America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 300 The Virgin Mary and the Garland

After finding the containers he wanted to auction, Zhang Ailun promptly contacted the staff, selected five containers, and paid a $100 registration fee.

Once the other treasure hunters arrived, they each selected the containers they wanted to buy and smoothly entered the auction process.

The staff first introduced the container from Germany, explaining that it contained collectibles from military enthusiasts, and then opened the container for everyone to see. Many people were interested in the green boxes and began bidding against each other to purchase them.

Zhang Ailun wasn't particularly interested in this, but after the price had increased several times, he made a symbolic purchase: "$4600."

As soon as the price was set, the two bald men next to him eagerly overtook it, shouting, "$6000!"

$7500.

"$8000!"

Prices soared, the market was buzzing with excitement, and the warehouse manager was all smiles. Ultimately, a couple of treasure hunters successfully acquired the military-grade container for $14250.

However, during the subsequent inspection, they only found some paper notebooks, fountain pens, and World War II military uniforms inside.

Testing revealed that it wasn't military supplies used by the armed forces, but rather custom-made clothing for an arms enthusiast, and not particularly valuable. The couple suffered a direct loss of ten thousand US dollars!

Seeing this, Zhang Ailun left without looking back and went to the next container to participate in the auction.

The red container was a private collection from Colombia, and many people were very interested in it. The staff opened the container for everyone to see, and found that it was full of messy aluminum alloy and iron cabinets, as well as wooden products. After the introduction, many people put up bids.

$2600.

$3000.

$3200.

"..."

The price quickly rose and broke through the $10,000 mark, reaching $19000.

Zhang Ailun made a bid at the right time, but was quickly overtaken by others. Looking back at the burly white man with tattoos all over his face, he couldn't understand what could be valuable about this thing. Surely it couldn't be some local specialty product hidden inside, could it?

Ultimately, the tattooed man won the bid for the container from Colombia. After bidding against the other two treasure hunters, he got impatient and offered a high price of $32400!

Others found it unbelievable, feeling that even if the container was valuable, it couldn't possibly be worth that much.

Many people were unwilling to give up and stayed to see what valuable treasure the tattooed man would reveal. The Grand Master, of course, was not in a hurry to leave either; the next round of auction had not yet begun, so he also stood there to observe.

But as everyone expected, after searching and inspecting the containers from Colombia, there was nothing of value. The only valuable items were the aluminum alloy metal cabinets and a lamp. But the metal cabinets were also completely empty, not a single thing inside.

Many people were somewhat gloating. "Dude, you probably wouldn't even get these things from a pawn shop. You'd probably have to take them to a recycling center to find someone to buy them, maybe they'd be worth $60?"

"Without a doubt, your $30,000 has gone down the drain!"

"I'll take these metal cabinets. I'm looking for a table to put vases on at home," a white man with a long braid laughed.

The tattooed man, however, remained unfazed by the laughter and mockery of the crowd. Instead, he remained remarkably calm, saying, "You have no idea how valuable this thing is! That's the difference between a true tycoon and a gambler! Would I spend $30,000 to buy a container if I didn't have solid intelligence and information?"

The tattooed man sneered; these words struck a chord with the leader, who wholeheartedly agreed. If one didn't have prior knowledge, who would bother trying their luck and handing over their money? They might as well go to a casino.

At the very least, you can get two free cups of red milk tea, as well as donuts and ice cream, and have a friendly match with the therapist.

It seems this guy probably knew something beforehand.

The tattooed man grabbed the lamp and smashed it to the ground, then squatted down and rummaged through the shards. In front of everyone, he found several round, glass-like crystals, held them up, and said, "This stuff is enough to make me money!"

"Shit! I think I saw someone online recycling some stuff. I think it's called silicon carbide wafers, and one piece is worth at least $200-$3000. There are also many crystals that can reach $6. The quality of this crystal looks pretty good too, it should be worth tens of thousands of dollars."

A knowledgeable person recognized what he was holding and exclaimed in surprise.

But he soon regretted not being able to persevere and pay a high price to buy the container. Now that he saw others making money, he could only grit his teeth and feel envious and resentful.

Zhang Ailun didn't seem to have any particular feelings about this, only praising the other party for their courage and vision, and most importantly, for having understood the relevant situation.

