National Tide 1980

From the quilt at the bottom of the big wardrobe, Kang Shude found a cardboard box about the size of an octavo sheet and ten centimeters high.

After opening it, it turned out to be something like a large box full of leader medals, at least hundreds of them.

Needless to say, Ning Weimin has a natural affinity for these red collections due to his previous career.

So when he looked outside the house, he saw that the old man had spread all these medals on the desk.

He threw away the cigarette butt, entered the house uninvited, and took the initiative to stand behind the old man and watch.

Not to mention, it is indeed a collection of cultural people.

The quality and texture of these commemorative medals that the old man poured out of the paper box are really good, but they are better than those collected by ordinary people.

There aren't many street goods.

There are not many of them with "little heads" the size of a penny, long strips of plexiglass with the words "Long Live XXX" hot-stamped on them, and plastic leaders' heads.

They all add up to less than ten.

These things used to be readily available in cultural stores for only three to five cents.

As for the other one hundred and eighty, they are all at least five cents in size and made of high-quality materials.

Metal, ceramic, luminous, three-dimensional, a dazzling array.

It's like the long metal strip that the Prime Minister often wore in the past, with red enamel and gold letters "Serving the People".

There are also commemorative medals from the revolutionary holy places of Shaoshan, Jinggangshan, Zunyi, and Yan'an, which are considered ordinary here.

"Little Tiananmen" is the size of a watch dial, with red enamel and radiating golden "big heads" on both sides.

Even the "military star" of the navy, the helmsman who sails the sea, and the joy of plum blossoms and snow all over the sky are not considered valuable.

Because among all the badges there is a pure white tin badge from 1945.

It was made by students from Yan'an Lu Xun Institute of Literature and Art for members of the "Seven Presidiums".

Badges like this made before liberation are the rarest and rarest, and can almost be regarded as orphans.

Thirty years from now it will be worth at least a thousand, or at most tens of thousands.

But having said that, the market for this kind of red collection belongs to a niche category after all.

The price ceiling is almost the same.

As for the current market, the market is even worse, because everyone has it and no one wants it.

Unless they are made of special materials such as gold, silver, or jade, such badges can currently only be sold to scrap stations as scrap metal.

To put it bluntly, although finding these things is better than finding nothing, it is still better than nothing.

According to Ning Weimin's estimation, all the medals in this box, whether today or in the future, cannot equal the copper wax drill he just found under the bed.

It was he who firmly held the advantage in this bet.

So he started playing again.

"Oh, old man, your luck is really not very good. After working hard for a long time, I found these things in the closet, but no one wants the medals now. I'm just going to give it to you... Hey, Even based on the original price of these things, it’s not much money. I’m afraid it’s even fifty yuan.”

"I admit, it was pure luck that I could find these two cranes. But luck is also a kind of strength. Especially in today's society. What's the point? No matter whether it's a black cat or a white cat, it's good if it can catch mice. Cat. Since I can encounter dead mice, of course my blind cat is also a good cat. Do you think this is the truth? "

"I think let's forget it for today. Don't think about competing with me or catching me shortcomings. Let's finish our work quickly and go to eat. In my opinion, it's hard to find a couple like me in this house. The crane is a valuable thing. Let’s not make any bets, let’s go through the desk together. If there’s nothing in there, it’s probably nothing.”

Of course, Ning Weimin said this because he was sure that he would win.

I also want to give the old man a way out of the ladder and put things to rest, which is indeed a good intention.

But he didn't expect that Kang Shude would not appreciate it, and even snorted and gave him a cold face.

"Good boy, are you talking nonsense? I know you haven't been thinking about serious things recently. Are you just trying to get out of the fight? You're useless!"

"I'm also telling you that today I have to let you copy the book. If you want to pass with just these two wax hammers, there is no way!"

"Take a good look at what I'm holding in my hand! This is also something in a cardboard box, do you recognize it?"

As he said that, the old man opened his hands and placed two small black objects, almost half as tall, on the glass plate of the desk.

There were only two sounds of "pop" and "pop", showing a hard and heavy texture.

The surprised Ning Weimin took a closer look and found it even more strange. What the old man took out were actually two chess pieces.

One is a horse and the other is a bishop.

"Isn't this...these two chess pieces? Is there anything new?"

Ning Weimin was completely confused. He picked it up and looked at it carefully, only to find that the two chess pieces were made of metal.

But apart from the fact that it is larger than ordinary chess pieces and the workmanship is extremely exquisite, as if it is something of some age, there is nothing more special about it.

"Old man, what do you mean by these two chess pieces? Don't tell me. Just by looking at them, you can conclude that these two things have extraordinary origins. You have to prove that they were left behind by the princes and nobles..."

"You're talking bullshit! You're trying to get lucky! I think you've made me stupid!"

Unexpectedly, Kang Shude, blowing his beard and staring, actually became angry.

"Thanks to all the scrap metal you've been wasting away for years! You can't even weigh it in your hands! Are the weights of these two chess pieces correct?"

Hey, don't tell me, even though he was scolded to death, the last sentence was so enlightening that Ning Weimin finally felt that something was wrong.

Yes, these two chess pieces are a bit too heavy.

He weighed it one by one with his hands, and when he did drop it, his heart suddenly shuddered.

"You, you mean, this, this is gold?"

The old man didn't speak this time. He raised his eyebrows and looked quite disdainful.

