Chapter 85 He came to feed the pigeons again? The pigeons were all asleep
On the morning of the 7th, when Qin Tian arrived at the library, Yuan Junruo was already there. He handed the compiled report to Qin Tian. She quickly flipped through it and found that all the dates were from 2,700 years ago, with a 12% error rate.
He asked, "Here's the sampling tube. I made a backup when I took it. Do you want to test it again?"
She frowned. It was impossible for all twelve bronze artifacts to be measured incorrectly. If the machine truly was broken, then retesting would only yield this result.
"Where is the bronze?"
"The storage room. No one's working today, so I can't see it."
Without a word, she picked up her geological hammer and hurried out of the museum. At the entrance to the Shanghai Museum was a lawn, its edge marked with a wavy line of small red bricks. She squatted down, knocked off a red brick with her geological hammer, brought it back, and handed it to Yuan Junruo.
"Test it. As soon as possible."
Yuan Junruo took the red brick in amazement and analyzed it.
Qin Tian knew there was no point in rushing, so she simply settled down to work on her paper in the office. For the past ten days, she'd been writing on planes and in hotels at night. Her work was sporadic, and she was always restless.
During this time, Yuan Junruo has been analyzing the doses of alpha and beta rays she separated, and with sufficient theoretical support, she has been able to reduce the current 12% error rate to 10%. More importantly, compared to older bronze artifacts, ancient ceramics, which are more prone to counterfeiting and require more precise dating, will be the greatest beneficiaries of this experiment. This paper will provide a new direction for the identification of ancient ceramics, making it impossible to detect counterfeit porcelain.
At eight o'clock in the evening, Yuan Junruo told her that the red bricks had been analyzed. The last firing time was within 50 years, and the machine was not broken.
"Teacher Qin, you should go back early too. We can't see the bronze artifacts until tomorrow."
Yuan Junruo said something awkward before leaving, as if he was embarrassed to go home before her. She waved her hand and told him to leave quickly.
After he left, she ate her takeout by the window, a habit she had only recently developed. She used to sit in front of her office, burying her head in her food, but then she noticed that Tong Zhongyuan always chose a window seat for his takeout. He ate while taking in the view. Curious about what the view looked like to him, she took her lunch box and went to the window to eat. The view outside the window was unremarkable: a lawn and a flock of white pigeons. She had long since grown tired of it. Until one day, she saw Tong Zhongyuan standing among the pigeons, feeding them. She realized he wasn't just taking in the view; he was homesick.
She had never seen the scenery at night before. Under the streetlights, the lawn was grayish-yellow, devoid of a single pigeon. Occasionally, a few pedestrians hurried by. Then, a familiar figure appeared at the other end of the lawn. Her heart skipped a beat. It was so late.
He stood there for a moment, seemingly unwilling to come any further. He raised his head, staring in the direction of Shangbo. Staring in her direction. She knew he couldn't see her through the reflective glass, but she still shrank back.
After a long time, he withdrew his gaze, turned and left.
Song Suiyang was not in a very good mood. Last month, Qin Tian suddenly said that she was on vacation. On that day, Tong Zhongyuan also did not come to work. Of course, Tong Zhongyuan often said that he would not come, so she did not think much about it. It was not until the third day that she felt something was wrong. Although he was not an employee of Shangbo and had the right not to come. But what if something happened to him? She sent a message to ask him if everything was okay? When would he be back? After waiting for a whole day, he only replied with two words, "Nothing." She told Qin Tian about it, but Qin Tian did not reply to her immediately. It was not until the evening that he said, "Let him be."
As she chewed on this sentence, she felt something was wrong. As she chewed on it, she finally realized it. Something was wrong. Qin Tian was Tong Zhongyuan's only friend at the Shanghai Museum. Although their relationship had been a little strained recently, she had never ignored him. This "let him be" was too abnormal, unless she knew where Tong Zhongyuan was. But if she knew where Tong Zhongyuan was, why didn't she tell her? After all, she was Tong Zhongyuan's half-disciple. When the master disappeared, the apprentice could not help but care.
The more she thought about it, the more bizarre it became. She even wondered if Tong Zhongyuan and Qin Tian had gone on vacation together. This was such a bold guess, so bold that she couldn't even bring herself to ask.
She secretly had a way to verify it in her mind, which was to wait until workday. If Qin Tianzhen and Tong Zhongyuan went on vacation together, they would definitely come back at the same time.
On the morning of the 8th, she went to work with a gossipy mood. When she pushed open the door, Tong Zhongyuan was already working at the restoration table. Seeing her, he took the initiative to say, "Good morning, how is the restoration of the ink bamboo bowl going?"
She was stunned. He had returned the ink bamboo bowl. He had vanished without a word, and upon returning, he'd asked her about the progress of the ink bamboo bowl. How could she dare to work on it independently without him?
"It's the same as always. I didn't fix it when you were away." She told the truth.
