Chapter 196: Unexpected Request
The morning after wrapping up his tasks within historical projections, Liang En intended to scout around for new opportunities through his own channels. Unexpectedly, he received a call from the Dublin National Museum.
"Hello, Mr. Curator. Is there something I can help you with?" Liang En arrived at the Dublin museum and briefly spoke to the reception before heading straight to the curator's office. To his surprise, aside from the curator, there was another middle-aged man present.
"Apologies for summoning you here, but there are some matters we might need to discuss in person." After exchanging handshakes with Liang En, the curator spoke, "This is Officer Burke; he might need your assistance."
"Here's the situation: a couple of days ago, while taking inventory, the Irish National Museum discovered the loss of some significant items. We received a tip suggesting these missing items might surface at an auction in Germany."
After a brief greeting with Liang En, Officer Burke earnestly explained the reason for reaching out through Mr. Curator.
"With the assistance of INTERPOL, we managed to secure an invitation to the auction. However, the problem lies in the fact that this auction is private and requires identity verification beyond the invitation."
"Before the auction begins, we can't locate suitable manpower that meets the requirements. So, we turned to several museums for help. Fortunately, Mr. Curator directly recommended you when we sought assistance."
"Of course, this is merely a request. If you're unwilling to partake in this plan, it won't affect anything. I only hope that you can keep this confidential until the auction concludes."
"I might need some time to consider this." Faced with this unexpected situation, Liang En quickly organized his thoughts. "If there are any additional materials I can review, it would be best to let me see them now."
"Certainly." Officer Burke took out a notebook and handed it to Liang En. "These are some of our current summaries. However, due to confidentiality reasons, you can only peruse the contents within this office."
"Thank you, this is sufficient." Liang En nodded, taking the notebook and delving into its contents. Soon, he realized that this task wasn't as perilous as he had imagined.
From the current information, although the auction was private, it wasn't the type of underground auction that posed significant risks. In other words, participating in the auction didn't carry much danger.
Liang En's task was straightforward: visually confirm whether the missing museum artifacts appeared at the auction. If they did, notify the designated contact immediately.
Evidently, this job wasn't very risky, yet the returns were substantial. Especially since it provided an opportunity to strengthen relations with museums and law enforcement agencies.
"May I make a call?" Having reviewed the information, Liang En felt a faint familiarity with the auction and decided to call Pierce for more details.
In the presence of the curator and the officer, Liang En dialed Pierce's number and inquired. Soon enough, he obtained detailed information about the auction from his friend.
This auction arose post-World War II due to territorial shifts and changes, leading many German nobles to move from the East to the West to escape the turmoil.
While they sought refuge in the West, they lost their lands and properties. To survive, they had to sell valuable possessions they carried.
Hence, the auction was structured like an exclusive club to safeguard the dignity of these nobles liquidating their assets.
Although these exiled nobles were no longer the focal point post-Cold War, the auction persisted, becoming a prominent club-style event in Germany.
However, post-Cold War, to adapt to a broader market, the auction began sending invitations externally. But inviting someone required consensus among the invitees.
That was why INTERPOL sought assistance—unable to reveal their own situation, they could propose but not guarantee approval.
After comprehending these convoluted matters, Liang En agreed to collaborate with the authorities. For safety reasons, he proposed acquiring the invitation through his connections rather than the police's assistance.
"If you can secure the invitation, that would be best. Thank you very much for your cooperation." After stating his request, Liang En and the officer's superiors conferred and agreed to his terms.
Leaving the museum, Liang En contacted the steward of Count Boskiet and requested help securing an invitation to the auction in Bonn.
"You mean the auction in Bonn." After hearing Liang En's narrative, the steward promptly grasped the situation. "Rest assured, I'll have the invitation sent to you within three days."
Clearly, the intended guests for this auction were akin to hereditary aristocrats like the Boskiet family or certain super-rich individuals. Hence, obtaining an invitation was a straightforward matter for them.
The reason for their willingness to assist was simple—they owed Liang En many favors previously. Therefore, when Liang En sought their help, they were naturally inclined to assist him.
Five days later, dressed in a suit and dragging a suitcase, Liang En descended from the plane. Subsequently, he joined the financier who had come to pick him up outside the airport and boarded the car headed to the hotel.
Evidently, as a young historian recommended by an esteemed old aristocratic family, Liang En effortlessly acquired the invitation to Bonn and prepared to attend the auction scheduled for the next day.
As it was a semi-public, legal auction, it would take place in the Hilton Hotel in downtown Bonn, where Liang En and his associates were currently accommodated.
