Beipai Tomb Raiders Notes

Chapter 623: Dumb Loss

I thought the scale was broken, so I removed the battery, put it back in, and continued weighing.

The result was the same; all the coins weighed 4.2 grams.

"impossible!"

"These aren't my few... How did they do this! How is this possible!"

After staring at the light for a long time, my first reaction was not anger, but astonishment.

I dug out photos I had taken before and compared them with them, and the more I looked, the more alarmed I became.

Text! Outer rim! Inner rim! Bronze! Patina!

The wear and tear is uniform! Even the finest nicks on the edge of the coin, as thin as a hair, are exactly the same depth! It's practically flawless!

A tremendous wave of emotion surged within me.

This isn't a counterfeit; it's practically a one-to-one clone! I've always said that the soul of old antiques can't be replicated, until these few coins changed my mind.

There are only two incorrect parts.

First, there's the weight! These ancient coins have worn down over hundreds of years, so their weights can't be exactly the same. There should be at least a few tenths of a gram difference.

Second, the feel.

Because it comes from a water-filled pit, after being exposed to oxygen for a period of time, the surface will develop a slightly rough texture, like the feeling of a layer of raw powder sprinkled on glass.

There is only one possibility: after seeing the coins that afternoon, the other party spent just two hours elsewhere making several identical coins, and then took the opportunity to switch the bags.

The woman never left my sight. During dinner that night, Xiao He made an excuse to go out and answer a few phone calls, which must have been around that time.

How did they manage to do it in such a short time?

It doesn't use the traditional sand casting process, because sand casting can't even produce the fine scratches on the surface of a coin, like the hairline scratches.

I recalled what happened that afternoon.

Inside the car, the woman rolled down the window and threw an apple core at me. At the time, Xiao He was looking at the money, and my view was blocked by the woman.

Xiao He asked me about the material of the coin, and I told him it was made of tin.

Let's say he took a picture and sent it to his accomplice, who then made several identical replicas in Hangzhou. These replicas were delivered to us while we were having dinner, since the journey from Hangzhou to Qiandao Lake only takes forty minutes if there's no traffic.

I raised my hand as if to slap myself.

The other party had the intention of swapping the bag from the beginning, and the only way to break the deadlock was for me to take the million and leave.

But I didn't, because I wanted more.

I took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment with my hand on the dial button, and then dialed Meimei.

"Hey, did it work out, Mr. Xiang? Shouldn't you give me, the matchmaker, a little 'tea money'?"

I cursed inwardly, but outwardly I held up my phone and calmly said, "Let's do the tea money next time. What's Xiao He's reputation like in your circle? I'm worried about potential problems later."

"His reputation is alright, don't worry, there won't be any problems, after all, you and he are not on the same path."

I hung up immediately.

Meimei probably wasn't involved; she was also manipulated by that despicable couple, but Meimei definitely bears responsibility.

No sleep for one night.

The next day, I showed the foreman a few ancient coins.

I didn't say much, I just let the boss take a look.

“Yunfeng, the inscriptions on these coins are in Manichaean script, which may be related to the Sogdian script of Central Asia. No one can understand them anymore.” The foreman thought I was asking him to look at the script.

"Boss, I really like these coins. I want to keep them for my own research and won't sell them for now."

He nodded: "It's fine with the little thing. You can keep it if you like it."

Even the head couldn't see that something was wrong.

If Liao Bo's methods were ingenious, then Xiao He's methods were unpredictable.

When I say "cloning," I'm just using a descriptive term. In reality, it's the modern concept of "similarity." But back then, this concept didn't exist in the market. I wouldn't dare say that Xiao He invented it, but he was definitely the first to use this technology. Another method, "replacement of characters in live casting," is also related to this person. There's a website called Yuandi that specializes in selling ancient coins. Around 2005, an expert posted a thread mentioning him. In the thread, the expert posted a rare photo of a Northern Song Dynasty Xining Chongbao coin with a ten-character caption below it.

"This coin was made by Xiao He from Hangzhou."

I believe that if given a little more time, he can even solve the issues of weight and feel.

This technique is suitable for heirloom-quality or water-worn items, but not so suitable for unearthed items. It's like two twins walking down the street; they look alike, are the same height, and dress identically, only differing in weight—it's hard to tell them apart visually. Therefore, be wary of those online sellers who advertise copper coins for sale; you should send the items to them for inspection.

"What's wrong, Yunfeng? You look terrible. Aren't you feeling better?" Xiaoxuan asked me with concern during the meal.

I didn't reply, I just kept rummaging through my things.

I lost a million dollars in one meal yesterday, and I'm upset.

After dinner, the head of the household called me into the room alone and asked me what was wrong.

I stubbornly insisted that I was fine.

He stared at me for a few seconds, and I couldn't hold back any longer, so I told him the whole story.

He asked me to take those coins out again and look at them.

"Yunfeng, are you saying these are fakes?"

"Yes, it's a 100% fake. The weight is wrong, and the feel is wrong too. They switched the bags," I said.

He looked surprised and asked, "How did you do that with just a photo? And in such a short time?"

"I don't know, maybe they used some kind of computer technology we've never seen before," I said, looking down.

Who is that person?

"I don't know, it was Meimei who introduced them, and Meimei was also deceived."

"How dare you go to meet someone whose background you don't even know?"

“I made a mistake. I knew you would have objections, so I didn’t tell you. Meimei said this person offered a high price. I was thinking that Brother Tian took 40% of our money this time, and we also have to give a portion to Chaosheng Piaozike, so I wanted to sell more.”

"Did you contact that person after you found out last night?" the head asked.

I shook my head: "There's no contact. It's my fault for not being able to see clearly. I'll swallow this bitter pill. I've made a note of that person. I'll pretend I didn't find out and find a chance to get back at them in the future."

He picked up one of the coins and examined it against the light for a long time before saying, "Modern high technology is really getting more and more amazing. To achieve this level in such a short time, I'm afraid even Uncle Liao couldn't do it."

"Yes, boss, we're falling behind the times, which is why I keep telling you to value high technology while upholding tradition. In fifty years, there really will be robots robbing tombs."

With a dark expression, he said, "Keep this as a lesson. The loss is one hundred, deducted from your share of the profits this time."

Looking at the foreman's eyes, I swallowed back the words I was about to say. I wanted to say that these few coins weren't worth a hundred, and asked if I could deduct fifty. I would accept fifty.

As I came out of the main room, I kicked the railing in the stairwell, bending it.

Uncle Cha was absolutely right; I was going to have a run of bad luck for the next six months.

But how long has it been since those six died?

In less than a week, I first inexplicably fell seriously ill, and now I've lost over a million dollars. At this rate of bad luck, I'm afraid I'll be finished in less than two months, if not six months.

When I got to the restroom and looked at my face in the mirror, I felt as if a large cloud of black mist was floating on my forehead.

This loss was not only due to my carelessness, but also due to bad luck.

As the saying goes, even a minor county magistrate won't starve in a year of great disaster. As someone in the know, I need to find a way to change my luck.