Chapter 241
Upon arriving at the Cultural Relics Bureau, Shen Nanchu went straight to Director Guo's office.
"Nanchu, you're finally here. Come with me quickly."
Director Guo looked anxious as he led Shen Nanchu toward the warehouse.
"Director Guo, what happened?" Shen Nanchu asked.
"A new batch of cultural relics just arrived. The quantity is massive, and we are short-handed, so we wanted you to come over and help appraise and categorize them. Moreover, there are quite a few rare items in this batch. Us old bones are afraid of making a mistake. With you here, we can rest easy," Director Guo explained.
Shen Nanchu nodded and followed Director Guo into the warehouse.
The warehouse was piled high with boxes of all sizes. Several staff members were busy opening them and inventorying the artifacts.
Shen Nanchu put on a pair of gloves, picked up a newly unboxed bronze vessel, and began to examine it carefully.
This bronze piece had a unique shape and exquisite patterns on its surface. It looked ancient and was undoubtedly a rare treasure.
But as she was helping to categorize the items, she noticed something amiss.
A batch of items that were clearly rare artifacts had been secretly categorized as replicas.
Among them was a bronze sword from the Warring States period. Although the blade was rusted, the patterns were distinct, and the hilt was engraved with a rare Taotie motif.
Shen Nanchu gently brushed her fingertips over the blade, feeling the mellow texture left behind by the passage of time. This was absolutely not something a replica could imitate.
Suspicion blooming in her heart, Shen Nanchu quietly recorded the serial numbers, characteristics, and even the minute patterns of these artifacts in a notebook. She also deliberately made a small mark, one only she could understand, in the corner of the boxes containing the suspicious items.
She calmly continued to help, occasionally striking up a deliberate conversation with the staff member responsible for registration next to her.
"Sister Wang, these replicas look quite exquisite. Where were they collected from?"
The staff member, Sister Wang, shook her head. "I am not exactly sure either. This morning, Brother Zhang Jianjun said these were all replicas and told us to put them directly in the replica section, so we just followed his instructions."
A question mark popped up in Shen Nanchu's mind. Zhang Jianjun was in charge of warehouse management and should be the most familiar with the classification standards for artifacts. How could he categorize genuine pieces as replicas?
By evening, the artifact classification was mostly done. Shen Nanchu went to the restroom, and upon returning, she saw Zhang Jianjun acting sneakily, peering around the warehouse entrance with a bunch of keys clutched in his hand.
She immediately hid behind a pillar and watched as Zhang Jianjun unlocked the warehouse door. Not long after going inside, he came out carrying a black cloth bag and walked briskly toward the back door of the warehouse.
Shen Nanchu quietly followed him for a distance and saw Zhang Jianjun hide the cloth bag under his own desk before leaving.
Taking them directly right now would be too risky.
He was planning to take them away in a few days, wasn't he?
A cold sneer curved the corners of Shen Nanchu's mouth.
Interesting. I never expected there to be an inside thief in the Cultural Relics Bureau. But this just gave me an opportunity to show what I can do.
Just then, a man in a uniform walked over. Seeing Shen Nanchu, his eyes lit up.
"Nanchu, you're here too? I just reported for duty at the Cultural Relics Bureau. We'll be colleagues from now on."
Shen Nanchu looked up and saw that it was Zheng Tongwei.
"You came at the perfect time. I have something I need your help with."
Shen Nanchu recounted the missing artifacts, the details she had observed, and Zhang Jianjun's abnormal behavior to Zheng Tongwei, also mentioning the artifacts she had just noted down.
"Zhang Jianjun will definitely move the artifacts away. Can you keep an eye on his whereabouts?"
"Sure, no problem. I didn't expect to get a chance to make a contribution as soon as I arrived at the Bureau. This is great."
Zheng Tongwei's face was filled with excitement.
He didn't like being a grunt; he liked being a leader.
