Chapter 1629: Cigar and Watch
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The auction had ended. That had been the last warehouse.
After hearing Olly’s words, the Jacket Youth asked, “What does that mean?”
A few children rushed forward, elbowing each other, and shouted to Li Du:
“Let me say it, let me say it.””Can I say it?””I will say it, let me say it!”
Li Du smiled and nodded, “Don’t push. What do you guys want to say? All of you can go ahead.”
Victoria immediately said to the treasure hunters, “You guys are so stupid. Can’t you tell that we were putting on an act? Are all adults so silly? Seems like you guys are dumber than children!”
“It was all just acting. There’s a cigar box in the warehouse. Teacher Li got us to put on a show. I was to bid suddenly and he would scold me by telling the bottom line. Hence, you guys would really think that we have exceeded our threshold with that bid…”
“The last one was the same. Teacher Li got us to put on an act. How do you think we bid? We fought to bid, and it was all arranged by Teacher Li!”
“That’s right. If not for that, you guys would continue to bid as well. The items in this warehouse are very valuable. You guys could tell that, right?”
The treasure hunters wore a dejected expression. Their boat had really capsized. A group of professional treasure hunters has been fooled by a bunch of children!
The Jacket Youth tried his best to look calm. He laughed coldly, “Don’t be too proud. You guys have spent a lot of money to take down that warehouse. Who told you guys that we would continue to follow the bid? We had never intended to fork out as much as ten thousand dollars!”
The children were stunned and looked at Li Du.
Li Du laughed. “Anything works as long as we can make a tidy profit. Remember, the motive of partic.i.p.ating in the warehouse auction is to make money. When you are not sure about how determined the competing bidders are, it’s also a good idea to deal with them by making a high bid, as long as you can make money.”
“Can we make money from this warehouse?” Ivana asked.
Brother Wolf also attended the auction as a parent. He smiled. “When boss strikes, he never returns empty-handed. Hence, he has been crowned the Treasure Hunting King!”
“What’s in that warehouse?” The children were getting excited.
Li Du arranged for Bill to bring along a few of the children to pay up. Then he went to open up the warehouse with the cigar box. He gestured for Olly to move the box out.
That cigar box was jade green and look like it had been coated with crystallized turquoise stones. Of course, it was not real turquoise, just a sort of green gla.s.s.
Typically, cigar boxes would maintain their original wooden color. Hence, when the other treasure hunters saw that its exterior was turquoise, they had not a.s.sociated it with a cigar box.
Li Du patted the box and said, “Young buddy, what’s your name? Just now you said that you recognized what this is, right?”
The blonde boy realized that he had been singled out. He smiled widely and said, “That’s right, I’ve seen a cigar box like this one. My great-grandfather had one. I remember that he said the cigars inside were called Five Election.”
Li Du gave him a thumbs-up. He flipped over the cigar box. There was a small bronze plate on it. Its brand was written on the plate: 5 Election.
A treasure hunter tutted, “So what if it is really a cigar box? There might not be cigars inside, or the cigars might have been damaged.”
Li Du smiled at him and opened up the box. There was a row of cigars neatly placed inside.
The strange thing was, the cigars inside were unlike those thick and black ones in the market today. Those cigars were thick too, but turquoise in color.
“Turquoise cigars?” Many people were confused.
Li Du smiled and nodded. “That’s right, turquoise cigars. They are very rare now. However, back in the fifties and sixties, these cigars had once been trending.”
“As everyone knows, the fresher the ingredients, the better the product. That is reflected in the cigars. There are people who liked these turquoise cigars; they would be under the impression that the leaves are fresh.”
“Of course, the green of the cigars is not because they had been produced with leaves that had yet to ripen. It’s because they have gone through additional processes.”
The children were very curious and asked immediately, “How is it different?”
Li Du thought for a while and said slowly, “There are many production steps involved in creating turquoise cigars. Typically, the leaves would be dried in the warehouse after being plucked. They would then be treated with alcohol.”
“Due to weather conditions, farmers would need to generate carbon or use propane heaters to remove excess moisture from the warehouse to prevent the tobacco leaves from decaying. In this way, the temperature of the warehouse would rise, and the tobacco leaf would gradually turn green from the root …”
Another child asked curiously, “Why are there no such cigars anymore?”
Li Du said, “That’s because the processes involved are very complex. Such cigars are very expensive although there is no very significant change in the product. Hence, it had just been a fad that slowly disappeared from the market.”
“From the twenties to the early 1970s, leaves that were light brown started to become trendier in the market back in Connecticut. During the cigar renaissance of the 1990s, the color of cigars that Americans chose grew darker, and green cigars became very rare.”
Hearing Li Du’s explanation, the children applauded. The princ.i.p.al, along with the chaperone parents, also started to nod respectfully.
Finally, concerning the price of the cigars, Li Du did not explain much. After all, children should not know too much about tobacco leaves. He changed the topic to the last warehouse.
“The things in that warehouse are quite valuable. Did everyone see the watches inside? Those have impressive backgrounds. Who can tell?” Li Du narrowed his eyes at the Jacket Youth and his people.
Those treasure hunters scratched their heads. They only knew that the items inside the warehouse might be valuable. However, they did not know what was inside and could not confirm their value. Hence, they did not dare to be sure of what price to bid.
The children made their guesses but none of them was right.
Li Du opened one of the cabinets and showed everyone one of the watches. They did not look very impressive from afar. However, if one looked closely, they could see that the watch had been around for some time. The strap of the watch had some rust and the body had some scratches.
“A few students had guessed the brand right,” Li Du smiled. “This is a Rolex.”
Instantly, some children shouted proudly, “Look, I said it’s Rolex, right?””My dad also has a gold Rolex watch, it looks just like this one.””Keep quiet, listen to the teacher’s explanation.”
Li Du flipped over the watch to show them the back. There were four numbers: 3525
“3525, that is the label of this watch. However, n.o.body would remember these numbers. Nevertheless, if I tell you guys the nickname of this watch, perhaps you guys might know.”
Li Du paused and smiled at the children. “These are the famous Prisoner of War watches.”
Most of the children looked blank. However, the princ.i.p.al and some of the older parents wore a look of recognition. Those treasure hunters who had been doubtful of Li Du’s capabilities also had a similar look.
The Prisoner of War was a line of watches that had been legendary in Europe. Its value had been increased because of what they had gone through. They were seen in some of the old World War II movies and television series.