After locating the mammoth cemetery, there was still excavation and trading work to be done .
The last two were simple . There were many independent hunters and tribal people on the Siberian plains . They were considered cheap labor and could be engaged to excavate the mammoth ivory .
As they needed channels to sell the ivory, Li Du got in touch with the owner of Golden Ivory bar to reach out to buyers . Li Du had bribed the owner long before, and the man had been the one to leak out the news of the nuclear magnetic penetration and feedback analysis machine .
That had been a great help to Li Du . If they had been the ones to talk about the machine themselves, the ivory hunters might not have believed them . However, it was different with the owner of Golden Ivory bar . He was a well-known figure in the ivory trade .
With the two mammoth cemetery sites discovered, a large number of mammoth tusks had been excavated . The next step, of entering the market and exchanging them for cash, promised to be easy
For that, Li Du had to thank Steve . He had been the one to look up the people in charge of the mammoth cemetery . After all, there were risks involved in going underground for the excavation . It was Steve who had managed to mobilize his connections to engage the professional men who looked after the safety at the excavation sites .
Looking at the map, Li Du found four more mammoth cemeteries . Altogether, he would be able to make at least twenty million US dollars on this trip to Siberia .
Based on his current situation, twenty million dollars was not too much . Every time he had to support Remonin, he would have to spend at least a million dollars . However, having some deposits in his account was still better than none at all .
As for Seagull Island, the development was on track and the purging of the snakes was almost complete . Li Du was preparing to build a small power generator on the island . For that, he would have to set aside another sum of money .
The diamond mine at Amengda brought good news . It was a rich mine, and some of the diamonds were being polished and prepared for export . However, the diamonds had to be verified and reviewed by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre before they could be sent into the market and sold for cash .
Li Du didn't need to care too much about that . Carl was taking care of it all, since all the diamonds from Amengda were meant to be supplied to Harry Winston, Inc .
Steve suggested that Li Du should engage a professional team of accountants, poaching its members from the top talents of the Big Four accounting firms in the world . That was because Li Du's finances were now extremely complex and it would be best for him to engage professionals to help to manage them .
Li Du accepted the suggestion and intended to resolve that after he returned from Siberia . By May, they were supposed to cross the Arctic Circle, or more exactly, to sail to the Northern Islands .
According to the map, the Islands were to the north of the Siberian Highlands . As they continued traveling north from the Midwest of Siberian Highlands, the road conditions and weather would deteriorate .
Hence, when Li Du's work was done, they decided to change lanes and enter another city . After modifying their vehicles, they would continue to the Northern Islands via a waterway . Their SUVs would also be transported across the waterway .
When Li Du was searching for the last mammoth cemetery, Steve and some of his men started on their journey first . They were going to start the preparation for their expedition to the Arctic .
Early in May, Li Du made arrangements for the excavation work at one of the best spots of the mammoth cemetery . Then, he drove to a small town nearby, where there was an airport . They were going to take a plane to a transit city – The Arctic Black Pearl, Vorkuta .
Vorkuta was the administrative center of the Pechora mine in Russia as well as the main coal-mining center . The city was nicknamed 'Arctic Black Pearl' because of the resources it possessed .
In fact, before the discovery of the coal mine, the city had been a labor camp of the Soviet Union . Its specific location was in the northeast corner of the Autonomous Republic of Komi, Russia, 160 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle . It had a population of 200,000 people .
Based on what Li Du knew, the city was a rather primitive one . It was built entirely on the foundation of a coal company, which was home to one of the world's most famous energy companies, Vorkuta Coal Co . , Ltd . , and Northern Steel Group . Half of the population in the city was related to the two large corporations .
The plane they were traveling on was very rundown . Perhaps a more accurate description would be that it was fit for the recycling plant . The seats on the plane looked flattened from prolonged strain and it was uncomfortable sitting on them .
Li Du wanted to put on his safety belt when he realized, to his horror, that there was none .
He asked, startled, “Hey, are there no safety belts on this plane?”
Not only was there no safety belt, but there was =no stewardess either . The crew consisted of a big-sized pilot and another old man who appeared to be either the co-pilot or the technician .
The old man turned around and spoke in broken English, “What, you want a safety belt? What do you need that toy for? Sit tight, we are jetting off!”
“Into the sky, buddy!” The pilot laughed loudly . The engine whooshed and propelled the plane forward .
It might sound dramatic, but because the plane was to fly at a low altitude, it was not well sealed; in fact, the body of the aircraft had gaps . As the plane took off, cold wind seeped into the plane .
Not only that but for an unknown reason, there were some potatoes, apples and other similar cargo on the plane . When the plane took off, the fruits started to roll around the passenger cabin .
Li Du was stunned . He was worried that he would share the fate of those fruits and roll somewhere else too!
Fortunately, although the plane was in poor condition, it was still rather stable . After it rose to the sky and stabilized, it continued flying smoothly .
The old man wormed his way from the cockpit like a monkey and started to pick up the items that had rolled onto the floor .
Ah Bai was sharper and faster than him, however . He picked up two apples from the floor and stuffed one in Li Du's hands while keeping the other .
The old man was chatty . He smiled and asked, “This is your monkey? It is very cute and it's also very brave . Mister, you should learn from this monkey . There is no need to be afraid . Our planes are all very safe . ”
He could tell that Li Du did not feel good .
Li Du forced a smile . “I have a phobia of heights; hence I cannot help but be afraid . ”
The old man passed him an apple and said, “Then have some fruit . Good food can assuage the fear in the depths of your heart . In addition, if you have a fear of heights, traveling from Vorkuta will be convenient for you . There are many trains in the town . ”
Vorkuta's coal resources had to be transported by train . Hence, in terms of transportation, the city had the highest number of train routes in northern Russia .
There, trains were the key form of transportation . The airport did not operate in the winter season . As for the highways, Vorkuta's roads were meant to be used as means of inner transportation, connecting various coal mines and gas fields . They were not connected to the outside world .
That meant to say, there was no highway for driving towards Vorkuta . They would have to cross the wilderness .
Low-lying flights were dangerous . First, they might knock into flocks of birds . Second, there was turbulence . After a risky journey, they finally managed to land successfully at the small airport of Vorkuta .
The old man and the plump pilot took a photograph with Li Du and his group . Li Du asked what the photograph was for and the plump pilot laughed heartily . “Some passengers do not have confidence in our plane . When that happens, I show them photos of our former passengers to reassure them . ”
Li Du smiled helplessly . He felt that being able to arrive at the destination safely in this plane was an extraordinary stroke of luck .
In any case, they arrived at the city of Vorkuta and Steve had mentioned that there would be good food waiting for them . The locals produced some of the most delicious recipes in Russia .
Chapter end
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