Chapter 823: The Eight Hundred Thousand Dollar Crayfish
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After some consideration, Cole accepted Li Du's request. After all, Li Du held the group shares, but never gave an opinion and also never interfered in the business of the group. He was "an idle prince," and the directors all liked that sort of shareholder.
In addition, Cole was willing to agree to the conditions because he was optimistic about Li Du's potential. Cole didn't know why Li Du could constantly find gems, but if he continued to do so, it would be a big help to the Winston group.
Cole had feared that Winston might have been bought on the cheap if it had not been for the $70,000,000 purchase of a highly qualified black opal.
Few people knew that Swatch, a Swiss watchmaker, had been in contact with him and his team since last year to buy the Harry Winston group, which was in financial crisis. However, Cole didn't want his family's business and endless efforts to end up in someone else's hands. Fortunately, God was good to him, and just when he was about to give up, Li Du stepped in, offering a batch of super-quality gems and offering to buy shares.
Starting with the black opal, Cole immediately launched a campaign, and now Winston was out of bankruptcy.
In the past, Cole's dream had been to keep the group intact. Now the group was safe from going bankrupt again. Now that the business was showing signs of improvement, he had a further ambition to gradually restore the family business to its peak with his own hands.
He knew that for the Winston group to regain its reputation, it would need to offer a variety of new, high-quality products. He needed to rely on Li Du to take control of the whole market. If Li Du had given him hope with a batch of fire opals, it was now the black opal that gave him the confidence to persevere.
The 55 black opals were estimated to have a worth of between $6,000,000 to $7,000,000 in the market. Li Du took a minimum of $6,000,000 and traded it for a 0.6% stake in Harry Winston, which gave him an overall 9.4% stake in the group.
Cole sold 0.6% of the shares, and his shares were reduced to 40.4%. However, he was still the group's majority shareholder and CEO.
Cole took the gems that had been evaluated and returned to Sydney in the helicopter. He still had much to do to completely revive his family's business.
He left an invitation for Li Du to attend the upcoming autumn jewelry showcase in Sydney.
It was still several days before the showcase was due to start, so Li Du stayed in Lightning Ridge and continued to search for black opal.
In the meantime, Blanchett was discharged from the hospital. The red-bellied black snake did not cause him any serious injury, and he was only in the hospital for two days. After receiving some blood serum injections, he was free from danger and was put on bed rest.
After leaving the hospital that night, he went to see Li Du, who was in a bar joking with the mine owners and miners while looking for a mine to take over.
Once Blanchett entered the bar, a miner noticed him and laughed. "Hey, mate, I heard you got bit by a snake? How could you be so careless?"
"You came out alive? Oh God, he certainly didn't hear my prayers."
"It's no use praying to God. This b*stard deserves to go to h*ll. That's not God's domain."
Blanchett looked haggard, with heavy pouches under his bloodshot eyes. Apparently, he hadn't gotten much rest recently.
Seeing Li Du, his eyes sparkled terrifyingly. He smacked the bar and said, "A glass of stout."
The bartender, who was wiping glasses, also teased him. "Stout? Are you sure you want a stout? As far as I know, it's better to drink spirits after being bitten by snakes."
Blanchett ignored the bartender and stared at Li Du. "Hey Li, you've made a good move."
Li Du said, "I just followed your chess game and went along. Thank God, you cooperated."
Blanchett said, "Look, man, I know I did something stupid. I'm sorry about mine 115. I used your trust to hurt you."
Li Du interrupted him. "It's nothing. It's all over, isn't it?"
Blanchett continued to stare at him. "Can you forgive me? I mean, give me back the $450,000 that belongs to me, and we'll be friends again."
Li Du shook his head. "Sorry, I don't want to be your friend anymore."
"You mean, you're going to fight me?" Blanchett was mad.
Li Du raised his hand and said, "Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not a violent person. I don't want to fight you."
Upon hearing this, Blanchett relaxed a bit. He thought Li Du was going to be soft.
Li Du continued, "If you want to fight, then my bodyguard will gladly oblige."
Brother Wolf stood up and with a cold face, walked to Blanchett's back, folded his arms, and puffed out his chest.
"Okay, you've got to know, yanks, this is Lightning Ridge. This isn't your place, this is mine!" Blanchett said while he clenched his teeth.
Li Du said, "No matter what you say, I'll never give you back the $450,000."
Blanchett was in a rage. As soon as he hit the table, he stood up and shouted, "Good, good, keep the $450,000 and buy yourself a coffin!"
With that, he left in a huff.
The bartender yelled at him, "You haven't paid yet. D*mn it, you've got your stout."
Li Du slapped a note on the table and said, "I'll settle the bill for him. He once offered me a drink. I don't like to owe anybody anything."
Blanchett heard this as he was walking out of the bar and almost stumbled in anger.
In the days after their encounter at the bar, Li Du strengthened his defenses, believing that evil Blanchett would surely seek revenge. However, with Brother Wolf around, Blanchett couldn't do anything.
After searching around with the little bug, Li Du found another mine with a black opal vein. In order to better manage the mines, all the mine areas were about one and a third hectares and were divided into a grid. Li Du bought the mine at a market price of 800,000 Australian dollars.
The owner of the mine was glad to sell it, as he had searched it carefully but had found no trace of gems.
The mine was number 408, close to the Lightning River.
Someone asked Li Du why he bought the mine. Li Du said, "It's convenient for me to catch crayfish here. I like eating crayfish."
There were those who believed Li Du's words. After all, many people had witnessed Cole Winston's arrival. They knew that Li Du was a major shareholder of the Harry Winston group. As a rich person, he could, of course, buy anything he liked.