Wu Zongchao followed the museum staff to the square of a palace in the Forbidden City.
He looked at the dozens of boxes neatly stacked in front of him, and his face twitched.
Each wooden box is one meter square and stacked together, occupying two-thirds of the square.
Several boxes have been opened, revealing old items wrapped in tea leaves and cork.
“How did this thing get moved in?”
Wu Zongchao looked at the tall courtyard around him and asked in confusion.
No one could answer his question.
In fact, everyone present was at a loss.
Yes, how on earth did so many things get moved in?
You know, this is the National Palace Museum.
It is heavily guarded and there are many cameras outside, so ordinary people cannot enter at all.
Not to mention carrying such a big box.
And the number is so astonishing.
Fortunately, they were moving things inside, but if they were moving things outside...
Thinking of this, everyone shuddered.
There was an eerie silence all around.
At this moment, a researcher saw Wu Zongchao coming and said to him excitedly.
"Director, come and see, these are real things."
It turned out that before Wu Zongchao arrived, several researchers from the museum could not restrain their curiosity and came forward to check.
Wu Zongchao frowned.
What a nonsense.
The origin of these things is unknown, what if there is any harm?
He was about to scold these people and leave, but suddenly stopped when the words reached his lips.
Wait, he said that was the real thing?
Wu Zongchao took out a pair of reading glasses from his pocket and put them on, then carefully looked at the old object in the researcher's hand.
At this time, several researchers were observing a painting and calligraphy.
Two people worked together to open it, and another person held a magnifying glass and inspected it carefully.
Wu Zongchao recognized it at a glance, it was "Pictures of Admonitions of Women's History".
This painting is so familiar.
Because one of them is kept in a museum.
"Picture of Admonitions of a Female History" is the earliest surviving silk painting. It has a milestone significance in the history of art in China and has always been a treasure collected by the palaces of all dynasties.
There are currently only two copies in the world.
One of them is collected by the National Palace Museum.
Another work was stolen from the Old Summer Palace by British Captain Ji Yong during the invasion of the British and French forces in 1860 and taken abroad. It was later collected by the British Museum and became the museum's most important oriental cultural relic.
Wu Zongchao felt extremely sad every time he looked at the copies collected in the museum.
On the one hand, he condemned the shameless banditry, and on the other hand, he hoped to find the national treasures that had been lost overseas.
I never thought that my wish would come true in such a miraculous way.
Although he is a staunch atheist, at this moment, he couldn't help but become confused.
Is there really a god in this world?
God bless China, God bless China!
The researcher said excitedly.
"Director, not only this "Picture of Admonitions of Women's History", these Tang Sancai paintings, these ancient porcelains, but also these statues and jades are all real."
"Let me see."
At this time, Wu Zongchao had already put all his worries aside.
He rushed over quickly.
While admiring, he directed the staff in the hall to carry and take inventory.
"This is "Green Landscape" by Tang Dynasty painter Li Sixun..."
"This is "Mao Lin Peaks" by Ju Ran, a representative of the Jiangnan School of Painting in the Five Dynasties..."
"This is the "Visiting Friends with Qin", this is "Huayan in Disguise", this is "Ink Bamboo", this is the bronze double sheep statue, the bronze gui of Kanghou of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Xinghou gui, the jade carving of the Han Dynasty riding a dragon,
Tang Dynasty Yellow Jade Sitting Dog..."
"These are actually true."
Wu Zongchao was so excited that he didn't know what to say.
He has dealt with numerous national treasures in his life, and with a sharp eye, he could see almost immediately that these were genuine old objects.
And these are national treasures that have been exiled overseas.
What surprised him most was that among these national treasures, there were two bronze animal heads representing the twelve zodiac animals.
These are the Si Snake animal head and the Unitary Chicken animal head respectively.
When the Eight-Power Allied Forces entered Beijing, the treasures in the Old Summer Palace were looted by bandits, and the twelve animal heads were also lost at that time.
Times have changed.
Except for a few animal heads whose whereabouts are clear, the rest have never been traced. Unexpectedly, there are actually two here.
The final inventory is completed.
There are more than 20,000 national treasures here.
This is also amazing.
Wu Zongchao touched his heart.
He felt that he could not be stimulated anymore today.
Just at this moment, the deputy director came over, tugged on his sleeve, and whispered into his ear.
"Old Wu, come here, I just discovered something."
Wu Zongchao followed and walked over.
On the wall in a corner of the palace, there is a line of crooked charcoal writing.
At the instruction of the deputy curator, Wu Zongchao carefully identified it. After reading it, the look of astonishment in his eyes faded away, and he started laughing.
"So that's it. These national treasures actually have such origins. Why do they look familiar to me? It turns out that it's like this..."
"Unexpected, really unexpected."
It clearly records the origin of these national treasures and expresses the intention to return them to the country.
Wu Zongchao was in a complicated mood.
This is really a happy trouble.
Happiness is because a lifelong wish has come true.
I'm worried because if these things are exposed, I'm afraid it will cause unnecessary diplomatic disputes.
After a while, Wu Zongchao made up his mind. He first asked people to take pictures of the charcoal writings to keep a record, and then ordered people to erase the writings on the wall.
After doing all this, he said to everyone present.
"No one is allowed to tell anyone what happened today. It's confidential. Everyone will go to my room to fill in a confidentiality statement later."
"Also, these national treasures should be moved to the underground storage. From now on, they will not be displayed to the public unless ordered."
"Also, everyone, please work harder and compile a list today. This matter is so important. I have to report it to my superiors."
One researcher said awkwardly.
"Director, we already have a shortage of manpower. If we all come to organize this, I'm afraid we won't have enough manpower to receive tourists today."
Wu Zongchao waved his hand.
"Closed, closed. Today we will be closed for one day. All non-direct staff will have a day off."
"Don't worry, I will take care of everything."
"..."
Let’s not talk about how Wu Zongchao dealt with the returned national treasures.
As the instigator, Cao Weidong was leisurely drinking tea in the conference room of the Ministry of Commerce, waiting to negotiate with the ministry leaders.
Xu Aiguo sat next to him, his waist straight and his face full of smiles.
Cao Weidong glanced at him.
"Have you seen it at home?"
Xu Aiguo smiled and nodded.
"How about it?"
Xu Aiguo said happily.
"The family is still the same. My parents are in good health and have good legs and feet. My eldest brother got married a few years ago. We have two children at home. The eldest is seven years old and the younger one has just learned how to run. I stayed with my parents for a day and left some
Give money to the family.”
He is the second child in the family, and although he is not unpopular, his brother is a college student who studies better than him. His parents will inevitably be a little partial in some trivial matters of life.
Although Xu Aiguo didn't say anything, he still had some grudges in his heart.
This time when he returned home after so many years, the grudges from back then seemed to have dissipated, and he seemed much more relaxed.
Cao Weidong nodded and warned.
"That's good. When we invest and do business in the mainland in the future, the distance will be much more convenient. You can also go back and visit more often."