"I heard that Mr. Zhou runs a cultural relic exchange shop in China?"
Chen Biaojin did not hide his hope, and asked Zhou Luoyang.
At twelve o'clock noon, Zhou Luoyang invited Chen Biaojin to his room. The sun was shining just right, and the archaeological magazine with him as the protagonist on the cover was spread out on the table. Chen Biaojin picked up the magazine, flipped through it, and waved his hand hurriedly: "I don't drink."
"Then let me make some tea?" Zhou Luoyang said.
After Du Jing returned to his room, he fell into contemplation and fell into the sofa by the window, like a sculpture.
Chen Biaojin said, "Can I ask you to help me inquire about something?"
Zhou Luoyang thought it was a coincidence. Since it is the Cultural Relics Protection Research Association, it must be able to provide them with a suitable invitation to enter the country.
"It's a Brahman sculpture," Chen Biaojin said to himself before Zhou Luoyang asked, "We've been looking for it for over a year."
Zhou Luoyang thought of the cast iron Shiva statue in the secret room and joked, "Could it be Shiva?"
"Yes!" Chen Biaojin was slightly surprised and replied, "It's Shiva! Has this cast statue circulated in the market recently in China?"
Zhou Luoyang snorted and said, "A cultural relic smuggled into China?"
Chen Biaojin nodded and said regretfully, "This is very important to us."
Zhou Luoyang did not ask why a Vietnamese cultural relic was smuggled into China. After all, one of Vietnam's bordering countries is China, and it is obviously not very smart to transport a cultural relic through customs, by water, or by land. , it is quite common to go out along the border to check and prevent omissions.
China is stricter than ever when it comes to the export of cultural relics, otherwise the heritage of ancient civilizations of the past five thousand years would have been emptied long ago. On the other hand, in Vietnam and Cambodia, the relics of the Khmer, Brahmin, and Sang Hung eras are almost everywhere.
Of course, Zhou Luoyang would not think that the cast statue in the secret room was smuggled. He sat in front of Chen Biaojin and said, "Material? Size? I'll ask."
Chen Biaojin took a piece of paper, sketched the sculpture he was looking for, and said, "The disappearance of this sculpture is related to a cross-border money laundering case, I can't get more details. But for sure, it did enter China earlier... Mr. Zhou?"
Zhou Luoyang looked sideways at the piece of paper, then looked at Du Jing.
Du Jing regained his senses briefly, glanced at the paper, and frowned slightly.
The size and shape are exactly the same as the cast iron Shiva in the secret room.
"Is it customary to cast iron statues in this era?" Zhou Luoyang wondered.
"Pig iron? No, bronze." Chen Biaojin also wondered, "Why do you say that? Have you ever seen the same cast iron statue?"
Zhou Luoyang thought for a while and replied, "It's nothing, I'll ask, if you want to use it to launder money, I think maybe you won't participate in a special auction, it should be private."
"That's almost certain." Chen Biaojin replied.
At this time, Du Jing suddenly said: "How much can you estimate?"
"Priceless treasure." Zhou Luoyang and Chen Biaojin said in unison almost at the same time.
Zhou Luoyang doesn't have many valuables, but he has seen a lot. Chen Biaojin also believes that Zhou Luoyang is professional because of these words.
The most likely place for this relic to appear should be in the Southeast Asia or Indian subcontinent exhibition areas in British and other museums. This is also the reason why Zhou Luoyang is very sure that it will never appear in the official auction.
Shiva statue, money laundering... For some unknown reason, Zhou Luoyang suddenly linked the owner of the secret room to this matter: Southeast Asian institutions bought this bronze statue from black market dealers with bitcoin and sent it to China. Most of the time in China, there is no control over entry, and cultural relics from other countries are circulated within the territory, and most of the time they are not monitored. There are many smuggling channels in Vietnam, and it is not difficult to hide from the local customs.
Come back with the money and take the cast away at a private auction.
After getting the money, the owner of the secret room went through the underground bank, exchanged it for US dollars for the third time, and left the country smoothly. In this way, once in a third country, no one can trace it back to the source.
"I will try my best." Zhou Luoyang said.
