pjbooks Chapter 126 Amazing Loot from the Safe
Chapter 126 Amazing Loot from the Safe
Chapter 126 Amazing Loot from the Safe
Upon hearing Max's "well-intentioned" reminder, Duncan's first reaction was one of skepticism: "How can a single mother living at the very bottom of society understand luxury goods?"
However, on the other hand, his area of expertise is antiques, and he only has a superficial understanding of women's handbags. Other experts are the same; no one dares to make a definitive judgment on the spot as to whether the item is genuine or fake.
Left with no other option, they turned to the host, Grace, for help. This woman was an expert in jewelry appraisal, dressed head to toe in designer brands, and had a vast collection of luxury goods at home.
"What's wrong, Miss Grace? Is there something wrong with this bag?" Seeing her examining it over and over, Duncan started to panic.
"I'm sorry, sir." Grace shook her head helplessly after inspecting all the details. "If you want the truth, then I can only tell you that this small workshop uses a lot of materials, and it is indeed goatskin, but if you look closely at its stitching and edge sealing, you will find that it has about one or two fewer stitches per inch than the genuine product. The original craftsmen would never make such a mistake. And look here, the engraving depth of the LOGO is uneven, and the spacing between the letters is not symmetrical. The most ridiculous thing is these hardware parts. Chanel uses hexagonal screws, but this genius designer used cross-shaped screws..."
"Should I continue?"
"No need, thank you, Iady."
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Upon realizing he had been fooled, Duncan was a little embarrassed and went to open the next box in frustration.
Needless to say, it's still a counterfeit product. If you put it on eBay, the price would drop by at least 90%.
MaJack and Max stood to the side, covering their mouths, having inexplicably joined the "Don't Laugh" challenge, almost suffering internal injuries from holding it in.
In the end, the entire village could only pin their hopes on that safe.
Old William found a brass key in the drawer, fiddled with it for a bit, and successfully opened the box.
As the camera zooms in, the moment the box is opened, it feels like even the surrounding air freezes.
The safe was filled with stacks of cash, crammed full like a refrigerator in a country housewife's home.
At the same time, the live stream chat began to flood with comments.
"?????????"
"?????????"
Duncan Morton excitedly pulled out a stack of bills, only to find they weren't US dollars, and his spirits immediately collapsed.
It was actually unlikely to be US dollars anyway. If it were the local currency, would the tenant bother buying counterfeit goods?
"Hey buddy, come quick and tell me which country issued this banknote."
One of the experts was an expert in coin collecting and immediately stepped forward.
The banknotes came in two colors: light red and dark green. Apart from the color difference, the patterns and designs on them were almost identical.
On the left are Arabic numerals, with denominations ranging from five thousand to ten thousand, one hundred thousand, and the largest one being one million.
On the right is a man's head, wearing a rectangular crown with two beaded chains hanging down in front and behind.
The expert frowned, his tone troubled: "Old man, judging by the style, it's definitely Chinese. Look at these Chinese characters, how neatly they're printed. But why is this different from the RMB I've seen? In my memory, their largest denomination is 100 yuan."
"Could it be an ancient publication?" Duncan raised a new question.
"Possibly." The other person nodded hesitantly: "I don't know much about this, but I have a Chinese friend who specializes in collecting ancient coins. I've seen the Ming Dynasty banknotes in his house, as well as some very old notes that function similarly to checks. You can exchange them for silver at a fixed bank."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's quickly call him and ask him. The little man on top looks like an emperor. If it's Qin Shi Huang, we'll be rich!"
"Pfft..." Hearing this, Ma Jieke, who was standing aside watching the show, couldn't hold back anymore. This guy's fantasies are like Qin Shi Huang touching an electric wire, he's so delusional.
"Hey kid, what are you laughing at?" Hearing his chuckles, Duncan Morton's face fell. "As a young person, you should know how to respect your elders. Isn't that a precious quality that you Chinese advocate?"
"Sorry, Sir, hahaha..." Ma Jie couldn't help but speak after catching his breath. "First, let me correct a misconception of yours. Papermaking was invented by a man named Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty. When Qin Shi Huang was in power, his great-great-great-great-grandfather hadn't even been born yet, so there was no paper money during that period."
"Also, I want to tell you that this money... Pfft, sorry sorry, please forgive my low threshold for laughter."
Under the old man's menacing glare, Ma Jieke finally stopped laughing: "Alright, alright, I'll tell you the truth. The square characters above should translate to 'Gods' Bank.' Do you have a concept of 'gods'? You can simply think of them as figures from Greek mythology, and this human head is generally understood to be the Jade Emperor."
At this point, Ma Jieke pondered for a few seconds before continuing, "Anyway, he is a very high-ranking deity who governs the four realms of gods, immortals, humans, and the underworld. If we had to compare him to someone, Zeus, the king of the gods, would be a more suitable candidate, but his jurisdiction is much broader than Zeus's."
