"Buddy, go over to Sha Le's place and borrow his scale!"
The young man who spoke hurried out of the shop and returned a moment later carrying a platform scale.
The four of them worked together to lift the gold brick onto the scale. The owner's composure wavered as he looked at the displayed number.
200 kilograms. Damn it, where did such a nouveau riche appear from?
He tapped away on his calculator. A total of 72 million yuan!
He stared blankly at Fang Er, his heart rate soaring to 180 beats per minute.
At that moment, Fang Er glanced at the international gold price displayed on his phone, 391 yuan per gram, and then turned to look at the gold shop owner.
Their eyes met. The gold shop owner felt his legs go weak and a chill run down his spine.
The profit from buying back gold came from the price difference, from small transactions. Dealing with such a large order, he truly didn't dare to accept it, nor did he have the capacity.
"Boss, uh, are you not considering going to a bank?"
Fang Er knew perfectly well that banks also handled gold recycling. But with such a large chunk, what if someone asked about its origin?
So, he said with a dark expression, "Stop the nonsense. It's the price you quoted. Just tell me if you can take it or not. If not, I'll go elsewhere."
"You're making money, and you're still dragging your feet. Are you even a man?"
The gold shop owner was startled by Fang Er's cold gaze. He even began to wonder if Fang Er was a bank robber on the run!
Nowadays, it was better to avoid trouble. It was best not to provoke such a person.
So, he quickly said, "To be honest, boss, my small shop truly cannot handle such a large transaction."
"Could you perhaps allow me to make a few phone calls?"
Seventy-two million yuan. He couldn't possibly produce that much cash.
Facing someone like this, if he dared to mention a bank transfer, a cleaver would likely be at his throat in an instant.
The phone was with Fang Er, so he didn't dare to ask for it. He had to borrow a shop assistant's phone and made several calls.
"Hello, Brother Huang? Yes, well, I have 200 kilograms of gold here, and I can't handle it. Want to share some?"
"No kidding! How could this be a joke!"
"Oh, right, they only want cash!"
"Alright, alright, okay, waiting for you!"
"Hello, Old Zhou, quickly gather all the money you have on hand, in cash. Hurry up and bring it over!"
"Hello~~"
For a full half-hour, this fellow didn't stop making calls for help. It wasn't a lack of capability, but in those times, no one could produce so much cash on short notice.
"Chiiii~~"
The sound of brakes came from outside the shop. Soon, a large fatty carrying a leather bag rushed in.
Upon seeing the gold brick on the scale, he was completely stunned.
"Oh my gosh! Who's being this wasteful, taking out gold to exchange for money at this time?"
When the gold shop owner heard this, his face immediately turned green. He kicked the newcomer. "Old Huang, you son of a bitch! If you can't speak properly, shut your damn mouth! Do you still want to invest?"
Old Huang immediately realized he had said the wrong thing. He surveyed the shop and saw only Fang Er, a new face. He quickly stepped forward with a fawning smile.
"Oh~~ handsome guy, please don't be angry. I'm just a bumpkin, I haven't seen much of the world. You definitely can't be like me~"
"Don't worry, this deal is definitely happening today."
"Later, I, Old Huang, will treat you to some stir-fried noodles at Xiao Ji's, how about that?"
Fang Er didn't even pay him any mind. Whether it was in terms of status or experience, this person was not on his level.
To bother with him would only lower his own…
Just one gold brick had caused this reaction. If he were to throw out the hundreds of bricks in his warehouse, wouldn't this guy be scared to death?
He glanced at the perpetual clock hanging on the wall of the gold shop. It showed the time as March 6, 2022, 11:30 AM.
So, he urged the gold shop owner, "Alright, who else hasn't arrived? Hurry up and rush them. I'm busy!"
"Yes, boss, please wait. I'll make a call to hurry them up!" The gold shop owner nodded repeatedly.
Not long after, the sounds of brakes and car doors closing echoed from outside.
A group of men, carrying briefcases or pulling luggage, walked into the gold shop.
Without exception, they were all stunned into silence by the sight of the massive gold brick.
The gold shop owner did not dare to delay. "Gentlemen, don't just stand there. Quickly bring out the money. He's waiting!"
"I say, you son of a bitch, have you verified the goods? Such a large gold brick, if it's fake, all of us will go bankrupt!" asked one of the later arrivals to the gold shop owner.
Verified?
The gold shop owner froze. Damn it, it seemed he really hadn't verified it…
But this huge gold brick wasn't like bracelets or small bars that could be cut open and melted. Scratching his head, he stood there for a long time before coming up with a solution.
He had his subordinate buy an angle grinder from a hardware store, saw the gold brick into small pieces, and then put them into a crucible to melt.
Seeing the molten gold, glowing red, the few men finally felt at ease.
Fang Er was already getting impatient. This whole process took over two hours, and his stomach was rumbling.
"Are we done? If so, hurry up!"
A large crowd of onlookers had already gathered outside the shop.
"Holy cow, such a huge gold brick. I've never seen anything like it in my life."
"Probably some coal boss, right?"
"Yeah, those country bumpkins, they don't know where to spend their money, so they buy gold or houses. Houses are depreciating quickly, so maybe they're cashing out their gold!"
"Damn, didn't someone who cashed out 4 million yuan with gold make headlines a few days ago?"
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and take a Douyin video of this. Maybe we'll get famous too."
While they were still discussing, someone nearby had quietly started a live stream.
A thin, handsome young man, holding a selfie stick with his back to the shop entrance, showed the melted gold on the screen.
"Wow~~ Hey, everyone, have you ever seen so much gold?"
"Haven't seen it, right? Hurry up and give Big Head some red hearts and follows!"
"Big Head will show you what it means to be outrageously rich!"
"Look, we're now at the stage of exchanging money for goods. How about it, exciting, right? Does this scene look like something only seen in movies?"
"Today, Big Head will show you a live broadcast!"
"Hey, you there, stop throwing your Carnival gifts. Who's still throwing Ferris wheels here? It's a waste, all for nothing. What's the point? Look at how much gold there is!"
"Are you ashamed to throw such meager gifts at me? I'm blushing as I receive them~"
Inside the shop, Fang Er watched as the gold shop owner and his employees counted stacks of cash and packed them into boxes.
A total of seventy-two million yuan. People were using all sorts of containers: dirty cloth bags, suitcases, briefcases, and one guy even brought his daughter's pink Peppa Pig schoolbag.
This was utterly ridiculous!
"Stop packing. I see a luggage shop next door. Go buy me a few decent-looking suitcases!"
As Fang Er spoke, he took out twenty thousand yuan from the pile of money and handed it to one of the shop assistants.