"Free accommodation and meals—truly a high-end, classy auction!" Standing in the hotel room, gazing at the nearby Rhine River, Liang En murmured softly in Chinese.
In reality, Liang En had enough funds to afford everything, but his spending habits hadn't changed much. Hence, staying in a five-star hotel made him somewhat excited, particularly when it was complimentary.
Being a Hilton hotel constructed during West Germany's time as the capital, the interior was splendid, offering delicious cuisines. The following day, the highlight—the auction—was set to begin.
The auction took place in the hotel's grand lobby, appearing formal and proper.
However, unbeknownst to Liang En, as the guests entered the auction premises, a miniature camera hidden on a nearby waiter was transmitting images of these attendees to a room on the third floor.
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Chapter 197: Auction
"Is there a copper insider at this auction?" Within a curtained room on the third floor of the hotel hosting the auction, a middle-aged man with brown hair inquired of a blond man fixed on a computer screen.
"There should be. We intentionally leaked information earlier, so those fellows are sure to send someone to scout. However, we're not sure which one is who yet," said a young man observing the arriving guests through the computer.
"But I've identified five suspicious individuals." The young man clicked a few times with the mouse and then pointed at the screen displaying five just-retrieved photos. "They're all newcomers for this auction."
"Which of them do you find more suspicious?" The middle-aged man glanced at the screen with five photos, one of which happened to be Liang En's, had he been present.
"These two." The young man indicated an Arab and a black man among the five photos. "Their backgrounds are murky, giving them some room for maneuver."
"What about this guy?" The middle-aged man pointed to Liang En's photo. "Why do you think he's less suspicious than the first two?"
"Because this person is a recently famous scholar, not only deciphering ancient Egyptian texts but also uncovering the Viking colonization of Vinland and the secret of Greek fire," the young man pointed at Liang En's photo on the screen.
"And today's auction features several items from ancient Egypt and the Viking civilization, so it's natural for a scholar specializing in these areas to be drawn here."
"More importantly, what we've put out as bait isn't within his field of study. If he is indeed the insider, it might just lure out that traitor."
"You're right. Sometimes, an underqualified insider can be more helpful to us than a qualified one. So, I really hope this person is the copper insider."
The middle-aged man pointed at Liang En's photo. Liang En, who had already entered the hall, was completely unaware of the conversation unfolding upstairs. He was busy examining the inventory list just received from a server.
Previously, to prevent destitute nobles from embarrassment, the auction's detailed inventory was only revealed when all guests entered the auction venue.
Until then, the guests received a list outlining the types of items on auction, withholding the specifics.
Despite the diversified sources of auctioned goods nowadays, this tradition persisted, serving as a distinctive feature of these auctions, drawing participants intrigued by the event's history and unique style.
"This auction seems quite promising." Flipping through the exquisitely printed auction catalog, Liang En displayed a pleasantly surprised expression. He found several items that caught his interest.
For instance, there were several well-preserved rolls of papyrus, albeit revealing minimal text in the photos. But from the few words, he realized they contained records of the famous Egyptian Book of the Dead.
For many, the most vivid impression of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead might be a muscular figure, seemingly not very friendly, holding a book made of gold or black stone, chanting spells.
However, the actual Book of the Dead was a common funerary item in ancient Egypt, inscribed on walls, coffin boards, or papyrus.
Its content didn't summon dreadful sandstorms or resurrect mummies, but rather recorded matters concerning the afterlife, ensuring the smooth passage of the deceased's soul to the blissful realm.
Besides the Egyptian papyrus, other auction items appeared equally appealing. There was a set of Renaissance-era armor, an exquisitely decorated firearm, and an ancient Roman-era glass cup.
And within this pile of auctioned items lay what Liang En sought. Swiftly, he reached the end of the inventory and found his target.
It was a prayer book from the Tudor period in England, its cover crafted from gold and adorned with an array of gems, depicting stories from scriptures in relief.
"It seems to be an artifact from some grand noble or the royal family." Liang En gently shook his head. "But whether it's genuine or not remains to be seen. One cannot discern authenticity solely from pictures."
Once everyone was settled, a middle-aged man in a tailcoat stepped onto the stage, exchanging greetings with the attendees before officially commencing the auction.
Since the initial items weren't what Liang En sought, he had the chance to observe the auction's proceedings.
Compared to public auctions, this private auction appeared more straightforward. For instance, the auctioneer didn't employ persuasive language as seen in public auctions to stimulate buying desires.
