Seeing that it was Consul Chen's call, Xiao Ran immediately stood up and left the reception area, walking into the depths of the antique store to answer the phone.
As soon as the call was connected, Consul Chen's voice came over.
"Good morning, Xiao Ran, is it okay to talk?"
Xiao Ran immediately replied with a smile:
"Good morning, Uncle Chen. I'm at the antique shop on Brighton Road. Come and take a look at the situation here."
"There's no one else in the store. It's convenient to answer the phone. Can you tell me anything?"
Then, Consul Chen continued:
"It's nothing serious. Let me tell you, I will return to China in two days to report on my work and will be away from Los Angeles for a while."
"Do you have anything you want to take back home? I can help you take it back, and I'll take it with you."
"If you have time in the past two days, come to the Consulate General and let us have a drink!"
Hearing this, Xiao Ran was stunned for a moment.
Then, his eyes suddenly lit up and shone brightly.
In an instant, he thought of a word.
Diplomatic parcel!
At the same time, he also figured out the true purpose of Consul Chen's call.
Obviously, relevant domestic departments already know that they now have many national treasures in their hands and urgently need to return them to the country.
For example, the three-legged bronze tripod of the mid-Shang Dynasty, the three-party seal of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, the fragments of the stone tablet of the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" in the Dingwu edition, the fish intestine sword, and the phoenix and bird pattern of the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty, etc.
These antiques and cultural relics are truly national treasures and their value is immeasurable.
The value of each of them is no lower than that of the six red gold dragons of the Tang Dynasty, and is even higher and more precious.
With Xiao Ran's ability, it is not an easy task to use a private plane to transport these priceless treasures out of the United States and safely back to the country.
He wants to transport relatively ordinary antiques and works of art, and perhaps no one will care.
But transporting away these national treasures is another matter.
What's more, he is now on the radar of the FBI. When transporting these national treasures out of the United States, the possibility of being detained by the FBI for review cannot be ruled out.
If the FBI wants to find an excuse, it couldn't be easier.
An excuse to restrict the departure of art works can detain these national treasures.
In that case, whether Xiao Ran can get these treasures back is a matter of two people.
Even if you get them back, you can only collect or sell these priceless treasures in the United States in the future, and don't even think about sending them back to the country.
Even if a Chinese collector buys these priceless treasures, he will face the same situation.
To prevent this from happening, we must find a way to transport these treasures as soon as possible before the FBI reacts!
The safest and fastest way is for Consul Chen, who has returned to China to report on his duties, to break through the border in the name of a diplomatic parcel and send it back safely to the country.
Even Consul Chen's return to China to report on his work was also prompted by this incident. It was an improvised approach.
Although these top-notch antiques are priceless treasures, they have nothing to do with national security, unlike the top-secret research information from NASA.
Even if the Americans ignored diplomatic etiquette and convention and forcibly searched the diplomatic parcels carried by Consul Chen and others, it would not cause much trouble.
Another point is that since these national treasures are not auctioned or sold, there is no appreciation in value, so there is no value-added tax on art.
In this way, you only need to pay a customs tax and you can take it out of the United States smoothly, and no one can fault it!
In an instant, Xiao Ran had figured out all the joints.
"You are going back to China to report on your work? This is a good thing, Uncle Chen, congratulations."
"It's better to choose a day than to hit it. Today is the day. I will go to the Consulate General after I finish my work here."
"I still have a lot of 1982 special yellow sauce Maotai in my hand. I just happened to take a few bottles over and let's drink some together."
"As for the things I want to bring home, I really have some ideas. Let's talk about it when we meet."
Consul Chen also understood the meaning of his words instantly.
The next moment, this man laughed.
“Okay, thanks to your kid, I’ll also have a taste of the 1982 special yellow sauce Maotai.”
"I'll tell the chef to prepare it now. We can't live up to the good wine!"
After chatting for a few more words, Xiao Ran hung up the phone and ended the call.
Then, he returned to the guest area.
Sit down on the sofa and continue chatting with everyone.
…
In the blink of an eye, it was already ten o'clock in the morning.
On the second floor, the company conference room.
This conference room has been decorated and simply decorated for today's interview.
Today's interview is divided into two parts.
The first thing to be done is the interview of management employees, and there are only a few recruitment places.
