One day in 1980, an old man named Duong from Binh Lo, China went up the mountain to chop wood as usual. However, because the weather was so hot that day, this old man decided to go into a small cave he found nearby to rest.

In the dark cave, Mr. Duong looked around and discovered a flash of light at the end of the cave. Curious, the old man approached and was shocked to discover gold bars with strange writing hidden behind the rocks. After a bit of initial confusion, Mr. Duong began to wonder who had hidden such a large amount of gold in this cave.

However, when faced with such a huge fortune, the man who had never been rich before, also put aside all worries and doubts to bring all the gold home. However, Mr. Duong’s joy quickly faded when his son suspected that the gold he found might be fake or simply brass. After carefully asking about the information of the gold, the son advised the old man to temporarily bring 1 bar to the gold shop for inspection.

Illustration: Sohu

After observing and checking, the gold shop owner firmly confirmed to both Mr. Duong and his son that it was real gold. Because the gold bar had a special inscription, the man was curious and asked: “Where did you two get it?”

Hearing that, Mr. Duong’s face showed a bit of worry and he replied, “This gold bar was passed down from my ancestors” and quickly left. The gold shop owner did not pay too much attention to the old man’s answer after hearing it because it was not uncommon for family treasures to be passed down from generation to generation.

Suddenly becoming rich overnight, Mr. Duong’s son worriedly advised his father to hand over the mountain of gold to the government. Meanwhile, Mr. Duong did not care about that suggestion at all and quickly planned to “exchange gold for money” to avoid a long night of dreams. 

Thinking and doing, this old man and his son took some gold to the local bank to exchange for money. However, not long after arriving at the bank, the two were taken to the police station.

Illustration: Sohu

According to Sohu, during the transaction, the bank staff noticed the unusual gold bar and the suspicious attitude of Mr. Duong and his son, so they decided to call the police. Some experts were also invited to appraise the recovered gold. They finally concluded that the gold originated from the Tang Dynasty in China and handed it over to the China Cultural Heritage Administration.

According to Article 64 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics of China, those who “trade” national cultural relics for profit, privately distribute or illegally appropriate state-owned cultural relics will be prosecuted for criminal liability according to the provisions of law. 

Considering that Mr. Duong and his son’s exchange of gold for money was due to ignorance, the police only criticized and warned them. If they continue to intentionally commit crimes, they will be held criminally responsible. 

It can be seen that because of ignorance and temporary greed, Mr. Duong and his son have pushed themselves into the wrong path. This is also a warning lesson for many other people. The remaining cultural relics in China are all owned by the Chinese state, so if you accidentally find them, you should voluntarily hand them over to the authorities for protection and preservation. Avoid being greedy because you may have to pay a very high price for your actions.