Becoming Rich with Daily Scavenging APP-Chapter 623: Sami Rune Drum
"You can't imagine that kind of madness."
Even though the old man is over seventy, he still gets quite excited thinking about the things from his youth.
To be honest, Chen Yiyang really couldn't picture it.
Back home, not to mention doing anything publicly indecent, running around naked would definitely get him arrested by the police.
"After that experience, my life in North America felt bland.
So I gave up my American citizenship and went to Denmark to get a refugee passport.
Then I came to this more open place, Free City."
"But I've heard that a lot of you living here rely on government subsidies for your daily expenses?" Chen Yiyang asked a question he was concerned about.
"Yes." The old man showed no embarrassment.
But then he continued, "However, when we came here, this place was empty.
We didn't occupy someone's land; the houses and gardens here were all built by us from scratch.
Of course, since we oppose private ownership, even though we paid to build this house, if we move away, we can't take anything with us.
Our children will not inherit these houses in the future either. But we do have a small council, and if my children get recognized by others in the council, they can apply to move in here."
"Council?"
"It's somewhat like a consensus democracy. Although we call it a council, there are no votes. A single objection can block a decision."
To be honest, at this point in the conversation.
Chen Yiyang had a slightly different view of the people here.
No matter how you look at it, they've truly created a community in real life that only exists in games.
Of course, in games, such communities exist because the creators conveniently rid them of survival problems; the game characters don't worry about basic needs.
In reality, the Danish government foots the bill for residents of Free City, so they don't starve.
Meanwhile, those criminals from Green Street typically don't live here and only come by for trades.
Generally, they don't bother the residents of Free City.
Because the majority of Free City's residents aren't criminals, which is why the government allows it to exist.
If residents of Free City were harassed and decided to abandon it, those criminals would have no other place to conduct their illegal trades openly.
That's why the Kowloon Walled City on Hong Kong Island was demolished, but Copenhagen's Free City has survived to this day.
Chen Yiyang felt that if he were a game developer, he would definitely include such a unique district in his game.
After Chen Yiyang and Schaefer finished their tour, they were about to leave.
However, before leaving, Chen Yiyang glanced over at the legendary Green Street.
The entire Green Street is only about a hundred meters long.
Its role is somewhat similar to Knockturn Alley in the Harry Potter novels.
The street is filled not only with hurried, concealed traders.
Some stores are even openly operating.
According to urban legends, some even involve human trafficking here.
Just as Chen Yiyang and others were about to turn and leave.
Suddenly, a tall, lanky person, looking like they were high on drugs, ran over.
"Stop." The two bodyguards immediately reacted, signaling the person to stop.
"Hey boss." The tall, gaunt person, whose age was unclear, waved a bag.
"I have something really ancient and good here. You can buy it for a small sum."
"We're not interested," one of the bodyguards said firmly.
"It's a rare Norwegian Sami rune drum," the young man shouted again.
On hearing this, Chen Yiyang, who was about to leave, paused.
He was headed to Norway next.
"What is a Sami rune drum?" Chen Yiyang curiously asked Schaefer.
"In the Nordic region, there used to be an indigenous tribe called the Sami People, considered somewhat primitive.
They used rune drums to perform ceremonies and make prophecies about the future."
Schaefer seemed quite knowledgeable about it and continued, "Later, when Europe had widespread witch hunts, Sami People were among the hunted.
As a result, many Sami rune drums were either taken away or destroyed by the church or noble soldiers.
After Norway's independence, they requested the return of the drums taken away, but no country has returned any yet."
A drum once used by tribespeople, made with ancient techniques, is considered a cultural artifact.
However, it wouldn't fetch a high price; it's more a meaningful collectible.
But.
Chen Yiyang thought of the Norwegian company he was about to negotiate with.
Returning this drum to the Norwegian government might earn him some favors in the negotiation.
So Chen Yiyang looked at the addict and asked directly.
"How much are you asking for it?"
"Just a thousand euros," the lanky youth shouted.
"I don't even know if it's real," Chen Yiyang knew this guy was desperate for cash to buy drugs.
So he said, "Twenty euros, and if it's fake, I'll consider it charity."
The price was very low.
He basically used a haggling tactic as if he were in Morocco.
The addict hesitated briefly but quickly agreed.
Chen Yiyang took out twenty euros in cash and signaled for his bodyguard to give it to the guy.
When the item was handed over, Chen Yiyang didn't take it himself.
Who knew if there were viruses on it or something?
He had his bodyguard hold it and open the bag, discovering an ancient-looking drum inside.
"Help me find a team to authenticate this," Chen Yiyang said to Schaefer.
"Of course, no problem." Schaefer quickly pounded his chest, signaling it was taken care of.
Neither Schaefer nor Chen Yiyang put much stock in whether the Sami rune drum was genuine.
Chen Yiyang agreed to spend twenty euros mainly on the off chance it might aid his business in Norway.
But three days later, the expert authentication team surprised them both with their conclusion.
The Sami rune drum was real, a genuine ancient artifact from Norway.
Judging by its condition, it had been carefully preserved as a collectible since being removed from Norway during the witch hunts.
It was unclear whether the young man had stolen the drum or if it was a family heirloom.
