Chapter 1 Gold Trading
In Chicago in February, the weather is still cold.
Although it is 1943, it is the time when the world war is in full swing in Europe and Asia.
However, as far away from the rear of the battlefield and also the most important industrial city in the United States, Chicago is still a scene of singing and dancing.
During the day, the busy streets, the dazzling array of shops, and the gentlemen and beauties coming and going are no less lively than in the 21st century.
If it weren’t for seeing various war posters posted on the street from time to time, it would be hard to believe that at the other end of the world at this time, a war with the largest scale and the largest casualties in history is going on.
But none of this has anything to do with Josie.
At this time, he was wrapped in a coat that didn't fit his figure, walked through the busy street, and got into a roadside shop.
"Look at what you need!" Accompanied by the crisp sound of the door bell, the old shopkeeper in the hall said without raising his head.
This is a grocery store, ranging from scissors and tableware, to radios and vinyl records, all of which can be seen here, all placed in their respective positions in an orderly manner.
But Josie is not here to buy things, but to sell things.
"I heard you collect gold here!" Josie went straight to the counter and asked the old shop owner who was fiddling with an old radio.
Hearing his words, the old shopkeeper raised his head slightly, glanced at him, and was slightly surprised to see a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, but still nodded.
Josie didn't hesitate, took out a pocket from her coat, put it on the counter and opened it, revealing the gold jewelry inside.
"Huh? It looks a bit like Indian craftsmanship, but it's not very similar. Where did you get it?" Seeing the gold ornaments in the bag, the old shopkeeper said in surprise.
"What? Can Indian craftsmanship be worth more?" Josie didn't answer, but asked rhetorically.
"No, after all, it doesn't conform to the public's aesthetics." The old shopkeeper shrugged. The public's aesthetics here is undoubtedly the aesthetics of white people. The rough Indian craftsmanship can't attract the attention of those ladies, so the fate of these gold , only the fate of being smelted.
"Then how much can you pay?" Josie asked again, he didn't care about craftsmanship, because he knew that it was not Indian gold jewelry at all.
"Don't worry, kid! Wait a moment!" the old shopkeeper comforted, then turned around and searched without haste.
Josie was not in a hurry when he saw this, because he had also inquired about it before coming. This is a well-known old-fashioned grocery store near this block, and it is also a "pawn shop".
And what he wants to sell is only gold, not any illegal items.
Well... If according to the decree promulgated by Roosevelt ten years ago, it is indeed illegal to buy and sell gold privately, and even this law will not be completely abolished until the Nixon era more than two decades later.
But in fact, since World War II, this law has actually been less strict than it was at the beginning.
Coupled with the influx of refugees during the war, the U.S. government also turned a blind eye to private gold transactions, so a small amount of gold transactions are actually very common.
Of course, the safest way is to sell the gold to the bank at a price of 35 US dollars per ounce. One ounce is converted into grams, which is about 28 grams.
But it would be too bad to do so.
The difference of fifteen dollars is not a small number.
After all, the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar in this era is extremely strong.
Taking a big city like Chicago as an example, a set meal with coffee, meat and vegetables in a general restaurant is only fifty or sixty cents, and a big hamburger is only twenty cents.
That is to say, for ordinary people, even if they eat out every day, fifteen dollars is enough to eat and drink for more than a week.
The gold that Josie brought this time was not too much, or not too little, ten ounces. This is a full difference of one hundred and fifty dollars, which is already the income of ordinary people for two or three months.
Don't look at the per capita income of the United States in 1943 has reached more than a thousand dollars.
But everyone knows what per capita is.
In fact, the annual income of ordinary people in cities can reach seven or eight hundred dollars, which is already a high salary.
Why did American youth join the army enthusiastically during World War II?
Isn't it because the salary given by the army is high enough?
The basic monthly salary of a private is 50 dollars, and the rank of each rank increases from 10 to 20 dollars. Basically, when you reach the rank of sergeant, you can get 100 dollars a month, which is not counting various subsidies.
So one hundred and fifty dollars is definitely not a small amount of money.
Josie doesn't have too much gold in his hands, so he is naturally reluctant to give up such a large amount of difference to the Bank of America, so he is willing to take a little risk.
Fortunately, the old shop owner did not do anything wrong, but came back quickly with some tools, including measuring cups, water, scales and other things.
"The purity of these golds is not too high, about 80% or so, and I can only give you a price of 40." The old shopkeeper concluded after calculating the proportion of gold with a bunch of tools.
"Deal!" Josie wasn't too surprised by the old shop owner's conclusion, because the purity of the gold really couldn't be too high. After all, the metallurgy level in that world was not advanced, not to mention that even steel couldn't be smelted. of barbarian gold.
So Josie also decisively agreed to the price given by the old shop owner.
"Very good, a total of 9.8 ounces, I don't owe you anything, just count as ten ounces, here is four hundred dollars, take the child!" Seeing Josie readily agreed, the old shopkeeper turned around and walked out of the counter. He took out a roll of dollars, pulled out two, and handed the rest to Josie.
Josie took the dollar roll, untied the leather band, and found eight fifty-denomination dollars, no more, no less, just right.
After all, the United States has not yet entered the era of credit cards, so large amounts of U.S. dollars are not rare. Unlike the 21st century, it is difficult to see 50 denominations of U.S. dollars on the market.
"I'll change the fifty dollars into change. Five dollars is the best, and ten dollars is fine!" Josie counted the money, checked the authenticity, and pushed another fifty dollars back.
It’s not uncommon, but it’s not uncommon, but due to the high purchasing power, it’s still inconvenient without a little money around.
The old shopkeeper didn't say much, just nodded, and then exchanged it for a roll of five dollars.
Counted and confirmed that there was no problem, Josie **** the money again, put it in his pocket, and was about to leave.
"Next time I have the goods, you can still find me. Old Hawk's reputation in this area is still good!" Just before leaving, the voice of the old shopkeeper came.
"Of course!" Josie was taken aback when she heard this, nodded, and then went out.
(end of this chapter)