Four Char Code Stored in PList

I am using a plist to store data that won't change. I load it once on app load into an array of dictionaries. One of the fields is a four char code. The issue is that I want to be able to maintain the readable nature of a FCC, but storing it as a Number won't allow that. I could store it as a string instead and convert it in-app, but I was wanting to开发者_如何学C find a more elegant solution. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

---

Go ahead, store it as string. That's what Apple's plists do.