Chapter 178: Fake Silver from Foreign Merchants
Gu Tang stretched out his fingers and rubbed them on the silver-stained stone bricks a few times. Soon, his fingers were also stained with silver.
"Is this...silver powder?"
"Only the surface layer is silver powder, not the inside." Gu Lianshan showed Gu Tang the side where the silver powder had been ground off.
Gu Tang looked at it carefully and found no difference, because the color inside the "silver block" was also silver, and it looked exactly the same as the silver powder on the surface.
She asked curiously, "Where did you get this?"
"In the early years, we often had foreign merchants passing by. Those merchants were very evil. I don't know where they got a kind of silver stone from. At first glance, it looks like a silver block.
In order to make the stones look more like silver bars, the foreign merchants smeared silver powder on the outside of the stones and pretended they were silver bars when they did business with the people here. I don't know how many people were fooled by them and how many families were harmed! ”
Even today, Gu Lianshan is still furious when he mentions this. He glanced at the two stones in his hand and said, "These two stones were exchanged by villagers who were deceived. After they were recognized as fake silver, they were thrown away.
My father was so angry that he picked it up and kept it. If he had the chance, he would use this stone to deceive the foreign merchants! Unfortunately, over the years, those foreign merchants have avoided us and no longer come here. ”
At the end, Gu Lianshan's tone was full of regret.
Gu Tang's thoughts had already drifted elsewhere. The color of this thing was very similar to that of silver, a bit like the aluminum and white copper she knew.
Of course, this thing is unlikely to be aluminum. Aluminum ore has many impurities and is not so bright in color. Only synthetic aluminum will look very much like silver.
In ancient times, it is unlikely that synthetic aluminum was available.
It is most likely white copper.
The ancients were quite good at smelting copper.
But it is not absolute, the color of manganese ore is also like silver.
But no matter what it is, in ancient times, it was not as valuable as silver.
In the previous life, there were unscrupulous merchants who used white copper to deceive people. I didn’t expect that in ancient times there were also counterfeit silver, and it was so realistic. This is really... a good way to make money!
"You plan to give them these two stones?"
"Yes!" Gu Lianshan weighed the two stones with a scale, and it was a little over eleven taels. "That's a bargain for them. I'll give them an extra tael!"
"Will they recognize it? Won't the silver powder fall off if I hold it in my hand?" Gu Tang took the stone and rubbed it hard. It didn't fall off? !
"It can't be rubbed off. I don't know how those foreign merchants did it. The silver powder on the stone is very difficult to remove unless it is polished on the stone. If you use other methods, it will be very difficult to remove it."
It was also because of this that so many people were deceived back then.
"Ordinary small merchants can't make change for such a large silver ingot. If you want to spend it, you have to go to a bank to exchange it for copper coins or loose silver coins.
The money shop has a way to identify the authenticity of silver. This little trick can fool us farmers, but it can't fool the old masters in the money shop. If you give it to them, you don't have to worry about them spending it and cheating others. ”
Gu Tang nodded: "Then I'll listen to you and give them this... 'silver'."
Gu Lianshan picked up the scale and went to the main room with the "silver".
In the main room, Gu Mei was extremely anxious. If her father Ruosi didn't come back, she would go out to look for him.
Just as this thought came to mind, the curtain at the door was lifted, and Gu Lianshan walked in with a sullen face as a cold wind blew into the room.
Seeing someone coming back, Gu Mei and the Zhu family all smiled and looked at Gu Lianshan's hands.
The Zhu family had never touched silver in their lives, and they didn't know what a scale was. When they saw that Gu Lianshan only had a small scale in his hand but no silver, the Zhu family's smiles immediately disappeared.
Gu Mei was more knowledgeable than the Zhu family. She had seen Gu Tang use this thing to weigh copper coins, and had also heard Gu Tang and Gu Ping'an introduce this thing, saying that it was used to weigh silver.
Now that her father has brought this thing to her, he must be using it to weigh out silver for her!
Gu Mei was ecstatic and her breathing became heavier.
Gu Lianshan did not keep the secret and took out the two pieces of silver from his sleeve. In front of Gu Mei and the Zhu family, he weighed the silver with a scale and found it was a little more than eleven taels. He also asked Zhao to be a witness.
"The Zhu family doesn't know what this is, but you should know it. These two pieces of silver weigh eleven taels. Please be a witness, so that the Zhu family won't deny it when they leave this house."
Ever since the silver appeared, the Zhu family no longer has eyes for anyone else but the silver!
When they heard that the silver weighed eleven taels, they were not angry at all that Gu Lianshan thought of them like this. Smiles returned to their faces, and they kept saying that they were not the kind of people who were shameless.
