"Cultural differences are hard to eliminate. Of course, some painters are not so good in their own right, and it is difficult to rely on hype. ”

When I arrived at Matthew's manor, I saw a two-story building in front of me, and a patch of houses in the back. Wuyang estimated that it was the warehouse, and set up the horn carving, Matthew invited them into the house, and he went to get the horn carving himself.

After drinking coffee, Matthew came out, "Girls and gentlemen, let's look at the relics." ”

The staircase was inside the living room, and Matthew opened a heavy metal door and climbed upstairs, where there was another metal door at the entrance of the staircase. When I entered the corridor, I saw the window on the side of the corridor, which had a metal window, and when I entered the living room, the door leading to each room was also a metal door. Matthew smiled and said, "No way, it's relatively remote here, and I'm often not at home, so I have to be tighter." ”

Pei Lei said: "The house is really big, and the layout is very good. ”

Matthew smiled and said: "I haven't lived in it, and after selling the cultural relics, I can redecorate." There's only one room with European art in it, and the rest of the rooms are for you to look at, and when my wife comes up, we're ready to go." Mr. Li, my wife recorded the results of our negotiation, please also arrange for someone to record it, and then compare it, and then you can close the deal after it is correct. ”

"Okay. Ms. Pei, please help me record. ”

Matthew opened the doors of the four rooms, and Wuyang walked into one, and the furniture in it was only a desk, on which there were several stacks of books, a lot of nails nailed to the wall, a lot of calligraphy and painting works hung in columns, and there were many pen holders and other things on the ground, some porcelain and some wood. Much larger than a pen holder. It was filled with scrolls of varying lengths.

This is true for three of the four houses. Only one room is a pine shelf, on which are placed jade, porcelain, and swords, all of which are small objects. After reading it, Matthew smiled and said, "So everything is given by others." Among them, there were more than 10 gifts from Madame Chiang, the first lady of China at the time. That sword was a gift from Madame Chiang. ”

Wuyang knows, Matthew's grandfather. As the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who held great power, the Nationalist Government, which was struggling to support the Japanese invaders in a difficult situation, must have asked him, of course, even after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, in order to fight the civil war, US aid was indispensable. There were three swords on the wooden frame, and Wuyang picked up one, remembering that it was the one stolen from the tomb of Qianlong by the warlord Sun Dianying, and it seemed that it was transferred to Madame Jiang by Boss Dai. Madame Chiang gave it as a gift to Matthew's grandfather. This is also the greatest role that this sword has played since its existence.

The scabbard is inlaid with beautiful ruby sapphires. Wuyang thought, the sword must be cold and shining, and when he got it in his hand, he wanted to pull it out and take a look, and pulled it out, thinking that he could hear the sound of "Zheng", but it didn't come out of the sheath at all, and he didn't move. Shaking his head, he put it back.

When Matthew saw this, he immediately said: "We have a humid climate here, and we haven't touched it, and it must have been rusted for decades." ”

"It's a pity." Wuyang sighed. To be honest, if Matthew offered $2 million, he wouldn't hesitate to buy it, but now, $200,000 may not necessarily buy it.

"Mr. Li, is there a way to get him out of the sheath?" Matthew asked.

Wuyang knew that there was a circle of metal where the scabbard only had a mouth, and there would not be many places where it was rusted and adhered to, and he had read that Wang Tong's book wrote that as long as a little kerosene was dropped on the place where the sword was inserted into the scabbard, it would be able to loosen after half an hour.

"Mr. Matthew, do you have kerosene at home?"

"Kerosene? No, I don't know if there is a gas station, I called and asked. Otherwise, you can try the other two. ”

The other two can't be pulled out, there are 6 treasure knives, I also tried it, and finally pulled out one, and there are dots of rust on the knife surface, although the rust is not big, but not just on the surface.

Matthew called, and there was no kerosene at the gas station. "What to do? By the way, Mr. Lai, the oil used to wipe the weapon should be fine, right? That kind of oil is applied to the surface of the metal, which can prevent rust. ”

"I'm sorry, Mr. Matthew, I've never been in contact with it, I don't understand."

"It's okay, it's already like this anyway, let's give it a try."

When he found oil, Mrs. Matthew also came, dripping oil on the sword, and began to trade. Arriving at the room where the paintings and calligraphy were stored, Matthew explained: "Mr. Li, the few paintings on this wall are related to the wooden cylinders and porcelain jars on the ground, either from a dynasty or a calligrapher and painter. Originally, we didn't know about this, so we invited experts who have studied the art of your country to classify and price them. The price of the wall and the floor is the same. For example, the one on the wall is 100,000, and the one in the pen holder on the ground is 100,000, do you understand? ”

"Got it, what if I disagree with one of them?"

