America: Starting with Daily Intelligence
Chapter 42 - 42 42 Bargaining

42: Chapter 42 Bargaining 42: Chapter 42 Bargaining Allen Zhang finished off his sandwich and yogurt, casually gifted his cup of coffee to a lucky passerby, and then set off to George Pawnshop on his bicycle.

“Welcome to George Pawnshop, how may I assist you today?”

Upon entering, Allen noticed that the layout of the pawnshop had changed since his last visit.

Perhaps it was due to the impact of the shooting incident; that guy truly was a tiger and had incredibly bad luck.

The white owner, George, glanced up and noticed Allen as a familiar face, revealing a look of surprise, “Is that you?”

His expression relaxed visibly, and he withdrew a hand from beneath the counter.

No wonder he was so cautious—after all, the pawnshop had just experienced a shooting the previous day.

That homeless man, probably high on something, had barged in attempting to rob the place!

George didn’t indulge him, taking him out with two shots!

Having come from Texas, with its simple customs and origins of the Rednecks, most people there are adept at using American-style swordplay.

Furthermore, having friends in the local law enforcement made handling a Zero-Dollar Purchase by a homeless person rather simple.

They quickly issued a no-fault certificate, leaving the pawnshop’s business unaffected—only closed for half a day to replace the carpet.

“Buddy, are you looking to pawn items, or are you looking to purchase?”

Old George warmly welcomed the return of a regular customer; at least Allen wasn’t the risky sort.

“I have a 15.6-gram Vantini gold necklace I need to convert into cash.”

Saying this, Allen took out the gold necklace from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Old George took one look, verifying it was the genuine article, and carefully inspected it by placing it in the palm of his hand.

However, gold content cannot be discerned simply with the naked eye.

He looked at it from every angle, admiring the craftsmanship, knowing high-tech means were required to confirm its authenticity.

George rummaged underneath the counter and pulled out a special measuring instrument.

Once activated, the instrument’s red light blinked, targeting the necklace with a flash, a beep sounded, and the green light flickered.

Detailed data appeared on the display.

“Indeed, it’s an 18k gold necklace from Vantini,” said George, smiling after confirming its authenticity from the data, “Do you by any chance have a shopping ticket or receipt?

That would make it easier for me to resell.”

“I don’t have those,” Allen replied frankly.

“May I ask then where you obtained this necklace?”

Old George had basically confirmed that Allen wasn’t the original owner of the necklace.

After all, the last time he came in dressed like a hobo, and this time, he had improved a bit by wearing some semi-luxury brands, though mostly clearance items from discount stores.

The gold necklace didn’t quite match his status.

“Although I’d love to say it’s something I bought a long time ago, or a gift from my girlfriend, the truth is I found it in a trash bin.

Actually, I have the right not to disclose its provenance, don’t I?”

Allen liked to tell the truth, glancing at the various collectibles around the room, he spoke, “A large part of the stuff here also has unclear origins, right?”

“You’re absolutely right.”

George nodded his head; he was only responsible for pawning and collecting items.

As for where the clients got them, that had nothing to do with him.

It’s difficult to make a fortune with just clean pawnshop business—one needs to have an adventurous spirit and a flexible moral baseline.

The client not having a specific shopping ticket or receipt also made it a good opportunity for him to haggle over the price.

But it was gold after all, there’s a limit to how much one can lower its price.

“The gold price today is 69.4 dollars per gram, but it won’t sell for that high here.

This necklace is 15.6 grams.

I can offer you 960 dollars, how about that?”

Old George pulled out his phone, did some calculations, and pitched his price to Allen.

“Don’t you think you’re cutting too deep?” Allen said with an expression of bewilderment.

A straight cut of more than a hundred?

It was fair during the last visit, so why this extortion now?

George said with a smile, “After all, this isn’t a gold shop.

You might even get a lower price if you go to another pawnshop.”

“But this is a Vantini necklace,” Allen argued for fairness.

“The brand effect is basically worthless, and it doesn’t appear to be handcrafted either,” George immediately countered.

As it was a four-figure item, not wielding his Dragon Slayer Sword would be an injustice to the shop he ran.

