Chapter 7 Chapter 6 A Mysterious Auction

Wen Baoyu walked in waddlingly—he was well-developed, healthy, and quite tall, so when he deliberately exaggerated his walking posture, he seemed to have his own chic taste. I once expressed some objections to his behavior , Wen Baoyu looked at me with wide eyes: "All young people nowadays are like this." I can't express an opinion anymore because I'm no longer a teenager. I have observed that Hu Hua is not at all annoyed by his grotesque appearance, although his own actions are in line with traditional solemn principles. And Liang Chen and Mei Jing admired Wen Baoyu's demeanor. Once, two little girls looked at him sideways for a long time, and said sincerely: "Xiao Bao, you can be regarded as a handsome man, but it's a pity that you are too impeccable, so you are not beautiful." gone."

Wen Baoyu rolled his eyes: "What should I do? Cutting my own nose is enough." Here, Xiao Bao didn't say "cut the nose", but used the word "劓", most likely Liang Chen and Mei Mei would not understand, but Liang Chen and Mei Mei snorted: "No need, call Miao Nu on your face." A tattoo of some kind of poisonous insect is almost enough." One said "劓" and the other returned "tattoo". It can be seen from this that good days and beautiful scenery don't dislike Wen Baoyu's actions, so when I see Wen Baoyu's actions that are a bit unpleasant.So I held back and didn't make a sound, and over time, I got used to it.

When Wen Baoyu walked in, I was about to go out.He was almost a member of my house, so I just waved him to let him go, and didn't intend to linger for a while just because of his presence. Seeing this situation, Wen Baoyu jumped sideways, blocked my way, and raised a black envelope in his hand: "I received a very weird invitation letter, and I want to hear your opinion." This kid Wen Baoyu, since he also had several strange experiences, he is very self-important. No matter what happens, he has so many different opinions. This time, he will come here to ask and listen to my opinion. , that is very rare.

I stopped: "What are you going to participate in?" Wen Baoyu patted the envelope: "An auction." I immediately made a "hum" sound from my nostrils.This action is called "sneering", Wen Baoyu naturally understands it. He immediately disagreed: "Luo Kai, the Asian Eagle, met the only opposite sex he loved in his life, and it also started at an auction." I looked at him sideways, of course with disdain, like "how can you compare with the Asian eagle". But after watching him for a while, I don't have anything to say, because Wen Baoyu has one advantage, his whole body, including his expression, is natural, full of self-confidence without artificiality.

Anyone who has this kind of natural self-confidence will definitely give others a good impression-it should be noted that the self-confidence must be natural, not artificial, otherwise it will be offensive. Wen Baoyu's self-confidence is of course related to the environment in which he grew up. A considerable part of it may also come from the influence of me and Bai Su on him, but of course, the more important thing is his natural personality. At this time, he saw that I didn't say anything, so he knew that he had passed the "test", so he raised the envelope to me again: "This auction stipulates that all participants must not reveal themselves." identity."

I raised my eyebrows: "Hmph, apart from the masquerade ball, there is also a masquerade auction?" Wen Baoyu frowned: "In some auctions, it is customary not to announce the name of the buyer. For example, the last time the world's most precious stamp 'Guyana Red One Cent' was bought, I don't know who bought it. Also, that stamp The famous natural pink blue diamond 'Soul of the Ocean' also doesn't know-" It seems that after he received the invitation, he did a lot of research work. He has a good memory. If he is allowed to talk on and on, he doesn't know how long he can talk, so I waved my hand.He interrupted him: "That's enough, can you explain why everyone is not allowed to reveal their identities?"

Wen Baoyu took a deep breath: "Yes, to be frank, most of them, or even all of them, are treasures from the auction, and their origins are not very glorious, so they should not be investigated. But they are definitely not stolen goods. Among them, most of them, and many years Earlier, a well-known Central Asian expedition was related to—" I had no interest in hearing it, and was about to go out, but when I heard the last sentence, I suddenly raised my hand and asked, "Sven Harding's investigation team?" Wen Baoyu shrugged: "I didn't say it clearly, but according to my guess, it's the Sven Harding delegation."

I pursed my lips and paced back and forth. Sven Harding is a famous Swedish scholar and known as the greatest explorer in the world. He devoted his life to the exploration of Central Asia and traveled all over Central Asia. , Mongolia, more familiar than anyone else. I have long been very interested in Sven Harding's expeditions, firstly because I also like adventure by nature, and secondly because Sven Harding has traveled back and forth to the Gobi Desert several times. One of his works is "Gobi Desert Crossing" ", many discoveries have been made in the desert. There are many legends surrounding his expeditions, which are very fascinating.There is a legend that said that he once discovered an ancient city that had been submerged for a long time in the Gobi Desert. In that ancient city, there were many rare treasures that fell into his hands, and he did not announce it. This matter - if announced, the local government will confiscate these treasures.