As a result, the auction for the "Book of the Dead" quickly arrived. Liang En tightened his grip on the paddle, ready to bid at any moment.
This kind of item, widely sought after, left no room for bargain hunting. Thus, after an initial bid of 7,500 euros, the price swiftly escalated.
Fortunately, despite its rarity, it wasn't a singular piece and fell into a relatively niche collection category. Consequently, Liang En secured the "Book of the Dead" for 12,000 euros.
For him, this authentically excavated "Book of the Dead" wasn't for personal collection but intended to be sold to a New York real estate tycoon, Mr. Bruce.
Bruce required this ancient Egyptian artifact for donation to the Egyptian government, aiming to pave the way for his future investments in Egypt.
Months prior, during an auction in Canada, he had intended to purchase a painted Egyptian coffin. He had specifically invited Liang En to assess its authenticity. However, during the actual auction, Liang En discovered it was a fake.
Consequently, Mr. Bruce hadn't bought the counterfeit coffin. Yet, since that auction's conclusion, he had hoped Liang En would find a genuine Egyptian artifact for him.
"This might yield around 6,000 euros in profit," pondered Liang En after securing the "Book of the Dead." "But the most important gain here is a favor."
"Especially considering the archaeological permit application regarding the Sinai Peninsula this time. Mr. Bruce, the real estate developer in Egypt, might find it handy."
Thus, during the one-hour intermission after the auction's closure, Liang En immediately called Mr. Bruce to convey the news.
As he anticipated, Mr. Bruce not only agreed to pay 18,000 euros for the "Book of the Dead" but also explicitly expressed owing Liang En a favor over the phone.
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Chapter 198: Conclusion
Unbeknownst to Liang En, as he stood in the hall making a call, his voice transmitted through a nearby waiter's microphone to a certain room on the third floor.
"This person shouldn't be our informant. We'd better focus on the other two guys." At that moment, two individuals in the room switched positions. The young man with golden hair was now wearing headphones, monitoring something.
"You're right. It seems Mr. Liang's visit this time is likely to assist wealthy individuals in authenticating and acquiring items." The middle-aged man with chestnut hair, who had been monitoring the screens, commented.
"That explains why a scholar like him is here at such an upscale auction. Naturally, if he's not spending his own money, he'd take an interest in things he might not be able to afford."
Evidently, these two individuals, quite likely the masterminds behind museum thefts, only knew superficial details about Liang En, easily accessible information. They didn't have much insight into Liang En's financial capabilities.
Of course, Liang En remained oblivious to having inadvertently evaded trouble. At that moment, he smoothly returned to his seat, focusing his attention on the next item up for auction.
As this auction wasn't just an ordinary one, besides the headline items, there were intriguing pieces intended to stir interest among attendees.
For instance, the item Liang En was currently interested in—a dull wooden box in a photo containing numerous pages of text.
According to the auction catalog, this box of documents originated from the Erlenburg Monastery in Alsace, France, filled with preserved German documents.
Considering Alsace and Lorraine were predominantly German-speaking regions before the end of World War I, the presence of German documents in the monastery was quite customary.
However, with the region's Frenchification, these German documents seemed out of place in the monastery. Hence, after the discovery of these centuries-old documents, they decided to auction them off.
Due to their age, the starting bid was set at 2000 euros. However, the attendees seemed disinterested, to the extent that the auction even experienced a lull after it began.
Eventually, Liang En smoothly acquired the box of documents for the base price of 2000 euros, as the name of the monastery seemed to have left an impression on him.
Though he was momentarily unsure about the significance of the item, he reckoned that a place leaving such an imprint in his memory couldn't be entirely insignificant, prompting him to make the purchase.
This was, of course, largely due to Liang En's current financial capacity, allowing him to spend a substantial amount to satisfy his curiosity. In his previous days, scouring houses in a beaten-up van, he wouldn't have acted similarly.
Finally, after over four hours, the auction was drawing to a close. Just as the attendees were growing somewhat fatigued, the organizers brought out the most prestigious item of the auction.
"This is the prayer book of Mary I, the fifth Tudor monarch of England and the fourth monarch of Ireland. Historically, Mary I was known as Bloody Mary, having executed 300 dissenters—"
As the presenter began explaining the prayer book, those interested in the item formed a queue to pass by the glass cabinet displaying it, with Liang En among them.
"It looks remarkably authentic." Gazing at the splendid prayer book, he felt it resembled the item lost from an Irish museum. Yet, exercising caution, as he approached the glass cabinet, he utilized a card for *Detection (N)*.
