Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 758 Exchanging Foreign Currency

The next day, Xiaohong asked for a day off, saying that she felt unwell and wanted to lie down for the day.

Uncle Wang and Xiaowei's father exchanged a few words of concern before going about their own business. Xiaowei's mother and Aunt Wang exchanged a glance, their faces lighting up with joy. This is...

Wang Gang, Li Weibing, and Mi Le were also heading back, having been out for quite some time. Xiao Wei and Chen Hui took the three of them to the train station. After they boarded the train, Xiao Wei and Chen Hui drove straight to Beixi.

Today, a bus came to the county to pick up people. Uncle Si's mountain products company is also bringing over this year's harvest. Xiao Wei also needs to find someone who knows about fruit trees. Several shopping malls here are also recruiting tenants and are about to open. Xiao Wei plans to see if Liu Liu and the others intend to come. If they do, he will sublet the stall in the city. If they don't come, he will talk to the county to see if a few more people can start businesses and get rich.

Xiao Wei's idea was simple: he'd made it out of poverty and was doing alright, so he wanted to help his fellow villagers as much as possible. The people here were so poor; a single water source could only benefit a small portion of the surrounding area. Changing everyone's perspective and mindset was the most important thing. Crucially, they were all from his hometown, making management much easier.

There's one last reason: to bring Xingwang and his family here. Originally, we planned to send them to Longcheng, but plans change quickly, so it's more reliable for them to come directly to Fengtian. He can work and learn a skill if he wants, or sell newspapers and shoes if he wants to start a business. Making a fortune is uncertain, but becoming wealthy is definitely achievable.

Chen Hui was just following along because he had nothing else to do, ostensibly to investigate the market. However, it was unusual that Beixi, a city with high income and consumption in Liaodong, didn't have any business there yet.

As the car approached Waitou Mountain, near Songmubaozi, Chen Hui looked ahead and said, "What's going on? There are so many people gathered around, has there been a car accident?"

Xiao Wei also saw it: two long-distance buses were parked on the side of the road, and there was a minibus whose purpose was unknown. Most of the people on the buses got off and gathered around the buses, forming three groups.

Someone saw Xiaowei's car approaching and took a few steps forward to wave.

Xiao Wei pulled the car over to the side, touched the handcuffs on his waist, pushed open the car door and jumped out: "What's wrong? What are you doing?"

The man reached out to pull Xiaowei, but Xiaowei dodged to the side and looked at him.

The man smiled and said, "It's nothing. Everyone's exchanging foreign currency here—dollars, pounds. I see you have nice cars, so you must be well-off. Want to exchange some, buddy? Genuine imported dollars and pounds are worth a lot on the market. We need the money urgently, otherwise we wouldn't have this opportunity. Banks exchange for ten dollars or so, but we want eight. If you want more, seven dollars is fine too."

Xiao Wei looked him up and down a few times. He didn't seem like a rich person. There weren't many rich people these days, especially young people. His clothes, appearance, and spirit were quite different from ordinary people, making him easy to distinguish.

"You guys? How many of you? Why don't you go to the bank to exchange money? You could exchange more." Chen Hui got out of the car and asked as he closed the door.

The man said, "Banks are such a hassle. They check this and that, taking advantage of us ordinary people. Their attitude is also bad. Besides, most banks won't exchange the money; we have to go to different places, which is a hassle. We need the money urgently."

Xiao Wei asked, "Aren't US dollars and British pounds both seven dollars?"

The man nodded and said, "That's right, we're not lying. It only costs ten or so yuan at the bank. If you have time, you can go to the bank to exchange it slowly later. You'll definitely make money."

Xiao Wei looked at him and said, "Now, exchanging US dollars at the bank only gets you five dollars or so, right? Doesn't that mean I'm losing money?"

Xiao Wei lit a cigarette, handed it to Chen Hui, and after thinking for a moment, said to the man, "Still the price is the same for US dollars and British pounds, right?"

The man thought for a moment, seemingly reluctant, then gritted his teeth, nodded, and said, "Okay, same price. How much can you exchange, buddy?"

Xiao Wei patted his pockets: "I wasn't prepared, I didn't have much money on me."

The man said, "Anything is fine, we'll give you a discount. Mobile phones, watches, rings, anything is acceptable, I guarantee you won't lose out."

Chen Hui pulled out his mobile phone from his pocket and asked, "How much for this?"

The man said, "Hey buddy, you're really something! These days, not many people use this little machine. How about I exchange yours for ten thousand? Foreigners print all sorts of bills, I'll give you a ten-thousand-yuan note, it'll be easier for you to carry, okay?"

Chen Hui grinned and said, "Fifteen thousand? I'll trade it for fifteen thousand."

The man licked his lips and said, "Let me discuss this. Come over here, you can inspect the goods too."

As Xiao Wei and Chen Hui walked past a group of people, they heard someone in the crowd say, "Don't worry, you can exchange them. Let me tell you how to check if the foreign money is real or fake, so you won't be fooled."

See? This is the same as our money, with an anti-counterfeiting seal. It will show up when you shine a UV light on it. And this, this is someone else's king. Go back and look in the newspapers; there are photos in the newspapers. You can compare them and you'll see. And here, hold it up to the sun and look at it. See? The clearer you can see it, the more authentic it is. There are no fakes.

This is a British pound note, with the image of the King printed on it. He was the emperor, and the King still calls the shots. It's red, see? Run your fingers through it; feel the stiffness, it's firm. Fake ones aren't this hard. This is a US dollar note, green, and it also has the King printed on it, but he's not called King, he's called President. This is the First President, and this is the Second President; they both have security features.

The man who had stopped Xiaowei's car squeezed in with Xiaowei and Chen Hui, saying, "Make way, make way! You're still hesitating? Look at those rich guys, they're exchanging tens of thousands right away, it's nothing. Genzi, can he really exchange this little machine for fifteen thousand?"

The person explaining whether the money was real or fake turned around, glanced at the phone in Chen Hui's hand, and looked a little embarrassed.

The person leading the group said, "Why don't you just change them? You need the money urgently. He's all dressed up, so it's okay to change a few more at once, right? Look at these people, how many have they changed in all this time? They're all reluctant to part with their clothes. They've never seen anything like it before and can't believe it. These days, you still need to be rich. They have broad experience and sharp eyes. Otherwise, how would they have money?"

The man inside hesitated for a moment with a stern face, then reluctantly nodded and said, "Okay, let's exchange it then. I'm in a real hurry for the money; otherwise, you wouldn't be able to find it at this price anywhere else. You've gotten a great deal. Do you want dollars or pounds?"

The man leading the group said, "We need the larger pound notes, the ones that are easier for them to obtain. Could you give us a ten-thousand-pound note and a five-thousand-pound note?"

The man inside was looking down and searching through his military satchel, which was full of foreign currency, red and green mixed together. As he searched, he said, "Okay, let me look. There aren't many large bills. People around here don't have much money. I was afraid that if I brought large bills, I wouldn't be able to exchange them and it would delay my business, so I didn't bring many. They're all at home."

Xiao Wei asked with a smile, "Brother, what do you do for a living? With so many US dollars and pounds, you're rich! This bag of yours is loaded; it'd be worth millions in RMB! What do you need this money for?"

(End of this chapter)