Chapter 152 Zhu Tou Wu Zhu

Someone like Lin Sicheng, who is both capable and well-behaved, is hard not to like.

Like Hao Jun, like Guan Xingmin.

Like Chen Peng, like He Zhigang.

Like Chen Fen, like Yao Hansong.

As if naturally, without leaving a trace, and involuntarily, she became close to Lin Sicheng.

For example, He Zhigang just now, and Huang Zhifeng now.

Especially those people from the Provincial Museum, we only had contact for about a month. In Wang Qizhi's words, they were practically ready to burn joss paper and set up incense tables.

Wang Qizhi felt that Lin Sicheng was mainly good at talking, had a tender face, was good-looking, and had sharp eyes.

Of course, the key is to be exceptionally capable: who wouldn't like a jack-of-all-trades who can help you share the burden of difficulties and even solve problems anytime, anywhere?

Like Huang Zhifeng, now that Lin Sicheng is gone, he basically becomes a hands-off manager, even more comfortable and relaxed than Yao Hansong, the section chief.

Seeing Lin Sicheng was naturally heartwarming...

After chatting for a few minutes, the three men walked towards the long table. Chen Fen paused for a moment and waited for Ren Qiuyu and Wu Yun.

Belonging to the same system and both being researchers, these two do indeed have rather unique personalities. In Huang Zhifeng's words: "Mrs. Ren is an amazing actress, very good at judging people by their appearance, and she's always getting into a dramatic outburst."

However, being a woman herself, Chen Fen's assessment was relatively lenient and she wasn't as resistant, greeting him with a smile: "Researcher Ren, Dr. Wu!"

The two quickly responded, their tone gentle and their demeanor humble: "Team Leader Chen!"

In the fields of history, archaeology, and even more research, the provincial archaeological institute and the provincial cultural research institute are basically the ceiling for a province.

Even looking at the whole country, the Shaanxi History Museum's research capabilities and academic achievements are still among the best.

To use another analogy, if we consider academic and research levels as a ladder, Ren Qiuyu and Wu Lin have exerted all their efforts to climb the first step. Chen Fen and Huang Zhifeng, on the other hand, have already climbed dozens or even hundreds of steps, and are within reach of the summit.

It's hard to make them disrespectful or disobedient.

Such people have a very vague concept of power and hierarchy. They might have one attitude when meeting the dean, and the same attitude when meeting the mayor or a high-ranking official.

Therefore, they were particularly puzzled: if, as they had guessed, this child, like Wang Qizhi, had an extraordinary background, then shouldn't Huang Zhifeng and Chen Fen treat them the same way?

But the reality was quite the opposite: he was very close to Lin Sicheng, but indifferent to Wang Qizhi...

As if guessing what they were thinking, Chen Fen smiled and said, "Were you thinking before: Professor Wang is really good to his student, taking him everywhere?"

The two nodded vigorously.

Ren Qiuyu, in particular, thought that Wang Qizhi had taken advantage of his position to bring Lin Sicheng here to broaden his horizons, which is why she made a few teasing remarks on a whim.

It's actually quite normal: when Wang Qizhi first took Lin Sicheng to the Provincial Museum, Yao Hansong and Chen Fen thought so too.

"Actually, Professor Wang can't teach him, at least not at the graduate level. Whether it's academic theory or applied practice, Professor Wang can't teach him."

"It's not that Professor Wang's level is low, but their research directions are completely opposite: Professor Wang's research focuses on bronzes, while Lin Sicheng's expertise in gold craftsmanship, porcelain restoration, and lacquerware is already quite high. There's really no need to go to such lengths to study bronzes..."

Chen Fen spoke concisely and without any concealment, "So Yao Ke and Director Huang have been thinking about whether they can recruit Lin Sicheng into the Provincial Museum after he graduates from university."

He hasn't graduated from his undergraduate program yet?

This was their first reaction.

Chen Fen, Huang Zhifeng, and even Yao Hansong all felt that Wang Qizhi was misleading young people... This was their second reaction.

The two female PhDs parted their lips slightly: If Chen Fen's level of expertise is very high, then it must be very high.

But this age is just one aspect, which is already a bit hard to understand. It involves gold craftsmanship, porcelain restoration, lacquerware craftsmanship, and connoisseurship... How many disciplines does this cross?

While her mind was still processing the information, Chen Fen rested her chin on her hand and gestured to Lin Sicheng, who was standing by the long table:

"His appraisal skills are also very high. The five pieces of evidence that were highlighted in the previous meeting were all discovered by him... It can be said that if it weren't for Lin Sicheng, this case would never have been solved..."

Ren Qiuyu was suddenly stunned: No wonder those two leaders treated him that way.

But then, in a flash, Ren Qiuyu's face turned completely red.

"Hey, do you recognize this? It's called a legacy plan..."

"You don't recognize this one either? This one is called Yu Wenming..."

"Oh dear, you're not doing well in your studies? How did you even get into graduate school..."

She kept replaying the scene in her mind where she had impulsively teased Lin Sicheng in the conference room.

Then think back to Lin Sicheng's expression at the time: a calm demeanor tinged with strangeness, and a hint of bewilderment...

Suddenly, Ren Qiuyu's toes gripped the soles of her shoes, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Seeing that she looked stunned, Chen Fen smiled and walked towards the long table.

Wu Lin tugged at her sleeve: "Shall we go?"

Ren Qiuyu shook her head vigorously: "I'm not going, it's too embarrassing!"

That's true to some extent.

Wu Lin nodded, then thought for a moment: "But aren't you curious?"

Of course I'm curious.

How could she not be curious about Chen Fen, whom they could only look up to, praising her so highly, especially since she was a student even Wang Qizhi couldn't teach?