Shen Nanchu and Zheng Tongwei discussed it and finally formulated a plan.
Early the next morning, Zheng Tongwei brought Shen Nanchu some good news.
Zhang Jianjun had secretly taken another item.
The fool had even hidden all the things at his workstation.
She didn't know if he was just too bold, or exceptionally bold.
Shen Nanchu was speechless.
Around noon, Shen Nanchu specifically invited Director Gu to inspect the warehouse, having previously asked Zheng Tongwei to find an excuse to call Zhang Jianjun to the warehouse as well.
As soon as Director Gu arrived at the warehouse, Shen Nanchu took out her small notebook and pretended to frown while cross-checking.
"Director Gu, look, how come I can't find these replicas I registered yesterday?"
"Especially this bronze sword. I even made a special mark on it yesterday, and now the box is completely empty."
As she spoke, she pointed to the small mark she had made in the corner of the box.
Hearing this, Zhang Jianjun's face instantly went pale. His eyes darted in panic toward the empty box as he forced himself to stay calm.
"Director Gu, that's impossible. I checked yesterday and they were all there. Comrade Shen must have remembered incorrectly. Maybe they were just put in the wrong place."
"Whether I remembered incorrectly or not, we'll know once we look for them."
"I'll look. I'm best at finding things."
Zheng Tongwei volunteered.
Hearing this, Zhang Jianjun completely panicked. His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees with a thud.
"Director Gu, I was wrong! I was confused for a moment and thought these replicas could fetch some money, so I hid them at home. I'll go get them back right now. Please spare me this once!"
Shen Nanchu and Zheng Tongwei hadn't expected Zhang Jianjun to be so spineless.
They had barely said a few words, and he had already caved.
Director Gu's face was livid as he said sternly,
"Spare a scum like you who steals what he is entrusted to guard? Absolutely impossible!"
"Zheng Tongwei, take him away and hand him over to the public security department, and recover the artifacts while you're at it!"
Zheng Tongwei immediately stepped forward, restrained Zhang Jianjun, and escorted him out.
After the matter was resolved, Director Gu looked at Shen Nanchu, his eyes full of admiration.
"Nanchu, you really did a great job!"
"Not only do you have a good eye for appraising artifacts, but you're also so clever. Thanks to you this time, otherwise I really wouldn't have discovered the parasite in our bureau!"
Shen Nanchu smiled, her tone calm.
"Director Gu, you are too kind. It was what I ought to do. However, Director Gu, the management of the Cultural Relics Bureau must be strengthened in the future."
Director Gu nodded repeatedly.
"You're right. We will definitely strengthen our management in the future and never let this kind of thing happen again."
"This matter isn't that simple."
Shen Nanchu certainly didn't believe there was no mastermind behind this.
"You mean..."
Director Gu's expression turned grave.
"That bronze sword is not simple. Why was it categorized as a replica?"
Shen Nanchu smiled and looked at Director Gu.
Director Gu didn't speak, falling into deep thought.
When Zheng Tongwei brought over the two items Zhang Jianjun had secretly hidden.
Director Gu immediately began to inspect them.
The bronze sword was hard to identify, but for the other stolen porcelain piece, Director Gu could tell at a glance which dynasty it belonged to.
Such an obvious artifact, treated as a replica?
How could that be possible.
Shen Nanchu did not interrupt Director Gu's thoughts.
A few minutes later, Director Gu had an idea.
"I will investigate this thoroughly."
"As for Zhang Jianjun's matter, I will find an excuse to keep it quiet for now."
"Nanchu, please help me keep an eye out as well, to see if there are any suspicious individuals."
Shen Nanchu nodded. "Sure, no problem."
This matter was actually quite simple.
She already had a rough suspect in mind; she just needed to confirm it.
However, she couldn't let Director Guo think she had resolved this matter too easily.
Otherwise, how could she highlight her capabilities?
How would she establish a firm foothold in the Cultural Relics Bureau?
A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier.
...