Chapter 493: Consultant

Lin Sicheng asked very carefully, but Feng Sanjiang knew limited information and could not explain the situation at all.

He gave a few more instructions, telling them not to panic and to cooperate as much as possible with whatever Customs wanted to check.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Qi Zhi leaned over: "What happened?"

"Hu Hai entered from Hong Kong and was detained at Customs!"

Hu Hai?

Wang Qi Zhi recalled for a long time: this Hu Hai was the fat man among the three scammers.

"What did Pangzi bring?"

"I don't know yet!" Lin Sicheng shook his head, "But in all likelihood, it should be some rather sensitive antiques!"

Wang Qi Zhi frowned: "Could it be endangered items?"

Lin Sicheng did not speak, because he knew too little information to make a judgment.

Hu Pangzi had indeed said he would help him bring a few rare items, but he really did not know what exactly was brought.

Feng Sanjiang had also said that Hu Pangzi had many good things at home. It was possible he brought something like ivory or rhinoceros horn.

China is also a CITES member; according to entry-exit management treaties, such items are strictly restricted from entry without certificates. But to be honest, if they were brought over by the older generation during the war years, how could there be any certificates?

Seeing him not speaking, Wang Qi Zhi took out his phone: "Since Anqi is here, let him ask!"

Lin Sicheng stopped him: "Teacher, I will go and talk!"

When asking for help, one must at least show the right attitude.

Moreover, the cars had not left yet, and Ye Anqi was in the one behind them.

Lin Sicheng got out of the car and got into the one behind. He explained the situation briefly, and Ye Anqi immediately called the port.

It is easier to get things done when you have connections; Ye Anqi worked at Customs and was a leader of some rank. It didn't take much effort to find out the gist: Hu Pangzi had brought three whole trunks of antiques.

The other party didn't say exactly what they were, but one could imagine that many of them were problematic.

After hearing this, Lin Sicheng felt a bit numb: three trunks?

Surely Hu Pangzi didn't move his entire house over?

Bringing so many at once, even if there were no issues, Customs would have to treat it as problematic and investigate.

Ye Anqi put away his phone: "Sicheng, I'll go with you!"

That would be good.

With someone familiar there, at least they would know which department to look for and how to understand the situation as quickly as possible.

"Thank you, Second Brother!"

"Don't mention it!"

As they spoke, the two got out of the car and got into the front one.

Lin Sicheng arranged for the driver to take the others back to the hotel.

After about a hundred kilometers and nearly two hours, they arrived at Luohu Port around four o'clock.

Entering the hall, Feng Sanjiang and Ding Aqin saw Lin Sicheng and hurried up to meet them.

"Lin Shifu!"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Have you seen Hu Shifu?"

Both of them shook their heads in unison: "Just now, we went up to look again and did see the Person in Charge of the Passenger Inspection Section. But the other party only said one thing: wait for notification!"

Lin Sicheng was noncommittal.

To be honest, it was already good that they could see the Person in Charge. If it weren't for Hu Pangzi holding a travel permit, Feng Sanjiang and Ding Aqin wouldn't even have been able to go upstairs. "Do you know what he brought with him this time when entering the customs?"

"We asked, but he didn't say!" Feng Sanjiang had a constipated expression, "He said he wanted to give you a surprise!"

Lin Sicheng was stunned: the surprise was there, but what about the joy?

It was quite possible that the "surprise" Hu Pangzi mentioned was exactly where the problem lay...

He sighed: "What about Hu Shifu's family, have you contacted them?"

"We contacted them. Hu Hai's wife found his cousin, and his cousin entrusted someone to ask, but Customs still said the same thing: wait for notification!" Hu Hai's wife's cousin, Liu Yida of Shengdazhuang?

Liu Yida was the Person in Charge of the domestic market for Shengdazhuang, and the main market for Shengdazhuang's antique and auction business was in East Asia and Southeast Asia, so in any region Liu Yida was responsible for, art imports and exports would mostly pass through Guangdong and Hong Kong Customs. Logically, he must have acquaintances at Luohu Port, and the connections should be very good.

Even if not breaking the rules, he should at least be able to find out what Hu Pangzi brought and how it should be handled?

Would it be confiscated, or would it involve criminal charges?

But Customs still gave the same three words: wait for notification...

Lin Sicheng felt something was wrong and pulled Ye Anqi to the side: "Second Brother, you just go up and ask!"

Ye Anqi understood immediately: "Just ask?"

Lin Sicheng nodded solemnly: "Yes, just ask. If it involves anything sensitive, do not ask too much!"

Ye Anqi nodded: "Rest assured!"

Although he had never asked Lin Sicheng, Wang Qi Zhi had said: the few Partners Lin Sicheng found this time did not have very clean backgrounds.

Ye Anqi thought Lin Sicheng was afraid of getting him involved.

He was certainly not afraid, but he highly approved of Lin Sicheng's approach: those with the ambitions of a swan do not flock with swallows and sparrows.