Next is the interview with ordinary company employees, and the number of recruits is twenty.
The interviewers were several consultants from a top headhunting company.
And that guy Mike is in charge of related legal affairs.
As the boss, Xiao Ran was just a bystander, sitting and watching along with Elaine and Davis.
Of course, he was the one who made the final decision.
Everything was ready, and the first interviewer was led into the conference room.
This is a middle-aged white man in his early forties, wearing a suit and leather shoes, dressed like a white-collar elite, and he looks quite similar.
After entering the door, this guy immediately nodded and greeted everyone in the conference room.
When he saw Xiao Ran, he paused for a moment, then sat down on the chair and started the interview.
At the interviewer's request, he introduced himself as usual, focusing on his resume.
He previously worked in a medium-sized gallery as a gallery manager. He has been working in this industry for more than ten years and is considered a senior professional.
Due to the current special situation, the gallery has been closed and eventually closed down.
After losing his job, he had no choice but to look for work.
The headhunting company collected comprehensive information, including his work experience in several museums and galleries, as well as evaluations of him by previous employers, etc.
During the interview, Xiao Ran checked the person's profile and listened without interrupting.
Until the interview was about to end, he suddenly picked up a strange oil painting from the side and stood on the conference table.
"Mr. Miller, since you have worked in a gallery for a long time, you should know a lot about the art of painting."
"Tell me what you think of this oil painting. I'd love to hear your opinion."
"You are applying to be the manager of this exploration company, so you should have a certain understanding of the current antique art market."
"If you know something about this painting, let's talk about the market situation of this oil painting."
"ah!"
Miller exclaimed in surprise, then turned his head and looked over.
Until now, Xiao Ran had not said anything, which made Miller think that the interview ended peacefully.
But who would have imagined that there is such an unexpected easter egg at the end.
The moment he saw the oil painting, Miller couldn't help but frown.
After thinking for a moment, he said:
"This is an oil painting of Dadaist art. To be precise, it is a bit like the style of Hans Arp, the representative painter of Dadaism."
"But compared with Arp's works, this painting is not so natural, nor so bold and unrestrained..."
Listening to his answer, Xiao Ran couldn't help but a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes.
The same goes for Elaine sitting next to him, but Davis was confused and didn't know why.
In a moment, Miller had finished speaking his opinion, and then looked at Xiao Ran expectantly.
Xiao Ran just smiled and nodded.
"It seems that you have a certain understanding of Dadaist art. Your analysis of this oil painting is impressive."
"That's it for today's interview. Go back and wait for the notification."
"Whether my company decides to hire you or not, someone will call to tell you."
Miller could only nod in response.
"Okay, Mr. Sean, I look forward to receiving good news!"
After saying that, the guy turned around and left the conference room.
Then a young woman in her thirties came in.
This person previously worked in an auction house as a department manager and was considered a professional in the industry.
After entering the door and introducing myself, the second interview began immediately.
…
At noon.
After the interview, Xiao Ran took Elaine and the others out of the company and returned to the villa in Beverly Hills.
On the way home, he stopped by the bank vault to pick up something.
When they got home, David happened to rush over.
After meeting, Xiao Ran immediately explained the reason why he was called over.
"David, come with me to the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles to handle some legal matters."
"I need to send some top-notch antiques and cultural relics from San Francisco to Beijing."
"These antiques and cultural relics come from China and are relatively valuable. To be on the safe side, I want my friends at the consulate to help bring them back."
"Now the FBI guys are watching me closely. I'm worried that they will intercept me by force, so I came up with this method."
Xiao Ran briefly explained the reason.
In order to successfully transport those national treasures, David needs to come forward to complete some legal procedures, which cannot be concealed at all.
But Xiao Ran didn't explain how amazingly valuable those top antiques were!
After listening to the introduction, David thought for a moment and then nodded.
"No problem, Sean. The origin of these Chinese antiques and artworks is clear and legal. It's your right to deal with them."
"And they are not on the list of artworks restricted from leaving the country. You can send them back to China in a legal way, and the FBI has no right to detain them!"
After explaining the situation, Xiao Ran went upstairs to pick up the priceless treasures and prepared to send them to the Consulate General.
Of course, there is also the 1982 special yellow sauce Maotai.
