My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy! -
Chapter 137 - 113 Our Future
Chapter 137: Chapter 113 Our Future
"Wait!"
As everyone was about to start with the cutting tools, Ma Liang, who had a look of despair on his face, stood up to stop them again.
"What now? We’ve compensated as necessary, what reason could you possibly have now?" Wang Zhao Ping looked at him.
"No, I mean, let me do it. The item inside is too precious. A small cut, and you and I would both be sinners," he said with a bitter smile.
Everyone’s eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this.
Was he admitting there was something inside, and not just something ordinary?
Wang Zhao Ping thought about it and ultimately nodded his head.
In this situation, if the relic was damaged, Ma Liang’s crime would only be greater. He probably wouldn’t be so heartless.
Together, they laid the white jade elephant down.
"Zzz~zzz~"
Amid the somewhat harsh sound of cutting, it took about twenty minutes before Ma Liang carefully removed a stone slab from the belly of the elephant, revealing a cavity.
Indeed, the belly of this elephant hid a unique world!
"Five years ago, I had ordered the creation of this pair of white jade elephants, and then made a small incision to hollow out the belly.
I thought it was so well-hidden it was foolproof, but the flaw turned out to be just because I placed it wrong... perhaps it’s destiny..."
Ma Liang smiled bitterly, removed his gloves, and then carefully extracted a square, quite heavy stone box from inside the elephant’s belly.
Everyone’s eyes were glued to the stone box without blinking.
How precious must the contents be, to be hidden in such a secretive manner?
Only Wang Zhao Ping and Elder Lin exchanged glances, seeing a hint of confusion in each other’s eyes.
Five years ago?
That timing didn’t add up, did it?
The information given was that the batch of stolen goods had just recently been unearthed, wasn’t it?
Leaving aside their confusion, when the stone box was opened, in the center of a bright yellow cushion, an ancient bronze-colored casting revealed its true form.
The fine scales were lifelike, the mouth slightly open, the tongue slightly sticking out—it looked to be a bronze snake head statue.
"Hiss~" While others couldn’t understand, an expert who had been consulted took one look and suddenly inhaled sharply.
"Is this... this could be a Beast Head?!"
"A Beast Head? Are you talking about the twelve zodiac Beast Heads from Yuanming Garden?" Wang Zhao Ping’s eyes widened.
"Exactly!" The expert’s lips were trembling slightly.
Everyone was utterly dumbfounded.
Though they weren’t antiques experts, they had heard of the twelve Beast Heads, famous both domestically and internationally.
Who hasn’t heard of the twelve Beast Heads if they’ve seen any shows on the twelve zodiacs?
Who would have thought that today in this unassuming relic dealer’s house, they would catch such a big fish.
The expert continued very excitedly.
"These twelve zodiac Beast Heads, designed by Lang Shining for Qianlong, were placed outside the Haiyan Hall fountain in Yuanming Garden, with a history of about 300 years.
After the invasion by the Allied Forces of the Eight Nations, the twelve Beast Heads were lost overseas, and only after the founding of the nation did they gradually return.
As of now, eight of the twelve zodiac Beast Heads have returned, four remain unaccounted for: the snake head, the chicken head, the dog head, and the sheep head.
If this one is authentic... then today, I am truly witnessing history."
Seeing that the expert had already picked up a magnifying glass and started examining it with an infatuated expression, Wang Zhao Ping looked at Ma Liang, who appeared quite despondent.
"Can you explain this?"
"Sigh!" Ma Liang sighed.
He knew that the day this snake head appeared would be the day the Ma family would lose it.
He might as well not struggle anymore and began to narrate the origin of this snake head.
It turned out that this snake head was acquired by chance by his grandfather from a foreign officer in the late Qing dynasty and had been passed down as a family heirloom ever since.
Even during the "Cultural Revolution," when many items were confiscated, this item was securely hidden by the Ma family.
Later, in his father’s generation, because of gambling debts, many family assets were sold off, but there was no antique market in the country at that time, which inadvertently spared this Beast Head.
In recent years, several of the twelve Beast Heads that had been lost overseas fetched sky-high prices at auctions in Xiangjiang and Europa.
The most recent event was in 2007, when the horse head bronze statue was purchased in Xiangjiang for over 69 million Hong Kong dollars by the casino tycoon from Macau, who announced its donation to the nation, creating a sensation at the time.
Ma Liang realized its value, treasured it even more, and hid it inside the elephant’s belly.
In fact, the craftsmanship of these twelve Beast Heads belongs to the Qianlong era’s red copper statues. Although it integrates both Eastern and Western techniques—a rarity—it’s not incredibly rare; the true value is only several hundred thousand.
