Chapter 42 Bargaining
Zhang Ailun bought some sandwiches and yogurt, gave the cup of coffee to random people on the roadside, and then rode his bike to George Pawn Shop.
"Welcome to George Pawn Shop, how can I help you?"
After entering the door, Zhang Ailun found that the layout of the pawn shop was different from the last time.
Maybe he was affected by the shooting, that guy is really a tiger and extremely unlucky.
The white boss George looked up and saw that Zhang Allen was a familiar face. He also showed a surprised look, "It's you?"
His expression softened a lot and he pulled a hand out from under the stage.
It’s no wonder that he is so cautious. After all, there was a shooting here the day before. The homeless man might have been too high on Ye Zi and actually broke in and tried to rob his shop!
He didn't show any leniency to the other party and killed him with two shots!
After all, he came from Texas, where the people are simple and honest, it is the birthplace of rednecks, and everyone is good at American-style iai.
In addition, his friend worked in the local law enforcement agency, so it was very easy to deal with the incident of a homeless person who made purchases for zero dollar. He quickly gave a certificate of no liability, and the store's business was not affected at all. The store was only closed for half a day while the carpet was replaced.
"Hey man, do you want to pawn something or buy something?"
Old George warmly welcomed the old customers. At least Zhang Ailun was not the kind of person who wanted to leave but took risks.
"I have a gram Fantini gold necklace. I need to exchange it for cash."
As Zhang Ailun spoke, he took out the gold necklace from his pocket and placed it on the table.
Old George took a look and found it was a genuine first-hand product. He picked it up and examined it carefully in his palm.
But the gold material cannot be distinguished with the naked eye. He looked left and right and could only admire the manufacturing process. If he wanted to distinguish the authenticity, he had to rely on high technology.
Old George rummaged around under the counter and took out a special measuring instrument. After turning it on, the instrument flashed a red light. He pointed it at the necklace and tapped it. There was a beeping sound, and the green light flashed. Detailed data also appeared on the display.
"It is indeed a 18k gold necklace from Vandini." Old George looked at the data on it, confirmed its authenticity, and said with a smile: "Do you have the shopping ticket and receipt? This will also make it easier for me to recycle and sell it."
"No." Zhang Ailun answered frankly.
"Then may I ask where you got this necklace?"
Old George has basically confirmed that the original owner of the necklace was not Zhang Ailun.
After all, he was dressed as a homeless man when he came last time. This time he was a little better, wearing some light luxury clothes, but they were basically unsold goods from discount stores, and the gold necklace didn't really match his identity.
"As much as I want to say I bought it a long time ago, or that my girlfriend gave it to me, I actually found it in the trash. I have the right not to tell you where it came from, don't I?"
Zhang Ailun likes to tell the truth. He took a look at the collections in the room and said, "A lot of the things you have here are of unknown origin, right?"
"you are right."
Old George nodded. He was only responsible for pawning and recycling items. As for how the customers came, it had nothing to do with him. It is difficult to make a fortune in the legitimate pawn business without engaging in shady business. To do business, you must first have an adventurous spirit and a flexible moral bottom line.
Since the customer couldn't produce the specific shopping ticket and receipt, it was a good opportunity for him to bargain.
But this is gold after all, and no matter how hard you try to bargain, you can't bargain too much.
"Today's gold price is $1 per gram, but I definitely won't sell it for that high a price. This necklace weighs grams. I can give you $. Is that okay with you?"
Old George took out his cell phone, checked and calculated, gave his own price, and asked Zhang Allen.
"Didn't you kill him a little too cruelly?" Zhang Ailun was speechless.
Just one knife costs more than a hundred?
You were so fair the last time you came, why are you so dark this time?
Old George smiled and said, "After all, this is not a gold shop. If you go to other pawn shops, the price you get might be even lower than mine."
"This is Fantini's necklace." Zhang Ailun argued.
"Brand effect is not worth anything, and this doesn't look like a handmade product." Old George immediately refuted. After all, it was a four-digit item, and he would be sorry for the store he opened if he didn't wield his own sword.
