Chapter 924: The One Billion Yuan Siheyuan
After the European honeymoon, when Lin Sanqi returned to the company, Feng Xingxian from the Palace Museum was already waiting for him.
Lin Sanqi knew that this old man must have brought good news.
If it was bad news, there was no need for him to go to Huadu in person. Did he really think that the experts at the Forbidden City had so much free time?
"Mr. Feng, come here, have some tea. This is premium Longjing tea, grown from those old tea trees by the West Lake."
Feng Xingxian was in no mood to drink tea now, and asked anxiously:
"Director Lin, have you rented out the Longyu Wangong sedan chair in the past month? Has it been damaged? Are there any ceremonial items missing?"
Lin Sanqi waved his hand generously:
"Mr. Feng, look at what you said. Since we made an agreement, I will naturally abide by it. The sedan chair and ceremonial objects are all kept in our underground vault. No one has touched them."
Feng Xingxian heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this:
"That's good, that's good, Mr. Lin, perhaps you don't understand the cultural value of this Wangong sedan chair. After we returned, we searched the entire Forbidden City and only found one Wangong sedan chair from the Kangxi period.
But only a frame remained of the sedan chair, and most of its decorations were no longer available, making it completely worthless to restore.
Let me put it this way, the Longyu sedan chair you have is the only one left in China that belonged to an empress. It also comes with a full set of ceremonial equipment. It is of invaluable value to our study of royal etiquette and is truly a national treasure."
Lin Sanqi said somewhat unhappy:
"Mr. Feng, I understand everything you said.
Of course I know the significance of the Longyu Wangong sedan chair, otherwise I would not have spent 10 million US dollars to restore it. That's 70 million RMB, enough for me to buy a villa.
So it is impossible for you, the Palace Museum, to get it for free.
I still have the same request as before. If you agree, I will give you this sedan chair. If you don't agree, then I will rent it out and make money."
Feng Xingxian almost choked to death after hearing this. He cursed this dog capitalist a thousand times in his heart for being so stubborn, but he could only smile bitterly and said:
"Director Lin, I came here to discuss this matter with you. We simply cannot afford the quadrangle you requested, which is located by the canal surrounding the Forbidden City.
For example, the Siheyuan on the west side of the Forbidden City, don't even think about it. Those who understand the reason will understand, so it can be directly ruled out. The only other option is the Siheyuan on the east side of the Forbidden City's ring canal.
To the west of Beichizi Street and Nanchizi Street, all the courtyard houses here are owned by high-ranking talents. We at the Palace Museum have no way to coordinate with them, and we have to write a report if we want to meet the owners.
So we finally chose a courtyard house east of Nanchizi Street and west of Pudu Temple. What do you think, Mr. Lin?
Lin Sanqi had lived in the capital for several years in another time and space, so he was quite familiar with that area.
"Pudu Temple?"
Lin Sanqi held his chin and thought carefully, then said uncertainly:
"Pudu Temple is an unlucky place. During the Ming Dynasty, it was the Nansanso area, where Emperor Yingzong of Ming was imprisoned and defeated at Tumu Fort.
Later, during the Qing Dynasty, it became the residence of Dorgon, who was reduced to ashes after his death.
Even in modern times, I remember Hu Shizhi also lived in this area, but he later fled to a small island in disgrace and never returned home.”
Feng Xingxian saw that the dog owner understood history, so he quickly begged for mercy:
"Mr. Lin, you're wrong. Several celebrities lived in this area before, but that was hundreds of years ago.
The courtyard houses on this plot of land are definitely the most centrally located courtyard houses in the capital. Anyone who lives here must be rich or noble.
That is to say, our Palace Museum happens to have a three-courtyard courtyard here, which was used as a staff activity center in the past, so the property rights are in our hands.
We specifically reported this to our superiors and obtained their approval, so I hurried all the way to Huadu. If you don't want this location, we're really at our wit's end."
Lin Sanqi opened the map on his phone and checked.
I found that the location of the courtyard house designated by the Forbidden City is indeed good. It is 100 meters away from the Forbidden City's ring canal and 500 meters away from Chang'an Avenue.
The key is that this area is safe. No one would be so blind as to dare to break the law in this place. It seems to be a good choice.
"Mr. Feng, how much do you, the Palace Museum, plan to sell this courtyard for?"
Feng Xingxian said directly: "One billion, no bargaining."
Lin Sanqi thought that the price must be ridiculous, but there was nothing he could do, because the land was not for sale. He only got a quasi-purchase qualification by using a Queen's sedan chair.
