antique masters in modern times

Regardless of the pain, Zhong Gui reluctantly opened his eyes and looked towards the source of the sound.

I saw a thin old man standing at the door.His hair is snow-white, with no black hair to be found. The wrinkles and sagging skin on his face have accumulated deep grooves, and there are also faint age spots, but he can still vaguely see the handsomeness of that year.His figure is already a bit rickety, and he needs to use the crutches in his hand to straighten his waist.

There is a kind of wisdom and calm unique to scholars in him, which makes people subconsciously want to get close to him.Even if the years go by, even if the years are old, the demeanor will not be reduced by half.

But when Zhong Gui saw him, he seemed to see an enemy, he was vigilant and hostile: "Xiang, what are you doing here?"

Dr. Xiang, Xiang Wen, has not joined the organization for a long time, only ten years.Compared with Zhong Gui, who started with his father Zhong Simian and followed the embryonic organization, he can only be regarded as a newcomer, but he is highly valued by the organization.After joining the company for a few years, he participated in the core business. After that, he single-handedly explored the Chinese market and established an efficient procurement channel in the mainland, alleviating the organization's supply problem.

Zhong Gui has no right to know what core events he has participated in before.But the latter achievement alone is enough to overwhelm Zhong Simian, who was just running errands, and Zhong Guiwen, who was ambitious and talented, and relied on his father's shadow to sneak into the organization.

The organization is basically composed of Europeans and Americans, and it is rare that there are two Chinese people, so they will inevitably be compared with each other.But the gap between the two sides is so obvious, no matter how Zhong Gui jumps up and down, people always respect Dr. Xiang more - no matter what time, talent is the first pass.

The narrow-minded Zhong Gui didn't reflect on his impetuous nature, being too restless to study, and his limited talent, which led to the embarrassing situation of being in the same place today. He directly attributed the ridicule and contempt he received to Dr. Xiang: If it weren't for this old man Appeared, the big cake of Huaxia Market must have fallen into his hands long ago!

But now, he can only gain his presence by flattering him.And the high-level assignments to him are always small and irrelevant tasks.

Until this spring, a turning point finally appeared.Dr. Xiang couldn't help feeling unwell and asked to go back to the United States to recuperate.But Huaxia can't be left alone. If a foreigner is sent over, it would be too eye-catching.After weighing it, the superior put the clock here.

Suddenly being hit by a pie, Zhong Gui was almost ecstatic, and got drunk several times after the celebration carnival.Seeing that Dr. Xiang had handed over his other jobs after recovering from his illness, and basically stopped showing up in the organization, he wondered if this old guy had made some unspeakable mistake, called rest and recuperation, but in fact he had been deprived of power long ago.

He didn't have any evidence, but judging from all the clues, the more he thought about it, the more it was happening. He couldn't help being elated, and planned to take the opportunity to do something big, make the organization look at him with admiration, and replace this old guy.

People with his personality, once in power, tend to be more arrogant and self-inflated than usual.In addition, no one in Huaxia knew his details, and only saw his halo as an overseas Chinese manager. Soon, he promoted and recruited a bunch of people who were good at flattering, and squeezed out all the old employees left by Dr. Xiang.

The perennial depression of the dwarves made Zhong Gui eager to make some achievements to prove himself. The most direct way is to increase profits.But the organization does not allow him to expand the scale and change the business strategy without authorization.So, he naturally put his mind on cost reduction.

But just after he changed his master, he caused big trouble.If you can't think of a good way to survive this level, the rest of your life will be completely ruined.

This was the most embarrassing time in Zhong Gui's life. He never expected that Dr. Xiang, who had always been regarded as an enemy, would suddenly appear.He didn't believe it was just a coincidence, all the anxiety suddenly turned into guard.

Seeing him staring at him like a bullfighting bull, Dr. Xiang smiled faintly, waved his hands, and said calmly, "I'll go back to China and find a Chinese medicine doctor to write a prescription, so I'll stop by and have a look. Xiao Zhong, he's an old colleague." , don't be so nervous, come, sit down and talk."

This kind of succinct tone towards children made Zhong Gui feel tightness in his chest again.Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly thought of something, and his vigilant expression suddenly became a little flustered: "Did your superiors ask you to come here?"

China is the market that Dr. Xiang opened up, and he stayed here for several years after that, so he is very familiar with the situation.If something happened, it would be perfect for him to clean up the mess.But how long has it been since it happened?How did the organization grasp the situation so quickly?

Thinking of this, the cold sweat that had dried up on Zhong Gui's head kept dripping down again.

