble play."
The police officer wanted to at least help the three of them leave here safely but after what Li Du said, he thought for a while, nodded, and said, "The police do not interfere with friendly rough and tumble play."
"Sh*t, you *sshole!" Frank got irritated; now that Pratt’s had the money, he treated them like dirt.
Officer Pratt was also a hot-tempered man; there wasn’t any higher authority in town to keep him in check, and he was accustomed to being the figure of authority in town. Having been chastised by Frank, he wanted to punch him.
On the other hand, Kellan was calm. He stopped his cousin while York pulled Frank away and left the office.
Li Du glanced at Hans, who sneered, "I’ll make sure everyone teaches them a good lesson!"
"No, tell everyone not to do it."
"Huh?" Hans was mystified.
"You heard it," affirmed Li Du. "Don’t let them use violence. I have other plans!"
The minute the three men walked out of the office, the treasure hunters created a ruckus. The angry group hurled abuses at them and everyone inside the office could hear that the verbal abuses were most prominent against Frank. "Yeah, I planned this whole thing," yelled Frank at the treasure hunters. "I wanted to teach you bumpkins a lesson—aren’t you all following behind Li’s butt? Continue doing that!"
Kellan’s features darkened after hearing what Frank said. "D*mn Californian, if there’s no business dealing, I would have beaten up that *sshole!"
"I can’t stand him either," said a piqued Officer Pratt. "Who gave him the feeling of superiority? He doesn’t act like he’s from LA; he acts like he’s from heaven instead."
Li Du smiled, "Your business dealing was ganging up with them to scam the treasure hunters outside?"
Kellan immediately denied this. "No, of course not, I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Don’t be in a hurry to deny it—hear me out first. I’m looking into this company as I’m really serious about taking over the business."
"Is that so?" Kellan somewhat believed Li as he had somewhat proven his desire to buy the company. If one was not interested in buying a company, one would not be diligently looking into the background of a company, and even to the extent of bribing an officer working in IRS.
"I have my own reasons for wanting to take over a storage company," explained Li Du. "I’m a treasure hunter and I don’t want to be one all my life. I want to own a company."
Kellan nodded and said, "Youngsters should have dreams and aspirations. But why do you come to a remote place to buy a storage unit company?"
"Currently I only have enough to buy a relatively cheap storage unit company. I also wanted to test out my capabilities with regards to managing a company so I don’t want to invest too much money in it."
Kellan felt something was not quite right, but Li prattled on, so he could only continue to listen.
"I have two companies in mind: your company and Red Rock Canyon Storage at Jerome," said Li Du. "However, it seems like Red Rock Canyon’s a more suitable choice."
"Why?"
"Pardon me for saying this, but your company has gotten into trouble," said Li Du. "Look, you laid a trap to scam the treasure hunters. The Storage Auction Association will blacklist your company.
"If I took over the company, what should I do with the stuff in the storage units? You understand, right? Seriously, I’m really interested, but I’m hesitant too."
Kellan’s eyebrows were now closely knitted, his expression somber and he seemed deep in thought.
"Do you know why I’m here?" Li Du added. "Wanna know why they called me here the moment they got scammed?"
"Because you’re their leader?" the police officer answered.
"How can that be? I’m Chinese," laughed Li Du. "Chinese are discriminated the worst against in the storage auction industry."
Kellan nodded slowly. He had been in this business for more than 20 years and therefore knew about this aspect. Moreover, he had never heard of any famous Chinese treasure hunters in Arizona.
"They called me up because they knew that I had been asking around for information as I wanted to take over your company. My pals wanted me to know about this situation and to give up on the thought of taking over this company."
The police officer started to swear upon hearing that, "D*mn, d*mn that Californian, what a jinx!"
Kellan glared at his cousin as he had unwittingly admitted to what Li Du had asked them earlier: that they did team up with Frank, York, and Rick to scam the treasure hunters.
He mulled it over for a while and looked at Li Du. "What are your thoughts?"
Li Du replied matter-of-factly, "What should I say? I want to talk to you about the deal, but I don’t want to take over a company that’s going to be blacklisted by the association!"
"I can get this settled," assured Kellan. "As long as the association can’t prove that I’ve participated in fraud, they won’t blacklist the company."
Li Du nodded his head. "They will find the evidence. You might already know that the *ssholes you colluded with are treasure hunters. In order to continue making a living in the industry, they will push all the blame onto you."
Kellan gritted his teeth. "Fine then, we’ll make sure we’re two jumps ahead. I’ll take out the money that they gave me and return it to the treasure hunters, reconcile with them, and jointly complain to the association."
Li Du pondered over it and after a while, he agreed, "That could work."
The police officer stood up and asked, "Bro, shall I get them inside here then?"
Kellan nodded but just as the policeman turned towards the door, he suddenly frowned. "No rush, wait first," said Kellan, then he turned to Li. "I can return the money to them to avoid getting the company blacklisted. However, what if you change your mind and decide not to buy my company anymore?"
Kellan still could not trust Li Du completely.
Of course, if he easily believed someone he had just met, then Kellan would have been too naive and gullible.