A doctor who travels through two eras

Lin Sanqi thought to himself that in order to avoid being struck by lightning, he should give more money. After all, these were cultural relics from the Forbidden City, and the people involved were also taking political risks.

Believe it or not, if this gets exposed decades from now, Dean Wu will definitely be subjected to online harassment.

"Alright, Dean Wu, I won't ask for an exorbitant price. You can sell me all the furniture in the South Third Institute. Plus the cost of restoring this 'Ten Thousand Craftsman' sedan chair, I'll give you a total of ten million US dollars, how about that?"

Upon hearing this, Dean Wu was overjoyed.

Although the furniture in the Southern Three Palaces was all royal, it was just ordinary furniture for the palace. The truly fine furniture was placed in various palaces.

He sold even these obscure pieces of furniture for ten million US dollars, or even ten million RMB.

"Alright, Commissioner Lin is very generous. Lao Xu and Lao Lu, you two show Commissioner Lin around the Forbidden City. He can go to whichever palace he wants. I'll go ask my superiors right away. Commissioner Lin, give me half a day."

Lin Sanqi nodded: "Okay, then I'll be a tourist for once, haha, saving 2 cents on the entrance fee."

Dean Wu hopped on his bicycle and hurriedly crossed back to the office building, where he convened an emergency meeting of the leadership team.

The allure of ten million US dollars is unparalleled. With this money, not only will the Palace Museum's funding for next year be secured, but the staff can also enjoy a prosperous New Year.

The furniture belongs to the museum, but the money and supplies are their own; everyone is very clear about this distinction.

Two hours later, Dean Wu took the meeting minutes and a letter of approval signed by all the team members and went to the higher-level department.

When Minister Ding saw the offer to purchase a batch of used furniture for ten million US dollars, he immediately slammed his fist on the table:

"Old Wu, you're confused. Do I need to emphasize what kind of money god Comrade Lin Sanqi is? You don't know, he's been clearing out entire stores of antiques in Beijing, Huadu, Xi'an and other places like a ransom."

Since he has come to your Palace Museum for help this time, you should go back and take stock. We cannot touch the important cultural relics, but as you just mentioned, all the random tables, chairs, and benches should be sold to him.

We're not selling dragon robes or dragon thrones, what problems could a few broken pieces of furniture possibly cause? Without these burdens, your maintenance work can be easier, right?
However, as far as I know, Comrade Lin Sanqi is quite easy to talk to. So, you can add a little more stuff and make him pay a little more money—it's US dollars, wow!

Upon hearing this, Dean Wu thought, "The minister has already agreed, so what else is there to say?"
So after returning to the Forbidden City, Director Wu summoned everyone and moved all the Ming and Qing dynasty furniture that was covered in dust out of the storeroom.

So when Lin Sanqi finished her visit and came out, she found that the square in front of Wenhua Hall was filled with all kinds of furniture.

If you didn't know better, you'd think the Forbidden City was doing a major cleaning today; the furniture smells musty.

"Hey, Dean Wu, what's your explanation for this?"

When Dean Wu saw Lin Sanqi approaching, he quickly ran over, grinning like a fox.
"Commissioner Lin, our minister heard that you are particularly interested in Ming and Qing dynasty furniture, so he asked us to bring out some less important royal furniture from the warehouse. If you like any of it, you can take it all."

Lin Sanqi swallowed hard, speechless with shock.

Even if the furniture in the Forbidden City is worthless at first glance, it will be a rare treasure decades from now.

After all, this dragon and phoenix carving is made of either nanmu or rosewood, and it's practically a collector's item. Do you think it's something you can just buy on your own now? Or will someone actively chase after you to buy it?

Lin Sanqi walked aimlessly among the piles of furniture, not knowing what to do for a moment.

He never dreamed that one day he could sell cultural relics from the Forbidden City, and in a perfectly legitimate way.

Suddenly, he placed his hand on a dark-colored armchair and couldn't help but glance at it a few more times.

Dean Wu also took a look and found that the chair was intact, but the seat cushion should have been made of bamboo. Now that the bamboo was rotten, it looked a bit tattered.

Fearing the boss wouldn't approve, salesman Wu quickly explained:

"Commissioner Lin, this chair is called a low-backed sandalwood and rattan chair. It was originally placed in the main hall of the Chuxiu Palace. There were eight of them in total. If nothing unexpected happens, Empress Dowager Cixi sat in it back then."

