2571 Wallingford Avenue, Beverly Hills, California.
At five o'clock in the evening, Zhang Jing arrived at Thomas's residence. What he saw and heard was jaw-dropping. He was indeed a veteran tycoon and collector, and the house he lived in was no worse than a palace.
The entrance is hidden behind a grove of cacti, holly trees, and palm trees. The entrance building has a red house with two black iron doors that open inward.
The red brick floor is paved under the feet, and the road extends into the interior of the manor.
From the outside, the estate has huge buildings and private grounds, mostly flat land, including three Beverly Park lots: 67, 68 and 69.
The large car courtyard with a central fountain in the front yard can directly lead to the central hall of the main house of the villa, which feels very luxurious!
"Good afternoon Miss Candela."
Everyone has a sense of time, and they won’t come particularly early, nor will they come particularly late.
The guests arrived almost immediately. Most of them were unknown to Zhang Jing, but they were only a few acquaintances. Zhang Jing took the initiative to say hello to Candela. She was driving an extra-long Land Rover. She couldn’t tell the specific model. She looked very domineering. .
"Good afternoon," Kandra, who looked exactly like the protagonist of Tomb Raider, responded with a slight smile, looked at the old man in formal clothes who was following Zhang Jing and asked, "Who is this?"
Zhang Jing introduced Xu Zehong to Candela, "My assistant Xu Zehong."
Candela didn't ask any questions. Most of the guests present had assistants or male and female companions.
"Zhang Jing! Long time no see."
A strange voice came from behind. It turned out to be Ralph Heimer gritting his teeth to say hello.
Zhang Jing smiled awkwardly, "Long time no see. Mr. Ralph Heimer looks more handsome than he did in Egypt before Christmas."
Ralph Heimer is also a treasure hunter. During the process of searching for the statue of a guard, 13-year-old Zainab sent him to the police station for ten days. He was very resentful.
When it came to Egypt, Ralph Heimer seemed to have his wounds rubbed with salt. He was so angry that he could not speak. He turned his back to Zhang Jing and went to chat with others.
"Haha~" Noretta, a middle-aged woman who is also a geologist and treasure hunter, couldn't help but laugh, "How could you have an affair with the honest man Haimo?"
Noleta, who is about forty years old and looks saggy-skinned, was hired by Thomas to search for pirate gold on Adak Island.
"A little misunderstanding." Unexpectedly, Haimo's nickname turned out to be "Honest Man." Zhang Jing and Noleta greeted him warmly, "You are dressed very beautifully today."
"Yeah," Noletta showed off her beige jacket, "I bought it from a second-hand store. It's worth every penny."
Zhang Jing didn't make a fuss. Buying second-hand clothes doesn't mean Noleta has no money, but it's an attitude towards life.
Generally speaking, Los Angeles is very similar to the South. Wear clothes very casually and it doesn’t matter whether they are new or old. Of course, there are also people who pursue famous brands, such as celebrities and young people from the African-American community, who are obsessed with sneakers.
"What did you bring today?" Zhang Jing asked Noleta curiously.
Thomas hosts sharing parties between treasure hunters and buyers, and if there's something good, the treasure hunter needs to bring it to the site.
"I brought a dagger inlaid with gems," Noleta said proudly. "I found it while diving. What did you bring?"
Zhang Jing shook his head, "I have nothing to trade."
In fact, Zhang Jing had a lot of things that he could trade, but he just couldn't bear to sell them.
Candela was chatting with others nearby and shook her head when she heard what Zhang Jing said. She liked the oil painting by Paul Cézanne very much, but it was a pity that Zhang Jing would not sell it.
At this time, the owner of the manor, 60-year-old Thomas, came over with his girlfriend in her twenties and said enthusiastically: "Everyone is welcome to the party I am hosting. The food and drinks are ready. Please move to the banquet hall."
Different from the previous two meetings, Thomas changed from usual, wearing formal clothes, gray suit, gray trousers, brown leather shoes, and brightly oiled hair.
Here's the key point. When Thomas turned his back to everyone, his big ass, which was covered in sheep's tail oil, still couldn't be hidden.
There were more than thirty guests, more than half of whom were holding packaging boxes or
It's a handbag, and it's full of goodies.
Arriving at the banquet hall, there is a row of glass display cabinets in the middle, with keys hanging on each cabinet door. Guests who bring valuables can lock their things in with the keys in their hands.
Noletta placed the rusty dagger encrusted with gems into a small glass cabinet.
Candela also has something good, a pearl necklace.
Ralph Heimer actually brought over a pan without a handle. What caught Zhang Jing's attention was that there were Chinese characters engraved on the front and back of the pan.
Others brought many treasures, such as maces used by medieval knights, dragon country porcelain, ivory muskets, oil paintings, wood carvings, amber, dinosaur eggs, etc.
Most of the customers had something to sell. To avoid being considered an outlier, Zhang Jing locked his watch in a separate glass cabinet.
The watch was a gift from Ding Jiaqi. It was deliberately made of an old model and looked very old without any markings. It cost 200,000 yuan.
Until no one put valuables into the glass cabinet, Thomas loudly announced that the party was about to begin. They ate, drank, chatted, and observed the exhibits. Twenty minutes later, the bidding process began.
As Thomas finished speaking, the banquet hall became lively, many people knew each other, and some were socializing.
Zhang Jing didn't need to flatter anyone. He complained to Xu Zehong, who was dressed in formal clothes, "Thomas is very stingy. The food is just some ordinary seafood, bread, fruits, no Wagyu steak, and no Caspian caviar; the drinks are also very ordinary, why is there no Louis?" Champagne?"
Xu Zehong was almost choked to death by his boss, "High-grade Wagyu steaks are sold by the gram, and Caspian caviar is a top luxury product. Who would provide unlimited supply at a party?"
"If there is a chance, I will take you to enjoy real food." Zhang Jing thought of Wen Li and took Ding Jiaqi to a party organized by her for the first time. Luxurious food was like a mountain, and famous drinks were like a river. You could eat and drink as much as you wanted. .
Xu Zehong didn't take it seriously. He picked up a glass of Riesling and said in a voice that only two people could hear, "I'm going to work."
"Go." As he spoke, Zhang Jing broke off a crab leg and ate the tender meat inside. He brought Xu Zehong out this time because he didn't want to miss the good stuff.
If anyone on the farm has the easiest job and earns more money, it must be Xu Zehong. He often goes without work for two or three months, but as long as it happens once, every time is important.
Xu Zehong took the wine glass to the middle of the banquet hall, stood in front of the display cabinet, and quietly viewed the valuable cultural relics.
Because he is an expert in cultural relics from the Dragon Kingdom and specializes in the art. He only looks at Western cultural relics briefly. When he encounters porcelain, he will stop and study it carefully. When he saw the "pan" brought by Ralph Hemmer, he was shocked. Got it!
As a man of old age, he simply stayed in front of the "pan" for a while. Under the gaze of Ralph Helmer, Xu Zehong continued to look at other exhibits.
Holding back his excitement and casually reading all the exhibits, Xu Zehong returned to Zhang Jing and said in a voice that only two people could hear, "The exhibit that looks like a frying pan is a bronze from the Seven Kingdoms period. It records a battle. It's worth it." You put all your efforts into buying it!"
Zhang Jing was chewing chicken legs and was shocked by Xu Zehong's words.
