Treasure Hunt Tycoon

The plane had descended in the Los Angeles airport. When Sophie spotted him, she ran towards him with her arms wide open.

Li Du wrapped his arms around her slim waist and bent to kiss her hard.

Ah Bai stretched out its neck trying its best to peep down from his shoulder. It wanted to know what the two of them were eating that looked so delicious. It, too, wanted a bite.

After they reunited, they returned to the manor in Santa Monica. The manor had a different look now. It looked both neater and livelier.

The greenery gleamed in the small farm and the ranch was also bustling with life. Sophie had acquired some small cows, sheep, chickens, duck, and geese. They were all kept on pasture together, so the different animals were dotting the meadows, looking very picturesque.

Besides, there was also a bunch of dogs that Li Du had reared on the Phoenix villa. They had also been sent to the manor. There, it was spacious and they could live comfortably.

After Ah Meow, Ah Ow and the rest saw that they exchanged a look. They all looked excited and as though they were up to no good.

All these little friends, were they here to play with them? No, it must be something else. These must be their toys, right?

Then, Ah Meow, Ah Ow, Ah Meng and the rest rushed in. The farm animals were startled. They were frightened to death and the animal farm suddenly became chaotic. The chicken started to fly around, while the dogs jumped all over the place.

Sophie immediately called out, “Come back, don’t run about. Hurry, come back and film a video. Don’t you guys want to star anymore?”

Li Du smiled as he pulled her towards him. “Forget it, let them play.”

“They will kill those small animals in there,” Sophie said. She knew those animals too well.

Li Du laughed. “They won’t. Living is all about having energy. Let’s go and have some exercise too.”

Sophie immediately straightened her clothes and shook her head vigorously. “No, no, it is still early. We should wait for the night…”

Without waiting for her to complete the sentence, Li Du picked Sophie up from the ground.

Brother Wolf pulled his daughter and Victoria away. “I’ll bring you guys to sail out in the sea. We can no longer stay cooped up in the house.”

Young Markelov waved, “Brother Wolf, let’s go and find a good place to relax. D*mn Myanmar, my gun has started to rust!”

Brother Wolf said, “Watch your mouth. I’m going to keep my daughter company. I’m not heading to any sleazy spots.”

The rest of the men started to leave in groups. Young Markelov shouted, “Hey, don’t be in a hurry, let’s ask to borrow the boss’s car. If we drive that, we won’t have to fork out a cent to hunt for ladies.”

“Stupid, you should check yourself out in the mirror. The ladies are not dumb. Would they not know that you’re just the driver?” Big Markelov said.

After some thinking, Young Markelov said helplessly, “That’s true.”

Back in America, many people came to look Li Du up.

His good friends from Flagstaff had all come to the manor. They would usually come over to help Sophie tidy the farm and ranch. They were good with farming, so Sophie did not need to hire anyone.

When the two parties met, Dickens and the rest of the men felt somewhat awkward. Because of what had happened when Turis betrayed the team, their relationship with Li Du had become more distant.

Li Du did not care about that. Instead, he hugged them warmly. He laughed, “I brought back some gifts for you guys, come pick one each.”

Brother Wolf brought out a tray with jade crosses displayed on it. They were of decent quality, and each of them was worth ten to twenty thousand dollars.

The men were all expert treasure hunters. They had an eye for things like that. Seeing the jade, Dickens immediately said, “F*ck, is this jade? It looks like good-quality stuff!”

Li Du smiled. “The quality is indeed decent, but not that great. It’s just a small gift to you guys.”

Olly immediately picked up one and hung it on his neck. Dickens gave him a shove and Big Beard Carl said, “Buddy, you really have no shame. At least thank Boss Li, right?”

“If I thank him, it means I see him as an outsider. That wouldn’t be what Boss Li wants,” Olly said loudly.

Dickens was a more cautious man. He said, “Boss Li, about the last time with Turis…”

Li Du smiled and interrupted him, “Let’s forget about the past. Since everyone is still willing to come to be my guest at the manor, it means you guys treat me as a good friend. I will not reject my true friends because of one traitor.”

With those words and the gifts, the atmosphere went back to normal and was no longer awkward.

Li Du had left after the case with Turis happened. He had not said anything about where he was going. Hence, the bunch of them were very worried. They were concerned that Li Du would bear a grudge and would no longer be in touch.

As they sipped coffee and chitchatted, Dickens found an appropriate opportunity and said carefully, “Boss Li, actually Turis is not such a scumbag. He’s just someone who now and then does something foolish. These days, he’s been drinking back in Flagstaff. Look…”

Li Du said, “Buddy, we are all adults. We should be responsible for what we’ve done. You know what I mean, right?”

Olly jumped in and said, “Sure we do. We all understand. We will never mention Turis again.”

Li Du shrugged and said, “That’s good. I know what you guys are here for. Hold off the business of the property auction for now. I need to rest for a few days. If there are suitable houses, send the information to me. When the time is right, I will go find you guys.”

They left a long list of information for him and soon left.

After they sent off the treasure hunters, Sophie slipped in as quietly as a cat. She asked coyly, “Hey, all of them got gifts. What about me?”

Li Du laughed. “Can’t let you see it yet.”

Sophie pouted and passed him a stack of printed pages.

Li Du pinched his forehead and said helplessly, “God, so much information?”

Sophie said, “This is a gift for you.”

Li Du flipped open the file to read. There were a bunch of contracts inside. The ‘Party A’ was referring to a company named Cute Pet Entertainment. There were many “Party B’ and one of them was Harry Winston Inc.

There were certain sums indicated in the contract, from ten thousand to millions of US dollars. The largest amount related to Harry Winston Inc. and was a total of 1.6 million.

“What’s this?” Li Du asked as he flipped the pages.

Sophie’s eyes narrowed as she grinned. “The name of the legal contact of Cute Pet Entertainment is Sophie Martin. She’s in charge of Facebook, Vine, Blog, YouTube, and other media-related work. These are the advertising and sponsorship contracts that the company has accepted. Cute Pets will be promoted in media content and videos.

Li Du understood now. He smiled and said, “This is the contract that you signed for Ah Meow and the rest? Looks pretty good.”

Sophie said, “There are some other big contracts that I’m still undecided on. For example, Disney and Marvel have contacted me. They are keen to roll out some movies and need animals on-screen as the main characters. I don’t have to explain the rest, right?”

Li Du did not care about the money. However, it was good that Sophie had something to be busy with. Besides, the business looked to be quite promising.