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

Chapter 80: A blessing in disguise

The so-called goods laundering is the same as money laundering: washing the stolen goods to the point where they can be circulated normally and traded at will.

For example, this copper stove: just looking at the rust on the shiny side, you can tell that it was unearthed no more than ten years ago, and is definitely a stolen cultural relic.

Forget about trading. If you get caught, not only will the items be confiscated, but if they are bought for more than seven years, the fine will be doubled.

But I want to sell it and get rich, what should I do?
洗。

First, find a way to ship the items out of the country, then change hands several times, and simultaneously forge collection records and transaction records.

Then go to the auction, or even go to the auction after entering the country.

With the entry record, this thing becomes a "relic returned from overseas"... Even if it is just unearthed, it is still a "relic returned from overseas" that has just been unearthed.

The relevant departments actually take a tacit attitude towards this.

So after all this laundering, the stolen goods became genuine items that could be traded at will.

But there is a difficulty: how to transport the stolen goods out of the country?

The best way is this: first make the real thing look fake, then find a way to make it look like stolen goods involved in the case, and have it identified by an authoritative agency.

Then, once the case is decided, find a way to get the things and get the report at the same time.

Don’t believe it, this step is not difficult and does not violate any laws or regulations: think about today’s judicial auctions!

By then, when they see the forensic reports from the municipal and provincial bureaus, do you believe that the customs won’t even bother to pass the machines?
Haha, the logic is perfectly closed!

Suddenly, Guan Xingmin was so excited that he wanted to shake twice, and every pore in his body wanted to laugh:
The stuff is indeed real, and the fraud case must be overturned.

But compared to this, what's the scam?

How bold are they to set up a trap using the provincial and municipal public security agencies?

Did these people spend so much effort and think so much just for this copper furnace?
If things go well, we might uncover a large criminal group with a strict organization, clear division of labor, and connections between domestic tomb-robbing gangs, counterfeiting gangs and foreign smuggling gangs.

What does it mean to have sweet after bitter, and ice and fire?

Suddenly, Guan Xingmin seemed to see honor, banners, and even greater burdens beckoning to him.

Subconsciously, the corners of my mouth curled up.

Lin Sicheng shook his head helplessly: You haven't even closed your eyes and are daydreaming again?

He tapped the table with his fingers: "Director Guan, stop laughing!"

This coward, is this the sentence again?
Guan Xingmin's face suddenly turned stern: "Nonsense, how can I be happy?"

Still not happy? That corner of your mouth is harder to suppress than AK.

Lin Sicheng sighed: "Director Guan, I think this case is difficult to investigate!"

Guan Xingmin certainly knew that it was difficult to investigate.

Since the mouse dared to use the cat to set up a trap, and the layout was so strict? It is conceivable that the necessary precautions for possible emergencies have been taken into consideration long ago.

For example, the middleman who was detained in the detention center as a "fraud suspect" had no idea about the seller's true identity.

There is no need to guess, the seller must be an international friend and he holds a foreign passport, so you can't check it.

The victim, the antique company that bought the copper furnace for four million, was simply caught in an unexpected disaster: they were deliberately lured into the trap by the seller.

Something with a market value of six million is sold for only four million, who wouldn’t take the bait?
This means that apart from this bronze furnace, there are basically no clues. How do you investigate?
But whether or not to investigate is one thing, and whether or not to investigate is another. As the saying goes, a passing goose leaves its voice behind, and a passing wind leaves its traces behind...

Guan Xingmin exhaled sharply, his eyes passing over Lin Sicheng and fixed on Wang Qizhi's face: "Secretary Wang, please help me!"

Wang Qizhi was immediately delighted: "It was Lin Sicheng who did the hard work. Director Guan, why are you asking me?"

Guan Xingmin smiled and said, "Are you his teacher?"

Hey, what I said...why do I like to hear it so much?

He nodded happily, "Director Guan, I'm not lying to you. If Lin Sicheng hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have remembered that this was a laundering tactic. You'll have to ask him for the specific instructions..."

Lin Sicheng didn't keep the secret and picked up the copper furnace to take a look at the interior. "The rust layer on the interior is thick and sticks so firmly. They're afraid it will be discovered by the buyer or the forensic agency... So, there must be something else going on inside..."

Furthermore, although it's a sutra-pressing furnace, not a single line of scripture can be seen inside or outside. Therefore, I suspect, nine times out of ten, that the inscriptions beneath the rust layer inside the chamber are Buddhist scriptures... If this can be confirmed, it will further prove that the forger's purpose of using the real thing to forge fakes is indeed to wash the goods..."

Guan Xingmin also meant the same thing: after all, relying solely on visual inspection and inference is not a very tenable reason, and there must be evidence.

But he didn't know how to find the evidence.
Hearing "there is a secret inside", Guan Xingmin was excited and asked, "How do we do it?"

"It's simple. Just heat it up!" Lin Sicheng took another look with a magnifying glass. "The rusty adhesive inside the chamber should be a mixture of epoxy resin and rosin. In an aerobic environment, when the temperature reaches 180°C, the resin molecules will undergo oxidative dissolution..."

Guan Xingmin was also an expert and understood it immediately: one hundred and eighty degrees, not only will it not damage the copper furnace itself, it won’t even damage the copper rust.

At that time, when the transplanted rust falls off, the fake will naturally become the real thing.

Transplanting flowers and trees, concealing the truth, it's simply perfect...

He exhaled sharply: "Chief Shen, preheat the furnace!"

The section chief put down the folder and quickly turned on the machine.

One hundred and eighty degrees, it will be done soon. The section chief used tongs to send the copper furnace in.

There was an observation port to the outside, and five heads surrounded it.

But the window was so small, it was incredibly crowded. The female officer's ear was almost touching his face. Lin Sicheng had no choice but to back out.

Just as he took two steps back, Guan Xingmin exclaimed: "Lin Sicheng, come and see..."

There was no other way, so Lin Sicheng moved closer, and his pupils shrank:
The copper rust fell off piece by piece, revealing the engraved Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures.

Let’s look at the content of the scripture: Tantric Rebirth Mantra, and it is engraved so completely?

This sutra originated in India and its full name is the Cundi Dharani Sutra, also known as the Dharani Sutra. It has only one characteristic: to transcend and attain rebirth.

Therefore, any artifact engraved with this scripture must have been a burial object of Yuan, Qing, Tibetan, or Mongolian nobles.

There are also strict hierarchical restrictions: different identities result in different lengths of scriptures, and even more different decorative patterns interspersed between the scriptures.

Lin Sicheng was certain this was the entire scripture. Then he looked at the decoration: in the center of the furnace's base was a pagoda, with thirteen layers of crown wheels, a canopy, a crescent moon jewel, and a lotus-shaped stupa top, all present.

The edges are decorated with vajra, a total of ten bottles. Surrounded by eight treasures: coral, rhinoceros horn, square victory, precious beads, ruyi, ancient coins, gold ingots, and silver ingots!
Seeing this, Lin Sicheng couldn't help but take a breath: So, all that's missing is a Buddha statue?
From this we can see that it was definitely not the emperor.

But the rest are all there?
Therefore, if it is a man, he is either a crown prince or a prince, and if it is a woman, she is either an empress or an imperial concubine.

Based on this, this furnace is only worth four million? Double that would be more than enough!

Lin Sicheng gave a brief explanation, and there were four of them in total, and each of them seemed to be frozen.

What does it mean that good times will come after bad times and a blessing in disguise?
(End of this chapter)