A Wizard's Survival Guide to the 20th Century

Chapter 163 107. Private Museum (-in-)

Soon, a building with a marble facade appeared in front of Levi. One corner of the quadrilateral building is cut into a bevel, and its door opens here. It is a beautiful walnut door with no other signs.

Levi walked over and knocked lightly on the door.

Not long after, there was a noise and a clicking sound from behind the door.

Then, someone seemed to come to the back of the door.

"Who is it?"

The voice was dull, with a Baroque Republic accent.

"Hello, I was introduced by Mr. Davidson. I am buying some rare things at high prices, and I heard that you are the best collector around here."

The voice behind the door hesitated for a moment, then came out again.

"I want to ask, are you from St. Francis?"

The World War that had just ended for two years had a profound impact on Xizhou, especially on the Baroque. Thousands of Baroques fled to the Hamptons, Genoa, and Phoenix. After all, no one wanted to be sent to the Main and Walden to be a filler baby.

"Pierre Dupont." Pierre shook hands with him, and the relationship between the two people instantly became much closer.

No wonder he locked the door, the alcohol alone was enough for Prohibition agents to seize a dozen times.

"Most of the small sculptures are female figures, and there are also some monsters like dragons, or the protagonists of opera stories." Li Wei laughed.

"This is such a surprise to me. I thought you were a crazy collector of slovenly things."

"No, Siris." Levi said.

Li Wei frowned. This guy asked in such detail. Is he only doing business with acquaintances?
No, what he cares about is whether I have anything to do with the intricate forces of St. Francis. Think about it, what does a collector fear most about his beloved collection?

Levi shook his head.

"How is it?" the collector asked expectantly.

After hearing these words, the person behind the door seemed to relax a little. The door locks clicked one after another. It seemed that there were many locks of different models on this door.

Finally, he carefully poured a cup for each of them and walked over with the cup in hand.

Pierre said with a wry smile.

"Oh... this is really a rare interest." The collector nodded as if meeting a like-minded person, thinking of exquisite objects made of materials such as marble, bronze or ceramics.

"What kind of precious things do you collect?"

Although most people don't take Prohibition seriously, there are still quite a few non-drinkers.

Anyway, the descriptions of Western wines are basically the same.

"That's it. Thank you for your generosity." Levi nodded with a smile and stretched out his right hand.

"Yes, I am a Baroque. As for why I came to the United States, you also know, because of the world war."

The answer is strong buying and strong selling.

"I just don't care much about my image. I have always taken good care of this museum."

"Oh?" The collector was stunned, and then his expression showed obvious affection.

"Sit down first, be casual, and I'll pour you a glass of wine... Do you mind?"

"No matter how I look, as long as I can see it neat and clean, I can feel happy."

The first thing I saw was the stairs at the door and a small bar next to the stairs. Various wine bottles were displayed in an emotional manner behind the bar. There was also a pair of sofas and coffee tables to sit on, all neatly arranged.

Unlike what Levi thought, the building had neat wooden patterned floors and the light from the chandelier was gentle.

Levi took off his hat, nodded, and walked into the building.

The glass was placed in front of Levi and made a gentle sound. The ice cubes inside were suspended in the golden brown wine, shaking slightly.

The collector nodded approvingly: "1913 Kentucky Fried Chicken Bourbon, one of my collections."

"Haha, please come in." The collector smiled, "But I still need to think about the business again, but if you want to visit my collection, I fully welcome it."

"Are you a friend of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association?"

Levi smiled and said: "I can understand this feeling. I also used to like to collect some things, put them in exquisite glass display cabinets, and wipe the dust on them from time to time."

"Not really a friend, I'm just a foreigner who passed by here by chance." Levi said in a gentle voice.

Immediately, he took out a brown flat wine bottle, then took out two glasses, took out some ice cubes from the ice bucket and put them in.

"Excuse me, are you not from Phoenix?" After putting down the wine glass, Levi asked as he watched Pierre continue to pour wine for the two of them.

"Levi."

Levi shook his head and smiled.

The collector walked to the glass sliding door cabinet behind the bar. After pulling it open, he held his chin and thought carefully.

Hearing this, the Collector smiled a little proudly.

Li Wei picked it up, and the wine exuded a faint sweetness. It was smooth in the mouth and had a mellow and sweet taste. It was definitely a good wine.

"It has the aroma of honey, caramel and vanilla, as well as a touch of oak. It's very mellow." Levi put down the cup, thought for a moment, and joked casually.

With a "squeak", the door was pushed open from behind, and a thin man wearing an extremely loose suit stuck his head out. His face was so thin that the bones could be seen, and he had messy blond hair.

Levi couldn't help but think of Charlie's cheap dad. A considerable part of the latter's tragic fate was caused by the world war.

"I can understand that a collector like you shouldn't die in the stinky water of the trenches." Levi smiled and raised his glass, touching it with Pierre.

"What do you collect?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming familiar, Levi began to get straight to the point. “There’s everything, as long as it’s something I like and it’s rare enough,” the collector said, adding dejectedly, “And I can still afford it.”

