CHAPTER 1897: CHAPTER 1897: RETURN TO THE CAPITAL (1)

"You kids are just children, right? You should focus on studying hard and making progress every day. Why worry about so many things? Besides, the money you have is given by adults, not earned by your own skills. So, when you grow up and earn your own money, you can buy something for me then. I’ll gladly accept it at that time."

Feng Qingxue wasn’t thick-skinned enough to let such young kids use their pocket money to buy jewelry for her. Seeing the hesitation on their faces, she continued with a grin, "The person who should buy me jewelry is in the Capital. You kids don’t need to get involved!"

Smart as they were, they instantly understood she was referring to Lu Jiang.

Lu Erxiong chuckled, "When you get to the Capital, let Dad buy it for you. He’ll certainly do it."

No need to spend his money, hahaha!

Feng Qingxue’s response was to give him another gentle slap.

She looked fierce and her hand moved swiftly, but it was actually a soft tap on the top of his head. Lu Erxiong didn’t feel any pain and acted as if nothing happened, "Mom, what else do you want to buy? Adrian and I can go with you."

There were too many things she wanted to buy; she wished she could load all the antiques and cultural relics from the store into a car and take them home.

Pockets were tight!

At the jewelry counter, Feng Qingxue bought some jade jewelry, including jadeite, Hetian jade, and gems, ranging in price from over a hundred to twenty bucks each. The quality was quite good, but there was no jadeite as exquisite as that of Fubao’s bangle, showing that good jadeite is hard to come by. The best and most expensive piece, an ancient high-ice, vivid green jadeite, was bought and given to Adrian.

Adrian had helped out selflessly, and she was grateful, so she wanted to repay him a little.

With only 2000 yuan left, she needed money for food, accommodation, and travel back home. Feng Qingxue steeled herself; she decided to spend it and go to the black market in the evening to sell some gold to replenish her funds.

As new replaces old, many people wanted to go abroad or to Hong Kong, and there were plenty of people looking to buy gold.

Moreover, black market prices were far above bank purchase prices.

Gold prices had gone up, definitely not the five yuan per gram from over a decade ago, but the international price of gold had also dropped considerably compared to a few years ago, nearly halving, because in ’71, the US dollar was tied to gold.

The best time to sell gold recently was in the early ’80s, when it reached as high as six to seven hundred US dollars per ounce.

The domestic purchase price didn’t seem quite the same.

Feng Qingxue didn’t want to overthink it; she preferred antique jade to gold.

Gold wasn’t like grain or other items; it was hard to find buyers on the black market. Feng Qingxue thought for a while, and after leaving the Friendship Store and sending the kids back to the hotel, she went to find Zhou Mingyu.

Having had previous dealings, she trusted them a bit more than others.

Someone like Zhou Mingyu, who wore a cheongsam while cleaning, could be considered a local big shot in Shanghai, knowing everyone, just like when she previously traded with others with the help of Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu.

Zhou Mingyu still had to work, so she wandered around her usual workplace for about an hour and eventually ran into her.

Pulling her to a secluded place, Feng Qingxue asked if she could find a buyer for gold.

"You have gold?" Zhou Mingyu couldn’t believe it.

Not a common person indeed; no wonder staying at the Jinjiang Hotel, buying a lot of cultural relics and antiques without causing a stir.

Feng Qingxue pursed her lips, "The money I have isn’t enough, and I prefer antiques, so I want to sell a bit of gold. Auntie, you’ve been in Shanghai for a long time and know a lot of people; could you do me this favor?"