Chapter 71 (First Update)
After Feng Dahe took all the newspapers down, Yan Ruyi saw that there was actually a Buddha head inside.
She could tell at a glance that the Buddha head dated back to the Wei-Jin period.
Buddhism flourished during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and the distinctive features of Buddha heads during this period were mainly reflected in typical features such as the ushnisha (cranial protuberance), the urna (white hair mark), and the halo.
The ushnisha on the Buddha's head is one of the thirty-two marks of a Buddha, symbolizing the bulge of flesh and bones after the completion of spiritual practice.
Buddhist statues from the Wei and Jin dynasties have tall, flowing ushnisha (cranial protuberances).
The white mark between the eyebrows, also known as the urna (white spot between the eyebrows), is one of the thirty-two marks of a Buddha. It often appears together with the ushnisha (cranial protuberance) and symbolizes the Buddha's wisdom and light.
The biggest difference between Buddhist statues from the Wei and Jin Dynasties and those from India is that Indian Buddhist statues generally have a dignified expression, while Buddhist statues from the Wei and Jin Dynasties generally have a gentle smile on their faces.
The Buddha head before Yan Ruyi had a full face, smooth facial features, a reserved and restrained gaze, and a slightly pursed mouth, looking compassionately at all living beings.
Just by looking at this Buddha head, you can tell that this Buddha statue is stunningly beautiful.
Unfortunately, his neck and below were cleanly severed.
It's highly likely that the entire Buddha statue was too large to carry easily, so they only took the head.
Yan Ruyi stared at the Buddha's head, but her mind raced as she considered a solution.
Feng Dahe and his "friend" were both watching her closely, waiting for her judgment.
Based on Feng Dahe's attitude towards his "friend," Yan Ruyi could conclude that the person was probably not Feng Dahe's "friend," and also probably not a Chinese.
This Buddha head is a national treasure among national treasures, and we absolutely cannot let them take it away.
But there were three of them, and she was all alone.
If it were her Commander Song, these three wouldn't even be enough to cover one of his arms.
But she couldn't do it; she was thin and frail, and even two of them couldn't beat one of them.
Feng Dahe: "Manager Yan, what do you think of this Buddha head?"
Yan Ruyi pretended to look at it for a long time, but in fact she was thinking of a solution.
However, after thinking for a long time, I still couldn't come up with a good solution, so I can only take it one step at a time.
She shook her head. "Mr. Feng, to be honest, I am good at appraising porcelain and ancient calligraphy and paintings, but I don't know much about ancient stone carvings. I can only tell you that the shape of this Buddha head looks like it is from the Wei and Jin Dynasties, but the carving technique does not seem to be from the Wei and Jin Dynasties."
The carving techniques of the Wei and Jin dynasties were characterized by realism, boldness, and skillful execution. However, I do not see these characteristics in the head of this Buddha statue. Therefore, I cannot determine whether it is from the Wei and Jin period or a later imitation.
What Yan Ruyi described was not the characteristic of carving during the Wei and Jin Dynasties at all.
She was referring to the Tang Dynasty.
Holding the carving techniques from the Tang Dynasty, she spoke eloquently about the Wei-Jin Buddha head.
Every sentence is ambiguous and dubious.
Feng Dahe and the other two were all laymen and couldn't understand it at all.
Feng Dahe and the man exchanged a glance, both seeing disappointment in each other's eyes.
However, they couldn't find fault with what Yan Ruyi said.
Everyone has their own area of expertise, and the same applies to antique appraisal.
Some people specialize in studying ancient porcelain, some specialize in studying ancient calligraphy and paintings, and some specialize in studying ancient stone carvings and sculptures.
They had heard that Yan Ruyi had a wide range of knowledge and could identify anything, which is why they sought her out.
It seems to be all talk and no action.
Seeing that Yan Ruyi was talking nonstop, Feng Dahe leaned down and whispered something to his "friend," who replied with a few words.
The two spoke in very low voices, and even with Yan Ruyi straining her ears, she couldn't hear what they were saying.
I couldn't tell what language was being used.
After exchanging a few words with the man, Feng Dahe took out his briefcase, opened it, and pulled out a stack of ten-yuan notes.
It was probably counted beforehand.
He interrupted Yan Ruyi and pushed the money in front of her. "Whether it's real or fake is no longer important. Getting to know Manager Yan today is already our greatest gain. This is just a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it, Manager Yan."
Yan Ruyi quickly waved her hand, "I haven't even been able to identify it, I can't accept this money."
Feng Dahe: "We agreed beforehand that we would pay the appraisal fee regardless of whether the identification is successful or not. Here is 2,000 yuan. Manager Yan, please accept it. We may need your help in the future."