"You can only bargain over one set, you can't get any of them out, unless it's a fake."

Wuyang smiled and said, "In Mr. Matthew's treasure room, how can there be a fake. "Actually, he had already scanned it with True Qi, and there must be no fakes.

Matthew said, "Let's talk about the books on the table first. It wasn't someone else's gift, my father bought it. Mr. Li, this is an encyclopedia of the Ming Dynasty in your country, although there are only 62 volumes, but this is a unique product, and I offer $1 million per volume. ”

Wuyang took a look, it was indeed the "Yongle Canon", and it was also worth the price, "Mr. Matthew, I will give out $30,000 per volume." I bought them at both Mr. Ike and Mr. Jonny's house, both for $20,000. ”

"That's because they don't understand Chinese culture, let alone the value of books. Once you've bought some, you'll need to scrape them all the more. 800,000, how's that? ”

"I need these books, $40,000 each."

"Your offer is so low that I doubt you know about these books. I'll be less, 600,000. ”

"Okay, in order to show my sincerity, 100,000 per volume."

Matthew laughed, "It's a waste of time." ”

Wuyang also smiled and said, "Okay, I paid 10 million to buy these books." ”

Matthew said, "Okay, in order to save time, make a deal." Mr. Lai. You've taken advantage of it. It's just over $160,000 a book. Bring back home, at least $1.6 million. Of course, you won't sell it. ”

Wuyang said: "Even if I want to sell, no one will pay $1.6 million to buy it." Mr. Matthew, did your father buy these books for $1 million? ”

"It was $620,000. But how many years have passed now, and how many times have prices risen? At that time, $620,000 could buy 10,000 hectares of land, now 10 million. I can't buy 5,000 hectares. ”

Pei Lei said: "Mr. Matthew, if your father deposits this money in the bank, plus interest, will there be 3 million?" ”

Mrs. Matthew smiled and said, "If I had bought a stock at the time, it would have been $1 and now it would have been $200." ”

Wuyang smiled: "This is the truth, but how risky is the stock, how many people dare to buy it?" ”

Matthew said, "Things in the past, no ifs." Let's move on to calligraphy and painting. Mr. Li, this is a work of the Tang Dynasty in your country. I don't need to talk about the artist's fame, you know it. I offered $1.2 million each. ”

Wu Yang knew that he definitely didn't understand the painters of the Tang Dynasty in China, and even if someone told him, he wouldn't be able to remember it. "Mr. Matthew, I don't know much about these painters, and the price of Chinese artworks is not so high, I pay 600,000 yuan."

"Such a price is too low, and in the future, the paintings of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China must be sent to you by me for shipping and packaging?"

"Okay, okay, I'll add another $80,000, and if you don't think it's okay, we'll look at the next group."

Hearing Wuyang say this, Matthew could only agree to the deal. It took more than three hours to finally negotiate the price of more than 2,000 cultural relics, with a total amount of more than $350 million, or an average of $170,000 per piece. Those swords and swords, after dripping with oil, were all pulled out, the same as Wuyang's estimate, but the sheath was rusty, and the swords were rarely rusted, especially the sword of Qianlong, after being wiped with oil, there was no rust at all, and the cold light was shining.

No sooner had they nibbled on the bread than the owner of the next house arrived and came to fetch them. had to leave Xie Daxia to participate in the packing, and the three of them left with the master.

In 4 days, all the cultural relics of 8 families were bought. Wuyang and Xie Daxia are not tired, Pei Lei and Li Xize are not lightly tired. Every time a container is packed, Daxia will arrange for someone to transport the container to the dock warehouse for storage, but don't worry too much about the afternoon sun. It's just that the money is like water, and it has cost more than 3 billion, plus Ike and Jonny's, it's already 5 billion, and it's distressing.

On the evening of the fourth day, back at Mr. Mack's estate, Matthew and several others came. Mike invited Wuyang and Xie Daxia to play Texas Hold'em, but Wuyang repeatedly refused, but was still pulled to the table by Mike. This is not a casino, and Wuyang does not want to win their money, but wants to make friends with them. These people are all descendants of some celebrities, they have money and status, and if they want to complete the tasks assigned by Ouyang Qi, they can only start from them.

