Year: I had a good time when I was young

Chapter 864: Ten National Treasure-level Paintings and Calligraphy
With this $5 million loan, Philips will represent the royal family and the Labour Party in the future.

There is no need to worry about this or that, fearing that if one issue is not handled properly, the Labour Party will become more disgusted with the royal family and increase the possibility of being ousted from power.

Even though there were some people within the Labour Party who were staunchly opposed to the royal family, this would not happen at least while Wilson was in office.

So Philips didn't care at all whether Chu Xiangqian wanted 10 or eight national treasures.

Chu Xiangqian even demanded that the London dock be used as collateral. If the loan could not be repaid after five years, the dock would have to be used to pay off the debt.

In Philips' view, these are normal business cooperation terms.

Compared with those allies, this condition seems very generous as they not only lend money but also provide evidence and treatment requirements.

Chu Xiangqian actually knew that if the Yingguo guy played tricks, he would definitely not admit it.

But this was a period of growth for European and American countries, and the disadvantages of defaulting on debts were far greater than paying them back with gritted teeth.

Moreover, a loan of 5 million US dollars is not enough to make the British default on their debts.

However, Chu Xiangqian was still on guard. Borrowing money was fine, but he would not directly become a creditor of the Ying people.

Instead, the money is first lent to Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong Island, and then the Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong Island branch lends the money to Standard Chartered Bank's London headquarters.

The money was lent to Downing Street under the pretext that it was raised from the market, while requiring collateral and a slightly high interest rate of 12%, but without any other demands. The British people would not have any wild thoughts or objections.

As for the national treasure, Chu Xiangqian is not stupid. He will not just accept whatever the Ying people give him.

The agreed terms were that the Ying people themselves would select 50 national treasures, and then Chu Xiangqian would select 10 from these pictures.

Originally, Chu Xiangqian wanted to ask the foreigner to select 100 pieces, but Philip had known Chu Xiangqian for several years and knew his character more or less.

He was afraid that too many antiques of the national treasure level of the Celestial Empire would appear in front of Chu Xiangqian, which would cause his dissatisfaction.

He made excuses one after another, saying that there was no way to make a big deal about the antiques, and that he could only take out 50 pieces for photos.

As for the other conditions, Philips agreed to them directly.

When the news reached Downing Street, Wilson and his cabinet members only held a meeting of more than ten minutes before agreeing.

The next day, Philips came again and gave Chu Xiangqian hundreds of photos that he had taken of the 50 national treasures from all angles.

Chu Xiangqian clenched his fists, and it took a while for his livid face to slowly return to normal.

Then he remembered that before his rebirth, Ying Country, which was still immersed in its past glory, has now fallen to second- or third-rate, and his mood improved.

Sometimes, the power of one person really means nothing.

I can only think of myself as buying antiques as an investment. Only by thinking this way can I calm down.

I really hope that he can donate all the antiques he has bought in the past few years or obtained by other means to China in the future.

In fact, Chu Xiangqian was not very willing in his heart.

In other words, he would store all the antiques in Hong Kong Island or Beijing, and take out some of them for exhibition, which is actually a kind of merit.

It’s okay to build a huge private museum, but I won’t donate all of it.

It would be best to follow the example of those big businessmen and donate some famous antiques.

Anyway, as long as the things are in China, it doesn’t really matter who owns them.

Why should I donate things that I bought or stole with my own ability?
Storing the antiques in the Novice Village warehouse is the safest option, and there is no need to worry about the antiques becoming weathered or damaged.

Without the need to maintain most of the antiques, a museum's expenses can be reduced by more than 9%.

In the future, the museum I build can be open to the public for free. Anyway, the museum’s expenses can be deducted from the charitable fund.

It can also be used to deduct taxes. Chu Xiangqian has thought this through clearly.

It took more than an hour to look through all the photos, and when Philip became a little impatient, Chu Xiangqian finally selected 10 antiques.

After Philip looked at the list, he couldn't help showing a surprised expression.

Among the Chinese antiques of this era, the most expensive are of course bronze ware, Tang Dynasty sancai and ancient Buddha statues.

But the antiques selected by Chu Xiangqian were all calligraphy and paintings and Dunhuang silk paintings.

In terms of value, these ten pieces of calligraphy and silk paintings combined may not be as valuable as the two bronze artifacts.

But Chu Xiangqian knew very well that the preservation period of Buddha statues, bronze artifacts, porcelain and jade artifacts was measured in hundreds of years.

But it is hard to say about calligraphy and silk paintings.

It’s a pity that the painting of Admonitions of Female Historian was not included in the collection, otherwise Chu Xiangqian would have been willing to take just that one.

