"Did you find all of these here?"
Sima Haotian stood at the door of the warehouse, looking at the wooden boxes piled up, and a very shocked look on his face when he saw the huge safe.
"Would you like to take a look?"
Li Mo asked lightly.
"Show me three top-notch ones."
Li Mo took out a gilt copper Vairocana Buddha from the Liao Dynasty, a jar with a cloisonné dragon pattern lid from the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, and a Dayue Dao made by the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.
Sima Haotian stared blankly, reaching out with slightly trembling hands, but as if he was afraid of accidentally breaking them, he retracted his hands halfway.
"Put it away after he finishes reading."
Li Mo told Dashan that he would walk out of the warehouse first and go to Seattle tomorrow. If there was anything he needed to do, he would communicate with the person in charge here.
About half an hour later, Situ Haotian walked to the door, looked up at the darkened sky, and sighed after a long time.
"Mr. Qin said that among the antique treasure appraisal experts he knows, you are the most powerful. If you were not bewitched by others, maybe your name would be passed down through history."
Dashan is a little dissatisfied with this Sima Haotian, but Li Mo can accept his past and recognize his strength, which shows that this guy is really capable.
"Mr. Qin really said that?"
"I have to lie to you, boring."
Under the cover of night, Sima Haotian raised his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes, hoping to live again for the rest of his life.
Seattle is called a romantic city by many people. People here love drinking coffee. Several well-known coffee chain companies in the world came out of here. This is also a well-known city of antiques. The seven-day Antiques Festival is held every May. At that time, many American antique dealers or professional treasure hunters will gather there.
"Mr. Qin, all the rooms have been taken care of. Let's check in first and get used to the environment here. If you want to go out for a walk, night is more suitable."
Gulishi took the initiative to take on some trivial tasks.
"Okay, let's go to the room to pack our luggage first, and then meet at the coffee shop on the first floor."
They stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel in downtown Seattle. When Li Mo and Sima Haotian came to the coffee shop, it was almost full of guests. The melodious music, rich coffee, and languages from different countries blended together, which made people feel something novel. feelings.
"Mr. Qin's side."
Wuyue stood up and waved to him. Li Mo walked over and sat on the empty seat next to her and said, "Is there anything I can eat to fill my stomach?"
"The standard of this hotel is the most exclusive. Guests come from all over the world, so their kitchen also includes top chefs from many countries. Of course, the consumption here is also ridiculously high."
"Just be casual and see if it breaks my muscles."
The booths next to him all burst into laughter. Li Mo always ordered the best food. As for the cost, in people's eyes it is the difference between one and two, and has no other meaning.
"It is said that it is easy to meet your significant other in Seattle. Those who are single should seize the opportunity."
"Are you reminding me?" Wuyue snorted.
Li Mo picked up the tea cup and took a sip of water. He just said it casually and did not remind her.
"What are you doing?" Suddenly a woman screamed from a booth not far away, and then a crisp sound and a scream were heard.
Hearing the screams of their compatriots, Li Mo and the others turned and looked over. The woman looked young, in her twenties. The guy opposite who was hit was a foreigner. He covered his forehead with one hand, stood up and yelled at the woman, cursing incessantly.
Sitting next to the injured man was a foreigner who looked a little bigger. He stood up, walked around, grabbed the man's hair, and slapped him.
"Help."
The woman screamed, her voice filled with fear.
"Mountain."
Dashan rushed over, grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it, causing the man to bend down in pain.
"Come to us."
Wuyue waved to the woman, who then ran to their booth in panic, with a little blood on the corner of her mouth.
With a gentle push from Dashan, the guy fell onto the booth.
Li Mo stood up and got out of the way, letting the girl sit down. Wuyue took a piece of paper and handed it to her and asked, "Are you not familiar with them?"
"We met yesterday when we went out for fun. They came from New York and went out to visit the scenic spots together today. When we had coffee together just now, they were talking to me under the table... to me..."
Only then did everyone understand what was going on.
Wuyue glanced at Li Mo who was sitting opposite: "Is this the 'beautiful encounter' you mentioned?"
"I have a bad mouth, just pretend I didn't say it."
Li Mo chuckled. What happened just now broke everyone's beautiful imagination of the encounter.
"Where are you from?"
"Modu, I came to the United States to study four years ago." The woman was slapped hard, and half of her face was obviously swollen.
"Is the moon outside rounder than the one in China?" Li Mo took a sip of water, "You'd better leave Seattle as soon as possible, otherwise those two people might come to you again, and no one will help you solve the trouble at that time."
"I'll leave early tomorrow morning." The woman whispered, she was frightened and panicked.
"The food is here, let's all have some, and after that we'll go out for a walk."
For Li Mo, no matter how prosperous and romantic Seattle is, he has no interest at all. After all, he couldn't accept the cultural environment here. He had no choice but to integrate in because of the language barrier. The only thing that can be connected is the antique street, because art has no boundaries.
"Mr. Qin, that girl is still following us."