Gu Lianshan ignored them and only let Zhao look.
Zhao took a closer look and nodded to the Zhu family: "This is a scale for weighing silver. The weight of the silver is a little over eleven taels, it is correct."
The Zhu family members were so happy that their teeth were showing. Old Mrs. Zhu actually stepped forward to take the silver: "Everyone says you have a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Now it is true. You said you would give ten taels, but in the end you still loved Mei girl, so you gave her one tael more..."
The hands he stretched out received nothing, so Gu Lianshan took the silver back and put it in a purse.
Old Lady Zhu froze for a moment, unable to suppress her greed, and continued to shamelessly ask Gu Lianshan for money: "This is Mei's dowry. She is young, and I dare not give her so much money..."
"Grandma! What nonsense are you talking about!" Gu Mei pulled Old Lady Zhu with a gloomy face and said in a sharp voice: "This is my dowry money! No one is allowed to touch it except me!"
Old Mrs. Zhu regained her consciousness and smiled at Gu Mei: "You are too young and have never managed a household. I am afraid that you will spend the money recklessly, so I will keep it for you. If you need the money for something, I will give it to you or ask your mother-in-law for it..."
Upon hearing this, Yan immediately became annoyed. The old man really was good at scheming! He wants to seize the money, but also covets his own private property!
Pooh! Do you really think others are stupid?
Yan's mind changed, and she stood with Gu Mei: "Mother, what are you doing? This is Mei's dowry. As a mother-in-law, I am not jealous of my daughter-in-law's dowry. How can you, as a grandmother, do such a stupid thing!"
Being humiliated in public by her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhu's face immediately turned black.
Before she could open her mouth to reprimand Yan, she heard Gu Mei yelling in extreme anger: "If you are so concerned about my dowry, then I won't marry you! With this money, I can get married even if my reputation is ruined!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the Zhu family members all changed their expressions.
Mr. Zhu started to scold Mrs. Zhu, "You are so short-sighted! That's Mei's dowry! Who would covet their wives' dowries? If this gets out, you will lose face!"
Old Mrs. Zhu was stunned by the scolding, but now she also realized that she had been too impatient and angered Gu Mei, making her decide not to get married.
With a smile on her face, Old Lady Zhu was very flexible and she slapped herself in the face, then humbly submitted to Gu Mei.
"I've never seen silver before. I was blinded by it and did something stupid. Don't hold it against me. This dowry is yours. Take it quickly. I promise I won't do it again!"
Seeing that her mother-in-law knew the seriousness of the matter, Yan was relieved and smiled apologetically to give her some advice: "Your grandmother is confused, let's ignore her. Just for the sake of your fifth cousin, we can't say we won't marry. It will hurt your fifth cousin's heart."
When Gu Mei heard Yan mention Zhu Youshou, the expression on her face relaxed and she glanced in Zhu Youshou's direction.
Zhu Laosan noticed Gu Mei's gaze and hurriedly pushed his son to the front of the crowd, "Your fifth cousin has always missed you, otherwise, he wouldn't have come with us on such a cold day."
Zhu Youshou was somewhat at a loss, his yellow-white face slightly flushed, and he murmured, "Cousin Mei..."
Zhu Youshou inherited Yan's appearance, with a delicate figure and a straight back. Among the skinny Zhu family members, he was neither fat nor thin, which made him look even more handsome, with a bit of the charm of a scholar.
This is what Gu Mei liked.
After glancing at Zhu Youshou, Gu Mei no longer said she would not marry, but she enjoyed the Zhu family's humble flattery of her very much, so she vented her anger by saying a few harsh words, which made the Zhu family even more lose their temper. They just kept apologizing and saying nice things, and they were fawning on her in every way.
After enjoying the flattery of the Zhu family, Gu Mei felt much better. She reached out to take the purse, but was met with the look in her father's eyes, and her good mood immediately dropped by half.
There was no emotion in his calm eyes, as if he was looking at a stranger.
This made Gu Mei very uncomfortable.
Pursing her lips, she grabbed the purse, opened it in front of her father, and poured out the silver bars inside, unable to hide the smile on her face.
After looking at the silver, she put it back into her purse, stopped looking at her father, turned around and ordered the Zhu family to follow her to the east wing and help her pack her clothes and bedding.
She wants to take away everything in her room!
The Zhu family naturally had no objection. The Gu family was well-off, and the girls in the family wore and used things that were pleasing to the eye, which was better than their Zhu family.
When I bring those things back, maybe I can get some things I like from Gu Mei.
