antique masters in modern times

That night, Yan You and Murong Hui stayed at Ying's hometown very late.But even the old nanny who has taken care of Yinglao for more than 20 years doesn't know what they talked about. He only knows that every time the two juniors come out to refill tea, their expressions are very serious.

After the two left, Mr. Ying stood in front of the window and looked at the osmanthus trees in the yard that had been ravaged by the autumn wind for a while, leaving only a few isolated leaves. He suddenly said something nonsensical: "The harder the millstone, It's getting sharper. Looks like I'll be retiring soon."

The old nanny heard Monk Zhang Er puzzled, but no matter how much he asked, Old Ying just shook his head: "You will understand after a while."

At the same time, on the other side of the ocean, the gorse auction house.

If the employees of the auction house knew Yanyou's comment that "Fusco is very polite", they would definitely roll their eyes.There is no other reason, they have already received two hours of abuse and ridicule in the closed conference room.polite?That's just an illusion.

The thick black velvet curtains blocked all the light from the sky, and in the dreary coffin-like room, Fusco roared angrily like a vampire nailed into the coffin with silver thorns, his waving hands seemed to be scratching the invisible coffin board.

"We also have high-quality imitation production lines under our banner. Our supply accounts for at least [-]% of the entire low-end and mid-end antique counterfeit market in Europe and America! We are the experts and the authority! How can we allow it to be reduced to a laughingstock!"

"I pay you dozens of percentage points higher than other industries, not to make you make such low-level mistakes!"

"In addition to improving the regulatory plan, I also need a public relations plan, how to minimize the impact of this matter!"

Someone raised his hand and suggested: "Sir, I think the easiest way is to ask the Huaxia person to apologize - we can give him a sum of money to make him admit that he made a mistake. Then ask the buyer to come forward and make a statement. explain--"

Before he could finish speaking, his tongue froze under Fusco's cold gaze.He didn't know what he said wrong, and he couldn't help but looked at the boss blankly.

What he answered was a thin document, before it was even photocopied, the soft fax paper was thrown directly in his face.

After skimming through it quickly, he suddenly opened his eyes and exclaimed, "Oh, God!"

Fusco sarcastically said: "I announced this news at the morning meeting-did your soul still stay at home at that time? Watching the Tour de France Yellow Jersey by the warm fireplace?"

"No, I'm sorry, sir. I'm late this morning. I'm really sorry. If I had known about such a big event, I would have rushed to the company earlier."

Fusco stared at him sternly for a few seconds before looking away: "Now that you know, don't make that ridiculous suggestion again. It must not be a coincidence that both things are related to him. After investigating this Before the background of the Chinese people, you can't act rashly."

At this time, the person in charge of the public relations department said: "Sir, I have an idea: it will be the birthday of the royal prince's grandmother in just over a month. Although the queen has passed away, her outstanding performance during World War II still teaches many days. The people of Luo will never forget it. Moreover, the Empress has had contacts with your father, Your Excellency the Viscount. Perhaps, we can use this to hold an exhibition related to the Empress’s birthday to regain the public’s favorability?”

Hearing this proposal, Fusco's face suddenly turned from cloudy to bright: "Good idea! You stay after the meeting, and we will discuss the details. Once finalized, immediately come up with a plan and start publicizing it, trying to dilute the impact of this matter as soon as possible. negative impact."

Everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, Fusco beat the staff again, and when he was about to announce the end of the meeting, he suddenly remembered something: "Hr, please contact the doctor. If you are in good health, ask him to cancel the leave in advance and come back to help—no, no, slow down Now, I will make this call myself. By the way, there is one more thing—”

He tapped the table with the control pen of the projector, and his tone suddenly became very disgusting: "Find out who provided the source of the Wang Ming Chuanlong Festival, if it is a long line, check the other goods, and then there is a new one." The goods will be delayed before they are delivered. Also, report the inspection results to me as soon as possible.”

Fusco's rage makes his staff extraordinarily productive.On the second day, the exhibition planned for the crisis public relations was refined from the preliminary concept to the specific steps.Fusco made a slight modification and asked the subordinates to execute it immediately.As a result, the entire auction house became busy.

