Chapter 677: Testing Waters
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The old goods market was relatively small. If nothing especially eye-catching made an appearance, then the usual transaction price would average 100,000 to 500,000 dollars.
It couldn't be compared to art auctions where deals worth tens of millions of dollars or even hundreds of millions of dollars were made. Hence, if a mogul were to show up, there was a great impact on the old goods market.
Suradi Feuille must have heard the news about Li Du splashing money about in town, and had deliberately pushed forward the auction date by one day.
For auctions, the impact was not big. After all, two auctions took place every week—the frequency was pretty high.
Li Du readily agreed to attend the auction the following evening.
However, what he didn't tell Feuille was that if he were expecting him to foolishly throw money away at the auction, then he was expecting too much.
Unless there was something at the auction that contained time energy, he might not end up buying anything. Instead, he would just be there to join in the fun.
The next day, Li Du had nothing to do and continued wandering about the town.
He searched for items with time energy that he could have missed out on the day before. He wanted to continue replenishing the little bug's energy, and make sure it was filled up.
Many of the old goods traders in Horseshoe Town regarded Li Du as their "God of Wealth." Like hostesses: as soon as they spotted him, they would go to the doorway and try to pull him into their stores. All that they were short of saying was, "Come in and have a good time, Sir."
Hans was puzzled. "What are these things you've gotten? How are you gonna make money?"
Li Du gave him a faint smile and said, "Don't worry, have you done what I asked you to? It's sure to make you money."
Hans nodded. "Have done it all. The fishing boat and the crane are on the way, but it'll be a while yet. It's not easy to get the crane here."
Li Du snapped his fingers and said, "No hurry."
After lunch, they strolled around and when evening came, they drove over to Feuille's Auction House in town.
Unlike the auction house in Hoffman, this auction house had been converted from the interior of a tall building.
This building had formerly been a casino with opulent furnishings. When the casino relocated, the place was left vacant. Old Feuille had rented it for a low price as the site for conducting auctions for old goods.
When Li Du and the others got out from the truck at the parking lot, they looked up to see a wide two-story building. The grand-looking building occupied at least tens of thousands in square feet.
Looking at the building, he lamented, "We should go back to Hoffman's market and tell 'em to take a look at the high standards other people uphold. Would the auctions by Christie's and Sotheby's be nothing more than this?"
"Huge difference," Brother Wolf said.
"You've attended auctions by Christie's or Sotheby's?" Li Du asked.
"Attended the spring and autumn auctions in Berlin and Hamburg doing security coordination," Brother Wolf explained. "They were extremely lavish."
Li Du knew Brother Wolf's character well. He had always kept a low profile, was reliable and prudent. If he used "extremely lavish" to describe Christie's and Sotheby's auctions, then they were lavish for sure!
As soon as they entered the auction site, they no longer felt that it was grand. The fixtures of the building had been built by the casino. At that time, it had cost a lot of money and effort. The fixtures had lasted and so even though it had been some years, the place still looked impressive.
However, the maintenance of the furnishings within the auction site was needed. The auction house was certainly not as well-off as the casino and didn't bother with maintenance.
The empty building comprised two levels. It resembled a loft-style apartment building—the first level was the living hall while the second level was surrounded by a mezzanine deck.
In the northern area of the hall was a stage with a curtain behind. The curtain could be pulled apart to display the items being auctioned.
In addition, on the stage's front and sides were seats for the audience. As people could also stand at the mezzanine deck, quite a number of people could be accommodated in total.
By the time Li Du and his party arrived, there were already many people standing there. There were mostly black and white folks and a few Native Americans.
When they entered, the people who had been chatting turned their heads. They were not only looking at Li Du, but also his entire team. After all, it was rare to see children attending such auctions.
Li Du could understand Brother Wolf's need to take Ivana wherever he went: the rest of his family had been killed in a terrorist attack, and his daughter was all he had left.
The terrorist attack, which had taken place while he was away from home, had been a huge blow to him. Now, he no longer dared to be separated from his family.
Similarly, Ivana was afraid of the outside world because of terrorist attacks—only her father could provide her with a sense of security.
Upon spotting Li Du, Suradi Feuille came over to shake his hand. "This way please, let's go upstairs. I've reserved a place for you guys."
The view from above was better—only important customers could go up. Anyone could be on the first floor, including tourists who were interested.
Simply put, level two was where the VIP seating was.
Soon after Li Du and the rest took their seats, another person came upstairs. He turned his head and recognized him—it was the wily Fawkes he'd met when he'd first come to town.
Seeing Li Du, Fawkes laughed and waved enthusiastically. "Hi Li, we meet again. Seems like we're fated to meet."
As though he were a close friend, he took his seat near Li Du. Brother Wolf stood quietly behind Li Du, with his body slightly inclined toward Fawkes so that he could respond quickly should there be a need to.
This was one of the attributes of a professional bodyguard. Godzilla and Big Quinn might possess the strength and combat ability, but they didn't know how to protect a person, how to mitigate risks and avoid crises.
Li Du stretched his hand out warmly and said, "What're you after tonight? Can you give me some pointers? As you know, I'm new in this industry."
Fawkes said, "Nothing much, just here to join in the fun. The main thing is I haven't much money, unlike you."
That comment sounded a tad resentful.
As he spoke, a white man behind him added grudgingly, "Yeah, since you're so loaded, why are you even here to compete with us in this small market?"
If one person complained, everyone else joined in.
"Exactly, buddy. We all know your standing, you're a very good storage auction treasure hunter. Why don't you just continue with your storage auction business?"
"You want a piece of every pie? Isn't your appetite a bit too large then? Old goods auctions are not the same as those storage auctions of yours."
"Over the past two days, he's traded many things, but isn't it all junk? What about the loss from that? Still hasn't learned his lesson?"
The people around him started to bicker. After observing them for a short while, Fawkes tried to right the injustice. "Be more welcoming, my good man. Li's joining will strengthen our old goods treasure hunting team. Isn't that a good thing?"
Saying that, he patted Li Du's shoulder and added, "Don't you take it to heart, Li. These guys say what's on their mind and while it may sound sore to the ears, it is true that you've gotta gain more experience. You've traded a lot the past two days but didn't gain much, right?"
Li Du smiled and said, "I've just been trying things out the past two days. I plan to take two million dollars out for testing the waters."
The expression on all the treasure hunters, including Fawkes, changed.