Dr. Xiang smiled reassuringly: "No."

Before Zhong Gui could calm his heart, he heard him say again: "But I am indeed here to solve the company's crisis."

Zhong Gui's body froze immediately.After a while, he suddenly seemed to have figured something out, laughed strangely, and said sharply: "I said, how could other people have the ability to drive me into a hurry, it was your fault! You also found those people Yes! You hate me for taking over Huaxia, so you don’t want to make me look good. Now you come out hypocritically and want to sell me? I’m not as good as you want! I want to report to the organization and let them know that you are the culprit, and you will not hesitate to damage the organization for personal anger Benefit!"

Zhong Gui thought he had discovered the truth, but Dr. Xiang still just smiled after hearing this, "You're wrong again."

"Don't try to deny it, you—"

He had just started, and Dr. Xiang interrupted his accusation: "Although I had planned to bring down the Huaxia market, I was caught by others before I closed the net. I had to come here to clean up the mess before the situation got out of control." , put this game of chess on the right track."

If Dr. Xiang denies and rebuts, Zhong Gui will not believe it at all.But such an understatement of admission stunned him all of a sudden: "What did you say? Are you crazy! The organization treats you well, but you want to..."

"Not thin? Ha ha." Dr. Xiang sneered as if hearing the funniest joke.But soon he restrained his emotions and regained his calm elegance: "I didn't want to involve you at first, but I learned that you led a group of motorcycle racers to roar through the downtown area of ​​Athens, Greece ten years ago. After the traffic in that area was paralyzed for two hours, I stopped hesitating."

"What are you talking about?" Zhong Gui remembered that incident.The organization occasionally steals exhibits from museums and art galleries in various countries. Of course, he is not qualified to "make meritorious service" with his skill.

He was specially called to Greece that summer vacation, and he thought that the organization would make a big deal.But after one action, the organization let him return, and there was no news of cultural relics being stolen from Greece.

Zhong Gui always thought that the operation had failed, and he didn't understand what Dr. Xiang meant by mentioning it at this time.

Just about to ask a question, the old man shook his head: "Let's get back to business. The company's current situation is very bad, its reputation in the industry has been discredited, and it has repeatedly violated laws and regulations. But the problems exposed so far are not too serious, and now Huaxia is undergoing economic reforms, and the laws in this area have been loosened a lot. If you can hire a good lawyer, you can probably reduce your sentence by a few years."

"But—what if you committed suicide in fear of crime? Just at this time, the relevant departments received a letter of report, telling them where these 'handicrafts' were shipped abroad and how much profit they made. Do you think they will investigate thoroughly? Go on? I believe it won't be long before we can see the news that the Huaxia police negotiated with lapd and asked to handle a major transnational smuggling case."

The organization is headquartered in New York, but to be on the safe side, everything Huaxia brings will be transferred to Los Angeles. Lapd is the acronym for Los Angeles Police.

"You're crazy! You're really crazy!" Zhong Gui looked at Xiang Wen who didn't change his face, and his mouth became dry.He is too familiar with the other party's expression, which means that he will definitely do what he says: "You have found a new owner, otherwise why would you betray the organization?!"

Dr. Xiang turned the handle of the rosewood walking stick, and rubbed the lifelike dragon head through the glove, thoughtfully: "You are very loyal to the organization. But have you ever thought that you also bleed Huaxia's blood? Frankly Said, I disliked you before I knew the truth, and I didn't know the reason before, but now I finally understand."

Zhong Gui couldn't help asking: "What's the truth? What did you understand?"

"Because of the existence of people like you father and son, there are so many gringos who think that Chinese people are all traitors with an eye for money."

Dr. Xiang still spoke softly, but the contempt in his words was so obvious.Ignoring Zhong Gui who was blushing for a moment, he stepped forward to close the open glass window, and pressed the lock again: "It's going to be windy."

"Small tm pretending to be noble, you are the same! To put it bluntly, you are the dog of the organization, so you are nobler than me!"

Zhong Gui didn't see his small movements clearly, and cursed angrily.But seeing the other party as if he had never heard of it, he felt uneasy again.

But Dr. Xiang has already passed him and walked to the door.The moment the door was closed, he heard the regretful voice of the other party: "You are still so thoughtless in your words and actions, and you can't grasp the point at all. I originally wanted you to be a fool for the sake of your compatriots, but since you only pay attention to the details, Prepare to walk in a daze, and do whatever you like."

Before the words were finished, the door was closed, but it didn't make a crisp click as usual, but rather dull, as if something had been stuffed into the keyhole.

