Who wants to take the civil service exam after being reborn?

Chapter 572 Fake National Treasure Meets Real Ancestor, One Smash Shakes Hong Kong!

The press conference is still ongoing.

The people from Psion have retrieved the Peninsula Hotel's surveillance footage, which clearly shows Chen Zhe and Ma Haijun carrying boxes of various sizes, knocking on doors in the hotel corridor to deliver gifts.

"This hotel isn't any good either."

Zhang Zhiming shook his head: "They can just hand over surveillance footage to others as evidence. You can sue them for infringing on your portrait rights afterwards."

"That was afterward."

Chen sighed, "If I had known they could do this, I would have dressed more formally that day; that way I would have looked better on camera."

Zhang Zhiming couldn't help but chuckle.

Through my observation over this period of time, I've come to realize that this young man, Chen, regardless of his abilities or skills, has an exceptionally broad mind.

He makes a self-deprecating joke before dealing with problems, showing a kind of open-mindedness of "being able to take things on and let them go".

At the press conference ahead, John had already had the boxes brought out intact.

In front of these Hong Kong reporters and foreign media, they carefully opened them one by one. However, judging from their cautious manner, they must have been guarding them like treasures for the past two days, not letting anyone view them casually.

But to be fair, Mr. Li's skills are indeed very high.

When the spotlight shines on those bottles and jars, the glaze on the surface of the "cultural relics" flows, like liquid light frozen for thousands of years, quietly sliding down the curves.

"Wow~"

A group of reporters exclaimed in surprise and started snapping photos of them.

Taking the opportunity, Yang Lili whispered a few words to John, probably pointing out Chen's location, because John glanced in their direction.

Next, in front of everyone, John expressed his deep affection for the artifacts, saying that they were very beautiful and that he was a person who loved Chinese culture, so he was very reluctant to part with them.

But his mother taught him from a young age that a gentleman loves money, but he acquires it in a proper way.

These are fragments of ancient civilization's memory, and should not become treasures in a private display case. Therefore, he decided to return them to China and firmly said "no" to this kind of bribery using cultural relics!
"Well said."

Chen commented seriously, "It seems John has really been busy lately."

Zhang Zhiming smiled. If one couldn't see the business entanglements behind it, John would probably seem to the average Chinese person as a sincere, insightful, and respectful foreigner.

Unfortunately, once these masks of pretense are torn away, what lies beneath is a bloody battle of bayonets.

John felt his impromptu performance was good, but he still hoped it would be a bit more lively.

So after everyone finished filming, he pointed to Chen's position and said, "Mr. Chen from 'Tracing Back' is also here today. If you have any questions, you can ask them here."

"Fuck!"

Chen was also caught off guard. Talking is talking, but how did it end up involving the masses in the struggle?
But it was too late to run now. Countless cameras and microphones were instantly aimed at them, and the flashes were like welding torches piercing their eyes.

Chen Zhe, who had always been low-key, was not used to this situation. He thought to himself that those celebrities were really amazing, able to not blink under so much white light.

"Hello Mr. Chan, I am a reporter from Hong Kong Daily. I would like to ask you what your motivation was to give away cultural relics as gifts?"

"Mr. Chen, I am a reporter from Apple Daily. I heard that you are a young entrepreneur supported by the mainland government. Is this considered repaying kindness with enmity? Or, to put it more seriously, treason?"

"Mr. Chen, I'm a reporter from the BBC. I'm very curious about the origin of these artifacts. Are you part of a huge artifact smuggling ring?"

……

Zhang Zhiming was somewhat worried.

The aggressive nature of Hong Kong reporters is undeniable; countless celebrities have developed severe depression due to the "concern" of Hong Kong media.

However, I cannot answer for Chen.

Chen Zhe was definitely nervous, but he had his own way of calming himself down. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again.

He regarded this reporter as his colleague, Xiao Fan.

View this reporter as a junior employee of a public institution.

Imagine this reporter as Xiao Zhou from the research institute.

……

They weren't there to question me; they were waiting for me to provide relevant business guidance and answers.

Since they were all "subordinates," Director Chen gradually calmed down. He first displeasedly moved the microphone for "Xiao Zhou after the study" to the side.

What's wrong with this guy? He's practically shoving the microphone into the leader's mouth.

He then coughed and began to answer.

The reporters were quite surprised. They had seen many interviewees suddenly become flustered when facing a microphone, but none of them were able to calm down so quickly.

"John is a good guy, I like him a lot because he's very funny."

Chen smiled calmly and said, "Maybe he thought the weather was too hot lately, so he made a joke to amuse everyone. I admit that these things were gifts from me, but they are all imitation replicas."

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent for a moment, then everyone turned to look at the Psion team.

"A replica?"

John was stunned; he genuinely didn't understand.

They even asked Yang Lili, still unsure, whether "replica" meant "fake".

John didn't understand the logic of Chinese businessmen until Yang Lili nodded blankly.

In a land of etiquette, would someone offer counterfeit goods as a favor?
"I originally intended to enhance communication between the two parties, so I gifted the Psion team some replicas of Oriental artifacts."

