4: 20% off car purchase

Hank's face was full of excitement. It took him a long time to look away from the album, and his hands resting on the counter trembled continuously.

The yongle encyclopedia was a treasure he had long desired; he had to obtain it no matter the cost.

"How about 300,000? This is just a lead, and after so many years, the possibility of finding it is slim. I'm just taking a gamble..."

Qin Yun hadn't expected Hank to have such a deep understanding of Great Xia culture, willing to pay such a high price based only on a few photos.

"I don't intend to sell this item," Qin Yun said, directly refusing Hank's offer.

The yongle encyclopedia encompasses the universe, spanning ancient and modern times, and is Great Xia's most important literary work. If he were truly after money, he wouldn't have donated the previous ten volumes.

Facing Hank's burning gaze, Qin Yun remained unmoved and directly took back the photo album.

Seeing Qin Yun's resolute attitude, Hank knew there was no chance and shook his head in disappointment.

Having worked in auctions for many years, he had handled and seen many treasures.

It was impossible for him to buy every treasure he set his eyes on.

Since it was impossible, he could only give up.

After letting go, Hank took a deep breath and calmly accepted the situation.

"Alright then, it seems I don't have this fortune. However, if you need help, I can certainly offer assistance."

"All I ask is that you let me make a copy after you find the encyclopedia."

Qin Yun hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"That's fine. With your help, things will go much smoother."

He was unfamiliar with the people and places in the US, and searching alone would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. With Hank's connections in Bolton, the possibility of finding the yongle encyclopedia was much higher.

Seeing Qin Yun agree, a happy smile appeared on Hank's face.

"Great. This is something we can't discuss clearly right now. Tomorrow is the weekend, you can come to my house and we can study it together."

The Auction House was quite busy at the moment. Only after seeing Qin Yun agree did he feel relieved enough to go attend to his guests.

Things went unexpectedly smoothly. Qin Yun put the check and business card into his pocket and hummed a song by Jay Lun as he approached his pickup truck.

He inserted the key and tried several times, but the truck wouldn't start.

Looking at the peeling paint and the interior that was practically falling apart, he slammed the steering wheel several times.

Touching the check in his pocket, Qin Yun thought of his earnings today, and the anger in his heart quickly vanished.

This pickup truck was on the verge of being scrapped, and even fixing it would cost a lot of money—it clearly wasn't worth it.

Now that he had money, he might as well buy a car in good condition, which would also be helpful for future Warehouse Auctions.

In the US, the used car market is very mature, and as long as one isn't greedy, it's difficult to encounter scams.

Arriving at the Used Car Dealership, Qin Yun immediately took a liking to a large single-cab Ford pickup truck.

The cargo bed was large and could hold more items. The listed price was 25,000, which was just right for him.

Qin Yun immediately decided to buy it.

Before the salesperson could even introduce the vehicle, he saw that the man had made up his mind and happily led Qin Yun to the office to sign the contract.

A middle-aged fat man was playing on his phone in the boss's chair. The moment he saw Qin Yun walk in, his expression suddenly changed to surprise.

"Hey! Why do you look so familiar? Have we met before?"

"Oh! I remember now! You're that Treasure Hunter from the video? The Eastern Kid!"

The boss excitedly swiped his phone a few times, glanced at the video he was watching, and after confirming, walked excitedly toward Qin Yun.

"It really is you! Blackbeard's gun was incredibly cool."

"I'm Tom, the owner of the Dealership. I'm also very interested in warehouse treasure hunting, but I'm busy with work now and don't have time to attend auctions everywhere like you."

"I just watched your video, and here you are at my Dealership! We truly have great destiny."

Qin Yun looked at the emotional boss, momentarily confused: "What is this about?"

Seeing Qin Yun's stunned look, Tom handed him the phone directly.

"Look, it's this video! The storage unit bought for a few hundred dollars sold for tens of thousands of dollars! That's incredible!"

Taking the phone and looking, Qin Yun finally understood: the story of him winning the storage unit and selling the gun had been filmed and made into a video.

The video was uploaded online, sparking heated discussion and being commented upon and reposted by many people in the Treasure Hunting Circle.

"I just got lucky."

"I am Qin Yun, nice to meet you."

After shaking hands with Qin Yun, Tom sat back down in his boss's chair, constantly sizing up Qin Yun with his eyes.

The boss, who had been so enthusiastic moments before, quickly reverted to the calmness of a businessman.

Thinking about signing the contract, Qin Yun immediately understood.

He had adopted a humble posture earlier, but now his small eyes were darting around in their sockets; he seemed to be a shrewd merchant.

The two looked at a few more cars, but Qin Yun ultimately decided to buy the Ford pickup truck, as it suited the identity of a Treasure Hunter better and was convenient for hauling goods.

After deciding, the two went to the boss's office, intending to sign the purchase paperwork.

Qin Yun looked around and noticed that the office was entirely decorated with Basketball-related items.

The office was twenty or thirty square meters, with many posters of the Lakers Basketball team on the walls, and six Basketballs placed on stands on the windowsill.

Above the desk, a No. 24 Jersey hung inside a glass display case, very conspicuous under the light.

The writing on it was clearly visible: Kobe's autograph.

It seemed the boss was not only a Basketball Fan but also a Collector in the Basketball world.

Seeing this situation, Qin Yun proactively started talking about Kobe.

"Is this really Kobe's autographed jersey? It's incredible to see it here."

"Of course it's real. This is the jersey Kobe wore when he won his first Championship, and it has great collection value."

"This jersey must be worth a fortune, which is inseparable from Kobe's outstanding ability. He has five Championship Trophies!"

When talking about Basketball and Kobe, Tom became excited and began talking endlessly about Kobe's various achievements.

"Kobe is one of the greatest players in Basketball history, the best scorer on this planet. He was a two-time Finals MVP and was selected to the All-NBA Team 15 times..."

"What's more valuable is that Kobe played for the Lakers for twenty years. He is the hero who promoted Basketball worldwide, interpreting the charm of Basketball on the global stage. It's a shame that Heaven envies genius..."

When mentioning Kobe's accidental death, he sighed deeply and nearly shed tears.

Qin Yun agreed intermittently, unable to help but express his feelings.

"Yes, Kobe was a gift from God to everyone. God wanted to play Basketball, so He invited him to Heaven. It's truly a pity..."

Tom felt as if he had found a kindred spirit and began sharing all sorts of incredible facts about Kobe, remembering even the final scores and Kobe's stats for key games perfectly clearly.

Qin Yun: "..."

Nearly half an hour later, Tom finally remembered that Qin Yun was there to buy a car.

"I just can't help myself when talking about Kobe, please excuse my rudeness. Since you're so good at auctioning storage units, if you ever find any Lakers or Kobe Memorabilia, could you sell it to me."

Qin Yun nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'll contact you if I find anything."

Given this man's fanaticism for Kobe, selling to him wasn't a bad idea; he might even get a good price.

Tom leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on Kobe's jersey, and after a long while, he finally made up his mind.

"Since you said that, I'll give you a 20% discount on this car!"