Reborn Treasure Appraiser: I Really Didn’t Want to Be an Expert

Chapter 78: Washing Goods
Lin Sicheng sighed and stretched out his hand again: "Machinery inspection report!"

The section chief quickly handed it over.

Open and read again:

X-ray diffraction was performed and the corrosion components in the rust layer were: copper oxide, calcium hydroxide, basic copper sulfate, basic copper carbonate... That is, the oxygen-rich dry oxidized rust layer and the low-oxygen moist hydrated rust layer coexisted, and the age range was about three hundred years.

For example: if you light a fire in the water and it burns for hundreds of years...isn't that bullshit?

Therefore, the authentication center determined that the rust layer was artificially transplanted.

Electron microscopy revealed residual glue at the base of the rust layer. Analysis of the glue's composition revealed urushiol and catechol, indicating it was undoubtedly made from raw lacquer.

Ultraviolet fluorescence was also performed: traces of glue were detected inside and outside the copper furnace, and the entire furnace was almost covered.

Therefore, there is nothing wrong with the city appraisal and provincial department's appraisal that the copper furnace is a fake.

But as I said before: instrument testing is too targeted, and there are many ways to deceive high-tech testing as long as one is intentional.

Rust is transplanted, but it doesn't mean that the thing is fake.

Then what is the basis on which the middleman who has been imprisoned and the experts hired by the lawyer can insist that this thing is authentic?
Listening to Guan Xingmin's narration, one can tell that the middleman's eyesight was indeed a little poor: he only thought everything was correct, and only saw that the rust was real, but failed to notice that it was artificially glued on.

The experts invited from Beijing certainly have good eyesight, but they could not see the actual object and only made the appraisal based on the photos taken by the lawyers when they were reviewing the case files.

But to be honest: not to mention the experts in Beijing, even the experts from the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences would not dare to identify cultural relics based on a few photos.

Let’s look at the appraisal results he gave: vague and ambiguous, with words like “maybe” and “should”… There is nothing substantive.

I think Li Guojun (the middleman's partner) paid enough money, and the lawyer wanted to use the title of "Beijing expert" to delay the case so that the procuratorate would not prosecute so quickly.

As long as there is no verdict, there is a possibility of finding a glimmer of possibility from the impossible... It is nothing more than struggling for survival from death and fighting for a glimmer of hope.

Don’t say, he actually succeeded?
After changing their thoughts secretly, the master and disciple fell silent again, and then I looked at you, and you looked at me.

Guan Xingmin has worked in public security for half his life, and reading people's expressions is just a basic skill.

Seeing Lin Sicheng and Wang Qizhi looking at each other, hesitant to speak, his face was no longer pale, but his heart sank to the bottom.

Lin Sicheng was right, it was too early to laugh!
Subconsciously, he began to calculate: How many days can he remain as deputy director?
It’s okay if you don’t think about it, but once you think about it, you feel discouraged, as if your bones have been pulled out and you feel a few centimeters shorter.

His face was gloomy and his eyes were filled with deep fatigue.

Glancing at Min, Lin Sicheng picked up the magnifying glass again and said, "Don't be impatient!"

Guan Xingmin's eyes lit up: "Did you see it wrong?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head. "It's possible, but the likelihood is extremely low. What I'm saying is that the logic is flawed: if it's genuine, why would you want to fake it?"

There are so many illogical cases that the city's forensics department encounters hundreds of them every year.

Guan Xingmin sighed sadly, still holding on to a last glimmer of hope: "Could it be that the forger made a mistake and didn't recognize that this is the real thing..."

But he paused mid-sentence: Even if it were true, it wouldn't have much to do with the case. Because if the item is genuine, there's no such thing as fraud.

Then, the case has to be reopened, and he must bear the responsibility!
Wang Qizhi thought about it and shook his head.

Judging from the rusting technique, it can be said that it is extremely sophisticated, clearly an expert. Therefore, based on the shape, inscriptions, material, and craftsmanship, we can determine with 70% to 80% certainty that the copper furnace is authentic.

Anyway, there is no way I could have made a mistake.

But as Lin Sicheng said: Why turn the real into the fake?

