On the surface, this pile of things looks like good stuff. Judging from the color, the signs of age, and the age of the items, they are all over a thousand years old.
Zhou Xuan squatted down and carefully examined the large red radium gold canister. He looked it over from top to bottom for a long time. It was not much different from what he remembered. If you only looked at it with the naked eye, this thing was real. He hadn't seen any other items, but Heng looked similar to this one.
Fu Yuanshan and the other two deputy directors stood by watching him. They didn't understand this, so they could only watch. However, the antique dealers who were caught confessed that these were fakes and counterfeit. But judging from their confessions, that was not necessarily true. The major museums spent real money, hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan, to buy a lot of fakes. Would so many experts buy fakes?
Because it's unclear whether these cultural relics are genuine or fake, we dare not make a judgment. Based on the recommendation of the two deputy directors, we need to invite some expert-level specialists to appraise them.
However, Fu Yuanshan invited Zhou Xuan to appraise it. Although the two muddle-headed bureau chiefs didn't know anything about antiques and cultural relics, they couldn't tell whether Zhou Xuan was good or bad. He was too young. But since he was invited by Fu Yuanshan, they didn't comment on whether he was good or bad.
Zhou Xuan's appraisal process was unlike that of other experts, who would use a magnifying glass to examine everything. Zhou Xuan simply looked at the surface and only examined that one jar, even though he had a whole bunch of antiques!
Zhou Xuan examined it with his naked eye for a while, mainly to see what level he could see without relying on the ice energy.
It seemed that these antiques were either genuine or possessed profound spiritual power, which he couldn't discern with the naked eye. He immediately activated his ice energy to detect them.
Upon testing, Zhou Xuan was astonished to discover that all of these antiques, more than twenty pieces, were actually pieced together from old porcelain shards and then refired!
This method involves re-firing old porcelain and then using high-end computer software, precision physical and chemical instruments, and traceless aging equipment. The final product is then authenticated by top antique appraisal experts. Whether it's the expert's eye or the scientific testing of the instruments, the result is still: genuine!
Of course, unless it's Zhou Xuan's icy aura, anything from any era will be exposed under Zhou Xuan's icy aura. The real can't be faked, and the fake can't be made real!
As he stood up, Fu Yuanshan and the two deputy directors stared at him.
Zhou Xuan laughed and said, "It's all fake!"
Fu Yuanshan chuckled, but the other two deputy directors were taken aback. One of them said, "Impossible. We have experts who have verified it. They used instruments to test it and said it's genuine!"
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "Everyone has their own opinion. He says it's true, I say it's false. Whether you believe it or not is up to you!"
The deputy director blushed immediately, glanced at Fu Yuanshan, and then said, "Director Fu, the experts Yang and Zhang who came to conduct the appraisal are still in the office. Do you want them?"
Fu Yuanshan frowned and said, "Why didn't you tell me you had already invited experts to conduct the appraisal?" The bureau had already invited experts, so why would he invite Zhou Xuan as well? Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?
The deputy director said awkwardly, "But, Director Fu, you didn't say you wanted to find another expert. I didn't think of that at the time!"
Fu Yuanshan thought about it and realized that it made sense. They had already reported the details of the case to him, so it was understandable that they had forgotten this point. However, when he brought Zhou Xuan over, the results of the appraisal were the opposite of those of other experts. What should he say?
Seeing Fu Yuanshan deep in thought, Zhou Xuan thought to himself that he was there to support and honor Fu Yuanshan, so he might as well do a good job. He smiled and said, "Don't make things difficult for us. Just invite those two experts over, and we can discuss it ourselves. Wouldn't that be better?"
The two deputy directors were immediately delighted. Of course, that was great! But how could they bring it up if Zhou Xuan didn't bring it up himself? They clearly saw that Fu Yuanshan's expression and attitude towards Zhou Xuan were unusual, obviously indicating a very good relationship. If they invited an expert over, and the expert's opinion immediately revealed the truth, wouldn't that be embarrassing for Zhou Xuan? If Zhou Xuan was unhappy, how could Director Fu be happy?
However, since Zhou Xuan said it himself, the outcome is no longer their concern; it would be better to have a real conclusion.
Fu Yuanshan had no doubt about Zhou Xuan's abilities. If he said no, Fu Yuanshan would absolutely believe him. Seeing Zhou Xuan's calm and confident demeanor, Fu Yuanshan naturally trusted him even more and waved to the two deputy directors to invite the expert over.
While waiting, Fu Ying looked at some items in her collection alone, without talking to the people there. Since she was invited by Fu Yuanshan, the two deputy directors naturally wouldn't interfere with her actions.
After the deputy director's phone call, within minutes, a subordinate brought over two experts.
The two experts, Yang Zhenran and Zhang Zhi, are both renowned figures in the antique world, both in their fifties. They were brought to the police station's collection room, the reason for which remains unclear. These artifacts have already been authenticated by them and confirmed to be genuine. They have also spoken to the two deputy bureau chiefs, asking them to preserve them carefully. They will recommend that museums negotiate a purchase of these national treasures. Judging from this case, these people are just the outside agents; there are bound to be more people and more cultural relics involved. We cannot allow more national treasures to end up abroad!
Upon entering the collection room, the two old men immediately sensed something was amiss. The expressions of the two Director Fus didn't seem natural, and they didn't recognize the other two people. There was also a pretty girl watching nearby. The situation was quite strange.
The office called again to report that the two deputy directors were too busy to attend to the two experts, so they gave them a brief introduction before returning to their work.
