Chapter 714: Dragon head

"Sir, this lot is provided by an anonymous collector. According to the information provided by him, this lot should be a work of the mid-Qing Dynasty of China, cast in pure copper, and have a history of about 200 years. According to the collector’s own description and textual research from this auction house, this lot was originally supposed to be part of some kind of water spray equipment, probably the spout of an artificial fountain, but this spout was designed very delicately. The image modeling should be the traditional Chinese totem "dragon", and according to the information provided by the collector, this lot is only one of twelve similar works..."
The professional beauty with blond hair, blue eyes, enchanting figure and soft voice was still talking, but was interrupted impatiently by Tan Zhenhua, and whispered and asked with a somewhat rude attitude: "I know what it is, and you don't need to explain it to me. , Just tell me, how much deposit do I need to pay to participate in its auction?"
The professional beauty was obviously caught off guard by the bad attitude of the young man in front of him. After all, in her opinion, those who are qualified to participate in this auction are all decent figures, and the handsome young man in front of him is not only sunny and handsome, but also well-dressed. , Rich and graceful, she looks very educated, but she did not expect her attitude to be so arrogant that all the unrealistic fantasies in her mind just now shattered in an instant...
However, she still showed enough professionalism and replied politely: "Okay sir, the auction house estimated him at 1 million US dollars for this lot, so if you want to participate in its auction, You need to pay at least a 10% deposit in advance, but you can rest assured that if you eventually fail to bid, this deposit will be refunded immediately after the auction."
Tan Zhenhua nodded, took out the checkbook he carried with him without hesitation, wrote a check for 100,000 U.S. dollars, and handed it to the professional beauty: "Please help me to do the related work. This is a traveler’s cheque from HSBC. You can call to verify it immediately."
The professional beauty stared at Tan Zhenhua deeply, turned around and ran away to do what he explained, and when she turned and left, Zhan Nuozhu immediately came up and asked: "Zhenhua, what's weird about that leader? Huh? Why are you so excited?"
Tan Zhenhua still stared at the lot closely, and then replied in a whispering voice: "If I am not mistaken, it is the dragon head, one of the lost twelve beast heads in Yuanmingyuan."
Zhan Nuozhu took a breath and said, "Yuanmingyuan cultural relics?"
Tan Zhenhua nodded slightly.
Zhan Nuozhu's face also turned blue in an instant. He stared at the lot and cursed bitterly, "These bandits!"
The professional beauty came back soon, and handed Tan Zhenhua a receipt and an invitation letter with a slightly different style: "This is the invitation letter for auction B. Sir, you can enter the auction with this letter. The auction will officially start at 9 o’clock tonight, and the venue is next door to this exhibition hall. Oh, yes, sir, if you have fancy any other lot, you can also tell me if you pay in advance. With a deposit of US$100,000, you will be eligible to participate in all B lots, including all special lots. We have prepared several very precious lots tonight, such as a pair of Titian and a pair of Raphael’s oil paintings. There are several cultural relics from the Middle East..."
"No, I don't need it anymore. Does the auction of B field only start at 9 o'clock? I will come then."
Tan Zhenhua interrupted the professional beauty's explanation and sales promotion again, but this time he controlled his emotions and restored his handsome smile on his face. After receiving a few things she handed over, he said very politely. I thanked him, and then pulled Zhan Nuozhu around and left in the disappointed eyes of the professional beauty.
After this incident, although Tan Zhenhua still maintained his superficial demeanor, in fact, there was already a turbulence deep in his heart, and he had no intention of visiting the remaining lots, so after turning around, he pulled Zhan Nuozhu Leaving the lot exhibition hall and returning to his room.
There will be more than an hour before the auction of the dragon head will begin. He wants to be alone, at least, to stabilize his emotions.
However, Zhan Nuozhu and Zhang Xiaohua obviously did not intend to let him clean up for a while. Zhan Nuozhu asked as soon as he entered the door: "Zhenhua, how do you know that it is the lost cultural relic of Yuanmingyuan?"
Tan Zhenhua must explain this problem clearly, because there are still some things that must be helped by Zhan Nuozhu.
So Tan Zhenhua replied: "Actually, I can't be 100% sure, but looking at the shape of the lot, I think it should be."
Zhang Xiaohua said: "I've heard about the Old Summer Palace, but I just know that the garden was burned down and a lot of good things have been lost. It seems that you know a lot about Zhenhua? Or, While there is still some time until 9 o'clock, you can tell your sister?"
Zhang Xiaohua and Lu Jiangang were born in a special age, and they missed the great time when they should study hard. Therefore, they only have a little understanding of a lot of common sense knowledge. They can’t be blamed. Now that Zhang Xiaohua asked, Tan Zhenhua felt it necessary to help. They make up this lesson.
"This is a history of humiliation," he whispered after finishing his thoughts a bit: "Yuanmingyuan, also known as the Summer Palace, was built in the 46th year of Kangxi, 1709 on the Gregorian calendar, and then went through Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, The operation of the five emperors of Daoguang and Xianfeng for more than 150 years has exhausted the Chinese people’s oil, concentrated a large amount of material resources, mobilized countless skilled craftsmen, poured the blood and sweat of millions of working people, and carefully managed it into a magnificent and beautiful royal If the garden can be preserved to the present, it must be a cultural heritage that best reflects our outstanding heritage in China."
Looking at the three pairs of focused eyes on the opposite side, Tan Zhenhua’s voice is low and vicissitudes of life, which contrasts strongly with his immature face that has not yet completely taken off:
But this is the most precious cultural heritage in the history of China and even the whole of mankind. Two bands of robbers broke in, as described by the great Gaul writer Hugo: One day, two robbers broke into the Summer Palace, one robbed it, and the other burned it. It turns out that victory is a plunder...in the future When handed over for trial, one robber will be called France and the other will be called English."
"It was October 6, 1860. The two bandits gathered a team of 3,500 people and attacked the capital. It's sad to say that the dignified Chinese, a big country that has led the world's civilization development for more than a thousand years, could not beat this mere 3,500. A robber, the "general" Seng Gelinqin who mastered the world's soldiers, and Yehenala Ruilin, who had the title of Minister of Military and Aircraft, performed extremely bravely when suppressing the Taiping Rebellion in China. Faced with these two bandits, they fled. Emperor Xianfeng only dared to hide in Shengjing, smoking opium and sighing, but the only ones who really dared to fight this group of robbers to the end were more than twenty eunuchs led by Ren Liang, the "eight-rank leader" of Jiyong Yuanmingyuan."
Speaking of this, Tan Zhenhua could no longer control the anger in his heart, and slammed his fist on the table in front of him, while Zhan Nuozhu was extremely shocked to discover that he had always been wise and smart in this situation. There were two teardrops on the face of the young man's face.