In the planning, Mr. Pei Xiuyuan, a famous overseas Chinese industrialist, is specially listed as a heavyweight guest, and he is going to be invited to attend the opening dinner of the exhibition.It is hoped that he can show the auction house's full compensation check in public, and use his mouth to convey to the public that "this is just a small mistake, and the Plantagenet Auction House is as trustworthy as ever."

But unfortunately, after the staff contacted, Mr. Pei's secretary politely told them that the boss returned to China for vacation and the return date was undecided.

Therefore, the staff had no choice but to move Pei Xiuyuan's name to the pending column, and prayed for his early return.

Pei Xiuyuan did not appear in Plantagenet's draft, but appeared in Huaxia's news.Compared with the low-key return to China last time, the industrialist suddenly became more high-profile when he returned this time. Not only did he frequently accept media interviews, but he also enthusiastically invited reporters to accompany him when he had meals with friends.

However, the reporters couldn't wait for it.Because this old wealthy businessman not only has a legendary experience, but also his old friend is more related to the hot topic recently.

Moreover, not only Yinglao came, but even Yan You, who had been refusing to be interviewed before and was very mysterious, also appeared with him.It is said that it was because Pei Xiuyuan insisted on thanking this young man who helped him recover his losses.

For several days, the newspapers were full of articles about Pei's interview: Pei Xiuyuan donated money to build Hope Primary School, Pei Xiuyuan intends to invest in factories in China, Pei Xiuyuan talks about collection...

I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but at the end of these reports, without exception, it is mentioned that Yan You, a classmate who once helped Mr. Pei appraise treasures, is currently accompanying the old man to visit various antique markets and select treasures.Mr. Pei said with a smile that he believed that he would not be punched again this time, and maybe he could catch a big leak.and so on.

As for the detailed experience of Jianbao, a reporter has long written a detailed and wonderful manuscript and published it in a special edition.Because of the good response from readers, I added another interview to Yanyou later, and interviewed his teachers and classmates.

The interviewed teachers and students all said that they only knew that Yan You was a closed disciple of the industry leader Ying Lao, but when they really came into contact with him, they were working in the field. The longer they spent together, the more amazed his solid foundation and knowledge. So profound that even the teacher would ask him for advice with the funeral objects.

However, when asked where they went to work in the field and which ancient tomb they inspected, the teachers and students refused to answer, only saying that their superiors had explained it, and they could not say more.

However, when the reporter searched the materials, he found the previous reports, and calculated that the time was almost the same, so he added a paragraph in the manuscript on his own initiative: "Although the interviewees are reluctant to elaborate, according to the investigation and understanding of the reporter, it is the first time for Yan You to do fieldwork. The location should be a Han tomb in Tongshi. Considering that even the teacher asked him to discuss academic issues, does that mean that he is particularly proficient in the history of the Han Dynasty? Will the Department of Archeology of Peking University produce an expert on the Han Dynasty in the future? And let us wait and see."

After this manuscript was published, the elder Ying immediately expressed his dissatisfaction, saying that since he had already stated that his superiors would not allow nonsense, the reporter should not investigate in private and added that paragraph again.

But the overwhelmed water is hard to recover. The people who were reporting now not only know that Yan You is very knowledgeable, but also know that he participated in the excavation of the ancient tomb in Tongshi as a freshman.

Although some readers feel that this is an exaggeration for the sake of attracting attention, imagine how a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy with no hair is better than a teacher who has been teaching for decades?But there are also a large number of people who use Yanyou as an example to urge their children to study, and talk about it when they have nothing to do.

For a while, Yanyou became famous, and he became a child from another family in the mouth of adults, a scoundrel in the mouth of children, and the target of a few people with ulterior motives.

As Yanyou became famous, Panjiayuan unknowingly had an extra man named Lao Xu, who rented a small shop in the new commercial building. There were not many goods, but he could sell everything.But the speech is false and true, claiming to be Xiaoyan's uncle, who has good goods in the market.

Although the goods he placed in the store were good, they were too far away from the Han Dynasty, and there were several dynasties in between.

But if the buyer raises this question, he will definitely get his eyes rolled: "How thin is the rolling shutter door of this shop? If you put the real good things inside, what should the thief do at night? Or do you want me to carry it on your back?" Can at least buy two streets of baby lumps to squeeze the bus back and forth every day? Don’t worry about being smashed into pieces by being a vegetable jar.”