Several people frowned and thought hard, but after thinking for a long time, they still couldn't figure out the reason. It couldn't be that he was just trying to amuse people?
Unless you have a brain hole: this is worth millions...

With his mind racing, Lin Sicheng unconsciously polished the copper furnace. With a soft rustling sound, a few specks of green rust fell onto the tablecloth.

Lin Sicheng reached his hand to the other side and continued grinding, but there was no movement.

Because this half is real rust, of course it can't be ground off.

He had an idea and held the copper furnace in his palm and took a look at it first: the rust layer on the inner wall was intact, but the color was green with a hint of blue, a standard hydrated rust layer.

In short, it was also glued on later.

But the strange thing is that there is no sign of rust. I used my fingernails to pick it off: wow, it's really stuck firmly.

Then why is the outside so loose that it even falls off if you knock it?
It feels like... you're afraid that experts won't recognize it?
Lin Sicheng picked up the flashlight and magnifying glass again and looked carefully. The more he looked, the brighter his eyes became.

After a long moment, he straightened up and pointed to the brighter side, the one he had examined earlier. "Director Guan, when you were examining and testing, were you using this side of the rust layer as a sample?"

Guan Xingmin said without hesitation: "Yes!"

"What about the buyer? How did he find out?"

Lin Sicheng asked himself, "Was it true that when I bought it, the shiny side was also covered in green rust (hydrated rust)? But after a short time, it started to fall off. Only when the buyer saw that something was wrong did he call the police?"

Guan Xingmin nodded: "Yes!"

"Let me speculate..." Lin Sicheng closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them again. "It should have started to rust about ten days after I bought it, or at most half a month ago?"

Guan Xingmin looked a little strange: This would definitely not be written in the forensic report. How did Lin Sicheng guess it, and guess it so accurately?
He did not answer but asked: "Why half a month, and not longer?"

"Because alcohol is added to the raw lacquer, it's most likely rubbing alcohol... This mixture will reduce the lacquer's adhesion and durability, which is why the outer layer of rust falls off so quickly!"

"The rust layer inside the chamber is also transplanted rust, but it's probably made with chemical glue, so it's extremely strong... If nothing goes wrong, it should contain epoxy resin..."

Lin Sicheng took the test report and exclaimed, "Why isn't this written here?"

Guan Xingmin was stunned.

Because this is a machine inspection report, as long as the presence of adhesive paint in the glue is detected, it can be proved that the rust layer of the object was artificially transplanted and pasted. If all the ingredients are detailed, how can a piece of paper be enough?
Alcohol and epoxy resin were indeed detected, but there is no need to write about them.

The section chief and the policewoman next to him were even more exaggerated. They opened their mouths and stared with their eyes wide open: "Brother, this is a molecular component test. It needs to detect the mixed components and molecular structure of colloid. Are you relying on your eyes?"
Thinking about the paperweight from last time and the backflow teapot from before that, the section chief and the policewoman stared at Lin Sicheng as if they were looking at a god.

Wang Qizhi was stunned for a moment: it felt like there was only a thin layer of window paper between them. "Then why is the outside glued so loosely, but the inside glued so firmly?"

"Because the counterfeiters did it on purpose. They wanted to make the real furnace look fake and sell it as a fake, so that the buyers would find out it was a fake as soon as possible and call the police. That's why they glued the outside so loosely. But they were afraid that the truth would leak out and people would find out it was the real thing, so they glued the rust inside very firmly..."

The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed. After pondering the shape of the copper furnace, an idea suddenly came to Lin Sicheng's mind: a sutra-pressing furnace, where is the sutra?

What furnace are you pressing without my help?

Lin Sicheng's eyes lit up, and he pulled over Wang Qizhi's tool kit and took out a needle that looked like an awl.

Then he reached into the furnace and scratched the inner wall with force...it didn't fall off?
"Haha~" Lin Sicheng laughed, "This copper incense burner is used for washing goods!"

Hearing the word "wash goods", Wang Qizhi leaned back suddenly: It's just like there's only a thin layer of window paper between us.

Guan Xingmin was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead hard, making a crisp "pa" sound: I am a policeman?
What is wash trading?

What money laundering is like, what goods laundering is like...

(End of this chapter)