Chapter 68: The Deal

After nightfall, Liang En and his companions finally arrived by car at the place with the highest average income in the United States, as well as the most pronounced wealth disparity.

Under Barry's guidance, they drove through a small but remarkably modern-looking town and parked in front of a pale yellow, two-story building.

"Welcome, my friends, welcome!" Mr. Bruce greeted them in the living room as Liang En and the others entered the room.

Soon, the three of them gathered in the study, recounting their adventure.

"You've been through quite an ordeal this time, especially encountering armed bandits midway," Bruce sighed after listening to Liang En's narrative.

With the story concluded, it was time to divide the spoils. At this point, Barry left directly, as everything was concluded for him.

In this operation, Barry's gains included not only half of the cash seized from the arms dealers but also a bonus from Bruce.

After Barry's departure, two middle-aged individuals soon entered the room. They were antique jewelry appraisal experts hired by Bruce, here to verify the authenticity of the loot Liang En had found.

"That's correct, these items are the treasures lost in the bank heists from the late 19th to early 20th century," one of the experts said after about fifteen minutes, lowering the magnifying glass in their hand.

"Moreover, we've confirmed your brooch; both the brooch itself and the blue diamond on it are genuine. So, it should be the one your family lost," the other expert added.

"As for the smaller gems on top, their absence is normal; after all, compared to the significant blue diamond, those smaller gems are easier to discreetly sell."

Subsequently, the two experts began examining the other items in the treasure. Unlike the brooch, the rest were only superficially examined, and after half an hour, an estimated value for the treasure was determined.

"Excluding the two handguns, the total value of these items is around $750,000. However, selling those banknotes might take quite some time."

"As for the value of those two legendary revolvers, it's hard to determine. Finding the right enthusiast for such items is crucial; otherwise, it's challenging to fetch a good price."

"Regarding these firearms, I would like to purchase them," Bruce said after the experts finished their evaluation, "I'm willing to pay $150,000 for them."

As it turns out, Bruce's wife is an avid enthusiast of the Old West, so Bruce naturally wanted to acquire these historically significant handguns.

"Well, I might have to decline your request," Liang En responded after hearing Bruce's offer. "Because I have a dream of opening a museum, I naturally wish to preserve historically valuable items like these."

This isn't Liang En making excuses, but rather a long-term goal he set for himself after discovering he had a "golden finger." After all, compared to ordinary people, he believed it was entirely feasible for him to gather enough treasures for a museum.

So, in comparison to the short-term goal of making money, establishing his own renowned museum became Liang En's long-term objective. It also served as motivation for his continued adventures.

"Of course, while I wouldn't sell these two handguns for money, if there are antiques I'm interested in as an exchange, even if those antiques are inexpensive, I'm willing."

Liang En didn't definitively refuse; he left room for negotiation. After all, in interpersonal interactions, being too rigid in speech wasn't a trivial matter except for certain principled matters.

Moreover, unlike the handguns he had already benefited from, Liang En genuinely desired to acquire antiques he had never encountered before to enrich his collection.

"Are you saying these things can be exchanged for other antiques?" After hearing Liang En's words, Bruce's expression wasn't one of disappointment; instead, he became visibly excited.

"If that's the case, you can take a look at my treasure trove. If there's something you're interested in, we can exchange it for those two handguns."

Soon, Liang En was led to the basement of the house. It resembled a bank vault, and upon entering, he found a variety of antiques on shelves lining the walls.

"Since my grandfather became wealthy, he began collecting all sorts of antiques, and this habit has continued into my generation."

Seeing Liang En's surprised expression, Mr. Bruce proudly explained, "Everything in this warehouse is up for trade. As long as the item you're interested in is below $180,000, we can make a deal."

"Thank you then." Liang En gave a slight bow and started exploring the house. However, going through so many items at once was impossible.

So, he used four "Detection (N)" cards to thoroughly scan the entire house and identify the three most historically valuable artifacts in the three rooms.

Although Liang En had discovered that historical value didn't necessarily correlate with wealth through multiple attempts, compared to blindly searching like finding a needle in a haystack, this method was much more efficient in identifying valuable items.

"Is this a relic?" After finishing his inspection, Liang En went directly to a shelf in the middle of the left side of the room, pointing to an old wooden box with a small wooden cross on it.

He asked this because in Western tradition, only religious items would have a cross symbol.

"My grandfather bought this at an auction in England for over a hundred pounds, but there were no markings identifying its origin at that time."

Taking the box and turning over the label affixed to the bottom, Mr. Bruce walked over to a computer near the door, tapped a few times, and said:

"The only confirmed information is that this silver-gilt ring dates back to the 15th century, and the original owner was likely a woman due to the small ring size."

"How much would this ring be worth?" Being the most historically significant item on the left side of the warehouse, Liang En naturally chose it first.

"Around $2,500 seems appropriate." After some whispered discussion between the two experts, they came to a conclusion. "Considering its quality, craftsmanship, and historical significance, this ring falls a bit short. There are just too many relics from various saints all over Europe."

In reality, this expert's response was already quite tactful. Starting from the medieval period, many unscrupulous clergy members and others created various fake relics, leading to a proliferation of counterfeit sacred items.

As for the $2,500 price tag, truth be told, it was a face-saving gesture for Mr. Bruce, to avoid any embarrassment from potentially being labeled as a seller of fake items.