Boss Yang reported that he placed an order for two silver bars, but soon received a message that made him rush from Fujian to Shaoxing the next day.

Boss Yang: I ordered the goods on the 11th, and he promised to ship them to me on the 12th. That night, I learned that he owed others silver bars and hadn't delivered them, so I was very anxious the next day and went to the scene. I planned to have him ship the goods or give me a refund.

Boss Yang said he had been in the gold recycling business in Fujian for four or five years and had joined a peer group that included both buyers and sellers. Through this, he met Boss Hong of "Hongji Gold Recycling" in Keqiao District, Shaoxing. The other party often posted large transactions in the group, and he felt it should be reliable to get goods from Boss Hong.

Boss Yang: At first, I started trading with him from one or two bars. Previously, he always shipped on time. The largest deal was 50 bars (silver bars), over 600,000 yuan.

Reporter: Did he always ship the same day?

Boss Yang: Sometimes same day, sometimes the next day. Because most of the time he paid the factory, and the factory shipped to us, so the quality of the silver bars was no problem.

Boss Yang said he had never met Boss Hong before and had never visited the offline store. They had traded five or six times, all relatively smoothly. On September 11, because a customer wanted to buy two silver bars, he again sought goods from Boss Hong and transferred 28,474 yuan to him. Boss Hong promised to ship the next day. But that night, he saw in the group that someone reported buying 12 silver bars from Boss Hong and not receiving them for ten days.

Boss Yang: I thought there was a problem, and I suspected his capital chain might have broken. Including his Moments and Douyin, he posted about this store. I followed the name and found this place. When I arrived at his store, he directly said "it blew up," and he couldn't ship. He wouldn't give me the goods or a refund, and planned to just sign an IOU and be done with it. I only want to get my goods or a refund.

Boss Yang said that later, four other people contacted him, saying they had also bought silver bars from Boss Hong that weren't shipped. Together, they calculated the total value at over 970,000 yuan.

Boss Hu: I bought 40 kilograms (of silver bars) from him. Between August and September, I transferred nearly 600,000 yuan in total. It was our second cooperation. He asked me to pay in full, and after full payment, he would arrange shipment, but the schedule was pushed to September 3. I waited from September 1 to 3, and started urging him. After the 3rd, he didn't deliver, so I came to the scene once. When I arrived, I saw five people sitting in the store, all waiting for silver bars that weren't shipped. He now gives all sorts of reasons, saying the card is frozen, or the supplier ran away, or he's out of town and can't transfer money or ship goods.

Boss Wu: He told me he would ship on September 7, and now it's September 23. He has neither the goods nor the money, and when we try to negotiate, he ignores us. Only when the police call him does he reply to messages or calls.

When visiting the store, the staff said Boss Hong was not there and they were不便 to accept interviews. A few minutes later, they closed the door and left.

The reporter contacted Boss Hong, who said he has not yet shipped silver bars to seven buyers, totaling 60 kilograms worth about 980,000 yuan.

Boss Hong of Hongji Gold Recycling Store in Keqiao District, Shaoxing: (The staff) is only 23 years old and inexperienced. He called me and said, "Brother, so many people are here, I'm scared." I said, "Then close the door." I apologize to you on his behalf. I understand their feelings, but from beginning to end, I haven't avoided them. I've been actively communicating and negotiating with them, asking for some time to raise the money. Because this time, they bought goods from me, and my capital chain broke, so I couldn't deliver to them. The capital chain (broke) should have been around mid-August, which was when they last placed orders.

Reporter: Boss Yang said he placed an order with you on September 11?

Boss Hong of Hongji Gold Recycling Store in Keqiao District, Shaoxing: Because I had losses in mid-August, but I used my savings and borrowed money from friends to fill the losses, and then I restarted the silver business. Since I lost, I definitely have to keep doing it to earn the money back, right? Can't I do business after a loss?

Boss Hong said that after taking orders, he was still losing money, which led to the goods not being shipped. He hasn't avoided it and has been actively contacting buyers.

Boss Hong of Hongji Gold Recycling Store in Keqiao District, Shaoxing: But they threaten me with calls every day, intimidate me, and even came to my store to pour gasoline, which caused me... Online, they exposed me in the group. Offline, people around me are afraid to approach me, making it impossible for me to live and work. At least give me a break, like a month, then I can specifically tell them how much I can repay this month and next month. Or if they are willing, I can go to the police station and write a commitment letter in front of the police. I have a fixed income of at least 40,000 to 50,000 yuan per month.