"I heard that you are an antique dealer, there should be many channels," Chen Biaojin said gratefully, "I have nothing to repay, but the gratitude of an archaeologist. I believe that people all over the world who care for the heritage of this civilization have a sense of justice. are consistent."
After speaking, he took off his crumpled hat, bowed to Zhou Luoyang, and said, "If you want to visit China's neighbors at any time, I would like to warmly welcome you on behalf of Ho Chi Minh University..."
Zhou Luoyang hurriedly got up and shook hands with him.
When Du Jing heard this, he suddenly got up and said politely:
"To be honest, we are having this plan recently. I think it's better to hit the sun instead of picking a day?"
Zhou Luoyang: "…"
"It's so guilt-ridden."
After sending Chen Biaojin away, Zhou Luoyang didn't want to deal with Du Jing anymore, and said, "Can you make some preparations?"
Du Jing said, "Who asked you to promise to investigate this matter for him? Now that's all right, there's more trouble."
Zhou Luoyang supported his forehead and said, "I only said 'do your best'."
Chen Biaojin is an honest person. After Du Jing said, "It's better to choose a day than to hit the day", he agreed to contact the association to issue an invitation letter full of embarrassment. And Du Jing politely sent him to the door, and expressed a sincere request that he hoped he could send them a fax tonight.
Seeing that Du Jing didn't speak, Zhou Luoyang was very uneasy and said, "Did I promise something that shouldn't be promised?"
"What?" Du Jing put on his sunglasses, took out his mobile phone, and said, "No, this kind of trivial matter, don't bother young master, you can do it yourself, of course, you sold the clue to Huang Ting."
Zhou Luoyang: "…"
Zhou Luoyang suddenly realized that Du Jing might be teasing him, and he suddenly understood.
"Ah," Zhou Luoyang replied, "it makes sense."
"Money laundering cases, antiques," Du Jing said, "Obviously it's his responsibility. Even if it has nothing to do with the boss of the secret room, Huang Ting will be very grateful. You gave him this achievement."
Zhou Luoyang said helplessly: "Well, you are too smart."
"Thank you for the compliment." Du Jing glanced at his watch, got up and said, "It's time to have afternoon tea with Swartanowski and your crush."
"Your crush." Zhou Luoyang said.
"Your crush." Du Jing replied politely, shaking off his suit jacket and waiting for Zhou Luoyang to put it on.
Zhou Luoyang tightened his collar, looked at Du Jing in the mirror, and glanced back at him meaningfully.
Du Jing: "?"
Zhou Luoyang: "Who was the woman who met that woman at breakfast? Do you remember?"
Du Jing replied, "No, there is absolutely no memory of her."
Zhou Luoyang: "I hope that another little Du Jing won't come out later."
Du Jing said politely, "That's not a good idea. Are you willing to raise little Du Jing? After all, it's okay to live together like two gays."
"I will seriously consider it." Zhou Luoyang said, and went out of the room with Du Jing and entered the elevator.
When the elevator passed the sixth floor, it happened that the Thai woman named Sup came in again and had a face-to-face with them.
Zhou Luoyang: "Sawadika."
"Sawadika." Sup smiled, put his hands together, and stared at Du Jing in the mirror wall of the elevator.
Du Jing was still wearing sunglasses, and he didn't nod with Su Pu until he got out of the elevator.
The Peninsula Afternoon Tea Restaurant was very lively today, but the Russian businessman had already booked a good spot. He was basking in the sun leisurely in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, smoking a cigar, and beckoning to Zhou Luoyang from a distance.
Zhou Luoyang smiled and sat down, wanting to hear what he had to say. Du Jing faithfully played the role of a bodyguard and stood behind the sofa, but as soon as Zhou Luoyang took his seat, Swartanowski shook his wrist.
A watch was shown: the Eye of Versetti.
Zhou Luoyang: "..."
Then, it was his laugh.
The Ukrainian girl said: "The boss said that the first time he saw other people wearing 'eyes of justice' on their hands, he must ask you to chat."
Zhou Luoyang immediately glanced at Du Jing subconsciously, and Du Jing made a simple gesture to signal not to be nervous.