After the antiques were settled, Chu Xiangqian had to return to Hong Kong Island for a few days to deal with the negotiations with Standard Chartered on lending money to Downing Street.

Margaret didn't complain about this, after all, the money was lent to Yingguo.

And her man also gets good returns, so it’s a win-win situation in her mind.

As for Chu Xiangqian's obvious distrust of Downing Street, Margaret was not angry. Instead, she wholeheartedly agreed with Chu Xiangqian's move to lend money to Standard Chartered.

With her status and experience, she has seen many witnesses' fickleness. If she doesn't take precautions, she is a fool.

However, even though Chu Xiangqian left, Margaret still wanted him to promise that he would return to London to accompany her and Chu Jingxing in at most half a month.

Chu Xiangqian had no objection to this.

Chu Jingxing was only a month old, so it would be unreasonable not to be with him. And Chu Xiangqian himself wanted to spend more time with his youngest son when he was still a toddler.

Thinking of this, I thought of Chu Jingrong who went to the capital.

The little thing can walk, crawl and talk, and is definitely more lovable than my youngest son.

I silently calculated in my mind that a child who loves the country and the people is expected to be born in August or October.

I will definitely have to go back to the capital twice at that time, and I will have to go back to the capital to see Chu Jingrong every month.

Finally, I agreed with Margaret that we would stay for a month each.

After flying back to Hong Kong Island, Chu Xiangqian got into Zhang Tianzhi and Zhou Billy's car and did not go back to the Peak to find Feifei first.

Instead, he went directly to Standard Chartered and discussed the loan with the boss Juan.

Chu Xiangqian was already prepared to talk to other directors.

But Juan is also a British citizen, and he is very active in this matter.

Standard Chartered Bank in London was also notified and completed all the procedures and loans in just three days.

However, before the 10 pieces of calligraphy and silk paintings are obtained, the US$5 million will not enter Standard Chartered’s London headquarters.

The next day, a phone call came to the mountaintop villa. Chu Xiangqian, who was having breakfast with Feifei, Aiyuan and Ailin, only found out after he picked up the phone.

The person who transported the antiques this time was actually that guy Norton.

But come to think of it, this guy is a middleman acceptable to both parties.

When Chu Xiangqian saw the ten national treasures, his breathing became a little heavy.

The four Dunhuang silk paintings were well preserved. Chu Xiangqian spent more than an hour just looking at these four paintings.

Norton, the bodyguards who came with him, and Wilson's representatives did not show any impatience.

The man in front of him could take out 5 million US dollars in cash. In this era, those world-class tycoons with a net worth of over 10 million or even billion were nothing compared to Chu Xiangqian in terms of cash flow.

Moreover, with this loan of 5 million US dollars, it will be much easier and cheaper to lend it to the export companies of those industry giants in Britain to purchase raw materials from abroad.

As long as these companies can hold on for another month or two, it is possible that the allies who previously put forward harsh conditions will change their attitude.

Unfortunately, Chu Xiangqian and Downing Street still took things for granted. At least half of the companies that received US dollar loans did not resume production immediately.

Instead, they invested in the financial market or acted as middlemen, lending money to peers or other British companies that were willing to pay high interest rates.

It was more than a month later before Chu Xiangqian found out.
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After viewing the four Dunhuang silk paintings, Chu Xiangqian smiled with satisfaction and reached out to touch the corners of the silk.

Four prompt sounds rang in my mind in succession, confirming that these four paintings were authentic.

Only then did he carefully put it away and turned his attention to the other six landscape paintings and calligraphy works.

This time, Chu Xiangqian spent much less time looking, as he already had quite a few treasures, some of which were calligraphy and paintings of national treasure level.

The level of identification in this area is much higher than that of Dunhuang silk paintings.

It took only twenty minutes to look at six pieces of calligraphy and paintings, and then I touched the corners of the paintings to confirm their authenticity.

Then he nodded to Norton.

The 10 paintings were collected and placed in a suitcase, pretending to be stored in the safe deposit box of Standard Chartered.

Then he transferred the money to the Standard Chartered Bank headquarters in London on the spot, but the calligraphy and paintings had actually been put into the Novice Village long ago.

What was stored in the safe was just an empty box.

If someone stole the paintings that day, they would have been scared out of their wits. They would have been confused and angry, thinking that someone had gotten there first and stolen the ten national treasures.

After the matter was settled, Chu Xiangqian had a meal with Norton and then personally tested his kung fu skills.

It's no wonder that Norton has been practicing martial arts very hard in the past few years. He has solid basic skills and has reached a certain level in the boxing routines taught by Chu Xiangqian.

Of course, it was only when Chu Xiangqian looked at it that he felt that Norton’s kung fu was just unstoppable.

