pjbooks Chapter 101: Signing up for the variety show "Warehouse Treasure Hunt King"
Chapter 101: Signing up for the variety show "Warehouse Treasure Hunt King"
Chapter 101: Signing up for the variety show "Warehouse Treasure Hunt King"
"Good afternoon, friend. Welcome to Old William's Pawnshop. How may I help you?"
As soon as he walked in, it was that same template greeting again. Who knows how many times he says it in a day?
Old William stood behind the counter, not even looking up, wiping a sparkling crystal ball with a non-woven cloth.
"Mr. William, may I give you a little advice?" Ma Jie walked through the consignment area and came straight to him: "If you could make eye contact with customers when you greet them, your business would probably be much better than it is now."
Old William then looked up, a smile spreading across his face. "It's you, Jack. If I'm not mistaken, you've found another treasure in the dumpster?"
"What are you saying, old man?" Ma Jie was quite dissatisfied with his stereotype: "Do you think I'm only fit to rummage through trash cans?"
"That is?"
"I went to the St. Bottom flea market today and had some pretty good finds."
As he spoke, he took out the original packaging videotape of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and gently placed it on the glass counter, following the order of appearance.
"Let me take a look." He took off his reading glasses from the pocket of his work clothes, put them on the bridge of his nose, examined them from all angles, and finally concluded: "There's nothing wrong with the item, it's old, but it's a pity it's been opened. If it were brand new and unopened, the price would be at least ten times higher."
Ma Jie didn't like hearing that. Who buys a videotape to treasure and display it? How can you watch it if you don't open it? What's the point of buying it if you're not going to watch it?
"Stop talking nonsense, old man, give me a satisfactory price."
Having dealt with him several times before, Ma Jieke had a pretty good grasp of his temperament.
This guy is the kind of person who's really honest in business; he sets prices that are very considerate of his customers.
Two hundred US dollars.
"Okay, two hundred it is." Too lazy to argue about such a small amount, he took out the toy car again.
After taking one look, old William immediately refused: "Buddy, this is a pawn shop, not a toy store."
"This is very valuable; you can search for it on eBay."
"No matter how valuable it is, it's not within my business scope because I don't understand toys, understand, kid?"
"Alright." Ma Jie could only put the car away and then took out the rare comic book: "What about this? It's a Marvel event magazine published 30 years ago. You couldn't find it even if you searched with a lantern."
Despite his eloquent explanation, old William responded with principle: "Comic books are also toys. I don't accept toys. Look at the young people in my shop. Even if I did accept them, I'm afraid they would be hard to sell. Please understand my predicament, sir."
Damn... If you don't accept this or that, what kind of pawnshop are you running?
Forget it, I'll just put it on eBay later. This is such a sought-after item, there will be plenty of people vying to buy it.
However, these are just appetizers; the real main course hasn't been served yet.
First, he tossed the pocket watch and music box to old William, who casually glanced at them and told Jack that the two items together were worth 50.
US dollars.
I spent a full $150. That old bastard is really ruthless. He didn't even make half profit, he had to double it.
Unfortunately, karma is a wheel, and no one escapes its pull. Under the overwhelming force of the Black Brothers, even if your IQ is higher than Newton's, it's useless.
For North American players, free purchases are undoubtedly the greatest invention of all time, and the joy we experience today will likely continue for a long time to come.
"Anything else?" After all that work, the total transaction amount was less than $300. Old William smirked, "Excuse my bluntness, but this isn't like you. You always bring me quite a surprise every time you come. What's wrong with you today?"
"Old man, what are you so smug about?" Ma Jie replied dismissively. "You'd better find a sturdy chair to sit on before I show you the next treasure."
"I'd like to hear the details." Old William was immediately intrigued by the bizarre way he described it.
She carefully took out the jewelry box, placed it on the counter, and pushed it towards him.
The latter picked up the box, opened it, and his expression froze on the spot.
"Wait a moment." He bent down, took out a magnifying glass from the drawer, and examined it from all angles for at least two minutes.
As a result, his expression became increasingly conflicted, and he couldn't make up his mind for a long time.
"Haven't you finished looking at it yet, Mr. William?" Ma Jie taunted, "Aren't you supposed to be an expert in appraising antiques? I think such a small item shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
"Kid, this is called being meticulous. Better safe than sorry." He placed the items and the magnifying glass on the counter, took out his phone, and started calling people.
Judging from the conversation, the other party seems to be a very authoritative jewelry collector.
After waiting for about 20 minutes, a burgundy, extraordinary, glamorous supercar pulled up outside, instantly attracting the attention of many passersby.
