There was no doubt that the negotiations had started off with a firestorm.
Li Du did not know for sure whether they had spoken out spontaneously, or if they had discussed things ahead of time, however, he believed that these six people had come after discussing the matter in advance. He could feel an aura of conspiracy coming from them.
He had a dilemma. Because of the hot tempers involved, even if Li Du told Aubrey not to fight, there was a real possibility that a fight might break out anyway. On the other hand, if Li Du did not stop him, how could the six mine bosses respect him if he could not even control his workers?
Li Du touched his chin and leaned back in his chair. He looked at the six and said, "Guys, just give me a moment to say something, will you?"
"Sure." Wright nodded.
"I think you know why I called you all here. You have encroached on my mine, which is illegal. I want you to stop," said Li Du.
Kidd, a bearded foreman, said, "We didn't encroach on your mine. You must be mistaken, man—"
Li Du interrupted him. "Stop denying it. You are a man. Just admit to what you have done."
Ulysses said, "Kidd is right. We didn't invade your mine. I admit that I dug underneath mine 122, but the mine is not yours yet." After a pause, he continued, "I swear to God, since you bought this mine, I haven't encroached on your turf."
Li Du laughed and said, "If I hadn't had a vibration detector, I would have believed you." Three days after he had bought the number 122 mine, work had been carried out continuously in the mines around it. Ulysses was lying.
The owners had decided to deny it, but when Li Du mentioned the vibration detector, they couldn't go on lying anymore. The vibration detector could monitor the vibration of a section of earth. Excavating a pit would inevitably produce vibrations, and the device would be able to detect them.
Lennon said, "Li, you shouldn't get involved in this. Do you think we are doing this for gems? We're doing it for justice."
"You don't want to stop, do you?" said Li Du. He had already thought of this potential outcome. The number 121 mine dug into the vein, and the gems would be harvested. The mine owners would not stop. When the owners of the number 121 mine saw that gems had been found in the number 122 mine, they would be jealous, and they wouldn't want to stop their encroachment.
"Listen to me, Li, you don't know what's going on here," Lennon said earnestly. "We're doing this for the sake of justice. The previous owner, Anderson, bullied our mate, Willy, and Willy is now in prison. We, as his...."
"So you really don't want to stop, right?" Li Du interrupted while smiling.
"Of course we won't stop," said a grumpy mine owner. "You can sue us in court!"
Li Du shook his head. "Why should I sue you? I can fix this on my own." He looked at Aubrey, who was still standing, and said, "I'm done. You can have at them. They insulted Marcos."
This surprised everyone, especially Aubrey. He was stunned and said, "Huh?"
Li Du said, "Did you not understand my meaning? They insulted your friend, and whatever choice you make, I support you."
Several of the miners, including Aubrey, laughed, clenched their fists, and stormed up to the six mine owners.
Godzilla told Li Du, "Boss, negotiation does not work like that."
"Who was negotiating with them? Do you think this is still the era of the Eight-Nation Alliance invasion of China? Are we Chinese still weak? No, I'm not negotiating today. I'm telling them to get out of here!"
Brother Wolf gave a thumbs up and said, "Boss, cool!"
Godzilla mumbled, "The Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China? I know it's not about us Mexicans, but it has something to do with Germany."
Brother Wolf rolled his eyes.
Aubrey punched Ulysses, knocking him down. Ulysses struggled back up, and with the back of his right hand facing out, made a "V" sign with his index and middle fingers. Then he said, "You're great, Li, you are great."
Seeing this gesture, Li Du was furious and said, "Godzilla, Brother Wolf, go, beat them up!"
This gesture was usually used to represent victory or celebration, but in that case, the palm of the hand faced outward. However, in Australia, when the back of the hand was facing out, it meant the same thing as giving the middle finger.
Ulysses just wanted to curse to release his dissatisfaction and frustration. He thought that because Li Du was Chinese, he wouldn't know what the gesture meant. However, it turned out that Li Du did know. He rushed in with Godzilla and Brother Wolf, beating up several mine owners and their workers.
The bar was a mess, but the security guards did not get involved. A big, fat guy called Centaur, who led the security team, was especially calm. He sipped his beer happily and said, "Last time Li and Aubrey fought, Li gave me 1,000 dollars. I wonder how much he will give me this time?"
"It's funny. Last time, Li and Aubrey were fighting. Now they have joined forces," said another security guard, laughing.
"They haven't joined forces, stupid. Li hired Aubrey."
"I once heard that Chinese people are docile and honest, and good to bully. How come Li is so different? I've never seen a more violent man than him."
The owner of the mine and the other miners fled in disorder. Aubrey and the others were not easy to fight, and it was even worse with Godzilla and Brother Wolf joining in.
Back at the mine, Aubrey came to see Li Du. A bruise could be seen on Aubrey's forehead as he rubbed his hands and said, "Boss, I'm sorry about that fight. We were too impulsive."
Li Du replied, "If someone insulted my friend in front of me, I would have been even more impulsive. You don't have to apologize. We were on the right side."
"But we have provoked them," Aubrey said. "They will not stop. What can we do? Should we sue them?"
Li Du sneered. "Sue them? Why would we need to do that? Do you know how the Chinese face invaders? We beat them back!"
Aubrey was usually calm, but upon hearing Li Du's declaration, his inner beast began to awaken, and his blood began to boil. "Boss, how should we beat them? Tell me!"
"Soon you'll know. I'll show you the wisdom of the Chinese style of war," said Li Du.
After the two talked, Aubrey went back to work.
Humphrey asked him, "Aubrey, did you manage to apologize?"
Aubrey spat and said. "Forget being sorry! Li Du is a real man, and he's going to lead us to get revenge on the intruders!"