"Okay, we won't talk about the price, but I still want to go and see what your courtyard looks like now."
This kind of courtyard house is not for living in, but for showing off. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, only princes and nobles were qualified to live in this kind of house in this location.
Even in the new era, if your grandfather has never climbed a snow-capped mountain, he can only watch, even if he has money.
Therefore, Lin Sanqi attached great importance to this courtyard house. If it was well built, it could become a symbol of identity and status. If his descendants were more motivated, it could be passed down.
Even if my descendants are not very successful in the future, I can still get a lot of money from selling it and become a rich man.
This is also the reason why the wealthy people on the domestic pig-killing list are willing to go to Beijing to buy courtyard houses.
For example, on the north side of Di'anmenwai Street, close to Wanning Bridge and Shichahai, there is a large courtyard house owned by a wealthy man whose names are not allowed to be written.
The geographical location of Nanchizi Street, west of Pudu Temple, is more important and more symbolic.
When Feng Xingxian heard that the other party did not bargain, a big stone in his heart fell to the ground.
He knew that buying this courtyard house for 1 billion RMB was beyond the reach of most people, and the Palace Museum really wanted to rip him off.
"Okay, okay, Mr. Lin is so generous. You can go and see the house anytime you want, but I want to see this Longyu Wangong sedan first. Please don't damage it."
Lin Sanqi thought that the old man's work style was quite rigorous, so he smiled and said:
"Then Mr. Feng, let me take you to have a look. Without me, outsiders cannot enter this underground vault, hehe."
Only Lin Sanqi and his son Lin Musen, plus his wife Yin Lianyi after marriage, have the authority to access the underground vault. Since it is filled with treasures, anyone who takes anything out can make a fortune.
After the two came out of the elevator, Lin Sanqi went through a security verification system and finally entered a warehouse in the vault.
The warehouses are divided into rooms, storing different kinds of antiques, jade and gold, as well as various precious teas and Maotai, etc.
Don't meet people easily, otherwise you will get into trouble.
Therefore, all the treasures were transported by Lin Sanqi through the golden finger, without using anyone else's hands, otherwise the secret would definitely not be kept.
When the door of the furniture warehouse was opened, the lights came on naturally, and Feng Xingxian saw the Longyu Wangong sedan chair in the middle of the room, and he trotted over excitedly.
"Baby, what a wonderful baby, Mr. Lin, you restored it so well, it looks like it was done by an old expert from our Palace Museum. I really can't imagine any other master in China who can restore it so perfectly according to the ancient method."
Lin Sanqi thought, wasn't it restored by experts from the Palace Museum in 1964, and more than 200 experts worked on it together? I wouldn't say it's 'unprecedented', but it's definitely 'unprecedented'.
After admiring the Wangong sedan chair for a long time, Feng Xingxian finally stood up with satisfaction, and then casually glanced at the other furniture nearby.
You won’t know until you see it, and you’ll be shocked when you see it.
The old man's face turned pale, and he ran over, his hands shaking:
"No, no, no, no, Mr. Lin, this chair of yours is a 'Ming Dynasty Imperial Rosewood Carved Eight Treasures Cloud and Bat Pattern Water Wave Cloud Dragon Throne', with a five-clawed golden dragon on top. It's from our Forbidden City.
And this, a large four-piece rosewood cabinet with high-relief nine-dragon and passionflower patterns? This is from the Qing Dynasty. If I remember correctly, it was once placed in the Chuxiu Palace and used by Empress Dowager Cixi.
And this, this is a rosewood cloisonné enamel blue ground inlaid with four-season flowers screen? This was made by Emperor Qianlong. Look, there's also Emperor Qianlong's own calligraphy here. Wasn't it destroyed in the Nansansuo fire in 69?"
Lin Sanqi looked at Feng Xingxian's crazy look and began to feel a little guilty.
"Mr. Feng, Mr. Feng, these furniture are fake, imitations. Don't take them seriously. Come on, it's almost noon. I'll treat you to dinner."
Feng Xingxian turned around and glared at Lin Sanqi, gritting his teeth and saying:
"Director Lin, I'm the director of the Palace Museum's Artifacts Department. How many Ming and Qing dynasty furniture have I handled? And you're telling me these are fake? Do you doubt my judgment and professional ability, or do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"
Lin Sanqi thought, it’s my fault. If anyone should be blamed, it should be Dean Wu from 1964. It was he who decided to sell it to me.
(End of this chapter)
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