The car door opened, revealing a pair of jade-like feet clad in Prada high heels. From the full, shapely calves upwards, flesh-colored stockings were paired with a leopard-print strappy dress.
It looks a bit like pajamas, but those in the know will recognize it as the work of a top Parisian fashion designer.
The woman wore a pair of Gucci cat-eye sunglasses on her fair, oval face. Her long black hair cascaded down one side of her shoulder, revealing an oversized, sparkling diamond tassel earring on her other ear.
"Hey, look who's graced our humble shop with their presence! It's such an honor to have such a distinguished guest here."
Upon seeing the woman enter, old William warmly stepped out from behind the counter. The two leaned close and embraced, appearing to be quite familiar with each other.
"Uncle William, I didn't come all this way just to hear you praise me." The woman was the decisive type, preferring to get straight to the point: "As for the item, you told me on the phone that it was a very old antique jewelry. It better really is as you said, otherwise I'll never come again."
"Look at what you're saying, when has your uncle ever lied to you?" Old William's face was full of smiles: "Let's get to know the seller first, Mr. Jack, whom I would call the Los Angeles treasure hunting master, the greatest bargain hunter in history."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Jack, I'm Grace." The woman looked him up and down, then extended her hand. The diamond rings on her hand reflected the light, making it almost blinding for him.
He gently shook her hand, then looked at Valentina, who had been instructed by Ma Jie to act like a wooden doll after entering.
"And who is this young lady?"
"Hello, madam." Valentina quickly extended her hand. "Valentina, I came with him. You don't need to worry about me, because I know nothing about business or jewelry."
"Oh, Mexican girl." Grace smiled charmingly, "Excuse my bluntness, sister, with your looks, you'd definitely stand out on TV. Do you know that popular variety show called 'Famous or Ugly'? If you're interested, I can recommend you to participate."
"Ahem..." Hearing his niece say that, old William hurriedly boasted from the side: "You probably don't know, but Grace works at a Los Angeles TV station. You must have seen the real show she recently produced, the Discovery Channel's number one ratings show—'Storehouse Treasure Hunt'."
"Oh, Uncle, please don't talk about such upsetting things." Hearing this, Grace complained with annoyance, "That damn director who used to make adult films keeps forcing me to revise the script, saying that the character designs I came up with aren't original enough. Doesn't he use his pig brain? This show has been airing for so many seasons, what new tricks can he come up with? Do you expect me to go to the streets and find some homeless people to gamble with?"
"What did you just say, a homeless person?" Old William subconsciously looked at Jack Ma: "Jack, haven't you always been hanging around in the slums? You have such good eyesight. If I were you, I would definitely try my luck."
"What?!" Grace was startled and looked at the Asian boy in disbelief. "You're a homeless person? Sorry, I really didn't realize."
"Absolutely genuine." Ma Jieke replied with a smile, "I live in a tent, eat on welfare, and spend my free time searching for treasures in the trash cans. If I'm not considered a homeless person, then there would be no justice."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute."
Grace seemed to suddenly remember something, and her brain went into high-speed processing mode.
Her intuition told her that this was an extreme persona that could resonate with the audience, perfect for a variety show.
You can imagine what kind of group people enjoy being addicted to television entertainment.
Housewives living in slums, unemployed youths with nothing to do, and losers who dream of getting rich overnight.
If there were an ordinary guest who was even worse off than them, but then made a fortune by opening a warehouse, wouldn't the show be incredibly entertaining?
Having made up her mind, Grace quickly asked, "Mr. Jack, if I may ask, do you have legal status?"
"Does a green card count?" Ma Jie spread his hands, this is no problem for me, even if the immigration bureau came over there, they couldn't do anything about it.
"Of course." After confirming that the other party was not an illegal immigrant, Grace immediately put on a smiling face: "I believe you must have seen the show 'Store Treasure Hunt'. Even if you haven't seen it, you should have heard of it, after all, it's so popular. If you are interested, I can give you a chance to appear on the show and show off your talents."
"My eldest niece, that's what I wanted to say."
Before Ma Jieke could respond, old William got excited: "Promise her, Jack! This is a great opportunity for you to change your destiny. You can find treasures in the dumpsters and frequently pick up bargains at flea markets. This shows that you are a unique genius in this field. If I were you, I would take out a loan from the bank to go."
"I didn't say I didn't want to participate."
In Ma Jieke's view, the game rules of "Warehouse Treasure Hunt King" were tailor-made for him.
William's enthusiasm was undoubtedly driven by his desire to secure exclusive acquisition rights.
After all, if you find treasure, you have to monetize it, right? The more you dig up, the more I earn, right?
Ma Jieke didn't care about this. "The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for gain." This is a very simple truth.