Chapter 6: Money-Loving Old Henry
Daniel was beaming after returning to the diving shop. He patted Xiao Peng on the shoulder and said, "You Chinese are so kind! I'll treat you to dinner tonight! How about 'Old Joseph'? Let's go for a couple of drinks!"
The reason why he was so excited was that he had escaped a disaster today: he ran a diving equipment store, and if he offended the Tourism Bureau, it would be a question whether his diving equipment store could continue to operate.
No matter which country, "black tour guides" will have to pay the price if they are caught!
Xiao Peng shook his head: "Thank you, I won't go! I still have some things to take care of! I have to work tonight!"
He was concerned about the gold coin he found at the bottom of the sea and wanted to go to the antique shop to check it out.
But Daniel said after hearing this, "Come on, Xiao, do you think you're lying to me? Don't you work every two days? What do you do at night? Besides, it's inconvenient for me to treat these two beauties to dinner because we don't speak the same language. It won't be conducive to deepening our relationship!"
Xiao Peng's face was filled with black lines. It seems that this is the reason why you invited me to dinner! The real purpose is not the wine --- it's those two pieces of meat!
Are you not satisfied after having sex with Wang Shuang and want to do something more exciting?
This made Xiao Peng even more upset, so he shook his head and refused, "No, no, no, Daniel, thank you for your kindness, but I do have things to do. You're so charming that you can get Wang Shuang into bed even without speaking the same language. What need do you need for a translator? If I were you, I'd be leaving right away. That way, there'd be less competition and less of a third wheel!"
Daniel thought for a moment and said, "Well, you're right! Okay, wait a minute!"
He pulled out two hundred euros from his pocket and handed them to Xiao Peng: "Actually, I wasn't planning on giving you the money tonight. After all, I can't collect money from them after something like this happened. But since you've been so generous in helping me out today, I'll give you the two hundred euros anyway!"
After hearing this, Xiao Peng wanted to curse!
If you don't take care of your crotch, you will never be charged money again!
Of course, he couldn't say this. After all, he still had to rely on Daniel's part-time job in the future, right? He took the money and put it in his pocket and said to Daniel, "Thank you! I'll be leaving now!"
He said goodbye to the two women and pushed his bike to leave. Wang Shuang seemed eager for him to leave. After all, everyone has a sense of shame, and she didn't want too many people to know about her relationship with Daniel, especially since Xiao Peng was her compatriot. But Miao Pei asked for his phone number and said she would treat Xiao Peng to dinner to thank him for the wonderful diving trip.
After giving Miao Pei his phone number, Xiao Peng said goodbye to them and rode his bike all the way to Marius Giouffret Street.
This is a commercial street near the Old Port of Marseille, with many souvenir and antique shops. Xiao Peng came here to appraise the gold coin he had found.
He arrived at an antique shop called "Money-Loving Old Henry." The owner was a coin collector, otherwise there wouldn't be such a strange name. While they also sold other antiques, a long counter was devoted to a wide variety of ancient coins, and coin collectors often came here to chat and exchange ideas.
However, Xiao Peng felt disappointed before he could say anything: among the various ancient gold and silver coins on the counter, the most expensive one was only over 200 euros.
The owner is a white-haired French old man who wears gold-rimmed glasses, a small jacket and a small hat on his head. If he had a small cigarette butt in his mouth, he would look like Sherlock Holmes.
Many French men like to wear hats, in large part because they want to cover up their baldness. Here, many people have already developed a standard "Mediterranean" hairstyle in their early thirties.
A very important reason for this problem is the water quality.
While in China, Xiao Peng knew that foreigners preferred cold water, and that tap water was drinkable. However, after trying it once, Xiao Peng returned to drinking hot water: the tap water here has a strong bleaching smell that makes you feel sick. Locals are used to the taste, but many suffer from hair loss as a result.
"Young man, do you like ancient coins?" Seeing Xiao Peng looking down at the ancient coins, the shop owner greeted him.
Xiao Peng looked at the shop owner and asked curiously, "Hello, boss. I see that the ancient coins here are all ancient gold and silver coins, right? But I see that the most expensive one is only over 200 euros. Why are they so cheap?"
The shop owner glanced at Xiao Peng. Perhaps because there were no customers and he was bored, he replied, "Don't call me boss. Call me Old Henry. You've fallen into a misunderstanding. The value of an ancient coin lies not in its age but in its rarity. I think you should understand the principle that 'scarcity makes things valuable.'"
Xiao Peng nodded: "You mean these are common gold and silver coins, right? But at this price, I feel like it's not enough to buy gold."
Old Henry laughed. "Well, young man, it seems you don't understand European history. Let's not talk about other places, just France. During the Middle Ages, there were at least three hundred types of gold coins in circulation throughout France! As for silver coins, the number was even greater!"
"So many?" Xiao Peng exclaimed.
"Is that a lot?" Old Henry shook his head. "Take a look at Italy. During the Middle Ages, there were five or six hundred officially issued gold coins! These coins were all mixed with impurities, their value was extremely chaotic and completely unreliable. Furthermore, they were issued in such large quantities that their value was naturally low."
After hearing this, Xiao Peng's face was full of disappointment. He thought he could make a fortune, but he didn't expect that the ancient gold coins were so worthless.
Old Henry saw Xiao Peng's expression and asked curiously, "Why? You look disappointed. Do you have any gold coins to sell?"
Xiao Peng shook his head: "That's not the case. My friend sent me a photo and asked me to find out the value of the gold coin."
He wasn't a fool, so how could he possibly tell the owner of an antique shop he had just met? He still knew the principle of comparing prices before shopping.
Old Henry didn't doubt Xiao Peng's words: "Can I see the photos?"
Xiao Peng took out his cell phone, opened the photo of the gold coins he had taken on the road, and handed the phone to Old Henry.
Old Henry took the phone and glanced at it, his expression changing. He pulled his glasses from the counter, put them on, and continued examining it. He then said, "This is a 'Bai Zant'. To be more precise, it's a 'slave coin' from the Shejelai-Doul period. Didn't you say that ancient gold coins are worthless? You can go back and congratulate your friend. This is a valuable item, but the exact value should be determined in person."
Xiao Peng blinked. "Mr. Henry, I understand every word you said, but I don't understand what it means when you put it together! 'Bai Zant'? 'Slave Currency'? Can you explain it to me?"
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