If the legend is true, then Sven Harding's possession of these treasures is naturally not very glorious. An ancient city that has been submerged by wind and sand for a long time is naturally very fascinating, so I stretched out my hand, took the envelope from Wen Baoyu's hand, and pulled out the invitation card. The invitation card is also black, with silver and white letters printed on it. First, there is an invitation text: Your Excellency Su Yang is very interested in precious objects, so I invite you to participate in this mysterious auction. The host promises that you will never be disappointed.

When I was reading this passage, Wen Baoyu was on the sidelines, explaining why he received this invitation - I was about to ask him. It turned out that after Wen Baoyu took charge of Chen Changqing's big house, he needed cash for management and reconstruction. With my consent, he sold some of the antiques in the house and gave several precious things to international companies. Auction auction.Therefore, Wen Baoyu's name was listed as an "international collector", so he received the invitation. After the invitation, there is another paragraph: "In view of the origin of some or most of the precious treasures in this auction, it is not honorable-but it is guaranteed that it is not stolen, and there will be no legal disputes."

The text also said: "Therefore, all participants in the auction site must not reveal their identities, including the auction host, please wear masks or make-up to cover up their true colors. If you ask yourself that you can abide by this According to the regulations, please call the association, and immediately send a beautiful catalog of auction items—most of them are fine arts and treasures of Central Asia, related to a famous expedition team, and there are many treasures that appear only in legends .” Seeing me raise my head, Wen Baoyu said, "Look, there is no doubt that this expedition must be led by Sven Harding." I asked, "Have you called yet?" Wen Baoyu said: "Of course I did. I will receive the catalog tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. I want to see what rare treasures there are." I laughed: "You have enough rare treasures in that big house, do you want to buy something else?" Wen Baoyu shook his head: "It's not that I want to buy it, but I want to see how that shady auction is going on." He described this auction as "shameful", which is very appropriate. Naturally, it is also very possible that this is simply a gimmick of the auction host to attract people to participate-if it is not because of this, Xiaobao would not Will be interested, and will not come to discuss with me at all. Thinking of this, I was a little disappointed: "You want to participate? Strange, have you noticed something extremely unreasonable?" Wen Baoyu laughed: "Of course I noticed, it has no time and place for auction." I stared: "Isn't this a jerk?" Wen Baoyu said: "I think it must be on the list—maybe I don't want too many dishonest people to participate, so I did this." I laughed: "When did you start to fight for freedom of movement? If the auction is held in another place, even if the Lingtang is willing to let you go, don't you just ignore the school curriculum?" Wen Baoyu smiled wryly: "I hope the auction will be held locally." I looked at the envelope, the letter was sent from Paris, and I let out a long sigh in his place: "The chance is 1 in 300." Wen Baoyu had his eyes fixed on me, and I saw his intentions, and shook my head quickly: "No, I won't participate, let alone I'm not curious, all of this may be just a gimmick designed by the auctioneer to attract customers." Wen Baoyu was noncommittal, but said: "It's possible, we'll talk about it after reading the catalog, maybe there's nothing special about it." I nodded, waved to him, and walked out—what I went to do that time has nothing to do with this story, so I won't mention it.I am a typical "busy with nothing to do", but there are also many strange things that develop out of the busyness that seems to have no purpose or effect at first. After Wen Baoyu's visit, I also forgot about it.Two days later, at night, I was chatting with Bai Su when I suddenly remembered this incident.So I brought it up with Bai Su.Bai Su smiled lightly: "Of course it's the auctioneer's way of soliciting. There are so many rare and ancient relics." I agree with Bai Su's judgment, but after 20 minutes, Bai Su and I both know this judgment, which is a big mistake. Wen Baoyu came in with an extremely solemn expression, holding the large format, thick, colorful and finely printed auction catalogue, and the