Thinking about how much money she had earned, Jia Zhangshi decided to treat herself. After hiding the gold bracelet and gold ingots, she pushed her wheelchair out of her house, bought two catties of meat and a chicken, and came back to celebrate with Bang Geng.
Since the items were found, Jia Zhangshi was afraid of getting into trouble. It wasn't until half a month later that she secretly took the items to the gold shop, intending to exchange them for money.
Secretly finding the gold shop owner, Jia Zhangshi handed over the bracelet and gold ingots. Seeing Jia Zhangshi's furtive appearance, the owner assumed a big deal had come his way and immediately went over.
The owner of the gold shop was very excited when he saw Jia Zhangshi take out a gold ingot and a gold bracelet.
The gold shop owner placed ten taels of gold on the scale, but was greatly disappointed when he weighed it. In ancient times, one jin was sixteen taels, so ten taels was 313.9g.
But this gold ingot already weighs over 320 grams. Ordinary things might have some variation, but if it's real gold, it can't possibly get heavier, it can only get lighter.
The boss, who had been all smiles, simply handed the items to Jia Zhangshi.
"Take your things and get out of here! You're trying to lie to me, Wang Mazi! Do you really think I'm someone to be trifled with?"
Hearing the gold shop owner's words, Jia Zhangshi was completely confused. She had clearly come to sell things, yet he treated her with this attitude.
As for the boss's words, Jia Zhangshi completely ignored them, as she did not believe that her gold was fake.
In Jia Zhangshi's view, this was just a way for the boss to lower the price. She had gold in her hands and was not afraid of not being able to sell it. The current market price of gold was about 45 yuan, and they were definitely making a profit from the price difference.
Jia Zhangshi casually weighed the items in her hands and knew that the total weight definitely exceeded 450 grams. If the shopkeeper tried to lower the price, she would lose four or five hundred yuan.
Seeing that the shop owner actually complained that her items weren't genuine, Jia Zhangshi went to another gold shop. Those who run gold shops aren't fools; their professional knowledge far surpasses Jia Zhangshi's.
The other person simply weighed the gold ingot in their hand and returned it to Jia Zhangshi without even exchanging a few words with her.
If it were just one boss doing this, Jia Zhangshi might have assumed it was someone trying to drive down the price. But when three bosses did it in a row, even if Jia Zhangshi were out of her mind, she would know there was something wrong.
"Boss, what's wrong with this? Why did you just reject it without even looking at it?"
“Grandma, there’s no need to look at your things. The weight of your gold ingot is wrong. Judging from the style of the gold, it looks like a product of the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, one jin was sixteen liang, so ten liang would be 313.9g. Considering the wind, sun and weathering, the gold now is probably only 312.78g.”
After saying that, he put the gold on the scale. However, the gold in Jia Zhang's possession was more than ten grams less than the amount the shopkeeper had said, and it wasn't decreasing, but increasing.
"Take another look at the weight of your gold. You can tell it's fake without even checking it. If you don't believe me, give me the gold bracelet, and I'll cut it in half so you can see what's going on."
Upon hearing the gold shop owner's words, Jia Zhangshi instinctively handed over the bracelet. After receiving the gold bracelet, the gold shop owner immediately took pliers and cut it in half.
Ordinary people wouldn't notice the problem, but the boss discovered that it wasn't gold inside. Apart from a layer of gold plating on the surface, the rest was probably brass. Brass is similar in color to gold, so it's indeed difficult to tell the difference without careful observation.
People today may recognize brass, but in the past, most people had never even seen brass because ordinary people had no access to it.
"Ma'am, this isn't a gold bracelet at all. Judging from its hardness and subtle color variations, it should be brass. If you don't believe me, I'll heat it up for you right now."
Upon hearing the gold shop owner's words, Jia Zhangshi nodded. But before burning it, the gold shop owner revealed what he knew to avoid misunderstandings.
"The old lady's pure gold will not change color after being burned in the fire; it will still retain its original golden yellow color. This is because gold has very good chemical stability and will not react chemically with the oxygen in the flame."
