Chapter 2: Selling Gold!

Chapter 2: Selling Gold!

Inside the restroom.

Lu Feng picked up the pieces of gold jewelry with deep uncertainty, examining them one by one. The realistic weight and texture brought a look of pure joy to his face.

He had actually brought these gold ornaments out of that game world.

He wasn't sure how any of this was possible, but he didn't care to analyze it. All he knew was that this was an incredibly good thing for him.

Next, he immediately looked at the light screen in his mind. An image appeared on it—it was still that same jewelry store, but now, the silhouettes of zombies had begun to appear inside.

This perspective was like a god's-eye view, truly magical.

He quickly wrapped the gold securely in his shirt. He deliberately waited for a while, letting enough time pass before opening the restroom door and walking back toward his mother's ward.

Otherwise, returning from a simple trip to the restroom with a bundle of gold would look far too suspicious.

But if he could sell this gold...

A sharp light gleamed in Lu Feng's eyes. He glanced again at the jewelry store on the light screen in his mind, and at the gold jewelry filling the display counters.

Because he had taken off his shirt, his bare chest drew quite a few looks from passersby. After all, walking around half-naked in a public place like this was rather attention-grabbing.

"Xiaofeng, what are you doing?" Yang Ming asked in confusion when he saw him return shirtless.

"Cousin, can you come out with me for a bit?" Lu Feng asked immediately.

Gold jewelry of unknown origin, especially in such large quantities, could easily lead to legal trouble without receipts.

Youcheng was just a small county. It didn't have any large jewelry stores or gold companies capable of taking in a large amount of gray-market goods without fearing the legal consequences.

There were, however, some shops that bought gold under the table or did informal recycling.

But as far as he knew, these shops were more or less shady. What if they tried to rip him off or cheat him?

Fearing such a situation, he wanted his cousin to come along to borrow his influence and keep people in line.

In Youcheng County, his cousin's reputation as "Brother Ming" carried significant weight. More importantly, his cousin was absolutely trustworthy.

Hearing Lu Feng's request, Yang Ming nodded and didn't forget to instruct Lu Lin, "Alin, keep an eye on my aunt for a bit. Call me if anything happens."

"Sure thing, Brother Ming," Lu Lin replied with a nod.

Lu Feng left the hospital with his cousin, and they drove to a fruit shop in his cousin's car.

The fruit shop wasn't large. It was the shop run by his mother. Because she was in the hospital, the remaining fruit inside had already begun to dehydrate. At the back of the shop was a small partition.

Opening the door to the partition revealed a bed, some daily necessities, and a very rudimentary bathroom. The pots and pans for cooking were practically right next to the toilet.

This was where his mother lived day-to-day; she couldn't bear the expense of renting an apartment.

He had always dreamed of putting down a deposit on a house to get his mother out of this living condition, but fate seemed to constantly torment him, keeping that dream indefinitely out of reach.

Thinking of this, he looked down at the gold in his hands. Now, it seemed he had a chance to change his destiny.

He quickly grabbed the electronic scale from the shop, locked the door to the partition, and dumped the gold onto the bed.

As the shirt fell open, the gold gave off a dazzling metallic luster under the light.

Yang Ming was instantly transfixed by the gold, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Xiaofeng, where did you get so much gold? Did you rob a jewelry store?"

"Cousin, how could I possibly rob a jewelry store?" Lu Feng quickly shook his head. He had clearly just scavenged it. However, he added, "This jewelry is just of unknown origin. There's definitely no criminal record attached to it, and I can't explain how I got it."

"Alright, then don't explain," Yang Ming said. He wasn't one to pry, and seeing his cousin's attitude, he didn't ask further.

Having been on the streets for so long, he naturally knew that some things couldn't be explained and were best kept to oneself. The more someone pried, the less they should know, otherwise it would eventually bring danger.

He suspected his cousin might have found a connection for this kind of business. If there was no criminal record, the gold might have come from underground. He knew of a local boss in the county who had discovered an ancient tomb in his hometown, made his first pot of gold that way, and later went into mining to become a wealthy businessman.

Besides, the style and design of this gold jewelry were somewhat different from what he usually saw.

So, he added, "And don't explain the origin of this gold to anyone else, either."

With this kind of thing, if a greedy or malicious person got wind of it, even a rumor could cause trouble.

"Understood," Lu Feng replied. He picked up the electronic scale and began weighing the gold. After some busywork, he calculated that the gold he had brought out of the game world this time weighed 1 jin and 2 li, which was 600 grams.

His mind raced.

The current price of gold was 420 yuan per gram. 600 grams would retail for 252,000 yuan. With a 10% discount for recycling, it should fetch 226,800 yuan.

Naturally, that was the buyback price for gold jewelry with receipts, or at least with ID registration. Without receipts or ID registration, gold of unknown origin could never sell for that price.

If you insisted on demanding that price at a regular jewelry store, under the new regulations, they would require you to register your ID. What could you do then?

Some might say that once gold is melted down, it all looks the same, so who would know?

But he was also afraid of getting caught up in some case, where they might suspect the melted gold came from a crime.

If that happened, it wouldn't just be a minor headache.

Therefore, it was better to play it safe.

