Chapter 41 - 40: Spent 220,000 to Buy 1600 Pieces_2
"No way!!"
Upon hearing about refunding the money, Fang Xun immediately perked up, showing no signs of fatigue from rowing for an hour, and quickly followed Lin Ran...
As for Gu Heng, he was leisurely trailing behind...
He was someone utterly devoid of any artistic sensibility; to him, antiques and calligraphy were described with just one word.
Valuable.
As for traditional, artistic, or literary values...
Talking about these with a semi-illiterate high school graduate like him?
Two minutes later, Gu Heng leisurely stepped in front of a blue-tiled house with its doors wide open...
If it wasn’t for the sign at the entrance, he wouldn’t have known it was a museum...
Compared to the rather quiet street, the Coin Museum was fairly crowded, with roughly a dozen people, each quietly wandering in front of the various exhibition halls...
Gu Heng, hands in his pockets, boredly began admiring the coins...
Inside the Coin Museum, there were professionals giving educational talks, their voices floating through the small exhibition hall...
"The exhibition hall displays Mr. Yu Liuliang’s collection of coins from around the world, commemorative coins, collected over 40 years. Even if you just skim through the museum, you can appreciate a fraction of the vast world of coins.
The coins displayed here include metal currency, paper money, and commemorative coins, ranging from the Xia Shang period to modern times, spanning thirty centuries. Each type of coin’s origin, nationality, and cultural history has corresponding textual descriptions to help you understand its significance; it’s a special way to learn about world history..."
As Gu Heng listened to the introduction, he suddenly thought of Old Gu back home who also had a habit of collecting coins.
As a child, there was a special little drawer at home filled haphazardly with various one and two cent coins, as well as ten and twenty cent coins, that Old Gu had scrounged up from who knows where.
Those coins were basically worthless; while others sold theirs by the piece, Old Gu’s stuff was sold by the kilo...
But he vaguely remembered one time when Old Gu, taking him aside, carefully took out these "treasures" he cherished and seriously told Gu Heng that these coins might appreciate in value and, if ever they needed money, they could sell them all to get money for Gu Heng to marry...
But funnily enough, even after the system arrived, Old Gu’s cherished "treasures" were still worthless.
Thinking of this, Gu Heng already had an idea for the gift for Old Gu...
Having bought 120,000 worth of gold jewelry for his mother, he couldn’t just not give anything to the old man... wouldn’t Old Gu kick him out of the house?
Immediately, he walked over to the glass counter at the entrance and asked the staff member, "Do you sell any of the coins in your collection here?"
The staff member, who had been dozing off at the counter, quickly got up and replied, "Yes, yes, sir, are you looking to buy some commemorative coins to collect?"
Seeing Gu Heng nod, the staff member suddenly became very enthusiastic, "What type of coin would you like to buy? Ancient coins or modern coins?"
The staff member’s voice was loud, causing everyone in the Coin Museum to inadvertently look over here.
Even Lin Ran, who was recording a Vlog with Fang Xun, couldn’t help but walk toward Gu Heng.
"Both types of coins are for sale?"
"Yes, the coins we sell may not compare to Mr. Yu Liuliang’s collection, but they are also very collectible."
As he spoke, he laid out some of the coins from under the counter in front of Gu Heng.
By this time, Lin Ran and Fang Xun had also come up next to Gu Heng, with Lin Ran holding a camera, filming the coins in front of him, and asking, "Gu Heng, do you also collect coins?"
"No, I don’t even understand these things."
Thinking he had found a shared hobby, Lin Ran was taken aback by Gu Heng’s blunt response and didn’t know what to say for a while; it was Fang Xun who asked the question she had wanted to.
"Then why are you buying these collector coins?"
Gu Heng didn’t hide anything, honestly replying, "The old man at home likes them, so since I saw them, I thought I’d buy some for him to keep."
"Well, that’s also good, buying a few as souvenirs works too."
But the next second, Gu Heng’s action overturned Fang Xun’s expectations, and even Lin Ran couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
After agonizing for a long time not knowing what would be appropriate, Gu Heng scratched his head and then said to the staff member in front of the counter, "Just pack all these you showed me."
Fang Xun: "???"
Lin Ran: "???"
Staff: "???"
Seeing the three people staring at him with wide eyes, Gu Heng asked in bafflement, "What are you guys doing?"
The first to recover was the staff member, who said in a tone of surprise, "Sir, do you mean you want to buy all these collection coins?"
"Yeah, can’t I buy so many because of a purchase limit?"
"No, no... it’s just a bit surprising..."
He wasn’t some luxury brand sales guide; having worked here for so long, it was the first time he had seen such a straightforward buying method... He couldn’t help but remind, "Sir, the total value of the collection coins here is 226,000 yuan, are you sure you want them all?"
"No problem, just pack them all up for me."
More than 220,000...
Although it was a large number, he had more or less gotten used to this high level of spending, his expression unchanged...
After confirming multiple times, the staff member hurriedly took out quite a few packaging boxes and began to carefully pack the collection coins for Gu Heng...
Lin Ran also gradually recovered from her brief surprise...
She knew Gu Heng was wealthy, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to drive a Bentley Flying Spur, but she didn’t expect Gu Heng to be so bold as to spend 220,000 without even blinking an eye at the Coin Museum...
After hesitating for a few seconds, Lin Ran couldn’t help but speak up, "Gu Heng..."
"?"
He turned around, and looked at her with confusion.
"Actually, there is no need to buy so many, the coins here only serve as a memento, they hold no real collector’s value..."
"Are you saying I got ripped off, these aren’t worth 220,000?"
The staff member, who was grinning from ear to ear, suddenly changed his expression upon hearing this, just as he was about to explain, he heard Lin Ran continue, "They are indeed worth 220,000, but it’s relative, they’re worth 220,000 only if someone is willing to buy them.
It’s like Dzi Beads, a high-quality Dzi bead can be worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions in market price, but if you actually try to sell it, it might not even fetch a few million. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?"
Gu Heng nodded.
Thinking she had persuaded him, Lin Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief...
"Aren’t antiques just like that? In the eyes of someone who likes them, they are priceless treasures, but to someone like me, they’d just sit there and I’d find them an eyesore.
No worries, it’s mainly meant as a New Year’s gift for the old man, whether they have value or not isn’t important, as long as it makes him happy."
Having said that, Lin Ran understood his sentiment and didn’t try to persuade him further.
At that moment, their views on value completely overlapped.
Some people use money to measure an item’s value, while others use their fondness for it to measure an item’s worth.
If it were her and she particularly liked something, even if it were expensive and purchasing it made others think she was a sucker, she would buy it without hesitation.
Both viewpoints are actually correct.
However, the latter perspective definitely needs more material backing to support it, otherwise, it just becomes a case of biting off more than one can chew.
At that time, Lin Ran developed a more or less positive regard toward Gu Heng, an emotion born from aligned values...
As for Fang Xun...
She was still in shock...
220,000, almost her annual income, was just spent in the blink of an eye by Gu Heng... The reason being nothing more than an elusive "happiness"...
Only with a clear contrast does one understand, the world is just that unfair...
Some people might spend on one shopping spree what could buy a house, while others live their whole lives just to afford one house.
Where’s the fairness in that...
....
A few minutes later, the staff member pushed the packed coins forward, smiling broadly, "Sir, they have been packed for you, including 65 ancient coins and 117 modern coins, encompassing currencies from 26 countries, with a total face value of 1,600 yuan."
The staff member’s voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone else in the exhibition hall...
Well then...
220,000 spent on 1,600 yuan worth of coins...
The world of the wealthy sure is absurd...