All Chapters of The Inheritance of Dust: Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
94 chapters
The Housewarming
At 6PM my phone buzzed on a roof in Elko.I was on the roof of House 13. Tar paper hot enough to burn through my boots. Below me, twelve houses with lights on, gray bricks in basements humming from dirt. White oak stages inside, kids reading, air purifiers humming. Mike's crew was cleaning up, Luis coiling extension cords, Jamal sweeping white oak dust into a pile to save because white oak is $12k a load and we don't waste $12k.Sloane texted: "Don't look at Instagram."When Sloane says don't look at Instagram, you have to look at Instagram.Vivian Hawthorne is live. Location: Round Hill Road, Greenwich, CT. Big house. Six bedrooms. The house I bought for $3.1M inside the $900M Tesla and Ford prepay wire and gave to her for free because I thought I was being nice and un-clouded.Now it's 6PM Greenwich time, which is 3PM Elko time, but live says 6PM, so she started party early, golden hour lighting for Instagram.I clicked.First shot: drone. Kade's drone, same drone that filmed pool
New Money, No Need
Tuesday 7:30 AM, we were already on our way to Greenwich to visit Vivian and Chase and ask what really made them to forget us. My crew were already advising that I file to revoke the house and Company, but I had a better plan. Me, Mike, Luis, Jamal, Tommy Jr., Sloane, with dusty boots from Elko roofs, jeans, $22 t-shirts, hard hats in the truck bed, HAWTHORNE in Sharpie. We wanted to ask one question: why housewarming without inviting Jack? We parked on Round Hill Road by 8:45 AM on tuesday. The Big house lights were on. Two new F-150s $72k each in the driveway. White sheet still over the pool house hole. Catering trash bag still by the garage, Hendrick's. I had told Brown "Brown, don't file yet, maybe they were just excited, maybe they forgot to invite, maybe nice works." Brown said "Jack, page 4 clause, thirty-day clawback, I wrote it for this exact party." I said "Don't file yet." So no revocation yet. No Sheriff, no email. Just house and company given away on Monday, hous
The Cutoff
We drove back to Elko that same Tuesday,8:48 AM Greenwich, 5:48 AM Elko time, but we drove east to west so we gained time and lost everything.When we returned, Brown was already in our office waiting. He saw my face and understood that it really went as bad as he thought it would go.Brown: " How bad did it go?"Luis: " Really bad. They called boss. Stupid and a liability."Brown: " You see? That is what you get for trying to be nice to people like Vivian and Chase. "I just sighed and looked at the ground.Brown: " So when will you start the filing?" Me: "Brown, don't file."Brown: "Jack, they called you stupid and liability to your face."Me: "No filing, no court, no Sheriff. Court is boring. I have a better plan instead."Brown: "Then what is it?"Me: "We sell it. Silently. The house and the company. We sell it off and the buyer will know how to handle them."We got back to Elko main camp by 8 PM, 15 hours drive, window down, 104 degrees even at 8 PM Elko summer, batteries hummin
The Use Of Money
Now that the House and Company had been sold and I had gotten rid of Vivian and Chase, and still have some money left, I decided to build a mine and a real office in my 4,000 acres of dirt. Wednesday, after sale, I had:$3.3M cash from house sale, profit $200k on $3.1M.Company back for $1, plus $5M line intact, minus $284,800 they spent, plus $1.Two F-150s repo now company assets again.100% of dirt $2.1T, 4,000 acres Elko, $6B battery company valuation, $50M cash, $200M DOE loan, $150M Tesla/Ford prepay left, $75M Tesla $75M Ford, plus $3.3M.Mike: "Boss, $3.3M, what we do? Build 13 more houses $280k off-grid, 13 houses 13 stages?"Luis: "Boss, batteries humming twelve houses, we build more?"Margaret: "Jack, $3.3M from the house that called you stupid and liability to your face, you can... "Me: "We take the money we got from selling the house and company, to buy a new branch in Texas and also build head office and mine in here."Head office and mine in my dirt, 4,000 acres Elko
The Texas Branch
Brown: "Jack, while you drove, I saw a company."Me: "Brown, what company?"Brown: "Texas. Lonestar Custom Builders LLC, Lubbock, Texas. I was looking for off-market houses to list your Greenwich house private MLS off-market, and I found an off-market company instead."Brown saw the company on BizBuySell, off-market, not public, same as house off-market, $2.2M revenue, 12 employees, owner retiring Dale McMurray, 67 years old, wants $400k cash, wants out, website shows houses $900k that fall down slower than Chase's pool house.Brown: "Jack, you have $3.3M cash, you can buy Texas branch for $400k cash, change name same day, Hawthorne Homes Texas LLC, same as Elko LLC Mike runs, manager Mike Texas too but Mike is in Elko so you need a local manager later."Me: "Brown, buy it silently with cash."On Wednesday by 2 PM Elko time, Brown wired $400k from $3.3M house sale to escrow Lubbock, papers, name changed the same day.Thursday 9 AM Elko time, I called Dale McMurray.Me: "Dale, Jack Haw
