Lu Minggui hated to see food wasted. Thinking of her thin-as-a-bean sprout children, Manman and her second daughter-in-law, she no longer refused.
“So… how much are these buns? I’ll pay you.”
It was just a few buns, after all.
Li Zi’an wasn’t a wealthy man, but buns weren’t expensive.
“Auntie, these are for you. You don’t have to pay.”
Lu Minggui shook her head. “No, that won’t do. I can’t take your things for nothing.”
In her town, meat buns usually cost three wen each. Here there were five buns, so that totaled fifteen wen.
As she counted silently, she reached into her clothes and pulled out two copper coins.
Today she had gone to the fields to pick daylilies, so she hadn’t brought a purse—just these two coins. She had planned to use them for small necessities if she ran into a peddler.
Somewhat embarrassed, she said, “Young man, I don’t have a purse today, just these two coins.”
Li Zi’an smiled, “I see, that won’t be enough. Here, keep the coins for now; I’ll go home and bring the rest.”
If she had tried to pay in real cash, Li Zi’an wouldn’t have accepted it. But seeing the old lady hand over two copper coins, he decided to take them.
He thought to himself, Seems this old lady isn’t just poor; maybe a bit senile too.
“Using these coins as if they were regular money… being old isn’t easy,” he murmured.
Deciding to go along with her, he accepted them without objection: “Alright, Auntie, I’ll take them.”
Lu Minggui didn’t know his thoughts and felt happy that he accepted the coins.
“Good, good, young man. I’ll go and get the rest!”
“Wait for me, Auntie. I trust you!”
Carrying her basket, she hurried off, finishing the sugar water in one gulp.
Li Zi’an, seeing her insist on paying, advised, “Auntie, you don’t need to go back. This is enough.”
But Lu Minggui was a proud woman who had never owed anyone anything; she wouldn’t listen.
Without looking back, she strode forward.
Seeing she wouldn’t heed him, Li Zi’an secretly placed the opened bag of sugar into her basket. The sugar couldn’t be sold now, so giving it to her was better—and seeing the joy on her face made it worthwhile.
Unaware, Lu Minggui was focused on returning to the place she had appeared from earlier. She hoped that if she got back there, she could find a way home.
Behind her, Li Zi’an watched her walk away and returned to the shop.
Looking at the two copper coins in his hand, he noticed the words “Taichang Tongbao” stamped on them. He smiled and casually placed them in the cash box on the counter.
Even though mobile payments were popular now, many elderly customers still used cash. Li Zi’an’s shop kept a small cash box for coins.
Just then, a middle-aged woman hurried in. “Boss, I’m back! How was the morning? Busy?”
Li Zi’an shook his head. “Not too bad. How’s your husband?”
“Better now. The X-ray showed a fracture, but nothing serious. I was really scared at first, but he’s fine!”
“Then why are you back at work? Aren’t you at the hospital with him?” Li Zi’an asked.
“No, it’s okay. My parents-in-law are retired and can take care of him. I only asked for leave because I didn’t know what happened.”
Li Zi’an nodded. “Alright, when you’re free, I’ll come check on him.”
“Boss, having this job is enough for me! No need to check on him; it’s all fine!” she said gratefully.
At that moment, Li Zi’an’s phone rang. He looked at the screen and answered.
“Hey, why’d you call me?”
The voice on the other end laughed. “What have you been up to lately? Come have some tea!”
Hearing the cheerful laugh, Li Zi’an smiled, glanced at Yang Dajie who was managing the shop, and said, “Alright, I’ll come over.”
After hanging up, he drove to the city center’s commercial street.
An unassuming antique shop sat quietly in a corner.
Li Zi’an pushed the door open and saw his friend Fang Jian cheerfully pouring tea.
“Alone and relaxing?” he asked.
Fang Jian looked up and hurriedly invited him to sit. “Finally! Sit, sit! Freshly brewed tea, just for you.”
As they chatted, Fang Jian leaned closer, suppressing a grin. “I found a lot of old coins from a village. Scored some real treasures—made a tidy profit!”
“By how much?”
He held up five fingers.
Li Zi’an raised an eyebrow. “No wonder you’re so happy. Your father finally let you deal with antiques?”
“Not exactly support… just didn’t scold me. Heh heh.”
Proudly, Fang Jian produced a brown brocade box. “I kept a few for myself—they might increase in value.”
“Let me see.”
Li Zi’an opened it cautiously. Five different coins were inside.
“This one is a Jia Qing Tongbao. The original mother coin’s already sold, but this large version is worth a thousand yuan.”
“This one is a Longqing Tongbao…”
Li Zi’an’s eyes scanned the coins. Suddenly, they widened.
“That one?” he asked.
“That’s a Taichang Tongbao, minted during Emperor Zhu Youxiao’s reign. Worth around 500 yuan.”
“The most valuable has ‘Tianqi Tongbao’ engraved on the back—at least 5,000 yuan.”
“But it depends on condition!”
“500 yuan? This little coin is worth 500 yuan?”
For Li Zi’an, 500 yuan wasn’t much. But thinking about the frail old lady in tattered clothes giving him two Taichang Tongbao coins, he felt uneasy.
Though it might be fake—fakes are easy to make these days—what if it was real?
The old lady was so hungry she nearly fainted and had no idea of the coin’s value.
Fang Jian noticed Li Zi’an’s expression. “Hey, what’s with that face? Do you have those coins?”
Li Zi’an nodded. “This morning at the city’s central market, I received two Taichang Tongbao from an old lady.”
Fang Jian laughed. “Your shop sells rice and oil—why are you accepting this?”
“Trying to compete with me?”