Artifact Reading Inspector

Chapter 44: Excavating and Collecting (3)

It had been made about five years ago. It had also been buried about two years ago… it wasn’t made in Korea but had come from Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province of China. It was a great forgery that impressed Haejin.

Antique forging techniques from China were great, they were the top of the world.

Counting only porcelains, more than 60% of the 1,400,000 people in Jingdezhen works in the porcelain industry.

More than ten thousand porcelains are made every year and the revenue is over a hundred million dollars, but what is important is that 80% of them are fake.

Everyone, including gallery owners, middlemen, the police, and the locals agree with these statistics, and some even say it is 95%.

“And there, too…”

The man pointed at the west corner of the site. Haejin looked there, and he saw another porcelain poking out of the ground.

“How many have you found?”

“There are two more.”

“Wow… sir, your ancestors must be helping you. He must have buried them in a good spot.”

“Haha, yes. It’s all thanks to my ancestors. But how much will they be?”

“Well, this Moon Porcelain is almost good enough to become a national treasure, so it can be sold at a considerable price.”

“When was it made?”

“I think around the 18 th century. It was probably made in Saongwon of Gwangju, Gyeonggido.”

Haejin pretended to know nothing. He didn’t know whether the man was simply trying to con him or had another purpose.

“I was just building a house, and this happened… I still cannot believe it.”

Haejin could not stand it more as he knew he was lying.

“Then I should go…”

“What? Oh please, join me for dinner. And here…”

He took out an envelope and gave it to Haejin. It was probably his fee, but Haejin didn’t know if he should take it or not.

The man had clearly called Haejin for a purpose… should he eat together and see how he would react? Or should he just ignore it?

“Okay.”

“There is a nice duck barbeque place nearby. Please, follow me.”

He got in his car and gestured to Haejin to follow him. If Haejin didn’t have his magic, he would have been delighted to follow him.

However, as he had seen the man’s dark intentions through magic, he could not do such a foolish thing.

When they arrived at the restaurant, the man’s wife and children were waiting for them. Haejin awkwardly said hello and sat down.

Then, the man asked him, “Actually, as you have seen, it isn’t enough to be a historical site. There are only a few porcelains…”

Haejin knew why he was saying that, but he pretended he didn’t know.

“You should do some research, that will tell you.”

“Haha, I’ve already heard you bought some porcelains that came out from a construction site…”

“Oh, I did. However, now is different from back then…”

“Please, I will sell them to you at a low price. If you don’t want it, I am willing to sell them to someone who’s willing to buy them… how about that?”

How about what… the man was clearly trying to con Haejin so, of course, he didn’t feel good.

However, he decided to play along with him.

“Really? Then, at how much will you sell them?”

“Well, I don’t know much… but I heard that the Moon Porcelain alone is worth more than a billion. Is that true?”

Look at that! He wasn’t thinking to get some allowance. Well, bringing that kind of fake would have cost a lot.

“It is possible.”

“So, I am thinking 1.5 billion for all four.”

Haejin was so shocked that he couldn’t even laugh but, actually, if those porcelains had been real, that would not have been a bad price.

“Hmm, 1.5 billion… not bad.”

“Right? Hahaha! I don’t know much, but I do know that is not that expensive.”

Although he kept saying he didn’t know much, but the price he spoke of was not a price someone who knew nothing could say at all.

“Getting too greedy would make it hard to sell.”

“Yes. So, I don’t want much. I just want my family to not starve.”

Not starve with 1.5 billion… what kind of nonsense was that?”

“Of course. Then, I will try to find someone who’s willing to buy the four white porcelains at 1.5 billion. Send me some photos.”

“I’ve taken some during the day. I will send them right away but, if you buy them, it will be much simpler, hahaha!”

“I wish I had that kind of money.”

“Why? You have a good car… I guess you must have earned a lot.”

Haejin was just over thirty now, so most people would think his ‘good’ car was from his dad or he was just too poor to afford a really good car. However, the man was speaking as if he knew that Haejin had lots of money. That was strange.

“Do I look that way? Thank you for thinking that I am rich but, in fact, I am just an appraiser.”

“Nay… you don’t look that way… well, if you don’t have the money, I have no choice.”

Haejin thought that maybe… he was not just trying to fraud him. What if Haejin was the target of this scheme?

If he was, then how did they recruit Hwang? They had to know the relationship between him and Hwang… who had such money and power?

And who was the man in the black suit who was watching from the side when the porcelain was buried?