Ning Weimin stopped talking nonsense and took action instead of moving. He took the chess pieces and ran outside to shine them in the sun.

The hair-like carvings between the black paint were indeed incredibly bright.

But when he turned the chess piece over and looked at it, he felt confused again.

Because the black paint on the chassis has been worn off a lot, the metal color inside is particularly obvious, which is not the color that gold should be.

"Master, this...isn't this wrong? This...the hair is red and purple! It looks like copper to me, but...it doesn't look like..."

"Come on, shut up as soon as possible. If you keep talking nonsense, I will slap you in the mouth. What do you call this? You are ignorant and ignorant."

Kang Shude also walked out of the room, stretched out his hand to take the chess piece from Ning Weimin's hand, and scolded him a few times.

As he caressed the two chess pieces, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"When I was young, I made a fortune from this thing. I didn't expect to meet him again today."

Then he finally started teaching Ning Weimin.

"Do you know the Red Revolution in Russia in 1917? That year, earth-shaking changes took place in Russia, so a large number of Russian nobles poured into our country to take refuge. Those people first went to Harbin in a mighty way and transformed it into a small Oriental city. Paris. Then because I couldn’t live anywhere, I later came to Beijing and Tianjin.”

"The Russian aristocrats did not leave empty-handed. They took with them gold and silver, servants, coffee sets, records, personal chefs, and even pianos and carriages. For a time, it greatly promoted the development of Beijing and Tianjin. The local economy and culture are prosperous. Many dance halls and restaurants were opened for their business. The exotic Russian customs are spread everywhere in Beijing and Tianjin."

"Especially in the Russian Concession in Tianjin, because there are no political concerns, it is more suitable for settlement. The largest influx of Russians is in Tianjin. In order to meet the daily needs of these Russian nobles, Tianmen not only has bakeries and Russian restaurants, but also built Orthodox churches. In addition to Without the Neva River, everything the Russian nobles need would be available anywhere. Some Russian nobles even threatened to build a Neva Avenue in Jinmen."

"However, the good times don't last long. How can you do nothing if you can't get out and have nothing to eat? Within a few years, the wallets of the Russian aristocrats will quickly shrink, and they will gradually become poorer and almost unable to eat. So what should we do? We have to take care of ourselves. Ah. The first thing that the Russian nobles took out in exchange for bread was Russian blankets. They were warm and very popular. Then after they were sold out, they started selling other daily necessities, such as tea sets, wine sets, soaps, perfumes, leather shoes and clothes..."

"I still remember that in the autumn of 1935, Mr. Song and I went to Dongjiaomin Lane for business. At the entrance of the Orthodox church there, I saw a Russian woman who claimed to be a nobleman. She was looking for rich people on the street to sell two bottles of hard liquor. Wine glass. It is made of this kind of red and purple metal. The woman said it was an ancestral wine set and it was made of gold, so she had to sell it for the price of gold. It was ridiculed by many people. I saw that the woman was dressed well and behaved well. , he didn’t argue when others made fun of him, his expression remained the same, and he still insisted on his opinion. So I went up to take a look.”

"I found that the workmanship of the wine glass was exquisite, the weight was heavy enough, and the texture was very close to gold. Apart from the strange color, I couldn't find any other faults. So I boldly made a price, forty yuan. But the woman shook her head and still didn't agree. Ken. I am more sure that she is not a liar."

"It doesn't matter if you don't want to sell it. In fact, people are all the same. The Russian aristocrats are just like the prodigal sons here. They can't help but make noises. As soon as I told her, no matter how good you are, it's useless if people here don't recognize it. . If you are really a noble, you definitely cannot live on these two things. In order to save you, I have already offered you one and a half gold. There will never be anyone more sincere than me. Why should you? It's against your status to be so fussy with me. I'm just an ordinary businessman. I have to make a profit to survive, so even you can help me. She thought about it and agreed to sell it to me."

"But when Mr. Song came out and I showed it to him, he also felt that the texture of the two wine glasses was very strange. So as soon as we got home, he couldn't wait to scratch it with a touchstone and test it again with sulfuric acid. Unexpectedly, it was confirmed that it was gold. I couldn't help but be overjoyed. I weighed the two wine glasses and found that there were four small ones. I made a lot of money."

"But it's not over yet. Later, because it was difficult to explain why it was gold but why it was this color, Mr. Song and I wanted to find out what was going on, so we didn't rush to sell it, but tried to find ways to ask around. . After asking around, I found Professor Yan from the Chemical Engineering Department of Yenching University."

"When the professor saw this wine set, he frankly said that it was Russia's national gold - the purest purple gold. It is known as the world's three major golds together with platinum and gold. It is a kind of natural gold. The main ingredients are gold and rhodium, so Also known as rhodium. Due to its high hardness and strong oxidation resistance, it can keep the color from fading and is beautiful to wear. Therefore, Russian nobles love to use this precious metal to make jewelry."

"The professor also said that in terms of value, platinum is several times more valuable than gold, but purple gold is several times more valuable than platinum, making it the world's most precious metal. He is personally willing to pay 500 oceans for the pair of wine glasses, hoping to keep them As a sample. In this way, after Mr. Song consulted my opinion, he sold these two wine glasses. I made more than ten times the profit. It was equivalent to making fifteen 'little yellow croakers' at that time..."

Good guy!

When Ning Weimin heard this, he could no longer suppress his surprise.

He cried out with a cry of "Ah".