Such people could be associated with, but one should not get too deeply entangled...

In fact, it was far from what he thought; Lin Sicheng was afraid that Hu Pangzi had smuggled private goods and brought something taboo.

Regardless, Lin Sicheng did not believe that Shengdazhuang could handle banks and grow such a niche business as "Antique Finance" so large without support from the authorities behind the scenes.

If, just if, Liu Yida wanted him to bring something, and Hu Pangzi happened not to know...

Of course, this was just a sudden whim and a flash of inspiration.

Afraid that Ye Anqi would let his imagination run wild, Lin Sicheng did not dare to say more. But fearing he lacked experience and would be fooled by a few words, ending up asking nothing, Lin Sicheng did not hesitate and called Wang Qi Zhi, asking him to accompany Ye Anqi.

The teacher was sometimes unreliable, but with his life experience, he would at least not be so easily brushed off.

After the two went up, the remaining four waited in the lobby.

Zhao Xiuneng frowned deeply: "Senior Brother, why do I have a bit of a bad premonition?"

Lin Sicheng sighed: It wasn't just Zhao Shixiong; he had the same premonition.

Feng Sanjiang and Ding Aqin had never experienced such things; as the saying goes, different trades are like different mountains, so they were effectively laymen.

Wang Qi Zhi came from a different background, and his perspective on viewing and solving problems was different, so he was a bit slower to react.

But Lin Sicheng and Zhao Xiuneng were different: of the more than ten years Zhao Xiuneng spent in prison, half of them were due to Customs rulings; his experience in such struggles could not be more extensive.

Lin Sicheng certainly had never been to prison, but in his previous life, he had dealt with Customs agencies plenty of times. Just to mention one point: China's Cultural Relics are generally easy to bring in but strict to take out. Don't think these are just four words; the intricacies inside are absurdly vast. I won't even mention how strict it is to take things out; Zhao Xiuneng had deep personal experience with this, and if he were to speak from his own experience, he could go on for three days and three nights without repeating himself.

As for how easy it is to bring things in... to give an example: as long as you aren't bringing in crates of things like Ivory or rhino horn. For the rest, even if it is Bronze from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Customs can turn a blind eye.

Whether they check after it comes in, and how they check, that is a matter for after it enters. But they absolutely dare to let you in.

Therefore, this matter with Hu Pangzi is very suspicious: the items hadn't even passed through Customs yet, so why were they seized?

Either something sensitive was hidden inside, or it involved a crime. But regardless of which it is, Hu Pangzi won't be getting out anytime soon. Without Hu Pangzi, this key figure, how can we go abroad, and how can we find the Japanese porcelain?

Lin Sicheng pinched the bridge of his nose: "Let's wait for news first!"

Zhao Xiuneng nodded: That's all we can do.

A long time passed, nearly an hour, before Wang Qi Zhi and Ye Anqi came down.

Looking at the expressions of the two, Zhao Xiuneng's heart skipped a beat.

Ye Anqi looked slightly better, roughly the expression of someone who hadn't managed to get things done and felt a bit embarrassed.

But Wang Qi Zhi had a dark face, as if someone owed him millions.

One look at this and it was clear: the crime Hu Pangzi committed was not small; at best he would be deported, at worst he would be sentenced.

Still go abroad? Go to hell!

Just as Ye Anqi was about to say something, Lin Sicheng shook his head: "Second Brother, let's get in the car first!"

It felt like he was being overly cautious, but Ye Anqi didn't say anything and followed him to the parking lot.

Once in the car, Ye Anqi explained what happened in a few words. Only then did Lin Sicheng realize it had absolutely nothing to do with what he had guessed.

Hu Pangzi had indeed brought three large crates, but they were all filled with antiques; there was no such thing as the sensitive documents or the like that Lin Sicheng had imagined. Moreover, all three crates had paperwork, and at least from the outside, every item matched the paperwork.

At the very least, there were no items like "taking a Ming dynasty Bowl and passing it off as a Republic of China cup" that an expert could spot at a glance.

By rights, he should have been able to pass through smoothly. But as luck would have it, he ran into a General Manager inspection.

It was also Hu Pangzi's bad luck: he happened to hit the timing right after the holidays, and also happened to hit the critical juncture of the "economic crisis," the "four trillion yuan stimulus," and the "national adjustment of import and export trade policies."

Therefore, it wasn't the provincial bureau inspecting at Luohu, but the General Manager's office.

Never mind Ye Anqi, even if Ye Xingchi came today, it would be useless.

When it rains, it pours, and when the ship is late, it meets a headwind?

Lin Sicheng didn't know what to say.

"Second Brother, did the leaders say what the specific problem is?"

"They said, first, endangered products: there is a pair of tiger teeth, a piece of hawksbill turtle shell, a piece of helmeted hornbill... Second, disguise and concealment. This category has the most, twelve items of various sizes... Third, there are two pieces of First-Class Cultural Relic, this is the most serious..."