Don't cheat, don't add, the card is not good, fold, the card is good. Of course, it's knowing that someone else's cards aren't as good as your own. From 7:30 to 12:30, he won 30 million in 5 hours, 10 million each to Pei Lei and Li Xize, and 2.5 billion from Xie Daxia. Xie Daxia has no scruples, all kinds of means are used, and he is very wise, as long as Wuyang follows, he basically chooses to fold and avoid cannibalism. won more than 5.2 billion, and the mantissa was divided between Pei Lei and Li Xize, and the promise was fulfilled and half of Wuyang was given. Wuyang didn't want him, but Xie Daxia recognized that it was the good luck that Wuyang brought him, so he had to give it.

"Mr. Mack, Mr. Arthur, I'm sorry to let you two lose so much." Wuyang said while taking a break separately.

Mike smiled and said, "It's okay, see how we empty your pockets these days." We're not going to say we're embarrassed. ”

Mack's artifact warehouse is not on the manor, but on the side of a hill on his own land. Came to a courtyard full of machinery, behind the steep cliff side, there is an arched door with an upper circle and lower down, after opening the door, there is a passageway, walk 10 meters, another metal door, after opening three doors, you can see the spacious cave. Wuyang smiled and said, "Mr. Mike, your warehouse can be protected against atomic bombs." ”

Mike said: "You're right, inside the third gate of this warehouse, the thickness of the rock layer above is more than 50 meters, and the thickness of the reinforced concrete in the cave is more than two meters, and if you use a neutron bomb, you may not be able to prevent it." ”

Wuyang said: "The warehouse is very large. ”

"Yes, the main cave is 30 meters wide and 4,000 meters long. There are also several small holes dug on both sides. It can be used for the life of personnel. Mr. Lai. Most of the cultural relics in this area belong to your country. But my grandfather himself or his troops did not take a single one from your country, and most of them were war trophies, and those who captured the Japanese army, the army they supported, and the officials of the puppet regime, but did not return them to your country. My grandfather seized things and gave them to Mr. Arthur's grandfather to transport back home, so they have so much in their family. There is also a part of the gifts, and it doesn't matter who gave them. The recipients and givers have gone to God. ”

Wuyang said: "There is no possibility of pursuing these things. I pay tribute to your grandfather for his outstanding contribution in the war to eliminate Japanese fascism and regret what happened in the war on the peninsular. ”

"He is a soldier who obeys the interests of the country, and there is no way to evaluate the merits and demerits of individuals. However, I would like to thank you for giving my grandfather an objective assessment. Mr. Lai, it seems that we can become friends, and we will keep in touch more in the future. Let's move on to the actual trading process. ”

Wuyang smiled and said: "In the face of this vast sea of cultural relics, I don't know how to do it." ”

Mike said: "I've done the preliminary work for someone, underneath each artifact. All had a label that said my asking price. If you feel that the price is acceptable. Please tear off the label and give it to my person. Packing artifacts under the supervision of your attaché; If you do not agree with this price, please write your psychological price on the label. After we have researched, we will quickly re-mark, you look at it the next day, we will change it, the third day is still like this, to the fourth day, the cultural relics must have decreased, you spend half a day to see, set aside half a day for us to discuss face-to-face, and finally it is really impossible to talk, just leave it. Do you think that's okay? ”

"Okay, that's good."

Mike smiled and said, "Okay, now that you agree, let's get started." By the way, Mr. Arthur's, this method is also used, no problem, right? ”

"No problem, let's get started."

arranged for Xie Daxia and the three of them to supervise the packing, and began to look at the cultural relics and labels. Because there is no longer the heart of picking up leaks, the perception of the price of cultural relics is more objective and fair. The price marked by Mr. Mike's organization is still relatively low, like a few bronzes with inscriptions, the price of the domestic black market is at least 300 million, and the US dollar should be 46 million, but their prices are all according to the size of the vessel, from 6 million to 14 million. Of course, Wuyang did not accept all the orders because of its low price, and there were a few labels with inscriptions, and most of them were marked with other prices.

On the first day, I went through more than 50,000 pieces, and more than 3,000 labels were pulled, on the second day, more than 8,000, on the third day, on the third day, on the morning of 12,000, and the rest was only more than 7,000.

Mr. Mike seemed to be very satisfied with the price given by Wuyang, and when he discussed face-to-face in the afternoon of the fourth day, he was very generous, and basically traded according to the price offered by Wuyang, and in the end no cultural relics were left.