Svartanlovsky's Eye of Versetti is exactly the same as Du Jing's, and the sapphire is also inlaid at the teardrop of the pointer.
what does that mean? !
This businessman also has the ability to turn back time? !
Zhou Luoyang's heart suddenly jumped wildly.
Then, Svartanlovsky took it off from his hand, beckoned Zhou Luoyang to look closer, murmured a lot, and made a gesture.
"It doesn't turn," Du Jing said. "Look?"
"It's from my great-grandfather," Swartanowski said, handing him the watch graciously. "What about yours? Where did you get it?"
Du Jing took out the gloves from his pocket, took Zhou Luoyang's hand, and put them on for him.
"It was left by my great-grandfather." Du Jing stretched out his slender fingers and gently pushed down his sunglasses before replying.
Obviously my great-grandfather. Zhou Luoyang thought to himself, but he suddenly understood that this was Du Jing's first temptation. The test was successful, the Russian businessman didn't know what magical power this watch had, or—only this piece in Du Jing's hand could turn the time.
In short, he put the watch in the hands of Zhou Luoyang.
Zhou Luoyang didn't move the date wheel on the outer ring, but just looked at it seriously with the sunlight.
"Who was your great-grandfather?" Svatanlovsky asked with concern. "Our family, many years ago, also did business with the Chinese."
In Chinese, Du Jing gave the Ukrainian girl a nonsense name, and now he made up a story about his great-grandfather doing business. After translation, the two sides roughly understood each other's meaning.
Zhou Luoyang tried to adjust it and didn't dare to move the Eye of Fan Saidi. He said, "There are no conditions here, um... If there are tools, next time you come to Wanshi..." He handed him the watch again. .
"You know how to repair?" Svatanlovsky asked, then added a few words in Russian.
"The boss said, if you want, can you take it back and try to fix this watch for him?" the Ukrainian girl said.
When Zhou Luoyang was about to say "of course", Du Jing pointed to the dial and asked, "Have you ever dismantled it?"
"No!" Svatanlovsky said, shaking his hand, "it's very important to me, and I don't dare to dismantle it."
Zhou Luoyang wanted to raise his eyes to ask Du Jing's opinion. He was not sure whether he could fix it. At this time, Du Jing made a bold move.
He took off the Eye of Versetti on his wrist, handed it to Svartanlovsky, and said, "We can wear it instead."
Svartanlovsky laughed again, waved his hands again and again, but took them over politely, looked at the sunlight carefully, and sighed a few words.
"A masterpiece of art," the Ukrainian beauty translated.
Zhou Luoyang was so nervous that his hands were trembling, and he stared at Svatanlovsky's movements closely, but his expression couldn't be more normal. He glanced at Du Jing's watch a few times, and then handed it back.
Du Jing still took it and put it on.
Zhou Luoyang said: "My address is on the business card."
Svartanlovsky raised his fingers to hold the cigar and his whiskey glass, and said, "You can call me anytime you want to get paid."
Zhou Luoyang handed the other Eye of Versailles to Du Jing, who put it in his suit pocket. Svartanlovsky squinted at the two of them, then suddenly burst out laughing.
Zhou Luoyang didn't quite understand what he was laughing at, so he had to laugh together a few times.
At this time, Chen Biaojin's message came to his mobile phone.
Du Jing caught a glimpse and said to Zhou Luoyang, "I'll go to the bathroom and be back soon."
"Go, there's nothing to do here." Zhou Luoyang said happily. Chen Biaojin's movements were very fast, but within an hour, he had an invitation letter from the research institute.
His doubts about Svatanlovsky were quickly dispelled. He said "very important", but he was so generous, and he handed it over to Zhou Luoyang, who had met for the first time, making him feel that this person was actually very strange. Simple.
"I remember it was mentioned in the family that it came from Derbent." Zhou Luoyang thought about it and said.
When Du Jing was away, Zhou Luoyang didn't know what to talk about, so he had to start the topic like this.
"Ah," said Svartanowski, "the Caucasus, but it was brought to Derbent from Switzerland, and it is said that it was once the embodiment of the spirit of the Norse religion, the Germanic paganism, or the ancient Scandinavian religion. In 1890, the Roman Church used the seized ancient relics of the Germanic pagan religion to make these two watches. Then one of them was presented to the Orthodox Archbishop. The other, the To raise funds, conduct an auction…”
Zhou Luoyang: "????"
