From Robinson Crusoe

On September 2nd, Chen Zhou, who was thinking about selling gold, got up early, washed up quickly, told his mother, and went out.

Around six o'clock in the morning, the breakfast stalls on the street next to the residential area were bustling with business. Hot soy milk, fried dough sticks, yellow millet and red bean paste sticky cakes, and tofu pudding, accompanied by the sound of QR code payment and the hustle and bustle of people coming and going, presented a lively atmosphere that is not found on the island.

The students, dressed in their school uniforms, walked towards the school in twos and threes, chatting and laughing. Seeing them reminded Chen Zhou of the children at the school on the island.

Sitting at an outdoor table outside a breakfast stall, he felt a pang of sadness as he thought about the island's uncertain future after he left.

He ordered a bowl of sweetened soy milk, four fried dough sticks, four sticky rice cakes, a bowl of tofu pudding, and two steamed buns. While chewing the food, Chen Zhou couldn't help but think about the future—

He's only 25 years old, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he'll live for at least another 45 years.

In this long life, he achieved the wealth that many people cannot achieve in several lifetimes, and attained financial freedom in the eyes of most people.

Along with this, he also gained an experience that did not belong to this time and space, which eroded his youthful mentality and caused him to lose the desires of an ordinary person prematurely.

After buying a house and a car, should one get married and have children? Should one indulge in pleasure or pursue spiritual fulfillment?
Chen Zhou couldn't find an answer for the time being.

He quickly devoured all the food piled on the table, paid, and went straight to the station to catch the 8:30 train to the city.

……

At 2 p.m. on September 9, Chen Zhou arrived at the first gold recycling company he had found.

Hearing that personal identification was required for gold recycling, he brought his ID card and bank card with him.

Not wanting to state his purpose at the front desk, he was quickly received and, afterward, Manager Sun, who was in charge of gold appraisal, told him that the company's regulations were not as strict as they appeared online.

As a precious metal, gold circulates very frequently in the market, with investors buying in large quantities and people in urgent need of money selling in large quantities.

In corners rarely visited by ordinary people, gold bars and coins issued by banks always enter and leave the hands of wealthy businessmen in various ways, becoming a "unique gift" that opens up avenues for wealth and helps them maintain relationships.

Despite its glittering appearance, gold is often treated as a "gray" metal by gold recycling companies.

Therefore, gold can be sold normally even without identification documents.

After all, they were buying gold, not identification documents. In other words, as long as the gold was real, it didn't matter whether the identity was real or not.

In business, it's a transaction between mutual consent; there's no need to pry into someone's entire family history.

Hearing this, Chen Zhou felt a little relieved. He then took out a 500g gold bar, inquired about the gold price and approximate loss, and handed the gold bar to the staff.

While waiting for the test results, he subtly inquired about the approximate amount of gold that the gold recycling company could handle.

Manager Sun was a shrewd person. He noticed that although Chen Zhou was dressed plainly, he could easily pull out a gold bar worth a lot of money, and his speech and demeanor were extremely mature, not at all like a young man in his early twenties. He guessed that this seller must be someone extraordinary.

After understanding Chen Zhou's intentions, he did not give a definite answer immediately, but only gave Chen Zhou his contact information, saying that they could have a meal and talk when they had time.

Although Chen Zhou is not good at handling interpersonal relationships, it does not mean that he is ignorant of them.

He took Manager Sun's business card and didn't ask any further questions.

The answer to the question will naturally be found at the dinner party. Besides, he has so much "goods" in his hands that it's impossible for a small company to swallow gold worth hundreds of millions.

This trip was worthwhile if I could meet Manager Sun and find a way to sell my gold through him. As a professional in gold recycling, Manager Sun certainly knows far more ways to sell than I do.

Of course, given the immense value of gold, it's not impossible that the smiling Manager Sun might secretly use various means to embezzle more of his money, or even harbor murderous intentions.

The saying goes, "One should not have the heart to harm others, but one must have the heart to guard against others."

Upon their first meeting, Chen Zhou instinctively remained wary of Manager Sun's overly attentive manner.

Modern people are different from island natives, especially those active in officialdom and business. Their acting skills may even surpass those of actors. If you blindly trust such people, you will definitely suffer losses.

……

Sitting on the sofa, sipping tea brewed by Manager Sun, the results for the gold bars sent for purity testing came back in no time.

