SAG -Chapter 11 A Forbidden-to-Sell Siheyuan!

Su Yitian fell silent.

She simply stared blankly at the people before her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t believe that the seemingly ordinary man—who at most carried himself with an air of refinement—had amassed such an incredible fortune twenty-eight years ago.

But it was clear she had been shocked too soon.

“Well… there’s also the matter of his other assets.”

“There’s more?” Su Yitian blurted out in disbelief.

The speaker decided not to keep her in suspense any longer.

“Back then, he bought quite a few properties in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing. Over the years, most of them were demolished as part of urban redevelopment. Even if we calculate compensation using only the demolition prices at the time, those properties alone would be worth more than 2.8 billion yuan.”

Su Yitian felt as though the world had turned upside down.

She finally understood why these officials were in such a difficult position.

Money continually loses value over time. If it were only a small sum, the government could simply make up the difference through subsidies or other forms of compensation.

But billions?

How could anyone compensate for that?

And even if they did, what interest rate should they use? Would Zhang Ran even accept it?

Before she could sort out her thoughts, someone continued.

“There’s more. Zhang Ran also collected a large number of antiques back then. Many were priceless treasures, including several national-grade cultural relics. All of them were eventually taken into state ownership, and some are still part of the Palace Museum’s collection.”

Su Yitian didn’t even want to speak anymore.

Her mouth had gone completely dry.

How much were those worth?

No one hurried her. When they had first learned the truth themselves, they had been just as stunned.

What they didn’t say was that this still wasn’t everything. The remaining assets would have to be sorted out directly between Zhang Ran and the relevant authorities.

From what they’d said, Su Yitian could already guess that Zhang Ran and the others would soon be released. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be worrying over these issues.

“So… what exactly do you want me to do?” she finally asked after a long silence.

One of them answered, “We’d like you to talk to him. Sound him out and see what he’s thinking. Ideally, we’d like to negotiate a solution that both sides can accept. And… if possible, persuade him to leave some of the antiques with the state.”

That was their real objective.

The antiques.

As for financial compensation, that could simply follow the normal legal procedures, perhaps with somewhat more generous terms.

Legally speaking, they hadn’t done anything wrong.

Everything had been handled according to the law.

No one could have anticipated that someone who had been officially declared dead would one day return alive.

Although the situation was troublesome because of that unforeseen circumstance, it was still something that could be negotiated.

“What offer are you prepared to make?” Su Yitian asked.

She understood why they weren’t approaching Zhang Ran themselves.

It was an unpleasant task, and among everyone involved, she was the person who had built the closest relationship with him. Sending her made the most sense.

The two officials turned toward the middle-aged man, since neither of them had the authority to decide.

After a moment’s thought, he said, “The highest figure we can currently offer is five billion yuan. Anything beyond that is above my authority.

“But you can also tell him that if he’s willing to accept, we’ll be able to provide him with certain assistance in the future. He should understand what I mean.”

The five-billion-yuan figure wasn’t arbitrary.

It had been calculated according to the interest prescribed under national regulations while also taking into account the circumstances at the time.

The actual total wasn’t exactly five billion, but it was very close. The extra amount was essentially compensation.

To be honest, the middle-aged man wasn’t happy about the situation either.

From the government’s perspective, there had been no legal mistake.

At worst, there had been a minor procedural imperfection that could easily be corrected.

After all, Zhang Ran had genuinely met the legal requirements for being declared dead.

He had left no will and had no legal heirs.

According to the law, all of his property had rightfully reverted to the state.

Their concern now was different.

If Zhang Ran chose to make a public issue of it, the incident could create a damaging international controversy.

The best outcome would be for him to accept their proposal.

More importantly…

There was the issue of the antiques.

Just two days earlier, they had approached several senior experts to discuss returning the artifacts.

The old men had flown into a rage the moment they heard the idea.

Some had even nearly come to blows.

But regardless of their feelings, the law was clear.

If Zhang Ran refused to relinquish ownership, the antiques were legally his.

Those experts understood that, which was why they had asked whether someone could persuade Zhang Ran to let the artifacts remain in state custody.

If those treasures had never come into their possession, perhaps they could have accepted it.

But after safeguarding them for decades, they simply couldn’t bear the thought of giving them back.

It wasn’t about personal gain.

They just couldn’t stand the idea of national treasures leaving state ownership.

Even if they remained inside China, they still felt they belonged in public collections.

Su Yitian no longer knew what to say.

She just wanted some peace and quiet.

Realizing his request was rather excessive, the middle-aged man coughed awkwardly.

“Well… you can also tell him that we’re prepared to return his Beijing siheyuan. You should know that it’s already on the first batch of protected courtyard residences that are permanently prohibited from being sold.”

The mention of the siheyuan left even him at a loss.

Just before leaving the country, Zhang Ran had purchased the courtyard residence.

The ownership transfer had only recently been completed.

After his disappearance, the property naturally reverted to the state.

But because of Zhang Ran’s tragic fate, the house gained an unfortunate reputation.

The people wealthy enough to buy such a residence could easily investigate its history.

No one wanted to purchase a home whose previous owner had met such an ominous fate.

Before that stigma could fade, the government introduced restrictions.

The courtyard residence became one of the first properties placed on the permanent non-sale protection list.

By now, Su Yitian was completely numb.

First five billion yuan.

Now a Beijing siheyuan.

Most importantly, it wasn’t just any siheyuan.

It belonged to the very first batch of permanently protected, non-transferable courtyard residences.

That alone proved how extraordinary the property was.

“This is Zhang Ran’s current family situation,” the middle-aged man said as he handed her a file.

“Take a careful look, then decide when to meet him and discuss everything.”

Perhaps even he felt embarrassed by the assignment, because after leaving the file behind, he quickly found an excuse to leave.

The other two officials immediately followed.

Since they knew the details, they had no desire to stay either.

The reason they wanted Su Yitian to handle the negotiations was simple.

After everything Zhang Ran had experienced, he trusted no one.

If government officials approached him directly, they might well be thrown out before they could finish a sentence.

Over the past several days, however, Su Yitian had managed to establish at least a basic rapport with him.

Calling it trust would be an exaggeration.

But at least they could sit down and talk calmly.

The same approach was being used with the other passengers from the cruise ship.

Each of them had been assigned someone like Su Yitian to communicate and negotiate with.

As Su Yitian opened the file and read its contents, she couldn’t help blurting out a curse.

“Damn it…”

“This just made my job even harder.”

But as she reached the later pages, she finally let out a small sigh of relief.

At least they had left her one way out.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had the slightest idea how to bring all of this up with Zhang Ran.