"Empress? Is that her model? Yamaha Empress?" Sophie's expression was like a shot of adrenaline, prompting Hans to excitedly ask his series of questions.
"No, that's her nickname. Her real model is CFX, Yamaha CFX," corrected Sophie shaking her head.
"Do you want to go on the truck and try it out?" suggested Li Du.
With a length of 2.7 meters, the grand piano weighted more than half a ton. Since it would take too much of an effort trying to move it out, they ended up leaving it in the truck.
"Don't look down on our little Sophie. She's been playing piano since she was a child. With just a glance, she is able to tell you this piano's identity," Hans said.
"It's ok, he's not questioning my skills. Your friend simply saw how much I like this piano, and only wanted to satisfy my love for this artwork," explained Sophie with a smile.
Li Du really did mean what Sophie said. Just from her eyes, one can see how much she liked that piano, but what Li Du never would have thought is that Sophie actually voiced his hidden meaning.
"Hey buddy, do you like Sophie?" teased Hans.
"Hey Fox, are you crazy? This is only my second time meeting Sophie, Not to mention that you were the one who took us here!" Shouted Li Du as both he and Sophie blankly looked at him.
"Don't deny it, I can see how much you like her. Buddy, I support your pursuit for little Sophie, but you must be careful since she's Flagstaff's little princess," Hans teased with a sly smile.
"OK, OK, can we return to the topic of the CFX? Don't you want to know how much you can sell it for?" Sophie responded as she raised her hands in surrender.
Lured by the talk of money, Hans finally shut his mouth.
"CF is one of Yamaha's grand piano series that was made with a focus on the ideals of beauty and energy. Beauty is used to describe the richness of her voice, while energy refers to the fullness of her projection."
"You should know, the CF series is the most sought-after model. Possessing the greatest reputation among pianos used for performances, she is even able to ensure that her voice can be heard among the multitude of instruments during a concert performance."
Pausing there, Sophie began to remembrance with closed eyes, "When I was studying at Julliard, I had the opportunity of listening to Maestro Browing's performance of Diabelli Variations using the CFX. I swear to God, that's truly the pinnacle of music!"
"How much does this piano cost then? Your description makes me feel that this should be worth millions," asked Hans.
"How can that be? A new CFX is only worth around a hundred thousand. For this to be worth millions, it must be the hand-crafted collection version displayed in the Yamaha Music Museum."
"Then how much do you think this piano is worth," Hans carefully asked.
"Can I take a closer look? You know Hans, appraisal isn't something I'm very familiar with," requested Sophie after a slight hesitation.
"Of course."
Li Du had been examining Sophie's expression the entire time, so as soon as he noticed her hesitation, a wave of dread swept over him.
As Sophie pressed down on the keys, they were met with silence.
Now, even Hans noticed that something was wrong.
"Is the piano broken?" asked Hans with look of shock.
"No, it's not that she's broken, but that she isn't what we thought she was. She's only a practice model," answered Sophie, lightly biting down on her lips.
"What?" Hans asked with a look of bewilderment.
"What I mean is that this piano is used for practice and exhibition. You can use it to decorate your room, but it can't be played," shrugged Sophie as she let out a sigh of disappointment.
At this news, both Hans and Li Du also expressed their sour mood. Compared to the news of the broken massage chair, this set back had an even greater affect on them.
Seeing this, Sophie quickly added, "However, this doesn't mean that it's entirely worthless. Even though it's only the practice model, a new one will still cost more than 30,000 dollaars. Other than the sound, everything else, including the structure, is the exact same as the regular CFX."
"Then how much do you think this can sell for?" Hans asked.
After a moment of consideration, Sophie offered, "If I were the buyer, then I'd be willing to pay 20,000 dollars for it."
"19,000 dollars, Sophie, I'll sell it to you with a thousand-dollar discount," Hans excitedly replied.
"…" At this offer, Sophie only gave him a blank look.
The market for pianos was very specialised, only collectors, music schools, and the wealthy that actually liked it would spend this sort of money for it.
If Li Du was the one taking care of selling it, then he would probably have to get rid of it at a fraction of its true value.
This truly showed the size of Hans' network, as it only took him a day to contact a Flagstaff insurance firm, tolling away the piano on the third day.
The final price for the piano was 15,000 dollars. To comfort the two, Sophie intentionally overpriced the estimation. Hans understood that, which was why he made the joke offer to Sophie in the beginning.
The drums were also sold for a pretty good price. When looking online, Li Du saw that the drums could be sold for at least 3,000 dollars, while they sold it for 7,200 dollars.
As such, their trip to Phoenix ended with an income of 22,200 dollars. With that kind of profit, Hans was very satisfied.
Considering that Li Du must have spent an extra 2,000 dollars at the Mexican restaurant, he was even more content.
Deducting the two hundred and fifty dollars for gas, bribes and car rent, they ended with a net income of twenty two thousand and four hundred dollars, with Li Du getting thirteen thousand.
Caressing the tattoo of the little bug, Li Du thought to himself how fast he's been earning money lately. If he had been able to get this earlier, then he wouldn't have gone for a Masters degree in the first place.
After splitting their income Hans took out a form for Li Du to fill out.
With the title of 'Association of American Auction Hunters', the form asked for the name, race, address, contact method, and other private information.
"What's this?"
"The application for the Ten Thousand club."
"What's the Ten Thousand club?" Li Du curiously asked.
"Oh, I forgot that you are still only a beginner. With the way that you normally talk, I've been subconsciously regarding you as a veteran," Hans began.
"First let me introduce the Association itself. As the name suggests, this is like our industry's Union, and the Ten Thousand club is the entry level VIP club. Above it is the Hundred Thousand, Million, and the legendary Ten Million club."
"In order to join this club, a treasure hunter must earn a net profit of ten thousand dollars at an auction, a standard which we've achieved at this auction."
"Then do we need to pay any club fees? What sort of benefits do we enjoy? What sort of responsibility must we undertake?" asked Li Du.
"There's a lot of benefits which you can slowly experience yourself. As for responsibility, it's the common bullsh*t of providing assistance to fellow treasure hunters should they need it, supporting the club during times of difficulty, etc," smiled Hans.
"Tell me one of the benefits," Li Du pressed.
"Alright, let me give you an example. You know how easily I've been able to take care of the stuff that we've bid for? These channels were all provided by the club so that everyone can deal with their acquisitions."