Giving Yan Ruyi 2,000 yuan was partly to shut her up, and partly to try and establish a long-term partnership with her.
Yan Ruyi said, "In that case, I'll accept it. If you ever need my help in the future, just come to me."
Feng Dahe: "Manager Yan, please count and see if there's any missing."
Yan Ruyi actually counted the money in front of the three people.
"That's quite a lot, 2000 yuan in total."
After counting the money, Yan Ruyi opened her handbag and put it all inside.
Feng Dahe concluded about Yan Ruyi: she wasn't as amazing as he'd heard, and she was also greedy for money.
People who are greedy for money are more reassuring than those who are not.
After putting the money away, Yan Ruyi stood up. "Mr. Feng, is there anything else? If not, I'll take my leave."
Feng Dahe: "Manager Yan, let's go together."
As Feng Dahe spoke, he wrapped the Buddha head in newspaper again, and together with the driver, put the Buddha head into the travel bag before leaving the private room with Yan Ruyi.
Yan Ruyi originally planned to come out first, tell the people in the teahouse to find a way to stall the three people, and then she would call the police station to report the incident.
Unexpectedly, Feng Dahe was very cunning and actually wanted to go with her.
At this time, apart from a girl at the service desk, there was no one else in the teahouse.
If Yan Ruyi had shouted, those three people would probably have already run downstairs and driven away before anyone else in the teahouse could come out.
Yan Ruyi had no choice but to go downstairs with the three of them.
At the entrance of the teahouse, Feng Dahe said goodbye to Yan Ruyi, and then the three of them got into the car and drove away quickly.
If you call the police now, by the time they arrive, Feng Dahe and his gang will have already vanished.
Just then, a taxi came by, and Yan Ruyi quickly waved it down. The taxi stopped in front of her.
Yan Ruyi got into the car and said to the taxi driver, "Driver, follow that black sedan in front."
The taxi driver started the car.
Fearing the driver would lose them, Yan Ruyi said to him, "Brother driver, there are two antique dealers in that car ahead. I need to see where they're going, so please don't lose them."
The taxi driver initially thought Yan Ruyi was going to catch her cheating, but it turned out she was actually following an antique dealer.
“These bastards dare to sell state-owned goods. Comrade, don’t worry. If we lose them, I’ll cut my head off and let you kick it like a ball.”
The taxi followed the car westward.
Taxi driver: "Comrade, I think they're probably going to the train station."
Yan Ruyi thought going to the train station was better than going to other places.
The train station was crowded, and she only needed to shout to subdue the three people.
The taxi driver was right; the car was indeed going to the train station.
The car stopped in the square.
Feng Dahe and his "friend" got off the bus, each carrying a corner of a travel bag, and walked towards the waiting hall.
Zhao Donghai, the taxi driver, also stopped the car and asked Yan Ruyi, "Comrade, what do we do now?"
Yan Ruyi pointed to the black sedan and said to the helpful driver, "Try to hold that driver back and prevent him from getting away. I'm going to the waiting room."
After saying that, he quickly went down and ran towards the waiting hall.
Seeing that the car was about to drive away, Zhao Donghai slammed the car door shut and went to stop it.
The car driver rolled down his window and asked Zhao Donghai, "Who are you? Why are you stopping my car?"
"Dude, you just wiped my car."
"Are you sure you're not mistaken? There weren't any cars here when I came over."
"Get out of the car and look for yourself. Isn't there a scratch on the back of your car? It's so obvious, and you still won't admit it."
After Zhao Donghai said that, the car driver became a little unsure, so he opened the car door and wanted to get out to check the back of the car.
He had just gotten out of the car when Zhao Donghai punched him in the nose. Caught off guard, the car driver stumbled and crashed into the car.
Zhao Donghai didn't give him a chance to react, and immediately followed up with another punch, knocking the car driver to the ground.
Zhao Donghai stepped forward and pinned him to the ground.
The man's face was pressed against the ground, his mouth was deformed from being pressed down, and he couldn't even shout.
Yan Ruyi followed Feng Dahe and the other person into the waiting hall.
Just then, two patrol officers came by. Yan Ruyi stopped them and pointed at Feng Dahe and his companion who were about to enter the VIP waiting room. "Comrade," she said, "those two have a Buddha head from the Wei and Jin Dynasties in their travel bags. I suspect they are antique dealers."
Upon hearing this, the two policemen immediately went to the VIP waiting room.
As soon as Feng Dahe and his companion sat down, two policemen approached them and said, "Comrades, please show us your identification for inspection."
Feng Dahe took out his work ID and handed it to the policeman.
After the policeman finished reading it, he returned it to him, pointing to Feng Dahe, his "friend," and asked, "What about yours?"
