Harrison Avenue is very lively, and tourists from different countries and colors can be encountered. Li Mo was in it, listening to different languages from all over the world, and felt like he was at the United Nations General Assembly.
Steven and Gulish also deliberately wore ordinary casual clothes today. If they were too formal, they would attract the attention of interested people.
"Mr. Qin, should we go directly to the antique area? When it comes to food, compared with the domestic food streets in China, there is a huge gap. However, if you go to the stalls run by the Chinese, you can still find good food. Delicious food. For example, pancakes with fruit, egg-filled pancakes, roujiamo, etc. They are more popular than American hamburgers."
Steven was quite familiar with this place, and then he smiled and said: "There is also a Chinese delicacy here called hairy eggs. I didn't know about it at first. When I came here last year, I heard someone said that the hairy eggs are fried in oil. That's awesome. It’s extremely delicious. And I’ve heard that eating more of that stuff can enhance a man’s abilities, so people here love it very much, and there’s not enough to sell every day.”
Li Mo suddenly wanted to laugh, it was so ridiculous.
"We're not hungry now, so let's just stroll around."
Because there were too many tourists, the four people arranged next to Li Mo were a little nervous.
"You don't need to be nervous. I have a sixth sense and can sense danger in advance. Take advantage of this opportunity and follow me to relax. Don't tense up all day long. It's not good for the brain. It's easy to get old in your old age." dementia."
Li Mo said half-jokingly.
"Mr. Qin, is there such a thing?" The beautiful security guard was a little surprised.
"Do you mean the first sentence or the last sentence?"
"The sixth sense is a super-sense. The scientific community has been doing research. There are also news reports saying that so-and-so has super-sense. But more research shows that the so-called precognition is just a coincidence and a matter of probability. Naturally, what I asked is The next thing."
Li Mo turned to look at her: "Are you all so serious about what you say?"
Forehead-
The beautiful security guard replied seriously: "I just want to know more about her."
Li Mo didn't answer. He just said it casually to calm the atmosphere, but she didn't expect her to take it seriously.
A group of people were wandering around as ordinary tourists. After about half an hour, they turned from the food street into the antique street. Boston Antique Street is more lively than in China. The weather is good today, so there are many stalls set up, and they are all standard stalls with numbers.
"This open-air antique street looks quite formal."
"Indeed, any item purchased here will be cashed out in a unified manner and invoices will be issued. This is mainly to facilitate tourists to have customs clearance certificates when they return."
Li Mo nodded and saw at a glance that there were several people surrounding each stall, most of whom were haggling. He walked closer and looked at several stalls. There were many kinds of things on them, and they were of different styles. Some were Chinese, some Southeast Asian, some European, and some looked like objects from native Indian civilization.
Especially weapons, such as scimitars, bows and arrows, long swords and shields, are all sold directly on the stalls. If these things dared to appear in the Chinese market, someone would have invited you to the bureau for tea.
Some things have a very good old-fashioned effect, and they look very old. Li Mo walked to a stall and saw a variety of things on display. What surprised Li Mo the most was that this stall actually had an abacus.
There is no doubt that these abacus must come from China. I picked up one of them and observed it carefully. They were all modern handicrafts, and they were quite exquisitely made. The boss was a bearded foreigner. His blue eyes stared at Li Mo, as if he was on guard against him.
"Island people?"
The foreigner asked a question, but Li Mo could understand it. He immediately put down his calculations and counterattacked: "You are an islander. Your ancestors have been islanders for eight generations."
"Eighteen generations of your ancestors have been islanders."
Others also responded one by one in Chinese.
When the foreigner saw them all leaving angrily, he scratched his messy hair and muttered something. Steven, who was walking at the end, looked back at him and shrugged.
"What did he say last?" Li Mo asked Steven.
"What the boss means is that if you are from the island country, he will not do your business."
ah--
Li Mo was a little embarrassed, he had misunderstood the foreigner. Look at others, they are still on the same front as me.
But there were too many people coming here to play, and what happened just now was quickly forgotten. Following the flow of people, I walked forward a few steps and stopped at a stall. This stall was relatively large and the things on it were very special. They were all bronzes. It ranges from knives and coins to cauldrons, and even a chime.
Li Mo picked up a bronze wine jue, put it under his nose, smelled it, and then put it back in disgust. He didn't like it, but other tourists watched it with gusto and kept communicating with the boss.
"Mr. Qin, are these all imitations?" the beautiful security guard asked curiously.
"It was transported from a mountain village in the south of the country." Li Mo walked slowly with his hands behind his back, and added, "The method of making it is quite disgusting. It was soaked in a manure pit."
