Chapter 63 If It’s Fake, I’ll Return the Buddha Statue
Yuan Junruo's project had been suspended for three days, awaiting Qin Tian's review. He'd contacted her several times, but seeing how busy she was, he'd had to wait. Bored for the past three days, he'd compiled a few tables of radiation doses from previously inspected artifacts.
Finally, Qin Tian came today and told her the current situation.
"A 12% error rate is actually quite sufficient. Currently, official appraisals all have an error rate of 12%, and the best from the three major private institutions is also 12%. Getting it below 10% is incredibly difficult, and with only a few years of error, I personally don't think it's that significant."
Qin Tian said, "For modern artifacts, a difference of five or six years makes no difference. But for artifacts over 1,000 years old, 2% is 20 years, and for artifacts 2,000 years old, it's 40 years. 40 years is enough to span dynasties. Is it from the Western Han Dynasty or the Eastern Han Dynasty? Artifacts can't speak, but the era they were created in can. Museums are not private organizations. We authenticate artifacts not to determine their value, but to provide evidence for historical research through the information they contain."
Yuan Junruo nodded: "I have compiled a few forms. The existing data are all measured radiation levels. Based on the radiation level alone, the lowest is 12%, unless..."
"Unless we can measure the different rays!!" the two said in unison.
Qin Tian was so excited that he couldn't sit still, so he stood up and walked around a few times.
"Jun Ruo, you made a radiation table, right? You arranged it by chronological timeline, material of the items, and total radiation. Arrange the preserved sample tubes in the same way. We'll start from the earliest year and separate the alpha and beta radiation doses!"
Qin Tian walked back to her office, her mind dazed, unable to calm down. She had finally found a new thesis topic. There couldn't be a more valuable topic; it would change the decades-long stagnation in thermoluminescence measurement.
She lowered her head and hurried to the door, nearly bumping into someone's chest. Unable to stop herself, she instinctively reached out to push him. The man reacted faster than she did, reaching out to catch her hand, palm to palm, and taking a step back, neutralizing her momentum, leaning his back against the wall.
She raised her head and saw his jawline and deep pupils covered by half-closed thick eyelashes.
"Good morning." His low voice passed by her ears.
Qin Tian then saw clearly that the person coming was Tong Zhongyuan, and subconsciously said, "Good morning."
He looked down at her face, so close he could see the fine hairs on it. Her expression was one of shock and confusion. Her hand was two circles smaller than his, and her fingertips rested on his second knuckle. His mind wavered, and his fingers moved, slowly bending, loosely grasping her fingertips.
Qin Tian only then felt the warmth of his palm. He glanced at his fingers, but they were no longer covered with gauze or bandages. Her fingers moved upwards against his palm, unfurling his loose grip. New pink flesh had grown, and his wound had healed.
She breathed a sigh of relief and dropped her hand, leaving him staring at her, his arms splayed across his chest, looking like a suspect trying to prove his innocence to the police.
"Are you here to see me?" she asked, but before he could answer, her cell phone rang.
"Wait a minute." She lowered her head to look for her phone, wanting to hang up the phone first and call back later, but the caller was a name she would never have thought of - Wang Yijian.
"Teacher Qin!" The sound of wind and Wang Yijian's panting filled the other end of the line. "I have a favor to ask of you. I'll send you a photo after we hang up. Can you help me check if this is real? I'm really anxious."
Qin Tian agreed without hesitation. Just after she hung up, Wang Yijian sent her a picture. It was of a porcelain plum vase. It was next to a pile of boxes. There was no lighting, no detail, a casual shot. She stretched the screen to its maximum, but it was still blurry. She sent a message: "Any other photos?"
Wang Yijian didn't reply. Judging from his voice just now, he must be busy, maybe even running. Qin Tian was helpless and was about to call back when Tong Zhongyuan grabbed her wrist holding the phone and, with his other hand, magnified the screen and leaned in to watch. His face almost touched hers, and the fresh scent of a fresh shower enveloped her.
"It's true." His voice was low and certain.
Qin Tian was stunned. Just one photo, and he said it was real. Who was the real expert in cultural relics appraisal, him or her? What was his basis for saying it was real? Was it based on personal conviction?