first sentence he said after entering was: "I won the first prize! The auction will be held locally. It will be held in a month's time." I snorted: "The boy's luck is really good, have you read the catalogue?" Wen Baoyu took a deep breath: "No, I just flipped through it. It's too great. I'll watch it with you." I gave him a blank look, and at this moment, I saw the cover of the catalog, which was a dagger and its sheath, and I was attracted by the dagger after just one glance. People who have been exposed to martial arts, most of them, have a passionate preference for weapons.I once saw an extremely sharp sword in a secret room in Shiwanda Mountain (built for Emperor Jianwen of the Ming Dynasty to take refuge), and I couldn't put it down, and thought of taking it as my own. Greed. And this dagger, although what I saw was not the real thing, but with the advancement of modern color printing, I can experience its sharpness through pictures.The entire knife presents an unfathomable, mysterious blue color, which flickers erratically, and it is not even sure whether it is dark blue or light blue. From this mysterious, blue color, you can feel its sharpness and murderousness. While I was focusing on the dagger, I heard Bai Su also exclaimed. What is surprising is not only the sharpness of this dagger, but also its handle and sheath, which are studded with gems of various colors.It can be said to be dazzling. It took me half a minute before I sighed sincerely: "What a dagger." Wen Baoyu said: "The number is the first. There is a more detailed introduction. It is said that there is a story that is closely related to this dagger. The story is recorded on a large bundle of sheepskin—" As he spoke, he opened the catalogue. The first auction item was this dagger. The title was: "The Dagger of Destiny Related to a Sad Story, a Treasure Found in an Ancient Desert City." There is also a subtitle: "The reserve price is two million pounds." I snorted, and paid attention to another large photo, which was a bundle of sheepskins—this kind of specially made sheepskins, people in Central Asia are still used as paper today, and even more so in ancient times. An important tool for writing records, it can last for many years and is more durable than paper. The earliest Christian Bible that has been found is written on sheepskin. A large bundle of sheepskins, some of which were spread out, were written in a script that I could not understand. The description next to the photo was: This is a Central Asian tribal script that has long been lost.But surprisingly, there are Chinese characters in it.However, it is also difficult to read. From the recognizable characters, it can be known that what is described is a very bizarre and tortuous story. At this time, I also saw that among the "ancient Central Asian scripts" that I didn't know, there were indeed Chinese characters, and they were still cursive scripts. I only read a sentence, and Bai Su exchanged a glance, That sentence is: "The past is vivid, and the heartache is like a twist." Another sentence that can be seen in the photo is: "This dagger will last half of my life, but very few people know its origin. It is recorded here and left for future generations." Bai Su said in a deep voice: "The Chinese characters are annotations, and the strange characters are the ones that record the story." I was very surprised: "It seems that the story recorded is a Chinese story!" Wen Baoyu scratched his head: "Why are the stories of the Chinese recorded in such weird characters. Who is the owner of this dagger? To own such a dagger, this person must be very extraordinary!" Let me look at the explanation again: this batch of sheepskins that may be of great value is not a separate item, as an accessory of the No. 1 auction item, and the buyer can freely choose to accept or give up this accessory. Wen Baoyu said loudly: "If anyone buys this dagger and doesn't want this bundle of sheepskin, that would be great!" Although Xiaobao's words were a bit unbelievable, they made sense after thinking about it: although the dagger was undoubtedly a rare treasure, it didn't say anything.And that big bundle of sheepskins, God knows what weird stories will be recorded on it! Just the weird characters and cursive script of Chinese characters alone can arouse people's endless imagination. And the reserve price of this dagger is already so high, I don't know what the transaction price of the auction is, naturally it is not what I or Wen Baoyu can afford, so Wen Baoyu has such an idea, I hope that someone who doesn't know the goods, don't want those sheepskins, and is