Zhuang Rui smiled noncommittally, then turned to the other two and asked, "Xiao Jia, and Xiao Lei, where are you two?"
If Deputy Curator Huangfuyun knew that Zhuang Rui, the big boss, was not only not protecting the interests of his own business, but was also undermining his own interests, he would definitely be furious.
However, Zhuang Rui also had his own considerations. The graduate students had followed him all the way and had indeed worked quite hard. For example, Xiao Jia was still sick today, but he didn't complain at all while working. Zhuang Rui felt that he should give them a chance to choose.
"I still want to go to the Dingguang Museum. Although it's a private museum, it's very well-funded and has a bright future. I think I'll still choose to work at a museum..."
After thinking for a long time, Xiao Jia made his choice. He was a bit lively and liked challenging work. Moreover, the salary offered by Dingguang Museum was much higher than that of staying at the university.
Where is Xiao Lei?
Zhuang Rui looked at the last graduate student.
“I want to stay at the school, but Brother Zhuang, if we break the contract with Dingguang Museum, we’ll each have to pay a penalty of 100,000 yuan…”
While Xiao Jia and Xiao Lei were talking, Xiao Lei kept frowning and thinking about the problem. Girls tend to think things through more comprehensively, and she also raised questions when making her choice.
These three graduate students come from ordinary families, and 100,000 yuan is a huge sum for them. If the other party refuses to terminate the contract, they will probably lose this opportunity even if they are able to stay at the university because of this archaeological project.
"Don't worry about the museum, I'll take care of it for you..."
Zhuang Rui smiled upon hearing this and offered to take on the matter. As the owner of the Dingguang Museum, although he was a hands-off manager, he still had this much authority.
"Brother Zhuang, I heard that the Dingguang Museum is very strict about hiring. Many people from the school want to get in but can't. We've signed the contract but aren't going to work there. They won't agree to that, will they?"
Xiao Lei was a little skeptical of Zhuang Rui's words. She had visited the museum before, and a private museum of that scale must have a very powerful backer. Whether Zhuang Rui would actually give her face was another matter entirely.
"I'll say yes, I'll definitely say yes..."
Zhuang Rui gave a wry smile. "What a joke. If it weren't for Huangfu Yun forcing me to bring you guys out for some training, why would I have chosen three students to participate in my first archaeological expedition?"
"But……"
Xiao Lei wanted to say something more.
Dr. Ren, who couldn't stand it any longer, interrupted Xiao Lei and said, "There's no 'buts' about it. That's how it is. Zhuang Rui is the owner of Dingguang Museum. What else is there to say?"
"Zhuang... Brother Zhuang, you... you're the owner of the Dingguang Museum?"
Upon hearing Dr. Ren's words, the three students in the room were dumbfounded. They had joked with Zhuang Rui quite a bit along the way, and now, upon suddenly hearing Zhuang Rui's identity, they all felt like they were dreaming.
“Brother Zhuang… Brother Zhuang, I… I don’t mean I don’t want to work at the museum, but… but…”
After learning Zhuang Rui's identity, Xiao Lei felt a little embarrassed and rejected his offer to recruit her in front of the boss, which was somewhat embarrassing.
However, Xiao Lei and the others were also thinking to themselves, "Zhuang Rui is clearly our boss, but he never said so before. This... really does fit Zhuang Rui's surname, but it would be more appropriate to call him a show-off."
"It's alright. Staying at the university has its advantages, and there are also opportunities for development outside. You're all my juniors. If it were someone else, I wouldn't even ask. Xiao Jia, do your best and don't let down the people from Peking University who go out to study..."
Zhuang Rui waved his hand to stop Xiao Lei from speaking. Since the Dingguang Museum was on track, he hadn't worried about things there at all. Now that he was only hiring two fewer employees, Zhuang Rui wouldn't care about it at all.
"Yes, boss, I will definitely do my job well..."
Xiao Jia, being quite easygoing, jokingly stood at attention and saluted after hearing Zhuang Rui's words, thus defusing the slightly awkward situation.
"Brother Zhuang, dinner's ready..."
