Ma Cheng and the others were all old rivers and lakes and old foxes, and when Li Du's meaningful smile was seen by them, they immediately became vigilant. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

However, they could not find out the truth, for the treasure hunters enthusiastically surrounded them, dragged them to drink wine and eat meat, and began to identify what had been brought.

The most brought is a hunting knife, the treasure hunters stick the hunting knife into the ground, the bright blade reflects the scarlet fire, looking murderous.

Pol's gaze was immediately captivated, and he asked, "This is the hunting knife you brought out of the Hopis? God, they are so beautiful, you earned them this time!"

Hans said: "Yes, we made a fortune, but it's a pity that you didn't go to Page, otherwise we would have joined forces to go to the Hopi reservation, and we would not only have brought back the hunting knife, but also the coffin." ”

"Coffin?" Ding Xiaofeng was startled.

Li Du explained: "The coffin making of the Hopi people is a must, they use an all-hand craftsmanship, the process is complicated, scientific, and they like to make all kinds of styles, and they have no problem making works of art." ”

Ding Xiaofeng suddenly said, "Oh, I see?"

Li Du nodded and said, "Yes, that's it, you don't know?"

Ma Cheng continued: "Haha, we are in California, we don't know much about the Hopi people, and besides, we are mainly responsible for the art in East Asia, and other colleagues in North America are in charge. ”

At the beginning of the wine fight, a group of treasure pickers took off their clothes and began to toast bare-chested, beer, wine and whiskey, as well as mixed cocktails.

Ma Cheng avoided the treasure pickers who persuaded him to drink, he walked up to Li Du and asked, "Xiao Li, don't you have something to show us?"

Li Du sighed and said, "Wait a minute, I'll take it out." ”

He took out a patina metal hand from the safe in the room and asked, "Can you tell what this is?"

Getting the metal hand, Ma Cheng pondered by the firelight, he looked at it for a while and shouted to the other two, and the other two also rushed over, and then they discussed it together.

After the discussion, Ma Cheng turned around and said, "Xiao Li, this thing of yours is a bit weird, to determine its identity, you may need to get rid of the patina, can it work?"

Li Du asked, "How do you get rid of the patina?"

Ma Chengdao: "The best way is to use abrasive blasting, which is to spray dry or suspended abrasives in liquid onto the surface of this copper hand, and then the rust layer on the surface oxide scale and dry dirt. ”

"Ammonia can also be added using fine wood chips, talc, acetic acid and glass powder, which react with the basic copper carbonate in the patina to form a soluble blue cupro complex. ”

Li Du smiled bitterly: "There are no such things. ”

Du Dayuan said with a smile: "Then there is always white vinegar, right? It is okay to scrub with white vinegar, but you can't completely remove these debris, but you can remove some of them and reveal your true face." ”

White vinegar is here, he went to get a bottle, and the three of them carefully dipped the white vinegar with a brush and brushed it on the copper hands.

As the cloudy green liquid flowed down, the face of the bronze hand became clear.

Some letters appeared on the back of the brushed bronze hand, and the three of them got together to discuss it again.

Eventually, Ma Cheng said, "I probably have information, Xiao Li, where did you get this thing? This should be a sacrificial hand from the Yemen region, if this is genuine, then it is valuable." ”

Li Du said: "This is the custody entrusted to me by a friend of mine, and he said that he got it from the Arab side, and it is not clear whether it is true or not." ”

Ma Cheng showed an excited expression on his face and said, "You got it from Arabia? Then it is very likely that it is a real sacrificial hand!"

"Is it precious?"

Ma Cheng nodded heavily: "Of course, the sacrificial hand is a folk religious token that arose between 100 and 300 AD, and it is impossible to determine which religion it belongs to, but it can be determined that it is a local religion that has disappeared." ”

He showed his bronze hand to Li Du, pointed to the letters engraved on the back of his hand, and said, "This is an ancient Yemeni script, and I don't know what it is, but it may be related to the religion and gods of the time." ”

"These Arabic bronze hands are often models of real human hands, and their owner wishes to place his hand in the hands of a deity he admires in order to gain deep favor, hence these works. ”

Li Du said admiringly: "Teacher Ma, you know a lot. ”

Ma Cheng shook his head and said: "This aspect is not my strong point, the three of us have come to this conclusion after discussion, if you show it to an expert who studies local religions in the Middle East, he can give more information!"

At this time, Ding Xiaofeng said: "By the way, isn't Jigulas the appraiser of local religious articles in the Middle East? Let's show him, he should know about this." ”

Ma Cheng looked at Li Du in embarrassment and said, "Jigulas is in Los Angeles, Xiao Li, can you go to Los Angeles with us recently?"

"Recently?" Li Du shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I'm afraid not, I'm going to participate in the Autumn Harvest Festival in Flagpole City at the end of the month." ”

Du Dayuan said: "If you can trust us, Xiao Li, then we will take the sacrificial hand back to show our colleagues, and then return the information to you." ”

"How can this work?" Ma Cheng frowned, "This is too much to ask, we have only known each other for the first day." ”

Du Dayuan said: "It doesn't matter, let's talk to Ji Gulas on the phone first, ask him to estimate the price, and then mortgage Xiao Li according to the valuation......"

"That's right," Ding Xiaofeng said approvingly, "If we don't have enough money, don't we still have a batch of rubies and jewelry in the bank? ”

Li Du laughed, and several asked and answered themselves, which was really calculating.

He quietly took the bronze hand back and said, "If you go to Los Angeles, when will it be?"

"It's better before the autumn auction, otherwise we won't have time, that is, these days, around the end of the month. Ma Cheng pondered.

Li Du said: "That's okay, I won't participate in the Autumn Harvest Festival, I'll go to Los Angeles with you." ”

Ma Cheng and the others were stunned for a moment, and then nodded and smiled: "Okay, that's good." ”

Li Du packed up his bronze hands and returned to the hut, he went up to the balcony on the second floor, leaned on the railing and looked at the crowd below with boiling emotions.

After drinking a can of beer, he took out his mobile phone and called: "Hey, Luo Skirt, it's me." ”

Luo Skirt said: "I know it's you, who calls me that except you? What's the matter, you're not coming back tonight? Fooling around outside again?"

Li Du said angrily: "What do you mean by fooling around? I'm doing business. ”

"Do you want to do business?" said Luo Skirt disdainfully.

Listening to her tone, Li Du could imagine the way this girl pouted.