Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1620 Chinese Box

"Eh?" Old John looked at a large frame coming from the conveyor belt. Inside the frame was a light-colored box, and next to the box were a few worn-out cloth bags. "This is very strange, George. Is it something from your East?"

"Yes, it's a rattan box, woven with willow or rattan, and brushed with a special vegetable oil. It's quite tough."

"Want it? It's only twenty dollars now."

"Don't worry, wait until it comes over and takes a closer look."

"George, your mentality is not like that of a young man."

"John, maybe the young people in the East are different from those in the West..."

As they were talking, the box was brought to them. It was indeed as Zhou Zhi said, a wicker box. Because it had been stored for too long, a lot of dust had accumulated between the wicker branches. Although it had been roughly wiped at the airport, the carelessness was visibly noticeable, making it look even dirtier.

Although the box is quite old, in Zhou Zhi's eyes it is of very good workmanship. It is a time-honored brand in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas of the Republic of China, with the craftsmanship of Zhejiang Yixing.

Such boxes later fell out of favor in China, but became popular in the island nation because all of the island nation's resources were used to support the war.

This kind of box usually has a base of fir or camphor wood and an oilcloth lining. As long as it is not exposed to water, it is quite good for storing things.

The lock of the box is very fine. Although it has been coated with patina, it can still be seen that it is a high-end product and a custom-made one.

Because there are a few regular script characters on the copper leaf, probably to facilitate searching, it can be seen clearly at a glance - Yuhang Li Buddhist Chime.

I thought about it for a while, and it seemed that there was no such person. However, the Yuhang Li family is generally the descendants of Li E, a great writer, poet, and historian in the Qing Dynasty. One of their sons was Li Liangyu, who founded the Xiling Seal Society. The family became a prominent family in the late Qing Dynasty, with many famous people, and it was not uncommon for one or two of them to study in the United States.

When he cast his eyes on the "cloth tube" inserted diagonally next to the big blue basket next to the wicker box, Zhou Zhi's heart suddenly began to beat violently.

There were several cylindrical objects wrapped in cloth covers. Although the cloth covers were made of ordinary linen, Zhou Zhi keenly discovered that the way they were wrapped was the work of an insider.

The things inside must be something like a hanging scroll of calligraphy or painting. After putting it away, the hanging ribbons are untied, and then the hanging scroll is put into a brocade bag, and then the brocade bag is put into a sack, and then sealed layer by layer.

Many scholars collect a lot of calligraphy and painting works. How can they tell which calligraphy and painting is in the bag? This ribbon is not only a tool for sealing, but also a "label" representing the contents of the bag.

This kind of ribbon is generally made of very high-quality materials. The materials used are all silk and brocade, which are repeated in ancient craftsmanship. The patterns are complex and special, and easy for the owner to identify.

Some will use skillful craftsmanship to splice together a variety of patterns and add unique embroidery on the ribbon heads. The more precious ones will even be decorated with gold, beads, and jade, making one item have multiple uses.

However, the ribbon that Zhou Zhi saw now did not have gold, pearls or jade. If it had, even the dumbest people in New York Customs would have realized the value of these things.

The current ribbons have probably been exposed to the outside for decades and are covered with thick dust, making their original color almost invisible. However, the color of some newly revealed folded parts still reveals their quality.

"What are those?" asked Old John.

"I don't know, maybe an oil-paper umbrella." Zhou Zhi certainly wasn't stupid enough to tell him the answer directly: "It's a must-have for Chinese people when they travel or at home."

"Want to add more?"

"It seems that no one is optimistic about it?" Zhou Zhi was still not anxious: "No one has made an offer?"

"Well, if no one bids after three rounds, the item will be taken back," said Old John.

"Then wait until the third round and try your hand." Zhou Zhi said calmly: "It is probably the luggage of ordinary passengers. Decades ago, the Chinese who crossed the ocean had a name called 'pig tails'?" "Oh, that's too early." Old John shook his head: "Your history doesn't seem to be very good. This is an airport. At the earliest, it can only be traced back to before World War II, and the things that travelers at that time carried."

"If it was a traveler who took a plane here at that time..." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "Old John, you have successfully aroused my interest. Raise the sign."

Old John quickly wiped off the number 28 on his board, replaced it with number 7, where the Chinese box was, and raised the card.

However, just when Zhou Zhi thought that there would definitely be no competition for this product, two more people raised their signs and raised the price of the Chinese box to forty dollars.

"Huh?" Zhou Zhi was a little surprised: "What's going on? Didn't no one want it?"

"It's true that no one is optimistic about it, but it's not that no one wants it." Old John said unconcernedly, "When you make a move, generally someone will try to follow suit. We call this behavior 'chasing the rabbit'. Do you want more?"

"Add." Zhou Zhi said: "If they want to follow, let them follow."

"For items priced below $100, each lot is $10. For items priced above $100, each lot is 10% of the initial bid." Old John continued to explain, "If no one continues to bid after three rounds, the item will go to the last bidder. Of course, Red Hat Bonnie will sometimes call the deal in advance to speed things up and show his authority. Isn't the rule very simple and crude?"

"Yes, but I quite like it." Zhou Zhi nodded to show interest.

"Then you decide the timing of our bidding, and I will continue to chase my number 28," said Old John.

"No need. As long as someone makes a bid before our turn, we will raise our placard to push him away." Zhou Zhi said, "Let's be simple and rough."

"No tactics?"

"I'm a newcomer. No tactics is the best tactic." Zhou Zhi said calmly: "Old John, please take care of No. 7. I'll look at other things."

"it is good."

Sure enough, when this trick was used, those who had followed blindly before were a little confused. Everyone knew each other, so some people shrugged at Old John, trying to test his intentions.

Old John also shrugged and spread his hands, and tilted his head at Zhou Zhi who was looking at other luggage calmly, meaning that it was all his idea. Even I don't know what he means.

A few more buyers tried to follow suit, and when they saw that everyone was following suit, the real buyers didn't seem to be paying attention to this at all, and they finally stopped in embarrassment.

"Box number seven, eighty dollars, Old John, take it!" Red Hat Bonnie shouted, and then put a key ring with a white pompom on the handle of the wicker box: "Congratulations!"

"What is that?" Zhou Zhi carefully noticed the actions of Red Hat Bonnie: "Why didn't I see this when I took away other boxes?"

"That's a Curly ball." Old John laughed wildly, "It's a souvenir exclusive to the newcomers."

"Damn it!" Zhou Zhi couldn't help but curse.

This is a pun. Since the original meaning of Curly Coat is sheep, then Curly ball is actually a pun on sheep testicles.

Once the ram's testicles are removed, it enters the stage of being formally trained into an adult sheep, avoiding the fate of being slaughtered as a lamb.

It's quite humorous that this auction house gives this keychain to the person who wins the first auction.