As soon as Xiao Ran finished speaking, the curator of the Harvard University Museum immediately continued:
"Sean, our museum wants to acquire these two top-notch pieces of art."
"Based on the valuation you gave us, we can use cash to acquire it, or we can exchange it with you."
Upon hearing this, the director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston immediately became anxious.
"Xiao Ran, you said last night that if we can accept your terms of exchange, you will give priority to trading with us."
"The appraisal of these two top-notch works of art has been completed, and there is no doubt about the results. Now I would like to hear your transaction conditions."
Immediately afterwards, Thomas, who came on behalf of the Metropolitan Museum, as well as the director of MOMA and others, also expressed acquisition requests.
Xiao Ran looked at these guys, then nodded with a smile and said:
"Martha, Matthew, and ladies and gentlemen, please be patient and listen to what I have to say."
"I have said before that I will not sell these two top-level works of art, nor will I collect them myself."
"But I am going to use it to exchange for top Chinese antiques and art to prepare for the establishment of my private museum."
“These two top pieces of art were found in Boston, and given that, I would consider keeping them in Boston.”
“My first choice for trading is a museum or institution in Boston, as long as they can offer me a bargaining chip that satisfies me.”
"well!"
There was a sigh at the scene, and Thomas and others looked regretful.
They come from New York or New Haven, as well as Washington and Chicago, and are representatives of major museums.
Xiao Ran's words directly excluded them from the trading partners, and they were all very disappointed.
Representatives and people from several local museums in Boston were all delighted.
They saw the hope of winning these two top works of art and were very excited.
After a pause, Xiao Ran continued:
“After comprehensive consideration, my first choice is to trade with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Harvard University Museum.”
"The reason is simple. These two top museums have the largest and most exquisite collections of Chinese antiques and art."
“If we can’t come to an agreement with them, then other museums in Boston and then other regional museums and institutions will be considered.”
"Why!"
There was another sigh at the scene.
This time it was representatives of several other local museums in Boston who sighed in disappointment.
They also know that the strength of their own museum cannot be compared with that of the Art Museum and Harvard University Museum.
In particular, the collection of top Chinese antiques and artworks is even worse.
Looking at Matthew and Martha, their eyes were shining with excitement.
Before she could sigh, Martha couldn't wait to say:
"Sean, tell me your deal terms, we can sit down and talk."
Xiao Ran looked at this person, then nodded and said:
"Martha, I will send you a list of the Chinese antiques and rare books I want. You can consider it."
As he spoke, he took out his mobile phone and sent the list for the Harvard University Museum that was stored in his mobile phone.
Martha immediately took out her phone and started checking it eagerly.
Xiao Ran continued to operate on his mobile phone and casually sent another list to Matthew.
After sending it, he looked at his old friend with a smile.
"Matthew, I also sent you a transaction list. You can take a look at it and then make a decision."
"Okay, Sean, I'll take a look right now."
Matthew nodded in response, then took out his phone and started checking it.
Others at the scene looked at Matthew and Martha curiously and watched their reactions.
In just a moment, Martha was the first to exclaim.
"Ah! You want all the Dunhuang scriptures and the "Sikuquanshu" collected by our museum, as well as a few Western Zhou bronzes. This appetite is too big!"
"These are extremely precious historical research materials and antique cultural relics, of astonishing value! You greedy guy, you actually want to get them all in one pot! This is absolutely impossible!"
Martha covered her mouth and exclaimed, shaking her head like a rattle.
Xiao Ran looked at the museum director, then nodded with a smile and said:
"Yes, Martha, these rare ancient books and antique relics do have high historical and cultural research value."
"But I believe that many experts and scholars at Harvard University have studied these things very thoroughly for decades or hundreds of years."
"To Harvard University, their value is actually not very high anymore. These things are probably sitting in the warehouse gathering dust."
"Especially for those rare ancient books, Harvard University must have produced electronic versions. Even if they are exchanged with me, it will not affect the development of relevant academic research."
Upon hearing this, Martha fell silent immediately, with a hint of embarrassment on her expression.
She knew very well that Xiao Ran was absolutely right.
The rare Chinese ancient books collected at Harvard University spend most of their time in the warehouse eating dust, rotting little by little in the dark.
