Live Appreciation, Congratulations to Brother

Chapter 302 The Bridge of Cultural Communication
That night, in the interrogation room of the Annan Town Police Station in Sanjiang City.

Two policemen are conducting a surprise interrogation of a newly arrested tomb robber.

"Officer, I really just dug some dirt. The things in the trunk were all bought casually at a roadside stall. I really don't know what they are."

"Really? Then take a look at this first?"

Policeman A took out a black-and-white photo of the bronze that Zhang Yang had identified.

On the right side of the picture, the message "Southern Song Dynasty, Bronze Zong" is written in black marker.

"You can buy cultural relics from the Southern Song Dynasty at a roadside stall. Haha, can you tell me which road it is on? We will check it out right away."

Facing the police's questions, the female tomb robber had already thought of her excuse on the way there. She replied calmly: "I can't remember clearly."

Of course, Policeman A was not satisfied with this explanation and asked:
"Don't remember anything?"

"Let me think about it." The woman looked reminiscing: "I remember that it was a dirt road in the country. It was very desolate. There were not even telephone poles or anything around it. The first time I saw the old man setting up the stall, I thought I thought I saw a ghost in broad daylight..."

Listening to the female tomb robber's words, the two interrogating police officers exchanged glances with each other. They both knew in their hearts that the woman wanted to resist the pressure first.

This is a common thing in the interrogation room, especially when the other party is a tomb robber.

They had heard before that a tomb robber was pulled out of the hole by the police on the spot. After being caught, he still made excuses, saying that he accidentally fell into the hole while walking, and thanked the police. Get him out.

Not to mention the current tomb robbers who were caught by a third party. It would be abnormal not to be harsh.

The two of them were very happy now. Fortunately, after arriving at the scene of the crime just now, they had the courage to ask the origin of Master Zhang who called the police, and even invited him back to help him a little.

"Then look at this clay pot again." Policeman B took out another photo and asked, "Did you also buy this at a roadside stall?"

"Yes, yes, not only this, but also several clay pots, all bought together." The woman took the initiative to explain, trying to block the conversation on the other side.

"That's it...then did you buy anything else from the street stall?"

"Nothing."

"It's really gone? Isn't it? According to the information we have, you are more than this. Think about it, do you have anything to hide?" Policeman A reminded in a bad tone.

"Really, really no more..."

"I advise you to think about it carefully!" Policeman B raised his voice and said: "Now that you have taken the initiative to confess, there is still a plot to surrender. I advise you not to be stubborn!"

This time, perhaps because the police officer’s tone was a bit harsh, the female tomb robber did not shake her head in a hurry.

From the beginning of the interrogation, her eyes had been on the hands of the two policemen.

Now, seeing Police Officer A folding his hands together and placing them calmly on the table with no intention of producing new evidence, she thought to herself:

"Is there any evidence for these two people? There should be no evidence. There are no other burial objects in the trunk.

What you just said must have been a lie to me.

Then can I let you deceive me so easily? "

After thinking about this problem, the woman raised her head slightly and said with certainty:

"I'm sure I bought these things at that stall."

"Okay, actually I know you won't admit it."

Policeman B was not surprised by this situation at all. He just followed the procedure and had to ask such a question.

Grave robbing is not a serious crime, but one should still be given a chance to repent.

He bent down, picked up a blue document bag from the foot of the chair, and slowly opened it in front of the woman.

"Tch, just pretending." The woman felt very disdainful.

Soon, the police showed the evidence in the bag.

It was a pendant on a woman's car. The upper part was a red knot, and a jade ornament was tied below.

The first time she saw the thing, the female tomb robber's heart skipped a beat.

It's broken, I forgot I still had this thing.

This was a gift from her master when she started training, and she kept it in her car as a mascot.

"Do you recognize this thing?" Policeman A asked.

"What's wrong with the ornaments on my car? Is there something wrong?"

"There is something wrong." Policeman B showed an intriguing smile on his face: "I have investigated so many cases, and this is the first time I have seen a cow-shaped pendant hanging on a car."

"I'm an Ox, aren't you allowed?" the woman said harshly.

"Hahaha, I didn't say it wasn't allowed, but..."

The policeman remembered what Zhang Yang had said to him on the way back, and asked with interest:
"Did you get the permission of the tomb owner to take the burial objects of the Western Zhou nobles?"

