Chapter 357 Donated (2/2)
Hans said, ”Not necessary—how much money do you have?”
”About 2,000 dollars,” Jordan said.
Hans spread his hands, faced Li Du and shrugged. The money was not enough. The starting price was far more than that; the bidding price would be at least 5,000 dollars.
Jordan sighed, ”So, I would like to ask if you have one more? If you do, I would like to give it a try to have an installment.”
”Mayor Jordan, I hope your town is not as poor as this,” Li Du smiled bitterly.
”The autumn harvest season hasn’t arrived yet. After autumn harvest, our financial status will be stable.”
Hans whispered in his ear, ”The economy of Highland Town is underdeveloped. Most of the people there don’t have much money.”
Looking at the outfit of Mayor Jordan, Li Du could tell that the people there were poor.
He asked, ”Does your neighboring town have a fire truck? Do you get any funds from the state government or Washington? ”
”No, there’s no funding from either of them, and the closest town to us is 25 miles away. I’m afraid we are not in a convenient enough position to share a fire truck.” Mayor Jordan looked helpless.
After considering, Li Du asked, ”Can I retract my things on the auction block?”
”Yes,” Hans answered, ”but you must have a good reason. If not, the auction house will be unwilling to cooperate with us in the future.”
”There’s no better reason,” Li Du said. ”A town needs fire extinguishers, and we have one. I want to donate it to them. ”
Hans emphasized, ”Donate?”
Li Du answered, ”Yes, I want to donate it to them. This fire extinguisher belongs to a fire truck. It should go where it belongs. ”
”Good idea. I will talk to the auction house.”
Jordan looked astonished. ”Gentlemen, are you serious about this?”
Li Du replied, ”Yes. If the fire extinguisher can serve its purpose, I’m willing to let it perform its responsibility.”
He had won a free carriage today; so, he gave something to others in return.
He had also made this decision for another reason. In his opinion, donating the fire extinguisher was much more useful than earning a few thousand dollars.
He didn’t need that money; he needed a good reputation. The news of him donating the fire extinguisher to Highland Town could earn him a better reputation among treasure hunters once the news had spread.
After Hans spoke with the auction house officials, someone went up and whispered something to Sayder. Sayder nodded his head, and the auction went on.
When it was the fire extinguisher’s turn, Sayder shouted, ”I know most of you guys were looking forward to the fire extinguisher. But, I’m sorry. I apologize but—”
After hearing this, the audience shouted their displeasure.
”Don’t tell me you’re not selling it!”
”Someone bought it for a crazy price?”
”I bet there never was a fire extinguisher. The auction house was just making a fuss to attract people.”
After hearing this, Li Du understood why auction houses didn’t normally allow people to retract items from the auction: this could damage their image.