"Wait a minute." Zhou Luoyang's brain is no longer enough, he never expected that he would get so much news with a casual sentence! He looked at the Ukrainian girl pleadingly until he got all the information through her translator.
"Understood," said Zhou Luoyang, "thank you for your advice."
It was too late for him to think about the meaning behind these words, so he could only try to remember it, and then go back and discuss with Du Jing and analyze it.
"Well," said Zhou Luoyang, "so I... my assistant's great-grandfather got it through auction. Your great-grandfather..."
"Perhaps?" Swartanowski said lightly, crossing his legs, "it was passed to the Tsar, and after the October Revolution, it was acquired by my great-grandfather. The warrior who came with the sword..."
As he spoke, he leaned over slightly, and with a mysterious expression, said to Zhou Luoyang, "I will surely die under the sword."
Zhou Luoyang: "???"
Immediately afterwards, it was Swartanowski's laugh again.
Zhou Luoyang didn't quite understand the cause and effect of his words. It must be a famous Russian saying, but what does this have to do with the sword
At the same time, Du Jing had received the invitation letter, thanked Chen Biaojin sincerely, put on his earphones, and went to the business service office.
"Turn on the fax machine," Du Jing called the Wanshi company and instructed his colleagues, "Receive the fax and send it to the French Embassy for me before five o'clock."
Then he stood in front of the fax machine, flattened the invitation, and put it in the fax machine.
Supu followed Du Jing into the business district and appeared opposite Du Jing again.
"Do you have time for a drink after the auction in the evening?" Su Pu smiled at Du Jing.
"If you're not busy, maybe you can." Du Jing pressed his right hand on the watch of his left.
Supp said, "You must not be busy."
Du Jing replied, "I really don't know you."
Su Pu smiled and said, "Maybe we'll meet after tonight? I'm in room 616, I remember."
Wearing sunglasses, Du Jing looked at her arrogantly, and said, "Wait."
Su Pu laughed and said, "See you soon."
When Du Jing returned to the afternoon tea restaurant, Zhou Luoyang had finished talking, and he was chatting and laughing with Swartanowski and Lin Di at the door. After a second thought, Du Jing walked over and stood behind Zhou Luoyang.
Lin Di said: "...he is our partner in Wanshi, Mr. Zhou's grandfather is well-known in the industry... Hello, you are... "
"My assistant." Zhou Luoyang said immediately, and at the same time there was a thump in his heart, secretly thinking that something was wrong. But Lin Di didn't seem to know Du Jing, so he just glanced at him and started talking to Swartanowski again.
After a brief exchange, the crowd dispersed, and Zhou Luoyang said to Lin Di, "I need to borrow a watch adjustment tool, can you help me ask?"
There will be a lot of timepieces at the auction. Although Lin Di didn't know Zhou Luoyang's intentions, he readily agreed and said, "I'll send someone to bring it to you later."
"It's better to have a miniature X-ray scanner," Zhou Luoyang said. "I brought the computer with me."
Lin Di smiled and said, "Boss Zhou still doesn't forget to work when he goes out. He is really a model worker. Let's sit together at night, remember not to be late."
Zhou Luoyang nodded, and after returning to the room, Du Jing asked, "What did you say?"
Zhou Luoyang repeated it once, and the only thing that made him feel that something was wrong was the last sentence quoted by Swartanlovsky, which seemed to be meaningful, like a warning to him.
Du Jing lightly pressed his temples and took off his sunglasses.
Zhou Luoyang said: "You shouldn't have left at the time. I can't tell what he meant."
It was too complicated, everything seemed to be normal, but Zhou Luoyang always felt that something was wrong. He believed that Du Jing must have noticed it.
"Depression affects my judgment," Du Jing frowned, "I haven't fully recovered. Maybe I'm really not suitable for this job..."
"No no no," Zhou Luoyang said immediately, "think about it carefully, you can figure it out, Du Jing, you can definitely."
