They met at a cafe on Rodeo Avenue, which was known as the most expensive and prestigious road on the West Coast of the United States. It spanned three fashionable blocks, and every piece of land on the street was comparable to gold.
Kobe was easy to recognize. He was taller than the average person. He wore big sunglasses and sat behind a table. Even though he tried to shrink his body, he was still very conspicuous.
His reason for shrinking was simple: to avoid being recognized. He was very popular in Los Angeles and deserved to be called the city's hero athlete. If he was bumped into, he would definitely ask for a photo and an autograph.
Li Du went over to shake his hand and asked for a photo first.
Kobe liked to joke in private. When Li Du asked for a photo, he laughed and said, "Who else do you like in the NBA? I can get you an autograph and a photo. "
Li Du said, "There's no need for that. You're my favorite star player because you're so cool when you play. When I was in college, I imitated your style of play and even got a nickname."
"What nickname?" Kobe laughed.
Li Du said, "Building 2, 502, Little Kobe."
Kobe laughed. "That's terrible. I thought it was your school's Little Kobe. I know a guy. I met him at an event. Do you know his name?"
Li Du shook his head. Kobe said, "Shaq from Black Bull Street. I pinched him a few times because I didn't have a good relationship with Shaq."
Those who did not know about the NBA would not know about this feud. Shaq was another NBA superstar, Shaq Olney. He and Kobe had formed the strongest team of the 21st century and won three league championships.
However, because of the instigation of the team management, their relationship was not good. They eventually parted ways and even attacked each other in the media.
Later, as Kobe led the team to win the championship in the past two years, he gradually let go of the feud with O'Neal. The fact that he could joke about it now was proof enough.
Li Du calmly analyzed, "You know, Kobe, for the fans, it is an honor to be pinched by you because it means that you are directly matched."
"I mean," he paused and said, "are you sure that guy is really called Shaq from Black Bull Street? Maybe he is just using this to provoke you and attract your attention. "
Kobe blinked and said, "I didn't think of it at the time. Oh, no, I was too naive. You are right, I may have been fooled by that b * stard."
Joking around livened up the atmosphere, and the conversation gradually moved on to the main topic.
Kobe asked, "Li, I just found out recently that you are related to Harry Winston, Inc.? Are you a shareholder? "
Li Du nodded. "Yes, I bought some of its shares last year. Don't tell me you did too. That would be too much of a coincidence."
Kobe laughed again and shook his head. "No, I'm not that rich. Well, as far as I know, Harry Winston is about to launch a line of luxury gems, right? "
Li Du continued to nod.
Kobe said, "I've seen their promotional materials, and I'm very interested in one of their headwear sets. You know, my wife is an outstanding beauty, and she needs beautiful jewelry to match it."
Li Du understood what he meant and asked, "Do you need my help? I believe with your connections, you should be able to contact Cole, right? "
Kobe shrugged and said, "I don't know anyone named Cole. I only know someone with the surname Cole. He's a basketball commentator and clearly can't help me."
Li Du said, "Leave this problem to me."
He pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, there is a better option. Have you ever thought of customizing a set of exclusive jewelry for your wife? I happen to have a batch of good gems here. "
"What kind of gems?"
"Black opal." Li Du, who had his backpack with him, opened it and summoned the little bug. He pretended to take out a box containing raw black opal. When he opened it, the gem inside glowed brightly.
Kobe let out a sigh. "Wow, this thing is beautiful!"
Li Du said, "I have a lot of this. If you want to order a set of jewelry, I can resell a batch to you. At the same time, I can help you contact the jewelry designers of Harry Winston and let them design it according to your wishes."
Kobe said without hesitation, "That's it. What's the price?"
Li Du laughed. "These are gems that I dug out from my own mine. The price I'll sell them to you is definitely lower than the market price."
There was one thing in their personalities that was very similar, and that was that they did things swiftly and decisively, and did things without hesitation.
Kobe wanted to buy gems, so Li Du took him to the Harry Winston flagship store in Los Angeles and arranged for an appraiser to identify the authenticity and purity of the gems.
While waiting for the results, Kobe said, "Hey, Li, you have a lot of surprising things. I started to think you were just a professional treasure hunter, like Chris Bell."
Li Du said, "I am."
Kobe said, "Are you kidding me? You are a shareholder of Harry Winston, Inc., and you own a priceless gem mine! "
Li Du laughed. "In fact, I never thought I would have all this. I started in storage auctions. I am a professional storage auction treasure hunter."
Kobe said, "In that case, maybe I can help you a little. I have some news here. I wanted to thank you for helping me buy jewelry, but now I realize that you might not like it."
Li Du asked with interest, "How is that possible? Tell me, what news?"
Kobe said, "It's about the storage of sneakers. You know Duntay Jones, right? He's also an NBA player. He's in Atlanta now. "
Li Du liked to watch NBA games in college. He was not familiar with the name Duntay Jones, but he had an impression that he was a role player.
Kobe continued, "He just went to Atlanta and stayed in Indiana before. This guy has a hobby, which is to collect NBA stars' autographed sneakers. He has collected a lot and stored them in a storage unit in Indiana. "
"In the end, two days ago I heard that his storage unit was frozen by the storage company because he did not pay the storage fee. It will be auctioned soon. Are you interested?"
The storage unit was far away in Indiana, so Li Du was not particularly interested. However, if it was valuable, he was willing to take a look.
Kobe said, "The value of the sneakers in the storage unit should be good. As far as I know, there are thousands of pairs of autographed sneakers. There are also many special celebrity custom-made models. The total value should be at least hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Li Du gasped. "Thousands of pairs of autographed sneakers? Does this guy want to sell sneakers after he retires? "
Kobe laughed. "Who knows? Every time he finishes a game, he likes to ask for autographed sneakers. I've asked for more than ten pairs. "
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