Chapter 258 Donation
Xu Youyou stood on the second floor of the castle, looking out through the dilapidated window.
There didn't seem to be any antique artifacts on this lawn.
If there is anything on the lawn that looks valuable, it seems to be an abandoned fountain.
In the center of the fountain, there are two bronze animal heads tightly pressed together.
Xu Youyou's gaze paused, and when it fell on the center of the fountain, she couldn't help but ask a question.
"Yes, I'm here." said the gentle voice.
Xu Youyou thought of a possibility, and she couldn't help but feel a little dizzy. She walked to the fountain in the center of the garden with one step deep and one step shallow.
Seeing that she seemed to be about to fall into the fountain, Xu Fang hurriedly reached out to support her.
Xu Youyou doesn't like wearing high heels and has always preferred more comfortable sneakers. Even though the fountain pool was not shallow, she still flipped in very easily.
The water in the pool had long dried up, and the bottom of the pool was covered with dry, hard soil, and even a lot of weeds growing on it, making it look extremely desolate.
Xu Youyou took a few steps and finally faced the two bronze animal heads in the center of the fountain.
One seemed to be a sheep, and the other had a pointed, protruding beak, like a chicken.
Old Summer Palace, the twelve Chinese zodiac animals.
According to the information she had just looked up, three of the twelve zodiac animals are currently missing: the snake, the sheep, and the rooster.
If these two animal heads are the missing two-thirds, then her home-buying trip was a wise decision.
She remembered that the twelve zodiac animals in the Old Summer Palace seemed to have been part of the fountain from the beginning. The design principle was to tell time with water. To put it simply, the twelve zodiac animals were actually faucets.
During the catastrophe that year, those people looted the Old Summer Palace like stealing the land. Not only did they clean out all the rare treasures, they even looted people's faucets.
Just at this moment, the system popped up a prompt that the task was completed.
[Congratulations to the host, you have completed the task of picking up leaks on your own and received the task reward: one task penalty exemption. ]
After Xu Youyou received the reward, she couldn't help but feel a little troubled. She didn't know how to take the two treasures back.
She had other doubts in her mind.
The gentle voice seemed to have guessed what she was thinking, and took the initiative to say: "My friend is asleep, and I don't know when he will wake up. We are eager to return to our hometown. Can you help us?"
Xu Youyou didn't say anything, but nodded vigorously at the two bronze statues.
"Thank you." The one who spoke was the sheep head among the two bronze statues.
Xu Youyou was actually very curious. These two bronze statues had been in the open-air fountain for so long. Didn’t anyone notice their origins?
That gentle voice quickly answered her doubts.
"This castle has had no guests for many years. In the past fifty years, I have not seen any Chinese guests."
Xu Youyou thought to herself that it was no wonder. Although these two bronze animal statues were made during the Qianlong period, their actual value was not high. Their symbolic significance was greater than their actual value.
"I have already figured out how to accommodate you." Xu Youyou said softly.
Upon hearing this, the red lacquer tray immediately asked, "Is it the best museum? If it's not the best museum, I won't go there!"
Xu Youyou couldn't help but laugh: "Don't worry, you can still be neighbors with your old friends then."
As they were talking, Xu Youyou's phone rang.
"Hello, Miss Xu. My last name is Chen. You can call me Lao Chen. I am currently working at the Overseas Cultural Relics Return Exchange Center of the National Museum. You contacted us before and said that you have a Yuan Dynasty grape-patterned lacquer plate that was once used by Emperor Kublai Khan. You want to donate it to the National Museum free of charge? Can I confirm this with you again?"
The voice on the other end of the phone sounded like a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties. He did not have the greasy feeling of a man of this age in a high position. Instead, he seemed like a scholar working in a university.
Xu Youyou felt a little more favorable towards him because of his polite words, so she gave him a positive answer: "Yes, Mr. Chen, have you heard of me?"
Professor Chen on the other end of the phone said with a smile: "Ms. Xu, we did conduct a background check on you. We know that you have done a lot of antique business and have had several experiences of finding bargains. We are willing to trust your vision."
Xu Youyou was not surprised at all that they were conducting a background check on her. Instead, she admired their attitude of speaking out.
"Professor Chen, the necessary procedures must be followed. I will fully cooperate with you in donating the cultural relics." Xu Youyou said with a smile.
Professor Chen continued, "Ms. Xu, I heard that you are in Germany now. We have a special channel for the repatriation of cultural relics. Our staff can assist you in transferring the cultural relics back to China."
Xu Youyou was originally a little worried about the issue of going through customs, but she felt relieved when she heard that the other party had a special channel.
She looked at the two bronze heads now placed in the hotel suite and continued to say to Professor Chen on the other end of the phone: "I found the sheep head and the chicken head of the 12 zodiac animals from the Old Summer Palace and plan to donate them to the National Museum."
Professor Chen on the other end of the phone: "Okay, okay, there are other cultural relics...ah? The twelve Chinese zodiac animals!"
Xu Youyou heard the sound of a chair falling to the ground from the other end.
Professor Chen's breathing suddenly became rapid.
She waited for about half a minute before the voice on the other end gradually calmed down: "Ms. Xu, is this really the Twelve Zodiac Signs?"
Xu Youyou: "It's almost certain. You can also send an expert to conduct an appraisal."
Professor Chen hurriedly said, "Ms. Xu, of course I believe in your vision. I will arrange for staff to go there as soon as possible to assist you in transporting the cultural relics back to China."
After Xu Youyou hung up the phone, she whispered to Yang Shou, "The National Museum is near Tiananmen Square. There should be a lot of your old friends there. I hope you like it there."
The Sheep Head's tone was still very gentle, and he said: "I once heard people in the castle talk about the capital and Tiananmen Square. They said that the people in that land are now living a new life. I really want to see what it is like."
Xu Youyou smiled and said, "No one can bully us now. Foreigners will never dare to steal our things again."
"That's great." Yang Shou sighed softly.
The twelve zodiac signs are of great significance. The next afternoon, a staff member came to meet Xu Youyou. After signing a simple donation agreement, they would take the cultural relics back to the country.
"Ms. Xu, thank you for your trust in us. A donation ceremony will be held in China for this donation of cultural relics. When will you return home?" the staff asked politely.
Xu Youyou looked at the new task refreshed on the system panel thirty minutes before the staff arrived, and shook her head: "Sorry, I will let my agent attend the donation ceremony. I haven't finished my work in Europe yet."
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