pjbooks Chapter 27 Unlocks a New Map
Chapter 27 Unlocks a New Map
Fifteen minutes later, the two walked to a pawn shop located on the commercial street.
Judging from the patina on the wooden sign above the entrance, it is at most seventy or eighty years away from being a century old.
The entrance is designed with suspended double spring doors reminiscent of a Western tavern from the last century, which clashes with the modern decor of the surrounding shops.
Without a moment's hesitation, he pushed open the door and went inside.
Guilt? Forget about it. How could a white working man possibly afford such an expensive cigar? 99% of the time it's that racist old white man.
He thinks he's very superior and spits in other people's faces whenever he opens his mouth. If the redneck old man knew the law, he could easily sue him until he's bankrupt.
Back in the day, pop diva Madonna spat on an old lady, and the judge ordered her to pay 500 million in damages.
In the same case, if it were a salaried worker, the maximum compensation would be 500.
The reason is simple: if you treat everyone equally, then the milkmaid can turn around and spit ten more phlegm at someone else.
"Good afternoon, sir. Welcome to Old William's Pawnshop. How may I help you?"
Upon entering, I was greeted with this template-like welcome speech, as if they had all been taught by the same mentor.
The white owner stood behind the retro bar, dressed in a typical Texas cowboy outfit, wiping an antique gun with a non-woven cloth. Judging from its appearance, it looked like a muzzle-loading rifle from the Civil War era, commonly known as a line-up shooting gun.
The store's layout has a distinctly vintage feel, with a half-meter-tall old British clock, a blue-and-white porcelain-shaped pickle jar, and a battle-damaged vintage Harley with a stand.
One wall is covered with oil paintings, vintage posters, and old black-and-white photographs, while the other wall displays specimens of animal heads, including antelopes, moose, coyotes, cheetahs, and dodos.
Besides these readily visible items, the display cases also contain bone china, jewelry, pipes, medals, figurines, music boxes, and other items, creating a dazzling array of choices.
Upon seeing that the person who entered was a tall, muscular Asian, the boss immediately became alert, stopped cleaning his gun, and reached his hand under the counter.
Old Texas folks don't play the peacemaker; if they suspect you're up to no good, they'll immediately unleash a shotgun attack and spray you with shit.
"Mr. William, it's been a long time." Just as Ma Jie noticed something was amiss, Jimmy greeted him with a smile.
When the boss saw him, his tense nerves immediately relaxed, and he turned the safety switch back on.
"It's you, Jimmy! What brings you here today?"
"I've brought a new friend who has something good to sell you."
"What good stuff?" Hearing that there was business to be had, his attitude immediately became mercenary: "Don't give me any handicrafts picked out of the trash can. This isn't a flea market. I only recycle high-end items. High-end, you know? Go back and memorize that word a thousand times."
"Haha, you'll know exactly how much it's worth just by looking at it."
After saying that, Jack Whizzer winked and said, "Buddy, hurry up and take out the treasure you found."
Upon receiving the signal, he took out a legendary-quality dungeon drop from his backpack and placed it on the table in front of him.
Old William's eyes lit up. He carefully opened the pine box containing the cigars, took one out, and sniffed it. His smile deepened. "This is a good product, a genuine Cohiba cigar. The box is also original. It's worth $900 on the market. However, this is a pawn shop. If you want to sell it, you'll have to give it a 30% discount. Think it over and let me know."
A 30% discount? Upon hearing this offer, Ma Jieke was speechless. This wasn't an antique; why would someone offer such a steep discount right off the bat?
Before he could speak, Jimmy interjected, "Sir, we're all on the same side, so don't try to sell your business tricks. I'll give you a price, how about 20% off? If you resell it, you'll still have at least a 15% profit. This stuff doesn't have to worry about sales. If you put it in a consignment shop, it'll be bought up very quickly."
"You're quite knowledgeable, buddy." Old William picked up the box and examined it for a while, his sly eyes darting around. "Tell me the truth, where did it come from?"
"Don't tell me I picked it up from the trash can. I'm not stupid enough to have dementia."
Jimmy was about to apply the universal rule when he was preemptively rebuffed.
Clearly, this old man is trying to lower the price this way. Anyway, I know you didn't come from the legitimate business, otherwise you wouldn't be in such a hurry to cash out.
"Forget it," Ma Jie said, stuffing the pine box into his backpack and waving to Jimmy, "Let's find another shop. I can't accept this price."
Old William watched him put on an acting show the whole time, completely unfazed. "Trying to outsmart me? You're still too green, kid."
Watching the two turn and leave, Old Deng began to count down silently. Based on his experience, these homeless people who roamed the poor streets would definitely not last more than five counts.
He had almost finished counting down to zero when Ma Jieke still showed no sign of turning back. Instead, he actually pushed open the spring door and walked out.
He was instantly dumbfounded. He'd seen people stunned before, but never one this stunned. "You're really leaving, bro?"
Without thinking twice, I pulled up my pants and chased after him. Just kidding, even if I bought it back at 20% of the original price, I could still make a net profit of $135.
For old-fashioned business people, missing out on a business opportunity is more painful than losing money; they would rather earn less than lose customers.
"Oh Jack, what's wrong with you? A 30% discount is fine, it's free money anyway, but now, because of your stubbornness and willfulness, you won't get a single penny."
As soon as Jimmy stepped outside, he began to grumble incessantly, but before he could finish his sentence, he heard old William calling his name from behind.
"Kid, learn something." Ma Jie raised an eyebrow: "In business, it's all about patience. Whoever loses their composure first will lose the game."
After saying that, he turned to look at old William, whose smile had faded, and asked, "Sir, is there anything else?"
"Would you like to discuss that deal again?"
"Until you change your mind, I don't think there's any need to continue this discussion." Ma Jie translated fluently into English: "Time is money, and everyone's time is precious, isn't it?"
Hearing such philosophical words, old William smiled with relief: "Alright young man, I admit you have guts. Let's go with the price you said, come on."
Buying it back at 80% of its original price, which is 900 multiplied by 0.8, results in a net profit of $720.
The shopkeeper opened the cash register and took out seven Benjamin Franklin bills and one Andrew Jackson bill.
Then, transforming into Kong Yiji from Lu Xun's story, he spread all the banknotes out on the table.
After the customer had looked at it carefully, the cards were stacked up like playing cards and pushed in front of Jack Ma along with the receipt.
Watching his skillful handling of the cards as a sexy online dealer, someone counted them with some unease.
After all, his little hands didn't look very clean; he was clearly a trained fighter.
Only after confirming that everything was correct did I put it in my pocket.
"Cash on delivery." Old William put the cigar box back into the display case and shook hands with Jack Ma in a friendly manner: "Next time you have something like this, please remember Old William Pawnshop. We have been operating with integrity for 20 years, integrating consignment, item retrieval, offline Taobao shopping, and secondhand recycling. Old William Pawnshop, your exclusive personal life companion."
After saying the incredibly awkward "GG" phrase, he handed over a business card.
Ma Jie caught it casually. In any case, it unlocked a new map and established a connection with the merchant NPC.
Next, we need to hurry up and get the jars made.