"Let her go. After all, we are compatriots. Sometimes I just can't figure it out. When it comes to prosperity, Magic City is no less prosperous than most international cities in the United States. Moreover, the country is also very safe. I have family and friends to accompany me. How could it be possible? Isn’t it nice to go to school in a magical city?”
"Perhaps this is where the difference in thinking between people lies."
Forget it, just worry about that.
Seattle Antique Street has arrived. To be precise, this is not a street, but an area. Antique shops can be found everywhere here. It is a relatively famous antique trading market in the United States, and there are also a lot of tourists here. Taobao is everyone’s dream, especially many professional Taobao people who visit various antique markets all year round.
"Mr. Qin, according to my understanding, there is a huge square in the center of the area. There will be many antique dealers from all over the place. My colleagues and I came here once the year before last. At the peak, there were nearly a hundred antique dealers. .”
Steven pointed to the wide aisles on both sides of the avenue in front of him, "The main aisles will also be filled with various stalls, plus the already existing antique shops. If you want to see it from beginning to end, it won't take more than a week. not easy."
"What if it rains heavily?"
"You don't have to worry about this. The organizers of the Antique Festival have already prepared an indoor space. It will be held outdoors on sunny days and indoors on rainy days. There are also various food, snacks, and entertainment programs. It is definitely a feast, very lively."
"Isn't there already a street stall at the entrance of the alley over there? Let's go and take a look."
A group of people walked to the entrance of the alley, where there were eight stalls, and the things on them looked like old items. For example, there are relatively rare old books, comics, pendulum clocks, figures, etc., but there are very few porcelain, gold, silver, jade, sculptures, etc.
Li Mo looked at three stalls and found it boring. He was about to turn around and leave. Suddenly his eyes glanced at the fourth stall. He saw a very delicate wooden box placed on the stall. The wooden box was not big and was probably used to store jewelry. , but the decoration of the wooden box is very gorgeous, inlaid with more than a dozen gems. The dragon pattern carved on the surface is very strange, and can even be described as a bit ugly. Li Mo took a few steps forward. Maybe it was not a dragon.
The wooden box is definitely not from China, nor can it be from European and American countries, but it is somewhat reminiscent of the style of Southeast Asia.
"Can I see that box?"
Li Mo squatted in front of the fourth stall and pointed at the gorgeous wooden box.
"The stall owner was an old woman who looked very old. She was sitting on a stool and smiled and nodded to Li Mo.
Li Mo picked up the wooden box, and his first feeling was that it was a bit heavy, and there must be something inside. He carefully admired the wooden box, and then opened it to see what was stored inside, but the lid could not be opened.
The old woman spoke, and May translated on the side: "This wooden box was left to her by his grandfather. I don't know why the lid can't be opened, and I don't know what is stored inside. If you want to force it open, , such a beautiful wooden box would be damaged, and she has been reluctant to let it go."
Li Mo's eyes flickered, and a gray halo emerged from the wooden box. Not only that, looking through the wooden box, I saw a pair of bracelets inside, which also emitted a gray halo. Judging from the time, it should be two or three hundred years old.
"How much does this wooden box cost?"
"Thirty thousand dollars."
Li Mo looked at the material of the wooden box and the gems inlaid on the surface again, and then asked: "Can you tell me the origin of this wooden box?"
The old woman shook her head, but she said: "Maybe there are other priceless antiques in this exquisite wooden box."
"Ten thousand dollars, I'll buy it." Li Mo began to bargain. The price was not that outrageous. He was probably worried that the old woman couldn't stand the excitement.
"Mr. Qin, she said that this wooden box was passed down from her grandfather, and the stuff must be good, so if you really want it, she can give you a little more, twenty-eight thousand dollars."
Li Mo shook his head and said: "This wooden box must have been here for a long time. There are several clear scratches on the surface. The quality of the gems is not very good. I can add up to five thousand US dollars."
The old woman held up two fingers.
"She said the minimum should be no less than $20,000."
It was estimated that the price was about the same. Li Mo pretended to look at the wooden box carefully, and then nodded in agreement with the price.
After the transaction, Li Mo took the wooden box and continued to browse Sheng Yu's stalls, but saw no more good things.
"Mr. Sima, please also identify this wooden box."
Sima Haotian took the wooden box from Li Mo and looked at it carefully and said: "The wood is made of small-leaf red sandalwood from India. When you get close and smell it, there is a clear sandalwood fragrance, which makes people feel comfortable. The rubies and sapphires inlaid on the wooden box The natural gemstones used are from Pakistan, which are not particularly expensive. However, the $20,000 price paid for it is not a loss. This small leaf rosewood box inlaid with gemstones is estimated to be worth more than $100,000 at auction."
After he finished speaking, the others looked at Li Mo subconsciously.
"You are only talking about the value of the wooden box itself. The most valuable thing is the things stored inside. When I find a place, I will open the box for you all to see."
Li Mo took back the wooden box and felt relieved to keep it by himself.
