There is a saying among German folklore: "The rich live in castles, and the poor live in huts." Small·Say·· "However, in recent years, the owners of the castle have been overwhelmed by the increasing maintenance costs, and they have sold these family inheritances at ultra-low prices. However, some families with a long history disdain this, no matter how poor and difficult their lives are, they still cling to the inheritance passed down from their ancestors and live a difficult life.

I'm afraid Andrew is such a family that gritted his teeth and abandoned the castle not far away.

The castle of the Fante family looks like a fairy tale from a distance, but when you look closely, it reveals the dilapidated appearance, and the wooden windows have no glass; Tiles scattered from the roof. Before entering the castle, I could see that the cracks in the stones of the road were covered with thick pigeon droppings. I am afraid that this castle, which was once considered a symbol of local wealth, has become a portrayal of poverty in modern times. With the naked eye, it can be clearly seen that the tallest minaret on the right side of the house has a tendency to tilt and collapse. If the wind blows a little harder, I'm afraid the minaret will really fall!

"I'm sorry, but my castle looks a little dilapidated, but it's still far from dangerous. Please feel free to enter. Andrew saw where my sight landed and quickly explained. He looked at his home and said with some pride, "Our Fante family first migrated from Lishi and built this ancient castle seven hundred years ago. For a long, long time, it was the tallest and largest building in the town of Blue. For 700 years, our family has been expanding it for generations. The castle now covers an area of more than 1,900 square meters and is surrounded by 175 hectares of woods and lawns. ”

"So it's a lot of money to repair every year, right?" I asked, slowly scanning the castle in front of me. The Germans once ranked the castle from high to low, and it was a "national treasure" castle left by the former princes and nobles; The second class is the "Man Castle" located in the high-level scenic area; the third class is the "celebrity former residence" castle with a not magnificent appearance; Andrew's family belongs to the fourth class and cannot be divided into types, because there are too many such castles in Germany, after all, after the decline of the family, most of the people who live in the castles are not wealthy. Many had to sell their castle estates; Others divided the castle into inns, or opened the castle to the outside world and charged an entrance fee; Some castle owners were simply helpless and could only watch as the castle gradually collapsed.

Retracting my gaze, I followed him inward, and asked indifferently, "You asked me to identify antiquities, do you want to sell them to repair the castle?" ”

"It's more than that." Andrew's fat face trembled slightly, "My family runs a grocery store in the town that is not doing well, and the income is only enough for ordinary expenses, and there is hardly much savings every year." There was a small earthquake three years ago, but the old castle was so dilapidated that it was no longer inhabitable. My father's head was hot for a while, so he used the castle as collateral and borrowed 100,000 euros from the local bank to repair the castle. ”

"100,000 euros is not a small amount for a small grocery store." I put my hands in my pockets, and the cold wind was biting, especially on the outskirts of the city.

"Yes, but my father often nagged that the things left by his ancestors could not be broken in his own generation. Our family once calculated that if we lowered our usual food expenses by a notch, we would eat meat every two days. Clothes are purchased twice a year at a cheap supermarket. Reducing everyone's pocket money and miscellaneous expenses can still be repaid in fifteen years. Andrew's expression darkened, "But the world is unpredictable, and only three years later, an accident happened." Dad's grocery store opened a large supermarket, and the family's income limit dropped. It is difficult to live on every month, and there is no way to repay the loan. So the bank sued my family in court, claiming that if it could not repay the arrears by the end of the month, it would auction off my family's castle according to the law. ”

I don't comment on that, after all, there are too many situations like his in Europe. Every year, many people are forced to sell their castles, and the ones in Germany are the cheapest. Some castles sell for only 300,000 euros, and such a good deal has attracted many Hollywood actors and wealthy businessmen from all over the world, including Brad Pitt, Russia's richest man and others. Oscar winner Nikolaas Kay recently bought a 500-year-old castle for 1.9 million euros.

"Your castle is worth at least 500,000 yuan, and after the auction, excluding the bank loan, it should return 400,000 euros. That's enough for your family to have a good life. I didn't have the heart to ask, "Have you never considered betraying the castle?" ”

"The castle is full of the glorious history of the family, how can this be sold!" Andrew's eyes widened, and a hint of anger appeared on his chubby face. If it weren't for the begging me to do something, maybe I would have hit me directly with a fist.

"Just kidding, why are you so angry?" I smiled awkwardly, but I secretly admired the perseverance of their family.