He hummed, noncommittal. It was as if he was just asking casually, and he didn't care whether she had repaired it or not.
She went to get some water, looking thoughtful, and sent a message asking if Qin Tian had come into the museum today. She didn't reply.
Qin Tian was in the storage room. Due to their size, only three of the twelve bronzes from the National Museum of China had been sent. The other nine were samples sent by the museum. If Yuan Jun was not mistaken, the inscriptions on these three pieces were different: two dated to the Spring and Autumn Period, and one to the Qin Dynasty. Furthermore, while these three bronzes were in perfect condition, the carvings appeared a bit too regular to the naked eye. And then there was the patina. She peeled off a small piece with her hands. This patina must have formed relatively recently.
Qin Tian put down the bronze ware and walked out without saying a word.
Yuan Junruo looked at her expression and asked carefully, "Teacher Qin? How is it?"
She ignored him. How could this be? In the field of authentication, only the naked eye can be wrong; thermoluminescence never lies. But…her naked eye judged that all three bronze artifacts were fake. Yet, their radiometric levels indicated they were indeed cast 2,700 years ago.
Yuan Junruo couldn't help but remind her again: "Teacher Qin, we promised Nanbo that we would submit a report today..."
"No." She looked up. "We can't give them the report."
"Well..." Yuan Junruo said awkwardly, "Then what excuse can we use? Say the report hasn't come out yet? Even so, it still needs to be given in a few days. Do you want to retest it?"
The machine is not broken, there is no point in retesting.
"Let me think about it. Anyway, let's put off the report for now."
Qin Tian walked back restlessly, her mind as chaotic as a train station. Halfway through her walk, she realized that this was not the way back to the office, but the direction to the restoration room. She stopped. Was she going to find Tong Zhongyuan? Since when did she think of him whenever she encountered difficulties? How did she get here before he came?
She turned and walked towards the appraisal department. No matter how difficult the matter was, she didn't need to go to him. She just wanted him to stay here peacefully for a few weeks and then go home.
Song Suiyang couldn't wait for Qin Tian's reply and was about to go to the appraisal room to check. Just as he was leaving, he saw Qin Tian's back. His heart skipped a beat. She really came. Could it be that what she guessed was true?
"Qin Tian, you're back?" She called her.
Qin Tian turned around and smiled at her: "Yes."
"Let's have lunch together?"
"Let's do it some other time. I'm a bit busy these days. I'll come see you when I'm done."
Qin Tian answered her perfunctorily and walked away absent-mindedly.
Song Suiyang looked at her doubtfully. It seemed like this was a different story. Qin Tian didn't look like he had just returned from a vacation with his lover.
Qin Tian slowly walked back to the office. As soon as he reached the door, he noticed something unusual about the atmosphere. Chen Qidong and Fang Molin, usually the most chatty, were quietly working. Yuan Junruo was perched at his desk, his face pale, his thoughts unclear. Seeing her come in, he moved his lips and said hesitantly, "Teacher Qin, I've sent the report to the National Museum of China."
Qin Tian was shocked: "Didn't I tell you not to post it? When did you post it?"
"Just now..." He lowered his head.
Chen Qidong and Fang Molin didn't make a sound, for fear that the fire would burn them.
If Qin Tian couldn't figure out what was going on, his life would be in vain. She called Yuan Junruo to her office and closed the door.
"Why issue a report?" Her voice was gentle.
"Director Wang came and scolded us. He said that things that happened before the holiday had been delayed until after the holiday, and it was already working hours, so why didn't the report come out? Chen Qidong said the report was already out, but it hadn't been sent out yet. Director Wang asked us to send it out quickly. I wanted to delay, but he was watching from the sidelines. So I had no choice but to send it out."
Wang Qiqing was originally in charge of calligraphy, painting, and sculpture, but in Ming Yuanxing's absence, he temporarily took over the other departments. Wang Qiqing was a strict figure, and he hated procrastination and shirking of responsibility. Everyone at the Shanghai Museum was afraid of him, and the only person he treated with any respect was Tang Zhixu.
Qin Tian sighed. If Wang Qiqing came over, not to mention Yuan Junruo would be unable to withstand it, even she probably wouldn't dare to disobey him. The problem was, this report must not be released! The Shanghai Museum's appraisal capabilities are well-known throughout the country, which is why the Nanjing Museum asked the Shanghai Museum to verify it. Although she hasn't figured it out yet, she is almost certain that these three bronzes are fake. She hasn't seen the remaining nine, so she dare not say anything, but she has a very bad premonition. This batch of bronzes is likely to be fakes. If she irresponsibly hands over the thermoluminescence report to the Nanjing Museum, she is afraid that the Nanjing Museum will become the second Kongming Museum. And the Shanghai Museum's reputation as an appraisal agency will be ruined. She now only hopes that the Nanjing Museum is still in the inspection stage and no transaction has been made.
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