HLM – Chapter 115 The Grace of God Gold Coin

Eva invited Wang Bo into her office. Inside was a woman in her forties—an elegant white lady with gentle facial features and a constant, warm smile.

As the two entered, the woman smiled, nodded in greeting, and then politely stepped out, giving them some private space.

As they passed each other, the woman suddenly winked at Wang Bo and said, “Hey, Eva’s a good girl. You should take the initiative, young man.”

“What?” Wang Bo blurted out instinctively. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on—was this teacher encouraging him to pursue Eva?

Eva chuckled and gently pushed the woman out of the room. After returning, she placed Wang Bo’s gift aside and explained, “That was Ms. Katherine Houston. I mentioned her before, didn’t I? She likes to joke around—don’t take her words seriously.”

Wang Bo wanted to continue on that topic, but being inexperienced in romance, he didn’t know how to proceed. So he switched topics: “You’re organizing a charity auction?”

Eva nodded lightly and explained, “As you know, our school is a welfare institution. Funding comes from the local government, the Children’s Protection Society, and ourselves. Since the school doesn’t have its own industry, the only way to raise money is through charity events.”

Wang Bo asked cautiously, “So, what kind of items are usually auctioned?”

Eva smiled, “Are you planning to participate? If so, we’d be delighted to have you. As for the auction items—anything is acceptable, as long as people are willing to contribute.”

Wang Bo thought for a moment and said, “I’d be happy to join. I’m free this weekend. I haven’t decided what to donate yet. But I saw you’re hosting a thank-you banquet, right? I could provide some of the food—like chicken or lamb.”

Eva’s eyes curved into crescents as she nodded rapidly like a pecking chick, “That’s wonderful. You’re such a good man, Wang. You’re really a good man.”

Wang Bo gave a wry smile, “That’s the second ‘nice guy’ card I’ve gotten from you.”

Eva asked innocently, “Why do you look unhappy when I call you a good man? Isn’t that supposed to be a great compliment for men?”

Wang Bo found her expression silly and naive at that moment and didn’t know how to explain. It was a cultural difference.

To New Zealanders, calling someone a “good person” was high praise. To Chinese people, a “good guy card” just meant being politely rejected.

After confirming he’d participate in the weekend charity auction, Wang Bo chatted casually with Eva for a bit longer. He remembered there was something important he’d come here for, but under the gaze of Eva’s soft purple eyes, he completely forgot.

Just before leaving, Wang Bo suddenly realized he still didn’t have her phone number, so he smiled and asked, “Can you give me your number?”

“Sorry, I can’t.” Eva shrugged. Just as Wang Bo felt awkward, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number. Immediately, the iPhone in Wang Bo’s pocket began ringing.

He took it out and looked at the unfamiliar caller ID, stunned. “How do you have my number?”

Eva tilted her head playfully and said, “Remember when Dale misunderstood you and called the police, and you were taken to the station? Our numbers were on the record. It’s that simple.”

Wang Bo gave a bitter laugh. It was simple. But he hadn’t known that—otherwise, he’d have asked her number much earlier.

After they parted ways, Juan drove Wang Bo back to the castle. Sitting in the car, Wang Bo suddenly remembered why he had gone to see Eva in the first place:

He had wanted to ask her to mediate between Hani and his son, and to teach Hani how to be a decent father…

But maybe this was for the best—it gave him a perfect excuse to visit Eva again.

That excuse would have to wait. Right now, Wang Bo needed to prepare for the school’s weekend charity auction.

As for his auction item, after rummaging through his belongings, he decided to dip into his treasure room.

Among the antiques, he couldn’t bear to part with the porcelain or the gold-and-silver carvings, but in one of the chests filled with gold bricks were some gold coins. Giving away one of those wouldn’t hurt.

The town’s construction still needed a lot of funding. Of the more than 20 million NZD, over half had already been spent. Once the Level 3 road was completed, pretty much all of it would be gone.

Wang Bo had long planned to sell some of those antiques, and this charity auction was a good warm-up.

The coins in the gold chest were all the same. He picked one at random, then gathered Charlie, Kobe, Bowen, and the others. Holding the coin with an air of mystery, he asked, “Anyone know what this is?”

“A gold coin,” Juan answered, playing along.

Wang Bo rolled his eyes. “I know it’s a gold coin. What I mean is—anyone know what kind of gold coin this is? Is it worth anything?”

Charlie took the coin and examined it. “Where’d you find this?”

Wang Bo kept up the mystery, “Found it in the castle. Found a few other things too. I think it’s the Roberts family’s hidden treasure. What do you think?”

Charlie scoffed, “Ha! Hidden treasure? Be real, Wang. Back then, the government’s funeral committee also believed there might be treasure in the castle, but they searched it top to bottom and found squat.”

Wang Bo shot back, “Guess they just had bad luck. The Psalms were right there in the church. Why didn’t they find it?”

Charlie thought for a moment and nodded, “You’ve got a point.”

Bowen snatched the coin and shouted, “Don’t hog it—let us see. Hey Kobe, Clarson, come check this out. What kind of coin is this?”

Wang Bo had already looked. The coin wasn’t a pure yellow but had a rose-gold hue. About two centimeters in diameter—slightly larger than a fingernail—and quite heavy in the hand.

It looked like a British coin. On the front was Queen Elizabeth’s crowned profile. The reverse side showed a man on horseback with a sword.

There were four sets of letters around the edge.

Top: ELIZABETH (obviously, “Elizabeth”).
Bottom: DELGRA
Left: REGINA
Right: FIDDEF

He had no clue what the rest meant.

After passing the coin around, Charlie said, “These are Latin inscriptions. ‘DELGRA’ means ‘By the Grace of God,’ ‘REGINA’ is ‘Queen,’ and ‘FIDDEF’ means ‘Defender of the Faith.’ Put together, it means something like ‘Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith.’”

But Charlie couldn’t identify anything beyond that.

So Wang Bo called Adam, the Oceania president of Christie’s. The latter was indeed interested in Wang Bo’s antiques and asked him to send photos.

After receiving the photo, Adams called back and said, “That’s a Sovereign coin, minted in 1887. Where did you get it?”

Wang Bo only cared about one thing: “How much is it worth?”