"My target price is $1000!" Zhang Ailun said, "It can't be any lower than this, otherwise I would rather wait for the gold price to rise before selling it."
"980 dollars?" Old George tentatively gave his price again.
"How did that bottle of tequila taste last time? Your friend should be very satisfied, right? Maybe I'll come to your place to sell drinks some other day."
Zhang Ailun changed the subject and played the emotional card.
"The taste is indeed very special. It is rarer than those on the market. My friend took it out at a party. After tasting it, they heard that one bottle was only worth $260. They all said it was a great bargain! The taste is almost the same as the real thing." Old George is also an honest man. He treats his sincerity with sincerity. He smiled and said, "But if you want to use this method to make me raise the price, you may be wrong! Man! It will be difficult for you to come up with tequila like last time!"
"Okay, you saw through me." Zhang Ailun spread his hands, "But it's really hard for me to accept a price lower than $1000."
"That's a pity..."
The two were arguing over the price until a new customer pushed the door open and walked in. "Excuse me, do you sell antiques here?"
The woman was wearing red sunglasses, had long brown hair, a grey dress, and high heels. She had a plump figure, round features, and was carrying a beige handbag. She looked to be in her forties.
Old George immediately welcomed him warmly: "Of course, George Pawn Shop accepts everything. I wonder what kind of antiques you want to sell?"
Upon hearing that it was an antique, Zhang Ailun also became interested and prepared to observe from the side to see what kind of new thing it was.
The woman took out a rusty iron box wrapped in plastic film from her handbag, with a string of English words "military medical equipment" written on it.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Ailun and Old George frowned and immediately had a bad premonition.
Then I saw the other party open the iron box, and an unknown smell came out.
Zhang Ailun immediately took two steps back and hid far away, fearing that some ancient virus had revived.
The woman took out a needle and introduced it seriously, "This is a urethral syringe used by a general officer during the Civil War! He was a good friend of my husband's great-grandfather. He led the troops to win the Civil War while he was sick, fought for freedom and liberated the slaves. I also have a document and a medical certificate issued by the military doctor at the time!"
"..."
Zhang Ailun's jaw almost dropped.
Can this thing be collected as an antique?
Are you Americans crazy?
What shocked him even more was old George's attitude. He put on gloves and a mask, took it seriously, and looked at it for a few seconds.
Then he took the documents and certificates and looked at them carefully, then asked amiably, "How much do you want to sell it for?"
"5000 dollars." The woman said without hesitation: "If it hadn't affected our normal life as husband and wife, I would never have sold it. After all, it is a very commemorative antique worth collecting."
Zhang Ailun is a little skeptical about life.
No, how could it have an impact?
$5000? Urethral syringe? WTF?
Kill me now!!
This is too magical.
Old George fell into deep thought. "During the Civil War, many women engaged in the sex industry would camp near military camps. Many soldiers contracted gonorrhea due to their work styles. Military doctors tried every possible way to solve these difficult and complicated diseases. One military doctor also proposed injecting high-concentration boric acid into the urethra to sterilize and disinfect. However, it was proven that this measure was not rational and directly ruined the rest of many people's lives! Later, the military doctor was also cut off his genitals by angry soldiers at night. The general you mentioned should have used this method..."
"Although I don't advocate collecting this kind of antiques, there are many perverts who specialize in collecting similar things, and there is no shortage of market. The highest price I can offer is $500." Old George said seriously.
The woman hesitated for a moment, and happily accepted the price, nodding and agreeing, "Okay, $500, I can sell it to you."
"make a deal."
Old George smiled, turned into the house, wrote a receipt, and walked out with the money.
"..."
This dragon-slaying sword cuts.
It's simply unreasonable.
Zhang Ailun watched the two men hand over the money and the goods, and fell into deep thought.
I feel like I’m still a little too immature.
Suddenly I thought of that box of luncheon meat from the World War II era. If I made up a few stories about it and put a certificate label on it, it can be considered an antique at least!
(End of this chapter)