At this moment, Chen Zhe once again drew everyone's attention. He spoke eloquently, saying, "First, to convey our goodwill; second, to inspire foreign friends' recognition of Chinese culture; and third, to imply to Mr. John that he should learn to use ancient wisdom to illuminate his journey forward. Although disputes exist, we should be good at achieving a win-win situation for both parties within the framework of cooperation!"

Look at these little words; leaders honed within the system can use these progressively clichéd phrases with ease.

"But it's obvious!"

Chen continued his performance, his gaze sweeping across the entire audience. Looking at his "subordinates," he said with great regret:

"Mr. John didn't understand my good intentions and actually showed these off as genuine products. Since Mr. John knows that 'a gentleman loves money, but he earns it in a proper way,' doesn't he know that 'a sincere heart turns to frost and snow, and a loyal soul is given to the cold ice'? Doesn't he know that 'I offered my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon shone on the gutter'? Doesn't he know that 'good intentions are taken for granted'?!"

They can effortlessly spout progressive phrases, so these parallel sentences are a piece of cake for them.

In particular, Director Chen got into the zone at the end, becoming more and more imposing, and his questioning voices echoed throughout the main hall.

Seeing the dumbfounded John and his "reporter subordinate," Director Chen smiled slightly.

This chapter is titled "Chinese Culture 'Explodes' at British Dogs."

Unfortunately, Chinese culture, which was originally far ahead, has produced some dregs.

Yang Lili suddenly said something to John, and John kept nodding. It seemed that this traitor had come up with another bad idea.

"I have to admit, Mr. Chen is very witty."

John fiddled with the microphone and retorted, "To come up with such a clever way to deliberately make the real thing seem fake in order to evade one's own responsibility."

"If it's true or not, why don't we get a professional to come and check it out?"

Chen calmly replied, "I know that if we bring our experts, you definitely won't believe the results, no matter what they are, so I simply won't bring them."

"Why don't we invite a third-party organization to come and verify this in this hall?"

Chen calmly said, "Sotheby's and Christie's both have branches in Hong Kong, and there are many masters who are good at identifying Chinese cultural relics. Let's just do the appraisal in front of everyone."

"Wow!"

The journalists, eager to stir up trouble in the world, readily agreed.

They don't care who wins or loses; the more chaotic things get, the better.

However, if it is indeed identified as fake, Psion will use the counterfeit product given to them as a gift to turn the tables and accuse them of something else.

Then it won't just be pinned to the pillar of shame; it will become that pillar of shame itself.

John initially thought that Chen was deliberately making the truth seem false after listening to Yang Lili's analysis, but seeing his calm demeanor, he couldn't bring himself to take the gamble.

The price is too high.

Only Yang Lili kept urging, "I swear on my life, this is absolutely Chen Zhe bluffing. Chinese people love to make a show of force..."

I wonder if Yang Lili will faint from shock when she takes out her ID card and sees that it's still an 18-digit mainland Chinese ID number.

In the end, John did not heed this advice and chose the safest approach.

They stated that today's event was merely a press conference, and the verification of the item's authenticity would be conducted after the press conference, but the results would definitely be announced to everyone.

The reporters were disappointed; it was clear they were afraid.

Chen Zhe naturally did not agree to this delaying tactic and directly launched a counterattack.

He said that if Psion Company dares not inspect the goods on the spot, then no matter what the next appraisal result is, he will not accept it.

But John decided to play the coward, declaring that appraising cultural relics was no small matter and could not be decided by one or two experts; he insisted on having several masters observe the process.

Anyway, both sides had their own reasons, and it looked like it was going to become a mess. Of course, in the end, Chen thwarted Psion's intentions.

"We don't need to hire any other craftsmen!"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

Chen turned his head.

Mr. Li Aoxu was dressed in an exquisite Chinese silk long gown, his graying hair was carefully combed, and he looked energetic and distinguished.

Those hands, calloused from years of experience, were steadily and swiftly manipulating a string of glass prayer beads, walking step by step towards those familiar "artifacts" under countless spotlights.

Like a craftsman emerging from a secluded workshop, he begins to step onto his stage.

"This is fake!"

Li Aoxu made the final conclusion without any controversy.

"Sir, you say it's fake, so it's fake. Who do you think you are?"

Yang Lili rolled her eyes disdainfully, thinking this was just another trick Chen was playing, trying to find some fake master to put on a show.

Li Aoxu glanced at Yang Lili, snorted coldly, and suddenly grabbed the "Yuan Dynasty Blue Glazed Pear-Shaped Pot with Straps and Ears".

Her gray hair danced in the wind, then slammed hard onto the ground.

"Bah!"

The porcelain shards of the teapot were scattered all over the ground.

This scene stunned everyone, and the quick-thinking reporters frantically snapped photos.

Great, we're finally fucking back to work!
"What are you doing!"

John and Yang Lili rushed over. Damaging cultural relics requires compensation at the original price!
In the increasingly noisy main hall, Li Aoxu calmly picked up the thick bottom of the ear pot and held it high: "Why is it fake?"

"Because I made it myself!"

······
(One more chapter tonight, please vote with monthly tickets.)
(End of this chapter)