Chu Xiao's eyelids twitched.
How could Chairman Ma see that?
He himself didn't know if this was a valuable item, since all the porcelain was mixed together in the box. He just didn't want this horse because of its ugly color and rust.
Chairman Ma picked up the bronze horse, examined it in natural light, and then used a magnifying glass to examine it.
When they couldn't find it, they asked the staff to bring out an instrument and look inside the hole in the horse's rump.
Upon seeing the text inside, he excitedly shouted, "Old Shen, look! There's a horse brand inside!"
Are there words inside a horse's body?
Chairman Shen and Ma Dingdang also gathered around.
Ma Dingdang took a miniature camera and stuck it inside the horse's belly to take pictures.
The handwriting appeared clearly on the detector.
Chairman Shen was extremely excited.
"Yes, it is the Heavenly Horse of the Great Wei!"
Chairman Ma nodded as well.
"Yes! This is indeed a bronze horse used in sacrificial rites by the Great Wei Kingdom, symbolizing holiness and purity."
"Ordinary people can't afford it; it must be the offspring of officials who can afford it."
The director of the provincial museum was also very excited.
"Oh dear, these are sacrificial items from the Great Wei Kingdom!"
"Mr. Chu, you have so many antiques, could you donate this bronze horse to our museum?"
Chairman Ma's face darkened.
"We agreed yesterday that we can buy you whatever you want; you can't just try to get something for nothing."
Chairman Shen was also somewhat displeased.
"Yes, even though you're from the province, don't go around donating and handing out banners to everyone you meet. It makes President Chu laugh at us for being ignorant."
"Wait!" Chairman Ma interrupted everyone, pointing to the incense ash on the horse's hoof and complaining, "Young Master Chu, why are you using such expensive stuff? Why is there incense ash stuck to the horse's hoof?"
Chu Xiao recalled Qin Yue Zhao's story about how refugees built a mud sculpture of him in the refugee camp and he worshipped it.
It seems that the group used this bronze horse as a sacrificial ornament.
He reached out to try and snatch the bronze horse back.
Unexpectedly, Chairman Ma simply tucked the items into his pocket.
"Forget it, we have a professional team to clean the stains. Sell me this bronze horse for a lower price."
Ultimately, he just liked the horse and wanted to buy it at a lower price.
Chairman Shen, however, was not pleased.
"Senior brother, that's not fair! We agreed on fair bidding, how could you take it for yourself before even placing a bid?"
"Okay, let's have a fair competition! Whoever bids the highest gets it, alright?"
Seeing how much they liked the horse, Chu Xiao felt a little regretful.
I never expected this crooked-mouthed bronze horse to be so popular.
I should have kept it for myself and used it to speculate on prices later.
Chairman Shen couldn't wait to make his offer: "I'll offer one hundred million."
Chairman Ma held up two fingers: "Then I'll pay double."
The museum director also wanted to make a bid, but the funding for building the museum had already been used up, and there was no extra money for the auction.
Seeing such a wonderful item being snapped up by a private collector filled him with both helplessness and regret.
"Forget it, I won't take pictures of this. You can put it on display in a museum for a while, okay?"
Chairman Ma agreed without hesitation.
"That's for sure! Antiques are valuable because of their cultural significance, and I certainly hope that more people will see these cultural artifacts and know how rare they are."
Old Shen curled his lip.
"Yes, then let's give it to our senior brother and put it on display in the museum."
The curator was overjoyed and thanked Chairman Ma profusely.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
