Road to becoming the wealthiest: Starting From Treasure Hunting in the Cabinets
Chapter 199 - 194: No One Is a Fool!_2

Chapter 199: Chapter 194: No One Is a Fool!_2

"These document materials, as well as the letters," Smith weighed the stack of documents in his hand but put them down:

"I’m not an expert in this area. Although I know that these things are definitely valuable, I’m not quite sure to what extent."

He thought for a moment, stroking his chin:

"How about this - I’ll introduce you to a collector of these items who’s also a history professor at New York University. He should be able to give you a satisfactory price."

Upon hearing that it was a professor, Sean Knight was somewhat puzzled:

"Can he afford it?"

How much money can a university professor have?

In Sean’s eyes, university professors often belong to the middle class, but not many are extremely rich.

After all, making money usually doesn’t go hand in hand with pursuing knowledge.

Smith explained:

"This history professor is quite well-off. He often conducts historical research and archaeological findings projects, for which the university provides him with funds. Besides, he’s also responsible for appraising and collecting cultural relics, earning a lot of money!"

Sean suddenly understood.

He remembered some of the researchers in China with similar projects.

Unspeakable indeed!

Since the other party had money, it was worth making contact.

Sean took Smith’s contact information, left the shopping center, and didn’t completely sell everything he found this time.

Some gold and silver coins were left over, which would make nice little gifts in the future.

He called Elijah Hastings first to make sure he was at the freight yard, then went there to pick him up before returning to the old villa.

Kathy Lewis asked Sean with concern about some rumors on the internet, especially whether the news about digging up skeletons had affected him. She also made ginger water for Sean to ward off the Yin Qi.

She semi-forced Sean and Elijah to take a bath and was only relieved after both had done so.

The two men came out, looked at each other and smiled. This feeling of being cared for reminded them of their nagging mothers at home.

It was annoying when they were at home, but experiencing it again in a foreign land indeed made them feel nostalgic.

Then, it was time for a hearty lunch.

Kathy knew that both Sean and Elijah had big appetites, so she prepared large portions of high-calorie and nutritious food.

During the meal, Sean asked Kathy:

"What do Americans think about history?"

As Kathy ate, she thought about her answer:

"I’m not entirely clear, actually. I’ve been with Mr. Jeremy for so long that my thinking has become somewhat sinicized.

But I think a significant portion of people don’t really care about history; they only care about their current lives."

Sean nodded in agreement.

After the meal, Sean and Elijah went out and, in the car, Sean gave Elijah a check.

"100,000! Boss, you’re really generous," Elijah laughed.

"You contributed to finding the treasure this time. It’s not much, but it’s a token of appreciation."

"It’s more than enough." Elijah smiled and put away the check, calculating that the debt at home could be almost fully paid off.

"My comrades in arms have already set off," Elijah said. "The application sent from the freight yard was quite useful; they were released without a problem."

"Alright, you can talk to them first, and then have a meeting. In their free time, they can stay at the freight yard, and I’ll call them if needed."

Sean felt that he and Elijah could communicate directly, with Elijah taking charge of the others.

"Alright." Elijah hesitated for a moment but didn’t say anything more.

Although it sometimes felt a bit beneath him, he’d be going to the freight yard anyway, so it wasn’t much different.

As long as he did a good job, the boss wasn’t stingy. That would be enough.

Moreover, most of the work done was above ethical lines, so there was peace of mind.

Sean took Elijah to see the professor Smith had mentioned.

After entering the campus of New York University, Sean asked a blonde beautiful girl for directions and then found the professor’s office.

This professor held quite a status, occupying a large office all to himself.

Smith had called in advance, so Sean’s entry went smoothly.

The old man was named Carl Phillips and was very straightforward:

"Show me the items, and let me take a look."

Sean took out a few sheets of paper from the sealed bag and handed them over.

"This is not how you preserve such things," Phillips frowned, "It’s too easy to damage."

"I see," Sean nodded as if receiving instruction. He thought to himself, once I sell it to you, it’ll be your problem to deal with it.

Phillips put on gloves, carefully took the paper, placed it on the professional equipment, and then started looking at it.

After studying it for a good half an hour, he said:

"It’s real. It’s indeed a product of that era. And the content here is very novel, it can provide some new evidence for the current study of the Civil War history."

Then he asked Sean:

"How many pages?"

"Thirty-five pages," Sean said.

"So, at 20,000 dollars per page, 700,000 dollars, how about that?"

He looked at Sean and said:

"This price is already very fair."

"Deal," Sean didn’t know for sure, but this price was obviously much higher than what Toone had offered.

Basically, it was a costless trade. Just making that amount was already satisfying.

Phillips didn’t expect Sean to be this straightforward either, and after being taken aback, he smiled and said:

"Young man, not bad!"

The transaction between the two parties went quickly, and on their way back after leaving the office, Elijah asked:

"Boss, these letters must be important, right? Two hundred years’ worth of documents, even in China, would be very expensive, right?"

"More valuable than 200-year-old items in China," Sean explained according to his own understanding, "Our country gives importance to history, so unless there is a large-scale prohibition on writing or implementation of a literary ban, historical records will not be cut off.

Of course, even if official history is concealed, some unofficial history will come out.

But in America, they don’t care much about history, or I should say, most foreign countries don’t pay much attention to history. Precisely because of this, their country’s attempts to study history are quite awkward. Due to the lack of materials.

It’s better in recent years, but in the past, materials were hard to find. And the available information was too subjective."

Elijah basically understood the meaning of Sean’s words.

"However, these letters and documents can only provide auxiliary evidence of the historical situation at that time, and cannot completely change history. There would need to be additional corroborating evidence. Selling these for the money is already not bad."

Before Sean finished speaking, he received a phone call.

It was from Mr. John.

After listening to Mr. John’s narration of the situation, Sean’s face looked a little strange.

There are still such pretentious people in this day and age.

It’s either naive or hypocritical!

Seeing that something was wrong with Sean’s expression, Elijah hurriedly asked:

"Boss, what’s going on?"

"Hehe, just ran into a dumbass," Sean explained briefly and then said to Mr. John, "Don’t bother about him. If he asks again, tell him that I’ve already sold those things. What does the history here have to do with me? All I know is making money."

After hanging up the phone, Sean said to Elijah with a mocking smile:

"One of Mr. John’s friends found out about this matter from the Internet and learned that I’m acquaintances with Mr. John, so he asked Mr. John to tell me to donate those documents for the study of American history.

He also said that doing so would add a positive image to me and benefit my future development. Furthermore, as an American, it’s my duty - bullshit, I have no plans to change my nationality!"

Elijah listened and was first stunned, and then burst into laughter.

"So, there’s also moral kidnapping here!"

"It’s normal. Some people deceive themselves first and then kidnap others. If their own interests are really affected, they would be the first to panic."

"Right, just like the joke about me having a car and me having a fake head."

"And those guys who shout about abolishing the death penalty, it’s just that it hasn’t affected them yet..."

As the two talked, they suddenly realized that their opinions formed in China were quite similar.

Though angry and dissatisfied, they hadn’t lost their heart.

After sending Elijah back to his rental, Sean jokingly said:

"You’re enjoying being an employee. Letting your boss be your driver every day. I think you should get your driver’s license soon and buy a second-hand car."

Elijah laughed and knew that Sean was joking around.

It wasn’t long after Sean returned to the villa when he received a call from Joanna.

As it turned out, her friend had seen Sean at the school.