But if it were an ordinary person, Norton could fight three or five people alone without any problem.

The bodyguards who have been following Norton for a long time have become quite skilled after being influenced by him for several years.

Chu Xiangqian was so happy that he taught Norton some killer moves to win the game.

After spending two days eating, drinking and practicing martial arts with Norton in Hong Kong Island, Chu Xiangqian didn't care whether the boy would return to London or not.

He boarded a private plane and flew to Beijing to accompany his eldest son, his wife, and Hong Kong students.

Xue Jinglan didn't say anything about his early return to the capital, but she was very happy in her heart.

As for Gangsheng, this girl was also very happy. While playing poker with Chu Xiangqian, she whispered that she wanted to have a child.

Chu Xiangqian just thought about it and decided to let things take their course.

Anyway, they already have two sons, so it is natural for Gangsheng, Feifei and others to want children.

And because he already has two sons, Chu Xiangqian now actually hopes that the third child will be a daughter.

After comforting Xue Jinglan and Gangsheng at home, Chu Xiangqian used the excuse of going to Luoguxiang to visit his second and third uncles' families, and secretly went to Shatan Street to spend the whole afternoon with Qin Huairu and Lou Xiaoe.

Unfortunately, Chu Xiangqian promised Margaret that he would return to London every two weeks, so he didn't have much time to spend with them.

In addition, Jinzhi and Jinxiu were also waiting for him to comfort them, so his schedule in the capital this time was still very full.

Moreover, Chu Xiangqian felt that the time he would spend in the capital would become less and less. After all, it was only a year and a half away from the storm.

After Qin Huairu gave a few hints, the woman thought about it for a moment and mistakenly believed that Chu Xiangqian's job might be transferred from the capital to other cities.

So I can’t have as much time to spend with myself as before.

Qin Huairu suddenly felt like the sky was falling. He suppressed his uneasiness and worry and blurted out something.

As long as Chu Xiangqian could have dinner with her and play cards with her every time he returned to the capital, she would be satisfied.

This made Chu Xiangqian sigh with emotion.

He hugged Qin Huairu and tossed her around again until the woman was so tired that she admitted defeat, and then he let her go.

Since Qin Huairu doesn't have to give up, Lou Xiao'e doesn't have to worry even more.

He returned to the Qianmen courtyard at night. Chu Jingrong probably bought him several toys and some famous London desserts.

He was very polite and agreed to sleep with his father at night.

Xue Jinglan was also in a state of distress and had no intention of playing poker with him.

Looking at the father and son playing on the bed, his eyes were full of love.

The next morning, Chu Xiangqian made an excuse that he had something to do and ran to Jinzhi Jinxiu's place early in the morning.

The two sisters have followed Chu Xiangqian for two or three years and have become addicted to playing poker.

After Chu Xiangqian's sweet words, the two sisters were soon dragged by Chu Xiangqian to play poker together.

Before he knew it, the 15-day deadline was almost up. Chu Xiangqian had been lingering among several women and finally had time to report to his leader.

The main topic is inevitably related to borrowing.

Of course, Chu Xiangqian would not be so foolish as to tell his leader that he had lent 5 million US dollars to Downing Street.

But the sharp drop in the pound has indeed made leaders realize that many things need to be adjusted.

The leaders even wanted to visit the 'Egypt level' in advance.

When Chu Xiangqian learned that his leader was going to the "E-level", he immediately thought of becoming his leader's bodyguard.

Unfortunately, as soon as I said it, my leader rejected it directly.

Even from the conversation with Chu Xiangqian just now, the Ying people may be aware that Chu Xiangqian has a lot of business dealings with the Celestial Empire.

But even so, the leader still felt that it was absolutely a wrong decision for Chu Xiangqian to accompany him on the trip.

It is true that he has made great contributions to the Celestial Empire in recent years.

The leader was not willing to expose Chu Xiangqian's true identity because of him.

Chu Xiangqian had no choice but to secretly command Shanque and follow the leader on the visit.

Fortunately, the Celestial Empire is not without other capable people without Chu Xiangqian.

During the visit, Chu Xiangqian was in London, but he kept staring at the leader's surroundings through the tits.

After watching for two days, Chu Xiangqian felt relieved when he saw that the security level was extremely high and there were several people around who seemed to have very high kung fu skills.

After returning to London, Chu Xiangqian took the opportunity to buy the theater and two cinemas that Margaret and Nata had previously selected.

Although it cost 400 million pounds, Chu Xiangqian paid the money without hesitation.

Even if he did not demolish these two cinemas and opera houses to build high-rise buildings in the future, the opera house alone should be worth several million, or even one or two hundred million pounds.

The return on investment can be 50 to 60 times, which is pretty good.

(End of this chapter)