Chapter 11: Gold

About ten minutes later, Chen Meng heard some rustling in the nearby grass. He saw the big rat emerge, carrying in its mouth a pale yellow object about the size of a fist.

Chen Meng couldn’t make out what it was.

“Squeak squeak!”

The big rat leapt out of the grass and flung the thing toward Chen Meng.

Bang!

The golden object crashed onto the ground, shattering an old floor tile beneath it.

Startled, Chen Meng wondered what on earth the rat was up to.

“Squeak squeak!”

The rat called out again, then scurried up to the golden lump and pushed it toward Chen Meng with its paws.

Chen Meng understood—this was for him, perhaps as thanks for saving the rat just now.

You oversized rat, why so polite?

He squatted down, curiosity piqued, and picked up the golden thing. It was heavy, at least three or four jin. By the light of a distant street lamp, Chen Meng examined it several times, his expression gradually changing.

This was a piece of gold.

His heart pounded wildly. Given how desperate he was for cash, how much could this chunk of gold be worth? He remembered that, in his previous life, gold was over three hundred yuan per gram. His mother had always longed for a gold bracelet, just thirty or so grams, but that came to over ten thousand yuan. She’d looked at them several times while shopping but always walked away. Back then, Chen Meng had vowed that once he’d graduated from graduate school and earned a salary, the first thing he’d do was buy his mother a gold bracelet.

“Squeak squeak!”

The big rat squeaked again. Chen Meng looked up to see it dart into the grass and disappear.

Only then did Chen Meng react, feeling a pang of regret.

This rat was definitely the second most generous person he knew, after Tang Wenjing. Yet why leave so quickly? At least leave a way to contact you.

A fat lamb!

Chen Meng made a mental note, labeling the rat as a “fat lamb” too. He waited for another twenty minutes, but the rat did not return. It seemed to have truly left.

When he got home, his mother hurried out in her bathrobe at the sound of the door.

“Son, I’ve made chicken soup for you. Go have some while it’s hot.”

“Oh, thank you, Mom.”

Chen Meng entered the kitchen and lifted the pot lid to find a whole young hen inside.

Mother really had put her heart into it.

“Mom, do you want a gold bracelet?” Chen Meng asked casually as he sipped the soup.

With a chunk of gold, he could easily spare thirty or so grams to make a bracelet for his mother. It wouldn’t be a problem—just a bit of a financial loss, which stung.

But his mother looked at him strangely. “Didn’t your dad just give me a gold bracelet last month for Valentine’s Day? Typical of your dad, stingy as ever—gives me a bracelet every year. This is the fourth one now.”

Chen Meng was dumbfounded, nearly choking on his soup.

When did Dad become so generous? A gold bracelet every year? Was his family actually wealthy?

After finishing his soup, Chen Meng hurried back to his room and checked gold prices on his phone.

He was instantly shocked.

The current price of gold was only sixteen yuan per gram.

That meant a thirty-gram bracelet was only about five hundred yuan. No wonder his stingy father could afford one every year.

“Rat brother, that’s not cool,” Chen Meng muttered in disappointment.

He’d thought this gold nugget would fetch at least half a million, enough to cover all his course materials with plenty left over. Who would have thought the price of gold had sunk so low?

Gold was no longer a luxury item—it was barely more than an ornament.

He searched further and soon understood why: with the Earth’s area having expanded tenfold, countless new gold mines had been discovered, and in the prehistoric lands, gold was even more abundant. All of this had sent gold prices plummeting.

If not for its use in artifact forging, gold’s price would have dropped even more.

He stealthily found the family scale—the kind that starts at 5kg—first weighing himself, then with the gold bar in hand. He estimated the gold weighed about 2.2 kilograms.

This piece was essentially a doghead gold nugget, though, in this world, such nuggets held no collectible value and were sold purely for their gold content.

Assuming a purity of seventy percent, it should be worth 24,640 yuan in theory. But in reality, he’d never get that much—buyers had to refine it, and there were transaction fees.

Chen Meng figured he’d get just over twenty thousand in the end.

“Even a mosquito is still meat. Twenty thousand yuan isn’t bad. One should be content,” he comforted himself.

But how to sell this doghead gold? Just walk it into a gold shop? Possible, but since gold was still needed for artifact forging, all sales and purchases had to be registered.

Gold now was a bit like oil used to be—private transactions were definitely out of the question.

After thinking it over, he realized the only person he knew who might help was Mo Xiaoyi. If Mo Xiaoyi could get hold of the hard-to-find Life No.1 oral solution, he probably had the right connections.

