Chapter 59: Mother Mesa’s Home (1/2)
Chapter 59: Mother Mesa’s Home
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After a good night’s sleep, Li Du got a call fro hi to sell the boxes and their half of the roll of rawhide
Having jogged over to Hannah’s little apartment, Li Du exclaio out last night?”
Hans seeht Hannah really doesn’t kno to take care of herself That silly girl, dressed like that, does she think she’s froht district?”
Li Du tried to calirl anymore She’s been out and around, and she was class”
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 na at the style, it e the Third at the earliest”
Engraved on the box were sos 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 froe the Third, King George the Second gifted hiraved on the box was the view of St James’s Palace as seen fro 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’ive you 500 dollars for it”
Hans exclaied ”These boxes aren’t easy to sell It may just becoe risk”
”Then on’t sell it to you Perhaps you know, but we Chinese love naet in contact with soher price”
At this, Kevin laughed ”You are right! The Chinese like namwood, but the species they favor is silkwood and not incense ive 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 problelance ”Six hundred fifty dollars!” Hans insisted