Chapter 6: A Poor Man's Glare
Translator: Vicky_ Editor: Vicky_
The auction for unit 207 pushed the event to its climax. This unit contained the very well-maintained box for the massage chair, giving off the impression that the original owner replaced it back in its package. 207 was the unit that everyone had come for.
The previous four storage units were each sold for a few hundred dollars, and this somewhat prevented Li Du from taking this auctioning business seriously. However, after the massage chair package was revealed, Li Du witnessed the intensity of this career.
"Two hundred! Two hundred, two hundred is the starting bid. Is there anyone willing to bid three hundred, three hundred dollars for the priceless treasures inside?"
In no time at all the price jumped by more than one thousand dollars.
"… One thousand five hundred dollars is the current bid! Is there anyone willing to bid one thousand six hundred? One thousand six hundred? Very good, this gentleman has placed a one thousand six hundred dollar bid. How about one thousand seven hundred, one thousand seven hundred dollars is the next bid."
It kept increasing.
"… Two thousand five hundred is the current price, anyone willing to bid two thousand six hundred? Very good, the bid is now two thousand six hundred dollars, now let me be a bit aggressive and ask for Two thousand eight hundred! Two thousand eight hundred…"
"Four thousand dollars!" shouted a wealthy looking African American. Li Du was shocked by the price. "There's someone who's willing to bid that high?"
Hans could only admire the wealth of the few still participating, "Of course! Didn't I already tell you? Another name for that Kassrow massage chair is the "Multipurpose Electric Space Capsule." A new one costs somewhere around twenty thousand dollars!"
In the end, unit 207 was won by the wealthy African American for the price of six thousand five hundred dollars. Seeing his smug look as he placed a lock on the door, Li Du only gave him a pitiful stare. He knew that in that box, there were just a bunch of finance books and magazines. Its owner probably thought that the box was quite spacious, so he used it for organizational purposes.
Unit 208, the next storage unit, was offered at fifty dollars because of all the trash inside.
Seeing this, Li Du raised his eyebrows at Hans. "Hey, Big Fox, how about we buy this storage unit?"
"What's inside?" Hans asked, somewhat surprised.
"See, that's a television cover, so there's probably a television under it. That alone is probably around fifty dollars", Li Du said as he pointed inside.
"Anything else?" Hans asked.
"For that, we'll have to wait and see."
"In other words, you only see one thing that would make us break even?" Hans asked. "Then don't bid for it! When we bid, we are undertaking a risk, and the reason that we face such risks is for the sake of profit. Why would we undertake risks with little to no return?"
The last storage unit had a few items that looked quite nice. However, after Hans swiped the unit with his flashlight, he only shook his head with regret.
"What's up?" Li Du asked.
"If I still had my truck, I'd try my best to bid for this storage. Do you see that case? I think it's a gun case. There's probably an antique gun inside that could be sold for quite a high price." Hans sacrificed convenience when he had mortgaged his car.
After winning the bid for a storage unit, they only had 24 hours of ownership. Within that time, they had to haul away everything, including any garbage. They must leave a clean warehouse for the storage company. If they only take away the valuable objects and leave behind the worthless ones, then they would not be welcome to participate in any future auctions at this auctioning company.
When one didn't have a car, it was a lot harder to deal with the trash.
In the end, the final storage unit was sold for 1,500 dollars. Just from this, it was apparent that Hans wasn't the only one who had seen the gun case.
When the auction ended, Hans went to pay the fees. This storage company didn't accept credit cards or online wire transfers, so Hans had to pay with cash.
After the transaction, the auctioneer placed another stamp on their documents, signaling that they had permission to begin taking their things.
Beside them, the wealthy African American went into his storage unit and directly walked toward the big box. A smile appeared on his face as he struggled to lift it. "This is quite heavy; there must be something valuable inside."
When he opened the box, however, only a bunch of books and magazines fell out.
The wealthy man was shocked upon seeing this. Hans and the other people watching let out a smile. If the massage chair wasn't in this unit, then there was a chance that the chair was somewhere in the storage that they had won.
Just as Li Du started organizing the items, Hans waved his hand. "Yo buddy, there's no need, just act as my assistant. We will work together."
Li Du was very moved, "Thank you, Big Fox. But there's no need to go out of your way to take care of me…"
"Get lost, who's taking care of you? And when you speak to me, don't use such an infatuated tone! I'm afraid that your eyes are not reliable and you may miss a valuable object! So we work together."
Li Du immediately raised his middle finger: "F*ck you."
"This chair is quite good. It'll probably sell for 50 dollars. Take it to the left side of the door. This shelf is also quite nice, it'll easily sell for 50 dollars…
"Dammit, this security case is broken, I'll have to throw it away. Man, our luck is really bad, this oven is broken as well."
As he shook his head, Hans pulled away a cover in front of him. A leather massage chair encased with a golden shell appeared in front of him!
Because the unit was very well insulated and the chair itself was covered, there was no sign of any dust. As a result, its golden shell shone like a new product, and like a polished mirror, it reflected its perfect condition.
After a moment of shock, Hans shouted in an excited tone, "F*ck! F*ck! F*ck! HAHAHA! It's the massage chair! I bought the massage chair!"
Hearing Hans's voice, the other bidders immediately came to check. At the sight of the massive massage chair, one by one, they grew stares of envy and jealousy. As for the wealthy African American, he looked as if he wanted to rush up and snatch the chair.
With the discovery of the chair, the other items in the unit became insignificant. Hans immediately called for a truck and moved everything onto it. Before the sky was completely dark, they cleaned up the storage and left.
After they got back to their place, Hans excitedly plugged in the chair and said, "Let me check out how good this twenty thousand dollar chair is!"
After switching it on, the LED screens on the handles of the chair immediately lit up. With an expression full of pleasure, Hans pushed downed the start button and waited happily. However, in the end, nothing happened.
Seeing this, Li Du became anxious, "S*it, could it be broken?"
"No way," Hans replied assuredly. "God allowed me to successfully win this chair. He won't give it to us broken. Wait here, I'll check for the user manual online."
It wasn't long before he returned with a look of despair. "According to the manual, the motors of this chair are broken! Dammit, I should not have believed in God in the first place. He's never reliable!"
"What can we do? Can we fix it?"
"The thing that's broken is the motor, in other words, the central control unit. We need at least three thousand dollars to fix it. Do you have three thousand dollars?"
"Didn't you mortgage your truck? Don't tell me that it wasn't even worth three thousand!"
"I was only able to get two thousand five hundred. I only have one thousand left. Do you have two thousand dollars?" Hans glanced at Li Du hopefully.
"I don't have a f*cking dollar left," Li Du said as he opened his wallet.
As the two looked at each other, they both understood what the other was trying to say: Poor bast*rd!