Chapter 167: Oscar-Winning Actor

Deputy Director Qian spoke until his mouth was dry.

"There is no rush for this matter; you can consider it for a few more days before giving me an answer."

Seeing that he was about to hang up, Bai Wei hurriedly spoke.

"Wait!"

"Is something the matter?"

"Deputy Director Qian, I have an appointment with Richard to sell him a few antiques, and I also need to discuss redeeming the Dragon Head with him. But I am alone in Yanjing; could I trouble you to send a few experts over to back me up?"

"What, you want to redeem the Dragon Head? Will they agree?" Deputy Director Qian was startled, his tone suddenly becoming grave. "Bai Wei, the Dragon Head is a national treasure of Huaxia. If you can truly redeem it, it would be a monumental achievement! It would also be of extraordinary significance to the country!"

Bai Wei spoke earnestly.

"No matter what, I must try. The Twelve Beast Heads represent the soul of Huaxia, and the Dragon Head is the first among them."

"The soul of Huaxia should not remain in the hands of foreigners."

Deputy Director Qian pondered for a moment and nodded firmly.

"Good, I will send people over right now!"

"Miss Bai Wei, since you have such intentions, regardless of whether you can redeem the Dragon Head or not, I represent the country in thanking you!"

The time Bai Wei and Richard had agreed upon was in the afternoon.

When she heard someone knocking on the door, she ran over immediately.

But upon opening the door, Bai Wei was stunned.

"Why have you all come?"

Standing outside the door were the smiling Deputy Director Qian, Museum Curator Qin, and Zhou Yuchuan, and behind them stood none other than Ye Lao!

Bai Wei was so shocked she couldn't close her mouth for a long time.

Why did so many people come?

And they were all big shots.

"Ye Lao, weren't you doing archaeology in Qingshan Village? How did you come to Yanjing?"

Ye Lao chuckled, "Old Qian called me and told me to rush to Yanjing urgently, saying you were going to negotiate with someone from the Roth Family to redeem the Dragon Head. How could I not come for such a big event? So I just took a private plane here."

Zhou Yuchuan smiled, "Don't be nervous. We are just here to support you; we won't interfere with any of your decisions. Regardless, it is better for the Dragon Head to be bought by you than to fall into the hands of that group from the Roth Family."

"Then... please come in."

Bai Wei hurriedly stepped aside; she couldn't let them stand in the hallway.

Fortunately, she had Xiao Moting send the antiques over in advance, and they were now in the room's safe.

The hotel had already been booked by the Cultural Relics Bureau, with guards stationed around it and twenty-four-hour surveillance, so the security was tight, and she wasn't worried about them getting lost.

Deputy Director Qian asked, "Bai Wei, what do you plan to use to trade with Richard? The Dragon Head is worth a fortune; I'm afraid they won't exchange it easily."

"It's fine, I have three boxes of antiques that are all things they want."

"You really have them?" Ye Lao exclaimed, his face full of surprise, "Where did you get so many things?"

"A friend gave them to me. I plan to sell a portion and then trade a portion with Richard." Bai Wei smiled, then brought her right index finger to her lips, "As for this friend, I cannot say much about his affairs; this is a secret. In any case, these antiques were obtained through proper channels and were not acquired illegally."

Deputy Director Qian also nodded.

"People have their own channels; Old Ye, you shouldn't pry."

He had also investigated, and although he didn't know where the antiques in Bai Wei's hands came from, he truly hadn't found a trace of any illegal transactions.

As the group was talking in the hotel, an arrogant and cold voice sounded from outside the door, using a stiff Huaxia accent.

"May I ask, is Miss Bai Wei here?"

"Richard is here." Bai Wei signaled to those around her and walked over to open the door.

The door opened.

Richard stood straight outside the door, with two bodyguards behind him, as well as four foreign appraisal experts in suits and leather shoes.

Seeing the few people in the room, he didn't show any special expression and nodded faintly.

"Miss Bai Wei, where are the antiques you want to sell me? I would like to see them."

"They are here." Bai Wei pulled open a drawer, took out the antiques she had prepared, and then opened a safe. "Let your people inspect them first, then we can discuss the price."

