50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 456 Win-win
"Let me explain why this happens."

"All we need to do is find marble that is the same as that used in ancient Greek statues to carve the statue."

"Then the statue is soaked in an acidic solution, and then the acid is neutralized with an alkaline solution, which accelerates the surface corrosion and makes the chemical agents undetectable."

"It also needs to be baked with strong light and high temperature, and then frozen with low temperature. Through repeated hot and cold cycles, the decomposition of the marble on the surface can be accelerated."

"By simply repeating these processes in the laboratory, we can create perfect weathered marble that looks as if it has been weathered by wind and rain for thousands of years."

The reporters suddenly realized that marble artifacts could be faked in this way.

These principles are not complicated. Everyone here has received higher education and can understand the basic principles of thermal expansion and contraction, and acid and alkali corrosion.

Even Yale curator Sack, who had just been furious, fell silent.

"My next point is about the issue of carving style."

"From the first moment I saw this statue, I felt it was out of place. The style of the head sculpture is completely different from the style of the foot sculpture."

"If you split the statue in half, it becomes two completely different statues."

"Therefore, the Getty Youth Statue should be the product of two people working together, with them carving the upper and lower parts respectively, using completely different techniques."

Sun Zhiwei kept explaining, and the reporter was writing furiously. This was big news; as soon as it was published tomorrow, he would get a promotion and a raise.

"And this unearthed document, it doesn't have any official or well-known institution's signature or seal on it, nor does it indicate the time and location of its excavation, which is very unreasonable."

"Based on the above evidence, I can responsibly state my opinion: this Getty Youth statue is a forgery."

After saying that, Sun Zhiwei began to pack up his testing tools on his own.

The reporter had finished recording Sun Zhiwei's identification results, and after hurriedly saying goodbye to the curator, left the scene. They needed to hurry back to write the report.

The museum director tried to stop the two reporters but couldn't. He could only sigh and prepare to leave the hall.

At this moment, Sun Zhiwei suddenly said, "Director Saike, I think this is actually a good thing for your museum."

Upon hearing this, Curator Saike stopped in his tracks and looked at Sun Zhiwei with a puzzled expression.

Can we talk in private?

"Please come with me to the office." The two then went together to the curator's office.

Although Curator Saike was annoyed by his undermining, his long-standing scholarly cultivation prevented him from losing his temper on the spot, and he even politely poured Sun Zhiwei a cup of coffee.

After taking the coffee, Sun Zhiwei said to him, "I know your establishment hopes to expand its reputation and increase its influence, but is it enough to just ride the wave of online traffic?"

"How many people can see the Los Angeles Times? Of those, how many are interested in the Getty Youth Statue, and how many are willing to come and visit it after becoming interested?"

"rare."

"But once this is reported as a joke, your museum will become famous immediately."

"Yes, we've become famous. Everyone will think our museum is a fool for spending 900 million on a fake stone," the curator said sarcastically.

"Indeed, it is a scandal, but he has a lot of exposure. Being famous is still being famous. As long as the fame is established, the negative impact can be eliminated in other ways."

"Then how do you suggest eliminating the negative impact?"

"It can be done in several steps."

"First, you have to be defiant and refuse to admit it's fake. You also need to invite more experts to authenticate it, thus creating controversy." "Everyone loves a good show, and newspapers will compete to report on it, so you don't even need to spend money to buy advertising space."

"This ensures sustained exposure."

"In the second stage, we acknowledged the mistake, but still displayed the statue here, only to indicate that it is a fake."

"It's already quite famous as a negative example, and this will give it even more exposure."

"In the third phase, it will be announced that the museum will publicly destroy the fake statue in order to warn people not to be deceived again."

"I'm sure countless people will come to see the spectacle, and the museum's image will be completely transformed."

"At the same time, starting from the fourth step, leverage your financial power to offer high-priced rewards to purchase more collectibles."

"By this time everyone knew that the Getty Villa Museum was rich, and as long as the items were genuine, the museum could afford to buy them at any price."

"In the future, all kinds of rare cultural relics will come to us to sell."

"Director Sek, how does this future sound?"

At this point, the curator, Yale Seck, was completely captivated by the future described by Sun Zhiwei; his eyes were filled with nothing but light.

“Mr. James, you are a genius.” He grabbed Sun Zhiwei’s hand, his whole body trembling with excitement.

Sun Zhiwei shuddered and quickly and discreetly pulled his right hand out of the old curator's grasp.

“Mr. Curator, my mission is now complete. I shall take my leave.”

The curator couldn't keep the reporter, so he naturally couldn't keep Sun Zhiwei either. Helpless, he could only write him a check immediately.

Sun Zhiwei nodded in satisfaction when he saw the one 1 and six zeros on the check.

This trip was worthwhile. In addition to the 50 yuan appraisal fee, we also received an extra 50 yuan in planning and consulting fees, which is great.

Before boarding the plane the next day, Sun Zhiwei saw the Los Angeles Times report.

The two reporters publicized the scandal of being scammed by the Getty Villa Museum, which caused a great deal of discussion in Los Angeles.

The museum curator was very cooperative and used the idea he had suggested yesterday: refusing to admit defeat, he even placed an advertisement in the newspaper seeking more expert appraisers to come and authenticate the items.

After the news spread, the media got excited and began to report on the matter continuously. Many newspapers from other places also reprinted this interesting story from the Los Angeles Times.

As a result, the Getty Villa Museum became famous, and so did the brilliant appraiser, Mr. James.

Win-win.

Upon returning to Washington, Sun Zhiwei met with the association president, Fernando, and explained the details of his trip.

The arena is set, the client is there, and even the loser has been pre-selected; the rest is just a matter of winning without lifting a finger.

Fernando couldn't possibly miss such a good opportunity.

This is a great opportunity that James has created for him. With this incident, it will be no problem to make a few more appraisers famous, and he can also boost his reputation in the association.

Fernando had never been so fortunate to have recommended Mr. James to the association, and sure enough, the reward came immediately.

On the very day Sun Zhiwei returned to Washington, a new mission arrived.

(End of this chapter)