Chapter One: The Twenty-Yuan Silver Coin

He found an article by Su Wanqing, a coin conservator at the Linhai Museum, and emailed her high-resolution photographs. “Possible undocumented transitional variety. Reverse-pointing short ray inside the wheel. Will disclose provenance and sign an appraisal waiver. Urgent in-person review requested.” Seven minutes later, she replied. “Do not clean it. Three p.m., museum east gate.” Twenty-two hours and forty-one minutes remained. Before he could leave, two men in black jackets entered the market. “Zhou Ye! Where is the box from this morning?” The scar-faced leader saw the coin and reached for it. “My old man lost that. Hand it over.” Zhou stepped between them. “Your friend sold it to me. Cash for goods. If it’s stolen, call the police.”