Yu Zhenping also wanted to make a deal with Zhuang Rui as soon as possible. Seeing that Old Li was repeatedly refusing to accept the money, he offered a word of advice.
"Then...then I'll accept it. Dazhuang, hurry up and take some men up the mountain to set traps. We'll hunt wild boars tomorrow to entertain our guests..."
After being persuaded by Yu Zhenping, Old Li finally accepted the 100 yuan. After seeing Zhuang Rui and the others to the door, he said to Yu Zhenping, "Xiao Ba, tell Er Gouzi to come home and visit when he has time. It's been almost two years, and he hasn't even come back to pay respects at his parents' graves..."
Upon hearing Old Li's words, Yu Zhenping's body stiffened, and he said somewhat awkwardly, "Uncle Li, I understand. I'll tell Brother Er Gou about it when I get back. Or, after we've set up the phone line in a while, you can give him a good scolding yourself..."
Others may not know, but Yu Zhenping knows perfectly well that Er Gouzi Li Wudi is no longer alive.
Two years ago, after Yu Laoliu's deal in Guangdong failed, Er Gouzi and his gang considered quitting. They approached Yu Laoda, wanting to divide the money they had earned over the years and then flee. However, Yu Laoda was still obsessed with the Tang Dynasty imperial tomb. The two sides couldn't reach an agreement, so he decided to kill him.
Yu Zhenping witnessed firsthand how Boss Yu drugged Er Gouzi and the others, got them drunk, and then strangled them to death one by one. Their bodies were used as fertilizer for the peach orchard.
This is also the main reason why the police failed to track down Lijia Village, because apart from Yu Laoda and Er Gouzi, only Yu Zhenping knew about this place.
At this moment, when Old Li mentioned Er Gouzi, even though Yu Zhenping was brave, he still felt a chill on the back of his neck and his scalp tingled, as if he were seeing that day again.
Holding the flashlight from Old Li's house, Yu Laoba quickened his pace noticeably, leading Zhuang Rui through the quiet village to the front of the two-story building.
Yu Zhenping took out a bunch of keys from his waist, opened the iron gate of the courtyard, and invited Zhuang Rui and the other man inside.
Upon entering the courtyard, Yu Zhenping flipped a switch somewhere, and a light bulb hanging above the courtyard immediately lit up. By the light, Zhuang Rui could see that the corners of the walls around the courtyard, where there was no concrete ground, were already overgrown with weeds.
Yu Zhenping stood in the courtyard, not in a hurry to open the door to the main room. Instead, he looked at Zhuang Rui and said, "Boss Zhuang, would you like to see the cauldron first, or the smaller items?"
Zhuang Rui didn't quite understand Yu Zhenping's meaning, but still said, "Of course we should see the cauldron first, Boss Ren. This is what we agreed on. If it's just those small items, I wouldn't bother making this trip if it weren't for this important piece..."
"Alright, let's look at the bronze cauldron first..."
Yu Zhenping nodded, called out to Zhuang Rui, and walked towards a small house against the wall on the east side of the courtyard.
This should be the kitchen, but apart from a stove and a brick table for holding bowls and chopsticks, there were no cooking utensils. Zhuang Rui was a little confused about what Yu Zhenping meant by bringing him here.
Yu Zhenping didn't say anything. After entering the house, he immediately went to the brick platform that was more than a meter above the ground and started tapping on it with his hand.
Chapter 701 Bronze Treasures
Although Yu Zhenping had participated in building the platform, after several years, he had almost forgotten about it. After knocking for a few minutes, a hollow sound came from one spot.
Yu Zhenping's face lit up with joy. He poked at that spot with his hand, then pulled it out, and a piece of blue brick was taken out, emanating a musty smell.
After pulling out the blue brick, Yu Zhenping looked around, walked behind the door, took out a bronze object that was greenish all over and had three prongs at one end, inserted the prongs into the blue brick, and pried it open. Several other blue bricks scattered on the ground.
"Mr. Ren, wait, don't make a move yet..."
Yu Zhenping moved too quickly. Zhuang Rui's eyes had barely landed on the object in his hand when Yu Zhenping had already made his move. Zhuang Rui snatched the bronze artifact and examined it closely.
One of the three forked points had been bent by Yu Zhenping, which made Zhuang Rui very distressed. This was an antique candlestick, the kind that was placed directly on the ground.
Compared to the more numerous candlesticks unearthed, which are only 40 to 50 centimeters long and placed on tables, this bronze candlestick, which is about 1.5 meters long, is extremely rare.
It is important to know that before the Qin and Han dynasties, although there were resources underground, the ancient people's technology for refining iron and steel was very backward. At that time, they could only produce bronze artifacts, and the quantity was very small.
Ordinary people simply did not have the opportunity or the right to own bronze artifacts. Only nobles or kings and generals could afford to use bronze artifacts, and most of them were used for sacrificial rites to heaven. It is estimated that only kings and nobles could afford to use candlesticks at home.
Therefore, before the Qin and Han dynasties, bronze artifacts were a symbol of status. For example, a bronze chariot unearthed in Hubei Province would be considered a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost in modern times, and it would be a limited edition, handmade piece.
