The Death Knell

The purpose of taking the boat to Honolulu was achieved, and the plan went smoothly. It just depends on what price the gold can be fetched.

The U.S. dollar is now in circulation in Honolulu. The best Remington double-barreled shotgun in this era only costs about ten dollars; a Comet bicycle only costs four dollars.

These are all good things for the future, and if they are well preserved, on the antique market in 2018, a vintage Remington shotgun can fetch $7,000, and a Comet bicycle can reach $5,000.

Logically speaking, Su Ming's gold jewelry should be worth 2,000 US dollars. Of course, that is the price in a jewelry store, and pawnshops cannot afford it.

But Su Ming wanted to sell these jewelry at a high price.

After slipping in and out of the crowd at the port, Su Ming dismissed a few blind thieves and easily broke off their fingers. Su Ming walked into the pawn shop naturally.

The antique counter and fence were decorated with some vases, calligraphy and paintings, and an old man with round glasses and a gray beard was dozing inside the counter.

He was wearing a mandarin jacket and a black official hat on his head. He also had an abacus and a magnifying glass at hand.

Su Ming knocked on the counter with his knuckles, took out a small cloth package and placed it on the counter.

"Shopkeeper, business is coming."

The old man took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It was strange. He was obviously a white boy in front of him, but how could he speak with an authentic Peking accent?

But the rule is not to ask where it came from, so he just smiled politely, took the small cloth package and unfolded it.

Suddenly golden light shone, and the old man took a deep breath as if drinking soup.

"hiss....."

Not to mention that the gold is of excellent color, the gemstones on it are sparkling, and even the carving and design are exquisite.

This can be regarded as a first-class treasure in the world.

Of course, this is the technology of the future and the more inclusive aesthetic concept of the future. Isn’t it the best in the world in this era? There are also vacuum molding machines and computer micro lathes to learn about?

The old man picked up the abacus and stroked it up and down. The beads on the abacus crackled, indicating that he had done the business.

"Young man, the stuff is good stuff, and it's pure gold. I won't deceive you, but our pawn shop's rules are to break it in half when you come in. Do you know how to cut it?"

The old man had an accent from a southern province, and Su Ming immediately adopted the same dialect. Who in the Internet age doesn't know a few dialects?

"Shopkeeper, of course I understand the rules, but I'm not here to pawn, but to give you a way to make a fortune."

The old man was stunned, okay, this is a foreigner who has become a fellow countryman, he would like to see what the foreigner can say.

"Oh, I'd love to hear the details."

He pulled the abacus beads and signaled Su Ming to start his performance.

Su Ming naturally did his part, as long as the old man was willing to listen to the story, which would bring a higher price.

"Let's not talk about anything else. Look at the color and workmanship of this gold, and then look at the water and surface of the gemstone. Have you seen it before?"

The old man frowned. Naturally, the more money you can make when doing business, the better. But it was strange that this foreigner said there was a way to make a fortune other than pawnbroking. He wanted to hear it.

The pawn shop is more about discernment, and its favorite customer is the second generation ancestor who doesn't know anything. Because he doesn't know the business, he pawned the family's treasure.

And this foreigner who speaks very fluent Chinese brought all kinds of surprises as soon as he entered the door, which shows that he has seen the world.

"No, I also said that you are a good thing." The old man stroked his beard: "People say that our business is unethical and takes advantage of the situation, but I am still a businessman and I make money with integrity. You... I have an approximate estimate of the value of the items, and I’m willing to accept them.”

Su Ming smiled and nodded, but he didn't believe a word of it. The old man asked him to do it, but he had to use another method to cooperate.

"To tell you the truth, these treasures came from the palace, not the ones you have in Peiping, but the Louvre in France. Have you heard of them?"

In fact, the origin of the jewelry is the Batcave, but can Su Ming tell him?

"Have heard a little bit."

The old man reservedly picked up the tureen and took a sip of tea, but he felt a little thirsty after hearing the name.

"Hey, France is the largest army power in the world today, and it is not comparable to the Qing Dynasty. And these things were once the jewelry of Marie Louisa, the wife of Emperor Napoleon and the first empress of France a hundred years ago." Su Ming continued. Just making it up, the person involved was already dead anyway, and there is no carbon 14 test these days: “But an accident happened, Napoleon was defeated and captured, and Mary also went into exile, so these pieces of jewelry... you know. "

Does the old man understand? In fact, he had no idea at all. He had no idea what these foreign names represented.

But among them, he understood the words emperor, empire, most powerful country, and queen.

"No wonder, such exquisite jewelry is indeed used by the royal family."

The old man remained calm, but he was secretly happy. He only needed to remember this story and he would be able to make a fortune by reselling it.

Su Ming didn't care about his inner thoughts. He could see from the old man's eyes that his heart was moved. Now as long as he could give it another push, he would definitely not lose.

"These pieces of jewelry later fell into the hands of my ancestors, but the moon waxes and wanes. My father's fleet suddenly disappeared on the sea a few days ago. Now I want to buy a boat and hire people to find him, so I took it out Great treasure, looking for a destined person."

The old man glanced at him. Is he a fake foreigner? These little words come in sets.

But... is it destined for someone?

He did not speak, but calculated the price of the jewelry in his mind. Not talking about the way to get rich, and whether the story was true or false, the value of the thing itself was a guarantee.

"Shopkeeper, you are a discerning person. If you carry a treasure like this around Dingling in Hebei Province, Lafayette will crawl out from underneath and give you two thumbs up."

"puff......"

The old man didn't know whether Lafayette would come out, but his mouthful of tea gushed out. He was definitely a real foreigner, he was really generous and dared to say anything.

Although the Qing Dynasty died, the death of people is a great thing.

Little did they know that Su Ming came from the future, and he had no positive opinion of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Now it was easy to just make fun of her. If the time traveled a few years earlier, he would definitely rob her tomb first than Sun Dianying. .

The funerary objects are worth more than 100 million taels of silver. Doesn't it mean that if you blow up C4 all the way, you picked them up for nothing?

The old man coughed for a while and finally spoke: "Young man, do you know the future of our business after collecting gold and silver jewelry?"

Su Ming nodded: "It's nothing more than changing hands to a rich man, or smelting and recasting."

"Yes, but this jewelry is expensive. Now that the Qing Dynasty is gone, who can be qualified to wear such jewelry?"

The old man is still struggling to his death. He wants to lower the price, which means that he can't find a market and the goods are out of hand.

However, this had already been part of Su Ming's plan. He didn't want to cheat his compatriots, so he had already prepared a clear path for the old man.

I saw him laughing: "Shopkeeper, you are wrong about this. You are not in Qing Dynasty now, but in Honolulu. Although the Queen of Hawaii has abdicated, she is not dead."

The old man's eyes lit up. He was indeed a fan of the authorities. The royal family that has ruled Hawaii for hundreds of years, they are rich!

The United States forcibly annexed Hawaii and paid the Queen $420,000 in compensation, as well as a sugar cane field. Now the Queen of Hawaii has nothing but money.

As long as he accepts the jewelry and sells it to the royal family, he will make a guaranteed profit. If the operation is good, the profit will be doubled.

It turns out that this is the way to get rich, and it is even possible to catch up with the old aristocrats. These people are still very powerful in Honolulu. This is not only a way to make money, but also a ladder to heaven.

He didn't know why Su Ming came to their pawnshop, but if they couldn't reach an agreement, Su Ming turned around and went out to find a foreign comprador, and the money would be gone.