But if you ask other questions, such as asking whether the little goose in his mouth is the Yanyou who suddenly became a celebrity recently, and whether the so-called general market goods are taken from the tomb of the Han Dynasty that is in the process of finishing work?Old Xu just laughed and said nothing.When I was asked urgently, I said unhurriedly: "Believe it or not, I didn't chase you to buy it anyway, did I?"

Human psychology is very interesting.If old Xu patted his chest to assure that he was Yanyou's direct uncle and that he sold only Han tombs in Tongshi with Tuqinzi in them, no one would believe him except for a rookie who had just entered the door of antique collection.

But he was secretive and kept talking, just like a storyteller who whetted the audience's appetite.Believe it but dare not, not believe it and be reluctant.From time to time, I used his words to think about it, and the more I thought about it, the more it seemed to be true.

The man who had plenty of time began to make appointments with his buddies, quietly staring at Lao Xu's tail, and gradually figured out the routine of this man: every four or five days, he would close the door for one day.When I came back the next day, my clothes would definitely smell like the last night's wine, and my bag was full of good cigarettes, and I would give them to anyone, even those who walked in and knocked their teeth.

Before he goes out again, someone will come to his shop to wink.It won't be long before these two people will appear in various inconspicuous corners of Panjiayuan, muttering for a long time, and sometimes making wrist gestures, obviously discussing the price.When both sides nodded, Lao Xu would hum a little tune and go back to close up, disappearing for a whole day.

The bad guys could see it clearly: Every time Lao Xu came back, he looked like he had made a fortune, but in those two days, he often didn't sell anything in his shop, and there was a lot of it.So what is he selling?Could it be that he really has a new local product from the market?

After discovering this pattern, when Lao Xu went out for the third time, several people combined and let the most clever one follow outside.The man came back after dark, so excited that he could only say one sentence back and forth: "He really took the bus to Tongshi!"

At this time, the one who was flipping through the newspaper swept away the messy lunch box and slapped the newspaper on the table.Several people surrounded him, and followed his fingers to see this sentence: "According to Mr. Pei, he was very satisfied with an antique from the Han Dynasty that he got recently. He even said it was the biggest gain of this trip to China. It's just because of the regulations. You can’t take it abroad, you can only give it to a friend for safekeeping.”

The other person flicked the toothpick in his mouth and said, "I wonder where that little guy is so bold. I dare say that this guy surnamed Pei wants to buy it. From my point of view, it's probably because the guy surnamed Pei fancy something. He's rich and powerful." The guy who bribed the school. Once this guy opened up, others followed suit. It happened that the little guy surnamed Yan was the most famous, so I borrowed him as a cover."

"Hey, you mean that Xu is not Yanyou's uncle?"

"They have different surnames, how can you be an uncle! Speaking of which, it doesn't matter who he is, as long as the goods in his hand are not fake. Let's ask him to see the goods tomorrow!"

I don't know who is quick to talk, or someone else is also staring at Lao Xu's tip.In short, the analysis of this group of losers spread throughout the antique circle in Forty-Nine City overnight.The next day, the floor of Lao Xu's store was almost trampled flat.

Everyone thought that Old Xu wanted to take advantage of the chaos and leave. If so, the price must be negotiable, and they can take advantage of the opportunity to pick up a bargain.Not wanting to try and test, Lao Xu just laughed, seemingly noncommittal.But if you look closely, his subtext seems to be that if you don't meet a real rich buyer, you won't let go easily.

Someone silently counted his own family fortune, so he kept quiet and followed his words, talking nonsense all over the place.There are also people who are not convinced, and directly say what about Lao Tzu, you look down on Lao Tzu like this.But Lao Xu wasn't angry either, he coaxed him three times, and for some reason made that person lose his temper.

In short, these people who want to buy the goods did not get half a word from the slick boss Xu, but helped him to spread his reputation, saying that he wanted to clear the goods at once, so he set up a long queue and waited for the rich man to come to his door. .Now Panjiayuan is guessing how precious that batch of goods is, and who can get into Boss Xu's eyes.

There are different opinions and rumors.Ten days later, Lao Xu's shop finally closed again.Seeing this, the spectators hurriedly inquired about the movements of local rich collectors in the circle, and secretly wondered whose hands this batch of goods would end up in.

