ECG -Chapter 156 A Museum-Level Guitar

Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!

This was actually a Martin D100?

Lin Hao hurriedly flipped the guitar over to look at the back.

It was it! It really was it!

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His eyes lit up as he reached out and touched the clock emblem on the back of the guitar. The pattern was entirely inlaid with mother-of-pearl. It felt smooth and slightly cool to the touch. At this moment, Lin Hao’s hand was as gentle as if he were caressing the smooth back of a young woman.

Inside the emblem, the model number D-100 and the Martin logo were also inlaid with mother-of-pearl, with EST.1833 underneath.

At the bottom of the clock emblem was a portrait of the founder, C. F. Martin. The entire back of the guitar had an extremely ancient and elegant design. The mother-of-pearl floral vines formed a simple illustration of the history of the Martin brand.

Lin Hao flipped the guitar over again and carefully examined it. The fretboard and neck were also covered with mother-of-pearl inlay patterns.

His hands began to tremble slightly.

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This was a Martin D100!

From 1833 until now, Martin had used time itself to prove its quality. This was a museum-level acoustic guitar, and among musical instrument collectibles, it was absolutely an emperor-level treasure.

In his previous life, the founder of the Martin company, Christian Frederick Martin, was born in 1796 beside the Elbe River in Germany. In 1833, he moved to the United States and later established the great Martin company.

Martin acoustic guitars were also the favorites of countless classical and folk guitarists. On the train when he had gone to the provincial capital for school two years ago, Wan Yong had used a Martin acoustic guitar too. It was just a new guitar, though, and the quality was much lower.

Lin Hao never expected that this world would also have the D100 model. He wondered if there was also a D200 here.

After all, the D200 was an equally legendary classic!

Thinking about it now, it actually wasn’t surprising. He had already discovered that this parallel world had many similarities with his previous life.

Perhaps this was an inevitable part of human advancement and social development. Those classics were still classics in this life!

The only difference was that in his previous life, Christian Frederick Martin was a shrewd little old man. In this life, he might be a bearded middle-aged man instead.

When Lin Hao raised his head again, he saw the greedy look in Mao Tong’s eyes.

He tapped the guitar in his hands with his finger.

“With a mere cost of 150,000 yuan, you want to buy it from him?”

Mao Tong’s eyes flickered. He was clearly feeling guilty, like someone caught stealing, and didn’t dare say anything.

“Old An, do you know this guitar?” Lin Hao looked at Old An.

Old An nodded.

“I know it. A Martin D100. It’s been around for quite a few years. It should probably be worth around 100,000 to 80,000 yuan.”

“How much?” Lin Hao immediately became anxious. “I’m telling you, this is an old guitar. Although I don’t know the exact year, it’s definitely at least a hundred years old!”

Old An nodded.

Back then, he and his wife had fought over buying it. In the end, his wife was generous and let him purchase it. At that time, he had spent 800 yuan on it. One had to know that 800 yuan back then was equivalent to tens of thousands of yuan today.

Lin Hao held up one hand, extending his thumb and index finger to form the number eight.

“800,000 yuan. And this is only my estimate. A Martin D100 from this era could even fetch a higher price if it were put up for auction!”

As soon as Lin Hao finished speaking, everyone in the room was stunned.

Even Mao Tong’s eyes widened.

His own estimate had been 500,000 yuan. He never expected this kid to give such a high valuation. It seemed he had been too conservative.

Old An was even more incredulous.

He and his wife simply loved the guitar. Playing music and singing had only ever been a hobby. Although he knew this guitar was not ordinary and certainly wouldn’t be cheap, he had never imagined it would be worth this much!

“Really?” Old An asked, his voice trembling.

Lin Hao nodded solemnly. Then, unable to resist, he lovingly stroked the body of the guitar a few more times before asking, “Can I play it?”

Old An nodded.

Lin Hao glanced at Zuo Yao. The little girl was very smart and immediately moved a chair that was leaning against the wall over.

Lin Hao sat down, lightly plucking the strings. Then he glanced at Old An, surprised to find that despite being an amateur, the strings had actually been tuned quite accurately.

He didn’t hesitate any longer and casually began playing one of the guitar pieces he was most familiar with from his previous life—Recuerdos de la Alhambra.

It was a piece filled with Spanish style, written in 3/4 time. The entire composition carried a faint trace of melancholy, while using tremolo and extensive fingerstyle techniques to fully display a tranquil and gentle theme, leaving people with endless reverie.

Looking at Lin Hao, who was completely immersed in the music, the expression on Mao Tong’s face was extremely complicated. He was shocked by the young man’s superb guitar skills, yet he also hated him for interfering in his affairs.

Zuo Yao’s expression was even more colorful. This guitar piece was simply too beautiful. How could Brother Hao be so amazing? He played the piano well, was a national sanda champion, and now he was even this good at guitar too. He was simply too handsome! Too cool!

Lin Hao was amazed by the tone of this guitar. Martin guitars were generally known for their open, powerful sound, with tremendous projection and volume.

And the guitar in his hands not only possessed all the strengths of this brand, but its bass was even richer and more powerful, while the treble was full and solid without losing clarity, with an exceptionally distinct texture…

This was truly a treasure!

After finishing Recuerdos de la Alhambra, Old An started clapping. He hadn’t expected this refined-looking young man to possess such extraordinary guitar skills. It seemed that keeping this guitar in his own hands really was a waste.

Zuo Yao also began clapping, raising her small pink fists and shouting loudly, “Brother Hao, you’re amazing!”

Lin Hao carefully held the guitar with both hands and said to Old An, “Old An, quickly put it away!”

He didn’t dare look at it anymore, nor did he dare play it again. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be willing to let go and would want to keep it for himself. As the saying went, a gentleman did not take away what another person loved. Such thoughts must not be allowed, and such a thing must not be done.

After Old An took the guitar back, he walked toward the bar counter. Mao Tong became anxious.

“Hey, if you’re not giving me the guitar, then pay me back!”

He was a guitar major, so of course he could tell how good this guitar was. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble.

When Lin Hao had played it just now, it was like a peerless sword falling into the hands of a martial arts master, allowing the guitar to unleash all of its power!

The tone of this guitar was simply too perfect, without the slightest flaw!

At this moment, Mao Tong secretly swore in his heart:

He had to get it!

Old An ignored him. He packed the guitar away and hung it back where it originally was.

After returning, he said to Mao Tong, “Mao Tong, I don’t have 150,000 right now, but I won’t deny my debt. My shop is worth more than this amount. Once I sell it, I’ll pay you back. Is that okay?”

“You?” Mao Tong’s eyes turned red with anger.

He had spent several months plotting and scheming, going through all this trouble—did he really do it for the money?

“Please leave.”

Old An extended one hand and made a gesture of invitation. Although he hated this Mao Tong, he still maintained the manners of a gentleman.

With a sharp “whoosh,” Mao Tong stood up and said unhappily, “Tomorrow it won’t be just 150,000 anymore. Looks like I’ll have to calculate interest too? Let’s go!”

After saying that, he shot Lin Hao a sideways glare, let out a cold “hmph” through his nose, and strode out.

Lin Hao watched the backs of the three people as they left, deep in thought.