Besides, no matter how much the price was suppressed, gold was still gold. The price wouldn't go too low. Since it was pure profit anyway, he was fine with earning a bit less in exchange for peace of mind.

Lu Feng's eyes grew brighter. He quickly grabbed a black plastic bag from outside and packed the gold from the bed into it.

Seeing this, Yang Ming patted his shoulder and said, "Let's go."

Lu Feng nodded and immediately followed.

The two of them headed to Qingshui Street. This street had the most jewelry stores in the county, so it was also known as Gold Store Street.

However, Yang Ming didn't take Lu Feng into any of the jewelry stores. Instead, they went to a teahouse next to the street.

As soon as they entered, they saw many people sitting in the hall, brewing tea and chatting. Quite a few of them had tattoos on their arms, and their tone and manner of speaking made it clear they were part of the underworld.

When these people saw Yang Ming, several of them stood up to greet him:

"Brother Ming, what brings you here today?"

"Long time no see, Brother Ming!"

"..."

In a small place like Youcheng County, connections were everything when you were running in these circles. You had to know who the heavy hitters were, or you might offend the wrong person and get beaten up without even knowing why.

Clearly, Yang Ming was one of the influential figures. Most of the local street-dwellers knew him and would show him respect.

"Yeah, just bringing my cousin by for a bit," Yang Ming said with a smile, pointing at Lu Feng.

Those men instinctively glanced at Lu Feng. Since he was Yang Ming's cousin, if they ran into him in the future or if anything happened, it was best not to provoke him. Otherwise, if Yang Ming stepped in, they would be the ones to suffer.

"By the way, where is Chen Bo?" Yang Ming asked one of them.

"Brother Bo is in the second-floor office," the man replied immediately.

"Alright," Yang Ming nodded and walked toward the second floor, entering an office.

Inside, a man wearing a thick gold chain looked up. He was surprised to see the two enter, but quickly stood up with a smile to welcome them. "Well, if it isn't Brother Ming? What brings you to my place for tea today?"

"Coming to see Boss Chen naturally means I have business for you," Yang Ming smiled, leading Lu Feng to sit down at the tea table.

"Brother Ming, come, have a cup of tea first!" Seeing this, Chen Bo warmly poured tea for both Yang Ming and Lu Feng.

He was in the gold recycling business. Usually, when people wanted to sell or pawn gold, they went to his storefront. Anyone who came directly to his office was definitely bringing gray-market goods.

In the county, he was the only one with the channels to process this kind of gold in large quantities.

And dealing in these gray-market goods yielded higher profits if you had the right channels.

After drinking two cups of tea and chatting for a bit, Yang Ming looked at Lu Feng.

Understanding the cue, Lu Feng placed the bag on the table and opened it, revealing the gold inside.

"Boss Chen, take a look at this gold and tell me how much it's worth," Yang Ming said, deliberately implying the gold belonged to him.

After all, if this transaction left any loose ends, it could be troublesome. His cousin wasn't part of the underworld, so if anything went wrong, Yang Ming would take the heat.

Chen Bo had already guessed Yang Ming's purpose. Without any surprise, he smiled and stepped forward to examine the jewelry.

Soon, a look of surprise crossed his face. Although the styles of the jewelry were unusual, they were extremely exquisite. They didn't look like they had been worn for long, nor were they deformed in any way.

With just a bit of polishing, they could be sold as brand new, requiring very little effort.

"Brother Ming, the condition of this batch of gold is excellent," Chen Bo said, slightly surprised. "But as you know, for gold without receipts or proof of purchase, I have to take another ten percent off the recycling price."

"Sure, we'll go by the rules," Yang Ming said, giving Lu Feng a subtle nod.

Lu Feng understood the reasoning. The other party was taking a risk, so they had to make a profit.

Besides, even at an eighty percent buyback rate, it would still come to over 201,600 yuan. It was still pure profit.

Chen Bo picked up the pieces of jewelry to test them one by one. Once he confirmed it was pure gold, he began to weigh them. In the end, the weight matched Lu Feng's measurement—just over 1 jin and 2 li.

Chen Bo smiled and said, "Brother Ming, it's a total of 1 jin, 2 li, and 3 grams, which is 603 grams. That comes to 202,000 yuan. Give me a card number!"

Yang Ming turned to Lu Feng. "Give Boss Chen your card number."

Lu Feng nodded and recited his bank card number.

Chen Bo didn't find this odd. In their line of work, many people had issues with their own bank accounts—either money couldn't be transferred in, or the accounts were at risk of being frozen. Using a relative's or friend's card was very common.

Chen Bo was decisive. He quickly transferred the money to Lu Feng and didn't forget to add, "Brother Ming, if you have more business in the future, remember to look after your brother."

"Will do," Yang Ming nodded politely.

However, he didn't expect his cousin to have any more gold. A tomb with that much gold wouldn't have waited around for his cousin to find it.

Ever since that boss got rich from finding an ancient tomb, for a period of time, almost every tomb in the county—no matter how hidden—had been targeted.

There was even an instance where an elderly person was buried one day, and some brainless thieves looted the grave the very next day.

As the notification of the incoming funds arrived, Lu Feng thought of the remaining gold in the jewelry store. He had only cleared out one counter, and there were over a dozen counters in that store.