willing to sell it at a low price . Both Bai Su and I felt that what he said made sense. Wen Baoyu was so clever, so we could see it at once, so he went further: "I must go to this auction. Once I know who bought him, I will go and talk to him." Discuss, ask him to give up those dirty and dirty sheepskins filled with inexplicable words that he might not be able to understand if he spends his whole life!" Bai Su amused him and laughed: "When did Xiaobao learn the threshold of doing business?" Wen Baoyu was even more happy, with his head held high, thinking that "the capable can do anything". I poured cold water on him: "What if the buyer just happens to like stories with twists and turns?" When Wen Baoyu heard it, he suddenly let out a deafening and strange cry.Although Bai Su and I were already familiar with his grotesque behavior, we still gave him a shock. He stretched out his hand and patted his thigh again: "Hassan! Mr. Hassan, the shipping tycoon, he likes to listen to strange stories. If he is here, you can ask him to buy that dagger." I couldn't help saying "ah", indeed, with Hasan's character of listening to weird stories, he will definitely buy this dagger, and his financial resources are sufficient to handle it. It's a pity that Mr. Hasan himself has become the protagonist of a strange story. He and his father went to experience the segmented life together. I'm afraid he won't appear again in twenty or thirty years. Where can I find him? . Wen Baoyu immediately glared at me again.I understood what he meant, he was blaming me——Hashan intended to entrust me with his huge property before "parting", but I flatly rejected it. At this time, Wen Baoyu naturally said that if he had money , easy to handle. He muttered, "If you have money, it's still useful." I was a little annoyed: "Xiaobao, don't be obsessed with money." Wen Baoyu sighed: "Good days and beautiful scenery seem to have inexhaustible money, find them to find a way to go." I was both annoyed and funny: "You are getting more and more promising, girls are easy to think about money?" Wen Baoyu turned around, and suddenly shouted again: "Yes! Which beautiful witch from Dr. Yuan Zhenxia—" Speaking of this, he stopped suddenly, stuck out his tongue, and stopped talking. Bai Su and I didn't make a sound, and our hearts were heavy. Recently, everyone knows what happened to "the incomparably beautiful witch of Dr. Yuan Zhenxia".The witch Maxian, in order to fulfill a true love, withdrew her witchcraft "Blood Nightmare Method", so that she lost all her intelligence. Dr. Yuan Zhenxia, ​​in pain, handed her over to "Blood Nightmare". Eros," it all went through.Dr. Yuan Zhenxia told them with a very sad mood. Now, Dr. Yuan's mood is extremely low, and we can't help him, so we have to accompany him to feel sad. Under such circumstances, Xiaobao yelled loudly, which naturally inevitably made us feel heavy. Wen Baoyu stopped for a moment before continuing: "The witch's guardian is the biggest rich man in Asia. He can entrust me to buy this dagger, and then give us the sheepskin." Wen Baoyu had a lot of whimsical things, but this proposal was actually feasible. The Asian tycoon he was referring to was Tao Qiquan.Tao Qiquan also likes to collect ancient relics very much. This dagger, no matter from which point of view, is a rare and fine product, and it is also the goal of the rich and rich collection. Wen Baoyu will definitely succeed if he talks about it. So I said: "Okay, I will contact you on your behalf. You have to find time to meet him with the catalog and see if your eloquence can convince him." Wen Baoyu patted his heart vigorously: "Hmph, with my sharp tongue, there's no way I can't succeed!" After speaking, he looked at me, intending to force me to contact Tao Qiquan immediately.I picked up the phone and dialed a number. It was not easy to find a big man like Tao Qiquan.Because I have such a special relationship with him, he gave me a 24-hour manned phone number where he could be reached no matter where he was. I reported my name to the person who answered, and then said, "I hope Mr. Tao can call me as soon as possible, my phone number is..." (This is my habit: I never assume that others remember my phone number. If I report a number to someone, there will be no loss. If someone can’t remember the phone number and cannot be contacted, it will be a big loss.) Then, we continued to look at the catalog, only one third of the way through, and we were all dumbfounded. We are not people who have never seen the world, the big house left by Chen Changqing alone, the antiquities inside are worth a museum, but