klisemfg Chapter 205 Li Hu is not a tiger
Chapter 205 Li Hu is not a tiger
Li Hu looked at Rong Yu, a sly look flashing in his eyes, "To get back the 50, you have to help me do something."
Rong Yu, Tong Luoluo and Qingying exchanged a glance, all of them were somewhat puzzled, but Rong Yu still calmly asked: "Mr. Li, please tell me, as long as we can do it, we will definitely try our best."
"Okay." Li Hu nodded. "I know that your Rong family has done some research in archaeology and cultural relics protection. I recently got an antique, but I'm not sure about its authenticity and value. I hope you can help me identify it. And find a buyer by the way! I'll give you a commission!"
Rong Yu breathed a sigh of relief; this turned out to be what Li Hu wanted.
He smiled and replied: "That's no problem. Our company has a professional team and equipment that can help you conduct a detailed appraisal."
"Then it's settled." Li Hu stood up. "I will deliver the items to your company tomorrow. After the appraisal results come out, we can talk about the 50 yuan."
After leaving Li Hu's house, Rong Yu and the other two returned to the company. They knew that this appraisal was crucial, not only related to the 50 yuan project payment, but also might involve more things.
The next day, Li Hu sent someone to deliver an antique. It was a bronze tripod, with green rust all over its surface, which looked simple and mysterious.
Rong Yu and his team immediately began the intensive identification work. After a series of professional tests and analyses, they found that this bronze tripod was actually a genuine product from the Western Zhou Dynasty and was priceless.
However, just as they were about to tell Li Hu the results of the identification, an unexpected news came: Li Hu was murdered.
"What's going on? Will it lead to us?" Rong Yu was a little worried. Now that he was holding this bronze artifact in his hand, it felt like a hot potato!
Rong Yu's words made the atmosphere in the room tense. Rong Yu frowned, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "We need to calm down. The current situation is indeed tricky, but we can't lose our composure."
Tong Luoluo also echoed, "Yes, we have done nothing wrong, so we are not afraid of ghosts knocking on our door. Li Hu was killed before the results of the identification were told to him. This has nothing to do with us."
"But what will the police think?" Qingying said worriedly, "This bronze artifact is in our hands now. We are the last people to come into contact with Li Hu. This will inevitably arouse suspicion."
Rong Yu sighed, "That's true, but the most important thing now is that we keep this bronze artifact in safekeeping. When the police come to investigate, we just need to tell the truth."
But they waited for a week and no one came!
"Could this thing be Li Hu?..." Rong Yu felt that this Li Hu might not be that simple!
"You mean, he went down to that tomb?" Tong Luoluo seemed to realize the seriousness of the problem!
The ancient tomb they dug up at the construction site was already visited by Li Hu before Tong Luoluo and the others went down. It seems that this guy must have made a fortune!
"Why did he ask me to help him find a seller?" Rong Yu was puzzled!
"Maybe he seems to know our relationship with Rong Yu!" Tong Luoluo knew that this kind of person liked to find rich people as potential customers!
"I'm afraid he came to us not only because of our relationship with the Rong family." Rong Yu spoke slowly, his eyes deep, "He may think that through us, he can get in touch with more real buyers. After all, in the antique world, our Rong family's reputation still has a certain influence."
Qingying nodded, "What should we do now? It's not a good idea to keep this bronze artifact with us."
"I think we can find a safe place to hide first, and then wait and see what happens." Rong Yu suggested.
"No, it's too risky." Rong Yu shook his head. "What we need to do now is to find a legal and reliable way to hand over this bronze artifact as soon as possible."
"Hand it over to the police?" Tong Luoluo asked.
"No, handing it over to the police might cause more trouble," Rong Yu replied. "We can contact the museum to see if they are interested in purchasing it."
"But what if the museum is not interested?" Qingying asked worriedly.
"Then we can only look for a private buyer." Rong Yu sighed, "However, before looking for a buyer, we need to find out the true value of this bronze artifact."
In the next few days, Rong Yu and his team conducted a detailed valuation of the bronze artifact through various channels. The result surprised them, the value of this bronze artifact was far beyond their imagination.
"So, Li Hu's death is likely related to this bronze artifact." Rong Yu said in a deep voice, "We have to be careful."
"That's right. Now we must not only protect this bronze artifact, but also protect ourselves." Rong Yu nodded.
At this moment, the company's phone suddenly rang. Rong Yu picked up the phone, and after listening to a few words, his face suddenly became solemn.
"What's wrong?" Tong Luoluo asked.
"..."
After answering the phone, Rong Yu felt terrible. It was an anonymous call, and the other party warned Rong Yu to hand over the thing!
"It was an anonymous call." Rong Yu put down the phone, frowning, "The other party warned us to hand over the bronze artifact, otherwise..."
"What else?" Qingying asked anxiously.
Rong Yu shook his head. "He didn't say it clearly, but his tone was fierce. We have to be careful."
"For something like this, wouldn't it be better to just call the police?" Tong Luoluo suggested.
"Calling the police may cause more trouble, and we don't have solid evidence right now." Rong Yu rejected the proposal, "We have to find a way to solve it ourselves."
Rong Yu stood up and paced back and forth. "This bronze artifact is like a time bomb now. We have to get rid of it as soon as possible."
"Get rid of it? You mean..." Qingying widened his eyes.
"No, I'm not saying sell it or destroy it," Rong Yu explained. "I'm saying we should find a safe place to hide it first."
"But this is not a long-term solution." Rong Yu pointed out, "We have to think of a more reliable way."
