15: Clown Jumping

"I am Li Jianguo, the person in charge of Tianyun Pavilion. Thank you for your trust, Mr. Lu."

Li Jianguo walked quickly to Lu Fan and shook his hand warmly.

"May I ask, Mr. Lu, do you know the provenance of this calligraphy?"

"It was acquired from Tang Jifeng's home back in '37."

"Supposedly, he ran into some trouble then and sold all his houses in Feixia Manor."

"Many ornaments and paintings were inconvenient to take away, so they were sold as a whole lot. The calligraphy and paintings are all here."

This wasn't a lie, not a single bit of exaggeration; that was exactly how these things were obtained.

"Can you be certain that this calligraphy is from the same period as those?"

Li Jianguo double-checked, his expression tense.

"Everything bought back then is right here."

Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, Lu Fan spoke the truth.

Li Jianguo's breathing quickened, his eyes full of anticipation: "Is there a written record?"

"This is the transaction record left when it changed hands back then."

Lu Fan unhurriedly took an envelope from his pocket; he had long been prepared for this.

When he bought the house, he had Tang Jifeng leave an inventory of items.

And he had a separate bill of sale drawn up.

The real world isn't a power-fantasy novel where you leak an overbearing aura and your rules are the law.

The fact is: to sell antiques publicly, you must have a statement of origin.

Otherwise, you can expect to go inside and step on a sewing machine.

After a group of big shots from the cultural relics circle examined it closely, the atmosphere in the VIP room was ignited.

"The source is correct, the provenance is clear; it's definitely an original."

"Same period, same preservation method, same condition—what more is there to say?"

"To be able to view the Duke of Zhou's calligraphy at such close range in my lifetime, I have no regrets..."

"A masterpiece by the Duke of Zhou in a private collection is unheard of. A priceless treasure."

"It's been so many years, and one has finally surfaced. If it goes to auction, it'll fetch an astronomical price!"

While everyone was buzzing with discussion, a discordant voice broke the festive atmosphere.

"What priceless treasure? What auction? I think you're all headed for the sewing machines."

"According to the 'Cultural Relics Protection Law',"

"...the handwriting of leaders belongs to 'cultural relics prohibited from leaving the country,' and private transactions or exports are forbidden."

"Hand it over. Hand it over immediately. Hand it over for free right now."

A pot-bellied middle-aged man pushed open the door and entered. As soon as he spoke, he threw a heavy accusation around, suppressing the whole room with righteous indignation.

Seeing the scene suddenly turn cold, Li Jianguo greeted him with a smile: "Vice President Liu, everyone was just excited and talking."

"We've dealt with cultural relics all our lives; how could we make such a low-level mistake?"

"Aren't we just determining the authenticity of this work right now?"

"Since you know the rules, then there's nothing more to say."

Vice President Liu's tone was harsh, showing no respect whatsoever.

As he spoke, he walked straight to the appraisal table, rolling up his sleeves to reveal a shiny, large gold watch.

After leaning over to examine it for a while, he asked, "Can you be sure it's an original?"

Seeing the appraisers nodding one after another, the joy in Vice President Liu's eyes could no longer be suppressed.

It was currently the critical moment for competing for the position of General Manager, and he was worried about where to find some achievements to pad his record.

Who would have thought that this achievement would deliver itself right to his door?

He cleared his throat and spoke in a firm tone: "Since this item is an original, it must be properly preserved."

"I've already made the arrangements. Hand it over to the Municipal Museum. Take it away..."

A bewildered Lu Fan was indeed a bit stunned. They didn't even ask for his opinion as the owner.

He just slapped his thigh and ordered it confiscated—a total case of getting something for nothing.

Who gave you the courage?

Fish Leong?

To scheme against him so blatantly.

Lu Fan clearly wasn't going to indulge him, but he wasn't in a hurry to speak up.

On one hand, he wanted to see what this Fatty Liu was up to.