"Even when heated to high temperatures, gold will not change color and may even become shinier due to the heat."
"Unlike gold, brass changes color when heated, usually turning dark red or dark brown, and may even turn black. This is because brass contains zinc, which oxidizes into zinc oxide at high temperatures, thus changing the color of the brass. Today I will teach you how to distinguish real gold from fake gold."
After the gold shop owner finished speaking, he put Jia Zhangshi's bracelet under the fire to heat it. In less than two minutes, the gold bracelet turned dark red.
Seeing that the bracelet had changed color, the shopkeeper didn't waste any more effort. He simply cooled it down and returned it to Jia Zhangshi.
Undeterred, Jia Zhangshi took the gold ingots to the next jewelry shop. Each shop owner could see the difference, and none of them wanted the gold ingots in Jia Zhangshi's hand.
In less than half a day, the whole street knew about Jia Zhangshi's affair. Whenever an old woman came out showing off her gold ingots, no one wanted to pay her any attention.
Jia Zhangshi didn't know how she got back. She had come out in high spirits, but returned as if her parents had died.
Upon seeing his grandmother return, Banggeng thought the gold had been stolen and immediately gritted his teeth and sat up.
"Grandma, what's wrong? You were so happy when you left this morning. Did something bad happen? Could your gold have been stolen?"
Upon hearing Bang Geng's words, Jia Zhangshi could no longer hold on. Tears and snot streamed down her face, and she pounded on her wheelchair with both hands, causing her bracelets and gold ingots to fall off her feet.
"That damned person last time was completely lying to me; it was all a setup. These aren't gold bracelets or gold ingots at all; they're made of copper, and forged using modern technology."
Upon hearing Jia Zhangshi's words, Bang Geng couldn't even support himself and slid onto the bed instead of leaning against the headboard.
It wasn't just Jia Zhangshi who couldn't accept this fact; Bang Geng couldn't accept it either. Although wages have increased a lot now, they're still only around 400 yuan, the same as the average person's.
This is just the average salary. Those with high salaries earn thousands of yuan, while the average person is lucky to earn 300 yuan.
More than 8,000 yuan, almost three years' income for an average person. Enough for a family to live on for five or six years, but now that money is all gone.
Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng were at a loss for what to do next. The only valuable thing the Jia family owned was this house. But selling it wouldn't be easy, because the Jia family still owed the bank a large sum of money.
Now the Jia family has no other choice but to sell the house, because they only have one or two yuan left. If they can't sell the house within two days, Jia Zhangshi and Banggeng will go hungry.
Aside from grumbling all night, Bang Geng couldn't do anything. Early that morning, he could only send Jia Zhangshi out to sell the house.
Fortunately, my house is still worth something. I bought it for over 300 yuan per square meter, and now it's worth about 500 yuan per square meter. After deducting the handling fees and commissions, I can sell it for at least 40,000 yuan. After paying back the bank, I'll still have nearly 30,000 yuan in my hands.
With this money, he could live on his own. Once he felt better, he could always go back to business. Banggeng only prayed that nothing else would happen to his grandmother. If another accident occurred, Banggeng didn't know if he would even be able to hold on until he recovered.
Bang Geng and Jia Zhangshi's idea was excellent, but someone had to be interested in their house. Especially since Bang Geng had taken out a large loan from the bank.
The wealthy looked down on Banggeng's house, while the poor couldn't afford it. Left with no other option, Banggeng and Jia Zhangshi lowered their prices.
The original house price was around 460, but they immediately lowered it to 420. Even at 420, people still chose to wait and see. Those who urgently needed money eventually lowered the price to 400.
Seeing that the house price had dropped by 10%, someone couldn't resist immediately. They snapped up the house that Bang Geng was holding. After paying off his bank loan, all Bang Geng had left was [amount missing].
Because of Banggeng's insistence, the money ended up in his hands. Although Jia Zhangshi was somewhat dissatisfied, there was nothing she could do. Banggeng wouldn't have signed the papers unless the money was transferred to his account.
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