Chapter 316: Victorian Clock
Not long after entering Tennessee, the state police and the FBI who were following basically dispersed, leaving only three cars.
After all, there are other police services. It is impossible for the police and the FBI to put all their power here, spend all their time on Highway 127, and have to leave!
The remaining three police cars kept following behind, watching their posture and preparing to follow them all the way, until Ye Tian and the others left Tennessee.
Although the number of tracking vehicles has been greatly reduced, the police and FBI elites are left behind. The deterrence has not been reduced at all, but has become more refined!
The Tennessee State Police left two police cars, an ordinary Ford Taurus, and two state police officers in the car, responsible for handling ordinary police affairs encountered along the way, and also responsible for passing police messages to Ye Tian.
The other is the Bearcat armored vehicle of SWAT special police, which is seated six fully armed special police, who are ready to respond to emergencies at any time, and the firepower is very powerful!
The FBI left behind was also a black Ford Taurus, with three heavily armed FBI agents in the car.
If there is a firefight, they are not the main attackers, they only need to cooperate with SWAT special police.
Not long after they left the state border, Ye Tian and the others came across the first courtyard market, a smallest market with only one stall.
It is said that it is a courtyard market, but it is actually a stall where nearby residents handle household goods and sell special products. It is just by the road, and there is not even a person to look after it.
Highway 127 has only two lanes here, which is very narrow.
There is a grassland on the left side of the road, and 100 meters away is a lush mountain forest. It is lush and dense, making it an ideal hiding place for ambushes.
On the right side of the road is a family pasture with an area of about 50 or 60 hectares.
The field of vision in this direction is very wide. Looking at it is full of slightly yellow pastures, just like laying a huge yellow-green carpet on the ground, with many colorful wildflowers on it!
There were more than a dozen quarter horses grazing leisurely on the grass, and no one was seen.
Everything looks very harmonious and the scenery is also very beautiful. It is a typical rural scenery of the southern United States.
The stall is placed on the grass on the right side of the road, less than 50 meters away from the house on the edge of the ranch. The stall owner is not at this time, and he should be watching from a distance in the house, or busy with other things.
The situation in front of them is very common. The treasure hunters passing by here can pick and choose goods at the stalls. If they find the goods they like, they can press the car horn and the stall owner will come over immediately.
Because the stalls are mostly family junk or agricultural products, they don't have much value, so the stall owner will be so relieved that treasure hunters will not be easy to pick up the sheep for the three melons.
If you are an antique dealer, or a professional second-hand dealer, you would never do it, nor would you dare to do it! That would even lose the underwear!
Although the folk customs of the central region of the United States are relatively simple, everyone has the mentality of taking advantage, and the United States is not much more noble than people in other places!
This was the first stall they encountered when entered Tennessee. Of course, Ye Tian was interested in seeing it.
Walker slowed down very tacitly, and slowly passed in front of the stall along the side of the road. The vehicles behind slowed down and followed slowly.
The huge Paramount Marauder is about 7 meters away from the booth. Looking through the car window, the situation on the booth is unobstructed!
The stalls were mostly used goods, old coffee pots, old appliances, old saddles, water reins, etc., and a few boxes of freshly picked apples.
There is no doubt that this is an ordinary family stall!
"What!"
The moment his gaze swept across the booth, Ye Tian couldn't help but let out a soft cry with a hint of joy.
Immediately afterwards, he immediately said through the intercom:
"Walker, stop! I saw something interesting"
"Ok!"
Walker responded, and the Paramount Marauder stopped immediately.
While the car stopped steadily, Ye Tian also turned off the intercom. Some things need to be kept secret for the time being, even his own people!
"Honey, what baby did you see?"
Betty asked excitedly, curious.
"It's not a very important treasure, it's just a little valuable. It's the Victorian-style clock. If I read it right, it should come from England in the early nineteenth century!"
Ye Tian said through the car window, pointing to an old clock on the stall.
You can only use hypothetical tone for Betty, this is reasonable!
But at the moment, in Ye Tian's eyes, the main body of this table clock radiated dazzling red light, which was extremely beautiful!
Judging from the intensity of the red light, the age can be determined!
This is a western antique from the early 19th century with a history of nearly two hundred years.
In addition to the dazzling red light, the clock is surrounded by six or seven fascinating halos, proving that it has quite good artistic value.
From this we can see that this table clock should come from a master watchmaker, or an early work of a master watchmaker! It's definitely not a popular commodity!
The overall shape of the clock is dignified and elegant, with a strong atmosphere and a strong sense of classical beauty everywhere.
It is about 50 centimeters tall and has an enamel copper body. The shell is a square pavilion. The copper body on the front and left and right sides is decorated with enamel patterns. On the top is an angel playing the violin.
This is what Ye Tian saw from the perspective of a treasure hunter. If viewed from the perspective of an ordinary person, it would not be so beautiful!
The surface of the clock is dirty, and there are stains all over the body. It should have been useless for a long time. I didn't wipe it carefully when I turned it out, or some stains are not so easy to wipe off!
Or the stall owner doesn't pay attention to it at all, and is not in the mood, just adjust the time, wind it up and throw it on the stall! It's a bit violent!
Except for the dirty appearance, the rest of the clock is in good condition! Fortunately, this good antique was not destroyed!
No obvious damage can be seen on the surface of the clock, the hands are still running normally, the two hands point to the time very accurately, the pendulum swings gently, with a trace of ancient charm!
Judging from the places where its true colors are revealed, this table clock is indeed very old, but it is a trace of time and does not affect its value, but can increase its value!
Before the perspective, Ye Tian said that it came from the United Kingdom because he judged it from the style.
Britain in the early nineteenth century was at its peak and the Victorian style became popular.