Yang Zhenran and Zhang Zhi were both taken aback. After being introduced, they learned that this middle-aged man in his forties was actually the director who had been promoted to deputy director-general. They were also surprised to learn that Zhou Xuan was also a master of antique appraisal.
Of course, the title of "master" was just what the two deputy directors called Zhou Xuan. If they didn't really believe it in their hearts, even these two old experts didn't believe in Zhou Xuan. He was too young. In the antique world, someone that young is like a primary school student.
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Old Yang, Old Zhang, my name is Zhou Xuan. I know a little about antiques, and I'll make a fool of myself in front of you two today!"
It was only then that the two old men realized that this young man had come to challenge them. But this pile of antiques had been examined by them with instruments and decades of experience. What other results could he possibly find?
Zhou Xuan pointed to the porcelain vases, jars, and bronze artifacts in front of him and said calmly, "I wonder if either of you has ever appraised these?"
Yang Zhenran thought to himself, "Since you're here to make an assessment, I'll put you on the spot and see what other opinions you have. If you give the same result, then your self-deception won't be convincing."
"These antiques, Lao Zhang and I examined them this morning, and they're all genuine. What do you think? Any different opinions?" Yang Zhenran said with a mocking smile. Saying there were any different opinions would just block Zhou Xuan's path. They had already said they were genuine, so what could Zhou Xuan say? Besides, if he said they were genuine, wouldn't he just be following their lead? If they said they were fake, was that even possible?
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly: "These are all fake. None of the twenty-three items are real!"
"What? It's fake...?" Yang Zhenran and Zhang Zhi were both taken aback, but then they showed a dismissive expression.
"Young man, to get ahead, you need to rely on your abilities. Study for another thirty years. Every single one of these antiques is a treasure. With your skills, I advise you not to stay in the antique business. Save your money for expenses. Don't end up penniless and regret it later!"
Yang Zhenran mocked Zhou Xuan, saying, "This guy just blurted out that these antiques are fake, and all of them are fake. He wants to show off without considering where he is or who is around. Besides, he doesn't need to do this. There are no outsiders here. Whether it's true or false, he won't make a name for himself."
However, Zhang Zhi didn't mock Zhou Xuan like Yang Zhenran did. Instead, he said, "Little brother, you say it's fake, then tell me, where is it fake? What are its characteristics? What are the reasons?"
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll start with this gold-plated floral vase." As he spoke, he squatted down and picked up the first one he had looked at, the radium-gold red vase.
“Look at this bottle. The exterior is artificially aged, the grapefruit color has no fire, and there are no traces of acid etching or sanding on the surface. From the outside, you can't detect anything wrong with it. Even if you use a high-precision instrument to test it, the result will still be that it is genuine!”
Zhou Xuan spoke calmly, his fingers gently tracing the surface of the gilded bottle.
Zhang Zhi became somewhat interested and asked, "That's natural, we know that without you telling us, but if you say it's fake, how can you tell?"
Zhou Xuan's explanation of aging techniques, such as "fire glow" and the absence of acid etching and sanding, suggests he's at least experienced in the field. These are secret methods for aging artifacts. For example, when imitating porcelain, the most difficult aspect, and a fatal flaw for counterfeiters of heirloom porcelain, is the glaring shine on the surface of newly fired porcelain. As we all know, finished products fired in kilns today, without a date, have a very new outer layer—this is the so-called "fire glow." Counterfeiters only have two methods to deal with it: soaking it in strong acid or polishing it with ultra-fine sandpaper. However, these imitations only work on ordinary collectors; they're useless against skilled experts. Porcelain soaked in strong acid loses its luster; the fire glow is gone, but the color is poor. It may look old, but it's completely different from the aging marks of genuine pieces. On the other hand, porcelain polished with fine sandpaper shows regular parallel lines under a magnifying glass—the marks of the sand.
These are things that any player with a little common sense can see through, let alone experts like Yang Zhenran and Zhang Zhi.
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Let's talk about this gold-plated vase first. It's not an ordinary newly fired product. Its base is made of genuine old porcelain fragments from a thousand years ago, pieced together with clay, and then filled with fine porcelain clay. It was then fired in the kiln with ancient glaze. Not only is the base old porcelain, but the glaze powder used is also ancient or made from ancient glaze powder excavated from tombs. If such a composite product is tested with high-tech instruments after it comes out of the kiln, the result will be that it is a genuine work from thousands of years ago."
Although Yang Zhenran looked disdainful, he was still surprised by the imitation method Zhou Xuan had just mentioned. Technically speaking, it was not impossible, but the effort and cost would be much greater. Old porcelain shards and ancient pomelo powder were both rare items.
Zhang Zhi was equally surprised. He paused for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Then let me ask you, Mr. Zhou, even if your explanation is acceptable, how can the fire on the porcelain be removed? This piece of radium gold has an antique and natural color. We have also tested it and found no residual molecules of strong acid. The bottle is old, but the luster is still there. We have also examined it carefully with a magnifying glass and found no traces of fine sand polishing. How do you explain this, Mr. Zhou?"
"Old Yang, Old Zhang!" Zhou Xuan said with a smile, "You both know about strong acid and fine sand. Since it's a method you can spot, then using acid to bite it or sandpaper to hit it would be foolish. Hehe, to be honest, even if this one is a fake, it's worth 100,000 or 200,000 yuan. I estimate that a counterfeit workshop could sell a piece like this for no less than 200,000 yuan!"