Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

Chapter 300: Returning to the provincial capital, someone is following me

I took the notebook and started reading.

I flipped through dozens of pages and found that all they recorded were transaction information.

In the autumn of the 34th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, he collected payment of 100 taels of silver from Torii Ryuzo for his goods.

In the winter of the 34th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, a deposit of 150 taels of silver was collected from Torii Ryuzo.

In the summer of the Xuantong era, the final payment from Torii Ryuzo was collected...

The previous transaction records only recorded transactions with Torii Ryuzo, which were either payments for goods or deposits and final payments.

Torii Ryuzo, this is obviously the name of the islanders.

Old Man Su’s father-in-law was truly extraordinary, as he was able to do business with the Japanese in the late Qing Dynasty.

I guess the things they traded were all unearthed antiques.

There is no detailed record of the items traded, but judging from the amount of the payment, they should all be top-notch items.

From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, a large number of foreigners poured in, waving silver notes to buy various precious antiques.

During that period, a large number of treasures flowed out of the country and into the pockets of international collectors.

Even many of the treasures in the palace were stolen and sold by eunuchs and palace maids. In addition to the blatant tomb robbery by warlords... the number of treasures that were lost is almost innumerable.

When the trading records came to the third year of the Republic of China, the trader's name was no longer just Torii Ryuzo.

Names such as Sang Zhihua, De Rijin, and Hamada Kosaku began to appear.

I guess Sang Zhihua and De Rijin are also foreigners, and they adopted their native names to suit local customs.

As for Kosaku Hamada, he is obviously another islander.

Wow!

I flipped through it quickly.

The last transaction was recorded thirty-two years ago.

There are fifty-two transaction parties recorded.

The names of fifty-one of them were completely unfamiliar to me.

The only person I know is Stein!

Stein was mentioned in all the clues found before.

It was he who searched for the tomb of the King of Bi State, and it was also he who wanted to obtain the divine liquid for immortality.

Could it be that the "they" that Old Man Su was referring to were Stein?

But Stein is dead!

He died in 1943!

He has been dead for more than 30 years.

Counting on my fingers, those who had traded with Old Man Su's father-in-law are now at least old and frail, even if they are not dead yet.

What kind of waves can an old man in his twilight years stir up?

Or did their children and grandchildren inherit their legacy?

Actually, I was right.

The descendants of the people recorded in the book have basically become big collectors.

He is also a major international collector.

Many of them still covet China's treasures.

Later, many of the treasures I sold went into their pockets.

After the last transaction record, it is blank.

There are no new records.

I frowned in confusion.

Old Man Su clearly said that he wrote down everything he knew, but what was written in the notebook was all old news.

There is nothing new written at all.

A sudden thought occurred to me: could it be that he was writing on the paper with a pen without ink?

I lifted the book and tilted it so the light shone sideways on it.

I looked at more than ten pictures in a row but found no traces of writing.

I turned the notebook upside down and there was no trace.

I was unwilling to give up, so I held each piece of paper up to the sunlight.

Still no trace found.

Old man Su is not kidding me!

"Brother, what are you looking at over and over again?" Cui Hao asked curiously.

Wang Hu and Shi Nianzi also looked at me with puzzled eyes.

Zhao Ziang quickly replied, "I guess Master Chen is studying whether there is any hidden secret written in the notebook."

"I heard from the old veterans in the bureau that they caught a lot of spies in the past."

"To ensure safety, those spies would use special ink to write messages."

"After writing and drying, the paper was clean and there was nothing unusual on it."

"Only by soaking it in a special potion, or using other special techniques, can the written words be revealed."

Zhao Ziang's words gave me a wake-up call.

It is very likely that Old Man Su used a similar method to write!

But he didn't tell me how to make the handwriting appear!

Old man Su, oh old man Su, you are still giving me problems even after your death.

I put the notebook back into its box and tucked it under my arm.

He stood up and said, "It's time to go back."

I can't wait to go back to the provincial capital.

First, I need to meet Professor Zhang and find out how he woke up and asked for help on my behalf.

The second thing is to find Tuo Ye, ask him about his relationship with Ma Si, ask him who else is hiding behind the scenes, and ask for the method to remove the poison.

The third thing is to ask Mr. Ai for help.

I think the method of hiding the handwriting used by Old Man Su should be a trick used in underworld situations.

Mr. Ai should understand this aspect.

After getting in the car, Zhao Ziang said attentively, "I'll take you back to the provincial capital."

I nodded. "Thank you for your hard work. And those things in the warehouse..."

"Don't worry, everything has been arranged."

"The truck from the Land Transport Company is loading the goods. It should be almost finished by now."

"Then he will follow us to the provincial capital."

This is equivalent to Zhao Ziang escorting a car in his official capacity.

If nothing unexpected happens, the journey will be smooth.

There was no surprise or danger on the road.

It was already dark when we arrived in the provincial capital.

I asked Zhao Ziang to drive to Laodong Road first.

Last time, Boss Dong took me to the warehouse to get emergency lights, which was on Laodong Road.

His warehouse is quite safe and you can rest assured when unloading things in it.

I patted the closed warehouse door.

Bang bang bang.

A dog barked from inside.

Soon, an eye appeared from the gap in the door and looked at me.

I was just about to call out Mr. Dong's name when I heard the sound of rattling iron chains from inside.

Wow.

The iron gate opened from the inside, revealing Xiao Song's figure.

Before, it was Xiao Song who helped me deliver the emergency light on a tricycle.

I didn't expect he still remembered me.

"Hey, Mr. Chen is here."

"Our boss was still talking about you a few days ago."

"Why are you here at the warehouse..."

Xiao Song glanced behind me and saw the Jiefang truck of the Land Transport Company.

Then he smiled knowingly.

"Looks like you got some solid stuff."

"You want to unload the goods, right? Let the car drive in quickly."

Xiao Song opened both doors wide.

I asked Cui Hao to call the driver to drive in.

The car entered the warehouse yard just fine, and Xiao Song closed the warehouse door mostly.

It seems that similar hard goods are often brought in and out here.

Otherwise, Xiao Song wouldn't be so vigilant.

After he closed the door, I walked over and handed him a cigarette.

"Having a cigarette, is there a phone here?"

"Of course, this way please."

Xiao Song took me into the warehouse office and pointed at the table.

There was an old-fashioned dial telephone on the table.

At that time, telephones were a rare commodity and had not yet become part of ordinary people's homes.

To make a call, you need to first dial the switching station, and then the switching station will connect you to the number you want to dial.

"Where are you going to fight?"

"It's more troublesome to make a long-distance call, and it might not go through."

"Call your boss and tell him I'm here, please." I pulled up a chair and sat down without making a call.

This is a kind of caution.

At that time, telephones were not very popular and calls had to be manually transferred through a switchboard.

Saying no to a conversation is easy for the operator to notice.

Xiao Song nodded, picked up the phone and started dialing skillfully.

"Boss, the imported parts the Industrial Bureau requested have arrived, and we're preparing to unpack and inspect them."

"I'd like to trouble you to come over."

"All right."

After saying these three sentences, he hung up the phone.

Xiao Song took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Boss, come over soon. I'll make you a cup of tea."

I just picked up the teacup when Zhao Ziang ran in hurriedly.

"It seems like someone is following us outside!"