"What is this?" he asked as he looked at the document.
Instead of answering, Hans said, "Be careful, don't break it!"
Li Du said, "This card is very hard. What is it? Is it valuable? "
Hans told him a few more words before complacently saying, "Yes, this thing is very valuable. We are so lucky to find a black gold abalone harvesting permit."
"Black gold abalone harvesting permit?" Li Du looked at the card and understood what the shellfish pattern on it was. It turned out to be a black gold abalone.
Black gold abalone is a very rare marine species that has existed since ancient times and is called a living fossil by biologists.
This kind of black abalone is a specialty of Australia, only produced in Australia and New Zealand. Its meat and shell are highly sought after around the world. The Maori people of New Zealand call it black gold, so it has the name "black gold abalone."
Since ancient times, Chinese people have a special passion for sea cucumbers and abalone. In fact, abalone is distributed in many waters around the world. Because of the difficulty of harvesting and cooking, abalone is very cheap in many places before the export of East Asian food culture.
For example, the American waters, where the United States is located, have a variety of rare abalones, but Americans do not eat them and do not like to eat them.
Later, as East Asian countries, especially China, became more powerful and economically stronger, the East Asian people's love for abalone began to affect the world, driving the price of this kind of seawater product to rise.
Black gold abalone is an exception. This kind of abalone has been particularly expensive since ancient times because black gold abalone plays a very important role in the Maori culture and beliefs of New Zealand's indigenous people. The Maori believe that black gold abalone has the magical power to ward off evil and protect the race.
Therefore, black gold abalone was a very common element in Maori mythology, and black gold abalone could be seen everywhere in Maori sculptures.
Looking at the black gold abalone harvesting permit, Li Du asked, "Can I harvest abalone with this document? Why haven't I heard of this law in the United States? "
"It's normal that you haven't heard of it," Hans said proudly. "This document is not for use in the United States, but in Australia and New Zealand."
He told Li Du about the preciousness of the document. Because the resources of wild abalone were extremely limited, in order to maintain the sustainable development of the fishery, many governments in Australia had set a series of strict restrictions on black gold abalone fishing quotas and fishing operations.
Unlike other regions, diving was the only legal way to harvest black gold abalone in Australia, and the law prohibited carrying any artificial oxygen equipment while diving.
During the limited time underwater, divers had to select abalones with a diameter of more than 12.5 centimeters before they could harvest them, which was extremely difficult.
In other words, if you wanted to harvest black gold abalone in Australia, you could not bring an oxygen tank with you. You could only rely on your own diving ability and could not use a machine to harvest this precious seafood.
Hearing this, Li Du nodded in realization. "Oh, this is the same as the rules for searching for fire opals in the Petrified Forest National Park. In order to protect the resources, it can only be obtained manually. The use of machines is strictly prohibited."
Hans shook his head. "It's more difficult to harvest black gold abalone. At most, there are a few wild wolves and some snakes and insects in the national park. The Australian waters are different. There are all kinds of wild marine animals living there all year round."
"Seals, sharks, sea snakes, sea turtles, and so on. Their existence makes many of Australia's waters dangerous, so harvesting black gold abalone is a very dangerous profession in Australia."
Li Du said, "In that case, is this certificate still valuable?"
Hans said matter-of-factly, "Of course. It's more dangerous to go to the Alaskan waters every year to harvest king crabs, but you see, every time it's king crab fishing season, aren't there fishermen going in groups?"
The rarity of this black gold abalone harvesting certificate was that, in order to protect wild abalone, the Australian government not only set a fishing limit policy, but also stipulated that one had to have a harvesting certificate before harvesting, but also stopped issuing such a certificate more than 20 years ago.
In other words, this kind of black gold abalone harvesting certificate was a limited edition and would only decrease in the future.
Hans explained to Li Du, "The black gold abalone harvesting certificate is an heirloom of many Australian families. At other times when they are harvesting in the sea, they will deposit the certificate in a bank safe."
Li Du was surprised. "Is it so precious?"
Hans sneered and said, "Do you know how much this thing costs in the market?"
Li Du shook his head. Hans raised five fingers on his right hand, so he asked, "Fifty thousand dollars?"
Hans said angrily, "Five million, Australian dollars!"
Li Du was shocked. "Are you kidding? This thing is worth five million? Five million Australian dollars? Almost four million US dollars? "
Hans said with certainty, "Don't doubt me, I just looked it up on the Internet. In fact, harvesting certificates are priceless in Australia, and no one is willing to transfer their harvesting certificate. "
This was easy to understand. The production of black gold abalone had been decreasing year by year, and there had been no large-scale war in the world. Although the world economy had been depressed in recent years, the overall trend was still on the rise.
When people had money, they had to enjoy life. Life was nothing more than eating, drinking, and defecating. The price of black gold abalone was rising year by year, not by weight, but by weight. It was sold at a minimum of $100 a piece, and the price was immeasurable.
Four million dollars seemed a lot, but for Australian black gold abalone harvesters, the annual harvest could be at least four to five hundred thousand dollars.
In this way, a black gold abalone harvesting certificate could recover the cost in ten years at most. In the future, it would be a net profit and could be passed on to future generations.
For example, having a black gold abalone harvesting certificate in Australia was tantamount to having a cornucopia.
No one knew where Viktor had found this black gold abalone harvesting certificate, but he had kept it well, so Li Du and Hans benefited.
The black gold abalone harvesting certificate in Australia was anonymous, and whoever got it could use it. This was also one of the reasons for the high price of harvesting certificates.
Li Du looked at the certificate and laughed. "Good luck, really good luck. If we sell it, won't we be able to become members of the Million Dollar Club?"
Hans nodded like a chick pecking at rice. "Of course, of course, we can become members of the Million Dollar Club. We can each get a few million immediately. This is great!"
With this harvest, the two of them were very happy. They packed up the rest of the old goods and returned to Flagstaff the next day.
Godzilla and Big Quinn unloaded the truck. Li Du went to ask Hans, "Hey, buddy, how are you going to sell this harvesting certificate? Can it be sold in the United States? "
Hans looked at him hesitantly and asked, "Are you really going to sell it?"
Li Du said, "What do you mean really? Are we going to collect it like Mr. Viktor? "
Hans licked his lips. "No, why don't we use it to make money?"
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