Chapter 420: Insider Information
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The group was having their dinner in a restaurant called "Bonkers". The interior design was very distinctive because it incorporated the local attractions as a whole. It was a breathtaking sight for Li Du.
The floor of the restaurant was made of tempered gla.s.s; underneath was a pool, which was like an imitation of Lake Powell. When people stood on it, they felt like they were strolling on the lake.
There were private dining rooms on both sides of the aisle, the exteriors of the private dining rooms were decorated like mountains, making the aisle look like a canyon. No doubt that was a tribute to Glen Canyon.
Although Li Du had not been to Lake Powell, he was quite well-informed about the local attraction. Just as what he saw in the restaurant, Lake Powell was surrounded by striking red rock, steep, tall canyons, and magnificent desert-like landscapes.
When Zhang Kai entered the restaurant, he was somewhat overwhelmed and said, "Are we having our dinner here? This is too expensive, Brother Li. Too expensive."
Li Du didn"t know about the prices here as Hans was the one who had made the reservations. Judging from Zhang Kai"s reaction, this was a high-cla.s.s restaurant. Of course, by looking at how the restaurant was being furnished, one could also tell that the food here was certainly expensive.
Hans was a generous person but he was not foolish. He had only made a reservation for five: the four of them plus Zhang Kai.
Their meals were served very shortly after ordering them. Li Du was savoring the local venison and chatting with Zhang. "Brother Zhang, so what do you know about the things inside the storage units?"
Zhang Kai was focused on eating his roast beef. He wiped his mouth and glanced up, carefully looking to his left and right before talking in a low voice, "Yes, there"s one of them with good items inside."
"Don"t worry," a.s.sured Li Du, "n.o.body"s listening in. You can tell me what you know, and if it"s exactly what you"ve said, I won"t let my fellow countryman get nothing out of it."
Hearing this, Zhang Kai immediately waved his hand and said, "What are you saying? We Chinese should help each other in the United States. If my information can help you, that will do."
"It"s my industry rule," laughed Li Du. "If you provided me useful news, I need to pay you a percentage."
Zhang Kai rubbed his hands and said, "Is that so? Brother Zhang won"t stand on ceremony then."
"Yeah, don"t stand on ceremony. Just tell me what you know."
"I"m in-charge of the checks and maintenance of units 51 to 100. Out of the 45 units up for auction, 14 units are in my care and one of them is unit 54."
Zhang Kai looked around Li Du again in a secretive and careful way. "Brother Li, there are guns in unit 54—several shotguns in there!"
It was common to find shotguns in the storage units in Page. This was due to the fact that this was one of the popular hunting grounds in Arizona.
Li Du was immediately interested in the unit. "How many shotguns are there? Do you know what"s the model of the gun?"
"I can"t give an exact answer," Zhang Kai replied softly, "but while I was doing the maintenance work, I saw a few gun boxes and I"m sure there are at least five of them!" He didn"t know the model either. As a storage unit caretaker, he only went inside the units for scheduled maintenance or when there were problems with them.
When caretakers needed to go inside a unit for maintenance, the company would notify the tenant and the tenant would monitor the maintenance process. If the company could not get in touch with the tenant, they would send an employee to record the whole process to prevent anyone from touching the things inside the unit.
"Besides unit 54, you also need to take note of unit 68. That unit contains a fis.h.i.+ng machine. One time I even helped the tenant move the fis.h.i.+ng machine. That machine is worth tens of thousands of dollars!"
"A fis.h.i.+ng machine that"s worth some tens of thousands of dollars?" exclaimed Li Du. "Why did the owner abandon it?"
Zhang Kai shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? Maybe he"s rich. The tenant was a rich foreigner. He fished in Lake Powell for two months. I believe he was here for a vacation, and he left this place afterward."
Some wealthy people leased storage units as a temporary storeroom. When they were done with their vacation, they would usually bring along items that they liked with them, but not necessarily the most valuable items.
Common folk could not understand the lifestyle of wealthy people. If the rich foreigner had returned home straight from Page, it could have required some troublesome arrangements to take the fis.h.i.+ng machine along with him.
To them, the time and effort could be better spent making money to buy a new one.
Zhang Kai revealed some other information that he knew. But compared to the two more valuable items, the worth of the other units did not interest him.
Li Du recorded down all that Zhang Kai had told him. As they finished their meal, they also finished talking about business. Hans went to foot the bill and the group left the restaurant.
While walking out of the restaurant, Zhang Kai was so full that he could not walk properly and his stomach looked bloated.
Hans had saved a serving of roast beef and some fried fish. Zhang Kai had relished these two dishes during the meal; it was therefore apparent that the two dishes were his favorite.
Zhang Kai was elated to receive the food, but he seemed embarra.s.sed as well. "No, Brother Li, there"s no need to give me more food—that"s more money. You"re too kind."
"It"s okay, just take it," said Li Du. "You can warm it up to eat tomorrow. Brother Zhang, there"s something I"m uncertain about telling you."
Zhang Kai accepted the food and replied readily, "Just say it."
"After getting to know you more," said Li Du, "I realized that you"re someone who"s capable, competent, and detailed. However, it seems to me that your life doesn"t seem to be as good?"
Zhang Kai smiled bitterly. "Brother Li, first of all, you think too highly of your Brother Zhang. Secondly, this is the United States. It"s already tough enough to be able to earn enough to get by, let alone to live comfortably?"
When the topic s.h.i.+fted to his situation, Zhang had a self-deprecating smile and his facial expression looked miserable.
Li Du asked, "Brother Zhang, when did you come here? Why did you come here in the first place?"
"This is a long story," Zhang Kai puffed a helpless sigh. "We can talk about this later. I really had no choice but to come over here. I couldn"t stay there."
Seeing that Zhang did not want to talk about it, Li Du knew he should not probe further. They shook hands, said their goodbyes and went back to the hotel.
Soon after they went back to the room, there was a knock at the door. Turis and some others appeared at the doorway, carrying beer, sandwiches, grilled sausage, fried fish and meat. They were grinning happily. "Big Li, want some supper?"
Li Du had just finished his meal. He could not eat any more food. Moreover, it was eight o"clock in the evening. They were obviously here to get information from him in regards to the units.
He could not reveal all the information he knew because he needed to win the bid for some units and give Zhang Kai his due. He could not expect the others to pay Zhang a percentage of their earnings. If he could not get at least one of the two units that were specially told to him, he would break his promise to Zhang.
Hence, he held back information on unit 54 and unit 68 and told them news on other units.
One could not say that he was not loyal to his fellow treasure hunters; the treasure hunters had tagged along as they wanted to get units that could enable them to make some money, and that was enough for them. Moreover, they knew that Li was only interested in units that could bring him greater profits.
On the morning of September 17th, when Li Du got out of bed, Hans was still sleeping soundly. After was.h.i.+ng up, the three of them accompanied him to Glen Canyon Storage. Li was ready to check out what was inside the units.