Mengzi's voice rang out from the temple gate. He hadn't been idle all morning, using a machete to clear a path for camels through the dead poplar forest. Of course, the firewood for cooking was made from these dead branches.
Hearing Mengzi's call, Zhuang Rui and the others went out. In this desolate place, they weren't afraid of anyone sneaking into the main hall to steal the scriptures. The only person they needed to guard against was Zhongchuan at the temple gate.
"Huh? Brother Mengzi, where's Professor Man?"
Zhuang Rui noticed that Professor Man was missing from the group sitting around the campfire. It seemed that he had stayed in the poplar forest yesterday.
"Teacher Man is still in that woods. I almost got angry with her when I tried to cut some dry branches. I don't know what's so good about this junk..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Mengzi immediately looked resentful. It was as if he had demolished Professor Man's house just because he was gathering some firewood. He hadn't even given Professor Man a friendly look when he called him for dinner earlier.
"Heh, let him do his research. That's just how experts are..."
Zhuang Rui smiled and continued, "Brother Mengzi, after we finish eating, please take Dr. Peng Feiren and Xiao Lei back to town as soon as possible. We discovered some artifacts in the temple; it's a very significant archaeological discovery. You must bring back what the camels were carrying..."
Previously, Zhuang Rui and others were discussing things in the main hall, and Mengzi was unaware that they would be returning that afternoon. Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, he was taken aback and asked, "Brother Zhuang, why aren't we going back together?"
Zhuang Rui glanced at Zhongchuan upon hearing this and said, "These things can't be transported by just a few camels. Teacher Meng is already on his way to town, and we'll need you to lead the team back in again..."
Seeing Zhuang Rui's expression, Mengzi understood. So this was to guard against the Japanese. He nodded and said, "Alright, I'll leave you with more supplies. Erdan will stay too; you can tell him anything if anything happens..."
While Zhuang Rui was discussing the return trip with Mengzi, Zhongchuan couldn't sit still. He had tried to rush into the temple several times, but Peng Fei knocked him down a few times before he calmed down.
Upon hearing that the artifacts had been found, Nakagawa immediately became agitated. He stepped forward and grabbed Zhuang Rui, saying, "I protest! Without me, you wouldn't have discovered these precious artifacts. These are treasures of world culture; you cannot claim them as your own..."
In Nakagawa's fixed mindset, if he possessed a treasure map, it should belong to him, regardless of which country or region it was found in.
Upon hearing Yan Xiaowei's translation, Zhuang Rui sneered and said, "What a joke! You Japanese have nearly 30,000 volumes of Dunhuang documents, why don't you share them with the world? It seems Mr. Nakagawa has quite a few at home, but I haven't seen you share them with China."
Speechless after hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Nakagawa hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "That...that's different, it was passed down from my ancestors..."
"Bullshit! When those ancient books appeared, you Japanese didn't even have your own culture yet! Xiao Yan, translate them verbatim, not a single word missing..."
Zhuang Rui was furious when he heard this; it was utterly his grandmother's illogical thinking.
"You...you, why are you swearing at me?"
Nakagawa's face, which had been ashen, turned red and white as Zhuang Rui berated him. His chest heaved with anger, but he couldn't find any words to refute Zhuang Rui.
“Mr. Zhuang, I admit that those ancient books are Chinese, but I have come all the way here to fulfill my father’s last wish and to see these precious cultural relics. I beg you.”
You have to admit, the Japanese are just shameless. If you try to reason with them, they'll be completely unreasonable. But if you hit them with a big stick, they'll immediately start bowing and scraping and doing whatever they want. Right now, Nakagawa's back is definitely bent at a ninety-degree angle.
"Finally admitting it? It seems your father came to this desert in the first place for these Dunhuang documents, right? It's not impossible to see these artifacts, but Mr. Nakagawa, I think you should first tell us the origin of that treasure map?"
Although this archaeological excavation uncovered a large number of Dunhuang documents, the question of why these documents were hidden here has been lingering in the minds of Zhuang Rui and others.
Chapter 1121 Conditions
There are many unsolved mysteries in the archaeological community that are still debated by archaeologists and historians. The reason is that many facts and truths have been lost in the long river of history. Later generations can only make inferences based on some remaining clues, but they cannot reconstruct what actually happened back then.
