A man hoping to recover a rich bounty placed underground several years ago was dismayed to discover all his cash had decayed, media in Henan Province reported recently.
Thirteen years ago, a man surnamed Ma hid 80,000 yuan ($12,587) in a hole under his bed, with the aim of retrieving the money if his enfeebled father ever needed emergency care.
Years later, Ma's father proved more resilient than expected, never once needing a touch of medical care. Recently, however, when Ma heard from a friend that one special kind of bill, an old-style 50-yuan note, could be valuable on the antiques market, he decided to dig up his stash, among which he'd included several of the rare notes.
As soon as he touched the moldy money, however, it all crumbled and turned to dust. Later, when he brought the remains to a bank in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, he was told there was nothing they could do to recover the cash.