The chair's structure is intact. Don't be fooled by the worn-out bamboo weaving on the seat; it can actually be replaced, and it will still be a fine chair afterward.

Lin Sanqi finally realized what was happening. This was a once-in-a-century opportunity; once it was gone, it would be gone forever. Since the higher-ups had agreed, there was no reason for him to miss it.

"Dean Wu, alright, you can calculate how much furniture there is in total and give me a list. Also, apart from the sedan chair and the ceremonial guards, please don't repair any of the other furniture; keep it as it is."

Lin Sanqi was afraid of the cultural relic restoration experts of this period.

For example, the emperor's dragon robe unearthed from the Ming Dingling Mausoleum was actually glued directly onto paper, and to make matters worse, it was glued backwards, which completely ruined the dragon robe.

Relying on such a group of experts to help with the repairs is probably worse than not repairing them at all. If they are repaired completely, the product will be ruined and will become unsellable.

Upon hearing that no repairs were needed, Dean Wu was even more delighted to be relieved, and rubbed his hands together sheepishly.
"Commissioner Lin, as you can see, the Palace Museum is currently facing a severe budget shortage. Our leaders have asked if we could receive more support. These pieces of furniture are an extra gift from us."

Lin Sanqi knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch; the reason people were being so enthusiastic was simply because they wanted money.

"Alright, Dean Wu, I'll add another five million to the original ten million US dollars, making a total of fifteen million. How about that?"

Dean Wu grasped Lin Sanqi's hand firmly:
"Commissioner Lin, it's a deal."

Over the next month, truckloads of furniture were hauled from the Forbidden City and sent to the train station, where they were then packed up and sent to Bao'an County.

No. 1 Xizhimenwai South Road, Ministry of Health compound.

Minister Li personally brewed a cup of tea, placed it in front of Lin Sanqi with a smile, and then looked at Lin Sanqi with eyes burning with affection, like a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law.

"Comrade Sanqi, here, this is Junshan Yinzhen tea that XXX personally gave me. He gave me a whole pound of it. I heard you especially like tea, so I'll pack it all up and send it to you later, hehe."

Lin Sanqi thought to herself that this was a good thing and that she had to take it to another time and space so that her father could taste it.

"Minister Li, then I won't stand on ceremony. Hehe, XXX's hometown tea is something that money can't buy."

Minister Li chuckled and moved closer, asking:

"So, what good news did you bring me this year-end performance review? I've been looking forward to your arrival in the capital day and night."

Seeing that they were getting down to business, Lin Sanqi took out a wooden box from his backpack:
"Hehe, Minister Li, I've brought you two pieces of good news this time, which will guarantee you a prosperous New Year."

There are two bankbooks in this box. I deposited the money under an assumed name in a HSBC bank in Hong Kong. The two bankbooks together contain US$15 billion. Please help me transfer them to the central government.

The purpose of establishing Bao'an County is to earn valuable foreign exchange for the country. I'd like to report to you that this year we received a total of US$50 billion in payments.

Because I supplied all the production lines and raw materials, I took $20 billion in costs, guaranteeing I didn't make a single penny. (A man's guarantee, those who know, know.)

In addition, according to our previous agreement, our Lin family will take 10% of the dividends, so another 5 million has been deducted.

Here's how I'll allocate the remaining $25 billion:

$10 billion will be handed over to the central government for national development; $5 million will be handed over to the Ministry of Health so that the ministry can use it for the development of medical and health services.

The remaining $5 million will be used for operating expenses in Bao'an County.

Finally, with $5 million remaining, I plan to fully implement rural doctor training next year, including the construction of new township-level health centers.

In fact, Lin Sanqi's original plan was to keep 1 million for himself and hand over the remaining 49 billion US dollars.

However, after being lectured by Dr. Lin Kushen, Lin Sanqi realized that he needed to leave himself a way out and took all the money that was rightfully his.

Even if the country needs money in the future, the Lin family's donation in the name of patriotic Hong Kong businessmen is a completely different concept from the subordinates' handing over to the treasury.

The Lin family must be careful; they can't afford to be used and then discarded. (End of Chapter)