Don't let the patina on this bronze candlestick fool you; it could easily fetch over 100,000 yuan in the antique market. Zhuang Rui doesn't want Yu Zhenping to ruin it.
"Boss Ren, let's get a new tool. This thing is an antique too..."
Sensing the rich spiritual energy within the bronze artifact, Zhuang Rui refused to let Yu Zhenping use it again. According to his agreement with the police, this object might be displayed in his own museum.
"Hehe, Boss Zhuang, you won't care about this thing anymore later..."
Seeing Zhuang Rui's precious expression, Yu Zhenping shook his head and smiled dismissively. Then, he found a crowbar left over from before in the yard and went back to the kitchen to get busy again.
Perhaps because he knew he would never come back, Yu Zhenping acted violently, quickly filling the kitchen with smoke and making Zhuang Rui wait outside.
"Mr. Zhuang, come in..."
Hearing Yu Zhenping's greeting, Zhuang Rui went back inside. As soon as he entered the room, he almost coughed from the dust that was still flying everywhere.
Looking at Yu Zhenping again, this guy's hair was covered in dust, and at first glance, he looked like an old man with gray hair.
After Zhuang Rui's gaze lingered briefly on Yu Zhenping, it was then drawn to a bronze cauldron with a round belly and straight ears that had appeared on the original stone platform.
Zhuang Rui seemed to be pulled by a rope, and walked towards the bronze cauldron involuntarily, asking subconsciously, "Boss Ren, is this the important bronze artifact you mentioned?"
"Yes, Mr. Zhuang, please take your time looking around. I'll show you more of the contents later..."
Yu Zhenping nodded, took the crowbar, and went outside to start hitting things.
"Damn, how did they manage to move something this big in here?"
Peng Fei walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see this thing. This bronze cauldron was definitely over 1.2 meters tall. Its thick body and three legs weighed at least 400 to 500 kilograms. It would be difficult to move without a crane.
Peng Fei was unaware that this object was placed here using a small crane during the construction of the house, and that this kitchen was built specifically to house this cauldron.
This thing had been a real headache for Boss Yu. It was a pity to give it up, but he couldn't trade it away, so it had just been sitting there. Little did he expect it to end up in Zhuang Rui's hands. Of course, whether Zhuang Rui could get his hands on it depended on whether the relevant departments were happy.
“Priceless treasure, truly priceless treasure…”
Zhuang Rui half-squatted down, stroking the bronze cauldron with both hands, his eyes filled with a look of rapture. Although the "Dingguang Sword" he had previously acquired was precious and its value was no less than that of this bronze cauldron, in terms of shape, this behemoth in front of him was obviously more awe-inspiring.
Zhuang Rui had visited almost all the museums in Beijing and Pengcheng, which contained many important bronze artifacts, including numerous bronze tripods. However, none of them could compare in size, and even in terms of appearance, few were as beautiful and simple as these.
Zhuang Rui roughly measured it with his hand. The bronze ding was about 1.25 meters tall and about 80 centimeters in diameter. The upper rim was flat and polished very smoothly. At the rim, there were two straight ears about 20 centimeters high. The ear rings were large and thick and had kui-shaped patterns on them, which are the most common on Shang and Zhou bronzes.
The bronze tripod has three columnar legs at the bottom of its round body. There are three large semi-circular ears on the outer wall of the belly, corresponding to the three columnar legs. The upper part of the belly is decorated with three animal face patterns, and below each animal face pattern is a bull head in relief. Each columnar leg is also decorated with animal face reliefs.
This bronze cauldron was the most ornate and intricately designed cauldron Zhuang Rui had ever seen. The bull-head reliefs alone were something that no ordinary craftsman could have made. What amazed Zhuang Rui the most was that there were dozens of inscriptions on the inner wall of the cauldron.
It is important to know that whether or not a bronze artifact has an inscription is an extremely important standard for measuring its value. Not to mention now, even before the liberation, bronze artifacts with inscriptions were often worth a fortune for each character.
There was once a patriotic collector in Beijing who spent 400,000 silver dollars to snatch a bronze artifact with an inscription from a group of foreign adventurous merchants. Even today, that price would be an astronomical figure.
"I've struck gold! I've fucking struck gold..."
Zhuang Rui excitedly patted the bronze cauldron. He was determined to take it to his museum no matter what, even if it meant putting pressure on the local museum through Ouyang Zhenwu, because the bronze cauldron was simply too valuable.
These inscriptions not only reveal the origins of the bronzes and whose tombs they came from, but also provide valuable insights into the social development and structure of the time.
Zhuang Rui believed that once this cauldron was unveiled, it would definitely cause a great sensation among domestic collectors, archaeologists, and historians, and its effect should be no less than that of his legendary "Dingguang Sword".
Based on Zhuang Rui's understanding of bronze tripods, apart from the Simuwu Ding, which weighs 832.84 kilograms, even the tripod unearthed from Qin Shi Huang's Yong Pit is probably not as imposing and dignified as the one in front of him.