Only then did the others show signs of realization. No wonder he looked disgusted just now. At this time, Li Mo stopped in front of a stall again. The owner was an American woman. She was sorting the goods on the stall. The items were quite mixed and seemed to come from several countries. Li Mo's eyes suddenly fell on an abacus. The frame of the abacus was actually made of rosewood. It may have been improperly maintained, and there were several clear scratches on the surface.
The abacus beads are made of the finest Hetian jade and look round and white. Each string of upper and lower jade beads corresponds to a unit of measurement, which is 'li, cent, money, two, ten, one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand'.
Seeing several people surrounding the stall, the brown-haired woman greeted them enthusiastically.
"Mr. Qin, she said that if you like something, she can sell it to you cheaper."
Li Mo first picked up the abacus, turned it over and looked at it. There was a mark on the back, and it turned out to be four characters in block letters: Daoguang Year System.
No wonder the materials used for the abacus frame and the abacus beads are so exquisite. They were actually used in the Qing Dynasty palace.
"how much is this?"
Steven translated, and the boss quickly gave a number.
"She said it was an antique from China and cost at least 20,000 US dollars."
Li Mo smiled and asked, "Can you tell me the specific origin of this abacus?"
Steven translated simultaneously, but the female boss just spread her hands and muttered without knowing what to say.
"Mr. Qin, she said she didn't know the specific origin. It was left to her by her grandfather."
Well, you don’t know anything and you’re trying to fool me.
"Two thousand dollars, I'll take it away."
The female boss was obviously dissatisfied with Li Mo's bargaining so harshly, and she shook her head.
Li Mo did not continue to bargain with her, but picked up another item, which was a mask, woven with the feathers of some kind of bird, in bright and colorful colors. After looking at it for a while, he put it back in its place and then said, "Let's go."
Before they even took two steps, the female boss quickly called out to them.
"Mr. Qin, she said that two thousand US dollars is too low, and asked if she could add another two thousand US dollars?"
Li Mo turned around, shook his head hesitantly, and said, "The most I can offer is three thousand US dollars. This is the maximum I can bear."
Steven hurriedly negotiated with the other party, and after only a few back and forth, he said respectfully: "Mr. Qin, the deal is $2,800. She can just open an order and pay it together, and the transaction can be successful with the invoice. "
"Okay, I'll trouble you." Li Mo glanced at a security guard, who nodded and followed Steven to go through the formalities. After about seven or eight minutes, the transaction was completed. Li Mo looked at the note on the invoice and saw that it was a handicraft.
The female boss was very happy and helped Li Mo hand the abacus to him securely. Another security guard carrying a large bag put the abacus into the bag and continued walking forward.
"Mr. Qin, is this abacus an antique?"
Gulishi asked curiously.
"The Daoguang red sandalwood and white jade abacus from the Qing Dynasty came out of the palace."
Several people looked at each other, good guy, it was actually passed down from the palace.
"What's the actual value of what you bought for 2,800 US dollars?" Gu Lishi didn't know much about the antique market, so he couldn't help but asked curiously.
"It's not too expensive. It would probably be worth more than one million in China."
Li Mo's estimate was conservative. After all, the frame of the abacus was made of rosewood and the beads were all top-quality Hetian jade. But others were secretly surprised, which meant that Li Mo could make a hundred times the profit if he changed hands.
The few security guards who followed him understood how Li Mo's astonishing net worth had been accumulated in just a few years. At this rate of making money, it’s hard not to get rich.
After walking a few meters further, Li Mo stopped in front of a stall. This stall was filled with various sculptures, including wood carvings, stone carvings, and jade carvings. It was the first stall that was very exquisitely made. At this time, there were six or seven people looking at the sculptures on the stall.
Li Mo's eyes first fell on those jade carvings. The quality of the jade was relatively poor. As for the carving craftsmanship, it could only be said to be average. It probably didn't come from China and had no great value. Then my eyes fell on the wood carvings, including human sculptures and bird and insect sculptures, which were lifelike and very good. The last thing I looked at was the stone sculpture, only one. Li Mo took a closer look and was very embarrassed. He could not understand the meaning of these stone sculptures. Just like European oil paintings, the face of this stone sculpture gives people a hazy feeling.
To put it more bluntly, these stone sculptures have unclear facial features, and foreigners’ aesthetics are indeed different from mine.
But precisely because this stone carving was so weird, Li Mo looked at it curiously with his strange eyes. A light gray halo was transmitted through it, and then turned into a halo of light and spread around.
