Chapter 739: Key Customers

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The price of the black gold abalone depended on whether it was alive or dead.

They were very resilient and could survive for about two days in a professional storage box after they left the water.

In general, people caught them, and the first thing they did was put them in a storage box. Then they brought them to the market within 24 hours. There were buyers who were constantly looking for them, so the abalone could be easily sold.

When it came to pricing abalone, first there was a base price. If it was a living black gold abalone, it could sell for at least 500 AUD.

Five hundred dollars was just the base price, and the middle-aged man wanted to buy the abalone at only the base price. This was ridiculous.

Next, price was based on the size and weight of the abalone. According to the Fish and Hunting Bureau, the black gold abalone must be at least five inches or 12.5 centimeters long to be sold in the market.

In fact, the market didn't only sell big ones. They sold small ones, too. However, the small ones were sold on the black market.

Once on the black market, the black gold abalone was worthless. The black market was filled with bad guys, and they would try hard to cut the price so that they would benefit more.

With an abalone between five and six inches long, the base price could be increased by 100 dollars per extra centimeter in length.

At six to seven inches was another price. For every extra centimeter, the base price could be increased by 200 dollars.

The value of a black gold abalone over seven inches was high. One could be sold for more than 10,000 dollars.

The reason for this was that seven-inch-long black gold abalone was rare and often lived for hundreds of years, which indicated they lived in a unique place and had plenty of food.

Black gold abalone was a very lazy creature. As long as the water was fine, and the food was sufficient, they would not leave their habitat and would continue to live in the same place.

After growing and living in the same place for hundreds of years, the abalone would be indistinguishable from the surrounding environment.

In that case, this type of abalone could not be harvested with tools, and it was almost impossible to find.

In fact, there had not been an abalone with a value of more than 10,000 Australian dollars, and this has been hyped in recent years. Coupled with the rise of a large number of wealthy people in East Asia and the Middle East, they liked to eat this strange seafood, which led to the high price of centuries-old black gold abalone.

In addition to the length, there was also another measure for black gold abalone, which was the ratio of mass to diameter. This ratio of mass was the mass after excluding the mass of the impurities on the shell.

This ratio reflected the meat quality of black gold abalone. Obviously, the higher the proportion, the higher the meat quality, and the higher the price.

Li Du's abalone was about six inches in size, had a fleshy quality that was worth 2,000 AUD each, and he hadn't removed the impurities from the shell so its vitality was protected.

Hearing the price he quoted, the middle-aged man glared. "Two thousand dollars?! Man, it's a crazy price. No one is going to pay it!"

"I think if someone is wise and recognizes good stuff, he'll be willing to pay it." Li Du shrugged.

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "You're too optimistic. I swear I'm giving you the market price, and if you want to sell it for 2,000 dollars, you should fly directly to Europe, East Asia, or the Middle East and sell it to the source hotel."

Don't say 500 AUD. I would not sell it even for 1,500 AUD.

The middle-aged man grudgingly raised his price and asked Li Du if he could sell one for 1,000 AUD.

He could see the value of these abalones. They were famous abalones of good quality, and they could be sold for a profit.

Li Du was firm with his pricing, and the middle-aged man left angrily.

Later, a few more people came to make an inquiry. Hearing Li Du's offer, they could not accept it and left.

Li Du was constantly persuaded to sell the abalone. "You see, they have been out of the water for some time? They are about to die, and when they die, you can't sell them even for two hundred dollars."

"It doesn't matter," Li Du said calmly. "You see, I have a cat and a dog. If the abalone dies, I can feed it to them."

He waited in the market for more than an hour. Under the hot sun, the amount of people coming to the market increased. It was lunchtime just now.

At last, Li Du had a real buyer on his side. "Can I pick it up and try the texture?" he asked.

"Sure, sir."

The Arabian rolled up his sleeves and looked at them one by one. "How much are you going to sell the abalones for here?" he asked.

"For 2,000 dollars each, and there are 22 pieces in total," said Li Du. "If you buy them all, I can sell them to you for a total price of 40,000 dollars."

The Arabian man said, "If the quality of diameter ratio can reach 120, I will buy all of them. Can I test them?"

Upon hearing this, Li Du knew this was a key customer.

The mass to diameter ratio was measured by mass in grams and diameter in inches. Generally speaking, the five-inch black gold abalone could grow to 600 grams, which was considered to be a type with thick flesh.

Li Du nodded. The Arabian man brought two men with him. They were carrying small tools. They carefully knocked on the abalone's shell, cleaning off the shell's impurities.

It was like polishing a diamond. After the impurities were removed and cleaned with clear water, the black gold abalone shell shined beautifully.

And that was not the end of it. The outer shell of the black gold abalone could be polished like jewelry. It absorbed calcium carbonate from the seawater, creating a layer of ultra-thin pearl material that formed the inner wall.

In this case, the color and luster of their shells was incomparable to those of other abalone, and in recent years they had even begun to be used for expensive, high-end jewelry.

After the measurement, two of his men worked out the math and handed him the results.

The man smiled after looking it over and said, "Ok, I'll take all of it."

One of his two men paid Li Du, and the other packed the black gold abalone. This was a typical give and take.

With 40,000 AUD in hand, Li Du snapped his fingers and said, "Pack up. Let's go and tour the island."

When it came to harvesting black gold abalone, the island was a place that you could not ignore. It was surrounded by vast seas, complex underwater topography, and scattered underwater volcanoes.

The undersea volcanic areas were the favorite places for black gold abalone to live. The place was rich in the minerals they needed to survive, and as well as being a place where there was a lot of seaweed.

After leaving the market, they had to find a place to have lunch and wash.

After spending some time at the market, Li Du felt like he was stinking!

There were many places to eat on the island, and there was plenty of seafood including big crab and lobster. Just like a buffet, you could give the shopkeeper 100 AUD and eat as much as you liked.

But with Godzilla and Big Quinn, the owner of the store raised the price to 200 AUD, saying they could eat anything for 200 AUD.

"Really?" asked Li Du. "Can I help myself to two hundred bucks each?"

The boss nodded. "Yes, of course."

Li Du waved. "Let's start digging in!"

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