"It seems that your financial situation is not very optimistic." Levi smiled.

He likes people whose financial situation is not optimistic.

"Yes, you also know that I am a collector, and most of my energy is spent on taking care of these... collections."

Pierre pointed: "So I don't have time to do too much work. I used my savings to invest in a canned food company and I can get income every year. But unfortunately, they were affected by the fire. , recently declared bankruptcy.”

Levi suddenly thought of something: "Tangras canned food?"

Pierre looked up in surprise: "Yes, do you have a friend who also works there?"

"Haha, that's about it." Levi was in an inexplicably better mood and smiled, "You continue."

"Oh." Pierre didn't pay attention and continued, "So I plan to sell a small part of the collection and collect the money to do commercial collections to maintain this private museum... I just bought some at a low price and they may appreciate in value later. collection, waiting for their prices to rise before selling them at high prices.”

Is this approach equivalent to stock trading or stone betting? Levi secretly remembered it in his heart, and then listened to Pierre's next words.

"Of course, some collections are like lovers to me... I wonder if you know this feeling? If you select these collections, then I may... maybe..."

"It's hard to let go easily, right?" Levi smiled, "Don't worry, I will never force others to make things difficult."

Hearing this, the collector smiled sheepishly, drank all the bourbon in the cup, and then said.

"Then let me show you my collection."

……

Pierre pushed open a door next to the stairs, and after Levi walked in, he let out an exclamation.

The floor was covered with a silk Persian carpet, decorated with rich and gorgeous old-colored patterns, which made Levi couldn't help but feel that it was too luxurious for him to step on it.

Oh no, I am no longer a poor peasant, so be more confident.

Looking up, there are rows of glass display cabinets on the walls and in the room, which contain various porcelain, bronzes, and other handicrafts.

"This is an obsidian sword." Pierre pointed to one of the glass display cabinets. The collection displayed inside looked like a paddle-shaped saw with small jagged obsidian blades on the edge.

"The Aztecs called this thing 'Macuawait', and only the most elite warriors among them could use it. I bought this one from a Felipe, one of his ancestors who had participated in It is said that this obsidian sword was used by Cuohtemoc during the conquest of Tenochtitlan."

Levi looked at it carefully with interest. The cut of the sword was extremely sharp and reflected a faint black-purple light. He could imagine what it would be like to be hit by this thing. The huge sword blessed by inertia came fiercely, The serrations on it can easily tear off a large piece of flesh, leaving an unstoppable bleeding wound on the enemy.

But immediately, he shook his head.

We are already in the 20th century, and cold weapons will almost never be a match for firearms in the hands of ordinary people.

"A very exquisite weapon, but it's a pity that it can't compare with muskets and brigs."

"Haha, I also have some other collections... Look at this, this is Tsugaru lacquerware from the Japanese country, made in 1740."

Pierre saw Levi's interest, so he was not discouraged and continued to introduce with spirit.

It was a set of exquisite lacquerware food boxes, with a blue and black background and abstract patterns of flowers, birds and animals, which looked small and delicate.

"Things from my childhood..." Levi glanced at it, showing no interest.

"Uh, okay, let's look at something else..." Pierre noticed the change in Levi's demeanor and was a little confused for a moment.

Oh, yes, they had just fought a war in 1894. No wonder, if you introduced the Hamptons to a Galway man, he would definitely not be interested.

Thinking this, Pierre smiled slightly.

Since he is from Seris, he must be more interested in things from his own country.

Hehe, I happen to have some Siris collections that I have treasured for a long time. Although it is a bit of a pity, in order to get the funds to maintain this place, I have to sell them now.

In this way, the two of them took a few steps forward and passed several collections. At this time, Pierre suddenly pointed to a display cabinet nearby.

"Look at this."

Levi followed his hand and looked over. It was a large long cabinet with many pieces of exquisite porcelain inside.

If you look closely, you will see that the glazes are exquisite, some are complex, some are elegant, and they have the style of a great country.

They are placed staggered on white velvet cushions, making them look small and delicate.

"This is this?" Levi looked at these porcelain bowls that were similar to those used by his grandma, and turned around to ask curiously.

"These are Seris porcelain, which my grandfather brought back in 1860. They are all real treasures." Pierre said with a smile.

"Really..." Levi lowered his head and took a closer look. Although for a person like him in the 21st century, these porcelains were not shocking, they were indeed exquisite. It would be good to buy them as gifts. But he has no one to give it to now, and he has no real intention to buy it for collection.

...Wait a minute, Levi suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Tell me, in what year did your grandfather bring this back?"

"1860... or 61, I can't remember clearly." Pierre was stunned, but still answered.

"What is your grandfather's occupation?" Levi asked.

"Huh? A captain soldier, what's wrong?"

Just as Pierre spoke in confusion, he noticed something was wrong with Levi's expression.

"Hiss..." Levi took a deep breath and felt a strange anger welling up for no reason.

"I don't know why, but now I suddenly don't want to buy your collection."

"what?"

"I want to steal it."

(End of this chapter)