Lin Sicheng bared his teeth: The first two are easier to deal with; at most, it's seizure and confiscation, or perhaps a fine.

But two pieces of First-Class Cultural Relic... if strictly following the legal provisions, it's at least two years to start.

Because the Cultural Relics Protection Law stipulates exactly this: those who knowingly possess cultural relics and intentionally evade Customs supervision for entry through concealment, disguise, or false reporting shall be punished for the crime of Smuggling of Cultural Relics.

Bringing them in also counts.

It wasn't that they didn't care before, but basically they would let them in first, then Customs would notify the cultural relics and anti-smuggling departments, and then they would see how to investigate. If the paperwork was relatively complete, there was a high probability they would let it pass. Of course, the necessary reporting and registration would not be missing a single bit, and in any case, thinking about taking them out of the country again would be out of the question.

If the paperwork was incomplete, there were two words: confiscation. But in all likelihood, the person would be fine.

But this time it was different; he happened to run into the muzzle of the General Manager's office?

Lin Sicheng sighed: "Did Hu Hai prepare the customs clearance paperwork?"

"Yes, and it was quite complete, but the Supervision Division believes that the name does not match the reality!"

"None of them match?"

"At least half of them don't match!"

Lin Sicheng was stunned and exchanged a look with Feng Sanjiang: That's not very likely, right?

Hu Pangzi frequently entered and exited the country, and often used his wife's cousin's name to swindle people; bringing antiques in and out was a daily routine for him.

It was impossible for him not to know what the concept of bringing three large crates of antiques through Customs at once was: not to mention using a Magnifying Glass to find problems, at the very least they would check it carefully and earnestly.

And a major port like Luohu that leads directly to Hong Kong has always been a disaster area for the Smuggling of Cultural Relics. Long-term illness makes one a doctor; having seen so much, the security personnel count as at least half-experts.

Disguising or concealing one or two items is possible, but to say that out of three large crates, half were concealed... Hu Pangzi's brain wasn't kicked by a donkey, was it?

"Second Brother, how many items in total in the three crates?"

"Twenty-nine items!"

Then half would be at least fifteen items?

Lin Sicheng intuitively felt it was impossible.

"Second Brother, is there any way to let me take a look at the paperwork, and then take a look at the items?"

Ye Anqi paused and began to ponder.

If it were before, let alone looking at the items, he could have taken Lin Sicheng to see the person directly. But this time, not only was the provincial bureau involved, but also the General Manager's office; no matter how arrogant Ye Anqi was, he didn't dare to make such a guarantee.

It wasn't that he didn't want to help; Lin Sicheng had finally asked for something, so he had to help him get it done no matter what. He was thinking about how to save some trouble and get it done in one go.

"Sicheng, wait for me a moment!"

Saying this, Ye Anqi took his phone and walked to the side.

After about ten minutes, having made three or four calls in a row, Ye Anqi came back.

"Sicheng, it's settled, I'll take you up!"

Lin Sicheng was startled: So fast?

He had thought he would have to wait at least three or four days.

Ye Anqi's tone was relaxed: "Because it was a spot check by the joint Supervision Division team, the Passenger Inspection Section didn't dare to be careless and sent the items to the Regulatory Section first. As for how to handle it specifically, we still have to wait for instructions from above..."

Understood; it meant that further investigation was still required, and the items had been temporarily placed in storage.

"The paperwork has already been submitted; you certainly won't be able to see the originals, but the Passenger Inspection Section took photos on-site..."

Lin Sicheng breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Second Brother!"

"Sicheng, don't be so polite!" Ye Anqi felt a bit embarrassed, "I had originally hoped to be able to help you out this time..."

"Second Brother, you have already helped a great deal!"

This was the truth.

As long as he could take one look, and then look at the inventory list again, Lin Sicheng could basically tell whether Hu Hai had concealed anything, and how many items he had concealed. Consequently, he could deduce whether he would go to jail this time or be released after being detained for a few days.

Thinking this over secretly, the two left the lobby and went to the annex building in the back.

The items were on the basement level, in a place similar to a Public Security evidence storage room, where the procedures were extremely strict.

Ye Anqi made a temporary arrangement, saying that Lin Sicheng was an Expert invited by the section from Beijing to appraise several Cultural Relics related to a Cultural Relics Smuggling Case. Word had been sent from above, but even so, the police officer on duty remained skeptical.

One could not blame him for doubting; in truth, Lin Sicheng was far too young.

It was not until Lin Sicheng produced his full set of credentials: a Special Researcher at the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage and a Consultant at the Palace Museum's Ancient Ceramics Research Institute. Besides these, there were two more: a Criminal Investigation Consultant for the Xijing City Public Security Bureau and a Case Consultant for the Beijing Criminal Investigation General Brigade.

It is no exaggeration to say that when he opened the latter two, the eyes of the police officer responsible for registration nearly popped out.

Ye Anqi stood to the side, his face full of bewilderment.

If he had known Lin Sicheng possessed such status, he wouldn't even have needed to make that phone call earlier...