According to the weather forecast, this summer rain would last for a few days, covering the central and northern parts of Arizona, and there was a possibility of heavy rain later on.
Hans seized the time to deal with the hood ornament and umbrella. On Monday, he, Li Du, and Big Quinn flew to Los Angeles to sell the hood ornament.
"Who did you contact? Why so far away? "Li Du asked.
Hans said, "A car collector. Only he would be willing to buy this illegal item. This hood ornament can't be sold in Flagstaff. It was lost in Flagstaff."
Li Du nodded. "Since it's illegal, do we have to lower the price?"
Hans said, "That depends on our negotiation skills. But now this hood ornament is no longer illegal. I've cleaned it up."
Hearing this, Li Du was interested. "How did you clean it up?"
Hans said, "Do you think that Big Fox couldn't sell the hood ornament or was slacking off these days? No, Big Fox is the one behind this.
"Every Rolls-Royce hood ornament has a serial number given by Polycast-Limited in Southampton, England. This serial number can be found on the official website.
"I found information about a Rolls-Royce that was wrecked in a car accident and found the serial number on it. Then I got someone to polish it on our hood ornament."
At this point, he opened his arms and said, "So, its identity has been cleaned up. But for safety's sake, it's better to sell it somewhere further away."
There was a direct flight from Flagstaff to Los Angeles. The sun was shining brightly in the City of Angels. After they got off the plane, they took a taxi to the city center.
For decades, the historical core of Los Angeles, the main business district, and administrative district were concentrated in the city center. During the nights and weekends, the city would be empty.
Now, this situation had changed. The business district and administrative district had begun to move out, and some performances and entertainment venues had sprung up here.
Thousands of young professionals and artists flocked to new workshops, bars, tours, and art galleries, turning the city into an art city comparable to Manhattan.
The traffic in the city center was congested. Hans led the way. They walked, took the subway, and a small Dash bus. Finally, they entered a skyscraper.
At noon, the three of them sat in a Spanish restaurant in the building. Then, a blond white man in his forties walked over and asked, "Are you Mr. Li and Mr. Fox from Flagstaff?"
Hans shook hands with him and said, "Yes, how are you, Mr. Bill Chicano?"
With his small curly hair, casual clothes, and carefully groomed beard, Chicano looked more like an artist than a businessman working in a building.
Sure enough, when the two of them conversed later, Chicano claimed to be an engraver. However, he was also a car collector and was very interested in the Rolls-Royce logo.
Hans took out a box. Inside the box was a golden goddess of flight.
Chicano called the waiter, ordered a few lunches, and said, "You guys eat first. I have to appreciate it. Oh, you must try the fried dough sticks here. They taste very good."
In Li Du's mind, youtiao was the representative of Chinese breakfast. However, after the dishes were served, he realized that Spain also had youtiao.
It was also fried, but the Spanish fritters were sprinkled with honey and white sugar.
Chicano put on his gloves and carefully examined the statue of the Goddess of Ecstasy. Then, he turned on his laptop and searched for some information online.
When Li Du and the others were almost done eating, he also finished looking. He nodded and said, "This Goddess of Ecstasy is very good. However, compared to the legacy of a car accident, it's a little too well-preserved, isn't it?"
Hans said, "Are you suspecting that our logo is not from a legitimate source? Man, that's a little insulting. "
Chicano insisted, "I've checked the information on this logo. The car it was in was destroyed in a high-speed car accident, and the front of the car crashed into a truck. So, why is the logo so well-preserved?"
Hans said, "If you know enough about car logos, you should know that this logo will be hidden in the engine compartment when the car is traveling at more than 80 miles per hour to avoid damage from the wind and sand."
Chicano nodded and said, "Yes, that's right."
Hans continued, "At the time of the accident, the speed was more than 180 miles per hour!"
Chicano shrugged and looked like he accepted this explanation.
The perfect preservation of the logo made him very worried that it had been stolen. However, he was reassured by the fact that the Rolls-Royce logo was well protected and difficult to steal.
First of all, when the car was turned off, the Goddess of Ecstasy would automatically hide in the engine cover for protection. Only when the car was restarted would it come out of the engine cover.
Secondly, there was a sensor on the logo. If the car was not started and someone tried to touch it, the sensor would immediately send a signal to the central control computer, and the logo would immediately hide under the engine cover.
Li Du had previously seen the evaluation on the Internet. The speed at which the Goddess of Ecstasy retracted was especially fast. One had to look at it in slow motion to see it, as if it was teleporting.
After some consideration, Chicano finally agreed to buy the logo.
Later on, it was a tug-of-war over the price, with Hans in full control.
How could Chicano, an artist, be a match for Hans? In order to practice bargaining, Hans had spent a lot of time in the food market. His eloquence had been tempered a thousand times.
At the end of the negotiation, the logo was sold for 30,000 dollars.
That was the price that Li Du and Hans had in mind. It was good enough that the logo could be sold for that price.
During the transaction, Chicano saw the umbrella and asked in surprise, "You have a Rolls-Royce Super Umbrella? I'm willing to buy this umbrella too. "
Hans refused firmly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Chicano. I'd be happy to trade with you, but this umbrella already has an owner."
Chicano said disappointedly, "Is that so? That's a pity. How much is he offering? I want to compete with him. "
Hans laughed. "No, it's not about the price, it's about credibility. We are treasure hunters. For us, credibility is our brand. We can't go back on a deal that has been agreed upon. "
Hearing this, the artist showed an expression of admiration and shook hands with him. "It's a pleasure to meet a trustworthy friend like you. In the future, I think we can continue to work together on things related to cars and carving."
Chicano bought the logo not only for collection, but also for carving and learning.
Every Statue of Liberty was a handmade work of art that required many processes.
Among them, there were two processes related to hand polishing. The first was to polish the wax model, and the second was to polish it according to the template.
In the second process, the polishing of the Goddess of Ecstasy required at least eight rounds of hand polishing. After that, it had to be placed in a machine with mixed polishing materials for 65 minutes.
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