it is rare to see so many antiquities full of Central Asian style, so many The gold and jade wares, such exquisite workmanship, are gathered together. It seems that the ancient city discovered by the expedition team had many craftsmen with missions and crafts. Otherwise, how could there be so many fine works, especially many jade carvings, which are the best of jade, even from the photos, you can experience it That kind of smoothness is estimated to be produced in southern Xinjiang, and then flowed into Central Asia through northern Xinjiang. White jade of such a good quality is very rare in the world, and it is a treasure that jade lovers dream of. There are also many large jade wares, and even a large jade basin with a diameter of 50 centimeters. It is conceivable that the residents of this ancient city must be a nation that loves jade extremely. Minorities in Northwest China, Hui, Kazak, Tibetan and Uyghur still love jade to this day, and the Han people also love jade very much. It is understandable that the residents of the ancient city love jade. After the jade part is gold, most of which are all kinds of utensils made of gold wire, with very exquisite patterns on them. After reading it, I closed the catalog and said, "It's strange. The dagger with the number one is completely different from other treasures in terms of artistic style. I think that dagger is a product of ancient Persia, unlike other treasures. The treasures here are from the same area, and they have a very similar artistic style.” Wen Baoyu rubbed his hands: "Someone should buy this batch of treasures in bulk, and not let them be scattered, as if the treasures of the same kind have never been discovered by anyone!" I looked over to Wen Baoyu, he let out a "goo" and swallowed his saliva. The prices of all the auction items, the reserve price alone, were not trivial, and he didn't dare to boast that he could persuade Tao Qiquan to buy them all. Bai Su was a little dissatisfied: "Even the host of the auction didn't pay much attention to the bundle of sheepskins, and introduced so little." Wen Baoyu said: "Besides, I don't see any reason why the participants have to hide their identities. Look, there is even a rule of 'not talking to each other' on the admission pass." On the last page of the catalogue, there is a very beautiful admission pass with a serial number, presumably for the convenience of bidding at the auction. At this point in the discussion, the phone rang, and I pressed the button so that everyone could hear.Tao Qiquan's voice was very loud: "Wesley, hello, what advice do you have?" I laughed: "Introduce a child to see you, I have something to discuss with you - you have to prepare mentally, maybe you will spend a lot of money." Tao Qiquan laughed "hehe": "That's nothing, but in three days at the earliest, I'm attending a business meeting in the Bahamas." I took a breath and replied, "It's okay, let me know as soon as you come back!" At the same time, I was thinking whether I should tell Tao Qiquan about the misfortune of the Witch King. Bai Su saw what I was thinking, and shook his hand at me, signaling that I don't need to do anything extra, so I didn't say anything. Tao Qiquan readily agreed, and hung up the phone. I pressed the button again, turned around, and said to Wen Baoyu, "It's up to you!" Wen Baoyu sighed: "You have made such an arrangement, if I mess things up again, I should buy a piece of tofu and kill myself." Bai Su was still flipping through the catalog, and said with emotion: "These treasures were discovered and taken as their own. It is indeed not very glorious." I also sighed: "It's hard to say, the treasure is very likely to be found in China. If it was returned to the public at that time, there will be years of wars, and I am afraid it will not be preserved so completely." Bai Su asked again: "When will there be real objects to see?" Wen Baoyu pointed to a page of the catalog: "Three days before the auction, the venue was on the top floor of a hotel." He said the name of the hotel, it is a very familiar hotel, and I know that the hotel is owned by the Su Consortium, I have been there with Bai Su.It was a masquerade party, in which some people pretended to be me and uttered nonsense. As a result, Dr. Yuan Zhenxia triggered a very touching story. At that time, Bai Su dressed up as the bearded ancestor of the Communist Party, Marx! That was some years ago. I pointed to the catalog: "No mention of how much insurance was bought?" Wen Baoyu shook his head: "No, but what has been mentioned repeatedly is that the auction will be held in secret, and those who do not