How did things from the Eastern Zhou end up in the United States?

Chen Yiyang was quite curious when he saw today's information.

But now's not the time to consider that.

There are quite a few Chinese in California, and it wouldn't be good if someone knowledgeable snatched it up early.

As for things from the Eastern Zhou era, Chen Yiyang definitely wants to bring them back home.

So he immediately found an excuse to say he wanted to check out some pawnshops in California and asked the guide to take him there.

The guide didn't suspect anything because pawnshops are a very common presence in the United States.

Unlike in Huaxia, where pawnshops are industries specializing in serving the middle class and above,

pawnshops in the United States serve the entire populace.

From social elites to bankrupt lower class, they all like coming to pawnshops.

And the ones contributing the most foot traffic are often those bankrupts at the bottom.

As of now, there are over twenty thousand pawnshops across the United States.

You can compare this number to get a sense of what it means in the United States.

As a famous fast-food brand, McDonald's only has thirteen thousand stores in the United States, and KFC has four thousand six hundred.

That is to say, the combined number still approximates the number of pawnshops across the US.

The reason there are so many pawnshops is because the middle and lower classes in the United States go bankrupt so rapidly.

Many were still traveling and shopping around last month,

but could need to spend a large amount of money suddenly due to an accident, illness, divorce, unemployment, or various reasons next month.

And United States folks don't have the habit of saving.

So at such times, pawning things as collateral loans at a pawnshop is the most convenient choice.

Because banks not only have slow processes, their scrutiny is also strict.

Private lending is easy but defaulting could cost a hand.

Comparatively, pawnshops are much better.

Whether it's jewelry, gold and silver, or even video game consoles, game discs, cell phones, weapons, and any other items of value,

pawnshops accept them as collateral loans.

Of course, pawnshop interest rates are also high.

Starting at thirty percent, going up to three hundred percent.

Though it sounds terrifying, it's still a good option for the lower class.

Because even if you can't pay back, at most you only lose your collateral.

And your personal credit record is not affected at all.

Whereas if Americans overdraw on credit cards or borrow from lending institutions,

if unpaid, it immediately gets recorded in their credit history, starting the process toward becoming homeless.

According to research from the United States, nearly half of pawnshop users over fifty are unemployed, and nearly half of those aged eighteen to twenty-five have no job.

These folks, if they borrow from a bank, even if they get the money, their credit history would make finding a job very difficult if they default.

So, pawnshops are indeed better.

After Chen Yiyang and his group arrived at the pawnshop, the pawnshop owner immediately noticed this group.

After all, any Asian person escorted by a few bodyguards and accompanied by a guide attracting attention is hard not to notice.

The pawnshop owner quickly determined that there was a big spender.

Because people with such style are definitely not here to sell stuff for money.

So the pawnshop owner warmly came to greet Chen Yiyang.

"I'm here for sightseeing," Chen Yiyang said in English, mixed with jewelry, "I want to buy some unique items here."

"Well, you've come to the right place," the pawnshop owner said, smiling broadly, "We have many collections sold by our customers, a wide variety guaranteed to please you."

The owner wasn't lying.

The variety of collectibles here is indeed vast, unlike domestic pawnshops focused on luxury goods and real estate.

Being a financial country, although money can be printed to buy from abroad, the second-hand utilization rate of various industrial electronic products is still very high.

So buying and selling second-hand in the United States is quite a regular activity.

This is unlike domestically, where offline second-hand markets are rare.

Chen Yiyang browsed around the pawnshop, and although he first discovered the Eastern Zhou Royal Tomb stone sculpture shown in the intelligence photo,

he wasn't in a rush. Instead, he bought a few items he found interesting.

There was even a Sydney Olympics silver medal, which he bought for three thousand US Dollars.

"What is this thing?" Chen Yiyang walked up to the Eastern Zhou Royal Tomb stone sculpture and asked.

"To be honest, I don't really know," the pawnshop owner shrugged, "A Mexican pawned it to me, claiming it was an Indian civilization statue. I asked an expert who just confirmed that it's indeed ancient.

So I paid the person one thousand US Dollars, and he pawned the statue here.

But it's been almost a year of default, and after taking the money, he never returned.

According to the law, this sculpture is mine now.

The Huaxia Eastern Zhou Royal Tomb statue being considered an Indian civilization artifact.

Chen Yiyang wasn't surprised.

Since the statue truly looks very Indian-style.

Pictured here.

Though it's more likely that technological limitations of that era led to such stylistic artifacts.

If you call it Indian, so be it.

Chen Yiyang didn't argue back.

After all, calling it Indian would make it easier to take out.

"How much is this?" Chen Yiyang pointed at the stone sculpture and asked.

"Ten thousand US Dollars," the other party quoted.

"Didn't someone sell it to you for a thousand?" Chen Yiyang's eyes widened.

He could understand a pawnshop's markup, but a tenfold increase was beyond him.

"I did pay a thousand US Dollars, but that money had seventy percent interest.

Now that he hasn't paid back or given me interest, that interest must be accounted for.

Plus, with this item being so large, it's taking up space here, so counting my rent, labor costs, and federal taxes, ten thousand US Dollars is fair."

The pawnshop owner stood his ground.

"You're too dark," Chen Yiyang used Chinese expressive style in a hurry to speak to the owner.

"Dark, what's the meaning?"

The pawnshop owner, being a white guy, didn't initially catch Chen Yiyang's drift but quickly got it.

"Oh, you're saying I'm trying to rob you, right? Well, it is indeed a robbery price. But I have to make a living, alright? You can haggle down yourself."

"How about three thousand?"

"No way," the owner stated, "that's way too low, the minimum is eight thousand."

"Seeing how much I bought at your place, can six thousand work?"

"Seventy-five hundred, and I can throw in a service," the owner grinned at Chen Yiyang, "You're buying to bring back, right? The formalities for bringing antiques into the United States are quite intricate.

I can tweak the labels a bit, so these items clear customs as handicrafts."

This service was overly attentive.

Chen Yiyang wasn't worried about any tricks being played by the other side.

Because when the time came, these items would surely go under someone else's name through customs.

Even if there's an issue, he could return home first, then hire a lawyer to handle it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.