It was Li Du's first time here. Flagstaff was a small city, but that referred to the urban area. If it was within the city limits, then the area was quite large.
Arizona had a lot of barren areas. These places were rarely inhabited. The eastern and southern parts of Flagstaff were like this.
Li Du observed on the way here. The houses here were mostly low-rise, two-story buildings, and there were even some tents. It did not look like the developed United States, but more like an African tribe.
After Hans stopped the car, Li Du asked, "Old goods market? This place specializes in second-hand goods, right? "
"Yes, you haven't seen it before. I brought you here to broaden your horizons."
Li Du laughed. "What's there to broaden my horizons about the second-hand market?"
Hans said disdainfully, "Look, I know you don't understand Arizona's old goods market at all! In fact, it's just like storage auctions. The old goods market is also a very prosperous industry. "
Li Du was clear about this. He could see this from the old goods shops and the storage auction industry.
Since before Hitler came to power, the American economy had been in trouble. Bush Jr. repeatedly sent troops to Iraq and the Middle East, but it was not just because he was warmongering.
War was a good way to stimulate domestic demand, but the effect was not great this time. The American economy was still stagnant.
Under these circumstances, Americans began to feel that they had become poor, and so they bought old goods as much as possible. In order to survive, they did what they could to save money.
It was in this environment that the trade in the old goods market in the United States had become unprecedentedly prosperous. The warehouse auction industry had benefited from this environment.
"Compared to storage auctions, the old goods industry benefited more. Since ancient times, old goods trading has been a way of life in Arizona. In the past two years, it has become more common.
"There are two main types of old goods trading. One is the old goods market, and the other is the old goods auction!
"The old goods market is divided into two types: one is old goods trading, and the other is old goods bartering."
Li Du asked in surprise, "Bartering? There's still such a primitive trading method in the United States? "
Hans nodded. "Yes, the Amish, the Native American tribes, certain members of the Conservative Church, and the Alpine Mountain people of the Rocky Mountains — they all like to barter. Many remote villages in Arizona also like to barter."
Li Du asked, "Which one are we going to participate in this time? That's what you're going to do with the motorcycle, isn't it? "
Hans nodded again and smiled. "Yes, you guessed it right. We're going to participate in an old goods auction. At that time, many people will be interested in our motorcycles, and we'll definitely be able to sell them for a high price."
As they spoke, they walked towards a small wooden building at the side of the wasteland.
The wooden building was very simple and crude. The outer wall was just a layer of wooden planks nailed to the surface of the log. It wasn't even painted, revealing the brown color of the log.
At the door, there was a wooden board with the words "Hoffman's Old Goods Auction Market Office."
Hans pushed open the door and walked in. There were about ten people gathered together in the room, playing cards.
Other than the main hall, there were offices with modern decorations. It was hot outside, but there were air-conditioners running inside, so the temperature was just right.
Seeing the two of them enter, a man with a mustache stood up and asked, "What's up, buddy?"
A young black man next to him laughed. "Ha, Big Fox, why did you come to our country bumpkin gathering place?"
Hans hugged the young black man and introduced him to Li Du. "Blacktooth Robbie, a guy who's covered in black from head to toe."
"Of course, I'm covered in black because I've always dreamed of going to Hollywood to play the role of Grim Reaper." The young black man laughed heartily and shook hands with Li Du. "Robbie, you can call me Blacktooth. I know you, treasure hunter genius China Li."
Blacktooth was an expert in the old goods market and a frequent customer of this old goods auction house.
After they met, Hans said, "We have a batch of motorcycles that we want to sell. There are three of them, all 600cc beasts. I think this is a good place to sell them."
Blacktooth nodded. "You're right. These beasts are very popular in the countryside because they can run very fast."
"They're also very easy to repair," Hans added.
Blacktooth brought them to an office, where a white man wearing glasses received them.
Hans had a photo of the motorcycles in his phone. He sent it to the white man and asked, "How is it, buddy? Do you need anything else?"
"What you need to do now is to wait until the weekend to collect the money," the white man said with a smile. "These are good guys. Did you assemble them?"
Hans said, "Me and my buddy, the quality is very reliable. Don't worry, even if there's a problem, it's very easy to repair."
"These are the favorite of the farm youths," Blacktooth said. "Don't tell me that you guys dug them out from the storage units. Are there so many treasures in storage units now?"
Hans said, "To us, these are not treasures, buddy. There are countless real treasures in storage units!"
"I'm tempted. I'm also planning to go to the storage units."
"You're welcome. If you need a guide, you can look for me anytime. Now we're going to the market. Li has never been to a place like this."
Robbie and Hans hugged again and saw them out of the office building.
Li Du asked, "The auction is only held on weekends, right?"
Hans said, "If there's a lot of goods on weekdays, then it'll be held on weekdays. But it'll be held on weekends at most. Every weekend is a big day for old goods auctions."
As they continued to walk southwest, the town became more lively. The main road of the town was a market, where old goods were traded.
Seeing this market, Li Du thought of the New Year's fair in his hometown.
His family lived in the county town. Every year on important days such as New Year's, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival, some of the towns in the county town would organize a big fair. That was his favorite place to go when he was young.
The sun was blazing and the weather was hot, but the traffic in the old goods market was very high. Everyone strolled around excitedly, completely ignoring the strong sun.
The market was huge, and there was a wide range of things: old clothes, old furniture such as sofas, old decorations such as vases, porcelain, and so on.
Walking further in, there were old household appliances such as table lamps and kitchen items. Further ahead, there were stalls selling sports equipment, and some selling old books and CDs.
Li Du looked around. Although most of the goods here were old goods, old goods did not equal to broken goods. The goods were at least 50% new, and some were 80% new. There were also things that had never been used, but still had the same packaging.
The shops on the side of the street also sold old goods. One of them was an old wedding dress shop, where many young men and women were shopping.
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