Chapter 24: A Set of Old Stamps
Translator: Vicky_ Editor: Vicky_
This really was a barbaric town.
"Ching-Chong"" was a term used to look down on Chinese people. It was a stereotype that Americans didn"t understand the Chinese accent—this could be traced back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, when most Chinese immigrants came from the Canton area.
Those immigrants all spoke Cantonese, which, to Americans, sounded like a variation of "ching,""chong,""ling,""long," and other such sounds. Because of this, they had used that as a nickname for east Asians.
As time pa.s.sed, that nickname had become the equivalent of an insult and a form of discrimination, which was illegal under American law.
While Li Du clenched his fists, Hans stormed out and cursed at the buffy man, "Bast*rd, shut your sh*thole up! Did you eat too much sh*t today? Is that why it"s so stinky? Do you usually kiss your children with such stench as well?"
Hans"s comeback was truly quite effective, as just a moment later, the black guy expectantly shouted back, "Are you looking to die, whitey? Do you not know whose territory this is?"
At this, Hans showed him his knife and mocked, "This knife says that this is my territory!"
As the crowd surrounded them, a white man with aviators came out and said, "Is it you two who"re trying to cause trouble here? Let"s throw them outside!"
Unlike Flagstaff and Phoenix, the people here were much fiercer; the crowded started moving even before the white guy finished his words.
Slow down time, Li Du thought, and just a moment later, the movement of the crowd slowed to the speed of a snail.
Walking at a normal speed, he easily removed the white guy"s aviators, the black guy"s cigarette, and another person"s bracelet.
When time returned to normal, Li Du felt a wave of fatigue, but he still threw the stuff on the ground with a dark face and coldly stated, "Believe me when I say that it is just as easy for me to take out your eyeb.a.l.l.s, cut off your tongues, and rip off your b.a.l.l.s!"
This action was quite shocking; the crowd suddenly halted, and someone exclaimed, "My G.o.d! Is he Quicksilver or The Flash?!"
Another white guy nervously swallowed, "This d.a.m.n yellow bast*rd…"
"Hey, Redneck, control your sh*thole—don"t let it cause you any more trouble, okay?" Lu Du angrily interrupted.
While redneck could be taken literally, it was more of an insult to white people who were uncultured. White laborers, such as farmers, often had to work under the sun, and this caused them to get a sunburn.
Although the term was used to discriminate against low-cla.s.s, uncultured people, it was always used toward those who were white.
One from the crowd said to Hans, "Your buddy also made fun of you," implying that he was a low-cla.s.s man.
"I"ve earned over 20,000 dollars this month," Hans said proudly. "Do you understand what that means? That means that I"m not a dirty low-cla.s.s worker, but a big-shot. You"re the uncultured redneck!"
As their argument continued, the atmosphere became even tenser. However, due to the shock of Li Du"s previous actions, they didn"t resort to violence.
When more people began to arrive, they also turned their attention to the newcomers.
From 8:30 to 9:30, two separate brawls occurred. At least ten people were escorted out by security.
In the meantime, Li Du and Hans enjoyed the show in the corner with a cup of coffee. Whatever the cause might be, the less the compet.i.tion, the better it was for them.
However, as he remembered the piles of junk in those storage units, Li Du couldn"t help but feel down again.
When 9:30 came, the auction official began. This time, the auctioneer actually spoke at a normal speed: "Very well everybody, let"s all line up. There"s a total of nine units being auctioned this time, so prepare your money and get treasure hunting!"
Because smaller units couldn"t hold many items, the first one had an initial bid of 50 dollars. After a close compet.i.tion between two people, it sold for 80 dollars.
The second unit also sold quite cheap, but Li Du didn"t bid since the only thing of worth in there was a television. However, since the model was already quite old, it wasn"t worth the effort.
The third storage unit sold for 100 dollars, and so they came to the fourth: unit 56.
There were quite a few good items in this one, so Li Du raised his eyebrows to Hans while commenting, "Take this one. As long as it stays under 500 dollars, we should be able to profit."
He didn"t want to outright show his interest, so he quickly swept the storage unit with his eyes before walking away. His disinterest might throw the others off of the units value.
With nothing else to do, he walked over to unit 58, which would be auctioned next, and let the little bug in again to see if he could find anything at the last minute.
He had already gone through the unit before. With nothing but two bookcases between the walls, he hadn"t spent much time examining them during his first visit.
On the cases were a bunch of newspapers and magazines. They were quite normal—in other words, quite useless—so he only shook his head and began to retrieve the little bug.
However, just as the little bug went through one of the bookcases, he caught a glimpse of something within the cracks of the wood. He guided the little bug in for a closer look.
The bookcase itself was of the older variety, and within the cracks were a bunch of small stamps.
Those stamps were printed with the graphics of sports stars such as Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, and Carl Lewis. However, as the stamps were all American ones, he really couldn"t place their value.
Just as he was examining those stamps, he got a call from Hans, so he quietly returned to the auction square.
The current auction had begun, and the price of the unit had somehow shot up to a shocking 800 dollars!
After seeing Hans"s bid, the local treasure hunters also followed suit. One person commented, "Outsider, don"t even think about taking something away from Havasu!"
As the price increased to 1,000 dollars, Li Du shook his head. At this price, there wasn"t much worth to the storage unit; both Segways were slightly damaged, and the laptop was quite old as well.
At his discreet advis.e.m.e.nt, Hans soon stopped going any higher. In the end, the unit was won by the aviator wearing white guy for a total of 1,100 dollars.
As they came to unit 58, everyone shook their heads before leaving. The unit was really empty, and the only thing of worth in there were the books on the cases.
The treasure hunters all had quite good eyesight, and just from a simple glimpse under the flashlight, they could tell what the books were.
There weren"t any antique books, paintings, or other such collectibles.
The auctioneer knew this as well, so he raised his hand and began. "We"ll now auction off unit 58; let"s say 50 dollars?"
Hearing this, Li Du creased his eyebrows. He really couldn"t tell if the stamps themselves were worth the price of 50 dollars.
While he was hesitating, the other people all shook their heads.
Seeing this, the auctioneer shouted, "Ten dollars anyone? How about ten dollars?"
At this, there was still no one, so the auctioneer raised his finger and said, "This is the last time—how about one dollar!"