Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Silver Coins Hidden in the Steel Pipe!
Sean Knight scoffed at Tod Collins with disdain:
"You don't believe it? Whether you believe it or not is up to you, but will the contents inside change just because you don't believe?"
Madden took the steel pipe and shook it, asking with some confusion:
"There's no sound coming from it, Sean, how can you be sure?"
"Because the weight is off," Sean confidently said. "If it were pure steel, it would be slightly lighter. If it were a steel pipe, this would be somewhat heavier. Of course, I still feel there's something stuffed inside..."
At this point, someone enthusiastic handed over a rechargeable angle grinder from their tool cart:
"Why not give it a try and see if there's anything or not!"
Sean didn't expect that these people had actually brought these kinds of tools in their cars!
How professional!
It made him think that when he got a Raptor, he would have to prepare his tools, too.
Sean took the angle grinder, turned it on to test it, and then slowly cut into one end of the steel pipe.
Someone nearby objected, telling Sean:
"Cut more! It's so inconvenient to cut like this!"
Sean didn't say anything. He didn't need to interact with such dullards or those with malicious intentions!
Sean cut open the steel pipe, revealing a wad of paper inside.
He put down the angle grinder, slowly picked out the wad of paper, and then exposed the contents inside the steel pipe!
"There really is something!" Madden exclaimed in surprise.
At first, he was half-skeptical, but now he confirmed that Sean's guess was indeed true.
This kid really dared to gamble!
Sean slowly tilted one end of the steel pipe upward and poured out the contents inside.
"Silver coins! My God!"
Someone gasped!
If the entire two-meter long steel pipe was filled with silver coins, even the least valuable kind, it would still be a substantial fortune!
Tod Collins stood behind the crowd, already jealous to the point of madness!
This money should have been his!
Sean only poured out two silver coins, then stopped and held the steel pipe in his hand.
He picked up the two coins and examined them up close.
"1875, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 420 GRAINS, 900 FINE, TRADE DOLLAR..."
It was an 1875 US Trade Silver Dollar with Flowers (Liberty holding flowers in her hand)!
Madden confirmed the identity of the silver coin as soon as Sean read the words engraved on it!
"How did a trade coin end up on domestic soil?" someone asked with a doubt.
"Maybe it was brought back from abroad? Or maybe it never circulated out in the first place?" someone else guessed.
There were some stains on the silver, but it was easy to see that they were not counterfeit.
"Considering the condition, this one is worth about one thousand dollars," Madden estimated.
"There must be at least several dozen inside this steel pipe, right? That Chinese boy hit the jackpot!"
Sean shook his head, tilted the pipe again, and poured out three more coins, but then there were no more.
Looking down the pipe, Sean shrugged and said, "That's it, only these five coins, it's filled up!"
Five coins were worth at least five thousand US dollars!
But how much did Sean spend?
Twenty dollars!
That's a 250 times return on investment! (Doesn't this number sound familiar?)
Everyone present watched with envious eyes!
This Chinese boy was just too lucky!
Madden patted Sean on the shoulder:
"Sean, your luck and judgment are truly superb!"
Then he turned to clean up his own stuff.
Sean thanked the person who brought the angle grinder, picked up the silver coins, and turned around, only to find Tod Collins sneaking around his prop guns.
He immediately shouted:
"Tod, what the hell are you trying to do?"
Tod quickly stood up and, eyes darting, said:
"I'm just checking out the stuff you bought."
However, he immediately pointed and said:
"You got this steel pipe from me, don't you think you should share some with me?"
Sean coldly said:
"Get lost!"
Tod took two steps back, but his tone became more arrogant:
"Listen up, yellow-skin, don't forget this is still the Beautiful Country! So, you just wait!"
He finished talking and went to pick up his stuff.
Sean felt a sense of unease.
Tod was not a good person, so he would obviously not use any legitimate methods against Sean.
How would he deal with him? Rob him, steal from him, or frame him?
Sean took out his mobile phone, thinking it was a good thing that he had prepared himself earlier!
At this moment, a van drove into the freight yard.
A beautiful woman in her thirties got out of the car, scanned the surroundings, and immediately walked towards Sean.
"Hello, I'm Judy Morris. Mr. John referred me to you. You're Sean, right?"
"Yes, that's me." Sean shook her hand, feeling very surprised.
He had thought that the person who would buy these prop guns would be a burly man, but he didn't expect it to be a delicate woman.
"Can I take a look at these props?" Judy asked.
"No problem." Sean had just checked the prop gun Tod had been looking at earlier and luckily, it wasn't damaged.
Otherwise, Sean would never let him go, no matter what.
Judy squatted down, picked up the prop hunting rifle, and carefully examined it.
Then she frowned:
"There's something wrong with this prop gun, an important part is missing!"
Sean was shocked and rushed forward, and Judy pointed it out to him.
Sean immediately picked up another gun and found that the part was still there!
He suddenly realized what had happened, and turned to Tod, who was already preparing to leave, and shouted:
"Tod, did you take the part from this gun?"
Tod feigned innocence:
"What are you talking about? I don't know! All I know is, you shamelessly took five thousand USD worth of stuff from me!"
When Judy heard Tod's words, her gaze towards Sean changed a bit.
Chinese people here in America are indeed considered non-mainstream.
Sean didn't want to carry this bad reputation, so he angrily defended himself:
"You're talking nonsense! You sold it to the garbage picker, and then I bought it back!"
At this moment, a police car pulled up, and a caucasian police officer in his late twenties got out asking:
"Who called the police just now?"
Tod was overjoyed:
"I called! This yellow-skin kid used tricks to take away my five thousand USD worth of stuff!
Now, he's falsely accusing me of sabotaging his prop gun! I want you to arrest him and compensate me for my reputation loss!"
Judy immediately stood up and stepped aside once she saw the police arrive, indicating that she had nothing to do with the matter.
Sean loudly said:
"He's slandering me! He sold a steel pipe as garbage to a picker, and then I bought it back for twenty dollars. Naturally, the stuff inside the pipe belongs to me, but he's slandering me, saying I deceived him!"
As soon as Sean explained, Tod immediately became furious and said:
"I was going to buy it back then, but you ruined my plans! It's obviously your fault! Officer, arrest him quickly, don't let the yellow-skin kid take away the property that belongs to us, the people of the Beautiful Country!"
The police officer looked at Sean:
"Do you have anything else to say?"
Sean immediately said:
"Of course! Just now, out of jealousy and revenge, he removed a part from my prop gun. The part must be hidden on him!"
Tod arrogantly said:
"I didn't! Unless you have proof, what can you do about it?"
The other onlookers, including Judy, didn't think highly of Sean.
Although Tod was Latino, his status in America was higher than that of Sean, a Chinese person.
At least, that's how many people saw it.
So, when encountering the police, they would usually be at a disadvantage.
Judy was secretly worried for Sean. She could see that he was a reasonable person.
But here, some police officers didn't reason with you!
Madden and the others chose to watch, not wanting to add fuel to the fire for Sean or cause themselves trouble.
Not kicking a man when he's down was already a courtesy to Mr. John!
At this moment, Tod's face and heart were full of smugness!
He had long been displeased with this Chinese boy!
Now, he wanted to use the police to punish him!