"Hmm?" Immediately after using the card, the feedback contradicted his expectations. To be precise, it was completely opposite.
"Bloody Mary was a devout Catholic queen, and hence, she prayed according to religious requirements daily. Consequently, she used numerous prayer books throughout her life for prayers."
"As these prayer books, in terms of design and binding, were of superior quality, many replicas were made in later years. The item present here is one of the modern replicas closest to the original."
"A modern replica?" Frowning slightly upon reading the card's information, Liang En realized the discrepancy. The museum had lost an authentic piece, but this replica was so meticulously crafted that he might have mistaken it without the card's guidance.
"Something's amiss." The moment he identified the item as a counterfeit, Liang En understood that the situation deviated significantly from his initial expectations, contrary to the gathered intelligence.
For Liang En, who had consumed numerous detective novels and movies, this signaled an unforeseen development.
Once he confirmed this, he swiftly adjusted his demeanor, pretending to be like the other attendees observing the auction item before returning to his seat.
In the subsequent bidding, the starting price for this item soared from 100,000 euros and eventually closed at 435,000 euros.
Given his prior suspicions, Liang En kept a watchful eye on the final bidder seated to his front left. As expected, he noticed several anomalies about this last bidder.
The individual didn't seem accustomed to wearing suits, especially the high-end watch on their wrist. Furthermore, the glasses worn were a cheap version, and their bidding behavior was irregular. While most people contemplate before bidding, this person followed any bid immediately, seemingly unconcerned about money.
From Liang En's perspective, this person didn't appear wealthy but threw money around without hesitation, creating a striking incongruence.
Besides the prayer book, the other closing item of the auction was a rumored Ottoman Sultan's Uz Steel Sword.
Unlike the prayer book, this Uz Steel Sword, embellished with emerald, silver, and rhinoceros horn, immediately sparked a bidding war, quickly surpassing 800,000 euros.
Initially, Liang En bid twice but withdrew when the price exceeded 500,000 euros. Eventually, the sword sold for 1.15 million euros.
After the auction concluded, Liang En settled the payments for his acquisitions and secured both items in the hotel's safe before departing.
Pretending to casually wander, he reached a nearby lawn, sat down, took out a notebook, and skillfully sketched the person who had won the final bid on the prayer book using his *Sketch Artist (R)* skill. He then discreetly surveyed the area to ensure no one was tailing him.
After completing these actions, he moved behind some bushes and retrieved his phone, dialing the contact number left by the police officer he had spoken to before.
"Hello, Officer Burke. I've just left the auction, and it seems the situation is different from what you all had anticipated—"
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Chapter 199: The Ehrenberg Manuscript
Over the next five minutes, Liang En swiftly conveyed his discoveries and assessments in an Irish-accented English, finally emailing the portrait to the recipient.
"Thank you very much for your cooperation. Everything you've done today is incredibly important to us," Officer Burke expressed his sincere gratitude after Liang En finished.
"Although I can't divulge specifics, I can tell you that your help allowed us to circumvent the traps set by those criminals. We've successfully found a crucial lead—"
Having gleaned sufficient information from Liang En, Officer Burke evidently had much to attend to and swiftly concluded the call.
"Finally completed something important." Liang En sighed deeply after hanging up and made his way back to the hotel. He remembered purchasing two intriguing items at the auction.
Retrieving the items from the safe, Liang En began inspecting the two. The first, the "Book of the Dead," was evidently a fine specimen among Ancient Egyptian artifacts.
Despite unsightly black and yellow blemishes due to millennia, the lines remained elegant, colors vivid, and overall preservation impressive.
"A 'Legend' and an 'Appraisal' card... This item does hold historical value." Pleased with his haul, Liang En nodded in satisfaction.
Discovering two cards from something he barely gave a second glance was undoubtedly an unexpected delight. However, considering the image he'd built and the sophistication, such fortunate occurrences might not come too often in the future.
The other wooden box contained a trove of German letters, a significant resource for studying German life over a century ago. Through these letters, Liang En glimpsed a slice of German life from a hundred years past.
However, these items held significance mainly for scholars of folk history; to the average person, these letters were practically worthless.
"If memory serves, I think I've heard the name of this monastery somewhere in a previous life." Liang En pondered while flipping through the letters. "Damn, it's on the tip of my tongue—"
Apart from the letters, Liang En found over a dozen assorted notebooks beneath them. Some were blank, while others contained intriguing information.