The few antiques were all items from the Kent Dynasty.

And the safe was filled with Gold and Silver Coins.

Richard's eyes lit up, and he walked forward quickly, his expression revealing a hint of excitement.

"Excellent, these Gold and Silver Coins are exactly what my ancestors minted for the royal palace."

Bai Wei was curious, "Mr. Richard, did the ancestors of your Roth Family work for the kings of the Kent Dynasty?"

"He was a distant relative of the king." Richard's expression revealed a trace of arrogance, "Some of these silver coins even have the portrait of my ancestor engraved on them."

Bai Wei said "Oh," thinking to herself that it was no wonder he wanted to redeem these things.

Richard and the experts spent quite some time inspecting them.

Soon, he looked up with excited eyes.

"The items are all authentic. How do you plan to sell them?"

"Those few antiques are ten million each," Bai Wei said, then pointed to the Gold and Silver Coins, "The silver coins are three million each, and the gold coins are five million each. This is a fair price."

She had just discussed the prices of these items with Deputy Director Qian and the others, and they had settled on these figures to avoid being cheated.

Richard frowned, "No, no, no, that's too expensive. I can offer ten million for the few antiques, but for these Gold and Silver Coins, I am only willing to pay one hundred thousand each."

"One hundred thousand?" Bai Wei scoffed, "These gold and silver coins are all out of print; they aren't cheap cabbage."

Did he think she was stupid?

This price wouldn't even be enough to buy copper coins!

"Miss Bai Wei, none of the antiques acquired by our Roth Family are this expensive."

Just as Bai Wei was about to haggle, Zhou Yuchuan suddenly stepped forward.

"Mr. Richard, if you aren't buying, then our Jialide Company will acquire these Gold and Silver Coins."

"It just so happens that we are holding a global touring Huaxia Antique Exhibition recently, and we can take these Gold and Silver Coins to be displayed then."

Only then did Richard notice that there was actually such a competitor in the room.

Jialide Company is the number one auction house in Huaxia, with deep pockets and great influence.

He was immediately displeased, "Mr. Zhou, these Gold and Silver Coins are items from my ancestors; for you to take them and treat them as Huaxia antiques for a global exhibition is likely inappropriate and would lose the face of our Great British Empire."

"There is nothing inappropriate about it," Zhou Yuchuan smiled, "Don't your exhibits also contain many Huaxia antiques? Why is it that when it's your turn, it's suddenly not allowed?"

"The Huaxia antiques collected by our Roth Family are spoils of war, symbolizing glory."

"Spoils of war?" Bai Wei flared up the moment she heard this, "Those are not spoils of war, nor do they symbolize glory; they only represent the conduct of robbers."

Seeing the two of them at loggerheads, Zhou Yuchuan stepped forward to stop Bai Wei.

"Forget it, our Huaxia is a land of etiquette and a vast, powerful nation; we have never stooped to the thieving conduct of certain small, robber nations."

After he finished speaking, he turned to face Richard.

"If you aren't going to buy them, then I will."

As he spoke, he took his phone out from his pocket, preparing to notify the company to transfer the funds.

Richard's expression was extremely ugly.

He knew that Zhou Yuchuan was mocking him in a roundabout way, yet he could not find the words to refute him.

Seeing that Zhou Yuchuan was truly going to buy them, Richard became anxious.

Jialide Company truly had the strength; if they really bought these antiques, then Ross Company would lose face.

By then, the other party would certainly take the opportunity to raise the price, and if he wanted to redeem his ancestors' things again, it would not be at this price.

"Wait, I'll buy them right now."

Zhou Yuchuan's attitude was firm, "Sorry, I don't intend to yield."

Richard's face was dark, "I'll add another five million, I'll pay right now!"

Taking advantage of the time Richard was on the phone, Bai Wei seized the chance to wink at Zhou Yuchuan and gave him a thumbs up.

What acting!

Truly! An Oscar-winning actor, scaring Richard into paying immediately.

Zhou Yuchuan also smiled slightly and gave a small nod.