Zhou Xuan said somewhat embarrassedly to Lawrence, "Mr. Lawrence, I'm sorry, I broke your coffee table!"
Lawrence naturally didn't care, considering it a trivial matter, but when he saw Zhou Xuan struggling to carry the golden Buddha statue in, he immediately became interested.
At that moment, Lawrence, Fujimoto, and Wei Haihong all went to the coffee table.
Lawrence instructed his bodyguards to bring over a sturdy mahogany low table and then placed the golden Buddha statue on it.
Judging from the color and shape, Lawrence and Fujimoto could almost certainly say that the surface layer was 90% gold, but whether the inside was also gold, or whether it was pure gold, was impossible to tell with the naked eye.
Even if it were just pure gold, it wouldn't be that tempting for Lawrence. His focus was solely on whether the Buddha statue was an antique and how old it was. He had several experts in this field working for him.
Being in this industry, one naturally has a reserve of manpower and tools.
Lawrence ordered his men to bring out the people who were to be verified, while Fujimoto was touching and looking at them.
Fujimoto is a bank executive who handles gold frequently, and he's adept at simple verification, as evidenced by the small scratches on the Buddha statue. At least the scratched areas indicate the statue is gold.
As Fujimoto examined the item, he kept an eye on Lawrence's expression; clearly, the old man was interested.
Fujimoto was somewhat panicked; given his usual calm demeanor, this was a lapse in composure. He had lost tens of millions of dollars of public funds in the bank, and if he couldn't raise the money quickly to fill this hole, his future would be ruined, and his end would be near!
But now there's a fantastic opportunity!
If it is verified that this golden Buddha statue is an antique, then it is a national treasure worth over ten million yuan, a true national treasure-level cultural relic!
What Fujimoto was even more excited about was that this golden Buddha statue was exactly the same as the fake Asura King Buddha statue he had made. He had considered this when he decided to use Asura King as the model. The shape of Asura was based on the most common image in Japanese folklore and modern anime and film. It had Japanese traditional elements at a glance.
But what he made was a fake. Zhou Xuan's golden Buddha statue, on the other hand, completely incorporates Japanese stylistic elements. If it were truly an antique, and he could buy it and bring it back to Japan, he would be a hero. The price would likely be at least one hundred million US dollars; it's a genuine national treasure!
"If—of course, this is just a hypothetical, and we still need to verify it—if it is true, then Fujimoto would be far more interested in buying the Asura King Golden Buddha statue, which would allow him to completely extricate himself from the quagmire of the misappropriated public funds."
Lawrence's two expert testers also came out, and then Zhou Xuan, Lawrence, and Fujimoto stepped back two steps to let the two experts test the gold content of the Asura King Buddha statue.
There are usually several professional methods for testing gold. One is to measure its mass. The mass of gold is different from that of any other metal. Measure the density of the Buddha statue's volume and compare it with that of gold. If the results are similar, then it can be confirmed whether it is gold or not.
Furthermore, gold crystals belong to the isometric crystal system. The crystals are often cubic or octahedral in shape. When a crystal is melted and then solidified, it takes on an irregular polygonal shape. The slower the cooling, the larger the crystal. Of course, this method requires certain instruments and conditions. But for Lawrence, these were not conditions.
Generally, counterfeit gold is a mixture of zinc and copper, which will produce hydrogen gas when added to strong acids, while real gold is extremely corrosion-resistant and will not dissolve in solutions of hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and nitric acid. Another way to distinguish real gold is by its color; real gold is golden yellow, has a metallic luster, and no cleavage. The vapor emitted when gold is molten is green; the gold powder produced during smelting is usually brown; if cast into a thin sheet, it can even transmit a green light. Of course, it's impossible to smelt a real gold Buddha statue.
Gold possesses exceptional ductility and malleability; it is the strongest of all metals. An ounce of gold can be drawn into a field-length piece. Its ductility makes it easy to cast, making it an excellent choice for jewelry. Gold's malleability is also unparalleled among metals, allowing it to be made into extremely thin, easily rolled sheets. An ounce of gold can be hammered to a thickness of ten thousandths of an inch and an area of four square meters. It is said that an ounce of gold could be used to cover the roof of a house, which gives an idea of its remarkable malleability.
For professionals, determining the authenticity and purity of gold is a piece of cake. The so-called scams only target rural people who have never seen gold before. Even those with a little knowledge can have it authenticated by the goldsmiths and repairmen found in the streets and alleys.
Zhou Xuan wasn't worried about their verification, but he knew that once he transformed into gold, he could only maintain it for six hours. Here, there was no way he could possibly be delayed for six hours. Besides, even if it did take that long, he could transform again and extend it by another six hours. He wasn't afraid, but he needed to force Fujimoto to act quickly.
Lawrence's two professionals used several methods to test the Asura Buddha statue without damaging its integrity, and found that the statue was made entirely of 99.99% pure gold, inside and out!