At this moment, the Zhu family only had Gu Mei in their eyes and completely forgot about Zhao.
Zhao watched helplessly as the Zhu family left her in the house, her face gloomy as hell!
How can you forget about the matchmaker after the thing is done?
Don’t even think about asking her to be a matchmaker for the Zhu family anymore in the future!
Taking a deep breath, Zhao calmed down her anger, stood up and said goodbye to Gu Lianshan and her third uncle.
Actually, this matter had nothing to do with Zhao, and Gu Lianshan did not vent his anger on her. He nodded at her and sent her out.
After sending him to the corridor, Gu Lianshan stopped. Zhu Laosan's ox cart was parked in the yard. Zhao got on the cart directly without any courtesy. She wrapped herself in the quilt that Zhu Youshou had been wrapped in when he came and watched the movement in the east wing with cold eyes.
Third Uncle followed closely behind him and stood in the corridor. His lips moved slightly and he asked Gu Lianshan in a low voice: "Is there a problem with the silver?"
Gu Lianshan paused, pulled the corner of his mouth and felt better, and replied in a low voice: "I knew I couldn't hide it from you, there is indeed something wrong with the silver..."
Third Uncle glanced at him and said nothing.
He said that his adopted son had a very stubborn temper and would only respond to soft words and not hard ones. Gu Mei was being disloyal and siding with the Zhu family to plot against the family. He could not tolerate such behavior from his son.
Not only did Keren not beat Gu Mei, he also followed Gu Mei's wishes and actually took out ten taels of silver!
He had been thinking about this matter just now, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He always felt that there was something fishy going on here.
Sure enough, he guessed it right!
It was rare that someone other than his daughter could guess what he was thinking, so Gu Lianshan was very happy.
He continued, "I have raised Mei to this age, and now I have fulfilled her wish by letting her marry into the Zhu family. As a father, I have done my best. From now on, just treat her as dead. I will send Lai An away, and from now on, our family of four will live a peaceful life..."
The third uncle glanced at him and said, "A family of four? You're not going to marry again in the future?"
Gu Lianshan is only thirty-four this year, not too old, at the age when he is strong and healthy, and he is also good-looking. He also has a daughter at home who can earn money.
The person was adopted from the Gu family at the end of the village. There was no mother-in-law in this family, only a father-in-law with a very good reputation. If they wanted to remarry, they could marry a virgin.
No one comes to visit now, but the news of Zhang’s divorce has not spread widely yet. After some time, when the news of Zhang’s divorce spreads everywhere, the line of people who want to propose marriage to Gu Lianshan will be very long!
Thinking of this, Third Uncle felt a little uncertain as to whether his son would remarry.
"If you want to..."
"Stop!" Gu Lianshan's eyes widened and his voice rose a pitch.
"I dare not marry again! Think about it yourself. I have married two wives, each one more cruel and vicious than the other! If I marry another vicious woman, will our family be safe?"
These words choked Third Uncle, it was true that his son's wives, Zhu and Zhang, were women he could not say a single good thing about.
"If you don't want to marry, then don't marry. You have to think about it carefully. Don't suddenly bring a wife back home."
Gu Lianshan chuckled twice. If he dared to bring a wife back without saying hello, even if others didn't know, his second daughter's temper would make a big fuss!
Speak of the devil, here he comes. Gu Lianshan was about to think of Gu Tang, and out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of someone coming out of the west wing.
Just at this time, Gu Mei also packed up her things and came out from the east wing.
In this way, the two sisters stood in the east wing and the west wing respectively, staring at each other from a distance.
Gu Tang didn't want to pay attention to her. She just glanced at her and then walked along the corridor to the main room. Little did she know that her behavior had angered Gu Mei again.
Gu Mei frowned and turned around and went to the main room.
Perhaps it was because she was about to leave the Gu family, or perhaps it was because she had signed the severance agreement, Gu Mei felt that she would no longer be a member of the Gu family, and she would no longer have to endure Gu Tang's anger, nor would she have to be afraid of Gu Tang beating her. In the future, the Zhu family would stand behind her and support her!
Thinking of this, Gu Mei turned her back and shouted at Gu Tang: "Si Ya, after all, we have been sisters for more than ten years, why are you leaving as soon as you see me!"
Gu Tang rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, we have indeed been sisters for more than ten years. Every time I burn incense and pray to Buddha, I often ask the gods and Buddhas, how much sin did I commit in my previous life that I was punished to be a sister with you? If I had to choose, I would rather be reborn as a cat or dog than be a sister with you!"
This statement did not give Gu Mei any face at all, and by the way, it also called her worse than cats and dogs!
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