Before Li Du could say anything, Sayder's eyes were drawn to the cigars lying around Li Du. "The Royal Danish Cigar?"
"Yes, seems like you know a lot about cigars. This brand of cigar isn't well-known in America."
The main patrons of Royal Danish Cigars were mainly the rich, including leaders in the Middle East, China, Japan, Korea and some African countries.
In addition, the countries in which it had entered the civilian market were concentrated in northern Europe, such as Denmark, Switzerland, Finland and so on.
"Of course, I do," said Sayder. "I like cigars, I like their charming aroma. This is a good cigar, isn't it?"
Hans wasted no time in asking, "Can these be put on auction too?"
Sayder shook his head. "Royal Danish Cigars may be relatively a rare sight in the United States, but one can get this thing easily via the internet. The profit from putting them on auction will be small."
He had come specifically for the giant gun, which was both handmade and custom made. He had never seen anything like that before. None of the weapon factories had launched anything similar, so it would certainly grab the attention of many firearm enthusiasts.
Hoffman's Old Hoods Market was willing to waive the commission fees and help auction the gun to create more awareness for the old goods market as well as increase its popularity. Firearms had a huge market with the general public.
Of course, for the old goods market, once they had a good reputation and were popular with the general public, earning money would be much easier as well.
Seeing that Sayder was interested in the cigars, he handed him one, and said, "This is for you. Try it to see how the taste is?
Sayder smiled and waved his hand, refusing the offer. "No, this cigar is too expensive. You should sell it, don't give it away. In fact, I'm also not that interested in it. What I'm interested in are the cigar boxes. I'd like to collect them."
As he said so, his eyes rested on the cigar humidors that were lying on the ground.
Collecting cigar boxes in the United States was rather common. In the early days, cigars were a luxury good for the nobles and aristocrats. The cigar boxes used to preserve the cigars were generally beautifully made.
Li Du was also sunning the cigar boxes. These humidors tried to create the ideal tropical environment for the cigar. They were slightly damaged due to the long period of time they'd maintained a higher temperature and withstood a higher level of humidity.
An intact cigar humidor was considered an asset. It could provide an ideal environment for cigars in storage so the original flavor of the cigars would be retained—regardless of whether it was stationary or in-transit.
Therefore, if the cigar box were in good condition, it could be sold for a good sum of money even if it was not sold to a collector.
They had ten boxes with two different styles. Eight of them were the same: three-hinged cigar boxes with the Dunhill logo on them.
Dunhill was a renowned luxury brand for men, dedicated to delight male luxury-goods consumers from start to finish. It had more than 220 boutique stores all around the world.
The other two boxes only had a large DM logo on them, unlike the eight boxes which had the Dunhill logo as well as the DM logo. These two boxes probably both belonged to the same series.
The eight similar boxes were all made of brownish-yellow cedar wood. Their shape was traditional—just like a bread toaster.
The two boxes were designed differently from the other eight. Both boxes had adopted the unconventional design.
The tops of the boxes were embedded with big steely skull heads with some metallic ornaments along the edges. The material of the box was unknown, but Li Du was sure it was different from the cedar wood.
Sayder's eyes glistened when he saw the two special cigar boxes with different designs. He tried hard, however, to make sure that his eyes were on the Dunhill cigar boxes, and to avoid looking at the boxes—especially the one with the skull design.
But Sayder's true desires couldn't escape Li Du's sharp powers of observation. He had taken only a glance at the box with the skull design, and Li Du had noticed his fondness for the item from his eyes.
There was no need to expose Sayder for that. Li decided to wait and see how he would try to negotiate for the item.
True enough, when Sayder turned to the boxes, he said, "All the boxes are beautiful—are they from the famous brand Dunhill? Let's make a switch. What do you think?"
"'Make a switch?'" asked a confused Li Du. "'What do we think?'"
Hans laughed at Li's reaction. "He wants to barter. And he wants to know what we would exchange them for."
Li Du nodded as Hans explained this to him. You could have just said you wanted to barter, he thought.
"My apologies," replied Li Du, "but these boxes can't be exchanged as we need them to hold the cigars. Look, there are 224 cigars and eight boxes, with each box holding 28 cigars. It's just right."
Sayder looked disappointed. "Oh, what a pity. I really like them. There are two extra boxes, right? They look handmade. They don't have cigars inside them, right?"
It was easy to tell if a cigar humidor had contained any cigars recently as there would be obvious traces that suggested that.
"These two are empty," said Hans. "Why? Do you like them?"
"I've never seen such boxes before," replied Sayder. "I might want to add something new to my collection, but I only want one. What item do you want in exchange to make a deal?"
Hans looked at Li Du, who laughed. "Don't look at me. Our pal here wants to get these two boxes from us. He's wanted those the whole time."
"No, no," Sayder hurriedly denied, "you've misunderstood—"
"Okay, take it that I've misunderstood then. I've changed my mind. I'll keep these two boxes with skull designs and offer you two Dunhill ones. How's that?"
Sayder looked at him blankly, and then said, "You're sure? They're Dunhill boxes!"
"Cut the pretenses, pal," Li Du said. "Your little tricks won't work here. Maybe Big Fox didn't tell you before that my observational skills are very sharp compared to ordinary folks. Your real thoughts have been revealed to me."
"So you're eyeing these two boxes?" laughed Hans. "Come on, pal, tell us the truth. What's up with these two boxes?"
Sayder still wanted to deny his knowledge. "I don't know, Li. You deduced incorrectly. This is the first time I've seen them. I swear, it's really the first time I see them!"
"We like honest friends, pal," said Li Du. "If you don't want to tell us the truth then we can't entrust our giant gun to you. We can't trust you if you're dishonest."
Sayder gave in hearing this. He raised his hands and said, "Okay, I surrender—you're a scary rogue! Fine, I admit I might know them—"
"Might?" Hans interrupted.
"Like what I said just now, this is really the first time I've seen these boxes," explained Sayder. "The first time in real life."
"So, what are they?"
"Do you two know Daniel Marshall?" He asked a question instead of answering them.
Hans looked at Li Du. Li rolled his eyes. "I'm f*cking Chinese, how would I know about Americans?"
"No, Daniel Marshall is not an American," said Sayder. "He is an Englishman. His father is an avocado farmer. He had worked with wood since his childhood and his earliest dream was to build a ship. When he grew up, he made cigar boxes, which become a huge success for him."