Chapter 46: Empty-handed Wolf Catching!

Li Xiangdong looked at the two bickering men, sighed, and said, “Are you two going to talk or am I? If you two could think of what to bring, would you still need me to give you ideas?”

“You talk, Dongzi, you talk.”

“Brother Dong, you talk. I’ll shut up, alright?”

Ah Zhe and Hou San shut their mouths and stopped arguing.

Li Xiangdong took a sip of the Tieguanyin in his hand, “Hou San, go to the door and see if anyone is there.”

Hou San walked towards the door, opened it, looked left and right, then came back and sat down, saying, “No one, Brother Dong.”

Li Xiangdong said in a low voice, “The thing I’m about to talk about, it’s not that others can’t think of it, but even if they did, they couldn’t do it.”

“We can trade in silver dollars. Right now, the currency used in smuggling transactions in the south includes silver dollars. All we have to do is…”

Before he could finish, Ah Zhe stammered, “Sm… smuggling? Dongzi, we don’t need to play this big, do we? My dad only has me as a son.”

Getting caught for speculation and profiteering already meant jail time, let alone smuggling. Wouldn’t that get you a direct ticket with a single peanut (bullet)?

Ah Zhe didn’t dare to think further. He didn’t know when his childhood friend’s guts had gotten so big, to even dare to consider such a life-threatening thing!

Hou San, on the other hand, looked eager to try, “Smuggling, huh? That’s so damn exciting! Brother Dong, tell us how we’re going to do it.”

Li Xiangdong was speechless, “When did I say I was going to smuggle? Can you two let me finish my sentence! Can you stop interrupting?”

Hearing that it wasn’t smuggling, Ah Zhe breathed a sigh of relief, “Dongzi, you talk. I promise not to say another word.”

Hou San nodded along, quickly shutting his mouth.

Li Xiangdong continued, “Silver dollars have the highest price in the south, especially in the southeast region. We don’t need to contact those smugglers. We just need to sell the silver dollars to the local second-hand dealers who collect old coins. What we’re earning is the price difference of silver dollars between different regions.”

“Not just in Beijing, even when we follow the train to other places, we can buy some low-priced silver dollars locally. Then, when we go to the south, we can sell them all at a high price.”

“The most crucial thing is that silver dollars are small. They’re convenient for us to carry around, and we won’t attract anyone’s attention wherever we go.”

Ah Zhe was very tempted, but he was still a little worried, “Dongzi, will we get into trouble doing this?”

Li Xiangdong said, “That depends on how you think about it. Compared to honestly earning a salary, there will definitely be some risks. But compared to others who bring back watches and radios, our way is the safest.”

Seeing Ah Zhe’s timidity, Hou San grinned, “Ah Zhe, you’re such a coward. What’s there to be afraid of? I’d even dare to follow Brother Dong if he were smuggling, let alone just trading some silver dollars!”

Ah Zhe didn’t want to be looked down upon by the fool in his eyes, “Who said I’m not doing it? You have to count me in!”

Although both had stated their positions and said they would follow Li Xiangdong in trading silver dollars, he asked again, “Do you two want to reconsider?”

Hou San said excitedly, “No need to reconsider, Brother Dong. We’ll do whatever you say. I’ll definitely follow you.”

“Dongzi, I know you would never screw me over. I’ll follow you too.”

Ah Zhe also wanted to earn more money. No matter how rich his father was, it was his father’s money. It wasn’t as satisfying as spending money he earned himself.

Li Xiangdong took out the Daqianmen from his pocket, pulled one out, lit it, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

“Actually, you two can think about it carefully. A watch is considered a small item, right? Let’s not even talk about how much money you can make bringing one back from outside. Besides selling it to our own people, would you dare to sell it to outsiders? If they investigate speculation and profiteering, they’ll catch you every time. Neither the buyer nor the seller can escape!”

“But we don’t have to worry about this when we trade silver dollars. We are the ones buying things, and we only sell in the south. As long as we are careful, who would be bored enough to report us? Don’t you think so?”

“Besides, 100 silver dollars wrapped in paper are smaller than a youtiao (fried dough stick). You can carry 500 silver dollars in a cloth bag without it being conspicuous. So you two don’t have to worry. We are much safer than those who carry large and small bags of stuff back.”

“As long as you two keep your mouths shut, no one will know we’re doing this!”

Ah Zhe repeatedly assured, “Dongzi, don’t worry. I will definitely not tell anyone.”

Hou San followed with his own assurance, “I won’t even tell my dad. Don’t worry, Brother Dong.”

Li Xiangdong nodded, “Then I’ll continue to tell you how to collect silver dollars. There are many types of silver dollars, including Yuan Datou, Sun Xiaotou, Eagle Dollars, Dragon Dollars, and Junk Dollars. There are also some made by border armies and private mints. Anyway, there are many types.”

“The most common Yuan Datou currently costs about 4 yuan each in Beijing. Sun Xiaotou is 3 yuan. The prices of others are between 3 to 4 yuan.”

“The prices in other provinces might be a little lower. I’m not too sure about the specifics. We’ll figure it out when we start collecting.”

Seeing the two looking completely bewildered, Li Xiangdong smiled and asked, “Did you two understand?”

“Aren’t silver dollars just Yuan Datou? Where did all these other ‘dollars’ come from?”

Ah Zhe’s head was spinning. In his mind, silver dollars were Yuan Datou, and Yuan Datou were silver dollars!

Hou San’s face was even redder with embarrassment, “Brother Dong, I didn’t remember. Why don’t you write it on a piece of paper… forget it, Brother Dong. Even if you write it on paper, I wouldn’t recognize these things.”

Li Xiangdong smiled, “Take it slow. What I just said, you two not only have to remember but also recognize. Otherwise, what if you receive fakes in the future?”

Ah Zhe and Hou San said in unison, “There are fakes?”

Li Xiangdong said, “Of course there are fakes.”

Although there were no high-quality counterfeit silver dollars like in later generations yet, during the Republic of China period, some small warlords, money houses, and even bold craftsmen would use their own molds to reduce the silver content in the coins, replacing it with lead and copper. So, there were quite a few low-quality silver dollars on the market now.

Hou San glanced at Li Xiangdong and said cautiously, “Brother Dong, I’m slow-witted. How about I provide the money and you help me collect them?”

Ah Zhe said, “Hou San is right. Dongzi, we’re childhood friends. You have to help me. I definitely won’t let you do it for free. We’ll split the profits fifty-fifty.”

“Brother Dong, I mean the same thing.”

Hou San quickly added.

Ah Zhe urged, “Dongzi, say something, is it a deal or not!”

Deal!

It’s a great deal!

Wasn’t this the very sentence Li Xiangdong was waiting for them to say?

If Ah Zhe and Hou San understood all this, how could he pull off his empty-handed wolf-catching scheme?

Of course, Li Xiangdong wasn’t deceiving them. He had experience with old coins from his previous life. Otherwise, if you couldn’t even distinguish the types and authenticity of silver dollars, how could you possibly earn this money?