pjbooks Chapter 221 If you're so capable, why don't you pretend to be 4 years old?
Chapter 221 If you're so capable, why don't you pretend to be 4 years old?
Chapter 221 If you're so capable, why don't you pretend to be four years old?
Martin Scott, an antique dealer.
The bespectacled man's introduction was concise and to the point: an antique broker is someone who represents buyers in the antique market, searching for and appraising antiques...
Evaluate and negotiate the purchase of their desired antiques.
This job is different from that of antique dealers because they do not hold inventory and only charge commissions based on transaction volume.
Before anyone could speak, Martin Scott said, "Friend, are you interested in selling this jacket?"
"Of course, as long as the price is reasonable." Ma Jie naturally accepts all offers; as long as he can cash out, it doesn't matter who he sells to.
"Okay, but before we discuss the price, I need to do some further appraisal. Would you mind if I took up a little of your time? Five minutes will be fine."
The other party behaved politely, and Ma Jieke smiled faintly: "Please go ahead."
The man, having received his promise, laid his jacket out on a display stand and pulled a folding magnifying glass from his pocket.
The entire authentication process was quite tedious, examining every detail from the zipper to the collar, from the sleeves to the lining. The tag alone took a full two minutes to examine. Finally, at the five-minute mark, he breathed a sigh of relief: "The item is genuine, and there are no signs of it being worn. Name your price, my friend."
Seeing this, Valentina subconsciously pursed her lips, looking at Ma Jack as if she were examining a monster.
Old William is similar, he's incredibly easygoing. This guy is just too strong, his vision is unwavering and accurate, and he always seems to be blessed by Lady Luck.
"What's your price?" Ma Jie asked without any hesitation. "Seven thousand eight hundred US dollars."
Upon hearing the price, the bespectacled man was visibly taken aback, not because it was too expensive, but because the jacket had been auctioned before, fetching a price of $7800, which showed that the seller was knowledgeable in the trade.
Little did he know that this was a reference price given by the appraisal information; Ma Jieke was simply publishing it.
"Friend, you are an expert, that's for sure." The other party's tone was very calm: "But as I just said, I am an antique dealer. If the deal is made at this price, I will have to pay my client less. So if you really want to make this deal happen, you'd better leave me some profit margin."
"How much money would you be willing to pay?"
"Six thousand seven hundred dollars, how about that?"
"Not good." Ma Jie shook his head: "7500, that's the final offer."
"Is seven thousand okay?"
"No, it's $7500. You can search all over the United States and you won't find another one like this."
Ma Jieke decided to stick to this price and make a killing. The reason was simple: the other party had an essential need for the goods, and even if he could find other sources, the extra time and travel costs would not be enough to make up for the difference.
After a long silence, the bespectacled man finally relented: "Fine, I'll take the jacket. Can I have it by check?"
"No, I only accept cash."
"What?" Martin Scott looked troubled upon hearing the request. "Dude, who goes out carrying that much cash?"
"I don't care." Ma Jie shrugged, no longer bothering to pretend: "Anyway, I don't want to receive a tax return from the IRS because of a large cash withdrawal."
In his view, the money earned from such bargain hunting is not considered personal gain, but a gift from nature. He thinks, "You want to get your hands on everything? I won't give you that chance."
"There's an ATM just two blocks away from here, you could easily drive there and back while I'm enjoying my champagne."
Ma Jieke picked up another glass of champagne and offered advice to the bespectacled man, but the man was clearly a seasoned veteran who wouldn't make such a basic mistake.
In antique transactions, the worst thing you can do is delay. As the saying goes, delays can lead to problems. If someone else snatches the item away when you're about to collect your money, it will be too late for regrets.
However, he was quick-witted and immediately thought of a way to break the deadlock. He turned to old William, who was watching the commotion, and said, "Boss, could I get an advance of seven thousand US dollars from your pawnshop?"
"What are you offering as collateral?" Old William asked calmly. This was just part of his daily work. A pawnshop is a business that can sell directly or provide loans with collateral. It's a diversified business.
"You can keep this jacket for now."
