Looking at the painting and the smiling Li Du, the hearts of Sandler and the other two sank.
They realized that they had fallen into a trap.
The South American was still hopeful and asked, "How much is this painting?"
Li Du raised his index finger, still wearing a warm smile on his face.
The South American asked expectantly, "Ten thousand dollars?"
Li Du shook his head.
Sandler's face darkened. "You really want to buy a painting for ten thousand dollars?"
Li Du continued to shake his head and said, "Seems like your vision has limited your imagination. I mean, one hundred million! Dollars! "
The three of them sucked in a breath of cold air and shouted almost in unison, "WTF?! Are you crazy? "
Li Du said seriously, "Of course I'm not crazy. It's just that your vision has limited your imagination. As far as I know, you guys haven't even entered the Million Dollar Club, right? If I were you, I wouldn't be in a hurry to come out and take risks. I would first think of ways to broaden my horizons. "
Sandler said forcefully, "Don't talk nonsense here, as if you know everything."
Li Du said, "I know more than you guys. Not convinced? Alright, let's not talk about this painting. Let's talk about these things. What are these? "
As he spoke, he raised a small purplish-red brick in front of him.
Sandler and the other two wanted to prove that their vision was good enough, but no matter how they looked, they could not tell what these bricks were.
The sloppy Bartrone was unwilling to fail, and even more unwilling to fail in front of an opponent like Li Du. He decided to take a gamble. He coughed and said, "This is a type of gemstone. No, it should be said that they are a type of naturally occurring crystal. It's a type of feldspar."
Li Du looked at him in surprise and said, "How do you know?"
His expression made Bartrone very happy. However, this was just a wild guess. He could not tell Li Du the specific information, so he put on a mysterious look and said, "Of course I know …"
"You know it's a hammer." Li Du did not give him a chance to continue pretending. He opened the other boxes and piles of purplish-red bricks appeared. "So many gemstones together? Do you think you're in the Hpakant jade mine? "
"What do you think this is?" Bartrone asked indignantly.
Li Du said, "This is an antique!"
Someone who was watching the commotion asked curiously, "What antique is this? Are they made in China? "
The purplish-red bricks emitted a sparkling and translucent luster under the sunlight. They indeed looked like exquisite porcelain.
Li Du shook his head and said, "No, can't you recognize it? However, this thing hasn't appeared for a long time. This is a grape brick. It's an antique grape brick that has existed for at least seventy to eighty years! "
"Grape bricks?" The Playboy asked subconsciously.
Magic Hand revealed an expression of sudden realization and said, "I wanted to say this answer just now. This should be a wine brick, right? Something made from dehydrated grape juice, mostly used in wine production during Prohibition in the United States. "
On January 16, 1920, the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Prohibition Act, came into effect.
According to the law, it is illegal to manufacture, sell or transport any beverage containing more than 0.5% alcohol. It is not illegal to drink in one's own home, but it is illegal to drink with friends or hold a banquet. The maximum penalty is a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
The Prohibition Act left a dark mark in the modern history of the United States. As a result, many stories were born.
Li Du had previously come into contact with items created by the Prohibition Act, such as a moonshine. This time, the wine brick had the same function as a moonshine tool. It was also used to make wine.
Since the production of wine was banned, many winemakers continued to produce grapes or cut down vines to plant another crop. Others, in order to continue to profit from wine, turned to researching grape bricks.
As a result, large amounts of dehydrated grape juice became popular. Under the prohibition, the bricks could be formally dissolved in water to make grape juice or wine without official fermentation. This made winemakers who owned vineyards especially profitable.
According to the Prohibition Act, grapes could be grown, but only when they were not used to make alcohol. In addition, if winemakers sold grapes to others, once it was known that they were going to use these grape bricks to make wine, they could be sentenced to jail.
This meant that winemakers had to deny that their grapes could be used to make wine.
To solve this problem, winemakers would warn those who bought grape bricks: Grape bricks should not be left in water for too long, or it would start to ferment and turn into wine.
However, because grape juice would greatly affect the texture and taste of the wine brick, it was an immature wine substitute. It did not exist for a long time in history and was later eliminated from the market.
None of the people present had experienced that crazy era. Grape bricks were not famous in that era, so very few people knew about them. If Li Du had not turned back time and seen the process of their production, he would not have known what they were.
These wine bricks were produced in South America. When they were produced, they found that the market was not good, so they were stored. Because they were made by dehydration, they had a long shelf life.
Of course, although these grape bricks were not spoiled, the taste was very bad.
As Li Du introduced them, he took one and put it into a cup. After pouring hot water into it, the grape brick melted into a purplish-red grape juice. After licking it, one could taste the sweet and sour taste.
Grape bricks did not have much value at that time, but now, almost a century later, they had become a rarity in modern times. Li Du felt that if they were to be put on the market, they would be able to attract the interest of many nostalgic people.
After confirming the identity of the grape bricks, Sandler stared at Li Du and said, "I admit, buddy, you have better taste than us, but what's with this painting?"
Li Du shrugged and said, "That's what you're seeing. I've also bought a painting. My eyes tell me that this painting is worth hundreds of millions. It's not the work of the same artist as the paintings you've bought. But if that's the case, this painting actually means nothing to you. You bought it to mourn a friend, right? "
Looking at Li Du's smile and the painting in his hand, Sandler felt a chill run down his spine. He was not stupid. On the contrary, he was very smart.
At that moment, he realized that they had fallen into a trap. The painting in Li Du's hand was their real target. They had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a pile of rubbish!
Bell also roughly guessed what was going on. He sighed and said, "I told you, don't mess with him. I'm doing this for your own good!"
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