“No, it’s just temporarily pawned. But if I don’t buy it back within three days, then the car won’t belong to me anymore. So, can you be trusted or not? Can you really find the warehouse where the massage chair is?!”

David Thompson said, “I didn’t do my homework for nothing. I’ve got a pretty good idea now. After I take another look, I should be able to find the warehouse you want.”

At ten o’clock, an old man wearing a cowboy hat came out and started shouting at a very fast pace: “Everyone line up, the warehouse auction is about to start, I won’t go over the rules again, if you don’t understand, don’t bother joining the auction &%￥#...”

David Thompson had always thought his English was pretty good, but at this moment, he realized he’d been too confident!

The warehouse doors opened, and a group of people lined up to go in. Most of them were holding flashlights. Each person had one minute to stand at the entrance and look inside, while the cowboy hat old man kept time and watched to make sure no one crossed the line.

Each person had one minute, so with over fifty people, it would take almost an hour.

Looking into warehouse 202, there didn’t seem to be anything valuable—mainly household tools and discarded furniture and appliances, basically junk.

Treasure hunters aren’t just scavengers; they only buy warehouses they think have value. If they’re not sure they can make money, they won’t buy.

Because Americans believe that time and labor are money. Spending time and effort to help the warehouse company clean up is a losing proposition.

When it was Henry and David Thompson’s turn, the two of them walked to the entrance. Henry shone his Wolf-Eyes flashlight into the warehouse and explained:

“First, you take a quick look for anything that might be valuable. This depends on your eye and experience. Look here, there’s a box inside labeled ‘Handle with care.’ I’m guessing there’s glassware inside, probably bowls and plates. And over there, you can see a handle sticking out—I think that’s a vacuum cleaner…”

David Thompson nodded, realizing he couldn’t underestimate these professional treasure hunters.

Henry’s judgment was correct. He had checked with the little bug before, and the box did contain some beautiful porcelain plates and bowls, and the thing with the handle was indeed a vacuum cleaner.

One minute passed quickly. After they left, Henry whispered, “The stuff in there is worth about five hundred bucks right now. I bet someone will be willing to take it for around three hundred.”

After the viewing, the auction began.

The cowboy hat old man raised his hand and said, “One hundred dollars, one hundred dollars, starting bid, does anyone have one hundred fifty, one hundred fifty…”

He spoke so fast that David Thompson had a hard time keeping up.

Someone immediately nodded, and the old man pointed at the person and continued, “Now it’s one hundred fifty, one hundred fifty, two hundred, does anyone want to go two hundred…”

“Yes!” someone shouted.

The old man switched to pointing at the latest bidder: “Good, now it’s two hundred, two hundred, so how about three hundred, three hundred?”

And so it went: the auctioneer called out prices, the bidders followed, and if you could accept the price, you’d give him a sign, and he’d immediately call out the next price.

But when the old man raised the price by a hundred at once, no one followed. Clearly, everyone thought the stuff in this warehouse wasn’t worth that much.

Henry raised his hand. “Two-twenty!”

David Thompson was surprised. “You want to buy this? There’s no massage chair in there.”

Henry snorted, “Relax, this warehouse is worth more than two-twenty. Someone will bid higher. I’m just showing you some bidding rules.”

“When the auctioneer calls a price and no one accepts, you can bid whatever you want, as long as it’s higher than the last accepted price.”

Sure enough, as soon as he finished, the auctioneer said, “Two-twenty, two-twenty, so how about two-fifty, two-fifty, anyone want to take it…”

“YEP!”

“Two-fifty, two-fifty, now two-seventy-five, two-seventy-five, anyone?”

No one bid again. The auctioneer raised his right index finger: “Two-fifty, first call, two-fifty, second call, I’m about to call it sold, no one? Okay, two-fifty, this gentleman wins!”

A Mexican man nodded and went to the auctioneer to get a slip. He pulled down the rolling door and locked it with his own lock, gaining ownership of the warehouse for the next 24 hours.

Warehouse 203 and 204 were auctioned off the same way. The former went for $300, the latter only $125. From the outside, neither warehouse looked like it had anything valuable.

When it came to warehouse 205, David Thompson spotted a big box covering the massage chair through a gap in a shelf.

He pretended to look around for a while, then turned and gave a signal: “Boss Fox, get this one!”

Henry still looked nonchalant, but when no one was paying attention, he asked in a serious tone, “Are you sure?”

David Thompson nodded. “Fifty percent sure!”

“That sure? Great, watch me.” Henry was instantly excited.

It was already one in the afternoon. The two of them hadn’t eaten, just drank some water. Of course, the other treasure hunters were the same—everyone was tired, and the competition wasn’t as fierce.

The auctioneer took a break in the middle, even able to nap for half an hour, so the old man was still full of energy: