Chapter 8

Update Time: March 20, 2013

It wasn't joy, but genuine fear. If it were ten thousand yuan, Zhang Yang would have been elated, feeling he had come into a windfall. If it were one million yuan, he would have smiled so widely that his mouth couldn't close. But this was over twenty million yuan, such a huge sum that if it got out, it could lead to murder.

Zhang Yang might lack social experience, but that doesn't mean he was clueless. For two hundred yuan in rent, the old lady could bring her son to threaten him. If she knew he had dug up over twenty million yuan in gold from her house, wouldn't she fight to the death with him?

At this thought, Zhang Yang shivered and sat up, taking the military backpack he had intended to use for carrying soil and began to put the gold bars into it. As for the antique wooden box, it probably wasn't worth much. Zhang Yang hesitated for a moment but didn't bury it back in the ground.

He carefully filled the hole with soil, but with the gap left by the empty wooden box, it was impossible to fill it completely. Zhang Yang looked around, moved the brick under the table, and threw it into the hole. Taking advantage of no one noticing, he secretly went to the yard and brought back more bricks to level the ground. However, the floor of the room was already pitted and uneven from Zhang Yang's digging.

Zhang Yang brushed the dirt off his clothes, still wearing his camouflage uniform. He tidied up all his belongings in the room, which wasn't much, just a canvas bag with his clothes. After a thorough check, Zhang Yang found nothing left behind and sat on the bed, panting.

It was just getting dark, and people were still coming and going in the yard and on the street. Zhang Yang didn't dare to leave at this time; he had to wait until it was deep into the night to sneak out.

Zhang Yang had never felt time pass so slowly, even in the detention center, it was faster. He hadn't eaten anything, and even if dragon liver and phoenix gall were placed before him, he wouldn't have had an appetite.

Finally, the clock struck eleven, and the doors of the rental houses were all closed, and the rooms were quiet. Zhang Yang then left the small courtyard, carrying his backpack, the canvas bag, and the wooden box, bit by bit.

At this moment, Zhang Yang was relieved that he had never signed a lease with the landlord. Apart from his name, the old lady knew nothing about him, not even where he was from or what he did for a living.

Although it was summer, there were few people on the streets at this late hour. When Zhang Yang passed a garbage bin, he looked around and, seeing no one, smashed the wooden box and threw it into the garbage. This way, no one would know what he had dug up in that room.

The old lady probably thought he was retaliating for the rent increase! Indeed, as Zhang Yang had guessed, half a month later, the old lady found Zhang Yang's room always locked and, worried, opened the door to check. She immediately fainted in anger.

To prevent the old lady from discovering his actions, Zhang Yang had made the room a mess. The bed, which was in good condition, had its wooden boards torn off and trampled into two halves. The walls were scratched, and the floor was pitted and uneven. These damages far exceeded the five hundred yuan Zhang Yang had paid. The old lady was so regretful; apart from Zhang Yang's name, she had no information about him. After this, she began to sign leases with her tenants and collect rent according to the contract. If something like this happened again, she would be devastated. But she didn't know she had missed out on a huge fortune. Of course, if Zhang Yang didn't have his X-ray vision, the gold would have remained buried underground, possibly forever.

But all of this was now irrelevant to Zhang Yang. After disposing of the wooden box in the garbage, no one would know what he had done in that rental room. Zhang Yang didn't dare to stay in Hedong District and took a taxi to Nankai District.

After getting out of the taxi, Zhang Yang found a hotel to stay in. Because the items he carried were so valuable, he booked a standard room for 128 yuan per night, which was a significant expense for him.

After locking the door and putting the backpack on the bed, Zhang Yang took a shower and finally relaxed. The events of the past two days had been one after another, and only now did he have time to reflect on everything that had happened. That night, Zhang Yang thought a lot, not even knowing what he was thinking about. When he woke up, it was already noon the next day.

After washing his face to clear his head, Zhang Yang knew the most important thing now was to store the gold bars safely. Carrying them around was too risky. With his backpack and wearing his camouflage uniform, Zhang Yang walked into the Industrial and Commercial Bank.

Although he deeply resented the bank's fees, Zhang Yang had no idea where else to store the backpack safely. He had only heard about the bank's safe deposit box service once when delivering a package to a client. Before that, he had never known that banks could store other items besides money.

Zhang Yang asked at the consultation desk, "Hello, I want to rent a safe deposit box. Who should I talk to?"

The bank clerk called the hall manager, and things went more smoothly than Zhang Yang had expected. The bank already had a well-established process, and soon Liu Jian rented a safe deposit box for 1360 yuan per year, storing the backpack inside. Zhang Yang finally felt relieved.

Leaving the bank, Zhang Yang touched the gold bar he had kept in his pocket and walked into the Jin Dafu Jewelry Store.