Tong Zhongyuan seemed to have the ability to read minds and replied, "Because this plum vase is a pair. I restored the other one and it's in England. It's a Yuan Dynasty blue and white plum vase that sold for 3 million pounds."
Qin Tian dialed the phone and walked quickly into the office. Wang Yijian answered the call on the first ring.
"What's the situation with this plum vase? Where it came from, who collected it, when it was collected, I need to clarify these so I can make a comprehensive judgment."
There was still a lot of noise on the other end of the phone, as well as the airport announcement.
"The collector is Zhou Qiang. We don't have time to discuss the source right now. Teacher Qin, if this plum vase is real, then he..." He was panting so hard he couldn't speak, and after taking a breath, he continued, "He's taking this vase abroad! He's already at Shanghai Pudong Airport, and I'm at the airport too... But I have no evidence, I can't stop him... Hey!! You can't come in! Do you hear me..."
The phone was disconnected. Qin Tian looked up at Tong Zhongyuan.
"This plum vase belongs to Zhou Qiang, who is at the airport now. The 2,000 pieces of porcelain he donated to Kongbo are all fakes, not a single one is genuine."
"This one is real."
"Are you sure?" She looked at him.
He met her eyes, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, but his eyes were extremely serious.
"I'll make a bet with you..."
Qin Tian picked up the toolbox from under the desk. Tong Zhongyuan handed her the backpack and took the toolbox. Qin Tian only glanced at him and ran all the way to the parking lot.
Tang Zhixu left the car in the parking lot so she could use it during this time. She ran to unlock it. Tong Zhongyuan saw the headlights on and turned the direction, quickened his pace, put the toolbox in the back seat and fastened his seatbelt. When she ran to the driver's seat, he was already in the passenger seat.
Qin Tian hit the car with his fist. The tires made a sharp sound as they rubbed against the ground in the parking lot. The headlights swept across the garage blindingly, and he stepped on the accelerator and sped away.
Fortunately, it wasn't rush hour. Qin Tian kept changing lanes to overtake, and the navigation system kept telling her she was speeding. Tong Zhongyuan observed the situation in the right lane, reminding her when to change lanes, and artificially widening her vision. She arrived at the airport in just half an hour. As they approached the terminal, Tong Zhongyuan unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed a toolbox from the back seat. The traffic was getting thicker, and everyone was waiting to pull over.
"No need to pull over, just drive to International Departures and get off. I'll drive."
She did as she was told, arriving at the international departure gate and stopping in the middle of the road without a care in the world. Amidst the honking of car horns, she stepped out of the driver's seat. Tong Zhongyuan also emerged from the passenger seat. As their cars collided, he handed her the toolbox, then stepped into the driver's seat and drove off.
She sprinted with her toolbox. On the way, she thought about the route she would take after entering the airport, going through exit security and then to the boarding gate, but she suddenly remembered that Tong Zhongyuan took the VIP channel when he brought back the Zhuanxin Bottle.
As soon as she entered the airport, she rushed to a civil aviation police officer. She pulled out her work ID and breathlessly said, "I'm from the Shanghai Museum's Cultural Relics Appraisal Department. I'm calling the police. A man named Zhou Qiang is trying to take precious Yuan Dynasty cultural relics out of the country. According to the Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, cultural relics before the Qing Dynasty are not allowed to be taken out of the country! Please help me stop him."
The civil aviation officer spoke a few words into the intercom and waited a moment longer. He quickly led her through the special passage to the Thai Airways boarding gate. From a distance, she saw several people arguing. Two civil aviation officers were already there. What was outrageous was that one of the people arguing loudly was actually a Terracotta Warrior. He wasn't wearing Terracotta Warrior clothing, but rather, his entire body was welded with the warrior's bronze armor, and his face was also painted bronze.
The terracotta warrior turned around and saw her, and excitedly waved at her, shouting, "Teacher Qin! Here, here."
Only when she got closer did she recognize the terracotta warrior as Wang Yijian. Wang Yijian said the young man next to him was a staff member of the Shaanxi Cultural Relics Management Committee. And the man they were holding onto was Zhou Qiang.
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