One notebook detailed eight months of supply requisitions after the German military repurposed the monastery as a field hospital in 1915.
To most, these details might seem mundane, but for those studying the history of the Western Front in World War I, this data could unveil insights into the German forces.
In essence, the contents of this notebook during the Great War could be considered military secrets, practically unknown to outsiders.
Unfortunately, these didn't hold much significance for Liang En. Still, he felt they could be left behind and exchanged with a museum or familiar scholars in the future.
As the letters and notebooks often contained intriguing tidbits, time slipped away unnoticed while he sifted through and recorded his findings.
"After finishing this, I'll call for room service." Muttering to himself while opening a black-covered notebook, a yellowed letter slipped out.
"This is—" Upon quickly translating the recipient's name on the letter, Liang En became intrigued. The addressee was Brentano, a poet of the Heidelberg Romantic School.
According to the information he'd seen earlier, the Ehrenberg Monastery had once had a dean related to Brentano, thus preserving his belongings after his passing.
Given the poet's fame, Liang En suspected these belongings might contain correspondences between Brentano and prominent figures of the time, so he continued translating.
"We will honor our promise to send you all the collected oral folk culture. Please use it. At an appropriate time, kindly return these original manuscripts to us—Jacob Grimm."
"The name seems so familiar." Translating the entire contents of the letter, Liang En promptly searched his memory and soon recalled who this person was.
"This individual should be one of the Grimm brothers." Soon, he recalled information about this person. "One of the authors of 'Grimm's Fairy Tales'!"
Realizing this, Liang En perused the black-covered notebook and found that it wasn't a ready-made book but a compilation of manuscripts bound together.
Considering the intensive work ahead, Liang En called for room service to fill his stomach, then delved into this precious notebook.
In total, there were 53 fairy tales recorded in the notebook. From the handwriting, 27 were attributed to Jacob Grimm, 14 to Wilhelm Grimm, and the rest from an unrecorded historical figure.
At that moment, Liang En recalled memories related to these notes; if he wasn't mistaken, these were known in the previous world as the Ehrenberg Manuscript, the earliest form of "Grimm's Fairy Tales."
Perhaps owing to differences in worlds, the stories in Liang En's possession exceeded the original manuscript by five tales, closer to the manuscript left by the Grimm brothers in his previous world.
After a brief perusal of this manuscript, Liang En realized that as the earliest incarnation of "Grimm's Fairy Tales," these tales significantly differed.
Many entries remained incomplete, with only a paragraph or fragment. For instance, the eighth story titled "The Poor Girl" had just a beginning:
"A folktale of a poor girl. She lacked dinner, parents, even a bed or a roof, yet she never did anything wrong. However, when a shooting star fell, she found a beautiful taler on the ground…"
The manuscript abruptly ended there. From Liang En's memory, this story was supposed to be the final "The Star-Taler" in the completed version.
Similar instances dotted this manuscript, with various errors in numbering and titles. For example, both the 13th and 18th tales were titled "The Fool."
Overall, these writings seemed to be authentic records of the earliest orally transmitted folktales, devoid of any embellishments. In some places, one could even spot notes left by the Grimm brothers: "Meaning unclear here."
"This seems incredibly valuable." Mumbling after examining the manuscript, Liang En commented, "A manuscript of globally renowned fairy tales—surely, it holds tremendous historical and economic value!"
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Chapter 200: The Nonexistent "Grimm's Fairy Tales"
The earliest manuscript of "Grimm's Fairy Tales" unfolded in three cards. Among the common cards were one each of [Appraisal (N)] and [Detection (N), while the third was a brand-new reinforcement card.
[Philologist: German (R): Being able to communicate with others in a foreign language and mastering it academically are two different things. Even for native speakers, mastering their own language from an academic standpoint is something only very few can achieve.
Reinforcement Card (Single Use): Consuming this card allows the wielder to acquire knowledge about language and Germanic folklore that the Grimm brothers possessed.]
After using this card, Liang En discovered his grasp of the German language had ascended a level compared to before. Simultaneously, a plethora of German traditional myths and stories, including "Grimm's Fairy Tales," appeared in his mind.
"Well, this acquisition is rather intriguing." After recalling the newly appeared information in his mind, Liang En's face lit up with a smile. For a scholar like him, acquiring new knowledge was indeed cause for celebration.
Spending too much time inspecting all the documents in that box, Liang En went straight to bed after obtaining these final three cards.