In fact, Tong Luoluo also knew that if they handed over this thing at this time, they would not be able to explain it clearly!
According to the estimate, it may be at least over 3000 million!
"More than 30 million..." Qingying murmured to herself. This number was obviously beyond her expectations. "How could we let it go so easily?"
Rong Yu took a deep breath and said, "This is not a matter of money. The problem now is that this bronze artifact has become a hot potato for us. We have to find a way to solve the problem at hand."
"How about we contact the mysterious buyer?" Rong Yu asked tentatively, "Maybe he can help us solve this problem."
"No, that's too risky." Rong Yu immediately rejected the proposal. "We don't know the background of the mysterious buyer. What if he comes for the bronze artifacts? We can't take risks easily."
"So what should we do now?" Tong Luoluo seemed a little anxious, "We can't keep this bronze artifact here forever, right?"
"We can consider moving it to a safer place." Rong Yu said after thinking for a moment, "At the same time, we must also strengthen the company's security measures just in case."
At this moment, there was a knock on the door. The four of them suddenly became nervous and looked at each other.
"Who?" Rong Yu asked vigilantly.
"It's me, security guard Xiao Zhang." The security guard's voice came from outside the door, "Mr. Rong, there's a gentleman downstairs who wants to see you. He said he wants to talk about bronze ware."
Rong Yu frowned, "Let him come up."
After a while, a middle-aged man walked into the office. He looked gentle and refined, but his eyes revealed a shrewd look.
"Hello, I am a professor at XX University, my last name is Chen." The middle-aged man introduced himself!
"How come you arrived before us?"
"Hey, as long as there are photos leaked, I will receive the news immediately!"
"Oh?"
"Basically 80% of the things unearthed here will be identified by me. This thing is no exception, but you just don't know it!" After hearing this, Rong Yu was even more confused!
"Could it be that the treasure appraiser I'm looking for is...?"
When Tong Luoluo heard this, she also found it a little unbelievable!
"That's right." Professor Chen nodded. "The treasure appraiser you are looking for is actually one of my students. After receiving the items, he will show them to me first, and then give me the appraisal results. This time, when he saw this bronze tripod, he immediately recognized its extraordinary features, so he sent me the photo."
Rong Yu was stunned after hearing this. "So, you already knew that this bronze tripod is with us?"
"You can say that." Professor Chen smiled, "But I'm not here to ask for this bronze tripod. On the contrary, I hope to cooperate with you."
"Cooperation?" Rong Yu asked doubtfully, "How to cooperate?"
“You may not know this, but this bronze tripod is actually a very valuable artifact. Not only is it an authentic artifact from the Western Zhou Dynasty, but it also contains some important historical information, which is of great significance to our study of Western Zhou history,” Professor Chen explained.
"So what do you want us to do?"
"You have no way to deal with this thing!" He said it directly! This made Tong Luoluo a little depressed, but he knew that what he said was the truth!
"The bronze artifact in your hands is very hot." Professor Chen looked at the four people in front of him and said earnestly, "I'm not trying to scare you, but if you want to take advantage of this thing privately, you'll probably get into endless trouble."
Rong Yu frowned, "Professor, what you mean is..."
“This bronze tripod is priceless and of great historical significance. Once it leaks out, it will definitely attract attention from all sides. If you trade it privately, you may not only violate the law, but also encounter unpredictable risks.” Professor Chen’s tone was serious and sincere.
Rong Yu took a deep breath and asked, "So what do you think we should do?"
"I think it would be safer to leave it to me!"
When Rong Yu heard this, he immediately felt that it was unreliable. This was something worth tens of millions. If he gave it to this person, what if he dealt with it privately later?
"Leave it to you?" Rong Yu looked at Professor Chen with some distrust, "How can we ensure the safety of the things?"
Professor Chen smiled and understood their concerns. "Don't worry, I don't want to embezzle this treasure. I just hope it can be better protected and studied. I can assure you that this bronze tripod will be placed in the museum of our university and become a treasure for research and display, so that more people can understand our history and culture."
"Moreover," Professor Chen continued, "I will also strive for appropriate compensation for you. After all, this bronze artifact was discovered by you, and you should get some reward."
Rong Yu pondered for a moment after hearing this, "Professor, we will seriously consider your proposal. But we need time to discuss it."
"Of course, you can take your time to think about it." Professor Chen stood up. "However, I want to remind you that the longer you keep this bronze tripod in your hands, the more risk there will be."
After Professor Chen left, the atmosphere in the office became solemn.
"What should we do?" Qingying looked at Rong Yu and asked.
Rong Yu took a deep breath and said, "I think what Professor Chen said makes sense. This bronze artifact is indeed a hot potato for us. However, we cannot trust him easily. We must have a foolproof plan."
"How about we contact other museums or collectors?" Tong Luoluo suggested.
Rong Yu shook his head. "No, it's too risky. We've been targeted now. If we act rashly, we'll probably get into even bigger trouble."
"Then what do you say we should do? Are we really going to hand it over to Professor Chen?" Qingying said somewhat unwillingly.
"I think we can trust Professor Chen." Qingying continued slowly, "After all, he is a well-known professor and he won't do anything out of line. Moreover, he also promised to give us corresponding compensation."
"But we still have to be careful." Rong Yu added, "We can sign a detailed agreement with him first to ensure that our rights and interests will not be harmed."
"This is useless. People like him are originally researching this thing. He has various ways to deal with good or bad things, and he has various means to fool us!" Tong Luoluo said!