Hearing a ghost word, Zhong Gui felt that something was wrong, and rushed to pull the door without thinking.But the door seemed to be welded to the door frame in an instant, and it didn't move.

He was still looking for a tool to pry open the door again, when the air conditioner that had been turned off suddenly turned on automatically, accompanied by a sudden rise in temperature, bursts of light yellow smoke came out of the machine.Zhong Gui choked, his throat all the way to his esophagus burned hotly.

"No..." Zhong Gui was horrified, holding back his discomfort and desperately ran to the window.But the usually light and light sliding window seems to have taken root now, and it is as motionless as the door.He smelled adhesive on the lock—the most effective repair agent for tissue, and the ancient objects glued with it will not fall off even after high temperature.

In just a moment, the smoke has filled the entire room.Not only the throat, but even the eyes were stung too hard to open.Zhong Gui, who was about to smash open the window, stumbled and fell to the ground, unable to get up again.

Suddenly thought of something, he hissed and shouted: "Xiang Wen, you should stay outside! I have something very important on hand, which is very bad for the organization, as long as you let me out, I will give it to you... Xiang Wen... item……"

The sound he thought he was trying his best was actually not much louder than the squawking of a mosquito.Soon he lost consciousness, and with weak breathing, the chemicals were still slowly eroding his internal organs bit by bit.No one will come to the office building until tomorrow when he goes to work. These ten hours are enough to take Zhong Gui's life away.

Before he died, he still had one biggest question, but no one ever answered it.

——Why did Xiang Wen betray?

Outside the corridor, Dr. Xiang walked slowly towards the gate, step by step very steadily.Before going downstairs, he suddenly remembered something, took out a document from the inner pocket of his suit, smoothed out the wrinkles carefully, turned around and put it on the front desk.

That was the account book that the tax bureau came to check today. Under the faint wall lamp, Zhong Guida's signature was impressively visible.It was supposed to be destroyed, but Dr. Xiang took some effort to get it, but he didn't expect that it would become useless waste paper in a blink of an eye as someone intervened.

Turn around the corner and get into the chartered car waiting there.While starting the car, the driver chatted enthusiastically: "Old man, have you found any old friends of your relatives?"

"Well, I found it. My sister's wish is finally granted."

The driver glanced sympathetically at the old man in the rearview mirror.What a pitiful person, my sister was robbed and stabbed ten years ago and was seriously injured, but because of a traffic jam, she couldn't be sent to the hospital in time, so she died.The old man remembered his sister's last wish, but because he was abroad, he did not return to China until today, ten years later, to find this old friend and settle his mind.

However, why is the last wish to visit the deceased?Is it because of the love when I was young?

The driver was thinking wildly, and asked loudly, "Old man, are you going back to the hotel?"

"Yes, we agreed to have dinner with the man who chartered the car for me."

"okay."

Taking advantage of the light coming from outside the car, Dr. Xiang opened his wallet, took out a carefully folded piece of paper, stared at the big word IOU on it, and slowly frowned.

When he was young, his reputation was ruined by something, and he couldn't stay in his hometown. He was disheartened, and by chance, he went to the United States with his friends, and worked hard to get a Ph.D.Afterwards, he was hired as a lecturer by his alma mater and lived an ordinary and peaceful life.

His major belongs to geology. On the eve of his retirement, he made a breakthrough in paleomagnetic dating, and he is unique in identifying ancient objects.But he didn't need it in his line of work, so he didn't take it seriously, and only occasionally helped people do appraisals.But ten years ago, someone suddenly approached him, promising him dozens or even hundreds of times the pension, and asking him for help.

Although Xiang Wen has stayed in the ivory tower all his life, he is not a person who only has knowledge in his heart, and has a very keen insight into world affairs.After being invited to have dinner with this person, he knew that this person was probably a member of a gang selling stolen goods.He didn't want to wade into the muddy water, so he declined the other party's "good intentions".

The other party didn't make any further entanglements, and Xiang Wen also thought that this was the end of the matter.After retiring, he had a lot of free time, so he managed to bring his younger sister who stayed in China to visit relatives and travel.Unexpectedly, on the day of arriving in Athens, her sister was stabbed by a thief who robbed her in a speeding car, but she happened to be caught in a traffic jam.Although there were well-meaning people to help, after being sent to the hospital, the rescue was still ineffective, and his soul returned to a foreign country.

Xiang Wen's pension is not rich, and this trip has already spent half of his savings.After the accident, in order to pay for medical expenses and deal with the affairs of the deceased, not only did he spend all the remaining money, but he also owed foreign debts.It just happened to catch up with the payment deadline for property taxes, insurance and other expenses.Xiang Wen asked old friends to borrow money for emergency, but due to various coincidences, the acquaintances did not have enough money to support him.