Feng Dahe: "He is my friend, a Chinese from R country."
"Then let me see your passport."
Feng Dahe turned his head and mumbled a few words in R language. His friend then took out his passport from his bag.
The police returned it to the person after checking it.
What's in your travel bags?
Feng Dahe said, "Officer, these are my friend's personal belongings. He's an international friend. It wouldn't be appropriate to check his luggage."
The police officer said sternly, "We have just received a report that an important cultural relic has been stolen. Please cooperate with our investigation."
Feng Dahe sensed something was wrong when the police checked his documents.
After the police said, "Please cooperate with our investigation," he suddenly stood up and ran away.
His "friend," though unable to understand Mandarin, kept a close eye on Feng Dahe's actions. When he saw Feng Dahe trying to run away, he also tried to run away.
The police were prepared. The two men had barely run a few steps when one of them grabbed them and pinned them down. "Behave yourselves!"
When Song Yiping got home from get off work, no one was home.
Knowing that Luo Huihui was getting married today, Yan Ruyi took a day off to attend the wedding.
However, it's already 6 o'clock, and the wedding has long been over.
Given Yan Ruyi's personality, it's impossible for her to go to Luo Huihui's house to cause trouble during their wedding night.
Song Yiping waited a while longer, but Yan Ruyi still didn't return.
Normally, if Yan Ruyi had to go out, she would call him or leave a note to tell him where she was going and what time she would be back.
This was an agreement between the two of them; if something came up unexpectedly, he would inform Yan Ruyi.
Song Yiping searched his home but couldn't find the note Yan Ruyi had left for him.
He went to Sister Hua's house next door.
Sister-in-law Hua was cooking when Song Yiping called out, "Sister-in-law Hua."
Aunt Hua came out of the kitchen. "Commander Song, what's the matter?"
"Sister Hua, did you see Ruyi this afternoon?"
“I saw her. Around four o’clock, I came back from buying groceries and saw her riding her bicycle westward.”
Didn't she say what she was going to do?
"She's far away, and I didn't say hello. She still hasn't come back?"
"No, thank you, Sister Hua."
"Don't worry, maybe something happened at her family's house and they called her away temporarily. Why don't you call her family and ask them?"
After leaving Sister Hua's house, Song Yiping went to Jianglin New Village again, but Yan Ruyi wasn't there either.
He went home and waited for a while, but Yan Ruyi still didn't come back or call.
Remembering what Sister Hua had said, he picked up the phone and dialed the number for the machine tool factory's residential compound. Grandpa Li answered the phone.
"Ask Ruyi. I didn't notice if she came back or not. Hang up first, I'll go ask her mother."
Grandpa Li had just hung up the phone when he saw Yan Minghe running around in the courtyard. He opened the window and called out to Yan Minghe, "Sihe, go home and ask your sister if she's back yet. Your brother-in-law is looking for her and is waiting for her to call back. Hurry up."
Yan Minghe took off running home.
Ye Hongzhen was cooking when Yan Minghe rushed in and asked, "Is my sister back? My brother-in-law is looking for her!"
"Your sister hasn't come back."
"Then her brother-in-law called her."
Ye Hongzhen wondered if the young couple had quarreled.
She didn't even bother cooking; she just wiped her hands on her apron and went to the phone booth.
She had just arrived when the phone rang. Grandpa Li answered, "Commander Song, your mother is here. Talk to her."
Ye Hongzhen took the phone. "Yiping, Ruyi hasn't come back yet. Did you two have a fight? No... She's back... As long as everything's alright, I'm hanging up."
Ye Hongzhen hung up the phone.
Grandpa Li, "Has Ruyi gone home?"
"They're home now. The young couple probably had a little argument, and Ruyi probably wandered off somewhere." "Young couples always bicker, it's good that they're home."
Song Yiping put down the phone, his face cold and stern.
Yan Ruyi didn't go home at all. He said Yan Ruyi went home because he was afraid Ye Hongzhen would worry.
He wanted to go out and look for her, but he was worried that if Yan Ruyi called back, he wouldn't be able to answer.
After waiting a while longer, he couldn't sit still any longer and wanted to go next door to ask Aunt Hua to come and help him watch the phone.
He had just reached the door when the phone rang. He ran over quickly, grabbed the phone, and shouted, "Ruyi!"
It really was Yan Ruyi. "It's me. I'm at the Xicheng District Public Security Bureau right now. I need to cooperate with some matters and make a statement. I forgot to call you."
When Song Yiping heard Yan Ruyi speak, he couldn't tell if it was from the pain or something else, but she was hissing and groaning. His heart skipped a beat. "Stay in the police station and don't move. I'll be there right away."
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Author's Note: One more chapter to come!
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