<h4>Chapter 253: The Bottle Collector</h4>


    Trantor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    Hans had contacted a bottle collector named Bauer Sanders, a tycoon in the book publishing industry.


    On the way to Phoenix, Hans contacted Bauer to confirm the time of their meeting. They arrived in Phoenix around noon, had a quick lunch, and made their way to Bauer’s vi located in the suburbs.


    It was mid-July. The city really deserved the name “Phoenix,” for it was as hot as their of the legendary fiery bird.


    At 1:30 pm, they arrived at their destination. The vi was located in a luxury residential neighborhood next to a smallke surrounded by an abundance of tall trees with green foliage.


    Hans made another phone call and soon they saw a white man who wore a pair of sunsses waving to them in front of his vi.


    Mr. Sanders shook hands with the three of them andughed, “I’m Bauer Sanders, wee to my ce. Pleasee in, I’ve prepared some cold drinks.”


    Hans wiped the sweat from his face and said, “Mr. Sanders, although Phoenix is a very modern city, I would still rmend you moving to gstaff. It suits people with statuses such as yourself.”


    Bauerughed, “I have to admit, Phoenix’s summers are too warm. But I do not have the money to live in gstaff. All my money has been spent on my hobbies and rted merchandise.”


    Li Du cracked a joke. “Before, I couldn’t understand why people collect drink bottles. But now I understand—residents in Phoenix must love cold drinks a lot.”


    Mr. Sanders led them to the living room, where the trio could see a wide variety of beverage bottles disyed neatly on custom-made wooden shelves affixed to the walls.


    Li Du nced at the collection; he saw various Pepsi and Coca-C bottles—not only that, there were also bottles from Sprite, Heineken, Danone, Nestle, Budweiser, Gatorade, Red Bull, and so much more.


    Li noticed that the bottles disyed were all ss, none were stic. Many people knew that soda tasted the best in ss bottles, followed by aluminum cans, andstly, stic.


    ss had the best retention rate for the fizzy carbon dioxide in the drinks. When stored in a ss bottle for six months, the original amount of carbon dioxide could still be at 98 percent.


    ss was also the most inert material to store soda in, as there were consumers who tasted a slightly more metallic vor from aluminum cans and a sticy taste from stic bottles.


    Under such circumstances, the ss bottle was naturally the preferred material for collecting.


    There was also a row of neatly ced refrigerators in the living room. Bauer opened the fridge and asked, “What would you like to drink?”


    Hans said, “Since we brought Coca-C bottles, we’ll have some Coke.”


    “You made the right choice,” Bauer said. “What vor do you want?”


    Coca-C hade up with many different vors of Coke. The cherry vor was the most popr in the United States. There was also the raspberry vor, orange vor, lemon vor, and so on.


    Hans let Li Du choose first but Li shrugged his shoulders and said, “Mr. Sanders, maybe you can help me choose one. I trust an expert’s choice.”


    Bauer had a bright smile on his face after hearing Li’spliment.


    “I rmend you try the vani-vored Coke—it’s very well-received in China.”


    Li Du had never paid attention to the different vors of Coke. He would usually just take one and go, as Coke to him was simply a drink that could quench his thirst.


    Hans asked, “I’d like a more thrilling taste—would you rmend one for me as well?”


    Bauerughed, “If you like something thrilling, then you must choose the ginger-vored Coke. This one is really popr in Japan.”


    Li Du admired the Japanese’s taste after hearing what Bauer had said; ginger and Coke could really offer a thrilling taste, and ginger was considered a healthy food. But, isn’t it better to drink it in winter? he thought.


    Li Du felt that the Ginger Coke was a drink that was most suitable for winter. But what Bauer said was right—it was definitely the most stimting vor.


    When it was Godzi’s turn, Bauer did not wait for him to open his mouth and said, “I know what you want, friend. You definitely want the original Coke, right?”


    “Thank you,” said Godzi with a shrug.


    Li Du asked, “There’s actually a difference between the original and regr Coke?


    Bauer replied, “Of course—30 years ago, the government encouraged food manufacturers to use corn products. The Coca-C Company then reced the cane sugar they used with high fructose corn syrup.


    “However, the Coca-C factory in Mexico insisted on using cane sugar, as Mexico is rich with sugarcane, so using it meant lower costs for them.


    “Although Coca-C had made numerous ims that there was no difference between the two ingredients, many die-hard fans could taste a difference and dered that the Mexican Coke is the real, most authentic Coke.


    “Thus, Coke that uses cane sugar as its ingredient is called the original Coke.”


    Bauer exined as he handed Godzi arge bottle of Coke. He took a small bottle for himself and deliberately spun the bottle to grab the attention of the three men.


    Hans immediately understood what Bauer wanted—to show off.


    Hans asked, “What about this Coke?”


    Bauer appeared to be pleased and cheerfully said, “Yes my friend, you have a sharp eye. This is seawater Coke that you can hardly find—there are only a few bottles in the United States.”


    “Seawater Coke? Coke made using seawater?” Li Du asked. “Is it salty?”


    Bauerughed and shook his head. “No. It’s made using desalinated seawater, produced in Malé, capital of the Maldives. It’s only sold locally.”


    Hans said in a tone with admiration, “Mr. Sanders, you know so much about Coca-C. I bet you’ve spent quite a sum of money on all these Coke products.”


    Bauer spread his hands and said, “Well, that’s because I like them. Money is moremon than happiness. If I spend money and I get to be happy in return, then that money spent is worth it.”


    Godzi nodded his head as he concurred with what Mr. Sanders had said. He was happiest when he was eating—the money spent on eating was worth it.


    Following the topic, Hans opened up the box containing the ss bottles and said, “We would like you to take a look and see if these bottles could bring you some happiness.”


    Both Li Du and Hans had done their homework, and knew that these antique bottles were valuable. Collectors had paid anywhere from a few thousand to more than ten thousand dors for them.


    However, they were not so confident about the bottles they had, for Mr. Sanders seemed to have a reallyplete collection. They wouldn’t have been surprised if Mr. Sanders told them he already had the ones both Hans and Li Du had brought over.


    Their fears turned into reality. Bauer held the first generation Coke bottle, stared at it, and smiled. “Wow, this is good stuff. The first generation Coke bottle. I’ve collected a few as well.”


    Li Du and Hans nced at each other for a moment, both looked slightly disappointed. However, they still had to try, no matter what. Hans asked, “Okay, could these bottles still bring you joy?”


    Bauer did not say a word, but took another green Coke bottle in his hand instead.


    He lifted up the bottle and looked at it against the light. “Splendid! You have two Santa us Collector’s bottles—not bad!”