Chapter 59 Mother Mesa’s Home (1/2)

Chapter 59: Mother Mesa’s Home

Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After a good night’s sleep, Li Du got a call from Hans right when he opened his eyes, asking him to come over. They were going to sell the boxes and their half of the roll of rawhide.

Having jogged over to Hannah’s little apartment, Li Du exclaimed, ”You woke up rather early today! Didn’t you go out last night?”

Hans seemed irritated. ”I was frigging angry last night. Hannah really doesn’t know how to take care of herself. That silly girl, dressed like that, does she think she’s from the red-light district?”

Li Du tried to calm him down. ”Hannah isn’t a little girl anymore. She’s been out and around, and she was classmates with Stephen. I’m sure that she knows what she’s doing.”

Hans was still resentful. ”Let’s handle the stuff first. I need to think about Hannah’s problem properly.”

The small boxes were sold off quite easily. General stores liked old, handmade, beautiful wooden boxes like that.

Kevin inspected and caressed one of the wooden boxes repeatedly. Then, he sniffed it. ”This is good. At least two-century-old namwood. Looking at the style, it may date from the time of George the Third at the earliest.”

Engraved on the box were some roses and the outline of a castle. But the engravings weren’t obvious as they had been done in a light hand.

”This is an antique?” Hans’s eyes lit up.

George the Third was King of England during the eighteenth century. He reigned from 1760 to 1801.

On the eighteenth birthday of George the Third, King George the Second gifted him with the large and opulent St James's Palace. The castle engraved on the box was the view of St James’s Palace as seen from the front, and was the key to evaluating the box.

Many people had seen the ancient-looking boxes during the auction. But because they had been unable to see the engravings clearly, nor recognize the wood, no one had been willing to run a risk for the boxes.

Kevin shrugged. ”Kiddo, not everything that’s old is an antique. You can pick up any stone in the Rocky Mountains, and it’d probably be millions of years old.”

Hans asked, ”Then how much is this box worth?”

Hans caressed the box. ”It’s made of namwood of the incense machilus type. This type of wood is quite precious, so it’ll bring up the value of the box. I guess that it’ll be able to sell for 1,000 dollars.”

Li Du was curious. ”How could you tell that it was incense machilus?”

He and Hans had done their research on it, but had been unable to find out the specific type of wood.

Kevin placed it under the sun. ”Look carefully,” he said. ”The wood has a purple hue to it. Look at the beautiful grain. Sniff it. It has a unique fragrance. That’s a characteristic of incense machilus.”

”Your best price is 1,000 dollars?” asked Hans.

Kevin shook his head. ”No, I meant that I can only sell it for up to 1,000 dollars. Not buy it at 1,000 dollars. I’m only willing to give you 500 dollars for it.”

Hans exclaimed, ”Don’t be too greedy, mate!”

Kevin just shrugged. ”These boxes aren’t easy to sell. It may just become old stock if I were to buy it. I don’t dare take a large risk.”

”Then we won’t sell it to you. Perhaps you know, but we Chinese love namwood. If we can get in contact with some rich Chinese people, we’ll be able to sell it for a higher price.”

At this, Kevin laughed. ”You are right! The Chinese like namwood, but the species they favor is silkwood and not incense machilus. Alright, for the sake of your parents, Hans, I’ll give you 600 dollars for this box.”

”A 200-year-old namwood box for just 600 dollars?!” Hans wasn’t satisfied.

”The box isn’t that well made,” Kevin said. ”It’s not a work of art! Even if it were 400 years old, it still wouldn’t be worth much. If it had been carved more elaborately, or if it had a portrait on it, 60,000 dollars wouldn’t be a problem!”

Li Du and Hans exchanged a glance. ”Six hundred fifty dollars!” Hans insisted.

They had asked around at other shops before this. The highest price that other general stores were willing to give them had been 500 dollars.