Chapter 929: Xiao He: I Can’t Save Money for the System
However, even the Yunrong Kingdom probably didn't expect this.
He was a successful overseas businessman and the head of the Yun family who helped the Yun family establish itself abroad step by step. After returning to China, he transformed into a patriotic philanthropist in everyone's eyes. Yet, he was cheated out of a fortune by Qian Congwen, a calligrapher who had suffered ten years of torment and returned to the city disheartened. He even lost his original work, "Peace and Stability Under Heaven".
If Qian Congwen hadn't wanted to prevent the fakes from swindling his own people out of their money, the Yunrong Kingdom would probably still be in the dark!
The Yunrong Kingdom was furious just thinking about those things.
The person who spent all his time making fakes was eventually fooled by the fakes themselves!
It almost caused a major disaster!
In order to prevent the fakes from being brought back to the country, Yunrong Kingdom had no choice but to reluctantly buy the goods back.
However, he then used this to blackmail Qian Congwen, demanding that Qian Congwen return the genuine item!
But by this time, they already had each other's weaknesses, and neither could do anything to the other.
In order to gain the trust of Yunrong Kingdom, Qian Congwen forged more than just the work "Peace Under Heaven". Therefore, Yunrong Kingdom has other evidence that Qian Congwen helped them forge works.
This evidence could very well affect the Qian family. Furthermore, Qian Wenhao's father, who is also Qian Congwen's son, has already embarked on his official career by leveraging Qian Congwen's influence as a renowned calligrapher. This is a crucial period for his advancement and he cannot afford to be implicated by Qian Congwen in the slightest.
However, Yunrong Kingdom still needs to continue its forgery of cultural relics. If Qian Congwen chooses to fight to the death with him and exposes those things, then his reputation will be ruined.
Thus, both sides, for the sake of their own family's development, restrained each other...
-
As for why most of these things are still left in the country, the truth is rather funny.
The Yun family, accustomed to usurping others' territory, had long regarded the Jinhe Prince's Mansion as their own land and property, and had also long been used to using it as a secret storage place for their belongings—after all, so many years had passed, and the fact that the basement had not been discovered by anyone else was a miracle in itself, indicating that the location was excellent.
Moving so many things would be troublesome and they'd be easily discovered, so it's better to just leave them where they are; it's safer that way.
However, they did not expect that during this period, with changes in national policies and social development, the ownership of Jinhe Prince's Mansion would somehow end up in the hands of a land developer, and then, due to various coincidences, it would be mortgaged to an overseas auction house.
And it's also tied up with a huge amount of bad debts!
The Yun family, who had long considered this land their own, couldn't stand it any longer. They immediately contacted the auction house to negotiate, hoping to buy the land privately. However, they didn't expect that there were many competitors with the same idea.
After all, putting aside those secret treasures, the Prince's Garden itself is a treasure trove!
Therefore, the final result was obvious: the auction house resolutely refused to sell the items separately.
The exorbitant debts also equally burdened every potential buyer, and even with the Yun family's current scale of development, they still dared not purchase it—yes, it's that simple of a reason.
If Xiao He hadn't won the property through a lottery, it might have remained unused for ages.
Meanwhile, the auction handed the land over to the relevant Beijing municipal scenic area management unit for unified management, and it was later included in the protected scenic area and under unified national management.
In addition, this is a relatively sensitive old town area, almost everywhere is crowded, and it is already under strict security protection. So, trying to steal box after box of treasures in the capital's key protected scenic area is simply impossible! Especially with the increasing number of surveillance cameras.
Unless the Yunrong Kingdom can have a cheat code like the protagonist in a novel, making these things disappear out of thin air.
Otherwise, these anomalies would be discovered within a few days, and they wouldn't even be able to leave Beijing.
Clearly, the Yunrong Kingdom does not possess such a cheat code.
He was so angry he almost jumped up.
—Oh, by the way, Yun Rongguo's health deteriorated in the years that followed, and he ended up in a wheelchair, so it was difficult for him to fly back from overseas and sneak off to the basement to get things.