Mr. Arthur's ultra-luxurious villa, located on a hill near the sea, has carved out a three-football field flat halfway up the mountainside, and built two three-story villas on the side of the mountain. The view of the villa is exceptional, with a direct view of the sea and the sound of the waves. There are no trees in the ping, only some dwarf flowers and trees, and the two helicopters are parked in a large circle, which is very conspicuous.

After drinking coffee, Arthur didn't say much, and took everyone to the back of the villa, where the cultural relics warehouse was located in the mountain behind the villa. The person who opened the door, Wu Yang looked very familiar, and thought about it, it turned out that he had been working with Mr. Mack for the past few days, and he must have understood his own methods, and Arthur must have known it.

Mr. Arthur's storeroom was identical to Mr. Mack's, with containers in the middle, only longer. After the first day of purchase, it was found that there were more than 10,000 pieces more than McKe's, reaching more than 65,000 pieces, and the cultural relics were of higher grade and better shape. Mr. Mack's grandfather got the relics, it must have been carried by his soldiers, old Mac didn't know much about the specific quantity and grade, Arthur's grandfather took advantage of this, and it wasn't enough to keep the good ones for himself, more than that. Therefore, it is true that Westerners say that there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests.

The price of Arthur's house is more reasonable, and Wuyang estimates that he re-marked the price after obtaining the price of the Mike family, which made Wuyang cheaper and less troublesome. Therefore, on the first night, I worked until more than 12 o'clock to finish the first round of picking labels and marking my own bids, which was completed with Pei Lei's help, otherwise it would take a whole day just to take a look, not to mention more than 30,000 labels.

After the second and third days, Pei Lei and Li Xize were so exhausted that they couldn't get up in the morning, so Wuyang let them rest and he and Xie Daxia went to work. When I went to the warehouse to look at the label, Mr. Arthur took all the orders, which made Wuyang regret it in his heart, if the price was lowered, he could also buy it.

regretted that there was nowhere to buy the medicine, so I pulled the label and quickly asked them to pack it and go to pay Arthur by himself. The average unit price is also more than 720,000 US dollars, which is similar to that of Mack's family, because the number is more, the total amount is more, and it cost a little more than 47 billion, plus Mr. Mack's 38 billion and the previous more than 4 billion, less than 90 billion. This time I won in the casino, plus Xie Daxia, more than 60 billion, and the money I spent was actually less than 30 billion US dollars, so I should have won a big victory. Nearly 200,000 cultural relics have been harvested, and I can't be happy in my heart, these cultural relics are all lost by the motherland, and the hatred for the invaders is even stronger. Some of the European powers have declined, and some of them know how to reflect on themselves, so they can forget it, but they hate some countries that continue to stir up trouble all over the world, especially a small country that has committed heinous crimes against the people of Asia and does not know how to reflect on it. But I'm not spraying blue anymore, it's useless to grit my teeth, the only way is to revitalize the country and the nation, and the burden on my shoulders is still heavy.

After lunch, the container has been transported to the dock, everyone is fine, Pei Lei is going to the airport to go back to New York, and Wuyang is also going to patrol along the coastline of the Americas, so he resigns to the master.

Mr. Arthur said, "Ms. Pei, gentlemen, don't be in a hurry. Mr. Mike has already made an appointment with some celebrities and entertainers to hold a cocktail party here tonight to celebrate our successful transaction and wish us all the best in the future. A few of our main guests, you are gone, and the party will be boring. ”

Hearing him say this, Wuyang happened to have the task of making friends and had the idea of staying, so he asked Xie Daxia: "Dong Xie, can we stay?" ”

Xie Daxia said: "Yes." Our flight tomorrow, although it is on the high seas, must enter the territorial waters, airspace and airports of some countries many times, and the time for us to contact is within 15 days from tomorrow, and if we want to go today, we must contact again. ”

Mr. Arthur said: "Mr. Li, it is too troublesome to contact again, it is better to leave tomorrow." If we feel like we're wasting our time, we're going out to sea for salmon now. ”

Wuyang smiled and said, "Okay, that's a good suggestion." ”

Arthur said: "Not far from the mouth of the river, there is a salmon feeding ground, and there must be a quota for fishing, but there is no limit to fishing. I'll call Mr. Mike and we'll go together, and if you're interested, you can play a couple of Texas Hold'em. ”

Wu Yang said: "Texas Hold'em will not be played, if you lose money again, it will affect your mood and will not be good for the evening drinking party." (To be continued......)