"Western Zhou Dynasty?" The woman's jaw almost dropped in shock. Thinking of her master's scratching and searching look, she shook her head in disbelief: "No way, absolutely impossible."

"Why do you say it's from the Western Zhou Dynasty?"

"Okay, stop quibbling. This jade cow statue has been identified by experts as a cultural relic of the early Western Zhou Dynasty. It was definitely unearthed from a tomb."

"I advise you to give up your fantasies and honestly explain the origins of this jade cow and the previous items!"

"Expert?" the woman questioned with a suspicious look on her face: "You just caught me at night, where did you hire the expert?"

She suspected that the two policemen were eliciting confessions, but she had no evidence.

"It's nothing for you to worry about. You'd better reminisce about the origin of this jade cow first!"

The policeman looked at the white paper left in the document bag, which said Zhang Yang gave the identification results.

Thinking of Master Zhang's identity, they felt confident.

This time, I won’t catch the wrong tomb robber like before!
……

On the way back to the hotel, Mao Shiqi endured it for a long time, but couldn't help but ask Zhang Yang:
"Brother, why do you still help them when you know they are the police who mistakenly arrested us yesterday?"

"Aren't we a team?"

Zhang Yang, who was sitting in the passenger seat, heard this question and did not reply directly.

Mao Shiqi's former eldest brother is currently in jail, and it was he, the younger brother, who helped send him there. Zhang Yang does not dare to accept this title.

He chose to throw the question to Cheng Zongwen.

"Second Master Cheng, what do you think?"

Cheng Zongwen smiled and patted Mao Shiqi on the shoulder, comforting him:

"These are two different things. The two of us have worked hard for several days, and we have to let that woman be punished for both emotional and rational reasons."

"Besides, you don't think that what happened yesterday and the two cops who brought us back will be fine in the end, do you?"

"That's the truth." Boss Lan on the side came to help: "That woman actually suspected that we were perverts. Based on this alone, she should be sent in."

"I agree too." Lao Lin echoed: "I said she is a fellow countryman, but she is still hiding her. It is simply hopeless."

Listening to the reasons of everyone in the car, Zhang Yang finally understood what "each has his own agenda."

Fortunately, everyone, including the two former tomb robbers, had a simple view of justice and basically agreed on issues of principle. They all felt that the female tomb robber was unreasonable.The tomb robbers should be sent in.

However, this only "consistency" soon led to disagreements on the way to Lin'an a few days later.

The reason was that Chu Ziqiang sent a message.

He told Zhang Yang that the cultural relics of the ancient Elamite civilization had arrived, asked if he wanted to buy two pieces, and thoughtfully sent a picture.

The photo shows several bronzes of different shapes. Although it is a mobile phone photo and the pixels are a bit low for identification, most of the people present can tell that these are unearthed items.

That patina smell is just right.

Zhang Yang introduced to everyone that these are the treasures left by the prehistoric civilization of the Iranian Plateau and the Bronze Age.

Due to the "Asian Cultural Heritage Protection Action" carried out between China and Iran, customs inspections are relatively strict, so these ancient Elamite cultural relics that are still being sold on the antique black market are obviously illegal.

In response, Lin and Lan's first reaction was to call the police.

No matter which country they are, cultural relic dealers and tomb robbers should be arrested and brought to justice.

But Cheng and Mao felt that we had no control over the affairs of other countries.

At most, I won’t buy it myself, just for the sake of my international friends.

If it were replaced by stolen cultural relics from some national museums, they would spend a lot of money.

Zhang Yang and the two groups of people had different opinions. He planned to join forces with the local police in Lin'an to conduct a wave of zero-dollar purchases and finally send the items back.

What is the purpose of the Liangzhu Forum? It is to establish a bridge of cultural communication with friendly countries on the Silk Road.

At this time, send a batch of precious cultural relics back and directly book the front page headlines for three days.

Regarding Zhang Yang’s idea, everyone else’s evaluation was surprisingly consistent:
"I never expected that Director Zhang (Master Zhang) (Brother Yang) is such a person..."

"Please be sure to take me with you."

The result is that although everyone's opinions are different, their behavior is very consistent, so you have to see it.

……

Two days later, Lin'an.

Zhang Yang didn't expect that the transaction would take place in a local antique market.

Could it be that the Persian appearance can still be disguised among the Chinese people?
It wasn't until a group of them met with the seller and entered the warehouse where the inventory was stored that Zhang Yang understood why the other party arranged the location here.

These people have really dark hearts and want to mix the real with the fake and sell it.