From what Chen Meng had observed, Mo Xiaoyi seemed reliable.

Having made up his mind, Chen Meng didn’t hesitate and sent Mo Xiaoyi a message.

“Senior, are you there? I have a piece of gold, passed down from my ancestors. Can you help me sell it?”

He made up a quick lie.

Mo Xiaoyi replied almost instantly.

“Send me a photo.”

“gold.jpg!”

Seeing the photo, Mo Xiaoyi was at a loss for words. If that thing was heirloom gold, he’d eat it right then and there. If you’re going to lie, at least wipe off the green grass stains—anyone could tell it had just been picked up from the grass.

A moment later, Mo Xiaoyi replied, “Alright.”

Chen Meng was overjoyed. This senior was truly dependable.

“Bring it to me on Saturday. Once I process it, I’ll transfer the money to you directly.”

“Okay,” Chen Meng replied, knowing Mo Xiaoyi only came to the martial arts hall on weekends, being busy with university matters during the week.

With that settled, he saw it was past eleven. He hid the gold, read for a while, then went to wash up and prepare for bed.

——

In the blink of an eye, it was Friday. Over the past few days, Chen Meng racked his brain for ways to make money, but in the end, getting it from his parents seemed simplest.

A week had passed since the last incident; his parents should be recovering from the shock of losing twenty thousand yuan. This time, he’d thought up a solid reason to ask for money.

On the way to school the next day, he said to Ma Yiqun, “I’m planning to get some money from home. I’ll say I know a senior professor who’s preparing the exam papers for the rune course this year, and that I can buy internal study materials from him. If my parents ask you if this is true, just say yes, alright?”

Ma Yiqun looked at Chen Meng in shock. Was this mild-mannered guy really resorting to tricks to get money from his family?

Chen Meng had no choice. Last time it was twenty thousand; this time he aimed for another three to five thousand. His parents would definitely be suspicious, so he had to prepare thoroughly.

If they became suspicious, they’d probably ask Ma Yiqun—after all, their families were close, and he and Ma Yiqun were classmates and desk mates.

Ideally, he’d wait until his parents completely forgot about the last twenty thousand, but with the college entrance exam so close—just twelve weeks left after this weekend—he simply didn’t have the time.

Ma Yiqun, realizing this was a test of brotherhood, gritted his teeth and said, “Alright. If your parents ask, I’ll back you up. They won’t suspect a thing.”

Chen Meng nodded in satisfaction. “You’re a true brother. When I make it into a top university, I won’t forget your help.”

“How much do you plan to ask for?” Ma Yiqun finally asked.

“Uh… five thousand, I think.” Chen Meng figured that was an amount his parents would accept.

——

That evening, Chen Meng told his parents about it. As expected, they were stunned.

Another five thousand?

Chen Meng said helplessly, “Mom, Dad, I’m doing this to get into a good university. Last time I asked for money for tutoring classes, and now I’m studying until almost ten every night—that’s proof. Honestly, I really regret not working harder in grades ten and eleven. I wasted so much time. Now I have to make the most of these last three months and do everything I can to improve my grades, so I don’t let you down.”

His parents had noticed the change in him—he’d been out early and home late all week—and felt both gratified and moved.

And with his earnest words, they were almost reduced to tears. Their son had grown up.

This time, it was his mother, Xu Xiu, who made the decision. “Son, as long as you can get into a good university, we’ll spend whatever it takes. Five thousand isn’t much—I’ll just save a little more and we’ll have it.”

Chen Meng silently apologized to his mother, but smiled and said, “Mom, I knew you were the best.”

His father, Chen Jianghe, looked on speechless. I gave you twenty thousand last time, you little rascal, and you didn’t say that then.

With his parents on board and another five thousand on the way, Chen Meng was in a great mood.

The next day was Saturday, and Chen Meng had to go to the martial arts hall. His mother, knowing he was “going to tutoring,” made breakfast early.

Then her phone suddenly rang.

“Hello, is this Ma Yiqun’s mother? Oh, what? Internal study materials from an old professor, and you need ten thousand? Let me tell you, Chen Meng told me at home it was only five thousand. Your son is definitely trying to trick you. That boy needs a talking to—how could he lie to his parents? Don’t you agree? What, he went to an internet café recently? He’s in for it now!”

——

Chen Meng, drinking his porridge, listened to the two mothers chatting and was gradually dumbfounded.

Ma Yiqun, I only asked you to cover for me—you went and copied my idea.

You bastard, you even asked for ten thousand while I only asked for five!

Chen Meng clenched his teeth, furious enough to want to hunt Ma Yiqun down right then and there.