Just like the batch of Dunhuang documents that have just been unearthed in the temple, although Zhuang Rui and Dr. Ren can determine their origin, how exactly did these precious cultural relics come from Dunhuang to this desolate desert? And what was their origin? To uncover these mysteries, we probably have to rely on Nakagawa.
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Nakagawa was also very conflicted. Now he understood that it was almost impossible to smuggle this batch of Dunhuang documents to Japan as unclaimed property.
After thinking for a moment, Nakagawa looked up at Zhuang Rui and said, "I can tell you the origin of the treasure map, and I'm willing to hand over the treasure map and the notes of the person involved back then, but I have one condition..."
Upon hearing that there were notes involved, Zhuang Rui was overjoyed and quickly asked, "What are the requirements? You can tell me..."
It is important to understand that many events that occurred in ancient times and were recorded in historical books have been adapted and embellished by later historians. Only the handwritten records left by the parties involved represent the most authentic historical truth.
"First, my name must be included in the publicly announced list of names for this archaeological discovery. Second, there are some professionals in my family who study Dunhuang culture, and I hope they can participate in the follow-up research work of this expedition... If you agree to these two conditions, I can share with you the Dunhuang documents that my great-grandfather Yoshikawa obtained during his explorations in China. However, the research results must bear the name of our Japan Dunhuang Research Society..."
After thinking for a while, Nakagawa put forward three conditions, which made Zhuang Rui frown. After a long pause, he said, "Mr. Nakagawa, I cannot give you an answer to this matter. I need to report it to the higher authorities and hear their opinions..."
In fact, Zhuang Rui felt very uncomfortable after hearing Zhongchuan's words, but he couldn't express it.
Dunhuang culture was originally unique to China, but because so many of its documents were lost abroad, there are now more than just Chinese organizations studying Dunhuang culture. It is a consequence of the weakness of the country a century ago that we have to discuss our own culture with other countries.
Nakagawa could understand Zhuang Rui's inability to make a decision on this matter, so he nodded and said, "Alright, then Mr. Zhuang, may I take a look at these Dunhuang scriptures obtained from the Buddha statue's belly first?"
Having traveled thousands of miles to this vast desert, if Nakagawa were to return empty-handed without even finding a scrap of paper, he would likely spend the rest of his life filled with resentment.
"Of course, but... Mr. Nakagawa, I'd also like to know, where did you get this treasure map from..."
Although Zhuang Rui readily agreed, his subsequent words made Zhongchuan realize that Zhuang Rui probably wouldn't let him into the temple unless he revealed the origin of the treasure map.
“That’s my grandfather, Yoshikawa…”
"Yoshikawa? The Japanese explorer who came to Dunhuang back then? Aren't you surnamed Nakagawa?"
Upon hearing Yan Xiaowei's simultaneous translation, Dr. Ren exclaimed in surprise, somewhat rudely interrupting Nakagawa.
“Our family was in the Nakagawa family in the 1960s. It was like this: when my father was sorting through Dunhuang documents from China, he found a diary…”
Since all the items on the treasure map had been discovered, there was no point in hiding this history. Nakagawa honestly told the story of that secret from decades ago, and he didn't even hold back the contents of Wang Daoshi's diary.
"So that's how it is..."
After listening to Zhongchuan's account, Zhuang Rui and Ren Chunqiang exchanged glances. Before their eyes, it was as if a real scene was unfolding: a hundred years ago, the camel caravan hired by Wang Daoshi, accompanied by the clear sound of camel bells, arrived at this ancient temple and hid this batch of precious Dunhuang documents inside.
After letting out a long sigh, Dr. Ren said, "It seems that the historical records about the Dunhuang Mogao Caves need to be rewritten. The number of scrolls and documents unearthed from the Dunhuang Mogao Caves should not be more than 50,000, but more than 80,000..."
“Brother Ren, when you go out this time, why don’t you stay and organize these materials? You’ve done research on Dunhuang culture before…”
The publication of these documents will inevitably spark a surge of interest in Dunhuang culture, and the subsequent research and collation of these documents will be a massive undertaking, requiring the establishment of a dedicated research department.