Du Jing was a little irritable and sat down beside him.
Zhou Luoyang added: "I have always had confidence in you. I don't care about Supu for the time being, but the secret of the Eye of Saiti is very important to us, and you must be able to figure it out."
Du Jing raised his hand, motioned Zhou Luoyang to wait a moment, and thought for a while, as if under his encouragement, he gradually returned to his state.
Du Jing said: "The most strange thing about the whole thing is not what Sup said, nor what Svartanlovsky said, but why someone keeps a broken watch with him at all times. ?"
Zhou Luoyang didn't think about it at first, but after being reminded by Du Jing, he immediately felt that something was wrong.
"Because it was left by his great-grandfather?" Zhou Luoyang said, "So you take it wherever you go?"
Du Jing shook his head: "The mechanical watch your great-grandfather gave you, no matter how memorable it is, will you carry it with you?"
The answer is obvious, no.
Zhou Luoyang said: "Maybe it is equivalent to a lucky coin?"
Du Jing replied: "You will give lucky coins to people casually?"
Zhou Luoyang: "…"
Zhou Luoyang took a few steps in the room, and Du Jing took out his watch and put it on the table.
"Are you sure it wasn't stolen by him?" Zhou Luoyang said, "Although it is difficult, it is not impossible to imitate."
Du Jing picked up the sunglasses, pinched the bridge of his nose slightly, put it in front of Zhou Luoyang, and asked him to look out through the sunglasses.
Zhou Luoyang immediately understood, these sunglasses are specially made, no wonder Du Jing always wears them! Through it, the infrared filtered image can be clearly seen. If Swartanlovsky had the intention to secretly change, Du Jing would find out immediately.
Du Jing's other hand gently pushed down the bridge of the nose of the sunglasses, and all the scenes returned to normal in an instant.
"The Russians, like they expected me to come to the auction." Zhou Luoyang said.
"No," Du Jing said, "he doesn't have a prophet, he doesn't know that he will meet us at the auction. The only explanation is that he takes it with him all the time, looking for someone in the world who can fix this watch, that's all. Simple."
At the same time, the doorbell rang. Zhou Luoyang said: "We will have the answer right away."
However, Du Jing blocked Zhou Luoyang, first glanced in front of the cat, and confirmed that it was a Sotheby's staff outside before opening the door and letting people in.
The other party sent a full set of equipment, and asked Zhou Luoyang to sign and confirm, and the damage was compensated according to the price. After the people left, he opened the box, which contained a full set of watch repair tools, which were more complete than those in the Changan store.
As well as a small X-ray machine designed to examine the flawed areas inside the instrument.
Zhou Luoyang asked Du Jing, "Are you nervous?"
Du Jing took off his watch and handed it to Zhou Luoyang.
Zhou Luoyang put Swartanowski's Eye of Versetti on the analysis table, turned on the X-ray machine, connected to Bluetooth, and started scanning.
"You should have bought one of these." Du Jing said.
"It's more than five million yuan per unit," Zhou Luoyang said. "It's not worth the money to sell me."
Du Jing said with an expressionless face: "It depends on who you sell it to."
"There is no money to pay for it." Zhou Luoyang smiled, looked at the laptop screen, pressed Enter, and recorded a scan of Svatanlovsky's Eye of Versetti. There are densely packed gears, springs, and parts that are as fine as a heavenly creation, closely inlaid with each other, like a static, grand mechanical city.
"There is something abnormal," Du Jing said, "I don't understand."
Zhou Luoyang looked at it for a while without saying a word. He picked up Du Jing's watch, replaced the Swartanowski's piece, adjusted the X-ray machine, and started scanning.
Without Zhou Luoyang's explanation, Du Jing also understood.
The result of Du Jing's scan was a fuzzy, ring-shaped light, which meant that nothing was scanned.
"X-rays are blocked." Zhou Luoyang muttered, "This watch was made in 1890. Roentgen discovered rays in 1895, and the X-ray machine was invented later."
There was silence in the room.
Zhou Luoyang murmured: "I suspect this is not a product of Earth civilization."
Du Jing: "For a moment just now, I thought you would have some serious inferences."
Zhou Luoyang: "…"