Chapter 10 A shit pot is put on the head
God knows what she felt like as she left England. Cold sweat covered her entire body, and she couldn't even tell what her expression was. She pulled out a small mirror and realized that even the corners of her mouth were crooked when she smiled. For the hundredth time, she reached for her shopping receipt in her backpack, ready to hand it to him if customs questioned her. Her suitcase reached the luggage belt, slowly moving forward on the tracks. It turned a corner, and the black plastic belt at the entrance slid over the suitcase, engulfing it.
Qin Tian, boarding pass in hand, headed for immigration, every step a thorn in her side. The flight attendants chatted casually, aimlessly scanning the stream of passengers. A child screamed and stamped behind her, but she stood with her neck erect, not daring to look back. Even as she entered the departure lounge, she was still apprehensive, fearing that at any moment a flight attendant would rush over and ask which passenger was Qin Tian.
However, nothing happened, and she really brought back the eleven artifacts.
Outside the isolation zone, Tang Zhixu walked in her direction. As soon as she turned out, his warm hand fell from beside her hand that was tightly holding the luggage cart handle, and took the luggage cart.
Tang Zhixu's pace didn't seem fast, but he was tall and had long legs, so each step was very long. She had to walk quickly to keep up with him. The two of them walked to the parking garage in silence but tacit understanding, one in front and one behind. His trunk was already covered with a shock absorber, and he carefully placed the new suitcase on the shock absorber and closed the hood. Qin Tian opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. After getting in, she suddenly covered her face with her hands, her eyes full of heat.
Tang Zhixu sat in the driver's seat and started the car. He looked sideways at her, smiled silently, and said teasingly, "Are you scared now?"
Qin Tian ignored him. She removed her fingers from her eyes, completely removing the hidden dampness. She forced a smile, "What's there to be afraid of? This is a legitimate business, and we're both willing."
Tang Zhixu glanced at the rearview mirror and slowly drove away.
"Can you tell me now? What did I buy with my 500,000 yuan?"
The morning sun bursts out, illuminating the earth.
"Some tiny artifacts from ancient Rome and Egypt."
Tang Zhixu drove onto the elevated road and said nonchalantly, "It's not that bad. It's not British in the first place, so why can't I buy it? I mean, if you buy a few things here and there, what kind of classification is that? They can't be put into the regular exhibition hall, and there are too few things for special exhibitions. In the end, they will just go into storage."
"It's from the British Museum." Qin Tian turned his head and looked out the car window.
Tang Zhixu stepped on the accelerator a little harder, and the car's speed suddenly increased. The car was silent, with only the white noise of the high-speed motor.
After a long while, he said, "How did it come about?"
"I bought it on eBay," Qin Tian said. Who could believe such an outrageous excuse could actually be true? Only now did the sense of reality slowly return to her. She had actually brought artifacts stolen from the British Museum back to China.
"How do you know it's from the British Museum?"
"I saw a few of them in the British Museum's internal catalogue of artifacts."
"You're quite capable, even borrowing the library catalog." Tang Zhixu couldn't help but taunt her lightly. But Qin Tian wasn't in the mood to argue with him and continued to tell the truth.
"The person who lent me the catalog was the staff member who met with me this time. He is Chinese and his mother used to work at the Shanghai Museum. So he didn't suspect me."
"That's quite good," Tang Zhixu sighed. "This man is in Cao's camp, but his heart is with Han."
"No," Qin Tian didn't want to laugh at all, "He has no idea."
Not only did he not know what happened to the catalog he lent her, he also had no idea what was in the package at his house. Looking back now, she felt she had no face to tell Tang Zhixu about such a crazy thing. She had screwed Tong Zhongyuan.
"What are you going to do? Hand it over to Director Ming? Tell him it's from the British Museum?"
"I don't know." Qin Tian bit his fingers.
"I don't know why you brought it back! You were working alone in the UK, doing underground work, and you even managed to smuggle a box of cultural relics out of the country. Have you watched too many spy movies? Or do you think your ordinary life isn't exciting enough? If the Shanghai Museum loses it, you're going to close down, right? Your job is to identify cultural relics, not smuggle them!"
"I'm not smuggling!" Qin Tian's voice rang out. "I'm doing a normal transaction on eBay. The money and goods are cleared, and it's legal. People all over the world can buy it there, so why can't I? Just because I'm an antique appraiser, I should know its origin, right? Who can guarantee that I'm not mistaken? I bought the goods I liked at a reasonable price. What did I do wrong? If it weren't for those crappy, out-of-print shoes and comic books of yours, how could I have found these things on eBay?"