have an admission pass cannot enter the venue, and when previewing the auction items, they cannot talk to each other, nor can they be exposed. True face and identity." Bai Su and I laughed: "For you, this will be a very fresh experience." Wen Baoyu suddenly let out a long sigh, and repeated his sigh: "It's good to have money." I glared at him again, Wen Baoyu's exclamation made sense, but if you want to buy all the treasures in the catalogue, it will cost at least 100 million pounds, there are only a handful of people in the world with such financial resources. When I said this, Wen Baoyu snorted: "Someone in the world spends 400 million US dollars to build a palace. And, in the national budget, what is that money? There should be museums in rich countries. Buy it and put it on public display.” Wen Baoyu's rich imagination exploded, and he said again: "It is best to collect information on that ancient city, and make the museum the same as that ancient city. By the way, in the ancient city that Princess Xiangxiang visited, even the entire bathing pool was carved out of jade. Alas, some jade pots and bowls are nothing." Both Bai Su and I are used to his unrestrained behavior, saying whatever comes to mind, so we didn't find it strange, and Wen Baoyu suddenly asked: "Is the ancient city still there?" I laughed: "Didn't you want to find this ancient city in the desert?" Wen Baoyu didn't speak, but just looked at me fixedly. I saw that his intentions were "bad", so I just ignored him and ignored him.Wen Baoyu persisted for half a minute, seeing that I didn't respond, he sighed again, and then said: "It's best to excavate it like the ancient city of Pompeii in Italy, and then transport all the treasures back, and display them in the ancient city , that would be ideal." Young people have young people's ideals, Bai Su and I didn't bother to interrupt, Wen Baoyu was monologue alone, and he also found it boring, he walked to the door, and when he got to the door, he said: "When the auction items are exhibited, I am alone to see?" I snorted: "Isn't it only those who hold an admission pass can go to see the auction items?" Wen Baoyu raised his voice: "I don't believe that Wesley, who has great powers, can't even enter an auction house." I shrugged my shoulders and didn't answer this question. Wen Baoyu didn't get a response, so he paused and left. After he left, I took a deep breath: "This dagger...is indeed a rare treasure, and it is worth seeing. It may fall into the hands of some collector, and we will never see it again." Bai Su knew my intentions very well, she smiled and asked back: "Do you want to see the dagger, or the sheaf of sheepskin?" I told her the truth, and couldn't help laughing: "Actually, I had an idea a long time ago, but if I don't say it, I'm afraid Xiaobao will cause trouble if he finds out, and ruin the big thing." When I said these few words, I lowered my voice mysteriously, and at the same time, I guess Bai Su couldn't predict what I was thinking of. Bai Su smiled leisurely: "Of course, what you want is not the bundle of sheepskins, but the words on it." I straightened my body, knowing that Bai Su already knew my method, in fact, it couldn't be simpler, just take a photo of each piece of sheepskin with a camera. After the photo is taken, no matter how you study it, it will not be a problem.Since the auction items are for people to visit in advance, it is very easy to photograph them.I didn't tell Wen Baoyu because I was afraid that he would be stopped if he yelled.Naturally, the person in charge of the auction may have actions to prohibit filming, but with Bai Su and I's ability, it's extremely easy to take photos secretly. I continued: "The question is how to enter the venue?" Bai Su smiled: "The auction will be held in that hotel. The Su brothers are our acquaintances. Will the auction reject the two guests recommended by the owner of the hotel? Just contact them." I clapped my hands twice and immediately contacted the Su Brothers. I was also very happy because Bai Su said "two guests", which meant that she was going to take part in the action with me, and we hadn't acted together for a long time. Everything went smoothly and smoothly. On the second day, I received a call from Su Yaoxi, one of the Su brothers. He said: "I have contacted the auction, and they said they are very welcome, and they will send you the admission badge immediately. But this auction is very strange, you have to dress up to participate, and the participants are not even allowed to talk to each other." I chuckled: "We knew this a long time ago—Bai Su and I have stopped