"Who the hell is so rude to come visit so late at night?"
Zhao Laohan opened the gate while muttering. He looked up and saw two people standing outside the gate, leading two tall horses.
Because it was dark, he couldn't see his face clearly, and asked unhappily:
"Who are you? Why are you looking for me so late?"
"Uncle Zhao, you don't recognize me. I am Li Yuemin from Hongqi Village, and my second brother is Zhuzi."
"Oh my god, it's the two benefactors who have come. Look at my eyes. Come on, go inside and get warm."
When Zhao Laohan heard that it was Li Yuemin and Zhuzi, his expression changed immediately. He took the reins of the horse and walked into the yard.
He tied the horse under a tree and courteously ushered the two into the house. He picked up the thermos and prepared to pour a cup of hot water for Li Yuemin to warm up.
Unexpectedly, the thermos was empty, and he was so angry that he cursed:
"This old spendthrift woman doesn't want to live like this anymore."
...
...
When Li Yuemin heard this, he waved his hands repeatedly:
"Uncle, we don't want to drink water, so stop working."
Zhao Laohan rubbed his hands and laughed:
"I know you guys came so late, you must have something to talk to me about.
Tell me, if it can be done, I will definitely do it. If it cannot be done, I will try my best to do it. "
"Uncle, you are really funny. I will tell you straight away. I came here today to find two hunting dogs and to inquire about something."
"That's it. No problem. No problem."
Zhao Laohan poked the stove and muttered:
"It's not easy for you two benefactors to come here, and the weather is so cold. I'll fry some peanuts and we can have a couple of drinks before we leave."
Seeing his enthusiasm, Li Yuemin stopped trying to stop him. Just as he was about to ask about the wild woman, the door of the kang cabinet suddenly opened, and a package fell out with a thud.
It turned out that Zhao Laohan had not closed the cabinet door tightly, and the gold nugget fell out.
Li Yuemin turned his head upon hearing the sound and saw a golden stone exposed from the corner of the leather package.
He was immediately startled and was about to reach out to take it, but Zhao Laohan rushed onto the kang and quickly blocked it with his body:
"Hey, it's nothing."
"Uncle Zhao, don't hide it, it's a nugget of gold."
When Zhao Laohan heard that the treasure could no longer be hidden, he turned around and said awkwardly:
"I didn't expect that you are so young and yet so knowledgeable. Dog-head gold is very rare. How do you know about it?"
"Oh, I've only heard of it and seen pictures of it, but I've never seen the real thing."
Li Yuemin said modestly.
In fact, Li Yuemin had seen gold nuggets in his previous life. It was in the 1980s when he went to Qinghai to do business.
His friend was the president of the Western Mongolian Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Bank. At that time, two herdsmen accidentally picked up a gold nugget in the pastoral area.
According to local regulations, this treasure must be handed over to the government.
The two herdsmen were greedy and secretly split the nugget into three pieces with an axe and sold them to the bank privately. They ran away with the money that night.
However, the truth could not be hidden, and the Qinghai Geological Bureau found out about it.
In order to restore this precious treasure, the laboratory had to use epoxy resin to glue the three pieces of gold nuggets together. After many twists and turns, it finally ended up at the China Geological Museum.
Seeing Li Yuemin staring at the dog head with shining eyes, Zhao Dahan couldn't help but ask:
"It seems that you are a connoisseur of goods, could you please tell me how much it is worth?"
After saying that, he handed the nugget of gold to Li Yuemin.
Li Yuemin took it with both hands and saw that the dog-head gold piece looked like a three-legged golden toad, with its eyes bulging and its mouth slightly open.
It is about 30 centimeters long, 20 centimeters wide, and 16 centimeters high. I weighed it and looked at it again and again:
"Oh, Uncle Zhao, you have hidden a great treasure.
This piece of nugget gold weighs at least eight kilograms and is of fairly pure quality. It is estimated that the gold content is at least 70 to 80 percent.
If it were sold at the public gold price, it would at least be this amount.
If you sell it on the black market, you’ll probably get another slap in the face.”
After saying that, Li Yuemin put the gold nugget on the table, stretched out his hand, and doubled it.
"Oh my god, you mean it can be sold for 10,000 yuan?"
"Uncle, add another zero at the end."
"How much? One hundred thousand? Oh my god, I'm dizzy."
When Zhao Laohan heard this, he felt dizzy and it took him a long time to calm himself down. He opened the door and poked his head out.
Seeing that there was no one outside, he closed the door again and drew the straw curtain again and again. Then he turned around, held the gold nugget in his arms, stroking it, stroking it, and suddenly he started to cry.
"Oh, if I had known this thing was so valuable, I wouldn't have hunted.
If I hadn't hunted, my two sons wouldn't have died and one would have been disabled. Oh my God, you really know how to play tricks on people."
Seeing this, Li Yuemin didn't know what to say to comfort him. After Zhao Laohan had cried enough, he asked:
"Uncle Zhao, don't you know that this thing is valuable? Where did you get it?"
When asked by Li Yuemin, Zhao Laohan wiped his tears and said:
“I’m sorry to make you laugh, this thing was left by my grandfather.
It is gold, but it also contains stone particles. It is not gold, but it is golden.
My grandfather called it dog-head gold, but as you just saw, it doesn’t look like a dog’s head.
All I knew was that it was a rare item, so I kept it locked in a closet.
Well, seeing that our family could no longer make ends meet, I was thinking of taking it out and exchanging it for some money.
What you said just now almost scared me to death.
My benefactor, you are very knowledgeable, please tell me, what exactly is nugget gold?
"Uncle Zhao, I'll show off and tell you about it.
This thing is naturally formed, and some of it grows into the shape of a dog's head, called "dog-head gold".
Some grow in the shape of a horse hoof, called "horse hoof gold", others grow in the shape of a turtle or an ox head, but most are called "dog head gold."
"Brother, that nugget gold isn't gold, why is it so valuable?"
Zhuzi fiddled with the gold nugget and asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"That's because dog-head gold is very rare and precious. Its own value is usually much higher than the value of refined gold. Therefore, it is usually used as a mineral specimen collected in major museums."
After Li Yuemin finished speaking, he asked Zhao Laohan:
"Uncle Zhao, did your grandfather tell you how he got this nugget of gold?"
The reason why Li Yuemin asked so many questions is that he knew that nugget gold is usually found inside and near gold mines, especially in rivers, beaches and other places near gold mines.
If the source of the nugget gold is found, the location of the gold mine can be determined. But the matter is confidential, and Zhao Laohan must not be informed of the search for the gold mine.
When Zhao Laohan heard that the gold nugget in his hand was so valuable, his hands began to tremble as he was frying peanuts.
The half-cooked food was served on the table. He took three large bowls and divided the remaining half bottle of wine into three portions.
He wrapped a peanut and threw it into his mouth, took another sip of wine, sighed, and then said:
"Well, to be honest, this nugget of gold was obtained by my grandfather at the cost of his life. If it weren't for your asking, I would never tell you even if I die."
"Trading with my life? Uncle, what do you mean by that?"
Li Yuemin asked in confusion.
"Listen to me and I will tell you slowly. My family has been hunting for generations. Among all the villages around us, my grandfather is the most skilled and has the best marksmanship.
I remember when I was 13 or 14 years old, I followed my grandfather and my father into the mountains to hunt. We chased a red deer and chased it deep into the dense forest.
When my grandfather saw that the forest was shrouded in fog and he had never been there before, he decided not to chase after him.
But my father was unwilling to let go of the prey he had caught, and he rushed into the woods despite my grandfather's dissuasion.
As a result, something terrible happened during the pursuit!"
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