Hey, it’s weird, this stone sculpture of a character is actually an antique with extremely high artistic value and market value. Judging from the color of the halo, it must be at least more than a hundred years ago.
Li Mo looked at the other sculptures. They were all dull and had no artistic value, except for the wood sculpture which had some appreciation value. He picked up a wooden sculpture of a human figure, which was the image of a bearded old man. He looked at it over and over for a long time, looking like he couldn't put it down.
Others around him looked curiously at the wood carving in his hand. Could this be an incredible antique?
"How much?"
Steven was busy translating.
"A thousand dollars."
This fat American boss actually knows a little bit of Chinese. Although his words are not standard, he can be understood.
"It's too expensive. The material of this wood carving is cherry wood. Although the carving technique is not bad, it is just a modern handicraft, and its value is far less than what you quoted. I have learned about the market, and the market price of this kind of wood carving is only about Three hundred dollars. And the price is because the wood carving is not machine carving, but purely hand carving. If it were machine carving, I wouldn't be interested in it at all."
"Unfortunately, I can't sell it to you at this price." The fat boss looked regretful. Although he said so, he was still observing the emotional changes on Li Mo's face.
How could Li Mo be trapped by him? He calmly put the wood carving back to its original place and said calmly: "There are many stalls selling wood carvings in this open-air market. Let's look for them elsewhere."
"Hey, guys from China, don't leave in a hurry yet."
This fat guy can do it. He actually knows how to make friends. This call of "buddy" is so treacherous.
Li Mo looked back at him.
"My cost price for this wood carving is seven hundred dollars, and you always want me to earn a little extra pocket money. Seeing that you really like it, how about I sell it to you for eight hundred dollars?"
Steven quickly translated from the side.
Li Mo shook his head and said: "With eight hundred dollars, you can choose three sculptures at the stall. One sculpture is too expensive and not worth it."
"Hey, buddy, the price is negotiable. I'm a cheerful person, and the price is seven hundred dollars." The fat boss seems to often deal with Chinese tourists, and he is still good at bargaining this time.
Li Mo stopped paying attention to him and continued walking forward.
"The handsome pot costs six hundred dollars each. How about I give you another one?"
Not to mention Li Mo's weird expression, even others looked at the fat boss with strange eyes.
Li Mo then showed an interested look, walked back to the stall, and glanced at it: "Can I choose this one?"
He pointed to a jade sculpture, which was a sculpture of a very enchanting female figure.
"No, no, this is very expensive, more expensive than wood carvings." The fat boss lowered his face and waved his hands repeatedly.
"What about this?"
Li Mo pointed to a slightly more delicate wood carving.
Unexpectedly, the boss still shook his head, and finally pointed at the stone sculpture with unclear features.
Li Mo suddenly became a little angry. He looked at the stone sculpture, then looked at the boss angrily, and said in a deep voice: "Five hundred dollars, take this stone sculpture. If it works, I'll turn around and leave."
The fat boss felt a little guilty, so he stretched out his right hand and said, "Brother, it's a deal."
After the two shook hands, Li Mo still picked up the wood carving and admired it. Steven and the security guard went to pay, and when they came back, the two sculptures were packed.
"Profiteer."
Li Mo muttered something before leaving, and the others rolled their eyes. This is Jiang Taigong's fishing. One is willing to fight and the other is willing to suffer.
"Mr. Qin, what is the origin of this character wood carving?"
The beautiful security guard asked hopefully.
"It has no origin, it's just an ordinary cherry wood hand-carved work."
"Well, I thought I found another antique. Since it is an ordinary carving, why buy it? If you really like it, there are many more exquisite wood carvings than this one on the domestic market."
Li Mo actually showed a thoughtful expression, walked a few steps, nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. It's quite annoying to have such a big wooden sculpture with you. Steven, please throw away this wooden sculpture for me."
threw?
Steven was confused. He finally bought it at a bargain price, but he had to throw it away just a few minutes after paying. Isn't this money fun?
Li Mo handed the wooden sculpture to Steven, then carefully wrapped the stone sculpture and put it into the large backpack on the security guard.
Everyone could see clearly. It turned out that Li Mo's goal from beginning to end was not the wood or jade carving at all, but the ugly and unseemly stone carving. Seeing that he rewrapped it himself before putting it in his backpack, it was obvious that it was worth a lot of money.
"Mr. Qin, I would like to ask, what is the origin of that stone sculpture?" Steven is an art trader, so he knows the antique industry very well.
"I'll open your eyes when we get back to the hotel."
Li Mo showed an inscrutable look. He knew nothing. If he wanted to know the origin of the stone carving, he still needed to find a professional to identify it.
(End of chapter)