If Harvard scholars want to conduct relevant research, they no longer need to go to the warehouse to dig through piles of old papers.
Those rare ancient books have long been available in electronic versions. Wouldn't it be easier and faster to directly check the electronic documents?
However, if Harvard University wants to maintain its authority and voice in certain research fields of Sinology, it cannot hand over relevant rare ancient books to the Chinese, especially Chinese scholars.
In the past, it was almost impossible for Chinese scholars to see and study those rare ancient books.
For the few rare ancient books that are available, one has to apply to Harvard University, which takes a long time and costs a lot of money.
Even if they spend a lot of money, the research time given to Chinese scholars is pitifully short, and they are not allowed to take photos, but can only take notes.
The reason why Harvard University does this is to maintain its authority in related research fields and control the academic discourse.
They even have the right to interpret a certain period, culture and history of ancient China.
Martha naturally understood this, so she exclaimed.
She also understood the meaning of Xiao Ran's words and understood his purpose.
Xiao Ran just wants to get back these precious ancient books. Those few Western Zhou bronzes are second to none, they are dispensable!
His fundamental purpose is to regain the right to interpret and speak about his country's ancient history and culture.
Not only Martha, but everyone else at the scene understood these things.
From the perspective of these Americans, they certainly do not want this deal to be concluded, and they do not want the Chinese to get those rare ancient books.
In that case, they would have a chance to get these two top pieces of art.
The scene immediately became quiet, and everyone was silent.
The silence lasted only a moment before it was interrupted by Matthew's exclamation.
"Wow! Sean, you are definitely the greediest guy I have ever seen. It's so crazy!"
"I would like to ask, what do you think, you want to exchange these two works of art for 50 paintings and antique cultural relics in our museum?"
"Every one of the paintings and antiques you listed is the best of the best, and each one is of astonishing value."
"I don't see any sincerity in the list of transactions you made, I only see the word greed!"
Following Matthew's words, everyone else at the scene was also shocked and stunned.
Two for fifty!
They are all top-notch antiques and works of art. This is really an exaggeration!
Xiao Ran was not embarrassed at all, and always had a bright smile on his face.
He looked at Matthew, then glanced at everyone present, and then said with a smile:
"Matthew, you don't have to worry about the numbers on the list, but focus on the value of these antiques."
"Titian's "The Bathing of Venus" and Rodin's sculpture of the dead, their market value is as high as five to six billion U.S. dollars."
"You just expressed your approval of this valuation, and the rest of the people at the scene also agreed with this valuation. Isn't that correct?"
"ah!"
Matthew exclaimed and was stunned.
The others nodded without any objection.
"Yes, Sean, we all agree on the valuation of these two top-notch works of art."
Thomas nodded and said.
Xiao Ran nodded at him, and then continued:
"Let's look at the Chinese antiques on my list. Although they are very precious, not many have a market value of more than 10 million US dollars."
"Although there are a large number of these antique works of art, as many as 50 pieces, their total value does not reach 5.6 billion US dollars."
"From this perspective, if this art transaction is concluded, I will be the one who suffers, but I am willing to bear these losses."
"Another point is that the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has thousands of ancient Chinese paintings in its collection. It is completely insignificant to trade 50 of them!"
Hearing this, everyone at the scene couldn't help but nodded.
Matthew was speechless and couldn't think of how to refute for a moment.
After a moment of silence, he finally came to his senses and shook his head.
"Sean, I admit that if compared from the market value, this transaction list seems very reasonable. It can even be said that our museum has taken some advantage."
"But judging from the importance of these Chinese antiques and artworks, that's not the case. These antiques and artworks are the best of the best."
"For example, Yan Liben's "Pictures of Emperors of the Past Dynasties", Zhang Xuan's "Pictures of Tamping and Training", etc. Their preciousness cannot be measured by market value at all."
"In order to maintain the level and taste of our museum's collection of Chinese antiques and art, from this perspective, I cannot accept this transaction list."
Xiao Ran looked at the other party, and then shrugged helplessly.
"It doesn't matter, Matthew, this is your right, then I have to make deals with other museums!"
After the words fell, Matthew was stunned again, and his teeth were itching with hatred!
"Pounding Practice Picture" by Zhang Xuan of the Tang Dynasty
