Chapter 147 Ancient Books Lost Overseas
Ma Weidu came here not only to deliver the manuscript to Liu Hongmin. Liu Hongmin asked him to come here mainly to ask him to help buy ancient books.
There are many ancient books in Hong Kong, and Liu Hongmin has collected quite a few over the years. However, there was an auction recently, and Liu Hongmin didn't have time to attend, so he called Ma Weidu over.
He also received a dividend of 10 million Hong Kong dollars from the toy factory, which he used specifically to purchase ancient books.
Mr. Wang, who came to Hong Kong for medical treatment two years ago, contacted Zou Shifang and wanted to sell his house in Beijing and his father's collection of ancient books to Liu Hongmin. Mr. Wang's condition had worsened and he needed a lot of money for treatment. Zou Shifang helped Mr. Wang find a job so that he could live in Hong Kong.
After Liu Hongmin handed the auction information to Ma Weidu, he and Zou Shifang went to the hospital to visit Mr. Wang.
Mr. Wang didn't look very good, but after seeing the two people, he still stood up and sat up.
"Xiao Zou! You're here again?"
Zou Shifang put the fruit on the bedside table, "Yes! Uncle, I come to see you again."
"Thank you! If it weren't for you, I would have died long ago. And you also helped Bojun find a job, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to hold on until now."
Zou Shifang: "Uncle, what you said is not true. Brother Wang is a filial man. We all want to be like him."
Wang Bojun introduced his father, "Dad! This is Mr. Liu Hongmin whom I mentioned to you before."
"Is that the writer who bought those ancient books in my collection?"
Liu Hongmin nodded, "It's me, uncle."
Mr. Wang looked at Liu Hongmin carefully, from head to toe, several times before he sighed.
"It's all because of my old bones that I'm useless, otherwise I wouldn't have asked Bojun to sell all the things left by our ancestors. Young man, you're a good person, upright and not a treacherous person. I feel relieved to sell those ancient books to you. I hope that in the future, you can make the contents of those ancient books public and restore the glory of our ancestors if you have the chance."
Liu Hongmin's heart moved, and he nodded quickly, "Uncle, I will."
After talking for a while, Mr. Wang felt a little tired. The two of them said goodbye, and Wang Bojun escorted them out.
"Mr. Liu, my father always said that there are huge secrets hidden in those ancient books. I hope you can keep your promise and don't let him down."
Liu Hongmin assured: "Brother Wang, I collect ancient books to trace the origins and restore the historical truth."
When Brother Wang heard this, he slowly took out a bunch of keys from his pocket and handed them to Liu Hongmin.
"These are the keys to my family's three properties in Beijing. One is the house I got from my company, and the other two are quadrangle courtyards passed down from my ancestors. The building I got from my company cannot be sold, but the two quadrangle courtyards can be sold to you. There are some ancient books hidden in the three properties. My father believes that eggs should not be put in one basket, so as not to be coveted by others."
Liu Hongmin took the key and said, "I will take the ancient books back to Beijing in a few days and evaluate the value of the two courtyard houses. I will ask Lao Zou to give you 200,000 Hong Kong dollars as a deposit. After I finish the evaluation, I will transfer the rest of the money to you."
Wang Bojun did not bargain. He believed in Zou Shifang and Liu Hongmin. If Liu Hongmin had not asked Zou Shifang for help, his father would have died long ago. A few days later, Liu Hongmin took Zou Shifang and Ma Weidu to the auction.
Many ancient books appeared at the auction, all of which were lost overseas. Sotheby's officials believe that these ancient books have a high collection value for Chinese people. Of course, compared with porcelain, calligraphy and painting, the value of ancient books is much lower, so they are used as a hot spot.
This gave Liu Hongmin a lot of convenience. Some ancient books could be bought for only 20,000 or 30,000 Hong Kong dollars, and more expensive ones could be bought for 300,000 or 400,000 Hong Kong dollars.
Liu Hongmin bid for ancient books many times, and soon the collectors noticed. They did not regard Liu Hongmin as a competitor. Except for the collectors who also loved collecting ancient books, no one else participated in the bidding. They had to wait until the main course was served before they could fight to seize the collection they liked.
Liu Hongmin spent more than 100 million Hong Kong dollars to buy more than ancient books.
Zou Shifang went to handle the relevant formalities, and then Liu Hongmin and Ma Weidu watched the collectors fighting for the so-called "art".
"I didn't expect these porcelains to be so valuable." Ma Weidu said in surprise: "To be honest, compared with the porcelains you collected, these are much worse."
Liu Hongmin smiled and said, "Where did I buy those? These antiques are all from international collectors. Regardless of whether they are real or fake, there is a lot of water in their value."
Ma Weidu: "I wonder how much you would get if you sold the items you collected!"
"Next time I come to Hong Kong, I'll bring one over to try it out."
Don't say that national treasures can't be sold abroad. The things that can be sold by Rongbaozhai are not national treasures. At most, they are ancient artworks with slightly better appearance. There shouldn't be too many of the same type. Unless they are truly unique, they are just commodities in Liu Hongmin's eyes. As long as the price is enough, Liu Hongmin will sell them.
He didn't understand anything about art, and in his opinion, many of the porcelains in his collection were not as good as Liu's father's modern art tea sets.
Even Qi Baishi's paintings do not have much artistic value in Liu Hongmin's eyes. As long as someone can offer a sufficient price, Liu Hongmin will sell it immediately.
Compared to the confusing "artistic quality", real money is more real.
After the auction, Liu Hongmin and the other two returned to the company with the ancient books.
After taking inventory, Liu Hongmin thought the money was well spent. These ancient books lost overseas were not available to him, and might not even be available in mainland China.
Some of these ancient books are medical books, such as "Acupuncture Points" and "Xianweng Elbow Emergency Prescriptions", as well as commentaries on classics, such as "Tang Xuanzong's Commentary on the Book of Filial Piety", craft books "Xuanming Powder" and "Xinzhou Stone Gallbladder", and miscellaneous "Hongmao Fanhua Trade Notes"...
These books can be said to be all kinds of strange, but they all opened Liu Hongmin's eyes. Not to mention medical skills, which require Chinese medicine practitioners to verify the authenticity. The same is true for craft books, which require craftsmen to make according to the above to know whether they are true or false.
What Liu Hongmin finds most interesting is the book "Hongmao Fanhua Trade Notes", which is actually a foreign language dictionary. The content recorded in it is also very interesting and worth studying. If studied well, it can help us understand some of the foreign trade in the Qing Dynasty.
(End of this chapter)
