CHAPTER 56: CHAPTER 56: COUNTERFEIT SILVER COINS OF THE PAST

Although the bearded Russian businessman looked fierce and menacing, once Chen Yiyang got to know him, he unexpectedly found this person was actually quite naive, quite honest, answering whatever is asked.

Moreover, this guy looked like he was in his thirties or forties, but he was actually only twenty-two, and still a rich second generation, who came to Jin City wanting to start his own business.

"Speaking of which, it’s not very peaceful over there, why open a KTV?"

"It’s precisely because it’s not peaceful that the entertainment industry at the rear prospers."

Gena, this Russian rich second generation, had a clear vision, "Young people in Moscow are thinking about where to party every day, it’s the right time to make money in this area."

"Alright, alright, well if there’s anything you need from there, just let me know, brother, I can help you find stuff on the cheap."

Chen Yiyang immediately had a drink with Gena.

When the front is tense, the rear eats voraciously. Because once you’re sent to the front, you don’t have the chance to continue eating.

It was for this reason that Gena hurried to Jin City wanting to quickly make a buck.

The partner he contacted was actually a friend his dad knew.

The interpreter was someone he found himself, but he couldn’t figure out whether it was his father’s partner who found an interpreter for him who ended up getting them into trouble, or it was the interpreter he found who got his father’s partner into trouble.

A few people drank and sang all night in the KTV room.

In the latter half of the night, Gena even taught Chen Yiyang to sing Katyusha.

The next morning.

Chen Yiyang opened his bleary eyes.

Someone was lying on him.

Unfortunately, it was Gena the big bearded man.

Chen Yiyang kicked this guy off, completely forgetting the unbreakable friendship they had last night.

The little accountant and Natasha were nowhere to be seen at this moment.

Chen Yiyang took out his phone, first checking today’s notifications.

Today’s intel, former counterfeit Silver Coins: At the old coin trading market in Ning’an District, Jin City, stall number 47, there is a Spanish Silver Coin once made with platinum being sold. Spending under ten thousand yuan will get you a bargain.

Using platinum to make Silver Coins?

Are they out of their mind?

How much is platinum, and how much is silver?

Chen Yiyang opened a bottle of mineral water in the private room and drank half in one go, making his mind a bit clearer.

Then he left the KTV room, seeing the little accountant and Natasha coming in with breakfast.

"You two woke up quite early."

"It’s nothing, I used to accompany a group of bosses to the construction site, experiencing days and nights without sleep," the little accountant said, with only slightly dark circles but otherwise normal.

"Me too," said Natasha, "When I go out to shoot ads, for various reasons, work often goes on until midnight."

It turns out these two are night owls.

Chen Yiyang can also stay up late, but only if he’s sitting in front of the computer playing games. Otherwise, he falls asleep instantly.

"Has Gena woken up?" Natasha curiously looked towards the room.

From where she stood, she couldn’t see the Russian rich guy.

Because he’d been kicked to the floor by Chen Yiyang, perfectly hidden by the table in the room.

"Why, do you want to get to know him better?" Chen Yiyang asked seemingly casually.

"I don’t plan to return to a place where one could freeze to death in winter," Natasha quickly replied to Chen Yiyang.

"What, don’t you have heating?"

"Yes, it’s centralized heating same as yours, but our heating is only at 18 degrees, and it’s only available from 7 AM to 11 PM. If you live in an apartment, it will be very cold at night."

Learned a useless piece of knowledge.

"I applied for a residence permit before but it’s expiring this year. So I’m looking for a partner to open a modeling agency with me, then I can apply for a residence permit again," Natasha mentioned her situation, either intentionally or not.

Chen Yiyang originally wanted to chat more, but Gena on the floor yelled something, seemingly awake.

So, Chen Yiyang quickly went over and dragged Gena back onto the sofa.

Not long after, Gena fully woke up. After finishing breakfast, the group left the KTV to get someone from the police station.

Gena’s partner in the country was a chubby middle-aged local, while the interpreter invited by Gena looked like a foreigner.

Initially, Chen Yiyang got their identities mixed up.

The interpreter pointed to himself and said in standard Mandarin without an accent, "I’m of Russian ancestry, not Russian, get it right."

"There you go again, telling everyone you’re of Russian ancestry. If you had told the police you were a foreigner that day, we might have just paid a fine and not been detained."

The middle-aged businessman complained about the interpreter while taking out his phone.

After communicating with Gena, he knew he had to transfer money to Chen Yiyang. Without asking what kind of deal had been struck between Chen Yiyang and Gena, he directly took out his phone to make a transfer.

The two million was a public to public transfer. The middle-aged businessman used an account of a trading company to transfer two million to Chen Yiyang’s shop account.

"Brother, you’re truly my brother." After receiving the money, Chen Yiyang patted Gena’s shoulder.

This Russian bearded man had shoulders as wide as one and a half of Chen Yiyang’s.

"Next time I come here, I’ll look for you," Gena was also very enthusiastic about Chen Yiyang.

Although they only drank together for one night, their relationship seemed as close as if they had spent the night together.

After getting the money, Chen Yiyang sent Natasha and the little accountant to get some sleep.

And after seeing Gena off, he drove to a convenience store, bought two cans of coffee and drank them in one go to stay awake, then turned on his phone to search why there were counterfeit Silver Coins made with platinum.

In the 16th century, the Spanish discovered gold mines in South America, along with a heavy metal resembling silver coexisting with gold, which is platinum.

Since platinum’s melting point is higher than silver, it was hard to refine, causing trouble for producing gold. So the Spanish collected platinum as a byproduct of gold production, shipped it back home, and sold it to local workshops at a much lower price than silver.

Local workshops, eager to make money, mixed platinum into jewelry and also incorporated it into Gold Coins and Silver Coins.

At one point, it became popular to use materials mixed with platinum to manufacture counterfeit Silver Coins, almost causing a collapse in the financial market. It also resulted in the tarnishing of the reputation of Spanish Silver Coins, leading merchants from other countries to refuse to accept Spanish Silver Coins.

So the Spanish King got angry and not only ordered that platinum could no longer be brought back to Spain, but also seized a large batch of platinum-made counterfeit Silver Coins and jewelry, loaded them onto ships, and dumped them at sea.

The Spanish counterfeit Silver Coin mentioned in the intel that contains platinum is likely one of the remnants of those that were dumped back then.

The owner of this coin dared not spend it domestically, and it just so happened that there was trade between Spain and the Great Ming at the time, so they probably thought of a way to bring it to the Great Ming to use it.

It’s rare for such a coin with both a story and historical significance to have been preserved to this day.