According to staff, Chen Zhou's gold bar has a purity of approximately 95%, which is higher than 22K gold but lower than the 999 pure gold issued by banks, so its buyback price will be lower.

It was within Chen Zhou's expectations that the gold bars were less than 99% pure. The island's casting technology was insufficient, so it was impossible to refine gold with ultra-high purity.

When he returned to the modern era and consulted materials, he learned about a special process called mercury gilding, which could extract gold with a purity of 99.9%.

However, he had no idea about this technology when he was on the island, and besides, he had acquired so much gold over the years that he simply didn't have time to refine it using complicated processes.

……

After confirming that there were no issues with the gold purity test results, Manager Sun announced the gold price for the day.

After a period of frenzied activity at the beginning of the year, the gold market gradually returned to normal levels. On that day, the international gold price was $3248 per ounce, while the domestic gold exchange price was 761 yuan per gram.

Gold recycling companies typically offer prices lower than the market price. For 999 pure gold, a recycling company might offer 750 yuan per gram, with the seller bearing the costs of testing.

Chen Zhou's gold bar was not pure enough. After some negotiation, it could only be bought back at 720 yuan per gram, which is more than 40 yuan lower than the market price per gram. This means that the gold bar will be sold for nearly 20000 yuan less.

Although he knew that Manager Sun had made a lot of money off him, Chen Zhou had no other way to sell his money and was in urgent need of funds, so he had no choice but to agree to the offer.

After carefully reviewing the transaction contract handed over by Manager Sun and confirming that there were no traps, Chen Zhou took out the second gold bar.

After the inspection, a contract was signed, and Manager Sun readily transferred the proceeds from the sale of the gold, minus the loss and damage costs, to Chen Zhou's card.

……

Chen Zhou didn't spend much money while working at the cement factory, but he would occasionally have impulses to spend money, such as buying the latest mobile phone, recharging his game account, or buying some flashy but impractical items on online shopping platforms.

To avoid spending his money recklessly on meaningless things, Chen Zhou would transfer his monthly salary to his mother every few months.

Zhao Chunfang is known as a "woman who knows how to manage a household." To buy cheaper and fresher vegetables, she can get up at four in the morning to be the first to the market, or walk two blocks in the sweltering summer heat to the supermarket to grab discounted eggs and dish soap.

The Chen family was able to buy this old residential building thanks to her meticulous financial management. A person who wouldn't even buy a red outfit during her birth year would never frivolously use her son's salary, much less invest or do business with that money.

She would only put the money her son worked so hard to earn into the bank, deposit it in a fixed-term account, and then withdraw it when her son needed money to get married and buy a house.

For more than half a year before starting the challenge, Chen Zhou did not transfer any money to his mother. When he resigned, he still had more than 31,000 yuan in his account, which was the money he had saved from the beginning of the year to September.

For Chen Zhou in the past, more than 30,000 yuan was no small sum.

But now, looking at the text message sent by the mobile banking app, looking at the long string of numbers 749655, even after more than fifty years of life, Chen Zhou still felt dazed.

His parents' life savings were thus deposited in his bank account.

Seeing these numbers and thinking about the setbacks and hardships he had endured during the challenge, Chen Zhou felt that it was all worthwhile.

……

More than 50 years of leadership experience had long since instilled in Chen Zhou the habit of not showing his emotions. Manager Sun, sitting opposite him, only saw him casually glance at his phone screen and did not notice Chen Zhou's absent-mindedness or the joy in his heart.

After politely pouring the last cup of tea for this unassuming but important customer, chatting for a few minutes about things unrelated to gold, and agreeing to have a meal together in a few days, Manager Sun respectfully saw Chen Zhou out of the company.

Only when he watched Chen Zhou leave in a taxi did he stop smiling stiffly and replace it with a genuine smile.

Although the gold market is generally stable, this is only temporary. According to market trends, the price of gold will certainly not stay at 760 yuan per gram for long, and it will rise again by the end of the year.

He had already earned nearly 50000 yuan from this single transaction, and in a few months, that 50000 yuan would grow even further.

How could he not be happy that such a good thing could happen just by sitting in the company and saying a few words?

What excited him even more was that this big customer clearly had more than just this much stock. He planned to host a dinner party in a few days, get closer to the customer, say a few nice things, offer some small discounts, and make him happy. Maybe then he could secure his quota for the whole year.

