Chapter 17: Nuclear Radiation

As dusk settled, Director Bai arranged for the staff to add supplementary lighting, and Lin Changqing also switched on a powerful flashlight.

The two clients carefully carried out a celadon ewer.

Lin Sicheng followed behind the elderly gentleman, as usual sneaking a glance, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably: a Yaozhou kiln green-glazed carved floral inverted flow ewer, and judging by the shape and glaze, it was actually from the Northern Song dynasty?

As the name suggests, it’s a vessel filled from the bottom, containing a complex internal mechanism.

Surviving examples are somewhat more numerous—at least more than the Kangxi period Xianrui bowls. Including those excavated domestically, lost overseas, and held in private collections, there should be around forty or fifty in total.

But in terms of value, the Xianrui bowls pale in comparison; they cannot even be called its junior. Because this ewer represents the pinnacle of craftsmanship and technological achievement of Yaozhou kiln porcelain from the Tang dynasty through the Ming and Qing dynasties.

If genuine, it would undoubtedly be a “national treasure.”

Lin Sicheng exhaled deeply and examined it carefully:

The main contour featured a broad carved backrest, with an internal comb pattern, the relief effect obvious. The floral lines were fluid, the composition balanced between sparse and dense, exhibiting the typical Northern Song Yaozhou kiln “mud-carving” handcraft technique.

Looking at the glaze: it was warm and smooth, evenly deep, with a tight bond between body and glaze, the surface glossy and lustrous, imparting a strong semi-translucent glass-like quality.

At the junction of the foot ring and body, a distinctive “ginger yellow” hue appeared. This was due to the iron-rich Yaozhou clay reacting with the olive-green glaze, a unique characteristic of Yaozhou celadon.

Examining the bubbles showed irregular sizes; the support marks were small and regular. The patina was thick and natural...

Lin Sicheng slowly widened his eyes: it seemed... everything was in order.

The more he looked, the more convinced he became that the piece was authentic.

Instinctively, he recalled the first time he saw a Northern Song Yaozhou inverted flow ewer in his previous life: the provincial government hosted the event, with the National Cultural Heritage Administration, National Museum, Forbidden City, and Peking University invited, and CCTV conducting interviews.

No exaggeration—Lin Sicheng was already well-established and respected in the field then, yet he only glimpsed the piece behind a sealed display case, never touching it.

Now, things were different; he could look as closely as he wished, even touch it freely... was this truly just to broaden his knowledge?

He wasn’t the only one; the elderly gentleman was no better—eyes wide, mouth agape, flashlight and magnifying glass seemingly nailed to one spot, clearly scrutinizing for quite some time. Only after confirming was he willing to move slightly forward.

They examined the lid, then the mouth, then the body, followed by the foot ring and base.

Every inch meticulously inspected, only missing an endoscopic camera to peer inside through the spout and filling hole.

Everyone was silent, fully aware of what it would mean if this was authentic.

Half an hour later, the elderly gentleman straightened his back.

Director Bai was impatient: “Professor Lin, what do you think?”

The old man answered honestly: “So far, no problems detected.”

Instantly, Director Bai exhaled sharply: it was he who had conducted the investigation, applied for it, personally submitted it for inspection, and requested funding from both the company and municipal bureau leaders.

Whether progress could be made this year depended entirely on this final tremor.

The other staff were also invigorated: the honor belonged to all, the leadership deserved credit, and they too would bask in the reflected glory.

The two clients exchanged a meaningful glance and smiled knowingly.

Director Bai gave a subtle signal, and the assistant handed over a folder, but Lin Changqing waved his hand: “No rush to sign. Is there an appraisal report?”

“Of course!”

Director Bai gestured, and the assistant presented several documents.

Lin Changqing examined them carefully, Lin Sicheng peered closer.

Radiocarbon dating could be handled by the provincial museum, cultural relics bureau, or municipal bureau, but to avoid errors, Director Bai personally went to the capital.

The testing agency was the National Cultural Heritage Appraisal Center, the most authoritative institution besides the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

They also performed accelerator mass spectrometry, dating the sample between 1000 and 930 years ago.

The third report was thermoluminescence testing, conducted by the Shanghai Museum.

---

It wasn’t that the capital lacked such technology, but to date, Shanghai Museum’s thermoluminescence ancient artifact dating was considered the most advanced.

The results were unsurprising: the dating range was 1100 to 900 years ago.

The range was slightly broader than the radiocarbon dating due to differing principles, hence different conclusions.

An endoscopic inspection also confirmed the internal structure, body texture, color, and age were consistent.

Judging by this, it seemed the item was indeed authentic?

Yet Lin Changqing’s brow furrowed deeper.

After a long pause, he turned to Lin Sicheng: “Have you examined it?”

“Yes,” Lin Sicheng nodded, “but the logic doesn’t add up!”

Lin Changqing was momentarily stunned, then sighed with a trace of relief in his eyes.