talking for a long time, and we can know each other's intentions just by looking at each other." Su Yaoxi was very funny, he said: "Oh, I see, this is called eye contact." Amidst the laughter of both parties, the matter was resolved smoothly. In a few days, both Bai Su and I received the admission pass. You'll be able to recognize him right away." Bai Su glared at me: "You still said that Xiaobao is childish, you are not the same--" She suddenly laughed: "We haven't put on makeup for a long time, so we might as well do it separately. Seeing that time, you Do you recognize me, do I recognize you?" It's very interesting that Bai Su's childlike innocence suddenly exploded. I immediately raised my hand in agreement, and suggested: "I'll 'run away from home' one day earlier, so as not to leak the secret." Bai Su was also happy: "Okay, whoever fails to recognize him will be punished." I leaned closer: "What is the punishment?" Bai Su turned his head and thought for a while: "I can't think of it now, let's talk about it later!" (It seems that there was such a plot in a martial arts novel?) Talking and laughing, time is easy to pass, Tao Qiquan is very trustworthy, he will notify me as soon as he comes back, and I will inform Wen Baoyu, this time Wen Baoyu is actually very polite and neatly dressed, he came to see me first, and after I got praise from me, he came to see me. Go see Tao Qiquan. Wen Baoyu is handsome and tall, very popular, I believe he will never fail.Sure enough, in less than two hours, he jumped out of a big RV and jumped all the way into the house. Of course, "jumping" means this--Tao Qiquan sent his own car to take him back. Call: "Guess what grade I got?" I smiled: "I don't know, Tao Qiquan just called me, but he didn't say anything." Wen Baoyu looked at me for a while, Tao Qiquan did not tell me what achievements he had made, he just told me: "The kid you sent is very interesting." After Wen Baoyu confirmed that I really didn't know, he took a deep breath: "The Dow Group has set up a fund to invest in collections, and boldly buy all art and antiques worth investing in." I am also happy on behalf of Wen Baoyu. Considering the financial resources of the Dow Group, it is not a problem to buy all these ancient relics. Wen Baoyu blushed even more with excitement, and he added: "It is also possible to build a collection hall for the fund—Chen Changqing also left a lot of antiquities, and I am going to donate them. Tao Qiquan can't just contribute." Wen Baoyu's "extremely interesting" comment was naturally not obtained by confession. He has a very cute personality, hearty and open-minded. People with such a personality are naturally popular everywhere. In a few days, this new measure of the Dow Group has been announced to the whole world. There is an episode in this incident. The chairman of this powerful foundation is a young man, of course Wen Baoyu, and he is wearing a neat suit. Photos, published in newspapers.His mother, Mrs. Wen, saw it, and said to herself: "This young man looks very similar to our Xiaobao." Xiaobao's mother was used to seeing the foolish and mischievous Xiaobao, and when she saw Wen Baoyu, who was well-dressed, she couldn't recognize her. Wen Baoyu's father, who has always had no right to speak in front of his wife, couldn't help but say this time: "That is our little treasure." Mrs. Wen glared at her husband. At first she didn't believe it, but after reading the news carefully, she yelled out, "It's really Xiaobao. How come he has such a great ability and has a relationship with the Dow Group. Hey! Hey! He's more promising than his father Much more." Mr. Wen didn't dare to say a word. Not long after, Mrs. Wen held Wen Baoyu's hand, smiling so much that the fat on her face trembled, and after screaming dearly for a while, she suddenly gave an order: "The photos you published in the newspaper are very impressive, it shows that people have to pretend, The Buddha wants to be dressed in gold, so unless you don’t want me to see it, you must dress like this when you see me.” Wen Baoyu wanted to disobey this "yi decree", his father gave him a wink, indicating that he didn't need to waste his words in vain, so Wen Baoyu had no choice but to swallow the words of protest. Later, when he came to see me with a sad face, I laughed and said, "From now on, you should try to see Lingtang as little as possible." Bai Su blamed me: "It doesn't matter if you dress neatly, how can a child be less likely to see his mother." Between Wen Baoyu and I, there is often a "men's tacit understanding", so no one will refute Bai Su's words. After another ten