When it was discovered that these people had a place to go, everyone couldn't help being even more curious: Who made a fortune in silence and made a deal with Lao Xu?

They didn't know that Lao Xu, who used to go directly to the passenger car when he went out, turned a few long and curved alleys after leaving Panjiayuan this time, and knocked on the door of an old house after making sure that there was no tail behind him.

There were already people waiting for him inside.There was no time to greet each other, he said directly: "They have foreign accents, they promised to give cash when they came, and repeatedly said that they came specifically for the Tongshi Han Tomb, and said that if they can prove the exact identity of the tomb owner, they are willing to add [-]% of the money .I thought it was them, so when we met for the second time today, I let it go, and they immediately paid a deposit of [-] yuan."

"Zhong Gui's favorite client must be either rich or noble. This person is so generous, and he is so anxious, and he chose to come here for the Tongshi Han Tomb. I think at least [-]% of them may be the person we are looking for. .”

The people in the house are Yan You and Murong Hui.After listening to what Old Xu—that is, Xu Dacai said, Yan You thought for a while and said: "This person is worthy of confirmation. Old Xu, maybe they will follow you secretly. Acting and playing the whole book, please go to Tongshi for a while trip."

"no problem."

With Grandma Luo as a matchmaker, Xu Dacai has been developing well with sister Xiu recently, and he is proud of his peach blossoms. Naturally, he is obedient to Yanyou who made the marriage happen.

After sending Xu Dacai away, Murong Hui said, "It's fine if you want to buy antiques. The question is, why does this person want to be the owner of the tomb?"

"Who knows." Yan You shook his head: "No matter what, let's confirm his identity first. Are all the outfits ready?"

Murong Hui dragged a travel bag on the stone table, revealing the skinny jeans and camouflage vest inside, which was the most fashionable attire for idlers recently: "Second senior brother will accompany his wife to mother-in-law's house tonight, but I will make sure tomorrow." I can come here. I already told him when I went to him this afternoon. He will pretend to be a seller, and I will pretend to be a thug. I will act according to the script you made up. I will pretend to be an antique dealer. I see that the other party has money and wants to make friends. I will do it again in the future. Sell ​​him other things."

"Well, with such a cliché, he won't be suspicious."

From inviting Pei Xiuyuan back to the country, to making a high-profile appearance, to Xu Dacai blowing the wind in the circle, it was all planned by Yan You.

The bridal sedan chair needs to be carried, and the higher it is carried, the more famous it will be.But this time is different, Pei Xiuyuan, Yinglao, Yanyou, Xu Dacai, what they carry is not the name of a person, but the name of the Han Tomb in Tongshi.

But if you shout out the news in a hurry, it will not only cause trouble for Ying Lao, but also the real caring people will become suspicious after knowing it.

Just like the seasoned buyers in Panjiayuan’s house, they believed deeply in Xu Yunli’s ambiguous words. In many cases, saying half and keeping half is often better than telling the whole story.Compared with "what other people tell themselves", people believe "what they infer" more, even if the inference result is actually based on other people's words.

That's why Yan You deliberately released the news with falsehoods and truths, in order to achieve this effect.

It may seem troublesome to do so, but since the domestic clues have been cut off, this plan is more feasible than the unrealistic idea of ​​going abroad to investigate, or in other words, it is the only option.

It's just that Yan You has shown his face in front of the media, and many people recognize him, so the boss who sells goods has to find someone else to play him.Zhu Dao, who is naturally rich, eloquent and not stage-frightened, is naturally the best candidate.

However, although the plan has been made, Yanyou still feels uneasy in his heart.After thinking about it, he attributed this to the fact that Zhong Gui's case still hadn't progressed more than ten days later: "There is still no news from the police?"

"Well, I heard from the professor today that it seems that they have found some important clues and are investigating secretly, so they have not announced it."

On the surface, Zhong Gui's identity was an elite executive from overseas Chinese. Such a person died in the company for no apparent reason and was involved in financial cases, which is extremely rare in this era.There was a lot of discussion in the society, and there was a lot of pressure on the police.

Before Yan You thought that there was no evidence to solve the case, but now hearing what Murong Hui said, he felt a little relieved: "It's good that there is progress."