On the other hand, Li Jianguo had already stepped forward to negotiate.

"Vice President Liu, the original owner of the item is right here. It wouldn't be appropriate to just take it away without his consent, would it?"

Li Jianguo dropped his smile and questioned him directly.

Hearing this, Vice President Liu's face darkened, and his tone became forceful: "Li Jianguo, do you know what this is?"

"A cultural relic, the Duke of Zhou's own handwriting. It must be handed over."

Li Jianguo met Vice President Liu's gaze, not backing down an inch: "Liu Half-Fat, I'll say it one more time."

"This item belongs to this Mr. Lu. We have no right of disposal."

*Bang!* Liu Half-Fat slammed the table and shouted, "What?"

"With such an important cultural relic, what else is he thinking if not handing it over?"

Facing the interrogation, Li Jianguo's tone remained firm, his position unchanged as he argued based on the facts.

"Whether to hand it over or not is his business. We have no right to make a decision on Mr. Lu's behalf."

Having been rejected repeatedly, Liu Half-Fat's face was as gloomy as water, and a sinister look flickered in his eyes.

He had originally thought to use the opportunity to seize the work and hand it over to higher authorities to gain some political merit.

Now that the opportunity had presented itself, he would kill two birds with one stone.

Not only did he want the achievement, but he also wanted to use the situation to crush his rival.

"Li Jianguo, trading such cultural relics is a crime. You are leading the company down a criminal path."

"He might not know, but don't you know the rules?"

"Is the Cultural Relics Law just for show?"

"This isn't a discussion; it's an order. It must be carried out."

"Furthermore, I will report your violations to the company's board of directors and apply to have you removed from your post."

Having finished throwing accusations, he finally revealed his true intentions, acting as if he wouldn't rest until he'd ruined him.

"Vice President Liu, enough with the high-sounding words and the accusations."

"Where was Vice President Li wrong? The item belongs to someone else; how it's handled is up to them."

"Besides, the owner hasn't said a word yet. Did he say he was trading it?"

"I know you want to gain merit and move up, but you can't just spout nonsense and slander people like this!"

Chen Ying couldn't stand it any longer, her cool voice carrying a hint of anger.

"This is rebellion! You're committing a crime. See if I don't have you all locked up."

"Quickly notify the Chairman and report this to the Cultural Relics Bureau."

An exasperated Liu Half-Fat roared loudly.

Lu Fan gave a cold laugh and stepped forward to confront him directly: "May I ask what crime I've committed that you want to lock me up for?"

The situation was clear now: this fat bastard wanted to show off and gain credit.

This buffoon's wishful thinking was practically slapping him in the face.

Did you even ask me?

Liu Half-Fat glanced sideways and spoke with great contempt.

"Selling cultural relics prohibited from circulation—isn't that a crime? You just wait to go step on a sewing machine!"

"With which eye did you see me selling anything? If there's no substantial evidence, I have the right to sue you for defamation."

Lu Fan went toe-to-toe with him, refusing to yield. Since he was striking back, he had to hit where it hurt.

After Liu Half-Fat looked around for support and saw everyone remained silent...

...their silence caused a faint trace of unease to flash through his mind.

But it was quickly dispelled by his anger.

Failing to pull off his scheme was one thing, but being watched by so many people made him lose face completely.

If he didn't fight back, how could he continue to work in this industry?

Raising his voice, he scolded from a moral high ground: "This is the Duke of Zhou's handwriting!"

"A precious national relic, a collective treasure of the nation—it belongs to all the people of the country."

"Is it appropriate for you to own it personally? It must be handed over."

His rhetoric came in waves, but it all boiled down to the same thing: trying to get it for nothing.

"Which law says I cannot own the Duke of Zhou's handwriting, and which law says it must be handed over?"

Lu Fan stared at Liu Half-Fat, his voice cold, forcing the man to retreat step by step with his questions.