Chapter 1106 How did this thing come out?
Chen Zetao was stunned when he heard Xiao Peng was anxious to return home. "Did something happen to your grandfather? That shouldn't be the case. He was taken care of very well and is recovering very well. He should have no problem living for another 20 or 30 years!"
"Pfft, pfft, pfft! You're such a jinx! My grandpa can't be in any trouble!" Xiao Peng spat a few times before looking at Chen Zetao and saying, "Brother Chen, I think you should know about this!"
"What's the matter?" Chen Zetao asked in confusion.
Xiao Peng glanced at Karl and didn't avoid him. He turned around and walked over to his desk and took out a small box. This box was exactly the one Billy gave him: "Brother Chen, take a look for yourself."
"What is this?" Chen Zetao opened the box and took out a silver brooch inlaid with an emerald. Chen Zetao looked at it and said, "This looks like an old item."
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "Isn't it an old item? Jewelry from the early Ottoman Empire."
Chen Zetao's eyes lit up: "Have we discovered a new shipwreck?"
Xiao Peng said disdainfully, "A new shipwreck?" Brother Chen, what are you thinking? Look under the box, there's a note!
Chen Zetao opened it and found a string of numbers on it: "This looks like a number, what does it mean?"
Xiao Peng gave the answer: "I found a shipwreck in the Sea of Marmara on the other side of the Turkish Strait. There were many Turkish national treasures on it. Do you remember?"
Chen Zetao nodded and said, "Of course. It started as an exhibition at the Forbidden City and is now in the New Museum."
Xiao Peng pointed at the slip and said, "I numbered every cultural relic I sent back to China. I wrote the number on this slip myself! From then on, registering every cultural relic became a habit in our company."
Chen Zetao was stunned after hearing this: "Then why is it here with you?"
Xiao Peng looked at Chen Zetao: "Billy gave it to me. He bought it in France for 500,000 euros."
"France?" Chen Zetao widened his eyes.
Xiao Peng sneered, "Brother Chen, now you understand why I'm returning home, right? I want to know what went wrong! Aren't some well-connected people using my stuff as a way to get rich? I heard a bitch who cheated on her husband can even drive into the Forbidden City. Isn't the water in the capital too deep?"
After hearing this, Chen Zetao was silent for a while and said, "Brother Xiao, why do I feel that there may be something else going on?"
Xiao Peng didn't answer. He picked up a cigarette, lit it and looked at Chen Zetao.
Chen Zetao looked at him in silence and explained himself, "There are some things I need to explain to you. This possibility is unlikely. Did you know that our country prohibits the exhibition of cultural relics abroad?"
Xiao Peng nodded. Of course he knew that. Since 2002, the National Cultural Relics Protection Department has announced three batches of cultural relics prohibited from exporting for exhibition: the first batch of 64 items in 2002, the second batch of 37 items in 2012, and the third batch of 94 items in 2013. This list will continue to grow. The cultural relics on this list must remain in China; even exhibitions abroad are prohibited.
There are also management regulations for the remaining cultural relics: cultural relics produced before 1949, including those with certain historical, artistic and scientific value, are prohibited from entering the country in principle, and cultural relics produced before 1911 are prohibited from leaving the country; for minority cultural relics, it is 1966. If those cultural relics want to be exported, such as for overseas exhibitions, they need to go through a series of approvals, otherwise they will not be able to pass customs.
Of course, even so, China remains a major hub for cultural relic smuggling. The most common method is to declare items for export as "fakes" or "toys," while actually exporting genuine artifacts. Customs intercepts countless attempts to smuggle cultural relics like this every year.
This also requires taking risks. What if you get caught? Be careful of life imprisonment... This is strictly enforced in China.
Chen Zetao continued, "Everything you brought back, although not publicly announced, has been included in the list of items prohibited from export. After all, most of what you brought back are considered foreign 'national treasures.' I admit, there are indeed some naughty kids in Beidu who are capable of mischief, but no matter how much they misbehave, they know that there are some things they can't touch—unless they want to destroy their entire family."
"Is that so exaggerated?" Xiao Peng didn't quite believe what Chen Zetao said.
Chen Zetao said, "It's a death order. Anyone who touches it will die. In fact, when your items first returned to China, due to the immense influence of the Old Summer Palace relics, they were given this order. Now, even the experts from the Cultural Relics Bureau go to register and appraise items, working in groups of three to supervise each other and prevent any possible omissions."
Xiao Peng frowned: "Then why did this thing appear here?"
Chen Zetao thought for a moment and said, "Brother Xiao, there are some things I don't know whether I should say or not."
"Brother Chen, if you have something to say, just say it!" Xiao Peng said, "This matter has made me feel very uncomfortable! The Dutch are trying to bully me! I can't even go back to China! They won't give me a business charter flight, and I can't get a ticket for a commercial airliner until four days later!"
Chen Zetao said, "They're afraid you'll return to China! If you don't come back, all their plans will be ruined."
Xiao Peng snorted coldly, "They should have thought of this outcome when they dealt with me! They still want me to play by their own rules? All the good things in the world belong to them? Now I don't want to play anymore, is that okay? Brother Chen, tell me what's wrong with you."
Chen Zetao said, "Brother Xiao, don't you think this is strange?"
"Strange?" Xiao Peng was confused. "What's strange about it?"
"Even if I don't know much about cultural relics, a silver emerald brooch from the early to middle Ottoman period shouldn't be so cheap, right? 500,000 euros? This price is indeed not low for an emerald brooch, but it seems too cheap for this emerald brooch?" said Chen Zetao.
"Hmm?" Xiao Peng nodded after hearing this. What Chen Zetao said made sense.
Chen Zetao said, "The most likely possibility is that the seller is in urgent need of money or doesn't understand the value of the item or..."
"Or?" Xiao Peng said anxiously, "Brother Chen, just say what you want to say."
Chen Zetao asked, "Your two classmates are in charge there, right?"
"Hmm?" Xiao Peng frowned slightly.
Chen Zetao said, "There's a classmate of yours named Liu Baorong, right? He and another classmate of yours, Shao Feng, haven't been getting along well lately."
Xiao Peng was shocked when he heard this: "What happened between them?"
Chen Zetao said, "It's actually not a big deal. Regarding the museum's employment, although it's currently managed by the Cultural Relics Bureau, quite a few people are still recruited from outside, such as those in logistics, the kitchen, and cleaning departments. Shao Feng meant outsourcing to professional companies, while Liu Baorong meant keeping the wealth within the family and helping your friends and relatives back home. The two argued over this. And there's also..."
"And? What else?"
Chen Zetao said, "Liu Baorong has been making frequent financial moves recently. Since he's your friend, I haven't investigated what's going on."
Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "You think Liu Baorong could do such a thing? That's simply impossible!"
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