The state and county where he lives has relatively strict real estate tax regulations, and the cycle for delaying turnover is extremely short.If the tax cannot be paid on time, the bank will take back the house for auction, which means that Xiang Wen will live on the streets.

Just when he was in a state of desperation, the person who had promised him a generous reward appeared again, and without a word, he readily wrote a check to him.A penny is hard for a hero, coupled with the shock of the death of a relative, the disheartened Xiang Wen did not refuse any more stubbornly.

After using the money for emergency, the other party came to the door again, and the old story was repeated.At this point, Xiang Wen naturally couldn't refuse, so he agreed on a reward with the other party, saying that the money was a loan, and when it was paid off, he would no longer work for them.

After contacting this organization for half a year, although the other party is very cautious, Xiang Wen still feels that the other party is powerful, and I am afraid it is far from a simple gang selling stolen goods.After realizing that these people can arrange meticulously regardless of manpower and material resources to achieve a certain goal, he began to have doubts about his sister's life and death.Because, what a coincidence.

He began to investigate secretly.Although the organization has strict rules and regulations, but there are too many people, there will always be negligence.Especially those ponies who don't know the details and are only responsible for peripheral work, because they only receive fragmented things, they don't have a sense of confidentiality.

Xiang Wen investigated quietly for a year, and finally found out that on the day of the accident, the organization had bought a round-trip ticket to Greece for a small boss.And the economic crisis of several of his friends at that time, after careful inspection, was also inextricably linked to several institutions under the name of the organization.

It's just one thing, and it can be called a coincidence.But if the two phases are combined, if you can't see the problem, Xiang Wen's age will be in vain.

He didn't expect that the organization would kill his relatives in order to win him over!They had plenty of ways to push him into a desperate situation, but they chose the cruelest one, most likely to wear down his spirit and sneak in when he was desperate!

On the day when the truth was pieced together, Xiang Wen hated the organization deeply, and at the same time decided to disintegrate the organization.His decision was not based on such a noble purpose as punishing evil and promoting good, but simply reciprocating retaliation: if they killed their only sister, then he would destroy their carefully operated money-making tools!

Zhong Wen knows that the organization has deep roots, and it appears to be established in the United States, but in fact, the sun never sets in its old nest.Not only in the underworld, but also inextricably linked with the business and political circles.

But he is not in a hurry, risking his life, he will look for opportunities slowly like the most patient fox hunter.

This is ten years.Over the past ten years, the organization has been surprised to find that this Chinese old man not only has a unique dating technique, but also has first-class management capabilities. The several ideas he put forward have brought good profits to the organization, and are quite interesting. material.

By making suggestions for the organization, he gradually gained trust and entered the core step by step.And he was never married, and his only sister was also her husband's children who died young, so the fact that he didn't have any relatives became an advantage.

Probably because he thinks that he has no selfishness, and in only three or four years, the top leaders of the organization have already trusted him very much.When he arranges and expands the outlets in China, his position will be even more stable.

In order to win over him, the leader returned the IOU to him a few years ago, and even pretended to tear it up on the spot.But he kept it and carried it with him, and every time he made even a little progress, he took it out and looked at it.

That thin piece of paper was like a sharp knife, every time it cut his heart ache, but he loved it.

While contemplating, the driver seemed to say something, which interrupted his memory.Putting the wallet away, he slowly stretched his eyebrows, and asked softly, "What's the matter?"

"Where are you going to go tomorrow? I think you will always like Badachu, where it is quiet. Or do you want to go to popular attractions like the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace? If you still rent my car, it will be cheaper for you." The driver enthusiastically To solicit business.

"Tomorrow..." Thinking of the information collected in the past two days, Xiang Wen tapped his fingers on the seat cushion: "Go to Peking University."

There is business again, the driver smiles: "Are you always a student there?"

Xiang Wen shook his head slightly: "No, I'm going to see a younger generation. The younger generation is getting more and more powerful now, so I don't feel at ease if I don't take a look."

While speaking, the car drove to its destination.Someone who had been waiting at the entrance of the restaurant came up to meet him, and it turned out to be a middle-aged man who had been cornered by Zhong Gui.However, the sad look on his face was gone now.

The man happily helped the old man out of the car, and said courteously: "Doctor, slow down, old man, and be careful of the steps. By the way, the front desk said that a person surnamed Yun called you several times, and it seemed that there was something urgent. "