The Applicant
Friday morning, Dale McMurray drove to Abilene with $400k cash.Friday at 9 AM, I sat in the new head office in Elko. It was 24x36. Built on Dad's workshop footprint. The second press hummed. House 19 first brick was laid. 18 houses lights were on from outside, batteries humming, air purifiers humming.Whiteboard said 18 HOUSES - LIGHTS ON, 82 TO GO.On the folding table, Brown put a stack of papers. Resumes."Texas needs a manager," Brown said. "Mike can't run Elko and Lubbock. He's in Elko. Lubbock needs a face.""You are right Brown. we need a manager for Texas branch. "Brown slid the top resume over. Heavy stock. Embossed.Grant Cole.I read it. Texas A&M, Construction Science. Six years at Perry Homes Houston. Built $900k houses that fell down slower than Chase's. Instagram: 120k followers. Photo: Rolex, Tesla Model X $110k white, blazer, hard hat never dusty. Teeth white. Truck lifted."Does he know who I am?" I asked.Brown laughed, "No. Forbes has no photo, only name. $6B ba
The Bow
Grant Cole left the single-wide at 2:22 PM Friday with his Tesla key loud and his Rolex flashing and his blazer over his shoulder even though it was 102 degrees outside.He didn't say bye to me. He said bye to Mike. He said bye to Luis. He said bye to Margaret on her iPad.He opened the door hard. Box fan blew his blazer. AC still dead. Whiteboard still said 0 HOUSES - FALLEN DOWN, WE BUILD 16 ON CENTER NOW. He drove away in Tesla Model X white $110k, same white as Chase's Tesla that got repoed on Wednesday 11 AM when Mike and Luis changed lock.I sat in the back by the water cooler. I didn't stand up.Mike looked at me.I said, "He doesn't know trench."Mike said, "He knows closer."Twelve guys laughed. Not mean laugh. Tired laugh. They dug trench straight within 1/16th yesterday for the first time ever. Hands blistered. They knew Grant never dug.Margaret on iPad said, "Jack, you want me to cancel him? He has 120k followers but zero houses that don't fall down."I said, "No. Let him
The Meeting
I threw a party on Tuesday and nobody wanted to come.I sent invites on Sunday at 8:00 AM from Elko head office.I wrote invites by hand because my handwriting is bad and Brown said bad handwriting looks honest. Margaret said no, bad handwriting looks stupid.I wrote anyway."Come see dirt that worths trillions. Bring boots, not Rolex, blazers not allowed. Head office 24x36 Elko, mine in his dirt, second press. - Jack Hawthorne."I sent it to seven people.The Texas Senator who owns Perry Homes, the friend who fired Grant last week. Nevada Senator who took DOE $200M loan papers and said for the "kid with dirt". Tesla CEO who offered $75M prepay then $150M prepay. Ford CEO who offered same. Chinese battery CEO who buys lithium from African children digging and sells the battery for $6B. Two presidents from African lithium countries who sell that lithium, President of Congo and President of Bolivia, both have mines with child labor. And the DOE man in suit who never gives a name but ha
The Offer
Forbes was published at 8:01 AM Wednesday.Headline: "Jack Hawthorne, 22, $2.1T Dirt, 15% World's Rare Earth, Battery That Never Dies."No photo only name because I said no photo. Brown said no photo makes them curious. Margaret said no photo makes them imagine an old man in dusty boots.At 8:01 AM on Wednesday, I sat in the head office while Grant sat outside with his shovel.At 8:02 AM, my phone buzzed once.Texas Senator. Text: "Jack. I offered $5B for 10% yesterday. Now $10B for 10%. Tonight wire. Dusty boots or not."I didn't reply.At 8:03 AM, my phone buzzed twice.Nevada Senator. Text: "Jack. DOE offered $200M loan yesterday. Now $500M grant free no payback. You keep 100%. Just give DOE tech. Senate floor tomorrow."I didn't reply.At 8:04 AM, phone buzzed three times.Tesla CEO. Call. I didn't answer. Voicemail: "Jack, it's Tesla. I offered $10B prepay yesterday. Now $25B prepay tonight wire. Plus 20% of company. My jet will be in Elko in 1 hour. Boots dusty fine. Bring $12 c
Return to the Forgotten Workshop
I flew to far-away state on Wednesday at 11 AM to dad's forgotten workshop. Dad's real workshop was in a far away state, dusty and forgotten, 2,400 miles from Elko, near old steel mill, industrial block 8 buildings, chain link fence rusted, weeds 3 feet high, windows broken, sign faded CROFT MACHINE SHOP 1978. I had only come once when I was 4 years old, and Dad had made me promise to always visit but I hadn't visited because I thought I had to manage the $2.1T dirt. Email dadsworkshop@protonmail: "You stopped coming, son." Sent at 3:01 PM on Tuesday. Brown booked a jet. Grant came with a shovel. Mike came, Luis came, Daryl also came. We landed on Wednesday by 3 PM in Alabama. Industrial block dusty and forgotten, gate locked, chain rusted. Weeds were three feet high, no security, no lights. Just dust and a wooden shop that was visibly old. I had a key. Dad's key from 1978, brass, heavy, CROFT stamped. I kept the key since he died. I opened the gate, the chain fell and rust w