Besides, whenever Lin Sicheng is in the future, he will definitely run into Wang Qizhi, so he can keep avoiding him.

After mentally preparing herself for a while, Ren Qiuyu gritted her teeth and said, "Go!"

Then, the two of them dawdled over to the long table.

The stainless steel table, more than a meter wide and nearly two meters long, is surrounded by a panel, resembling an upside-down box.

It was full of copper coins.

Lin Sicheng asked the quality inspector for three pairs of gloves and handed one pair to Huang Zhifeng and one pair to Wang Qizhi.

Wang Qizhi originally disliked Dai, but after meeting Lin Sicheng, he gradually changed many of his bad habits.

They quickly put it on, and the three men huddled together head to head, constantly fiddling with it.

"Wait... how come there are fakes among them?"

Huang Zhifeng chuckled and handed it forward, asking, "Want to see?"

Seven or eight copper coins, black with a hint of green, the rust spots looking quite natural.

Looking at the coin's characteristics, it should be the Sanguan Wuzhu coin from the reign of Emperor Wu, which matches the timeline, but it's too regular.

More importantly, the seven or eight coins are basically identical, even the wear and tear from circulation is in the same place.

This is clearly a modern imitation.

"I guess they raided a copper coin trading den and then took it all back!" Lin Sicheng looked at it and said, "It looks like it was made by machine and then cast using the lost-wax method."

Huang Zhifeng and Wang Qizhi glanced at each other and nodded in unison.

The lost-wax casting method existed as early as the Spring and Autumn Period. Its advantage is that it produces delicate patterns, but its disadvantage is that each mold produces a unique coin. If ancient craftsmen had used the lost-wax method to cast copper coins, they would have worked themselves to death long ago.

In modern times, it's incredibly simple: find a real coin, use a computer to create a mold, and dozens or even hundreds can be minted in minutes. Then, using the same alloy ratios as ancient coins, they can be recast using traditional methods. That's why you see coins that look extremely real, yet have many identical copies.

If they are not grouped together but sold individually, even experts will still be fooled.

"What about the rust?" Wu Lin asked, peering out from behind. "How do you fake it?"

Without hesitation, Lin Sicheng said, "First, burn it with fire to form black copper oxide, then wrap the copper coin with vinegar and mud to react and produce basic copper carbonate."

Wu Lin nodded: This kid is indeed quite knowledgeable.

After pulling and flipping through them for a while, Lin Sicheng picked one up and said, "Teacher, look!"

Wang Qizhi took it, examined it for a while, and then his eyes lit up: Zhu Tou Wu Zhu?

This is a genuine misprinted coin.

In the early years of Emperor Zhao of the Western Han Dynasty, the implementation of the "flat-scale method" (similar to a planned economy) led to soaring prices, forcing the government to increase the minting of coins.

Huo Guang ordered the three officials to set up a new coin kiln in Shanglin Garden and cast new sand molds. Perhaps due to poor preservation, the original master mold was slightly deformed, causing all the sub-molds to also be deformed: the top horizontal stroke of the character "朱" in "五铢" was slightly upturned at both ends.

However, after only a few years of minting, Huo Guang convened the "Salt and Iron Debate" and implemented reforms. As domestic prices gradually declined, the newly established coin kilns were shut down, so very little was minted.

It is a genuine error coin, and very few have been circulated. Its market price is basically the same as that of the Western Han Dynasty gold wuzhu coin.

This one alone could buy three apartments in downtown Xi'an...

"That's amazing! I've only ever heard of it, but this is the first time I've ever seen the real thing!"

Wang Qizhi examined the coin repeatedly to confirm it wasn't a counterfeit, then waved and handed it to the quality inspector.

It was only at this point that Huang Zhifeng and Chen Fen realized that the copper coin was a Zhu Tou Wu Zhu.

This is quite normal: these copper coins existed for such a short period that they are not recorded in ancient documents at all. They were first unearthed in 1974 when the tomb of Liu Jian, Prince Qing of Guangyang (grandson of Emperor Wu of Han, who plotted a rebellion during the reign of Emperor Zhao of Han, but committed suicide after the rebellion failed).

Even Wang Qizhi had never seen the actual item. If Lin Sicheng hadn't reminded him, he would never have thought of the "Zhu Tou Wu Zhu".

Ren Qiuyu and Wu Lin were completely bewildered.

More normal: researchers don't know everything, and there are always blind spots in their knowledge that they can't reach...

Men's happiness is actually very simple. This one copper coin completely ignited the interest of the three men. Each of them took a side and kept picking at it.

At first, everything seemed normal, but after a short while, the three women noticed something different: Huang Zhifeng was a little slower, holding one in his hand and examining it for a long time. Sometimes, after observing the subtle details, he would recall them and think about them again.

Wang Qizhi was a little faster: "Take a look, touch it, and then look at it with a magnifying glass, and you can basically draw a conclusion."

Lin Sicheng, however, was surprisingly quick: he would pick up one, glance at it, and put it aside. He would pick up another, glance at it, and put it aside again.

In no time, several small piles of food were piled up on the empty table in front of them.

Chen Fen looked down and asked, "What's the difference?"

Lin Sicheng's men kept going: "Current imitations, Emperor Xuan's empress and Eastern Han Dynasty Wuzhu coins, privately circulated coins (not officially bestowed), early excavations, not excavated in Xijing..."

Does this mean that none of these items were unearthed from Zhang Anshi's tomb?

Chen Fen paused for a moment: "Not unearthed in Xijing?"

“That’s right!” Lin Sicheng nodded. “Different soil types result in different degrees of corrosion and different compositions of copper rust!”

Chen Fen certainly understood the logic, but the question was: so fast?

Ren Qiuyu and Wu Lin looked at each other, completely astonished...