"No way." Old William shook his head. "What if you change your mind and don't want it anymore? Where am I supposed to find you? Seven thousand dollars is no small sum."
"Well then." Desperate for the deal, Martin gritted his teeth and pulled his watch off. "You must acknowledge a Rolex, right?"
Old William took the watch, weighed it in his hand, and then smiled. "Deal, buddy. But you should know the rules, right? Redemption isn't free. You need to pay interest and an appraisal fee, calculated monthly at 7% of the loan amount."
"I can only borrow it for half an hour at most."
"Half an hour counts as a month. If you disagree, you can call a taxi and have the driver drop you off 5 meters away. See how much he charges you then."
"Shit!" Faced with old William's "difficulty," the bespectacled man, who had always maintained a gentlemanly demeanor, cursed. 7% equals $490, which is easier than robbing someone.
However, just to be on the safe side, he chose to compromise and signed a mortgage document with old William on the spot.
The latter signed his name, affixed the official seal, handed two copies to the other party, and slowly opened the cash register.
Even though the money had already been checked by the counter machine, he insisted on a second manual check, spreading the bills out one by one on the counter like dealing cards, and then elegantly stacking them into a pile and placing them aside.
Repeat this process once every thousand cuts, and after seven consecutive repetitions, I felt a great sense of satisfaction and respectfully offered it with both hands.
The whole process is pure mental torture for those waiting.
The bespectacled man received the loan, checked it quickly, then took out an extra 500 yuan in cash, folded it neatly, and handed it to Ma Jieke, waiting for final confirmation.
"No need to count, this jacket is yours."
Ma Jie didn't even bother to count; he'd been doing business with old William for so long and had never made a mistake with the money.
After the buyer left, old William leaned against the counter, revealing a sly smile: "Jack, don't believe a single word a person like that says. Those buyers who can afford antique brokers are all suckers. If they were ruthless enough, they could have doubled their money. I only made 490 yuan from him, which is already a bargain for him."
Well... alright, alright, this person is truly blessed, making money is easier than drinking water.
"Alright, old buddy, it's getting late. I need to enjoy some of the young people's nightlife. See you later."
Jack was about to leave, wondering if he should take the girl out for a nice meal to celebrate, when Old William grabbed him: "What's the rush, kid? I'm about to hold a small anniversary event, and everyone's been waiting for this moment. If you leave now, you'll definitely regret it."
"What kind of small activity?"
""
You'll find out soon enough.
Faced with old William's enthusiastic invitation to stay, Ma Jie had no choice but to give him face.
A few minutes later, the old man, holding a microphone, shouted enthusiastically, "Good evening, folks! Welcome to Old William's Pawnshop! Your presence truly makes our little shop shine. To thank you all for your support, I've prepared some lucky blind boxes, each one free, and hidden within them is the ultimate mystery grand prize."
Upon hearing keywords such as blind boxes, freebies, and mystery prizes, the guests in the store immediately screamed.
Old William then walked to the middle of the shop, pulled back the red velvet cloth covering the glass case, and saw that it was full of cardboard boxes of different sizes, which should be the lucky blind boxes he had mentioned.
"Quiet down, quiet down." After the cheers subsided, old William got straight to the point, pulling out a stack of pre-prepared cue cards from his pocket: "The rules are simple. I'll ask questions, and everyone can answer them. The first person to give an answer gets to choose a blind box. There's no limit to the number of times each person can choose, until all the blind boxes are gone."
Dude... this quiz format is way too old-fashioned. Are you planning to start a Renaissance in America?
Just as Ma Jieke was mentally complaining, the first question was already announced.
"What can only be used after it's broken?"
Before the words were even finished, two voices rang out from the crowd, one male and one female, almost overlapping: "Eggs!"
Damn... what kind of brain teaser legend is this...?
"Ahem, ladies first."
Old William made the right choice by giving the female customer the right to open the blind boxes. The other guy who answered was speechless, but he was too embarrassed to get angry in front of so many people.
The woman excitedly opened the glass case, looked left and right, and finally chose the largest blind box.