The next morning, after breakfast, Liang En took out his phone and began searching for information on early versions of the existing "Grimm's Fairy Tales." He aimed to estimate the worth of the manuscript he had found.
However, upon initiating his search online, he discovered there was absolutely no trace of anything related to "Grimm's Fairy Tales." The title itself seemed nonexistent.
"Could it be that 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' simply don't exist in this world?" Considering the numerous differences he had previously noticed between two worlds, Liang En quickly shifted his search direction.
He found out that indeed, in this world, "Grimm's Fairy Tales" did not exist. However, the Grimm brothers were not obscure figures.
Possibly due to the absence of compiling fairy tales, in this world, the Grimm brothers had completed the first edition of a German dictionary, a task left unfinished in another world.
According to online sources, this dictionary played a crucial role in the cohesion of the Germanic people itself, even laying a vital foundation for the establishment of the German nation.
On another front, Liang En also discovered famous tales like Snow White or Cinderella circulated in this world. However, they appeared noticeably less refined compared to the stories in Liang En's mind from "Grimm's Fairy Tales."
Nevertheless, these tales were considered part of the Germanic folk tradition and an essential component of excellent traditional culture, widely spread among the people in Germany.
"No 'Grimm's Fairy Tales,' huh?" Realizing this, Liang En sat at his desk, tapping his fingers while a pensive expression crossed his face.
"It seems I have some interesting tasks ahead, but before that, I need to verify certain facts."
Having made up his mind, Liang En immediately purchased a train ticket for the day to Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate and called Fan Meng, asking him to rendezvous there.
"Did you find some treasure at the auction?" That evening, in a McDonald's fast-food restaurant, while devouring a chicken burger, Fan Meng asked.
"Because you were in a rush and didn't ask me to bring anything else, I only brought a few changes of clothes. If we're going to do some digging, we might need to buy some tools separately."
"Don't worry, this job is much easier than the previous ones." Liang En chuckled, patting Fan Meng's shoulder. "This time, our job is just sitting by a desk and reading."
After filling their stomachs, they headed straight to the German National Archives in the city. If there was any place to find the most comprehensive information about the Grimm brothers, the archives were the best choice.
Typically, many materials in the archives were not accessible to the general public, but fortunately, due to Liang En's academic achievements, he was granted permission, enabling direct access to the most original documents.
Fan Meng's task was to search for a portion of the already digitized and translated into English materials in the computer room while Liang En delved into the original materials stored in the archives.
Their sole objective was to uncover all records related to the Grimm brothers' collection of folk tales, confirming how much information they had amassed in this world regarding German folktales.
"To be honest, I'd rather dig the ground than do this work." Returning to the hotel after the first day of searching, Fan Meng complained with a frown. "Checking through this pile of materials is incredibly tedious."
"Who isn't tired?" Liang En chuckled wryly. "Remember, compared to the English materials you're going through, the German texts I'm poring over are the real headache."
Faced with these painstakingly manually researched materials, both Liang En and Fan Meng found them unbearably dull.
Fortunately, both were patient individuals, so with their dedicated efforts, they slowly pieced together fragmentary information, unveiling the Grimm brothers' collection of German traditional fairy tales in this world.
Five days later, Liang En and his team concluded all their search efforts. Within these five days, they discovered over seventy fairy tales recorded by the Grimm brothers from various materials left behind.
Excluding the 53 stories already found in the manuscript Liang En had discovered previously, they had a total of 95 German folk stories collected by the Grimm brothers in this world.
"Never expected such a great linguist to have such a playful side." Looking at the notebook containing all the gathered content of these days, Fan Meng showed a keen interest.
"I always thought Germans were more conservative, especially scholars; each one seemed as boring as a rock."
"You're being stereotypical." Liang En laughed and waved his hand. "Though in my experience, many German scholars do seem a bit conservative, not all are like that."
"But then again, discovering that famous scholars like the Grimm brothers were collecting German fairy tales gives a peculiar impression."
Based on the information they had gathered, in this world, the Grimm brothers had indeed intended to organize traditional German folk tales and made some preparations for it.
However, from a letter dated 1812, it appeared that in that year, the Grimm brothers decided to compile a German dictionary. Hence, they planned to organize German fairy tales after completing the dictionary.
The reason behind this decision was their belief that, for the fragmented German states of that time, a German dictionary that facilitated communication would contribute to the unification of the Germanic people.
Yet, the Grimm brothers evidently didn't anticipate that the dictionary would consume their entire lives. By the time they finished compiling the initial dictionary, they were elderly and lacked the energy to collect and organize fairy tales.
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