HCB Chapter 1363 The Family's Sacred Relic
Chapter 1363 The Family's Sacred Relic
Then, Liu Meilan witnessed the most surreal scene.
A burly Western European man in his thirties, standing at 1.9 meters tall, with black curly hair, hugged a cup and kissed it repeatedly, then cried again and again.
Liu Meilan was shocked and asked in a low voice, "Mr. William, is this Duke Lia not crazy?"
Mr. William smiled. "As the Lia family's power grows, it also faces the possibility of splitting up. Now that their family heir's token is in his hands, with just this, he can reunite the Lia family. How can he not cry?"
Liu Meilan seemed to be deep in thought.
At this moment, Director Hu said in a low voice, "President Liu, this is just like in our China, if someone finds the Imperial Seal of the State, they dare to shout that they are mandated by Heaven, that their reign will be long and prosperous, and that they will become the emperor."
Upon hearing this description, Liu Meilan understood, "So that's how it is, no wonder it's like this."
The subsequent gifting process was simple: no official involvement was involved, given that the recipient was a criminal organization and the nature of the transaction was questionable. A private transfer was therefore deemed legitimate.
After Duke Lia calmed down, he carefully placed the family relic into an exquisite box. "Ms. Liu, thank you. I am willing to pay for it, no matter how much it costs."
Liu Meilan replied in English: "We learned from Mr. William that this cup is very important to you and your family, so we don't want any money and are donating it to you free of charge."
Duke Lia was shocked to hear this. "You really want to give it to me?"
This is China, a land of despair for mercenaries and gangsters. The other party refused to sell, leaving him with no way to retrieve his family's sacred artifact. Now, the other party was offering no money, which puzzled Duke Lia.
"What do I need to do?" Duke Lia understood that there was no such thing as a favor without a reason, and was very direct.
Liu Meilan smiled, “These are all items our company salvaged within our territorial waters. Many people in Europe and America want to buy them, so we sell them through auction houses. However, the auction houses' appraised prices are very low, and the compensation for damage or theft in the contract is only double the appraised value. We want to sell these items at a reasonable market price through you.”
Upon hearing this, Duke Lia's eyes lit up. "Those hypocrites are even more deceitful than us. Can you show me around?"
“Okay!” Liu Meilan agreed and showed Duke Lia around.
Duke Lia was astonished after seeing it. "Ms. Liu, your museum is truly amazing. Mr. William's appraisals are highly credible in European countries. We also own an auction house. As long as he gives an appraised price, I will definitely not sell it for less than that price. Moreover, I will first pay a deposit to guarantee our reputation. Aren't I very sincere?"
Liu Meilan was shocked. "Duke Lia, you...you really?"
Duke Lia replied, “By the way, I’ve also heard that you like Chinese antiques that have been scattered overseas. We have a lot of those things stored up in our warehouses too. Just like you’re not interested in our antiques, they can’t really explain the value of Chinese antiques either. In that case, an exchange would be great! We wouldn’t have to deal with those auction houses and could save a lot of taxes.”
"If you're worried that these things might be replaced once they're shipped out, you can rest assured. I'm planning to bring those Chinese antiques here, and you can choose whatever you like. Anyway, I believe you're an honest and trustworthy person. Besides, I also believe that what I'm bringing is genuine, because there are very few people abroad who can even appreciate antiques, let alone counterfeit them."
Before Liu Meilan could even agree, the staff from the cultural relics field became anxious, urging, "President Liu, please agree...please agree!"
Liu Meilan pondered for a moment, "That's a very good suggestion, but we need to look into it. Can you give us a day?"
With personnel from the National Security Bureau and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs present, many things were beyond Liu Meilan's control. Furthermore, the fact that the other party had ties to organized crime was another reason why Liu Meilan couldn't make decisions on her own.
Duke Lia nodded. "Yes. Hopefully soon."
"Okay!" Liu Meilan saw Duke Lia off, leaving the family's Holy Grail at the museum to be retrieved after everything was over.
After Liu Meilan reported these things, she received a lot of approval. Some experts who had returned overseas national treasures were especially excited and flocked to Shenzhen.
With official backing, Ye Qiang, the person in charge of the investment company, signed a cooperation agreement with Duke Lia.
After Duke Lia left with the cooperation agreement and the family's Holy Grail, the embargoed equipment needed by China was loaded onto a ship and sailed across the vast sea, getting closer and closer to China.
Despite Ye Qiang's formal questioning about the low price, the auction house remained arrogant, believing that without them, these Chinese people wouldn't value these antiques or understand their true worth.
They were waiting for someone from Sifangdao Investment Company to contact them, but instead of receiving any news, they were shocked to learn that Sifangdao Investment Company was cooperating with the Lia family.
How does this work?
They had calculated that even without any speculative gains, the commissions from transactions alone would have made their auction house a fortune. But now, not only are they not making money, they're also allowing their competitors to expand their influence.
They sent people to negotiate with Ye Qiang, and Ye Qiang didn't ignore them, asking them to resubmit their valuation, saying, "I hope your valuation is reasonable."
After the auction house manager returned, he honestly submitted a new appraisal price, which was almost the same as Mr. William's, which also indirectly confirmed Mr. William's professionalism.
However, the Lia family has issued another memorandum this time, requesting to act as the sole agent for the museum's auction work, which will give him more say in the European and American antique circles.
After careful consideration, Liu Meilan refused to cooperate with the auction house.
The people at the auction house regretted it, but it was too late.
Liu Meilan, carrying a bouquet of carnations, came with Wang Lemei and Tang Xiaoyu to visit Lisa, saying, "Congratulations on becoming a mother."
Lisa was overjoyed to see her friend arrive. She pointed to the child in the stroller and exclaimed, "Look how adorable he is! He's my son!"
"Cute, he looks just like you," Liu Meilan praised. "He'll definitely grow up to be a handsome young man."
Lisa laughed. "Of course, I'm beautiful, and his dad is handsome and very tall."
Tang Xiaoyu's lower abdomen was slightly protruding at this moment. "Lisa, you are so brave to actually get pregnant and give birth all by yourself."
Lisa shook her head and said with a smile, "I'm used to being free and unrestrained. Many people wouldn't approve of me marrying into a traditional family. Since that's the case, I'll just live my own life. As for the child's father, he's someone who yearns for freedom even more than I do. Whenever I see this child who has my blood, I suddenly feel that the rest of my life is even more interesting."