Chapter 204 Whose Broken Word
When Xiao Peng and his companions returned to the La Ciotat Pier, Fabian and Clementine had been waiting there for a long time. There were cigarette butts all over the floor. Chen Zetao and Zhang Cuijian were with him. Zhang Cuijian was accompanied by an old man wearing a short-sleeved jacket with a pipa button and old man's shoes.
There is no need to ask about this person's identity. He must be the cultural relics expert brought by Zhang Cuijian.
He dresses like this... He's afraid that others won't know he's an antique dealer.
Xiao Peng felt very confused. He thought Fabian had resolved everything before coming back, but he found out that he had made a mistake.
Life is a repetitive process of problems arising and then solving them.
"Brother Chen, Brother Zhang...don't say anything to me!" Xiao Peng jumped onto the dock and asked Walter to throw the cable over to secure it.
Chen Zetao didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Brother Xiao, what do you mean? Why don't you want to see us?"
Xiao Peng nodded. "I really don't want to see you. I finally managed to relax for a few days. Let me tell you, I'm going back to China soon. The plane ticket is already booked! I'll take the high-speed train to Paris soon! I can't wait to go home. Nothing can stop me from going home!"
There are no direct flights from Marseille to China, so you need to transfer in Paris. You can fly from Marseille to Paris, or take the high-speed rail, which only takes more than two hours.
"You want to go back?" Chen Zetao was shocked. "What about your company?"
Xiao Peng said, "What's wrong with the company? It's not like I won't come back. I haven't been home for the past few years and can only send money home. I seem to have made a lot of money during this period, but I haven't received any money. I have wanted to go home since I sold Mata Hari's jewelry, but troubles have kept coming one after another. I have finally realized that when one problem is solved, another one will inevitably arise. So this time, I have to ignore everything else and go home first. If there is anything, we can deal with it after I come back."
Zhang Cuijian and Chen Zetao exchanged a glance and said, "Brother Xiao, we won't stop you from going home. This is Mr. Dou Wenran from the Palace Museum. Can you show him your stuff?"
Dou Wenran, clearly a proud man, gave Xiao Peng a slight nod as a greeting. "Well, you have the skills, you're awesome." Pascal knew about antiques, but he was referring to Western antiques, not Eastern ones. The cloisonné basalt-shaped paperweight he'd salvaged was truly unapproachable.
Xiao Peng thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then let's go to my house! Walter, you guys sort out the boat here and I'll go home first. Fabian, help Xiao Pa organize all the information. Jenny, if you need any help, just let Walter and the others help you. I'll go back and do something first."
Jenny nodded to indicate that she understood.
Clementine opened the car door: "Boss, get in the car."
Xiao Peng shrugged: "It's only three steps away, so why do we have to drive?"
"You're the boss, aren't you?" Clementine said playfully.
Chen Zetao said, "It's better to drive. I really don't want to climb that big hill at your house."
Khedira let Walter drive while he stayed on the boat. After all, their job was security, not sailors, so they had to accompany Xiao Peng at all times.
In fact, none of the work on the ship was their job, and they had complained privately about it.
But who asked Xiao Peng to pay more? In order to avoid losing his job, he had to work harder.
They really don't understand the Chinese people's thinking.
It is not uncommon for rich people in China to hire bodyguards, but bodyguards in China are all all-rounders who have to be drivers, assistants and bodyguards. But in their place, bodyguards are just bodyguards. They believe that doing other things will distract their attention from protecting their employers.
But meeting Xiao Peng was like being on a pirate ship: who knew Xiao Peng was drifting on the sea all day? Now, except for Bruch, the other three bodyguards all had experience as crew members on a ship.
Several cars returned home. When Bellucci saw Xiao Peng, he hugged and kissed him on the cheek. Xiao Peng gestured that he would go to the study and no one should disturb him, then he took Chen Zetao and others to the study.
As the study door opened, Dou Wenran pushed through the crowd and walked over to Xiao Peng's desk. His rudeness made Zhang Cuijian a little embarrassed. He glanced at a piece of calligraphy on the desk, coughed dryly, and explained, "Perhaps Master Dou was a little excited by the wonderful calligraphy on the desk?"
Before Xiao Peng could answer, he saw Dou Wenran tear up the calligraphy on the table, crumple it into pieces and throw it aside: "Whose rubbish is this!"
"Did I offend you?" Xiao Peng was furious: "Those were my handwritings!"
Dou Wenran ignored him, but put on his glasses and carefully held the paperweight on the table in his hands to observe it.
Chen Zetao was stunned: "Brother Xiao, isn't this the cloisonné enamel paperweight you showed us? Are you just leaving it here like this?"
"Where else should I put it?" Xiao Peng asked, "Shouldn't the paperweight be placed in the study?"
Chen Zetao didn't know what to say, and finally could only give a thumbs up.
Xiao Peng laughed and said, "It's okay to put it here. They thought it was something from the Middle East!"
The "cloisonné" technique is what we commonly call "Jingtai Blue". The "Jingtai" here does not refer to a place name, but it was named "Jingtai Blue" because the cloisonné enamel production technology reached its peak during the Jingtai period of the Ming Dynasty.
This technique, in which thin, flat copper wire is used to create lines on a copper base and then glaze is applied to the patterns, originated in the Persian region east of the Mediterranean. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, the Mongols invaded Europe and brought back a large number of craftsmen, who also introduced this technique to China.
Dou Wenran held the paperweight and examined it carefully. The study was silent. Xiao Peng took out a cigarette and was about to share it with him when Dou Wenran sighed, "What a pity!"
Xiao Peng and the others looked at him together. Zhang Cuijian asked curiously, "What's a pity?"
Dou Wenran shook his head and said, "What a good thing! What a good item! It's a pity that it's been so poorly preserved! Look at this, the gilding is falling off and the glaze has serious sand holes. What a pity, what a pity."
Xiao Peng almost cursed. "Why are you so startled, old man? How long has this thing been at the bottom of the sea? Can it be preserved?"
Dou Wenran probably knew that what he said was a little wrong, so he explained, "There's a saying in ancient times that 'one piece of cloisonné is worth ten pieces of official kiln wares.' The Palace Museum now has 1.86 million pieces of imperial collections, but there are only a little over 6,000 pieces of cloisonné. You can imagine how precious this thing is! Look at this Xuanwu paperweight. Although it's small, the pattern is so exquisite! The level of regularity of the silk work is unprecedented. Look at this tiny Xuanwu's eyes, divided into three layers by copper wire lines! It's hard to imagine how the ancients could create such a detailed pattern! I guarantee that this must be a palace item! No, it must be an imperial item!"
After hearing his words, Chen Zetao and Zhang Cuijian looked at each other with surprise in their eyes. It was settled!
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