With this collection of over 30,000 precious cultural relics as a foundation, the research will surely proceed smoothly. Those involved in this research department, while not necessarily gaining both fame and fortune, will definitely be recognized, at the very least earning the title of Dunhuang culture research expert.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Dr. Ren knew he was trying to shift the credit again, and quickly said, "No, you led this archaeological expedition, and you must participate in the later research. I'll just assist you..."
"Brother Ren, I have no knowledge of Dunhuang culture, and my previous research focused on this area, so I won't participate..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head. During his postgraduate studies, he focused on underwater archaeology. Several underwater salvage operations that shocked the archaeological community were mostly his work. However, during his doctoral studies, Zhuang Rui's research direction was on the burial forms and archaeological excavations of the Yuan Dynasty.
Professor Meng didn't understand Zhuang Rui's choice at the time, but Zhuang Rui had his own reasons.
Archaeology of the Yuan Dynasty is a niche discipline within archaeology. Although the Yuan Dynasty was the dynasty with the largest territory in Chinese history, it lasted for less than a century and was not fully assimilated by the Central Plains culture. Its lifestyle and burial practices still retain the characteristics of the Mongol people.
According to the very few records about Mongolian burials, Mongolian burial customs do not involve mounding earth, planting trees, or building mausoleums. Instead, they choose an extremely secluded place, use a large wooden coffin, bury it deep, and then trample it flat with thousands of horses.
Then the place will be sealed off for three years, allowing the vegetation to grow lush and the location to remain unknown. Only at the time of burial will a young camel be killed there so that the mother camel can see it. The place where the mother camel comes to mourn in the following year will be the burial site.
Because of the secrecy surrounding these tombs, although the Yuan Dynasty lasted for 97 years and had 11 emperors, the tombs of the Yuan Dynasty's founding emperor Temujin and Emperor Shundi have not yet been discovered, which can be considered a gap in Chinese archaeology.
Zhuang Rui chose this obscure subject for two reasons: first, his love for Yuan blue-and-white porcelain, and second, the challenge of finding the tombs of Yuan emperors.
Leaving aside Genghis Khan's tomb, if Zhuang Rui could find the tomb of any Yuan Dynasty emperor, it would cause a sensation in the world's archaeological community, and its influence would probably be no less than that of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum.
It's important to know that the Yuan Dynasty at that time had conquered as far as the Danube River in Europe, and was considered the wealthiest dynasty in the world. The emperors were buried with great honors, so one can imagine the treasures hidden in their tombs.
"You're still not giving up, kid. Do you think Yuan Dynasty imperial tombs are so easy to find? You'd be lucky to find even one tomb of a Yuan Dynasty nobleman..."
Dr. Ren shook his head. He knew Zhuang Rui's research direction for his doctoral studies. In his opinion, it would be better to study these Dunhuang documents in a down-to-earth manner than to choose the vague and ethereal Yuan Dynasty imperial tombs.
"Hehe, we might just run into them. Anyway, Brother Ren, you guys get ready, we'll head back soon..."
Zhuang Rui smiled and waved his hand, ending the topic. With the help of the spiritual energy in his eyes, Zhuang Rui believed that as long as those imperial tombs were not in Outer Mongolia, he would definitely make some discoveries.
After everyone had eaten and rested for a while, Mengzi and Erdan drove the six camels with baskets on their backs to the temple gate. Zhuang Rui did the heavy lifting again, putting two packages of Dunhuang documents into each basket.
However, the limit of six camels was only about twenty bundles of scriptures. Apart from the scrolls inside the two Buddha statues that had not yet been destroyed, there were still two or three thousand scriptures left in the main hall.
"Brother Ren, Peng Fei, be careful on the road. Professor Man, we're really counting on you this time. These scriptures are priceless treasures, please take good care of them..."
Since there were still two Buddha statues filled with Dunhuang documents and some scattered scriptures inside the temple, Zhuang Rui did not see everyone off. He bid farewell to Dr. Ren and the others at the temple gate.