Those fakes should have been prepared in advance by a Central Asian who opened an antique shop in Lin'an.

It is estimated that these things cannot be sold in Lin'an at all, so I want to take advantage of this opportunity to sell real things and make a killing.

Zhang Yang and the others arrived a little late. The bronze scepter that Xiao Chu took pictures of before had been bought by someone, which shows that the business here is still good.

"Choose the treasure you like, and then come to me to pay."

"The checkout only accepts foreign currencies and virtual currencies, and does not support your RMB."

"If you make sure there's nothing wrong, you can go in."

The two Central Asians who were responsible for guarding the warehouse spoke not so fluent Chinese and pushed a small cart over at the same time.

Behind them is the old warehouse where the antique market used to send and receive express delivery. It is a large space with rows of shelves neatly arranged, just like a supermarket.

"Is one small cart enough?" Zhang Yang took the initiative to ask Boss Lan: "We are here, do you want to spend some money?"

"I don't understand the cultural relics of Central Asia." Boss Lan shook his head. Although he was stupid and had a lot of money, he subconsciously felt something was wrong when he saw so many cultural relics on the shelves.

Even if we go back 3000 years ago, it would be difficult to put so many precious treasures in one room at once.

"I don't understand either. Everyone is just trying to have fun."

"Besides, I see that most of the products on this shelf are genuine. You can just buy them based on the price."

Zhang Yang deliberately said something ironic.

Although the ultimate goal is to buy it for zero yuan, he has to collect evidence first.

The sellers present must know which ones are real and which ones are fake. If Zhang Yang keeps buying real ones, they will definitely arouse their suspicion, but what if he has a partner who specializes in buying fakes?
Boss Lan is the chosen accomplice.

"Yeah, they're all here."

"If you buy a fake product, we will compensate you ten for every fake product."

"If you are not satisfied after buying it, you can return it within three days without any reason."

The two Central Asians who were looking at the warehouse skillfully persuaded Boss Lan in an authentic Chinese way.

The latter pushed the trolley and walked in first.

Zhang Yang watched him take down the handicrafts on the first shelf that were confirmed to be 100% fake, and felt confident.

With such an easy target drawing firepower from the front, who would care about him?
The first target: bronze statues of the ancient Elamite civilization.

Different from the traditional concept of bronzes, the bronze statue found by Zhang Yang from the ninth century BC (equivalent to the Western Zhou Dynasty) is carved with a very abstract female image:
The body is flat, the head is oversized, and the eyes are just two holes;
The hair on the top of the head is twisted into twists, and the two slender ears are like antennas;
He bent his arms and raised them, and those who didn't know thought he was surrendering.

At first glance, one would think that this is something left by an alien civilization on the Blue Star.

But this is a representative artifact of the ancient Elamite civilization.

As the source of the Persian Empire, it appears mysterious and unusual because of its cultural chronology.

The boss priced the authentic piece found by Zhang Yang at 1800 euros, which is considered a reasonable price in the market for a bronze statue the size of a mobile phone.

Purchase quantity for zero yuan +1.

Next to this bronze female statue, there are a considerable number of bronze statues and pottery figurines with similar shapes.

Without exception, they all have their arms bent, which is in line with the characteristics of Elamite sculptures.

But it is a pity that they are all modern handicrafts, and the methods of making them old are very poor. The fake bronzes are even worse than the rust of horse urine.

It makes sense when you think about it. If Chinese bronzes are well imitated, they can be sold for tens of thousands of euros. Who is going to make high imitations of things that cost only one or two thousand euros?
After walking out of the statue area, Zhang Yang found the second treasure that caught his eye.

"Name: Ceramic Wine Bottle"

"Production time: 1279"

"Detailed information: This is a ceramic product from the middle and late Ilkhanate under Mongolian rule. It has strong characteristics of Chinese ceramics."

Zhang Yang had heard of the name Ilkhanate.

It was a khanate established by the third brother of Kublai Khan after the third western expedition of the Mongolian cavalry.

This sky blue hip flask does have a nomadic aesthetic.

The opening on the neck of the pot even has the beauty of traditional Chinese porcelain.

Zhang Yang took the jug in his hand and looked at it carefully for a moment. The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he became. For this purpose, he found a box nearby to put the jug in.

This kind of cultural relic that witnessed the development of the Silk Road would be a good treasure to use as a cover when returned to friendly countries.

(End of this chapter)