Tang Zhixu was annoyed by her yelling. He was worried and confused, but she was upset. He lowered the car window a little to let in some air, but there was even more wind noise, so he closed the window again.
"Alright, blame it all on me," he admitted. "I'll go to your house first and figure out what to do. If it doesn't work out, I'll take the blame. I'll sell it to Hong Kong. It doesn't have to be declared, so it's fine. I can get it out of here in 90 days. Now I can buy a house in Yanlord Riverside."
Qin Tian also calmed down. She had gone too far. Tang Zhixu had helped her so much, but she still yelled at him. She only dared to do this to him because she knew he would always be on her side.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"What have you done to me that I'm sorry for? I'm almost going to buy a house at Hengren Riverside. You go and die, and I'll take the blame and fight for all living beings."
Qin Tian burst out laughing. She wanted to cry, but ended up in a dilemma. Tang Zhixu glanced at her sideways, and the corners of his lips curled up in the morning sun.
Tang Zhixu parked his car downstairs of her house and carried his suitcase into the room.
The new box was filled with Qin Tian's clothes. The cultural relics were intact in the clothes. Along with the cultural relics, there were also some brooches and a few 10-pence coins she bought in London. Under X-ray, their characteristics were similar to those of the other cultural relics, which might be why customs did not detect them. On one side of the box was a shoe box and comic books, also wrapped in clothes. After the bumpy ride, even the corners of the shoe box were intact. Qin Tian took out the shoe box and handed it to Tang Zhixu.
"Your shoes."
Tang Zhixu took it and set it aside. He should have known she would always do her best to fulfill her promises. She wouldn't throw the shoe box away, let alone bring it back in a suitcase. Even if she were to carry the shoes hiking, she wouldn't throw them away. She was right. It was all his fault. He knew she was a girl all alone in a foreign country, yet he still asked her to bring something heavy back.
Tang Zhixu squatted beside Qin Tian and examined the cultural relics one by one.
"Your taste is still as good as ever. I wouldn't be able to resist buying it either." This time there was no sarcasm in his tone.
Qin Tian knew he was trying to comfort himself, but the bitterness in his heart deepened. He didn't know what else she had done. She had been so upset in England at the time, and only now had she calmed down. She really couldn't bring herself to tell him that secret.
"But in my opinion," Tang Zhixu got to the point, "there's no need to let Director Ming know. Telling him would only embarrass him. This situation is different. You bought the cultural relics on British soil, so it can be considered a personal act."
"No," Qin Tian stood up. "I bought these things in England, but I'm not on vacation, I'm on a business trip. I'm obligated to report the cultural relics I bought while the museum was on a business trip, regardless of whether the Shanghai Museum wants them or not."
Tang Zhixu also stood up, walked around the room, stroked his forehead with his fingers, and sighed deeply.
"Qin Tian, what should I say to you? I know you are very serious, but sometimes are you too serious? What is your purpose in buying cultural relics? To increase the collection of the museum, to give the cultural relics a better home, and to let Director Ming know that he has not hired the wrong person. But which of these eleven cultural relics do you think can meet the requirements? If you don't report it, it is your personal behavior. As you said, people all over the world can buy it, so why can't you? No one can say anything to you. Isn't it just picking up a bargain? Who wouldn't pick up a bargain? But if you report it, it is not a personal behavior, but the behavior of the Shanghai Museum. A well-known Chinese museum sent experts to work with the British Museum, but ended up taking things from people's homes. The things have been moved back. Think about it yourself, is it appropriate to do this? I have known you for so many years, and I know what kind of person you are. If you have any selfish motives, you would have bought three houses in Yanlord Riverside long ago. Not only do I know your temper, but Ming Yuanxing knows it, and all the colleagues in the museum know it. That's why Director Ming trusts you so much and values you. Qin Tian, but this time is different, do as I say. I promise not to put you in trouble, and no one will question your innocence. If you feel guilty, I will sell it at a fair price. We buy at the same price and sell at the same price, and we don't make a penny of difference. Just think of it as bringing these ancient Roman gadgets to China for a tour. "
Qin Tian turned and walked to the windowsill, hugging her neck, without saying a word. Tang Zhixu silently watched her back. A bird flew past the window, leaving behind a series of crisp bird calls. Qin Tian finally turned around and looked at him intently.
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