……

Having money in hand gives you peace of mind.

More than 700,000 yuan is enough to buy an old building with a basement in a small town, and add a few safes. With this money, the gold will have a place to be stored.

Sitting in the taxi, Chen Zhou's many worries disappeared with the arrival of the money.

He fiddled with the four gold coins in his hand, feeling the weight of the gold, and idly looked out the car window. Before long, he arrived at the antique street in the city.

Vehicles were not allowed to pass through the street. Chen Zhou got out of the car at the street entrance and looked around. Various antique-style storefronts and elegant signs, such as Yunshizhai, Zhenbaoge, Gudongyuan, and Qianguju, came into view.

However, in stark contrast to these exquisite signs were the few pedestrians on the street and several shops with their doors locked.

Clearly, the antique trade is not thriving these days, and the traditional culture that older generations love is not appreciated by young people.

As times progress, young people have their own favorite collectibles, and the antique trade, which is popular only among middle-aged and elderly people, has been significantly affected.

In addition, with counterfeits rampant and swindlers thriving, newcomers to the antique business have to pay too much tuition.

Over time, goods from both street stalls and antique shops have been implicitly considered modern handicrafts with no potential for appreciation, further reducing the number of customers in antique shops.

Hongshan City is a city with a weak traditional cultural atmosphere, and it is no match for the well-known large-scale antique markets in China, such as Panjiayuan in northern Beijing, Zhengzhou Antique City, and Shanghai Dongtai Road. Its current situation is even more dire.

……

Unlike street vendors, antique shop owners sit indoors and never go out to hawk their wares.

Chen Zhou didn't have a single piece of jewelry on him. There was no jade pendant around his neck or any bracelet on his wrist. He looked like a recent college graduate, and he had nothing to do with antiques.

When he walked down the antique street, he was like an invisible man; neither the old men on the street nor the shop assistants in the shops bothered to look at him.

No one paid any attention to him, and Chen Zhou felt a little embarrassed to take the initiative to go and ask.

After walking around the street twice, he finally stopped in front of a shop called Yulanxuan. Looking at the bright yellow signboard that resembled the color of pineapple wood, he stepped up the stairs and went inside.

The interior of Yulanxuan was dimly lit. The not-so-spacious shop had two rows of shelves on the left and right sides. The antiques on the shelves were mostly porcelain, with a few bronzes, a few pottery pieces, and some small items that Chen Zhou did not recognize.

Several spotlights shone on several large pieces of blue and white porcelain, making them appear as if they were worth a fortune.

In front of the shelving unit, the striking modern style of the two rows of glass display cases clashes sharply with the antique charm of the wooden shelving unit.

However, the small items in the display case looked much more reliable than the porcelain and bronze artifacts; at least they seemed more like things that ordinary people could afford.

Chen Zhou glanced around and saw that the display cases contained not only chicken-blood stone seals, a local specialty, but also some small jade hand-held pieces, exquisite ivory carvings, and bone carvings.

Under the light, the undulating patterns and lustrous color of the handle are particularly alluring.

In particular, one of the oval-shaped hand-held pieces, with a bright yellow color resembling chicken fat, immediately attracted Chen Zhou's attention and gave him a rare urge to buy it.

It's not because this hand-held piece has the most eye-catching color among all the collectibles, but because the small jade carving is not a traditional auspicious theme, but a puppy.

Its drooping ears, curled-up limbs, and bright yellow color reminded Chen Zhou of Lai Fu.

Standing in front of the handheld item, clutching the gold coin in his hand, Chen Zhou looked at it for about ten seconds before turning his head to find the shop owner, wanting to ask about the price. As long as it wasn't too outrageously expensive, he would just buy it.

Turning his head, he realized that there was only one person in the shop, and that person had been silently watching him for a long time.

A short-haired girl sat upright next to the cashier at the far end of the shop.

She looked to be about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, with a dark, rosy oval face. She wore no powder or lipstick, and her black hair was loose and messy. Her almond-shaped eyes were clear and bright. She held a book in one hand and a pen in the other, and her expression revealed a hint of curiosity, as if she was wondering why Chen Zhou, who seemed to have nothing to do with the antique business, would walk into the shop.

Chen Zhou ignored her gaze and pointed directly at the handle-shaped items in the display case, asking about their prices.

"Boss, how much is this?" (End of Chapter)