In the end, the two sides parted on bad terms. Lu Weimin threw down the words "You wait and see" and left angrily with his men.
However, not everyone left.
There were still one person each from the old, middle-aged, and young sitting there, unmoved, neither happy nor angry, as if the argument had nothing to do with them.
"Why aren't you leaving yet? Do you want to stay for dinner?"
Feng Ye looked at the three of them with annoyance, appearing quite impatient.
The anger stirred up by Lu Weimin had not yet subsided, so he naturally didn't give these people who were still lingering to leave a friendly look.
"Ah Ye, how can you speak like that? This is a leader from the county cultural relics bureau."
Secretary Xiao glared at Feng Ye, then quickly stepped in with a smile to smooth things over: "Please forgive him, leader. People from the countryside don't know the rules, and he's just a straightforward person. He didn't mean any harm."
“It’s alright, it’s alright.” The middle-aged man waved his hand.
The white-haired old man chuckled and said, "Young man, don't be so temperamental. We're here for different reasons, not for the Mazu statue."
"Oh? Then you guys..."
Feng Ye raised an eyebrow, instantly thinking of the treasures still sleeping at the bottom of the sea.
The middle-aged man smiled and took over the conversation: "Comrade Feng Ye, I am Jiang Dequan, the director of the county cultural relics bureau, and this is Mr. Yuan Chenhe, an expert in cultural relics appraisal."
The middle-aged man first introduced himself and the white-haired old man.
The other young man was not introduced; he was presumably a clerk who served tea, water, or carried bags.
Feng Ye nodded, which was his way of greeting him.
Jiang Dequan didn't take it seriously: "That's right, when we first heard people say that you brought back Mazu from the bottom of the sea, we didn't take it seriously."
"Unexpectedly, people from Yanshan County came this morning, and we learned that the statue you brought back was actually stolen from the Tianhou Temple in Yanshan decades ago."
"That's why we went to their door together. I just didn't expect them to be in such a hurry, trying to get you to return the statue without any explanation, and even got into an argument with you. I'm really sorry."
Jiang Dequan spoke very politely, with a smile on his face and an apologetic tone.
Whether he was acting or speaking from the heart, at least Feng Ye found it pleasant to listen to.
He smiled and said, "Director Jiang, you're too kind. They are themselves, and it has nothing to do with you. However, leaders, please feel free to speak frankly if you have anything to say."
Although he had already guessed it and didn't intend to hide it, he wouldn't take the initiative to tell anyone.
Jiang Dequan and Yuan Lao exchanged a glance, both seeing the approval in each other's eyes.
"It's getting late, so I'll get straight to the point. From what we understand, the Japanese didn't just loot Yanshan County back then; many other counties were also looted, so there must have been a lot of stuff on the ships."
"We'd like to ask, besides the three statues, is there anything else you've retrieved?"
Feng Ye frowned; he thought of the samurai sword.
He didn't know if it could be considered a cultural relic.
Keeping it won't be of much use; it might even be a hot potato.
So he said, "Ah-chan and I didn't touch anything else, we just brought up a samurai sword."
"A samurai sword? A Japanese samurai sword?" Jiang Dequan asked rhetorically.
Mr. Yuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, "Where is this samurai sword now?"
"It was left on the ship and wasn't brought back."
"Could you please go and get it for me?"
“Of course,” Feng Ye said, puzzled. “But is this thing considered an antique?”
Mr. Yuan shook his head: "Because this is evidence of the Japanese invaders' crimes against our country, it can also be considered a cultural relic."
"Please wait a moment, I'll go to the dock and get it."
Just as Feng Ye finished speaking and turned around, a voice rang out from outside the door: "Isn't A-Can still at the dock? I'll go ask him to bring it over."
Before he could see who was speaking, he saw a figure run out of the courtyard.
"Since someone else has gone, I don't need to make this trip."
He turned around and pulled up a stool to sit down.
"That's good, then we can have a chat," Elder Yuan said with a smile. "From what you just said, there are other things on the seabed?"
"There are quite a few."
Feng Ye nodded, making no attempt to hide anything.
Jiang Dequan looked at Feng Ye: "Those are all antiques, worth a lot of money. Didn't you ever think about taking a few pieces up to sell?"
“If I said I wasn’t tempted at all, you wouldn’t believe me. I’m actually waiting for your reaction. If your cultural relics bureau doesn’t come to inquire, Ah-Can and I will keep it to ourselves. Maybe we’ll go and salvage a few items to sell when we’re short of money.”
"You're quite honest!"
Jiang Dequan nodded approvingly, then changed the subject and said seriously, "However, I must remind you that everything in the sea, except seafood which can be caught at will, belongs to the state, not to individuals. Illegal fishing is a crime."
He wasn't just saying this to Feng Ye, but to everyone inside and outside the house.
Feng Ye pursed his lips; of course he knew that.
But when faced with the reality, how many people can resist the temptation to be greedy?
He simply can't do it.
He would just do it discreetly, without letting anyone else know, let alone the authorities.
If a person doesn't look out for themselves, they'll be punished by heaven and earth.
For example, this time, after he learned about the origin of the three statues, he realized that it might attract the attention of the cultural relics bureau.
So the next day, he and Ah-Can dived into the sea again and selected some of the treasures that he thought had the greatest potential for appreciation and moved them to another place to hide them.
Of course, no matter how valuable bronze artifacts are, he wouldn't touch them; what they transferred were porcelain, jade, and gold and silver artifacts.
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