Chapter 721
Professor Wen tapped the table lightly with his fingertips, frowning slightly:
"Yes, according to the current exchange rate, that's 54,000 RMB, which is not a small amount."
He picked up the enamel cup and took a sip of hot tea, comforting Su Miao:
"But don't worry, we're still communicating with all parties. If necessary, we might be able to seek help from some red entrepreneurs. They won't try to steal the national treasure."
Su Miao's eyes had become firm: "Professor, I can fill this gap."
"What did you say?" Professor Wen suddenly put down the teacup. The bottom of the enamel cup made a crisp sound when it hit the table, and he almost jumped up from his chair.
"This? How can this be? I'm not telling you about this to ask your family to invest. It's not easy for your father to run a shop and do business. This is a lot of money!"
In his impression, Su Miao came all the way from Yongcheng to Beijing to study. Her father followed her to Beijing and opened a restaurant. Although their financial situation was not tight, he did not expect her to ask for tens of thousands of yuan.
Su Miao also explained to Professor Wen that his family's business was not small. In addition to three restaurants and two food factories, they also had a lot of stocks.
However, in order to dispel the professor's concerns, she explained:
"Teacher, I have been submitting novels to magazines since I was in junior high school. Because of our long-term cooperation, the magazines give us generous bonuses. After saving for a few years, I have 60,000 yuan. I want to use this money on meaningful things.
Although I am only a student who has not yet graduated, I hope to contribute my own strength to the great cause of recovering national treasures."
Professor Wen was so moved by Su Miao's words that his eyes became red. What a thoughtful and conscious young man!
He stretched out his hand to pat Su Miao's shoulder, but withdrew his hand mid-air, only his Adam's apple moved:
"Miao Miao, are you...really sure? Do you want to go back and think about it again? Ask your father for his opinion."
"Teacher, I'm sure this money is my private property. I have the right to control it and don't need my father's consent.
However, this money is in RMB, not British pounds. As far as I know, individuals cannot freely exchange foreign currency. They need to go through the foreign exchange adjustment market or special approval to exchange it, and the procedures are complicated.
I can’t handle this, I have to let the teachers and leaders handle it.”
"This shouldn't be a problem. I'll report it to the Cultural Relics Bureau first and see if I can get it handled through my unit."
"Okay, teacher, I've been saving this money and can donate it at any time. There's a delay in our communication with Eagle Country, so it would be great if we could get it as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble. I'd like to have peace of mind the sooner I get the baby."
"Don't worry, I'll go straight to Director Zhang in a moment. Su Miao, it's a pity that you're not yet of age, otherwise I would definitely recommend you to join the party.
You are... 16 years old now, right? Okay, I will definitely recommend you to join the party when the time comes."
"Thank you for your affirmation, teacher. I will definitely continue to work towards the organization!"
Su Miao stood straight, the light in his eyes brighter than the winter sun outside the window.
The money was in place and the process went quickly. After Su Miao filled the gap, he had a few thousand yuan left, which he donated to the Cultural Relics Protection Association and received a small banner.
She happily hung it on the headboard, and she slept more soundly at night.
Well, money is really a good thing. In the dream, the total value of her stocks rose to one million. She sold all of them and no longer had to worry about anything for the rest of her life.
After reporting the situation back to China, Counselor Lin also carried out preparatory work, which was to confirm the authenticity of the cultural relics.
Mr. Ma and Commissioner Liu from the Cultural Relics Protection Association arrived in London at the same time that Su Miao and Professor Wen were talking.
"Wow, it's quite cold here!" Mr. Ma shook his shoulders as soon as he got off the plane.
Commissioner Liu stamped his feet, his tone filled with relief:
"Mr. Ma, luckily we visited Eagle Country two months ago for an exchange program and have visas. This time, we went through the special process and it was approved quickly, otherwise it would have been a big delay."
"Of course. If it weren't for the two of us coming in, such a good thing wouldn't have happened to us. Now all I have in my dreams are those treasures."
"Mr. Ma, the embassy staff will come to pick us up, right? Will they hold up a sign? Otherwise, we won't be able to recognize them."
"What are you afraid of? If you don't recognize me, just shout loudly. Whoever answers will be the one."
They pushed their luggage out, and before they could shout, two young men came up to them.
"Is this Professor Ma and Commissioner Liu? I'm Xiao Jiang from the embassy, and this is my colleague Xiao Yang."
Mr. Ma asked cautiously, "Xiao Jiang, where is your hometown?"
"I'm from the capital."
"So what numbers does your ID card start with?"
Xiao Jiang was taken aback for a moment, then realized what Mr. Ma meant and answered seriously:
"XXXXXX"
Xiao Yang next to him also took the initiative to answer: "Professor Ma, I am from Xi'an, and my ID card starts with XXXXXX."
Mr. Ma nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, okay, thank you two young comrades for coming to pick us up."
In the evening, Counselor Lin received a cross-border call from Beijing.
After hanging up the phone, he couldn't calm down for a long time. He walked to the window, looked at the night sky of a foreign country, and a warm feeling surged in his heart. In this materialistic age, there are still many pure patriotic hearts.
The next day, the group visited the Grey family's castle for the third time.
Mr. Ma and Commissioner Liu conducted on-site inventory and appraisal of several pieces of Ru kiln porcelain.
Ma Lao's trembling hands brushed over the porcelain and murmured:
"What a waste of natural resources... This is undoubtedly a genuine Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln piece... These two imitations are also very beautifully made and valuable."
The Jazz stood aside. Although he didn't understand what Mr. Ma said, he could feel his emotions and his expression was a little embarrassed.
He obviously didn't expect that these "junk metal" that had been neglected by his family for many years would evoke such a strong reaction from experts.
Half an hour later, the identification work was completed and the results were the same as what they had previously identified through photos.
According to Mr. Ma's estimation, if these collections appeared at an auction, the starting price would be at least one million pounds, so the 130,000 pounds offered by the Gray family is already a bargain.
Counselor Lin said solemnly, "Sir Grey, after urgent negotiations, our government has agreed to pay £130,000 for the preservation of the cultural relics. At the same time, the honorary title and invitation to the capital mentioned earlier remain valid."
Sir Grey was somewhat surprised that they could agree to his terms in just one week.
The information he had learned from various sources previously showed that China was a very conservative and closed country, and that it was not easy to do business with their government.
What's more, they seem to be very poor now. Although these diplomats and international students look decent, they belong to the upper class. I heard that most people in China are still hungry, yet they would actually spend 130,000 pounds to buy these bowls.
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