As Andrew walked through the gate, he was greeted by a large, snow-covered clearing. Looking at the location, it used to be a garden that was once a beautiful garden. There was a large fountain, but the statues in the fountain had already broken into several pieces, and sharp ice cubes hung from them.

The snow was so thick that I couldn't find my way to the inner door.

Andrew touched his head, grabbed a rusty shovel from behind the door, and whipped snow in front of him to clear the way, complaining that "the municipal snowplow is reluctant to drive in, saying that it is our private place, not under their jurisdiction." Isn't it within the jurisdiction of these bastards who only know how to collect taxes to solve small troubles for the citizens? ”

I was amused by his remarks, this guy is funny. Not as rigorous and boring as the other Germans around.

The castle was indeed huge, and it took more than ten minutes to walk from the gate to the inner door, and Andrew pushed the door hard. The huge castle door in front of him suddenly slowly opened. I'm afraid it's because I haven't been oiled for a long time, and the screeching sound of the door shaft is very uncomfortable.

It seems that Andrew did treat me as the last straw to save his life. The door hadn't been opened for a long time, and he had opened it for me. In Germany, the door is only open when guests are welcomed.

Andrew waved his hand in a noble gesture to invite me in, and I smiled slightly. When he was about to enter the door, he froze.

At the moment when I wanted to enter the door, a trace of coolness, a trace of a snowstorm of minus ten degrees outside and a cold and biting coolness swept across my body. Looking at Andrew beside him, he didn't seem to notice it at all, and still maintained the expression just now. Seeing that I was slow to enter the door, I was a little worried.

I shook my head slightly, but walked in.

There's a lot of space in the castle, but there's nowhere to get out. The furnishings are also very simple, and the walls are full of worthless modern crafts. It is estimated that the antiquities handed down by the ancestors have been sold by the owners of the castle in the past generations.

Inside the door is the living room, a small corner of which sits a set of shabby sofas, a few low tables and chairs, and a small TV opposite the sofa. Then the huge space was empty.

"I'm sorry about the humble place. I'm going to pour you a cup of coffee and call my parents over casually. You sit on the couch and so on. Andrew scratched his head, and when he saw me sit down, he swayed his fat body down the spiral staircase to the second floor.

After a while, two young people followed, a man and a woman, both of whom had a sense of vicissitudes left by overwork. They were dressed in very old clothes, and they looked at me with slight suspicion.

Andrew wiped the sweat from his face and introduced, "These are my parents. ”

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Fante. I'm silent at night, and Andrew is an alumnus. "I bowed politely.

When Mr. and Mrs. Fante saw that I did not behave like a liar, their faces immediately became much better. However, there is still a worry between the eyebrows and eyes that cannot be wiped off. Mr. Fant nodded at me, "I've heard my son say that you are excellent, and this matter is too troublesome for you." ”

"Don't bother, there is a saying in the country, relying on friends when you go out, helping you is equivalent to helping yourself find one more way back." I smiled modestly.

Andrew couldn't wait when he saw that we were being polite, so he interjected, "Dad, quickly take out the things and show them to Mr. Ye Buyu for identification." He's the best folklore student in our school, so he'll definitely be able to help! ”

"This kid, why are we still in a hurry. Well, please wait for Mr. Night first. Mr. Fante was also afraid of long nights and dreams, so he walked to the right-hand side.

It didn't take long to take out a tightly wrapped thing in clothes from the side hall. He placed the package on the table, looked at me, and finally decided, uncovering the edges of the fabric layer by layer.

It was wrapped so tightly that it took several minutes to reveal what was hidden inside.

It was a jade box with a whole body of emerald green, and at first glance I knew that it was a national style. Each side of the jade box is engraved with a picture of hell. As soon as I saw this, I knew why the auction was reluctant to accept it. It's a controversial thing.

Mr. Fant looked at my face and tried to see something from the side. But he was disappointed, and I just stared at the jade box silently with an indifferent face, and didn't speak for a long time.

He couldn't help it, so he said, "This antique seems to have come from Mr. Night's country in our family records, and it was brought back by the eleventh owner of the Van family about 500 years ago. At that time, the Fante family was well-off and had done maritime trade. However, after the head of the house brought it back, he hid it secretly for some reason. If it weren't for the earthquake three years ago, I am afraid that we would not have been able to find this antique. ”

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