Moreover, because what was underneath was so tempting, he was unwilling to tell the other members of the Yun family about this secret, fearing that they would secretly go and steal the things bit by bit, and then turn around and betray him.
Therefore, Yunrong Kingdom only planned to distribute it as part of his will before his death—just like the previous head of the Yun family.
Yes, the secret is that the Yun family still follows a patriarchal succession system. However, the only person who has actually seen that basement is Yun Rongguo, so he knows very well what kind of treasure lies beneath it.
He dared not tell anyone else beforehand, fearing that if he told his children, he would die the next day.
Unexpectedly, the Yun family fell from power, and he died of anger.
There was no time to leave any words.
-
Afterwards, the investigators began to carefully examine the items that Yun Rongguo had taken from the basement.
It's quite surprising that "Peace and Stability" which was taken out of the basement will eventually return to the basement.
The investigators could only guess that Qian Congwen had secretly put it back later.
I don't know how he found out about this place; even the other members of the Yun family don't know.
However, since they hadn't yet uncovered the truth behind those events, they still had some doubts. They didn't understand why Qian Congwen hadn't told anyone else or the authorities about all the things he had done, especially something as important as the basement.
What if the Yun family takes everything from the store?
What a huge loss!
However, after learning about this, Qian Wenhao suddenly remembered something from the past—before his grandfather passed away, his favorite thing to do was to go for a walk, rain or shine.
Once in the morning, once at noon, and once in the evening.
Later, when his grandson Qian Wenhao was born, Qian Congwen liked to take his grandson around.
However, the area is very fixed; I only wander around the old West City.
That area happens to be where the Jinhe Prince's Mansion is located.
Why does Grandpa go there every day?
Are they guarding that place?
Qian Wenhao silently recalled these things, and then, for some reason, found them somewhat amusing.
No wonder his family says he's most like his grandfather; they're both stubborn, both like to keep things to themselves, and both like to do things quietly.
But they are all the same—willing to bear the blame and doubt in order to protect their families.
So Qian Congwen didn't speak up at that time, and decades later when he encountered that incident, he would rather be arrested than explain himself.
They really are a family.
...
Xiao He later formally met the Qian family at an official commendation ceremony.
As a citizen who handed over important cultural relics, Xiao He naturally received official recognition and rewards.
Xiao Chen and Lao Qi were also receiving awards with him.
Xiao He remained calm, but Xiao Chen and Lao Qi were quite excited as it was the first time they had been watched by so many eyes from below the stage, and their faces turned slightly red.
After the commendation ceremony, Carlanson happily told Xiao He some good news—he had just spoken with the relevant leader, who told him that he could apply for a municipal-level cultural relic protection subsidy for the subsequent renovation of the Prince's Mansion, thus reducing renovation expenses.
In other words, the renovation of Jinhe Prince's Mansion can save a lot of money in the future.
The government's intervention and subsidies can be seen as a form of financial reward for Xiao He.
This was indeed a joyous occasion, but after the initial shock, Xiao He's feelings became complicated: "Is this even possible?"
Carlanson nodded: "So, Mr. Xiao, I'll help you with the application tomorrow?"
However, his employer just sighed helplessly and shook his head: "No need, I'm not short of money."
Caranson: "? Why?"
He was once again astonished by the employer's wealthy and capricious attitude.
The last time was when Xiao He forced the renovation of the garden, which cost a lot of money.
He even seriously suspected that his employer hadn't even looked at the bill.
That nine-figure sum is no joke!
If the employer comes up with another clever trick and continues to overturn the land in the garden, the number could even soar into the double digits!
But he still—refused! to eat! or take! supplements!
Caranson's computer crashed completely, and he didn't know how to persuade his employer.
"Sigh, there's no reason why. I'm not short of money. Just go and reply to the leaders over there for me. I'm very grateful to them for helping me get this opportunity."
Xiao He shrugged and sighed, "It would be even better if there were other ways to reward you."
The system pays for all the repairs. Even if this subsidy is approved, it will only save the system money, and the money can't be directly deposited into its account.
What else is there to say?
My buddy's got plenty of money.
I can't save money for the system.