Haejin had only seen the owner of the porcelain through magic, so he couldn’t figure out the man behind him.

He couldn’t find out more until dinner was finished. Then, he returned with doubts and guesses.

The next day, he met and had lunch with the future employees of his gallery at a restaurant in Jongro.

“Nice to meet you, everyone. I am Park Haejin, owner of Park Haejin Gallery. The gallery is under construction, but it will be opened officially next month. Firstly, who is the curator?”

“Hello. I am Curator Lee Jisu.”

A woman in her 20s stood up. She was not extremely beautiful, but her eyes were clear and looked nice.

“Oh, nice to meet you. Director Lim Eunhae said you are very talented. I have high hopes for you.”

She smiled awkwardly and bowed.

“No, but I will do my best to let everyone know that there is a Park Haejin Gallery in Jongro.”

That was quite an impressive ambition, but that part was Haejin’s job.

“Haha, by next month, every Korean will get to know Park Haejin Gallery even if you do nothing.”

“What? How…”

“The excavation team will start working next week. Curator Lee Jisu, you should be at the gallery but, this time, I want you to come to the site with us and help.”

A young man raised his hand. He had countless pimples on his face, but the eyes behind his glasses were full of passion.

“Where is the site?”

“We are going to Taean. When we are there, you won’t have to dig and use brushes.”

“Huh? Then what will we do?”

“You will be busy restoring the porcelains from the ocean.”

At that moment, silence fell. Recovering artifacts from the ocean meant Haejin had found an underwater treasure.

“Really? Have you checked the location?”

Jisu asked with excitement.

“We and Yuseong Group will work together starting next week, so you should get some rest in advance. Once the porcelains start to come up, there will be no time to sleep.”

“Wow…”

They had been given a huge workload, but they looked at one another in excitement. Underwater excavation would give them important experience and knowledge to those who dream to be archaeologists.

They talked about the schedule and plans for the gallery. Then, Haejin returned to the shop.

Byeongguk greeted him with a sad face.

“Aren’t you way too busy these days? I will spend the rest of my days playing Baduk. I am so bored.”

Byeongguk had lived a life full of thrills like smuggling and illegal excavating, and now living as a good citizen was boring for him.

“Where’s Sujeong?”

“She’s putting back that porcelain together with the glue. I tried to help, but she got mad at me.”

There had to be a reason for that.

“You made a mistake, didn’t you? That’s a very delicate process… not anyone can do such a thing.”

“I was trying to help. If I made a mistake, she can do it again. How could she scold her dad?”

“However, a mistake will leave a glue mark. She would have to erase that and work again, so she is right to be irritated. Anyway, don’t touch her while she is working and play with me instead.”

Byeongguk’s eyes brightened at this.

“What? What is it? Are you selling? Or Buying? Or putting someone through some troubles?”

“… You are never going to be a normal guy.”

“I think of myself very normal. Although you wouldn’t understand that… anyway, what is it?”

Byeongguk was like a child. Haejin smiled.

“There is a construction worker captain I used to work together, and his relative found porcelains while building a new house. So, I went there, and there was this Moon Porcelain good enough to be a national treasure.”

“Uuh? Really? His ancestors must have helped him.”

“Yes, if it were real.”

Byeongguk was certainly different from others. His eyes sparkled even more when hearing that it wasn’t real.

“It’s fake? So?”

“I pretended to not know, but… I think I am the target.”

“What? He’s trying to con you? Hahaha! That’s a funny guy.”

Byeongguk laughed.

“We cannot laugh at him because the porcelain has great quality. I was momentarily fooled by it.”

“Really? That good?”

Only then did Byeongguk turn serious. He realized it was not a thing to laugh about.

“It is from Jingdezhen, China… and it has great quality. They recreated Joseon White Porcelain almost perfectly. They probably analyzed the soil used at Saongwon of Gwangju, Gyeonggido, to make that porcelain. They must have mixed the right elements. They are not ordinary frauds.”

“I don’t know much, but you’re saying they have made a great forgery, right?”

“Yes. In conclusion, it is something great enough to fool most experts. It has also been buried for at least two years.”

“Wow… so, someone bought it and buried it for two years? I am confident that it is not an individual. It is hard for an individual to be that patient.”

“Yes. That’s why it is strange. Clearly, a group is trying to con me… is it him?”

Byeongguk smiled and nodded.

“The person I thought about. I guess you recalled him as well?”

“Probably.”

“Hhhh… it has to be him. A person who has lost four billion can pull off this kind of scheme.”

“Right? Ando Hadake can…”