days, Wen Baoyu excitedly came to inform: "The day after tomorrow, you can visit the auction items." My news is better than his, because Su Yaoxi, one of the Su Brothers, has already informed me that the auction items will arrive, and the arrangement has already begun.He said: "It's incredible, all of them are high-quality products. I heard that the newly established fund of Dow Group claims to be able to mobilize one billion US dollars. Is it for these treasures?" The market is very sensitive to this kind of thing, and the consortium may secretly engage in sudden commercial actions under the name of this kind of fund.So I immediately said: "As far as I know, it is true!" Su Yaoxi sighed: "At first, I took a fancy to a set of jade bowls, but now it seems that it is difficult to compete." Brother Su also controls a huge industrial and commercial group and is a big rich man, but there are still mountains as high as mountains. Compared with the Dow Group, of course it is still a bit worse.He also thought that the Dow Group might have to buy them all. I smiled: "There are so many rare treasures in the world, I can't see them and just want to keep them for myself." Su Yaoxi also laughed immediately: "That's right - do you want to see the exhibits first? I can arrange it with the auction host." 我想了一想：“不好，这样一来，我的身分不是暴露了吗？” 事实上，我倒很想先去看一看，但是我和白素又有约，这几天，我们虽然没有商量这件事，但是互相都可以在眼神中看出对方大有挑战的意思，都像是在说：你认不出我，我会认出你来。 看看究竟是谁认得出谁，是一件十分有趣的事。 苏耀西没有再说什么。到了预展会之前的一天，我果然不在家中，到了陈长青的屋子，可是又避开了温宝裕——那屋子极大，要躲起来，十分容易。 我夤夜化装，装成了一个西方人，凡是化装不想破人认出来，必须在最难改变的地方，加以改变，而经过改变了的部分，又不是很碍眼，太碍眼了，有经验的人，一眼就可以看出来那是化装的结果。 白素是化装的大行家，功力和我不相伯仲，要瞒过她，自然非别出心裁不可。 我化装的白种人，是金发白种人，我把自己的皮肤有可能露在衣服之外的地方，全部染白，又把我的汗毛，也染成金色，头发当然也染了，然后再用蓝色的隐形眼睛，北欧口音的英文我不成问题。 这样的化装法，十分花时间，我用了足足三小时，才算是成功，金发碧眼，十分传神，然后，我又在化了装的脸上，戴了一个面具——那是一种任何人一眼就可看出来的面具。 第二天上午，我离开大屋子的时候，看到一个身形偃偻的老妇人，拄着一根拐杖，战巍巍地走了出来，还向我瞪了一眼。我几乎要忍不住哈哈大笑：温宝裕竟然扮成了一个老婆婆，不过，他也算是扮得像的了。 我当然带了小型摄影机，这种摄影机使用特别的底片，拍出来的幻灯片，可以放大到一平方公尺，效果极好。 那捆羊皮上的文字，拍了下来之后，可以放大了来慢慢研究。 到了预展场地，我不禁叫了一声幸运，拍卖会的主持，显然不知道这捆羊皮的重要，只是随便放在一边，而且，其它所有的对象，都是可以看，不可以用手去碰，都有玻璃柜保护着。 而那捆羊皮，却放在那里，任人翻揭。 这时，我已看到那“老婆婆”的身手，忽然矫健了起来，在那叠羊皮之前，不停地用手杖去翻，翻了一张又一张，行动可算相当奇特，可是却没有人理会。 本来，我还十分为难，因为我的化装虽然天衣无缝，可是只要我一表示对那堆羊皮有兴趣，白素就立时可以认出我来。 所以，我只是像别人一样，盯着那柄匕首，和许多金器玉器在看。 可是，我又要拍摄羊皮上的文字，又不能连看也不向那些羊皮看一下，而且，我也无法进行远距离的拍摄。 而在我留意温宝裕的行动之后，我不禁大是高兴。温宝裕用拐杖在翻羊皮，每翻过一张，他就把拐杖向上，提高一些。 这小子，他竟然把特制的摄影机藏在拐杖之中，公然进行拍摄！他的这个方法十分好，从根本没有人注意他这一点上，可以证明他的成功。 一看到这个情形，我自然放下了心，由得他去拍摄好了，我可以专心一致，只把白素认出来。所以，我开始打量在这个展览大厅中的人。 人很多，超过两百个，每个人都经过化装，绝大多数，是戴了叫人认不出面目来的面具，也有干脆扮成阿拉伯女人的。 我留意着每一个人，自然留意的重点，放在这个人是不是对那堆羊皮注意，或者对温宝裕特别留意。要有所发现，也不是容易的事，我看到一共有三个人，来到了温宝裕的身边，逗留了一会，温宝裕还居然向他们十分不耐烦的瞪眼，用不友善的眼光，把他们赶走。 这三个人，两个是身形高大的男人，白素的身子没有那么高，但当然可以加高——高明的化装术，非但可以使身形变高，甚至可以变矮！另外一个，是作中东女人打扮的妇女。 我本来想去进一步留意这三个人，可是一转念间，我想到白素如果在场，见到的情形和我一样，她也会去留意那三个人（如果她是三个人中的一个，她就会去留意另外的两个），这时，我如果去接近这三个人，叫白素看在眼中，岂不是一下子就可以把我认出来了。 所以我仍然没有进一步的动作，只是注意是不是有人特别去接近那三个人，可是却又没有发现。 温宝裕的行动十分快，他只花了二十分钟不到，看来就已经有了十分满意的成绩，他拄着拐仗，装模作样，在大厅中晃来晃去，神情十分怡然自得。 若不是怕白素认出我来，我一定会大大地和他开个玩笑，例如绊他跌一跤之类。 半小时之后，我开始走动，在每一个人的身边，逗留五秒钟到十秒钟，从各人的化装上，判别这个人是不是白素。 由于有“不能互相交谈”的规定，所以厅中极静，人与人之间也不互相交流眼色，所有的注意力，都放在那些珍贵的拍卖品上，尤其是那柄宝光四射的匕首，它那锋利的刀身，杀气隐隐，十分慑人。 一小时之后，展览厅中的人减少了一半，连温宝裕也走了，可是我还是没有认出白素来。看来，白素也没有认出我。 又过了半小时，人更少了，我想到，到了最后，可能只剩下我和白素两个人时，情形不是十分滑稽吗？ 还没有认出白素来，我当然不能就此离去，等到只有十来个人的时候，我不禁用力在自己的额头拍了一下，责怪自己的蠢笨。 白素何必非留在大厅不可？她可以一早就认出了我来，然后离去，只要她可以说出我化装成什么样子来，我就算是输了。 而她在一认出了我之后就离开，我自然再也没有认出她的机会了。 我叹了一声，不再留连，回到陈长青的屋子，又花了足足一小时，才把化装完全洗干净。 我来到温宝裕常到的那几间房间，温宝裕不在，我留了一张大字条：速将偷拍到的照片交出来。 然后，我回住所，在门口徘徊了一回，估计白素会怎样取笑我。 可是，当我推开门进去的时候，却出乎我的意料之外，白素在当眼的地方，留下了一张字条：“有突然的急事，一位好朋友向我求助，必须离开，不能去辨认你了。” 白素根本没有到那个展览厅去！不是我认不出她来，是她根本没有兴趣。 这实在令我啼笑皆非，但也令我松了一口气。从留字的时间来看，是早上七时。白素没有说她到哪里去，也没有说向她求助的是谁。她一定走得十分急。这样的行动，大多数发生在我的身上，白素很少这样。 我当然不会担心，白素有应付任何变故的能力，她的行动如此突然，一定有她的理由。 我休息了一会，温宝裕已风头火势赶了来，一到就瞪着我：“你怎么知道我拍了照片？” 我不说穿：“那么简单的办法，你一定想得到。” 温宝裕十分自得：“一点阻碍也没有，那堆羊皮，简直没人留意，你绝想不到我装成什么人。” 我笑着指向他的鼻尖：“令祖母？” 温宝裕大吃一惊，一步跳向后，用大惑不解的神情望着我，我由得他疑神疑鬼：“拍的是幻灯片，带来了没有？”温宝裕要在十秒钟之后，才回答我的问题：“带来了，还没有看。” 我和他一起进入书房，把放映那种特殊小幻灯片的放映机装好，面对着一幅白墙，然后，拉下了窗帘，开始放映。一共是七十五幅，每一幅上，都是那种看不懂的文字。显然要记述的事件十分复杂。 夹在那种古怪文字中的汉字草书批注也不少，有时比古怪文字还多，而且，可以推测写这些汉字的是同一个人，这个人，一定十分霸道，因为在很多情形下，他写的汉字，盖过了那种古怪的文字，喧宾夺主的情形，跃然于羊皮之上。 有百分之八十以上的草书，是红色的，红色还十分鲜明，那是上好的朱砂，这种朱砂，相当名贵，这个人竟可以大量使用，自然很不简单。 我辨认草书的能力算是高的了，但在当时，我至多也只能看清十之六七，我相信温宝裕连一成都没有看懂，他不断在咕噜着：“这算是什么字，这种字，写了等于不写，真正岂有此理。” 羊皮并不循序，所以也很难连贯，可是一个小时下来，我边看边讲，已经令得温宝裕怪声连连，我也大是兴奋。 可以相信，古怪文字记载的，是有关一个人的故事，而写汉字草书的，就是这个人。 古怪文字看不懂，这个人在批注之中，很多处对古怪文字作了补充，也涉及他的故事。例如他的名字，他是什么时候的人等等，就全是在汉字草书之中得到的。 始终没有人认得古怪文字。 汉字也是请了几个专家来认，才全部认着了的。 These are things for later. 对了，那个拍卖会怎么样了？ 拍卖会的结果，出乎人的意料之外，每一件拍卖品，都被抬高到疯狂的价格，那柄匕首的最后成交价是一千二百万英镑，而且到最后，拍卖会主持人宣布，有人提供了一个天文数字，买下了全部拍卖品。 不是陶氏集团，温宝裕参加了拍卖会，他说：“简直是疯狂的价格，陶氏虽然有钱，也不能这样用法，只有阿拉伯酋长才会这样疯狂。” 整批宝物，究竟落在谁的手中，竟然不得而知——当然这是暂时的，后来的事情又有意外的发展。