Chapter Nineteen: Three Million and the Coach
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Inspect it in person without letting it leave your sight. Even though Li Xia knew nothing about antiques, he at least understood this fundamental rule. The woman realized her impatience showed and blushed slightly. She took out a business card and handed it over.
“Sorry for being abrupt. Please have a seat. My eyesight isn’t great—I need to consult my master.”
Li Xia nodded and watched her rush to the back before lowering his gaze to the card.
“Yan Yi…”
A rather cultured name. Soon after, a middle-aged man appeared, bearing a strong resemblance to Yan Yi.
This must be her father—turns out it was a family heirloom.
The three exchanged greetings and names. Yan Ya then asked his daughter to brew some tea, put on his glasses, and began examining the silver coin carefully.
At the same time, he chatted casually, asking things like, “Where are you from, young man?” and “What line of work was your family in before?”
Li Xia had never eaten pork, but he had watched plenty of antique appraisal livestreams and was naturally attentive. He immediately realized Yan Ya was fishing for information—trying to learn the coin’s origin.
For example, if the family once held an official post or some position that might explain possession of such a coin, it would lend credibility to its provenance.
If the family were impoverished farmers for generations, no matter the coin’s value, it likely wouldn’t have been preserved so impeccably—not out of disdain, but due to differences in knowledge and preservation methods.
Li Xia, however, didn’t want to engage in idle talk. Time was too precious.
Yan Ya frowned deeper, unable to draw more out of Li Xia. He was now fairly certain Li Xia wasn’t a middleman, since they loved to spin stories, nor a rustic fool—he could smell that kind of desperation from miles away.
More likely, it was something obtained by chance or passed down, but the coin’s condition was so perfect it was almost alarming.
To achieve such preservation, the coin would have to have been out of circulation for a short time, meticulously cleaned to remove moisture, stacked and wrapped in paper, then sealed with quality wax.
Stored in a dry place, only then could it remain pristine for over a century.
After hesitating for a long moment, Yan Ya looked up. “Young man, what price are you expecting?”
“I don’t know, what price are you willing to offer, Boss Yan?”
Yan Ya’s heart skipped; he hated dealing with those who had no price in mind. He wanted to give up but couldn’t bear to.
He bit his lip and took a gamble. If it was genuine, he would surely become famous in the coin collecting circles; even if he lost money, he could afford it.
Most importantly, if his guess was correct… such coins were usually stored in stacks, and this young man had nine more in his possession.
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“Mr. Li, to be honest, buying this is a gamble for me too. If genuine, at this condition, it would fetch at least this amount at auction.”
Yan Ya pinched his index, middle, and ring fingers together.
“Seven million! Collectors in Japan would go wild. This kind of condition is unique, requiring incredible foresight to preserve such a precious coin early on.”
Li Xia fell silent. He still had nine others, some even more valuable.
“So I’m willing to risk it: three and a half million! If I lose, I’ll just consider it like losing a house.”
“Three and a half million…” Li Xia’s finger tapped lightly on the table. After a moment of thought, he straightened up.
“Alright, but I have some additional conditions. I wonder if Boss Yan can accept them.”
“What conditions?”
“First, I want cash. Boss Yan only needs to pay me three million; the remaining five hundred thousand is a ‘tea fee’ for you. I hope you can help me contact our provincial team’s coaches—for weightlifting, athletics, and free combat.”
Yan Ya’s expression immediately shifted; his eyebrows rose in surprise. This condition was something he could actually arrange!
Li Xia saw the look and knew he guessed right. Traditionally, culture and sports circles often overlapped; the chances a cultural expert knew sports professionals was over eighty percent.
“You have friends… hoping to enter sports special programs?”
“No, I want to hire these coaches for private training for a month. I can pay.”
Private training? Yan Ya pondered, feeling uneasy… cash, combat coach… athletics… weightlifting…
Hiss! Yan Ya exhaled sharply. Could this young man be planning something big?
Combat is for fighting, weightlifting makes one stronger for fighting, athletics is for chasing or running away fast, and cash is hard to trace…
Everything fit perfectly!
But what did this have to do with Yan Ya? He was just a coin dealer.
Suddenly, Yan Ya realized that since the young man wasn’t rushing to leave after the sale, it made the coin’s authenticity more likely.
“Alright! Young man, I accept your conditions!”
When it came to cash reserves, coin dealers like Yan Ya were top-notch. He had a little over one million on hand and quickly made a few calls.
Within moments, several people arrived carrying bags of cash, some wearing jackets emblazoned with names like “Antique Treasure Pavilion.”
“We’re mostly located in the Third Alley and Screw Alley. From here to Hanzhong Gate covers most of the Jinling coin trade. These coins circulate quickly, and everyone knows each other well, so don’t worry, young brother.”
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This trade demanded cash on delivery—no credit—so no matter how much Yan Ya coveted the coin, he settled down to chat casually with Li Xia.
Yan Yi occasionally chimed in, and the conversation was quite pleasant.
When the three million was finally gathered, Yan Ya almost jumped with excitement, clattering several counterfeit bill detectors onto the table.
“Three million, young brother, please count it.”
It was during this verification that Li Xia learned these machines couldn’t run continuously; after counting twenty thousand, they needed to cool down to prevent overheating, which explained why Yan Ya brought several machines.
The entire process took nearly an hour.
When Li Xia nodded in confirmation, Yan Ya immediately cradled the silver coin in his hands, grinning like a blooming lotus, utterly captivated.
“Little brother Li, I’m hosting dinner tonight. I’ll invite the coaches you need, and we can all eat together. How does that sound?”
“Alright, I’ll go handle the money first.”
Li Xia had no objection; money was merely a necessary means to an end.
“Then go ahead. By the way, Little Brother Li, do you need security?”
Yan Ya set the coin down, suddenly thinking of something, pointing outside.
“This alley is crowded and chaotic, and since our transactions involve large sums, someone might be watching.”
Someone watching? Li Xia shook his head. Handling the money was just an excuse; once outside, he would simply store it in his space.
If anyone dared cause trouble…
Bang! The glass door was slammed open, and a man with bloodshot eyes appeared, holding a strange gun-shaped object wrapped with duct tape and steel pipes, shouting loudly:
“Don’t move!”
The three inside froze instantly, and Yan Ya shouted in surprise:
“Old Liu???”
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Uh, though no one’s reading, I’ll ask anyway: do you want more or less real-world content? If you want more chapters, I can definitely write them. If not, I’ll jump straight to the urban story.