Several more containers were auctioned off in succession, but basically none of them contained anything of value. Soon it was the turn of the D65 green container that Zhang Ailun had been paying attention to, but many people were also uninterested, feeling that this thing was no different from the previous ones, and few people were willing to bid.

Staff explained that the container came from a private storage facility and had been stored there for over six months. It was currently unclaimed, and the warehouse owner could not be contacted, so they had no choice but to dispose of it privately. They also suspected that it contained valuable private collections belonging to wealthy individuals.

The treasure hunter tried to make an offer: "$2000."

The bearded man wearing a baseball cap next to him also bid, "$2500."

$3000.

$3250.

The two were competing with each other, and then another person joined in, quickly bringing the price up to $5500.

Then nobody was willing to bid anymore.

Seeing this, the staff could only keep track of the time, "$5500 once, $5500 twice..."

Just when the bearded man thought he could successfully acquire the container at this price, the leader of the organization also made his move.

$6000.

The bearded man glanced at the leader with surprise, then followed suit with his bid, "$6200."

Zhang Ailun smiled slightly: "$6300."

"$6400?"

$6500.

The price climbed all the way to $7000. Seeing the leader stubbornly holding on, determined not to give up until he got the container, the bearded man was speechless.

Feeling that his luck was really bad today, he waved his hand and chose to give up the auction.

"Hey buddy, you can have this crate. Only one valuable crate is allowed per container area at most. Someone already opened it and found something worth tens of thousands of dollars. There's no chance of anything else. Good luck."

After saying that, the bearded man turned and left.

I don't think so.

Zhang Ailun watched the bearded man turn and leave, and then signaled to the staff to continue the countdown.

"$7000 once, $7000 twice, $7000 three times! Sold! Congratulations to this gentleman for successfully bidding on the container from private storage. Please proceed with the disposal of the items after paying the balance. A $200 cleaning fee will also be required afterwards."

Zhang Ailun was very familiar with this process and directly chose to pay the other party $7000 in cash.

Then they began cleaning the goods in the container.

A rabbit plush toy costs at most $5; it's worthless, just put it in your pocket.

A kerosene lamp from the last century? Worthless.

Zhang Ailun put it aside. He then found a photo frame in the box, glanced at it, and saw it was a family photo, probably the wealthy man's private collection. The photo was even grayscale.

Then they found a lot of other odds and ends, and finally found a large picture frame in a sealed box. They tore open a corner of the packaging and found an oil painting.

Considering the large number of people there, Zhang Ailun didn't choose to expose it. Instead, he took the photo frame to a staff member and paid them for cleaning.

"Sir. You don't want any of these things anymore?" The warehouse worker was a little surprised. He glanced at the items in the container. Although they weren't very valuable and he had lost a lot of money, they were still worth at least $40-$80. He could sell them to a recycling station to recoup some of the losses.

"I've already spent seven thousand dollars, but there's nothing inside. This painting is probably worth a few hundred dollars. I don't need these things; they just annoy me. You guys can help me get rid of them." Zhang Ailun put on his acting skills, saying with a speechless expression.

Seeing this, the staff immediately reassured her, "That's how container blind boxes work; it all depends on luck and your own eye. Although you didn't get what you wanted this time, you might strike it rich next time! We have another batch of warehouse containers coming over soon; would you be interested in signing up?"

"If you're willing to refund my registration fee, I think I'd be interested," Zhang Ailun said with a smile.

"Sir, the registration fee is an admission ticket that everyone has to pay. Regardless of whether you win the auction for the blind boxes in the container, or whether you make a profit or a loss, it is non-refundable." The staff member immediately declined.

Zhang Ailun waved his hand and turned to leave. The others, including the bearded man who had initially bid against the leader, were relieved that they hadn't bought the box after seeing how badly the leader had lost money.

He muttered to himself, "Those church fortune tellers are unreliable. I even paid them $50 to read my fortune, and they said I'd have good luck and make a lot of money today. It's all a lie! They're just fooling me!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He turned around and left the auction area of ​​the containers, heading to the church to settle scores with someone.

The leader left the container area of ​​the southern port, took out his phone and called the Beggar Clan disciples at Old Pick's Auto Repair Shop, asking them to drive over and pick him up.