Upon opening it, they found a genuine teddy bear plush toy, over half a meter tall, which made everyone envious, since these things are quite expensive in shopping malls.
"Oh, I already knew the answer, but my mouth couldn't keep up."
Seeing the genuine prize, Valentina sighed in frustration, while simultaneously perking up her ears, ready to win the next round.
Ma Jie didn't react at all. He thought it was some serious question, but it turned out to be a riddle. "I'm playing banana kick!"
"Listen carefully to the question." In the silence, old William asked quickly, "Which month has 28 days?"
"February!" someone blurted out.
"Every month!" Valentina shouted, and by the time the other competitors realized what was happening, it was too late.
Which month has 28 days? It's not that a month only has 28 days. It's definitely a trick question. If you're not quick-witted, you can easily get led astray.
"Come on, pretty girl, pick one you like."
Just as Ma Jie was about to remind her which one to open, the girl didn't give him any time to react. In a flash, she selected her favorite blind box.
Upon opening it, one finds a vintage alarm clock made entirely of metal, exquisitely crafted, and priced at least a hundred dollars.
"Wow, what a beautiful little alarm clock! With this, I'll never have to worry about oversleeping again."
Valentina enthusiastically held the alarm clock. For her, even if it were made of plastic, she would probably be happy, since it was free.
Seeing her happy expression, Ma Jieke was too embarrassed to say anything, because he had just found the mystery prize by reading the information in the blind box.
The process continued, and without any surprises, old William threw out a few more riddles, all of which were particularly absurd:
Q: I am everywhere, but I have no beginning and no end. What am I?
A: A ring.
Q: Why do chickens cross the road?
A: To get to the other side.
Q: Why didn't a person get their hair wet when they fell into the river?
A: Because he is bald.
Q: What is yellow and dangerous?
A: A gun with a banana attached.
"Damn it..." Looking at the dwindling number of blind boxes, Ma Jie fell into deep self-doubt.
Am I just not good enough at this? Or are these questions too abstract?
"Okay, let me have a drink of water and rest for a bit." Old William took a two-minute break, then picked up the microphone again: "Guys, the ultimate mystery prize I prepared for you hasn't been opened yet. Are you guys trying to save me money? The next question is a super bonus question. Whoever answers it first gets to open three blind boxes at once!"
"Listen to the question: There are 7 girls on a moving bus. Each girl has 7 backpacks, and each backpack contains 7 large cats. Each large cat has 7 small cats. How many legs are on the bus in total?"
Holy crap... this transition is so abrupt! From a three-year-old's brain teaser to suddenly jumping out of the ground and upgrading to advanced mathematics?
Although it was just a simple multiplication problem, it was indeed considered advanced mathematics for Ma Jieke, a student who was not doing well in math.
And this question is just ridiculous. Who would go out carrying seven backpacks, each with seven big cats, and each big cat with seven kittens?
That means there are 7 adult cats and 49 kittens in one backpack, for a total of 56 cats?
What kind of backpack is this? Does it have a built-in subspace?
Moreover, these 56 cats need to be multiplied by 7 backpacks, 7 girls, and 4 legs.
Converted to a mathematical expression, it is: 56 x 7 x 7 x 4.
Ma Jieke understands the principles and knows Arabic numerals, but combining them all and trying to calculate the result before others is almost impossible. Some people even took out their phones, opened calculators, and entered the calculations.
This was the first time that after William asked his question, the room fell into a collective silence.
However, not long after, in less than five seconds, Valentina, having completed the mental calculation, suddenly raised her hand: "I figured it out, there are 10990 legs in total!"
"10992!" She had just announced the answer when Ma Jieke immediately shouted out another answer, which was only 2 more than this number.
The reason is that the question stem accurately states "a bus in motion," which means that the bus has a driver, and the driver also has two legs. This is the fatal trap hidden behind the calculation.
Although Ma Jieke couldn't calculate the exact number, he figured out a logic.
If Valentina includes the driver, then her answer is invalid.
If she doesn't realize it, then this number is the correct answer, which is equivalent to a perfect finishing blow.
In this way, regardless of which answer is correct, the choice will fall into the hands of their own people.
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