Next, Fujimoto used Lawrence's instruments to test some old spots and rust on some of the four protrusions of the Buddha statue. The results made Fujimoto both excited and surprised: these things indicated that this Asura King Buddha statue was at least 500 years old!
Fujimoto, however, hadn't expected that these old rust spots were all added by himself. Zhou Xuan had deliberately preserved them during the conversion. In his excitement, Fujimoto was completely convinced that this Buddha statue was a priceless Japanese national treasure. The reason he didn't suspect it was a fake was because it was impossible and impossible for an ordinary person to use hundreds of kilograms of gold to cast a Buddha statue forgery; it wouldn't align with the principles of counterfeiters—the cost would be too high. If it were cast in bronze or iron, Fujimoto would have conducted a more thorough examination and considered the matter more carefully. However, even then, he wouldn't have been so tempted!
By this time, Fujimoto was completely convinced and intoxicated by the illusion of the Asura King Buddha statue, his eyes almost sparkling!
Zhou Xuan secretly glanced at Lawrence, who was also quite pleased, showing great interest in the Asura King Buddha statue.
To be honest, Zhou Xuan had no intention of swindling Lawrence out of money. He was simply extremely annoyed by seeing Ito and Fujimoto. A large part of his resentment stemmed from his longing for Fu Ying, and Ito had repeatedly pushed him and Fu Ying to the brink of despair. He could tolerate Ito's actions, but Fu Ying's situation was different. Although leaving Fu Ying was unavoidable, Zhou Xuan still harbored deep longing and love for her. He held no grudge against Fu Tianlai; the Fu family had their own reasons.
Zhou Xuan vented all his resentment on the two Japanese soldiers. Since they were no good, he decided to push them into the fire again!
Wei Haihong found Zhou Xuan acting strangely today. This Asura King Golden Buddha statue had inexplicably appeared. Something like this was definitely a priceless treasure. Where did he get it? Besides, given Zhou Xuan's personality, he wouldn't hide it from him!
Although Wei Haihong felt something was strange, he kept his composure and didn't disturb Zhou Xuan, watching to see what he was going to do. But no matter what he did, he believed that Zhou Xuan would never do anything to betray him.
There are many things that I can't understand and that seem abrupt, so I can only wait and see.
After the testing personnel took away the equipment, Lawrence and Fujimoto gathered around the Ashura King Buddha statue again.
Zhou Xuan was slightly worried about this situation. If Lawrence insisted on buying the fake Buddha statue, things would be hard to say; it was obvious what kind of power Lawrence possessed, like Endo Honsai.
Lawrence smiled and asked, "Mr. Zhou, are you interested in selling this Asura King Buddha statue? Name your price!"
Volume One: The Lotus Buds Just Begin to Emerge, Chapter Fifty-One: The Original Wood Carving Returned at a High Price
The second day of the fourth watch is here, please vote! My brothers and sisters are still going strong, tomorrow will continue with a powerful attack!
Wei Xiaoqing has been massaging her injured leg lately. It's strange; her leg was incredibly painful this morning, but now it doesn't hurt or itch at all, and there's nothing wrong with it. It's really odd!
Although Wei Xiaoqing was puzzled as to why her leg injury was nothing serious, she was in a better mood. After Lawrence asked Zhou Xuan about the price, he went up and turned the item over for Zhou Xuan again.
Seeing Fujimoto's expression, Zhou Xuan knew that the guy was already captivated by the allure of the Ashura King golden Buddha statue. However, Lawrence was a new problem; having him there to raise the price was good. But how could Fujimoto possibly compete with Lawrence?
However, deciding on the price was a headache for Zhou Xuan, as he didn't have a clear understanding of the item's true value. Of course, this would require assuming the Asura King Buddha statue was genuine, but after so much time, Zhou Xuan had learned the wisdom of silence; using simulation and letting others guess was a way to gain an edge over his competitors.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Xuan held up three fingers and shook them.
Aside from Mandarin, Zhou Xuan doesn't speak any other languages. But numerical gestures are universally understood.
Lawrence hesitated for a moment, then said, "Mr. Zhou, do you want thirty million?"
Fujimoto's estimate was the same as Lawrence's; he thought Zhou Xuan held up three fingers. Three hundred million seemed a bit too high. Although with manipulation and publicity, plus leveraging connections after returning to Japan, it might be possible to sell it for a sky-high price of three hundred million, but at least for now, in Lawrence's eyes, three hundred million was clearly somewhat inappropriate.
Fujimoto Net didn't think the estimate of three million was accurate, but the pure gold of the Buddha statue alone was worth a considerable amount. Adding in the antiquities that symbolize Japan, three million was definitely an underestimate; the most likely price was thirty million.
Lawrence immediately stated this number, indicating that this was their estimate.
In fact, Zhou Xuan's own idea was indeed three million!
Because this is US dollars, not RMB. Even 30,000 US dollars is worth over 20 million RMB. I just bought this fake Buddha statue for one million US dollars, and now I'm returning the original for another three million, making a pure profit of two million US dollars. Let the Japanese suffer a loss in silence; that's worth it.