I Inherited 5,000 Years of Family Property

"Hand them over to the state? Are you sure?" Han Jinyu said. Although he didn't know exactly what Zhang Menglong had gotten his hands on, since it was something that could appear at an auction, it must be extremely valuable—likely worth several million, if not tens of millions of US dollars.

"Of course," Zhang Menglong said righteously. "I just became a proud Party member this year. It's my unavoidable duty to do what I can for the country now that I have this energy!"

"But you do realize that even if you find the most valuable cultural relics, according to our national cultural relic protection laws, you might not receive any compensation. At most, you'll get a banner of honor," Han Jinyu was not hoping that Zhang Menglong would pocket the relics for himself, but after all, he had spent a great deal of money to buy them back.

Zhang Menglong immediately laughed. "Teacher Han, these national cultural relics help us better understand our history and showcase the brilliant culture of Huaxia. This little bit of money isn't a big deal!"

"Ding, congratulations to the dean for gaining 5 Cred Points!"

"I really wasn't showing off this time!" Zhang Menglong felt somewhat frustrated.

"Young man, with that kind of awareness, I will definitely help you!" Han Jinyu said.

Han Jinyu was incredibly efficient at getting things done. Not only was this a matter concerning Zhang Menglong, but it was also a national issue. In less than twenty minutes, Zhang Menglong's phone rang.

"Teacher Han, aren't you a bit too fast?" Zhang Menglong exclaimed in surprise.

"How could I delay such an important matter?" Han Jinyu replied. "Oh, by the way, my daughter has just returned to the country. Are you going home for the Spring Festival? If you're not, why don't you come spend it at my place? Food, accommodation, and fun are all covered!"

A few black lines suddenly appeared on Zhang Menglong's forehead. Was Han Jinyu's thought process too jumpy? And he understood food and accommodation, but what did he mean by 'fun'? Was this some kind of trap for his own daughter?"

"Cough cough! Let's focus on the serious matter at hand, Old Han!" Zhang Menglong heard an anxious voice on the other end.

"Menglong, I've actually got someone here for you. The old guy hasn't even had dinner; he just ran straight to my place and wants to go to your house to see the artifacts immediately. Are you available now?"

"I am, definitely," Zhang Menglong said with a smile. These older folks were always in such a hurry, but of course, he understood. For those scholars who had devoted their lives to the study of cultural relics and archaeology, the excitement upon hearing about the rediscovery of precious historical artifacts that had been lost for hundreds or even thousands of years was only natural.

Wouldn't they be as impatient as someone who hadn't had a romantic encounter in N years suddenly seeing a beautiful woman?

"Then please come over," Zhang Menglong gave his address to Han Jinyu. "Teacher Han, do you need me to arrange for someone to pick you up?"

"No need, no need!" Zhang Menglong heard the person on the other end snatch the phone. "We can make our own way there. Young man, hurry up and get ready!"

"Alright," Zhang Menglong said helplessly with a smile. Although the person on the other end wasn't very polite, Zhang Menglong could understand, and besides, the person was an elder, so it wasn't necessary to be petty.

...

"Mr. Zhang, Professor Han has arrived," Hong Yi said half an hour later as she led Professor Han and the others into the living room.

The man who came with Professor Han appeared to be about a decade older and had the aura of a scholar, especially his eyes, which radiated a particular charm.

"Menglong, let me introduce you. This is Professor Chen Xin, Dean of the History Faculty at Jiangnan University, and also the director of the Jiangnan City Historical and Cultural Museum. If you have any artifacts to return to the state, you can discuss it with him," Han Jinyu introduced.

"Professor Chen, pleased to meet you. I am Zhang Menglong," Zhang Menglong shook hands with Professor Chen Xin.

"Menglong, you don't mind me calling you that, do you?" Although he was speaking to a younger man, Chen Xin still didn't dare to regard Zhang Menglong as just an ordinary twenty-year-old, considering that he had just become the world's richest person.

"Of course I don't mind," Zhang Menglong said with a smile, "Professor Chen, I have a collection of cultural relics here, all of which have been lost from our country for a long time, and I hope to return them to the nation through your channels."

"A collection?" Chen Xin was stunned. He had heard from Han Jinyu that Zhang Menglong had some precious cultural relics to hand over to the country. Such events were not unheard of before, and many patriotic entrepreneurs had done the same.

But usually, they would hand over just one piece of cultural relic, and it wasn't even guaranteed to be authentic. Yet, Zhang Menglong was talking about a collection right from the start. How many would that be? At least three to five pieces?

"Can I... can I take a look first?" Professor Chen asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Of course," Zhang Menglong replied with a smile. "Let's go downstairs, it's a bit cramped up here."

"Downstairs?" Both Han Jinyu and Chen Xin looked puzzled.

Actually, when they first entered the building, they were quite surprised. With Zhang Menglong's wealth, why didn't he live in a detached villa but instead in an apartment building? Even though it was a large flat, it still did not seem to match his title as the world's richest man. As for his earlier mention of going upstairs, did he own several floors? Perhaps Zhang Menglong was a bit eccentric, preferring apartment buildings to villas.@@novelbin@@

"Menglong, did you buy several floors?" Han Jinyu joked. "My daughter recently graduated from overseas and I'm planning to buy her an apartment. This place looks pretty good. Have all the units in this building been sold out?"

"Unfortunately," Zhang Menglong obviously knew what Han Jinyu was hinting at, "Mr. Han, all these buildings have been sold out."

"I see," Han Jinyu said, slightly disappointed. "Are there any residents in this community who want to resell their property?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Han," Zhang Menglong said with a smile, "there is only one owner in this community, and that's me. All these buildings are mine."

"Let's pretend I didn't ask!" Han Jinyu immediately felt embarrassed. Just a moment ago, they had thought this community was not fitting for Zhang Menglong's status, only to find out that he had bought all seven or eight buildings. Could one even acquire these without spending several hundred million, or even billions? Isn't this much better than any villa?

Zhang Menglong took Professor Han Jinyu and Professor Chen Xin to a storage room down below, which he originally used to store sundries. However, to make room for these items, he had cleared it out. This time, the treasures he brought back from Europe were here, except for an aircraft carrier which couldn't be moved over in a short amount of time.

"Please come in, professors!" Zhang Menglong opened the door to the storage room. Inside, dozens of boxes and cases of various sizes were stacked, appearing somewhat disorderly.

"Menglong, not to criticize you," Professor Chen Xin said distressedly, "how can you store cultural relics with these sundries? They are very precious items. If they get scratched or bumped, it would be a loss for the nation, a loss for our civilization!"

Chen Xin had thought that most of these seventy or eighty boxes were filled with miscellaneous items.

"Professor Chen, you've misunderstood," Zhang Menglong explained, "These are all treasures I brought back from Europe. There are no such sundries stored here."

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"All these... these are all cultural relics?" Chen Xin asked incredulously.

"Yes, there are a total of 88 pieces," Zhang Menglong replied, "but only about ten of these belong to our Huaxia, the rest are from other countries."

"You..." Professor Chen Xin stuttered for a moment, "Did you rob someone's museum?"