"Hello, what would you like to buy?" the salesperson asked warmly.

Zhang Yang, a bit embarrassed, said, "Do you buy gold here?"

The salesperson smiled, "Did you buy it from us? Do you have the receipt?"

Zhang Yang shook his head, "No, this is a family heirloom. I need money urgently and plan to sell it."

The salesperson said, "Alright, please follow me. Since you didn't buy it from us, the price will be lower, and it will depend on the quality of the gold."

Zhang Yang was led to the counter and said, "Manager, this gentleman wants to sell gold."

The hall manager said, "Sir, gold is currently in an upward trend and has great collection value. Are you sure you want to sell it?"

Everyone knew that if someone came to sell gold, they were in trouble, but it was a formality to ask.

Zhang Yang nodded and took out the gold bar wrapped in red cloth, "Please take a look. What price can you offer?"

The hall manager and the salesperson fell silent. They had expected some jewelry, but it turned out to be a gold bar. The shape and the marks on it suggested it was from an earlier era, a family heirloom, not something bought from a jewelry store.

The hall manager quickly said, "Sir, please come this way."

He led Zhang Yang into a private room, not out of favoritism, but because gold bars were harder to authenticate than jewelry, especially old ones. The jewelry store had specialized appraisers who had to verify the authenticity before any price could be discussed. In the past, the store had been deceived, so people were now more cautious.

Zhang Yang wasn't worried; he had seen the gold bars with his own eyes and knew they were genuine.

Soon, a middle-aged man in his forties came in, picked up the gold bar, and began a series of tests, measuring, examining, and tapping. Finally, he nodded, "It's genuine, and the quality is excellent."

The hall manager smiled. Gold bars had high collection value, and if they stamped it with the Jin Dafu mark, they could sell it, making a significant profit.

After weighing it, the hall manager said, "Mr. Zhang, this gold bar weighs 1068 grams, and our buyback price is 330 yuan per gram."

Zhang Yang exclaimed, "Isn't gold over 400 yuan per gram now?"

The hall manager smiled, "Mr. Zhang, the selling price and the buyback price are different. If you had bought it from us, the price would be different."

Zhang Yang was prepared for this. Winning a prize required taxes, and transferring money required fees. Selling gold would definitely have a markup, but this was a bit steep.

Seeing Zhang Yang's hesitation, the hall manager said, "Mr. Zhang, I'm not lying. You'll get the same price at any jewelry store, and some might even offer less."

Zhang Yang bit his lip. Since he hadn't spent any money, he decided to sell it.

"Alright, I'll sell it," Zhang Yang said.

The hall manager smiled. Completing this transaction would earn him a good commission.

"I calculated the total to be 332,244 yuan. Do you want cash or a bank transfer?" the hall manager asked.

Zhang Yang, though prepared, was still shocked by the amount. Over 300,000 yuan. If he sold all of them, it would be a fortune. Fortunately, he had the self-control to know that doing so would easily attract attention.

He forced himself to stay calm, "Transfer 330,000 yuan to my bank account, and give me the rest in cash."

The hall manager smiled, "Alright." He called a salesperson and gave instructions. Soon, the transaction was completed, and the salesperson brought over an envelope.

The hall manager handed it to Zhang Yang, "Here is 2,244 yuan in cash, and the rest has been transferred to your account."

Zhang Yang took the money, "Thank you."

The hall manager, suddenly inspired, asked, "Mr. Zhang, do you have more gold bars like this at home?"

Zhang Yang was startled, "What do you want?"

Indeed, there were more. The hall manager had just been testing him, and Zhang Yang's reaction made him hopeful. He smiled, "If you want to sell more, you can contact me. Here is my business card. My name is Lan Haiyang."

Zhang Yang calmed down, "Manager Lan, this is a family heirloom. We wouldn't sell it if it weren't for an emergency. There are indeed more at home, but whether to sell them isn't up to me."

Lan Haiyang didn't press further, "Alright, Mr. Zhang. If you have the same idea, give me a call, and I'll offer you the best price."

Zhang Yang smiled, "Alright."

Leaving the jewelry store, Zhang Yang hurried to an ATM to check his balance. Indeed, 360,000 yuan was flashing in his account. 20,000 yuan was from the prize money, over 10,000 yuan from the lottery tickets he had bought in the past two days, and the rest was the 330,000 yuan just transferred.

With money, Zhang Yang was so excited he wanted to jump. He had never imagined money could come so easily.

If he hadn't just sent 300,000 yuan home, he would have sent another 300,000. But this time, he couldn't explain it, and his father's conservative nature would not forgive him if he knew Zhang Yang had earned money this way. Thinking of this, Zhang Yang could only laugh bitterly. At least his parents now had 300,000 yuan, enough to live on without the hard work of the past.

What to do next, Zhang Yang was at a loss.

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