With a single signal from Meng Bai and Lan Chengyong, their respective henchmen were ready to draw their guns at any moment.
This industry is indeed extremely profitable, but it's also a dangerous business.
They not only have to guard against people from the domestic government, but also against their adversaries trying to double-cross them.
One wrong move and you could face utter ruin.
Therefore, they would never board the other party's cruise ship. Being able to sail their yacht 5,000 meters off the coast was already a huge risk and showed their utmost sincerity. No matter how far they went or how high the price offered, they would not do it!
You need to be alive to enjoy your money.
Of course, Mr. Mike was also unwilling to go ashore with Meng Bai, and both sides were wary of each other.
Su Qingci noticed that the person the other party was with had bulging waists and was also carrying weapons.
Luo Husai and Meng Bai gave each other a big hug on the deck, like old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time, patting each other on the shoulder.
"Please come in, please come in~", Meng Bai gestured to the other party.
At the same time, he waved to Su Qingci, "Yu Yan, come here!"
After the group was seated in the cabin, the other person looked around and said, "Why didn't you see Mr. Yu?"
Meng Bai looked at Su Qingci with a smile.
Su Qingci said, "He asked why Mr. Yu didn't come?"
Meng Bai said, "Just tell him directly."
Su Qingci nodded and said to the bearded man, "Mr. Mike, he has diarrhea."
The bearded man was taken aback and didn't know how to respond for a moment, so he could only give an awkward smile.
Meng Bai had no intention of arguing with Mr. Mike; a quick and decisive transaction was the safest option.
"Let's get straight to the point."
Su Qingci was stunned. How should this sentence be translated?
After a long pause, she said with a serious expression, "Open the door and you'll see the mountain."
Seeing Mr. Mike's puzzled expression, Meng Bai suddenly realized how this foreigner could understand their idioms.
"Alright, alright, let's get down to business."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and Ah Biao behind him placed a small leather suitcase on the table. Opening the suitcase, he found two thick documents inside.
Meng Bai took out two books and handed one of them to Mr. Mike.
Su Qingci looked down at her nose and glanced at the booklet in Mr. Mike's hand out of the corner of her eye.
As Mr. Mike turned the pages, they were filled with photos of various cultural relics and antiques, along with brief descriptions and prices. All the information in the entire booklet had been translated into English.
The booklet in Meng Bai's hand was in Chinese.
Su Qingci suddenly realized that Yu Shengchun had been busy with all this while he was locked up in the room. It must have taken a lot of effort to compile such a thick book.
Mr. Mike calmly flipped through the booklet in his hand, occasionally pausing to frown and take a look.
This time, the price of the goods is almost 100% higher than the previous price.
This made him doubt the other party's sincerity, and coupled with the fact that the goods weren't particularly impressive, his expression immediately turned sour.
They risked so much to cross the ocean, all for the finest quality, the absolute best!
Meng Bai, Kong Liu, and the others were all on tenterhooks, observing Mr. Mike's expression. This premium was the result of everyone's unanimous agreement.
Domestic controls are becoming increasingly strict. Previously, when various local events were held to remove landlords from power, the public would rush in, looting and vandalizing, resulting in many items ending up in the market.
Over the years, there are fewer and fewer of these products available on the market.
You should know that there are many discerning people in this world. Good things are either destroyed or collected by those with a discerning eye.
This time, Liu San'er brought back several masterpieces, which can be called national treasures. The premium on everything else was not much, because the prices of other items were not high to begin with.
Mr. Mike was a man of the world, and although he felt uncomfortable, he patiently and carefully looked at the booklet in his hands.
Finally, when they were almost at the very end of the booklet, the other person was startled, and their eyes revealed a huge surprise.
Su Qingci tilted her head slightly and looked at the booklet in the other person's hand. After seeing the photos in the booklet, she was so shocked that she almost forgot to breathe.
It turned out to be the most famous bronze artifact in the Freer Gallery of Art in the United States, called the "Zi Zha Nong Niao Zun". It is a wine vessel from the Spring and Autumn Period, which is about 2,000 years ago. It is nearly 30 centimeters high and 15 centimeters wide. The decoration is exquisite, and the neck is inscribed with gold.
In later generations, the United States claimed that it was donated to the museum free of charge by their own people, who boasted that it was a family heirloom. However, those who have seen it know that this bronze artifact comes from China, and they can even pinpoint that it was unearthed in Jincheng.
Until Su Qingci's time travel, this renowned national treasure was still displayed in someone else's museum, and it was difficult for Chinese people to even catch a glimpse of it.
Mr. Mike was clearly a connoisseur; he carefully stroked the photograph before turning to the next page.
Su Qingci's pupils contracted; what lay beneath was the lid of a certain Fang Lei, a national treasure of China that had ended up in the United States.
Later, the state spent 250 million yuan to bring it back and reunite it with the bronze vessel in China. At that time, the Central News Agency broadcast the entire reunion ceremony. People across the country watched with tears in their eyes as this national treasure, which had been stolen by robbers, returned to China.
Su Qingci was unsettled; my country has a long history and rich culture.
According to later statistics, more than 17 million cultural relics from China have been lost overseas, which is equivalent to ten Palace Museums. In hundreds of museums around the world, there are countless exquisite cultural relics from China.
The British Museum and Library in the United Kingdom have more than 90,000 cultural relics from China, while the Louvre Museum in France and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States each have more than 20,000 pieces.
Most of these treasures were looted and burned by the Eight-Nation Alliance during the late Qing Dynasty, while others were lost to various other groups during the modern period.
Many national treasures were recovered by the country at great expense in later generations, but many more precious treasures could not be recovered even after spending tens or hundreds of millions of yuan, becoming a regret for the Chinese people and the entire country.
These are treasures of their own country, yet they are displayed in museums in other countries, attracting a large number of tourists to those countries. As a result, their own citizens have to travel thousands of miles, go through various visas, and buy tickets just to catch a glimpse of them.
Meng Bai and his gang really did some despicable things.
Most importantly, when Su Qingci saw the prices listed in the catalog, compared to the enormous sums of money his country had spent to bring them back, it was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
Many Ming and Qing dynasty porcelain pieces are priced at only a few dollars.
Su Qingci gritted her teeth. Where were Wang Zhongren and his gang of good-for-nothings who were just wasting their time?
The time has come for them to make the final decision, so why haven't they shown up yet?
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