The two exchanged a few words and left. Chen Feng returned to his seat and started cracking sunflower seeds.
The conversations were mostly about everyday family matters, like where the second son's child was working, or how the Wang family's son had gotten into a fight at school.
Chen Feng would chime in when he heard someone he knew, and just listen to the noise when he heard someone he didn't know.
At this moment, a plump old lady in her fifties, almost sixty, whom Chen Feng should call "aunt" according to seniority, looked at Chen Feng and asked curiously.
"Xiaofeng, do you guys really find gold when you're panning for gold?"
"Hmm...yes, but not many," Chen Feng said after a pause.
"Do you sell your gold at the market price? How much is it per gram?" the aunt continued to ask.
"No, the current market price for gold is around 460 or 470, right?"
“Ours are all nuggets of gold with impurities. We just refine them with fire and then the recycling point gives us 400 yuan per gram. The recycling point in Qiuling City can give us a little more, around 406 or 407 yuan per gram.”
Chen Feng shook his head and explained.
"Oh, I see. So yours is pure gold after it's been refined, right? Is the purity 99.9%?" the aunt asked.
"No way, if they did, could they give me 400 points? It's not that pure, they'll probably have to refine it further later." Chen Feng patted the sunflower seed shells off his hands and picked up a few peanuts.
"What's the difference? You probably can't tell the difference even if it's slight, right?" The great-aunt had never seen it before, so she didn't quite understand.
Upon hearing this, Chen Feng suddenly felt something was amiss. It didn't seem like they were just chatting idly; it seemed to have some other meaning.
He hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Of course we have it. The gold you bought is all 99.99 pure."
"A difference of one percent is quite significant, and our gold nuggets don't even shine after being burned. If you look closely, you can still see the difference," Chen Feng said solemnly.
"Gold will turn black over time, but that's alright," the aunt thought to herself.
"Xiaofeng, how much gold do you make in a month? Can you leave some for me? I'll give you back whatever amount they give you, okay?" Auntie finally revealed her plan.
“Yes, that works. Actually, one percent doesn’t make much difference, and you can’t really tell the difference. The key is that gold is expensive now, it’s already four hundred and sixty or seventy, but it’s only four hundred and a half here.” A relative realized this and quickly spoke up.
"Yeah, that's great. Fengzi, do you have any left? Leave some for me too."
"Yes, yes, leave some for me too."
"Hey, give me ten grams, I'd like to get an earring."
Chen Feng, eating peanuts, was stunned by the sight of everyone so enthusiastic.
No, I just came to have a drink, how did it suddenly turn into selling gold?
"No, no, wait, wait, wait, you guys overestimate me. I can't actually make that much gold in a month."
"Besides, all of my gold is nuggets with too many impurities and no certificate. You'll have a hard time selling it later."
"You guys shouldn't do this, you're not on the same page," Chen Feng said, waving his hand in refusal.
Chen Feng didn't want to take on this job at all; it was a thankless task.
The money is all the same; if you sell it to these relatives, you'll definitely end up with a lot of trouble later.
One relative would say the purity wasn't good enough, another would say the gold wasn't shiny enough.
Why bother with this nonsense? It's unnecessary.
"It's alright, you can save it slowly. We're not in a hurry. Besides, aren't there other gold prospectors in your village? They can save quite a bit in a month," the aunt said nonchalantly.
She's now focused on getting a good deal. If she buys gold from Chen Feng, even if she has to pay the craftsmanship fee at a jewelry store, she can still save tens of dollars per gram.
“They can’t buy much, and they’re all short of money. They’ll exchange it for cash as soon as they’re done buying, and they won’t even keep any for a day.” Chen Feng picked up a cigarette and lit it.
"Why don't we intercept those people selling gold outside the gold shops? We could give them a few extra dollars if we want," a relative suggested.
"Brother, are you really afraid I'll live too long? Stealing business from someone's doorstep, you're too arrogant. Even your competitors wouldn't do this." Chen Feng chuckled as he looked at his relative.
The relative nodded upon hearing this, realizing that something was amiss. "You're right," he said, "doing this is stealing other people's business."
"Is there really no other way? Can you help us think of something? Gold is too expensive now, we can't afford it," the aunt sighed.
"It really won't work. If it were, would it be possible for ordinary people like us? People would have been doing it a long time ago," Chen Feng said with a laugh.
No matter what you say, Chen Feng will definitely disagree and will never start this.
Once this precedent is set, Chen Feng can already foresee countless relatives coming to him to buy gold and silver, creating a mountain of messy and endless troubles.
"Alright, but if there's any cheap gold in the future, you better keep an eye out for it. I promise you won't be short of money, don't worry," the aunt said persistently, and she made a point of explaining to Chen Feng that she wasn't short of money and that he shouldn't worry.
"Alright, I'll definitely save any cheap gold I find for you guys, don't worry." Chen Feng nodded repeatedly.
As for when you'll meet, you'll just have to wait and see.
After chatting for a while, the door opened and Wang Shun's son returned.
"Oh, Auntie, Fengzi's here." Wang Shun's son greeted Chen Feng and his mother with a smile as soon as he entered the door.
"Brother," Chen Feng nodded and smiled, as a greeting.
"How's it going now? I heard you're panning for gold, is it going well?" Wang Shun's son came over and chatted casually.
"It's alright, a little better than working a part-time job," Chen Feng chuckled.
"That's fine then. Money's hard to earn these days. Our factory isn't hiring anymore."
"By the way, it's almost time. Let's go. How many people are in the car? Is it enough?" Wang Shun's son stood up and called out.
"More or less, there's still room in anyone's car, let's see if we can fit a few more people."
Some people came by car, but most of them actually came by public transport; they don't own a car.
The restaurant is a few kilometers away, and some of the older people can't walk that far, so they have to find someone to take them there.
“Fengzi, if you and your aunt can’t take a taxi later, I’ll pay for the fare. We don’t have enough cars, so we need to take these elderly people first.”
Wang Shun's son did the math and found that even the elderly ladies had no seats available, so he could only apologize to Chen Feng.
"It's alright, it's alright. I drove here. You don't need to worry about me, just tell me where it is." Chen Feng nodded repeatedly.
"You drove here?" Wang Shun's son asked, somewhat surprised.
He didn't expect Chen Feng to have a car now. Things have changed in the past few years. It seems that making money is really profitable.
"Hey, Fengzi, you bought a car?"
"We have no idea what kind of car they bought."
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