Chapter 318 Asking the Old Man about the Origin of the Antique
Lin Siqiao shook his head. There was nothing wrong with these antiques, but the quality was somewhat uneven. Some of them were so eye-catching that it was hard not to notice them.
Comparing the records in the booklet, Lin Siqiao discovered that these were all collected in the first half of last year.
It has been more than a year since then, and I don’t know if the old man still remembers the person who sold these antiques.
With doubts, Lin Siqiao went outside.
When the old man heard her ask this question, his face changed drastically and he became agitated.
"Little comrade, is there something wrong with these things?"
Lin Siqiao was not sure either, but just expressed his suspicion.
"I knew it. Blame me. Blame me..."
The old man murmured, "If I had known earlier, I would not have touched those things. It is me who harmed President Xie. I deserve to die..."
As he said this, he slapped himself hard a few times.
After being confused for a moment, Lin Siqiao quickly stopped him.
"Uncle, don't get excited. Maybe it's what you think. Can you tell me the origin of these things?"
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you..."
The old man wiped away his tears and slowly talked about what happened a year ago.
"I bought these things from an antique flea market downtown."
“The market is open every day, and every Monday is antique day. I’ve been there a few times before, and I’ve occasionally come across some good stuff.”
"That day, the weather was very bad, and no customers came to the antique shop all day, so I closed the shop early and wandered around the market for a while."
"Then a young man came up and asked me in a panic if I wanted anything."
"I know that this thing of his may not have come from a legitimate source."
"I really hesitated, but he took out a pink lotus water cup. You can tell at a glance that it's from China, and it's not an ordinary product."
"The price he asked for was reasonable, so I thought about it and... I decided to accept it."
After hearing this, Lin Siqiao roughly understood it, but the old man could not be blamed for this. Every industry has its own rules.
Antique collectors never ask about the origin of antiques but only about the price.
When you encounter a treasure like this, don’t even mention the old man.
Under the current circumstances, anyone who can afford it will accept it.
"Old man, do you remember what that man looked like, or any of his characteristics?"
But the old man said, "That man is dead."
"Dead?"
The old man nodded and continued, "After we settled the payment that day, the young man started to talk nonsense and said that there would be a few more shipments the next day, and asked me if I wanted any."
"If he did, he wouldn't have looked for anyone else."
"We agreed to meet near the market at ten in the morning."
“As a result, a difficult customer came to the antique shop that day, and by the time I arrived, I was already 10 minutes late.”
"I walked around the market a few times, but I didn't see the young man coming."
"I went again the next day, but still had no news of the young man."
"When I went there again, there were many police cars parked near the market. I heard from onlookers that there was a murder near the market. The dead was a young man who had been dead for several days."
"I didn't see his face, but I saw the clothes he was wearing. It was that young man."
"Have you told President Xie about this?"
Lin Siqiao felt that the old man might have said this, but he didn't get to the point.
Sure enough, after hearing this, the old man felt deeply regretful.
"I told him that the antique shop accidentally received some illicit goods. President Xie told me to be careful and not to go to that kind of place in the future."
“I haven’t been to these markets since.”
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't taken those things, they wouldn't have died..."
Hearing the old man blaming himself, Lin Siqiao didn't know what to say.
What is certain now is that the problem should lie with these antiques, but most of the people who handled this matter back then have died, so it is almost impossible to know the whole story.
Seeing the old man looking like he had lost his soul, Lin Siqiao had a bad feeling.
She was worried that the old man would be unable to get over the problem.
"Uncle, no one wants something like this to happen."
"It's just that the real murderer hasn't shown up yet. You are the only witness now, so you must take good care of yourself."
"Maybe this matter will turn around in the future."
Hearing this, the old man raised his head and the tears that had been accumulating in his eyes fell down.
"Didn't they say that all the murderers have been brought to justice? How could this happen? If they are not the murderers, then who is?"
Lin Siqiao couldn't answer this question for the time being, so he just said.
"They are only responsible for executing orders. The truly vicious ones are the ones who planned this behind the scenes. They are the ones who deserve to die the most!"
"As long as they don't reveal their true colors, the case of President Xie's family cannot be considered truly closed."
"That's right, they are the ones who deserve to die the most!"
The old man wiped away his tears. His life was not a pity, but the death of President Xie's family was too unjust. He couldn't end his life in such an unclear way.
After seeing the vitality rekindled in the old man's eyes, Lin Siqiao quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Next, she asked the old man about these antiques.
Lin Siqiao knew that the old man was very knowledgeable in antiques, otherwise President Xie would not have handed the antique shop over to him.
The old man didn’t know about it before, but now that he knew the problem lay with these antiques, he became extremely alert.
The two went into the secret room and studied these antiques for a whole afternoon.
It was not until sunset that Shao Bin looked at the time and had to remind them that their things had almost been packed and it was time for them to go back.
London is not that safe at night.
The old man sent the person to the door, and Lin Siqiao opened the car window and whispered a few words.
"Uncle, please take care of yourself. If you remember anything, you can go to the embassy at any time."
"Ambassador Liao mentioned President Xie's matter. As long as there is even a little clue, they will investigate it thoroughly."
The old man said in a trembling voice, "Thank you, thank you..."
"Go back, old man." Lin Siqiao waved his hand.
After the car drove away, the old man suddenly stopped when he turned his head, and then a few seconds later he hit his head in annoyance.
I clearly had a flash of inspiration just now, but I forgot the moment to open my mouth.
The more anxious I get, the blanker my brain becomes and I can't remember anything.
On the other side, Ambassador Liao was also extremely anxious.
These people have been out for the whole afternoon, why haven't they come back yet?
Just as they were about to send someone out to greet them, the sound of police cars was heard outside the embassy.
By the time he went downstairs, the police car had left.
Seeing that several people were unharmed, Ambassador Liao felt relieved and asked hurriedly what had happened and why the police car came with them.
Shao Bin jumped out of the car and glanced at Lin Siqiao with an indescribable expression.
It was the soldiers behind who explained with a smile.
"Translator Lin was afraid of accidents on the road, so he took us directly to the nearest police station, saying that we were lost and asked them to help lead the way."
"You know what, it's really a relief to have them leading the way."
Ambassador Liao was stunned for a moment, then he reacted. He had to say, this little girl has a good brain.
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