NOVPUBThe Eastern Sea was bustling with activity once again.
More salvage ships had arrived, initiating the sunken ship salvage operation.
Directors from various libraries and museums, as well as bigwigs from the cultural relics community, had all taken ships to the scene.
The satellite-fishing task assigned to Fang Hao and his team was temporarily put on hold.
It couldn’t be helped, there simply weren’t enough hands available to leave for satellite fishing immediately, so it had to be postponed for a few days.
A two or three-day delay didn’t really matter, after all.
Fishing for satellites wasn’t something one could succeed at immediately upon trying.
Without a certain amount of luck, one couldn’t be sure to catch anything.
Fang Hao and his team had been out to sea for several days and had still not caught anything up to now.
There was no point in hurrying such matters, as everything depended on fate.
Fang Hao himself wasn’t certain he could catch anything.
"It really is... the Yongle Encyclopedia!"
The National Library director, after arriving on site, was so excited that his eyes turned red, and he nearly burst into tears.
The same material, the identical books.
These items were all priceless treasures.
So precious.
No wonder they were so stirred.
Each book was a unique copy.
"Another metal box has been found."
After the arrival of the salvage ship, the operation swung into full gear, aided by some even more advanced salvaging equipment.
This greatly facilitated the exploration and recovery of the sunken ship.
Following the salvage of the wreck, another metal box was found, similar to the one Fang Hao had previously fished up.
If there were no surprises, the contents of this box were likely also volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia.
After starting recovery of this metal box and prying open the lid to inspect it, indeed, it was found to contain about twenty volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia.
That meant over forty volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia had now been discovered here.
"Over forty volumes," the National Library director trembled.
But this wasn’t the end. Salvage of the shipwreck was just beginning, and no one knew how many more treasures were inside.
It was a cargo ship, after all; the contents were bound to be substantial.
Even though the cargo ship did not have a large displacement, just over a thousand tons, it wouldn’t have carried a small load.
More items were being brought up from the sea, among them many antique cultural relics.
Some were bronze artifacts, others stone carvings. 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
Their values varied.
But undoubtedly, among them, the Yongle Encyclopedia was the most valuable.
Another box was subsequently raised. It was also well-protected against water, but the contents were not the Yongle Encyclopedia. Instead, there were calligraphy and paintings by masters from ancient times, all of high value.
The findings within this sunken ship were indeed impressive, yielding a rich harvest.
And Fang Hao, who had raised this sunken treasure, once again became a name on everyone’s lips.
The leadership of the National Cultural Relics Bureau even approached him, "Mr. Fang Hao, I wonder if you’d be interested in becoming a distinguished consultant for our National Cultural Relics Bureau?"
"Ah?" This sudden offer left Fang Hao flustered.
"You are already serving as a special consultant for the Handong Province Cultural Relics Bureau, so it is only fitting that you become a distinguished consultant for our National Cultural Relics Bureau."
There seemed to be some logic to this.
But... it seemed to be the other way around.
"This is..." Fang Hao didn’t know whether to accept or decline for a moment.
"Old codger, you’re trying to poach our Handong people again," Old Zhang huffed as he too arrived on the scene.
"How is this poaching your people? We are all making a contribution to our country."
"Moreover, being with our National Cultural Relics Bureau doesn’t conflict with your position at the Handong Province Cultural Relics Bureau," a leader from the National Cultural Relics Bureau said.
Old Zhang didn’t elaborate further. He was well-acquainted with the other party and had just made the remark to rile him up.
The two were accustomed to bantering with each other.
As young men, they often sparred.
Not to mention now that they were older.
Seeing the commotion, Fang Hao simply agreed, reasoning that it wasn’t much different – just another title.
Besides, he had been dealing with these people quite frequently lately, especially since fishing up the shipwreck, which inevitably involved them.
Having such a status would make things more convenient in the future.
Being only a special consultant, not a full-time office job, it wouldn’t interfere with his life.
The truth was, the leader of the National Cultural Relics Bureau recognized Fang Hao’s fishing skills – the ability to raise various things, including sunken ships.
Sunken ships often contained antique cultural relics, extremely valuable items.
Fang Hao was immensely valuable.
He would surely rely on Fang Hao to recover more shipwrecks and more relics in the future.
That was what the leader of the National Cultural Relics Bureau had in mind.
Too many people had their eyes on Fang Hao, all wanting him for themselves – it all came down to who made the quicker move.
Upon learning that Fang Hao had become a distinguished consultant for the National Cultural Relics Bureau, a crowd swarmed over, all eager to establish a good relationship with him.
Watching this, an expert from the Aerospace Department was completely dumbfounded.
This... so he’s become a distinguished consultant just like that?
Damn.
He was utterly shocked.
Yet, he did not question Fang Hao’s abilities; Fang Hao fully deserved to be a distinguished consultant for the National Cultural Relics Bureau.
But seeing how young Fang Hao was, he felt a bit bewildered and found it somewhat unbelievable.
This was a true rising star.
Anyway, everything he had witnessed these past few days had really overturned his prior beliefs.
