Chapter 4 The First Bucket of Gold
Wang Hengyue brought this batch of shanzhai gold watches to this era, with a magnificent outer packaging and exquisite craftsmanship on the "gold watch" inside the velvet box. It even comes with a certificate of authenticity written in English, making it a "high-quality" product among counterfeit goods!
Du Charlie picked up a watch and couldn't stop praising it, loving it so much that he didn't want to let go of it.
This watch shines with golden light, luxurious and magnificent. How could Du Zhānglǐ have thought that there would be such a thing as "counterfeit goods" in the world? Especially with the attached "original factory certificate" written entirely in foreign languages, it made Du Zhānglǐ deeply believe that this batch of watches came from Switzerland.
Luotaiwu was somewhat perplexed: "What's with these tables? They look so strange, unlike anything I've ever seen."
Wang Hengyue suddenly remembered that in this era, pocket watches were the norm, and his batch of goods were all wristwatches. He was thinking about how to make up an excuse when Du Charlie spoke up with a smirk: "Boss Luo doesn't understand, it's been thirty years since Guangxu, foreigners have already invented watches that can be worn on the wrist, but they haven't spread to our country yet, so we mostly use pocket watches. The batch of wristwatches Brother Shu brought back is really something new and rare, no need to make a big fuss."
Luotaiwu suddenly understood and picked up a watch to examine it: "It seems that it's not made of real gold."
Du Cha-li immediately considered Wang Heng-yue as one of those "experienced people" and upon hearing this, he was quite dismissive: "Luo Zhuang-gui, that's why I always say we should go out more often, see the world, best if it's a foreign country, only then can we truly broaden our horizons. This Westerner's so-called 'golden watch' is not made of real gold and silver, but rather refers to its craftsmanship. If it were really made of pure gold, wouldn't one piece be worth a fortune? Luckily this conversation was just between us brothers, if outsiders knew about it, they'd laugh at me for being an ignorant Sichuanese."
Luotaiwu was too embarrassed to look up, and instead buried his head in the table, staring at it back and forth.
Qin Guangcheng saw that the goods his brother had brought were very impressive and couldn't help but feel proud: "Gentlemen, you've all seen the goods, are you interested?"
"We've seen the goods, and they're indeed good stuff." As soon as it came to business, Du Charlie put down his watch and sat back down: "But in our country, most people use pocket watches. There are very few people who accept newfangled things, so if you two were to take them all in, selling them would be a huge problem."
Luofu's words were also a chorus of agreement, with the same meaning. Good things are indeed good, but if they can't be sold, even better things will pile up and tie up funds.
Qin Guangcheng, a seasoned businessman, couldn't help but smile wryly: "As for the price, it's easy to discuss. Please quote me a price, and if Shu Ge thinks it's reasonable, we can close the deal immediately."
Du Charlie pulled Luo Fu aside, and the two of them whispered to each other for a long time before returning. "The best foreign watch on the market is priced at 210 silver dollars, which is equivalent to 153 taels and 2 mace 8 candareens of white silver. Since it's Qin's face, and this batch of goods is indeed not bad, so let's make a price, brother. Let's take off the miscellaneous fees, and calculate each piece as 150 taels of white silver. How many do we want?"
Each piece is one hundred and fifty taels of silver? This batch of counterfeit goods is so valuable in this era? Wang Hengyue was overjoyed, just about to agree, when he heard Qin Guangcheng burst out laughing: "Haha, you two are really good at doing business. Who doesn't know that the best foreign goods in Sichuan's official circles and among local scholars are all eager for new foreign goods? Everyone takes new foreign goods as a wonder. You two have taken in this batch of goods, and with one turn of the hand, it's likely to be worth three or four hundred taels, but now you're only offering a price of one hundred and fifty taels. Are you really taking me for someone who doesn't understand anything?"
Du Cha Li's thoughts were seen through, his face turned red, and he also smiled: "Since ancient times, those who do business are like this, opening prices in the sky, paying back on the ground, brothers must have some profit to be successful."
Qin Guangcheng was no longer polite to them, and the price dispute continued for half a day before it was finally settled at 190 taels of silver per gold watch.
The price was settled, and everyone was delighted. Luo Fu and Du Charlie argued for a long time about how many pieces each would get before finally giving up.
Wang Hengyue listened on the side, both shocked and delighted. This time he brought a total of 55 knockoff watches, who would have thought that this batch of knockoffs would "shine brightly" in another space-time.
He left three pieces for himself, and there were still fifty-two pieces left. He took out two more and, regardless of Qin Guangcheng's refusal, insisted on giving them to him as a thank-you gift.
Luofu and Du Charlie saw that two watches were missing, which meant they would lose more than 100 taels of silver. They couldn't help but feel heartbroken and secretly scolded Wang Hengyue as a "prodigal son". What kind of person gives away such good watches? But the things belonged to others, what could they do about it? Could they take them back by force?
But how could these two have imagined the true "value" of this batch of "golden watches"?
It was agreed that Qin Guangcheng would pay first, and then Luo Fu and Du Chaoli would rush back to get the silver ticket in exchange for the gold watch.
After the two men left, Qin Guangcheng asked Wang Hengyue to sit down for a moment and called in the accountant. He gave some instructions and after a while, the accountant brought over a silver bill, which Qin Guangcheng personally handed to Wang Hengyue.
Wang Heng saw it and was surprised to see that it was a 20,000 yuan silver note: "Brother Qin must have made a mistake? Fifty watches, totaling 9,500 yuan, Brother Qin's is 10,000 yuan."
Qin Guangcheng smiled and said, "Five hundred taels in exchange for my life is a very good deal. Since you called me 'big brother', don't decline it again." As he spoke, he held up the two gold watches Wang Hengyue had given him: "Moreover, my younger brother has also given me these two watches. To say the least, I still have some benefits to gain."
Wang Hengyue smiled awkwardly a few times, but in his heart he was very embarrassed.
This batch of goods is actually worthless, but it has brought me a fortune here.
The first pot of gold he dug up in this era was really easy to come by, and with these ten thousand taels of silver, he would have a lot more confidence in his future endeavors.
Put away the silver ticket, and suddenly Qin Guangcheng asked: "What are your plans for the future, brother?"
Wang Hengyue was taken aback. What plan? He really didn't have any plans. In this desolate life, apart from Qin Guangcheng, he had no other friends.
Qin Guangcheng hesitated for a moment, then spoke sincerely: "Tell me, forgive my straightforwardness, you are indeed a revolutionary, but at present, you are alone and isolated. How can you possibly succeed? Why not find a place to settle down temporarily and plan your next move carefully?"
Wang Hengyue nodded slightly, his identity as a "revolutionary party" was indeed a fake.
As soon as he saw his brother agree, Qin Guangcheng's spirit was greatly lifted: "I originally wanted to keep you here with me. I have some family property and it's barely enough to get by. But thinking about it, my brother is not someone who can be held back by trivial matters. I thought of a place, I don't know if my brother would be willing to go?"
"Never mind, Big Brother Qin!"