There was no doubt that the negotiations had started off with a firestorm.
Li Du did not know for sure whether they had spoken out spontaneously, or if they had discussed things ahead of time, however, he believed that these six people had come after discussing the matter in advance. He could feel an aura of conspiracy coming from them.
He had a dilemma. Because of the hot tempers involved, even if Li Du told Aubrey not to fight, there was a real possibility that a fight might break out anyway. On the other hand, if Li Du did not stop him, how could the six mine bosses respect him if he could not even control his workers?
Li Du touched his chin and leaned back in his chair. He looked at the six and said, "Guys, just give me a moment to say something, will you?"
"Sure." Wright nodded.
"I think you know why I called you all here. You have encroached on my mine, which is illegal. I want you to stop," said Li Du.
Kidd, a bearded foreman, said, "We didn't encroach on your mine. You must be mistaken, man—"
Li Du interrupted him. "Stop denying it. You are a man. Just admit to what you have done."
Ulysses said, "Kidd is right. We didn't invade your mine. I admit that I dug underneath mine 122, but the mine is not yours yet." After a pause, he continued, "I swear to God, since you bought this mine, I haven't encroached on your turf."
Li Du laughed and said, "If I hadn't had a vibration detector, I would have believed you." Three days after he had bought the number 122 mine, work had been carried out continuously in the mines around it. Ulysses was lying.
The owners had decided to deny it, but when Li Du mentioned the vibration detector, they couldn't go on lying anymore. The vibration detector could monitor the vibration of a section of earth. Excavating a pit would inevitably produce vibrations, and the device would be able to detect them.
Lennon said, "Li, you shouldn't get involved in this. Do you think we are doing this for gems? We're doing it for justice."
"You don't want to stop, do you?" said Li Du. He had already thought of this potential outcome. The number 121 mine dug into the vein, and the gems would be harvested. The mine owners would not stop. When the owners of the number 121 mine saw that gems had been found in the number 122 mine, they would be jealous, and they wouldn't want to stop their encroachment.
"Listen to me, Li, you don't know what's going on here," Lennon said earnestly. "We're doing this for the sake of justice. The previous owner, Anderson, bullied our mate, Willy, and Willy is now in prison. We, as his...."
"So you really don't want to stop, right?" Li Du interrupted while smiling.
"Of course we won't stop," said a grumpy mine owner. "You can sue us in court!"
Li Du shook his head. "Why should I sue you? I can fix this on my own." He looked at Aubrey, who was still standing, and said, "I'm done. You can have at them. They insulted Marcos."
This surprised everyone, especially Aubrey. He was stunned and said, "Huh?"
Li Du said, "Did you not understand my meaning? They insulted your friend, and whatever choice you make, I support you."
Several of the miners, including Aubrey, laughed, clenched their fists, and stormed up to the six mine owners.
Godzilla told Li Du, "Boss, negotiation does not work like that."
"Who was negotiating with them? Do you think this is still the era of the Eight-Nation Alliance invasion of China? Are we Chinese still weak? No, I'm not negotiating today. I'm telling them to get out of here!"
Brother Wolf gave a thumbs up and said, "Boss, cool!"
Godzilla mumbled, "The Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China? I know it's not about us Mexicans, but it has something to do with Germany."
Brother Wolf rolled his eyes.
Aubrey punched Ulysses, knocking him down. Ulysses struggled back up, and with the back of his right hand facing out, made a "V" sign with his index and middle fingers. Then he said, "You're great, Li, you are great."
Seeing this gesture, Li Du was furious and said, "Godzilla, Brother Wolf, go, beat them up!"
This gesture was usually used to represent victory or celebration, but in that case, the palm of the hand faced outward. However, in Australia, when the back of the hand was facing out, it meant the same thing as giving the middle finger.
Ulysses just wanted to curse to release his dissatisfaction and frustration. He thought that because Li Du was Chinese, he wouldn't know what the gesture meant. However, it turned out that Li Du did know. He rushed in with Godzilla and Brother Wolf, beating up several mine owners and their workers.
The bar was a mess, but the security guards did not get involved. A big, fat guy called Centaur, who led the security team, was especially calm. He sipped his beer happily and said, "Last time Li and Aubrey fought, Li gave me 1,000 dollars. I wonder how much he will give me this time?"
"It's funny. Last time, Li and Aubrey were fighting. Now they have joined forces," said another security guard, laughing.
"They haven't joined forces, stupid. Li hired Aubrey."
"I once heard that Chinese people are docile and honest, and good to bully. How come Li is so different? I've never seen a more violent man than him."
The owner of the mine and the other miners fled in disorder. Aubrey and the others were not easy to fight, and it was even worse with Godzilla and Brother Wolf joining in.
Back at the mine, Aubrey came to see Li Du. A bruise could be seen on Aubrey's forehead as he rubbed his hands and said, "Boss, I'm sorry about that fight. We were too impulsive."
Li Du replied, "If someone insulted my friend in front of me, I would have been even more impulsive. You don't have to apologize. We were on the right side."
"But we have provoked them," Aubrey said. "They will not stop. What can we do? Should we sue them?"
Li Du sneered. "Sue them? Why would we need to do that? Do you know how the Chinese face invaders? We beat them back!"
Aubrey was usually calm, but upon hearing Li Du's declaration, his inner beast began to awaken, and his blood began to boil. "Boss, how should we beat them? Tell me!"
"Soon you'll know. I'll show you the wisdom of the Chinese style of war," said Li Du.
After the two talked, Aubrey went back to work.
Humphrey asked him, "Aubrey, did you manage to apologize?"
Aubrey spat and said. "Forget being sorry! Li Du is a real man, and he's going to lead us to get revenge on the intruders!"
