Pierce informed Liang En that his previous discoveries and excavations at Mycenae had become a hot topic at the exhibition, given it was an antiques trade show, naturally attracting professionals from the field.
This brought even more attention to Pierce's shop, as everyone was curious about what kind of store an explorer like Liang En was investing in.
Fortunately, the items Pierce brought could withstand such attention, like antique furniture and fine metal cutlery, which, although not top-tier, were widely appreciated for their quality.
Apart from antiques, there were also native American handicrafts and Coptic-style Egyptian jewelry, each with its own uniqueness, selling well as future flagship products.
These crafts, because of their quality, obviously couldn't be sold through Count Boskiet’s luxury channels, so they were previously sold bit by bit through the Emerald Gem Antique Shop.
However, this method often resulted in lower than desired sales volumes, as the shop, despite its long history, lacked prestige, making even full-fledged promotions look somewhat grim.
Thankfully, Liang En's archaeological discoveries spurred discussions throughout the exhibition, helping these modern crafts make a name for themselves and sell at good prices.
Indeed, although called an antiques exhibition, there was no shortage of antique-like crafts, with most being displayed by their owners as a side-show, although some were deceitfully used for scams.
After all, antiques are a non-renewable resource, so aside from a few specialized antique dealers, most vendors also sold replicas to maintain their income.
Regrettably, for most people, this kind of business wasn't very profitable, merely enough to sustain a daily living, with little chance of striking it rich.
Yet, the reason Liang En and his colleagues added this business was simple: to find new sources of income for two ancient peoples, helping them achieve better lives.
Of course, Liang En and his partners weren't purely altruistic; Pierce realized that if he wanted to expand, being solely an antiques dealer wouldn't suffice; he needed to delve into the craft market.
Fortunately, compared to others, Liang En and his partners had advantages in the craft production sector, ensuring future business wouldn't be bad as long as they kept up with promotions.
From the next morning, Liang En spent the morning at the Emerald Gem Antique Shop’s stall as a promoter, taking photos with over fifty tourists and giving away signed pictures.
This was part of the promotion, which indeed boosted the stall’s popularity and made Liang En expend more energy before he could leave to continue his journey through the exhibition.
It’s worth mentioning that standing at his own stall wasn’t entirely beneficial, as at least half of the exhibitors now recognized Liang En, thwarting his plans to find hidden treasures.
Fortunately, he wasn’t there just for that, so realizing this avenue was unproductive, he immediately shifted his focus to the larger items on display to find what he needed.
Because lamps were once a common necessity, various types of lamps were for sale, from ancient Roman and Greek ceramic oil lamps to art pieces produced just last week.
For the first half-hour, Liang En focused on ancient lamps, like those made from red pottery in ancient Greece or cast iron oil lamps from Japan 300 years ago.
Unfortunately, none of these old lamps resonated with the 'Appraisal' card in his hand, showing they weren’t what he needed.
Finally, he stopped at a stall selling various WWII items and focused on an iron oil lamp.
It was a very common black iron oil lamp, covered in rust and dust, looking like any other lamp from that era, with nothing particularly special about it.
“This is an oil lamp I acquired from some Albanians who said they got it from Bosnia, but they couldn’t say exactly what it was,” said the middle-aged man with a thick beard, struggling to explain in English tinged with clicks and rolls.
“Where did this item come from?” Liang En asked in Russian, looking at a Yugoslav Partisan medal nearby. “Of course, if it involves your business, you don’t have to say.”
“There’s no harm in telling,” the man replied with a genuine smile upon hearing the familiar Russian, then continued, “As a partner of the Emerald Gem Antique Shop and a former treasure hunter, you must know that our sources aren’t stable. These items were sold to us by a group of Albanians, which is quite common, especially since you know how those Albanians are—so after confirming these items weren’t registered as lost, I bought them.”
“These probably came from a struggling small museum or a veteran’s family, as you know, the former Yugoslavia is quite poor, so it's not unusual for locals to sell such items.”
“Understood, how much for this lamp plus two medals and a silver cigarette case?” Liang En pointed to the four items tucked in a corner after the man finished speaking.
“For you, I’d say 600 euros would be sufficient
,” the Russian merchant pondered. “But I’d prefer cash.”
“Of course, that’s no problem,” Liang En agreed, knowing the price was fair, then pulled out cash from his pocket, counted out 600 euros, and handed it over, receiving the four items in a bag.
Carrying these, Liang En returned to his stall and later in the back room used as a warehouse, he examined the lamp which looked no different from any other. He carefully cleaned off the black paint on the side where some words were inscribed with a knife and revealed a small metal plate underneath.
The plate read: Belgrade Mortgage Bank, Sarajevo Branch, Vladimir Perić, 1944.
Clearly, these words were likely left by the lamp’s original owner to prevent it from being mistakenly taken by someone else, but unfortunately, Liang En was not familiar with the name, leaving the lamp's background a mystery.
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