Chapter 20: Selling the Lucky Serial Bill, Full-On Acting!

Last night I went out for an hour, took a punch, and earned 80,000.

Tonight, in about an hour, I made another 40,000!

In just two days, I made 120,000, it feels like a dream!

Back in the rental room in Xiaoshanhe Urban Village, Jiang Tao smoked three cigarettes in a row before his excitement calmed down.

Click, click, click—

Jiang Tao took several photos of the rare banknote with his phone as a memento.

The money from selling the watch and the stash in the second-hand sofa was hard to explain to his wife Xu Li.

So Jiang Tao didn’t mention those two things to her to save himself from the mental strain of explaining.

Tonight’s rare banknote is easy to explain, just saying it was given by a client during a delivery.

Although this explanation is a bit far-fetched, it will fool my silly wife.

"Take a day off tomorrow, stroll around Pan Garden, and see if I can sell this banknote!"

After taking the photos, Jiang Tao carefully placed the rare banknote in a notebook he usually uses for keeping accounts.

He has no interest in collecting, only in money.

Selling this banknote can make my silly wife happy for a long time!

"Sleep, sleep~"

Calming his emotions, Jiang Tao got into bed to sleep.

He slept until 7 a.m.

Jiang Tao was woken up by his usual work alarm.

Thinking about the big task at Pan Garden today.

Jiang Tao instantly felt alert, quickly got up and dressed.

After dressing neatly, he took his phone, slung on a crossbody bag, and packed the notebook with the banknote.

Checked everything and then Jiang Tao opened the door and went downstairs.

He had a large bowl of lamb soup and half a flatbread at a lamb soup shop in the urban village.

After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Tao didn’t leave immediately but sent a few messages to Xu Li on WeChat.

Acting must be done thoroughly.

The steps before the transaction have to be there too!

Jiang Tao sent a few of the photos he took last night to Xu Li, and within a minute, Xu Li called him.

"Hubby, what do you mean? Found money?"

Sure enough, Xu Li, as a layperson, didn’t notice anything special about that banknote.

"Silly wife, take a look at the banknote I sent you and see how it’s different from a normal one."

"Huh? No way! Did you get a counterfeit note when delivering yesterday? Where’s the trust between people!"

"..."

Jiang Tao felt exasperated at his silly wife’s words. What is she even talking about!

"It’s not counterfeit, real enough to be a real note! Look at the serial number."

"Serial number? So many 4s! That’s unlucky!"

"..."

Jiang Tao was utterly defeated by his silly wife’s thought process.

"Silly wife, this is called a rare number, understood? It has great collectible value, might even be worth tens of thousands!"

"Huh? Worth tens of thousands? Really? Where’d you get it? You didn’t get fooled into buying it for tens of thousands, did you?"

"If I wanted to buy it, would I have that kind of money?"

"True... You don’t have money."

"During yesterday’s delivery, a client gave it to me. I didn’t even notice at first, only saw it when counting money at night."

"Will he come back asking for it?"

"Dummy, do you think if he knew what it was, he’d give it to me?"

"Right! So... are we gonna get rich?"

"I can’t say we’ll definitely get rich, just that there’s a possibility. I’m heading to Pan Garden today to see if I can sell it."

"Share the wealth! If it’s really worth tens of thousands, I want half!"

"Hahaha, okay! It’s settled then!"

"Then hurry up and go! I’ll be waiting for your good news! Call me the moment you sell it!"

Listening to Xu Li’s excited voice on the phone, Jiang Tao smiled.

After a call lasting seven or eight minutes, Jiang Tao settled the bill and left the lamb soup shop.

First, he took a bus to Zhuxinzhuang Subway Station, then transferred to several subway lines.

After an hour and a half, he arrived at the famous Pan Garden Antiques Market in Beijing.

Jiang Tao knew nothing about antiques, so he didn’t wander aimlessly, to avoid being seen as a sucker.

Today his goal was clear, to find a buyer and exchange the banknote for cash.

He’s here to make money, not spend it.

On both sides of Antique Street were rows of antique shops, each with goods that seemed to have a sense of time about them.

Like antique vases, calligraphy and paintings, old coins, various furnaces, tripods, all kinds of redwood, huanghuali and other old items.

After walking for a while, Jiang Tao stopped at a place called Boya Auction House, hesitated for a minute, and then stepped inside.

"Hello sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

As Jiang Tao entered, a young guy in his twenties greeted him.

"Do you take rare numbered hundred-yuan bills here?"

Jiang Tao got straight to the point, explaining his purpose.

"Which year and version? What’s the denomination? What kind of rare number?"

The staff asked professionally, but Jiang Tao was completely an outsider in this area and didn’t understand, saying:

"Denomination is 100, all the same number, all 4s."

"All 4s? Rare number! Can I take a look?"

The staff’s eyes lit up when he heard Jiang Tao’s words.

If it’s really the type of rare number all ’4’ Jiang Tao said, that’s definitely a rare note.

No matter the year, it could be worth several thousand.

If it’s a rare edition from a scarce year, it might be worth even more!

"Sir, this way please, let’s sit down over there and discuss in detail."

The staff felt a transaction was on the way, making him more enthusiastic towards Jiang Tao.

He invited Jiang Tao to the guest area to sit, then kindly poured him a glass of water using a disposable paper cup.

Seeing Jiang Tao take an ordinary notebook from his crossbody bag.

And casually take out a bright red hundred-yuan note from the notebook, the staff’s eye twitched.

Real currency collectors are very careful with their collections.

They all have special laminated booklets for storing notes.

When handling them, they wear disposable gloves and use tweezers to avoid any contamination.

This guy is clearly an outsider!

"Here it is, how much can you offer?"

Seeing the staff approach with the water, Jiang Tao casually placed the banknote on the table.

"Please wait a moment, sir."

The staff meticulously retrieved a pair of disposable gloves from the box on the table, wore them, and then carefully picked up the banknote Jiang Tao carelessly placed on the table.

Seeing the serial number on the front was indeed as Jiang Tao said, all long "4"s, the staff’s eyes brightened several degrees.

The banknote’s anti-counterfeit measures were also in place, proving it to be real.

Turning to the back, he saw the year marked as 1999.

The staff’s breathing became much more rapid!

The 1999 version of the hundred-yuan note had a relatively low issuance and has been discontinued for over 20 years.

Relatively speaking, it’s the most collectible among the four issued 100-yuan notes.

And being a rare number makes it even more valuable!

This note could easily sell for twenty to thirty thousand!

"Sir, what is your asking price?"

The staff carefully placed the banknote back down, eyes eagerly inquiring about Jiang Tao’s asking price.

"40,000."

Jiang Tao raised four fingers, offering his price straightforwardly.

Although he knew nothing about numismatics or collectibles.

The intel suggested this rare banknote was worth 40,000, so it must be justified.

Thus, Jiang Tao straight away offered 40,000, anything less was non-negotiable.