Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Magic Hand glanced at the oil paintings and nodded. “Of course, all these are mine. Why?”
Sandler grinned and said, “Nothing much. Just thought that these paintings look good. Are they famous ones?”
Magic Hand looked at him blankly and said, “Are you blind? These are all ordinary paintings meant for décor. They are not any famous paintings!”
As he had been insulted, Sandler felt his anger rising within him. However, those words excited him at the same time. It seemed that Magic Hand did not know the value of those paintings. He had not bought the container for them!
That gave him a glimmer of hope. Stein and Gasol had promised him previously that the oil paintings were worth a fortune!
They believed the two men. They, too, had risked being arrested in order to get those paintings. The two of them had even been detained just now.
However, as to which painting was the most valuable, the three men had no idea. Stein and Gasol, who had the knowledge, were taken away by the police. Their phones and communication devices had been confiscated. The two parties could not contact each other.
Sandler gave his two friends a look. They had already come up with a plan. Hence, they circled the paintings and started talking in low voices.
Magic Hand folded his arms around his chest as he listened to them. At some point, he could not suppress his words anymore and said, “Do you guys think I’m dumb? What’s with these oil paintings? Did you guys see something in them?”
His words caused Sandler and his friends to become anxious. At the same time, they had to be careful not to show their anxiety.
Sandler said, “Who knows what’s with these paintings? I just think that they look pretty nice. Seems like there’s a famous man, Chris Bell, on the ship? He understands all about oil paintings. You can check with him.”
Sandler said those words as he was certain that Bell would not be able to detect the value of those paintings. Previously, when Sandler had conversed with Stein, he had said that other than the two of them and a few others, there was no one else in the world who knew about the background of the paintings.
Bell, who had been guiding the movers to pack the items, was called over. Indeed, he shook his head after examining the paintings. “Nothing much, just some paint blobs. They are not valuable.”
Sandler feigned indifference and said, “I think they are quite decent. Johnson, why don’t you sell them to me? I have a new house and I just happen to be looking for a few paintings to decorate it.”
Magic Hand narrowed his eyes and said, “Looking for a few oil paintings to doll up your house? You can go to the streets or the Seattle Art Academy. You can buy a bunch of oil paintings for a hundred dollars there.”
Sandler laughed. “I like the style of these paintings. They have bold colors. There’s a crazy, intense beauty in them. It’s just like my character. How about it? Are you willing to sell them to me?”
Magic Hand rubbed his chin. After some consideration, he said, “Alright, not a problem.”
Sandler was elated. He tried his best to contain his happiness.
Magic Hand continued, “But on the price front, we will need to discuss this. One piece for ten grand, how about that?”
Hearing that pricing, Sandler almost uttered a profanity. His happiness dissipated instantly. He could not help but shout at Magic Hand, “One painting for ten thousand? Are you crazy, dude? Whose paintings do you think these are? Picasso? Monet? Van Gogh?”
Magic Hand replied calmly, “If these were paintings by Picasso, Monet, or Van Gogh, do you think I would be asking for ten thousand dollars? Don’t put on a pretense, Sandler, we know each other well. We know each other’s characters. There must be some value in these paintings. It’s just that I can’t tell it, and you can. In any case, if you’re not willing to pay, then don’t think about walking away with them.”
Sandler looked at him angrily and said, “It’s up to you to choose whether you want to believe me or not. These paintings don’t have any value, it’s just that I like them!”
Bell nodded. “I can’t be wrong about this. Johnson, these paintings are not worth much.”
Magic Hand shook his head persistently and said, “I won’t doubt your opinion, Chris. I can’t evaluate these paintings either. However, I understand the character of humans. The paintings must be valuable to these men. One painting for ten thousand, up to you whether you want to buy or not!”
Sandler said, “Alright. I’ll admit that you were right. However, you’re taking advantage of the situation! These paintings are valuable to us, not because of the artist or their actual worth. It’s just that they are the work of one of our close friends who is now deceased. We attended this auction just for them!”
Hearing that, Magic Hand asked with suspicion, “Really?”
Sandler had a sad expression on his face and started to talk about the melancholic past that brought tears to his eyes.
After listening, Li Du also looked upset. He said persuasively, “Forget it, dude, sell him those paintings. Lower the price. Don’t sell them for ten thousand, that’s a bit pricey…”
Sandler nodded and Li Du continued, “Give them a better price, one painting for fifty thousand.”
Sandler, who had been nodding, felt the urge to punch someone!
Magic Hand said, “Let’s try this another way. How much do you want to offer?”
Sandler said, “How about one painting for one thousand?”
Magic Hand laughed coolly. “Are you f*cking kidding me? Such a low price, I might as well just keep them. Cut to the chase, if you want to buy, there are eighteen paintings here. Each for ten thousand. Altogether, one hundred and eighty grand. Do you want them?”
Sandler shook his head fervently. Magic Hand went over to pick up the paintings. “Then forget about it.”
The South American went forward and pulled Sandler’s arm. He sighed, “Don’t argue, dude. To us, these paintings are priceless. Let’s not talk further, let’s just buy them.”
As he spoke, he turned to look at Magic Hand and said, “Johnson, one hundred and eighty thousand is too high. How about one hundred and fifteen grand, that’s our threshold.”
Magic Hand insisted, “One hundred and eighty grand, take it or leave it!”
Even the South American was so angry that he wanted to hit him!
Magic Hand refused to budge on the asking price. The three men did not have a choice and could only agree to it.
However, they had another condition. They wanted to check the container. If there were more paintings inside, they would grab them and go. The price would remain unchanged at one hundred and eighty thousand.
Magic Hands agreed readily. Sandler paid up the one hundred and eighty thousand dollars and quickly started to gather the paintings. Besides, he brought his two men and entered the place to look for other paintings.
After searching for half a day, they were finally certain that there were no oil paintings left behind. That meant they had accomplished their goal.
When they were about to leave with the paintings, Li Du shouted, “Hey, I still have one here. Are you guys keen to buy it?”
Sandler and the two men turned around in surprise. Then they saw Li Du pulling out an oil painting of flower petals from out in between some boxes.
Li Du grinned and said, “When Johnson was packing up the bunch of oil paintings, I thought this one was very nice, so I paid up and bought it. Are you guys interested to take over it?”