The craftsmanship from the British Isles during this period are mostly in Victorian style!
In the same period in Europe, France, Germany, and Switzerland, the popular art style at this time was different from that of the British Isles, mainly Rococo style!
It was based on this that Ye Tian made this judgment.
There is only so much that can be seen from the outside of the clock. It's time to look through the interior of this antique clock, see if there are any flaws and hidden dangers!
See if it has unknown and hidden secrets, and if it's worth doing it himself!
After that, Ye Tian immediately opened the perspective, began to explore the deeper secrets of this antique clock, and found more value!
As far as the line of sight, all the details inside and outside of the clock are presented clearly, without any omission.
The outside and inside are the same, the craftsmanship is superb, no defects or hidden dangers are found, and it works well!
All parts are tightly fitted and should be original equipment. Even if repaired, original parts must be used. Only in this way can the accuracy be guaranteed!
Accuracy is the most important indicator to measure the pros and cons of a clock, and a clock with inaccurate time is not worth a few dollars!
It can be seen from the maintenance status that the previous owners of this clock like it very much.
But for some reason, the current owner is ready to sell it for a little dollar!
Maybe he doesn't like this kind of classical gadgets, hates winding, thinks quartz clocks are easier, maybe it's purely to make room, or for other reasons!
It doesn't matter why, since he don't know the goods and let me run into it, then I must not let it go!
This treasure buddy accepted it, and it's not a big leak! A good start for the trip in Tennessee!
The only regret is that there are no other secrets in the clock, it's just a clock.
In addition, Ye Tian saw two small swash letters 'J.C' at the end of the pendulum, which should be the abbreviation of the watchmaker's name, but did not indicate the date.
Ye Tian's knowledge of antique clocks is very limited, and it is impossible to judge which watchmaker's work is based on these two letters and the age when the clock was born.
But there must be someone in New York who can recognize the origin of this clock! No doubt!
As long as it is determined that this is a treasure, it has a lot of artistic value and market value, then it cannot be missed, it must be included in the bag, and other things will be discussed in New York.
The perspective and judgment were completed in an instant, and Ye Tian immediately retracted his sight and prepared to leave here.
Seeing that he didn't mean to get out of the car, Betty immediately asked in a low voice:
"My dear, isn't this table clock worth much? You don't plan to take it anymore? Or are you going to leave it to Bowie so that Bowie can take it down?"
Ye Tian nodded and said with a triumphant smile:
"My dear! Guessed very correctly. I am indeed going to let Bowie take the shot. This table clock is still worthwhile. The market price should be around $200,000. It is a very good antique clock.
It is not suitable for me to make a move. One is because the environment here is complicated and it may be dangerous. Secondly, the stall owner may know me and may raise the price aggressively, and may even take it back and not sell it.
After all, this is a family stall, which is different from the business strategy of ordinary small antique dealers and second-hand dealers. They don't rely on this for food and don't understand antique identification, so the variables are very big!
It now appears that the stall owner did not take this clock seriously. The expected price is estimated to be very low. Bowie could not be more appropriate. He can definitely win it at a very low price.
Betty was a little confused at hearing, there are too many twists and turns!
After a short while, she said with emotion:
"My dear, you are too cunning! It's incredible to be able to calculate so much!"
"Hahaha, this is the charm of treasure hunting. The discovery and harvest of every treasure is a process of fighting wits and courage, and every moment is fresh!"
Ye Tian said with a smile, his eyes full of excitement and joy.
Then he turned on the intercom again.
"Guys, let's go! The precious treasures must be waiting for us ahead!"
"Ok!"
Walker and the others responded in unison.
Then, the three SUVs immediately started again and continued to conquer Highway 127.
Everyone didn't ask much about the result of Ye Tian's treasure hunt just now, and thought there was nothing treasured here!
The treasure hunters who followed them all stopped at this stall for a while, checked carefully, and tried to find something.
But it is a pity that no one paid attention to the dirty clock and left disappointedly.
Bowie, 10 kilometers behind the convoy, had already received a text message from Ye Tian.
After reading the text message, he excitedly followed the GPS instructions and drove straight to here, ready to harvest another surprise and a large amount of green dollars!
"Hey! It looks like it are all useless junk!"
When the Paramount Marauder left, there was a sigh of disappointment from the house not far away!
Although not in front of the booth, the stall owner has been watching the situation along the road through the window.
Seeing the Paramount Marauder stop, his eyes immediately began to shine. The bastard millionaire in New York is going to patronize his booth, maybe he can make a fortune!
But the bastard didn't even leave the car, just stopped for a while, let alone bid for it.
The reality is a bit cruel. The stall owner has completely lost confidence in his own second-hand goods and has no hope of making a fortune.
His sales strategy has also changed. As long as someone give money, he can pick whatever want in the booth and he can handle one item. It is better than keeping it at home and taking up more space!
If he knew from there that in these junk that he dismissed, there were real treasures hidden and at this time, someone was coming quickly and excitedly, ready to make a big deal!
The huge convoy continued along Highway 127 and continued southward in the picturesque scenery, heading to the next courtyard market, the next treasure!
Driving forward about 10 miles or so, another courtyard market appeared on the side of the road, with two stalls, and three white men stood behind the stalls.
Like the previous one, this is also a stall where residents along the way handle household junk. Not far away are two white villas, as well as barns, stables and so on.
Seeing this courtyard market, Walker immediately slowed down and leaned to the side of the road for Ye Tian to observe.
When the Paramount Marauder drove about five meters diagonally in front of the stall, Ye Tian and Raymond issued a warning in unison!
"Attention everyone, there is something wrong with this courtyard market! We may be in trouble!"