Mother left exasperated when toddler points to trash can after losing 20g gold bar

A woman from Liaoning Province has been left in disbelief after discovering that a 20-gram gold bar she had carefully stored in a box was missing.

The incident occurred last Sunday, Dec 22, as Ms Lu from Anshan was organizing her belongings in preparation for the upcoming Chinese New Year.

According to Chinese media outlet Pioneer News, Ms Lu opened a box containing her gold bars only to realize that one was missing.

Confident that no other family member would have tampered with the items, she turned to her 21-month-old daughter for answers.

To her surprise, every time she questioned her toddler—over ten times in total—the child consistently pointed to the trash can as the location of the missing gold.

Faced with this repeated response, Ms Lu could only conclude that the gold bar had been inadvertently discarded. Ms Lu said she felt helpless but could only accept that the gold bar is gone forever.

The story quickly gained traction online, with netizens sharing similar anecdotes. One commenter recalled, “When my daughter was little, she used to play with my gold necklaces, rings, and other jewelry. She ended up losing a gold necklace and a platinum earring, and even after 20 years, they’ve never been found.”

The incident also sparked debate about safeguarding valuables in households with young children. Many criticized Ms Lu for being careless, suggesting that jewelry and gold should always be stored in secure, childproof locations.