Moreover, this ding has another unique feature: the three large semi-circular handles on its belly wall. Zhuang Rui has seen many bronze dings, but it seems that only the Chunhua Ding, which was unearthed in Chunhua County, Shaanxi Province, has this feature.
However, that famous bronze artifact did not bear any inscriptions, making it slightly inferior to this ding (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel).
One can imagine that if this bronze tripod were placed in one's own museum, it would surely attract many experts and scholars from across the country. Even if one did not charge them any fees, it would not be a big problem to let them help the museum gain fame.
Although he knew perfectly well that the bronze cauldron wouldn't be stolen from its place, Zhuang Rui still walked out of the low-ceilinged kitchen, glancing back every few steps. Upon seeing Yu Zhenping, he immediately asked, "Boss Ren, what's the story behind this cauldron...?"
"Huh? Mr. Zhuang, this isn't in accordance with the rules..."
Yu Zhenping frowned. Although everyone knew the origin of this object, I couldn't very well describe to you what happened during the tomb raiding, could I?
"Hey...hey, that's not what I meant, Mr. Ren. You know, if I want to display this, it needs a reasonable provenance. Even if it was brought back from abroad, I need to know roughly which tomb it came from, right?"
When Zhuang Rui saw Yu Zhenping frown, he quickly explained that he had only asked casually, but Yu Zhenping was definitely the main person who stole the bronze cauldron. If he could find out its origin from him, he would save himself a lot of trouble in the future.
"Henan, Luoyang, Wunüzhong Village..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Yu Zhenping uttered these words. He hadn't sensed any danger along the way; otherwise, he would never have said anything, even if you beat him to death.
"What a generous gesture! Mr. Ren is truly generous..."
Zhuang Rui's words were sincere. With so many archaeological teams in the country and such convenient conditions, it took decades of hard work to finally unearth the Chunhua Ding.
These few tomb raiders easily created such a groundbreaking artifact that would cause a sensation in the archaeological world. Zhuang Rui felt ashamed for those archaeological experts.
"Alright, Mr. Zhuang, let's take another look at the items in the room. If there are no problems, then we can consider the deal done, right?"
Yu Zhenping didn't want to talk much about tomb raiding. He took the key and opened the door of the small building, but didn't go in immediately. Instead, he left the door open to let in some fresh air. He hadn't been to this place for almost a year, and the smell inside must be terrible.
"Of course, that one cauldron alone is worth the price we discussed earlier..."
Zhuang Rui nodded readily, and his straightforward attitude put Yu Zhenping at ease.
Chapter 702 Blunder
Despite Yu Zhenping's seemingly familiar demeanor with Zhuang Rui, he remained vigilant throughout. The gun, which was originally in his baggy trouser pocket, was now tucked into his lower back for easy access.
However, Yu Zhenping finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that Zhuang Rui was willing to pay.
"Mr. Zhuang, please come in..."
After waiting outside for more than ten minutes, Yu Zhenping went into the house first and turned on the lights.
The main room of the small building was simply furnished with a sofa and a coffee table. When Yu Laoda used to live here, he would eat at farmhouses and wander around the foot of the mountain. There was not much in the house.
"Mr. Ren... there's nothing here..."
Zhuang Rui looked around and found that the only old thing he could find was the tin kettle behind the sofa, which was over 20 years old. There was nothing else that looked old.
"Hehe, Mr. Zhuang, the items are all in those two rooms. You can go and see for yourself..."
Yu Zhenping smiled, tossed a bunch of keys to Zhuang Rui, and said, "There are three rooms upstairs that can be used. We can't leave tonight, so let's stay upstairs..."
"Alright, I'll follow Boss Ren's arrangements. If you find anything good in the future, please remember me..."
After Zhuang Rui took the key, he gave Peng Fei a wink, signaling him to hand the backpack containing the money to Yu Zhenping, and then he took the key and opened a door.
After opening the door, Zhuang Rui didn't rush in. Instead, he reached out and touched the wall next to the door to turn on the light in the room.
"I... I'm stunned, these... these are all antiques?"
Even though he had been mentally prepared, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but swear when he entered the room where the antiques were stored. Perhaps it was because he had never been to a museum's storeroom before, but the room full of bronzes gave Zhuang Rui a great shock.
On the floor directly opposite the door, there were more than a dozen bronze chimes of varying sizes. The largest was more than half a meter tall, while the smallest was only the size of a fist. They were engraved with various patterns and were exceptionally exquisite.
"Damn it, the archaeology department should just start offering a course on tomb raiding..."
Looking at the bronze chime bells, which were comparable to the bronze tripod he had just seen, Zhuang Rui was speechless. Whether from an academic perspective or from the perspective of the chime bells themselves, the value of these things was definitely no less than that bronze tripod.
The discovery of the chime bells from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng shocked the world's archaeological community, as such exquisite musical instruments and such a magnificent orchestra, dating back more than two thousand years, are extremely rare in the history of world culture.
Although more chime bells have been unearthed since then, they are all relatively small and incomplete. The ones in front of Zhuang Rui, however, will likely cause a great sensation once they are unveiled.