After waiting by the roadside for more than ten minutes, the Beggars' Sect disciples arrived in the leader's Lamborghini Evo.

I haven't touched this thing for several days.

It seems like I've only driven this car once since I brought it back? Even the Wrangler, which the leader used to love the most, is now rarely touched.

Zhang Ailun also admitted that he is a bad man who is fickle and easily bored, but he can't help it because Rolls-Royce is just too tempting. It's prestigious and has spacious seating.

The leader had originally planned to sell the Lamborghini, but Jennifer and Eileen really liked it, so after considering it, Zhang Ailun decided not to bother with making that $200,000 anymore.

He sat in the passenger seat and instructed the Beggars' Sect disciple, "Go to George's Pawnshop."

"Okay." The Beggar Clan disciple immediately started the Lamborghini. The engine roared as it sped through the streets, attracting a lot of attention, and many sexy girls on the street turned around to stare.

"Boss, what are you doing here?" As they passed the traffic light intersection, the Beggar Clan disciple stopped his vehicle, turned his head and looked at the long, flat cardboard box in the leader's hand, which looked like it was wrapped in a picture frame, and asked with some curiosity.

Zhang Ailun said with a smile, "Boktu, Blitz and I flew back from Palm Valley and happened to come across a blind box auction here, so we casually spent a few thousand dollars to buy a blind box. This thing should be a good item."

He then opened the cardboard box, revealing the painting wrapped in plastic film inside, with Picasso's autograph on the back.

"Boss? This looks like a Picasso painting, doesn't it?" The Beggar Clan disciples were all astonished.

I've always heard that the Grand Master has incredible luck. Whether he's rummaging through trash cans on the street, buying blind boxes from shipping containers, or salvaging treasures from sunken ships at sea, he always finds the perfect item and has never lost money.

Even more outrageous is that someone bought a piece of land, dug a couple of times, and oil gushed out...

Look at how lucky they are, and then look at yourself. It's true what they say, comparison is the thief of joy.

I had only heard about it before, but I had never seen it in person. I never expected that the leader would make a comeback and immediately pull out a Picasso painting for me!

However, Picasso produced so many paintings that he painted realistic oil paintings in his youth and abstract lines in his later years.

To be honest, even the piss of a three-year-old is better looking than the lines and shapes he drew.

But their paintings are very valuable.

Even if it were placed right in front of you, you wouldn't know how much it's worth. The Beggar Clan disciple didn't know much about these things either, and didn't understand their value, but tentatively asked, "Boss, this thing must be worth at least tens of thousands of dollars, right?"

"I think it's worth at least several million."

Zhang Ailun took out his phone and used Google Scan to scan a picture of the painting in his hand. It quickly displayed relevant information: a whole bunch of online keywords.

Picasso's *Madonna and Garland* (Vierge la guirlande), ink on paper, 63 x 48.1 cm. It was auctioned in 1905 and sold for approximately US$289.5 million.

hiss……

$289.5 million in 1905?

If it were sold now, it would be worth dozens of times more, wouldn't it?

Zhang Ailun himself couldn't make up his mind, so he could only carefully keep it safe.

As the red light turned green, the Beggars' Sect disciples drove away from the streets, traveling more than a dozen blocks before parking in front of Old George's pawnshop.

Zhang Ailun got out of the car, told the Beggars' Sect disciples to wait outside, and pushed open the door to enter, carrying Picasso's painting.

"Welcome to Old George's Pawnshop... Oh, it's you."

Old George was wiping a porcelain vase in his hand when he heard the doorbell ring and instinctively answered. When he looked up, he saw the old acquaintance, the Chief.

Looking at the framed picture in the leader's hand, he chuckled and said, "What's this thing? A painting?"

"Business is slow today?"

Zhang Ailun looked around and saw that apart from the staff and the owner, Old George, there was no one else in the store.

Old George waved his hand. "How could that be? I just saw off a group of customers. Did you come here to try and sell me your premium DVDs and videotapes?"

"No, someone has taken those things. The great collector Madison bought my films for a high price. I came here to ask you to help me appraise the value of this Picasso painting." Zhang Ailun said, placing the painting on the table.

"Paintings by Picasso?"

Old George immediately became interested, took the painting, put on his glasses and examined it carefully. He was amazed by the texture and signature on the painting.

"It really is a Picasso painting!"