Chapter 314 The Extraordinary Umbrella (2/2)

Back at the hotel, Li Du was preparing to eat his dinner when Hans patted his shoulders and motioned for Li to follow him.

”What's up? Let’s eat first.” Mr. Li was famished for he had activated the little bug’s ability on several occasions that day.

Hans ignored him and said, ”I want you to see something—we found something good.”

Li Du followed Hans and entered the room. As he spoke, Hans opened an umbrella.

Li Du recognized the umbrella. ”This umbrella was found together with the hood ornament. What about it?”

Hans pointed to the handle of the umbrella and said, ”What about it? Bud, you ask me what about it? If I told you that this very umbrella has a market value of 15,000 dollars, how would you react?”

Li Du was surprised. ”Such an expensive umbrella? Who used it? Washington? Lincoln? Roosevelt?”

”It had nothing to do with who used it,” Hans deliberately puffed out a sigh. ”Obviously, you have not ridden in a Rolls-Royce before.”

Li Du got impatient. ”Of course I’ve never been in one before. What about it?”

Hans raised three fingers and said, ”A Rolls-Royce has three iconic details. The first is the costly, handmade hood ornament. The second is the rear-hinged doors, and the third is that it has an umbrella!”

With that, he handed the umbrella to Li Du.

The umbrella’s silver handle was engraved with a double R logo, which was the Rolls-Royce logo, showing its origin.

Li Du was not well-versed in luxury cars. Before obtaining the little bug, he had nothing to do with such cars. And after getting rich, he was busy attending auctions; there had been no time for him to learn about luxury cars.

Looking at the umbrella, he asked, ”Rolls-Royce actually produces umbrellas? And the umbrella is so expensive?”

Hans replied, ”Nope, this umbrella is the Rolls-Royce’s standard feature. Some are built-in on the car door, some under the A-pillar, some inside the handrail and so forth.”

Li Du searched on the internet. Hans was right: this was a standard feature for Rolls-Royce cars.

A luxury car was indeed a luxury car. The detailed considerations could especially bring this point out.

Rolls-Royce was not only equipped with the umbrella, but the storage slot of that umbrella was installed with an automatic drying device. So when one got in the car on a rainy day and inserted the umbrella back in its storage compartment, it would be automatically dried so that one need not worry about a wet umbrella.

Hans had also been very accurate in his evaluation of the umbrellas—the umbrella was really expensive at 15,000 dollars, and not only because it was by Rolls-Royce, but also because of its quality.

The material used to make the umbrella shaft was pure silver, and the other metallic parts such as the ribs, were made of alloy.

As for the material, different fabrics had been used throughout different eras. However, it was definitely the most advanced fabric at that point in time: waterproof, lightweight, windproof, and durable.

It was said that every umbrella had to undergo a wind test before leaving the factory—they had to be able to withstand very high wind speeds.

This umbrella was well-preserved, just like the hood ornament. It looked entirely new, as if it had never been used before.

Hans opened and closed the umbrella continuously, laughing, ”We’ll be able to sell them for a good price if we combine these two together.”

Li Du asked, ”Do you know what I’m wondering now?”

”What?”

”A Rolls-Royce costs about 400,000 dollars, but just the ornament and umbrella are already worth a good 55,000 dollars. So the engine, transmission, body base, and furnishings—are these worthless?”

Hans shrugged. ”A Rolls-Royce is not a sports car. It does not use its engine or transmission as its selling point. The selling point is these unique things: hood ornament, umbrella, and so on.”

Well, it was none of their business, anyway. What mattered most was that the hood ornament and umbrella were both valuable.