Many people think of them merely as "faucets" designed by foreigners.
Indeed, that is the case, however, the price reached such levels also due to foreign entities continuously promoting and inflating prices for a form of indirect re-plundering.
It was also because of the precious historical value of these Beast Heads.
The people have a special sentiment towards some cultural relics lost overseas, particularly those from Yuanming Garden.
Prestigious origins and tragic fates made the twelve Beast Heads representative of the lost relics of Yuanming Garden, embodying a great deal of historical humiliation and pain.
In a sense, these twelve Beast Heads witnessed the humiliation and rise of the nation; their historical value is immeasurable in monetary terms.
"After all these years, I was reluctant to donate it and selling it abroad would weigh on my conscience. It felt like I was betraying my ancestors, so I could only guard it day and night with trepidation.
Being discovered by you today must be fate’s design, and I feel as if a great weight has been lifted from my heart."
Ma Liang appeared immensely relieved.
"A guilty conscience? Yet you still participated in smuggling. Does that honor your ancestors? Holding onto this snake head, it seems you were just waiting for its market value to rise before selling it, right?" Wang Zhao Ping gave him a sidelong glance.
Caught in his thoughts, Ma Liang could only give a dry laugh.
"Such a large sum of money, it’s a lie to say I wasn’t tempted. I originally planned to keep it as a family heirloom for future generations. If my descendants turned out unworthy, at least there was a chance for a comeback.
If someday my descendants do excel, then we would go public and donate it to the nation..."
The Cultural Relics Protection Law’s provisions on ownership of relics can be roughly understood as, relics unearthed belong to the nation, and inherited relics belong to individuals.
If what Ma Liang said was true, and this snake head was inherited, then it legally belonged to the Ma family.
However, once exposed, it would become impossible to sell, and even if national museums were to purchase it, the price would never reach the absurd levels of auction prices.
Plus... Ma Liang now had a case against him, and it was unclear whether this item would be seized as stolen property... heh!
Wang Zhao Ping looked at the stone elephant lying on the ground, its belly cut open, and shook his head.
"You really picked the wrong place to hide this. As the saying goes, ’a heart that’s never satisfied is like a snake swallowing an elephant.’ By hiding this snake head inside the elephant, aren’t you inviting retribution?"
The case wrapped up, and the experts excitedly told everyone that this snake head, in terms of material, design, and craftsmanship, was very similar to the few existing in museums, and could preliminarily be judged as authentic.
However, a more detailed appraisal would still require more sophisticated equipment.
With the emergence of the snake head, if this news were to spread, it would definitely cause a sensation nationwide, making everyone present both excited and somewhat dazed.
Such a great achievement just falling into my lap?
Wang Zhao Ping looked at the snake head, excited yet somewhat helpless.
The item was found and was indeed a rare treasure.
Only... something was wrong again!
Clearly, judging by the time Ma Liang had hidden the item, they had been led astray again.
Only this time, the mistake was not in the person but in the item...
Although it was another mistake, with this kind of two-for-one service attitude and the cultural value of the snake head... I definitely came out ahead!
Given the circumstances... even if it was a mistake, it surely deserved a five-star rating, right?
Picking up his cellphone, "Brother Meng, this time it really was too... huh?"
He stopped mid-sentence because he realized that at some unknown point, the call had been disconnected.
Looking at the duration of the call, it seemed to have been disconnected just as they started cutting.
"This..."
A real man never looks back at the explosion, or so they say?
Or was it that... the other party had already known what was inside, so there was no need to see the grand finale?
That must be it!
"Not small in size", "not light in weight", "sculpture made of gold, silver, copper, iron, or stone or something of that sort."
The item I described to them did indeed resemble the snake head, probably leading to their misunderstanding.
I just wonder what kind of channels they used to find out about a national treasure that had been deeply hidden for nearly a hundred years?
Frightening intelligence capabilities!
And this Brother Meng — righteous, stock-savvy, knowledgeable in geomancy, and yet so low-key...
Truly a remarkable person!
...
At this time, our "remarkable person", Meng Xiaolang, was still pondering hard over a book, scribbling notes and making strategies.
He had hung up simply because the cutting on the other end was too slow and was wasting his time.
His mind was entirely in the year 2043; he had no interest in paying attention to a precious relic about to emerge thousands of miles away.
As long as he knew there was something inside, the specifics didn’t matter.
Cultural relics?
No matter how precious, when doomsday arrives, they are just rubble among the ruins...
You care about our history, but I care about our future...
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