Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Li Xiangdong looked at the two bickering and sighed, saying, "Is it you two who should be talking or me? If you two could think of what to bring, would you need me to give you suggestions?"

"You tell me, Dongzi, you tell me."

"Brother Dong, you say it, I'll shut up, okay?"

A Zhe and Hou San shut up and stopped arguing.

Li Xiangdong took a sip of the Tieguanyin tea he was holding and said, "Hou San, go check the door to see if anyone is there."

Hou San walked to the door, opened it, looked around, then came back and sat down, saying, "Nobody here, Brother Dong."

Li Xiangdong said in a low voice, "What I'm going to say is something that no one else would think of, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to do it."

"We can deal in silver dollars. Silver dollars are the currency used in smuggling transactions in the south. All we need is..."

Before he could finish speaking, A-Zhe stammered, "Smuggling... Dongzi, do we really need to go this far? I'm my father's only son."

Speculators are arrested and imprisoned, let alone smugglers; they'd be sent away with just a peanut.

A Zhe didn't dare to think any further. He didn't know when his childhood friend had become so bold that he would even dare to think about doing something so dangerous!

Hou San, standing to the side, looked eager to try. "Smuggling? That's fucking exciting! Brother Dong, what do you suggest we do?"

Li Xiangdong said speechlessly, "When did I say I was going to get involved in smuggling? Can you two please let me finish what I'm saying? Stop interrupting me!"

When Ah Zhe heard that it wasn't smuggling, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Dongzi, you tell me, I promise I won't say another word."

Hou San nodded in agreement and quickly shut his mouth.

Li Xiangdong continued, "Silver dollars are most expensive in the south, especially in the southeast. We don't need to deal with smugglers. We just need to sell the silver dollars to local middlemen who collect ancient coins. We earn the price difference between silver dollars from different regions."

“Not only in the capital, but even if we travel to other places with the carriage, we can buy some silver dollars at low prices locally, and then sell them all at high prices when we go to the south.”

"Most importantly, silver dollars are small in size, making them convenient to carry around without attracting attention wherever we go."

A-Zhe was quite tempted, but he was still a little worried. "Dongzi, won't we get into trouble doing this?"

Li Xiangdong said, "That depends on what you think. Compared to honestly earning a salary, there will definitely be some risks. But if you're like others who smuggle watches and radios back and forth, then what we're doing is the safest."

Seeing that Ah Zhe was so timid, Hou San grinned and said, "Ah Zhe, you're really a coward. What's there to be afraid of? I'd even follow Brother Dong into smuggling if he wanted to. What's a little silver dollar trading?"

Ah Zhe didn't want to be looked down upon by the simpleton in his eyes. "Who said I'm quitting? You definitely have to count me in!"

Although the two had already stated their intention to follow Li Xiangdong in trading silver dollars.

But he asked again, "Would you two like to reconsider?"

Hou San said excitedly, "No need to think about it, Brother Dong. Just tell me what to do, and I'll definitely follow you."

"Dongzi, I know you definitely wouldn't cheat me, so I'll work with you."

Ah Zhe also wanted to earn more money. No matter how rich his father was, it was still his father's money. It was more comfortable to spend money he earned himself.

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

"Actually, you two should think about this carefully. Watches are considered small items, right? Let's not even talk about how much money you can make by bringing these things back from outside. Would you dare to sell these things to outsiders, except for your own people? Speculation and profiteering will be investigated and you'll be caught red-handed. Neither the buyer nor the seller can escape!"

"But we don't have to worry about that when we deal in silver dollars. We're buyers, and we only sell in the south. As long as we're careful, who would be so bored as to report us? Don't you think so?"

"Moreover, 100 silver dollars wrapped in paper are not even as big as a fried dough stick. 500 silver dollars in a cloth bag would not be conspicuous, so you two don't need to worry. We are much safer than those who carry large and small bags back to transport things."

"As long as you two keep your mouths shut, no one will know what we're doing!"

Ah Zhe repeatedly assured him, "Don't worry, Dongzi, I definitely won't tell anyone."

Hou San then assured him, "I won't even tell my father, don't worry, Brother Dong."

Li Xiangdong nodded and said, "Then I will continue to tell you how to collect silver dollars. There are many kinds of silver dollars, including Yuan Shikai silver dollars, Sun Yat-sen silver dollars, eagle dollars, dragon dollars, and ship dollars, as well as some border army-made and privately made ones. Anyway, there are many kinds."

"The most common Yuan Shikai silver dollar is now priced at about 4 yuan in Beijing, Sun Yat-sen silver dollars are 3 yuan, and other silver dollars are between 3 and 4 yuan."

"The price in other provinces might be a little lower, but I'm not sure exactly how much. We'll talk about it when we buy it."

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

"Aren't silver dollars just Yuan Shikai dollars? Where did all these foreign dollars come from?"

Ah Zhe was completely confused. In his mind, silver dollars were just Yuan Shikai silver dollars, and Yuan Shikai silver dollars were just silver dollars!

Hou San blushed deeply and said awkwardly, "Brother Dong, I don't remember it. Why don't you write it down... But never mind, Brother Dong, I don't recognize these things even if you write them down."

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "Take your time. You two not only need to remember what I just said, but also understand it. Otherwise, what will you do if you receive a fake one in the future?"

A Zhe and Hou San exclaimed in unison, "There are fakes too?"

Li Xiangdong said, "Of course there are fakes."

Although there are no high-quality counterfeit silver coins from later generations yet.

During the Republic of China era, some small warlords, money shops, and even daring craftsmen would use self-made templates to reduce the silver content of silver coins and replace it with lead and copper. As a result, there are many inferior silver coins on the market today.

Hou San glanced at Li Xiangdong and said cautiously, "Brother Dong, I'm not very bright, how about I pay for it and you collect it for me?"

Ah Zhe said, "Hou San is right, Dongzi. We've been childhood friends, so you have to help me. I definitely won't let you work for nothing. We'll split the profits 50/50."

"Brother Dong, that's what I meant too."

Hou San hurriedly added a sentence.

Ah Zhe urged, "Dongzi, can't you say something?!"

Row!

That's amazing!

What Li Xiangdong was waiting for was precisely those two saying that.

If A Zhe and Hou San understood these things, how could he have gotten something for nothing?

Of course, Li Xiangdong didn't lie to the two of them. He had also dealt with ancient coins in his previous life. Otherwise, if you can't even distinguish the types of silver coins and whether they are real or fake, how could you possibly earn this money?