“My bottom line is 1000 dollars!” Allen stated, “I can’t go lower than that.

Otherwise, I’d rather wait for the gold price to rise and sell it then.”

“980 dollars?” Old George offered tentatively with his price.

“How did the taste of that tequila last time?

Your friend must have been very satisfied, right?

Maybe one of these days I’ll come here to sell some liquors.”

Allen Zhang shifted the conversation to emotional appeals.

“The flavor was indeed quite unique.

It’s rarer than anything on the market.

My friend brought it out at a gathering, and after tasting it, they heard it was only worth 260 US dollars and all said it was a huge bargain!

It’s almost indistinguishable from the real deal.”

Old George was a genuine person as well, and with heartfelt sincerity, he smiled and said, “But if you’re trying to use this to get me to raise the price, then you might be out of luck, buddy!

You will definitely have a hard time bringing tequila like that last time again!”

“Alright, you got me.” Allen Zhang spread his hands, “But a price under 1000 US dollars is really hard for me to accept.”

“That’s a pity…”

The two argued endlessly over the price until a new customer pushed the door open, “Excuse me, does this place buy antiques?”

The woman was wearing red sunglasses, with brownish-black long hair, dressed in a gray dress, high heels, plump in figure, with full facial features, carrying a beige handbag, looking to be about forty-something.

Old George immediately greeted warmly, “Of course, George Pawnshop takes everything, may I ask what kind of antiques the customer would like to sell?”

Hearing it was antiques, Allen Zhang also got interested, ready to observe on the side what kind of oddity it was.

The woman took out a rusty iron box wrapped in plastic film from her handbag, and it had a string of English written on it that said military medical equipment.

Seeing this situation, both Allen Zhang and Old George frowned, immediately sensing an ominous feeling.

Then they saw her open the iron box, and a smell that no one could identify wafted out.

Allen Zhang immediately took two steps back to get away from it, fearing that some ancient virus had revived.

Then the woman took out a syringe, and with a serious face began to explain, “This is a urethral syringe used by a General during the Civil War!

He was a good friend of my husband’s great-grandfather.

He led his troops to victory in the Civil War despite being ill, fought for freedom, and liberated the slaves.

I have here a document and a medical certification issued by the military doctor at the time!”

“…”

Allen Zhang’s jaw almost dropped.

This thing can also be collected as an antique?

Have you Americans gone mad?

What shocked him even more was Old George’s attitude.

He put on gloves and a mask and took it very seriously, examining it for a while.

Then he took the document and certification to inspect them carefully, and asked kindly, “How much do you want to sell it for?”

“5000 US dollars.” The woman said without hesitation, “If it didn’t affect the normal life between my husband and me, I wouldn’t possibly sell it.

After all, it’s a very meaningful souvenir, a truly collectible antique.”

Allen Zhang began to doubt life.

No, how did it affect them?

5000 US dollars?

A urethral syringe?

WTF?

Just kill me now!!

This is too fantastical.

Old George fell into contemplation, “During the Civil War, many women in the sex trade would camp near the military camps, and many soldiers contracted gonorrhea due to misconduct.

Military doctors tried every means to solve the difficult problems, and there also was a military doctor who proposed injecting high-concentration boric acid into the urethra to sterilize and disinfect, but it proved to be an unwise move and directly ruined the lives of many men.

Later on, that military doctor was castrated by angry soldiers in the night.

The General you mentioned must have also used this method…”

“Although I don’t advocate collecting such antiques, there are many perverts who do specialize in collecting such things, and there is no lack of a market for them, I can offer 500 US dollars at most,” said Old George seriously.

The woman hesitated for a moment, but then happily accepted the offer and nodded, “Okay, 500 US dollars, I’ll sell it to you.”

“Deal.”

Old George smiled and turned around to write a receipt, then came out with the money.

“…”

The way he’s slashing prices.

It is absolutely unreasonable.

Allen Zhang watched as the two exchanged the money and goods, sinking into thought.

He felt he was still too green.

Suddenly he thought of that box of World War II-era Spam, making up a couple of stories, sticking on a certificate label, wouldn’t that also count as an antique?

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