Murong Hui comforted: "Don't worry, my uncle is also helping me investigate in the country of America. It's just that they hid too deeply and haven't found any clues for a while."

"I hope that the person we are going to meet tomorrow is the person we are looking for." Yan You said helplessly.This is the closest and only clue to them.

In the evening of the next day, Dongxing Building.

It was dinner time, a rich boss in a leather suit, a gangster with long-haired sunglasses, a gangster wearing jingling jewelry around his neck, and a man with a slick face came in, inevitably attracting attention.

Fortunately, what they wanted was a private room, and once they went upstairs and closed the door, all curious sights were blocked.

What the diners didn't know was that the gangster in their eyes, or the leader of the subordinate who had made a mistake in education, entered the private room and nervously confirmed with the "gangster": "Will you really not do it later?"

Murong Hui said with a smile: "You think too much, today we only talk about business."

"That's a good relationship. I ordered this suit when I got married. If it gets dirty, my wife will punish me on my knees." Since he got married, Zhu Dao has joined the organization of strict wife management, and he is willing.

After confirming that it was all right, he rubbed his face and pretended to be a boss.I was just about to say that my brothers haven’t been together for a long time, and when we’re done calling Liang Zi over for a meal, the door of the private room is suddenly pushed open: “Boss Xu, have you brought what I want—these two yes?"

The young man outside the door was carrying a suitcase, and looked at Murong Hui and Zhu Dao with a frown.When he looked at Xu Dacai again, his expression turned cold: "You brought outsiders here without authorization?"

Seeing that he was about to leave, Xu Dacai hurried forward to stop him: "Oh, please sit down, Boss Jia. To be honest, I am just a middleman, and this boss is the real seller. No, I heard that you are generous, so I just want to Make friends with you. To put it bluntly, it’s just a meal, so you’re just trying to save face?”

After speaking, Xu Dacai greeted again: "This is Boss Jia, the two of you are so close."

Zhu Dao got up immediately, took the young man's hand and shook it vigorously a few times: "Oh, Boss Jia, I've been looking forward to it for a long time."

Stopped by the two singing in unison, and thinking that what they wanted was still in their hands, the young man hesitated, and finally sat down slowly.

Seeing this, Murong Hui quietly made a V sign to the window across the street.

Yan You sat behind the half-closed window, staring at the movement in the box from a distance, and took a look through the binoculars from time to time.

Suddenly, with a creak, the door was pushed open.Lao Li, the chef in charge of Dongxing Building, came over with a tray of meals: "Long time no see, Master Xiaoyan, come here, let's go together?"

This building used to be the guard dormitory of a certain commander. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, half of it was planned as a guest house, and half was given to the time-honored Dongxing Building as a dormitory.This is Lao Li's room.The reason why we chose to meet at Dongxing Building was also for the convenience of surveillance.

"Thank you, Master Li."

"Why are you being polite to me, just pass on my two-handed cooking skills when you have time. By the way, there is something I almost forgot to tell you."

Lao Li put down his wine glass and patted his head: "Yesterday, a man lived in the guest house next door. He looked around [-] or so. He's gentle, so I took a few more glances. When I went out this morning, I accidentally found him holding a telescope. Looking towards our restaurant. I thought he was just looking at it casually and didn’t think much about it. I just saw that you also brought this thing, so I thought it was a bit weird, and I thought I had to tell you.”

Someone next door is also paying attention to the movements in the private room?It seems that the person who met Xu Dacai and others was not the rightful owner at all.Then who will stay here to watch the wind?Another subordinate, or the deity?

This was the closest clue to the mysterious organization, and Yan You didn't want to let it go easily, so he immediately asked, "Master Li, which floor is he in the guest house?"

"It's also on the second floor. Are you looking for him? There is a small balcony on my side, just facing the side window of that room." Seeing that Yanyou was in a hurry, Lao Li led him directly to the balcony without asking any further questions.

A lot of sundries piled up on the small table.Using things to cover up, Yan You bent slightly and looked at the small window opposite.

The man was tilting his head and fiddling with the strap of the binoculars, so he couldn't see his face clearly for a while.Yan You waited patiently for a while, when the man finally turned his head, he was stunned.

"Yun Lu—Senior Brother Yun?!"