Upon hearing these explanations, the expert team began to sense that something was amiss.
"OK, the final answer is revealed. This money is actually modern printed money, used to appease the dead. It's called ghost money, money burned for the dead."
"Because in traditional Chinese culture, people don't go to heaven after they die, but to another world. You can imagine what that world is like, and that's what it is. On certain festivals, by burning coins, your deceased relatives can have inexhaustible wealth. Although it sounds incredible, it's an ancient custom. Do you understand now?"
After being taught a harsh lesson by Ma Jieke, the old men were completely dumbfounded. Who could have imagined this? Weren't they afraid of causing a disaster?
Only old William remained relatively calm. He picked up a stack of ghost money and said with a smile, "Old friends, I suggest we burn this money now to commemorate our lost intelligence."
"Oh, come on, these things are bad luck, I'm not going to touch them."
"But speaking of which, why is this guy keeping so much ghost money in the safe?"
"Perhaps it's to satisfy his psychological desires," Ma Jie cautiously guessed. "He wants to be a super-rich man, but he can't, so he buys counterfeit luxury goods and coins to deceive himself."
Everyone sighed helplessly and began counting the spoils.
The money was fake, but the safe was real and worth several hundred US dollars.
Although counterfeit bags are fakes, that doesn't mean they have no value. Depending on their condition, they can sell for around 100 to 200 yuan.
Including the golf clubs, wine, and other miscellaneous items, the final estimated value was $2600, resulting in a loss of $1,000.
If this were any other group, netizens would just make a few jokes at most. But their title is "treasure appraisal expert," so being tricked like this is quite entertaining.
What's worse, everything Ma Jieke predicted came true.
At the same time, the live stream chat started flooded with messages.
"ohohoh! ohohoh! ohohoh!"
"You must have just guessed, buddy. How could anyone possibly have guessed that?"
"Yes, yes, yes, if you're right, it's just a guess; if you're wrong, it reveals your true skill level. You're God, so you decide."
C
"Stop being stubborn, bro. I believe this Asian guy is really something. Just keep watching and see."
Ma Jieke was too lazy to pay attention to the comments. Anyway, there were all sorts of things to say. It's the internet, after all, and it's all about biodiversity.
After the new profit and loss rankings were announced, the Rotten Fish and Shrimp team remained firmly in first place, while the Desperate Housewives team, having activated their skill, was in a break-even phase and temporarily ranked second.
The Expert Team lost 1000 and ranked third, while the No Money Team ranked fourth due to consecutive losses.
The situation became quite tense afterward. After opening seven or eight lockers in one go, the rankings of the expert group and the housewife group were swapped.
The "Rich Guys" group did manage to recover some of their losses, but they couldn't withstand the large losses in the early stages and the small gains later on. They were constantly experiencing huge losses followed by small profits, so they remained at the bottom.
On the other hand, Ma Jieke secured two more high-quality storage lockers.
A company that produces a large number of microwave ovens and air fryers, all in brand new quality, makes a profit of $6200 after deducting costs.
The other one was even more amazing: a whole warehouse full of cosmetics. Although they weren't big brands, they could easily sell for eight or nine thousand dollars.
After the data update, the "Stinky Fish and Shrimp" team's record is a profit of $23800 and a remaining balance of $3700.
This means that if you're unlucky, you can only open one more blind box at most.
Of course, the much-anticipated zero-yuan purchase skill has not yet been activated, which means there are at least two more chances to open the box.
But he's still $26200 short of the $5 profit he bet on.
In other words, the average profit from the next two openings should be at least $13,000.
If he can't do it, he has to keep his promise and spend $1 to give everyone benefits.
At this moment, it was already afternoon, and the California sun was beginning to get scorching.
Those who care about their appearance put on sun-protective clothing, while MaJack wore sunglasses and was held down by Max and Sandy to have sunscreen applied to his face.
Grace drank a large glass of ice water in front of the camera, then poured the rest on her face, creating a wet and alluring look.
Despite being a professional, her enthusiasm remained undiminished: "Everybody, has everyone had a good rest?"
The team members responded cooperatively, even though they were all exhausted, both physically and mentally.
Recording variety shows is not as easy as you might imagine, let alone a high-intensity outdoor live broadcast.
"Now let's announce the remaining funds of each team. Starting with the team with the most, the Treasure Appraiser team, they have $5375 left. The team with plenty of money has $4250 left. The team with rotten fish and shrimp... oh, please forgive me, I prefer to call them the Great Shark team, has $3700 left. The team with the least money is my sisters, with $1500 left."
"OK, the moment of final battle has arrived. Please move to the next storage locker."
With a hissing sound, sparks flew as the poor lock was sawed through once again.
When the warehouse door was opened, the scene inside was quite speechless, and everyone who had been holding onto a sliver of hope immediately deflated.
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