Chapter 678: Interested
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Those infuriating words were blatantly using money to insult others!
Nonetheless, it was every treasure hunters' dream. The ability to casually say the sentence: "I am taking out a few million to test the waters" was what they had dreamed of the most since entering this profession.
Li Du was not in the mood to argue with these people, let alone be accommodating and friendly to them.
When he'd just been a treasure hunter in storage unit auctions, he'd intended to work in the industry for a long period of time. As such, he needed to be accommodating and friendly to gain the support of other treasure hunters and avoid alienation.
However, he hadn't entered the old goods auction market to earn money. He was only here so the little bug could absorb time energy and didn't need to be on good terms with the local treasure hunters.
The other treasure hunters, displeased, whispered among themselves. Li Du pretended not to hear them and played around with Ah Meow, Ah Ow, and Crispy Noodles.
Just like Hoffman's auction house, the established practice here was to start the auction after the sunset. However, the auction house did not strictly abide by this rule. After all, the auction was inside a small house and wasn't affected much by light.
When the sun had nearly set, a man with white gloves walked onto the stage. He smiled and speedily said, "Another auction has begun. Welcome everyone, new and old friends, who are here at Feuille auction. I am today's auctioneer, Wesley Feuille . . . "
Hearing this, Li Du softly asked Hans, "Is he also a member of the Feuille family?"
Hans, who had inquired about the local situation, replied, "Yes, he is Suradi's cousin. The Feuille family is huge, especially on the cousin's side, which apparently has a few hundred people."
Old Feuille had married a Native American. As Native Americans had very complicated kinships, Old Feuille pretty much had familial ties with the entire tribe after the marriage.
The kinship with the tribe was a tremendous help to the development of the local old goods market as this was, after all, the territory of the Native Americans. Many times, with the support of the Native American tribe, even the government was unable to interfere with the affairs here.
The auction had officially begun. The first item on the auction block was a motorcycle.
"This is a heavy-duty vehicle with an engine displacement of 600 cubic centimeters. It has an inline four-cylinder design and is water cooled. The maximum power of the engine is 60 kilowatts at 11,000 revolutions while the maximum torque is 55-newton meters at 8,000 revolutions. Its speed is like the Flash . . .
"However, take note that the weight of this vehicle is 485 pounds. It's a beast that is specifically designed for tough men. If you don't have a strong physique, it's best for you to stay away from it . . . "
The auctioneer continued introducing the motorcycle and said a few things regarding other factors. After the introduction had ended, he gave the motorcycle a price. The starting bid for the motorcycle was 1,200 dollars.
As Hans loved fiddling with motorcycles, Li Du asked him, "How's this motorcycle?"
"Far worse than my Hell's Alien," Hans scoffed.
Hell's Alien was a motorcycle that Li Du had gotten cheap from a storage unit. Li Du had given it to Hans, who was extremely fond of it.
However, America forbade modified motorcycles to be driven on the road. Since Hell's Alien was heavily modified, it was even more out of the question to drive it on the road. As such, he was only able to satisfy his craving by driving it on an unpopulated road in the wilderness at night.
The motorcycle on the auction block was an ordinary bike that had been assembled by someone before being brought to the auction house. Its price was slightly cheaper than a brand new motorcycle. If it were brand new, it would be worth 3,000 dollars with this kind of power and configuration.
The bidding began. There were quite a few people interested in the motorcycle; they all enthusiastically called out their bids one after another.
"One thousand three hundred dollars!"
"One thousand three hundred fifty dollars!"
"One thousand five hundred dollars!"
Although Li Du was not interested in the motorcycle, he was interested in the bidding process.
Customers, like Li Du and his group, who sat on the second level were highly valued by the auctioneer. When introducing the motorcycle and as he listened to the bids, the auctioneer kept looking up at them.
The bids at the start of the bidding were from people on the first level. As the value of the bids rose, most of the people who participated in the bidding were those on the second level.
In the end, the motorcycle was sold for 1,800 dollars to a youngster on the second level.
The second item auctioned was a complete set of handmade furniture consisting of chairs, tables, tea tables, and cabinets.
As the set of furniture was oak, its price was slightly higher. Even though the starting bid was the same at 1,200 dollars, its price quickly doubled to 2,400 dollars.
The furniture set originated from a Native American tribe. As it had just been constructed and every piece of furniture was brand new, it was not an old good.
This was one of the advantage Feuille Auction House had over Hoffman's. Being in close proximity to a Native American tribe, they were able to obtain some interesting handicrafts, and Americans were very fond of handicrafts.
In the end, the furniture set was sold for 3,500 dollars, which was around three times the starting bid.
The Native American who had made the furniture set was also here. He was very satisfied with its price and told the buyer, a middle-aged African American, that he would give him some matching small tools that were made using the leftover materials from the construction of the furniture set.
A series of items were brought out, and not a single item went unsold.
Despite that, Li Du did not bid. Fawkes, who sat next to him, observed him. He asked halfway through the auction, "You are not interested in those items, right?"
"No," Li Du replied. "I am interested but they are not much use to me."
Fawkes shrugged. "Of course. You are a person who drives luxury cars, stays in luxury houses, and is able to throw away a few million. If I was also worth tens of millions, I wouldn't be interested either."
Li Du understood what he was trying to say and stopped responding to him.
Being ignored, Fawkes could only turn his head away resentfully.
Later on, before the curtains were raised, a song could be heard.
The song was very clear, very moving, and also very famous. It was a song from the movie, "The Graduate." Li Du had heard the song countless times in America.
Following the song, the curtains were raised and a large golden horn appeared in front of them. Underneath the horn was a turntable and a beautiful brownish-red wooden box. As the turntable spun, the song was played from the horn.
"Phonograph!" Li Du reflexively said before releasing the little bug to fly over.
During the first half of the 20th century, the phonograph, which demonstrated the elegant taste of its owners, was a solemn representation of the western upper-class society.
This was observable from the movies and dramas that were based on those years. Besides America, it had also been popular in China during that time period. There would definitely usually be phonographs in Shanghai movies from the twenties and thirties.
The voice of the auctioneer resonated, "The next item is a talking old machine. It is Thomas Alva Edison's masterpiece. As I think everyone has sufficient understanding of it, I don't have to say more. Come, everyone, begin calling out your bids. The starting price is 2,000 dollars . . . "
In recent years, with retro-style home decorations being in fashion, retro phonographs were increasingly becoming more popular in homes. No matter what style the house was, American or European, everyone loved using retro phonographs to complement the design and make the house more stylish.
As such, even though the price was very high, there were still people bidding after the auctioneer had announced its price.
Li Du asked Hans, "The phonograph: it's a traditional phonograph, right?"