“Having looked” meant Lin Sicheng also found no flaws, which was unsurprising—if even he missed them, who else could spot them?

“Logic doesn’t add up” meant this document was not to be signed.

Lin Sicheng didn’t yet understand why his grandfather, though only an advisor, acted as if he had the final say. Still, he suspected:

In his previous life, it wasn’t until around 2023 that the provincial cultural relics department repatriated a Northern Song inverted flow ewer from overseas, filling the gap that “Northern Song Yaozhou inverted flow ewers originated from Shaanxi, yet none existed in Shaanxi.”

But this was only 2007—where had this one come from, and where would it end up?

Secondly, the provenance was insufficient. Thinking back to the previous life, it involved the provincial government, national-level agencies, and CCTV; the only missing element was renting a Times Square billboard in the United States to broadcast it worldwide. Today’s spectacle was not just modest but strange.

Of course, perhaps the time was not ripe, and the various levels of authority lacked sufficient awareness. But regardless of political sensitivity, shouldn’t a bureau leader be present, accompanied by three to five equally authoritative experts for joint appraisal?

Ignoring other factors, what if Grandpa had accepted bribes?

Thirdly, the price was off: 6.6 million yuan?

Even though it was only 2007, it wouldn’t be off by an order of magnitude; doubling the price would be perfectly reasonable.

Was this some patriotic style of inflation?

Instinctively, Lin Sicheng glanced at the two clients: calm, composed, utterly unruffled...

With just these three reports and so few words, Lin Changqing read through them twice.

After pondering, he picked up his magnifying glass again: “Lin Sicheng, shine the light. I’ll examine the inner body through the filling hole once more!”

The elderly gentleman summoned two assistants for help.

Because the ewer had to be inverted—bottom up, mouth down. The key was its seamless unity; the handle was at the top, so it had to be suspended carefully lest the handle snapped.

Lin Sicheng sighed: another point of suspicion—the clients were too carefree.

If it were theirs, would they agree to such treatment?

What if it broke without payment?

Even Grandpa, once excited, was reckless...

Turning the thought over, Lin Changqing, holding the magnifying glass, placed it over the filling hole and signaled Lin Sicheng to shine the light.

Lin Sicheng supported the handle with one hand, turned on the flashlight with the other, casting a strong beam onto the lens.

The old man then compared the endoscopic inspection report, looked at the lens, then at the photos in the report.

He gave directions as he observed: “Lin Sicheng, a little to the left!”

“Right, more right...”

Lin Sicheng laughed inwardly: Grandpa wasn’t just examining the inner body.

No, he was, but his manner made it clear he suspected the inspection report might be forged.

---

Surprisingly, it really was so.

Just as Lin Sicheng was quietly amused, Grandpa ordered him to step back two paces and change to diffuse lighting.

Lin Sicheng obeyed, stepping back and switching on the flashlight.

But as the light shone out, he instinctively squinted.

Diffuse light meant a halo effect, enveloping the entire body except for the base.

The glaze was less glossy than before but more moist, faintly imparting a “dark emerald” visual sensation.

To put it plainly—it was green.

But ancient celadon could appear grayish, yellowish, or whitish; how could it appear green?

Worried it might be an angle issue, Lin Sicheng nodded toward the assistant supporting the ewer’s body—the same girl who had met them downstairs: “Assistant Guan, isn’t it beautiful?”

As soon as he spoke, everyone’s faces turned odd: “What... is this guy trying to do?”

Seeing Grandpa glare at him, Lin Sicheng snapped back to reality, realizing he hadn’t explained clearly.

“I meant the ewer—isn’t it very green, like jade?”

Let’s just say he was referring to the ewer.

The elderly gentleman nodded: “It is quite green, probably due to the diffuse lighting.”

Really?

Lin Sicheng switched back to the strong light.

Assuming he was just covering his embarrassment, Lin Changqing remained silent, but others’ expressions grew stranger: was this kid out of place? Trying to flirt?

In an instant, the previously good impression shattered.

Lin Sicheng paid no heed, staring fixedly at the still-green body, his mind racing.

Over time, ancient porcelain does indeed change color; this is common knowledge.

If specifically celadon, glaze aging leads to yellowing.

If dampened or otherwise disturbed, glaze pigment structure changes, causing grayness.

If exposed long to sunlight and ultraviolet rays, it turns white.

But this one was green?

Not impossible: blue-green comprises green and blue; if pigments break down with green molecules remaining intact and blue molecules diminishing gradually, this phenomenon could occur.

But the conditions were extremely stringent, requiring strong external interference—such as nuclear radiation.

Nuclear radiation? Hmm, something felt off...

Lin Sicheng glanced at the two reports on the table: one radiocarbon, one thermoluminescence.

Nuclear radiation... thermoluminescence...

A flash of insight struck his mind, and his face suddenly drained of color as he clenched his teeth.

Damn it!