Artifact Reading Inspector

Chapter 47: Needle in a Haystack (1)

The professional diver came up after Haejin. He raised his thumb and complimented Haejin.

“It’s like he has dived for more than a decade! Most people can’t even keep their balance because of the current, but he swam around like a fish. It was impressive. I also saw porcelains lying at the bottom that looked good to even my ignorant eyes.”

“Ohhh!”

“He found it at once…”

The diver’s testimony proved that Haejin had found the exact spot. Everyone rejoiced.

“Is this what you found while swimming around like a fish?”

Haecheol couldn’t resist the temptation. He went to the huge water bottle in Haejin’s net and started to wipe the mud off.

There were many treasure ships under the West Sea primarily because of the trade and merchants that happened between China, Japan and Korea.

There was also one more reason: the harsh current and the countless rocks in the West Sea.

Because of these, many ships were wrecked in there.

Additionally, as the water wasn’t deep, the ships would sink without being dismantled and be preserved that way.

When the soil then covers part of the ship, it will block the oxygen in time. This will make sure the bacteria that would have made the ships rotten will not survive.

In conclusion, the coastal waters of the West Sea were full of treasure ships.

The huge bottle Haejin had brought through his fuzzy sight looked important even to non-experts.

It was about 40cm tall, it had an elegant curved line that came down sliding from the ample shoulder, and the blue hue that shone through the mud made everyone expect a great relic.

“Water! Get me some seawater!”

As the celadon had been embedded in the mud for a long time, it still had a considerable amount of mud on it, even if it had gone through the rough current.

At Haecheol’s excited yell, an employee laid down his belly on the floor to draw water from the sea and gave it to Haejin.

Haejin took it and gently poured it on the bottle. He carefully wiped off the mud as if he were handling a baby. He started with a small part and slowly expanded the area he rubbed. Everyone gulped hard and watched the process.

“Ohh… there it is!”

“I can see the pattern!”

“Oh, be quiet!”

Everyone commented and fussed as the celadon’s beauty was revealed little by little. Haecheol could only scold them.

“It’s shape and color are extremely beautiful. It will become a national treasure.”

Haejin didn’t remove all the dirt yet, but he commented for the people waiting with excitement.

“Wow!”

“A national treasure!”

Everyone yelled in joy. An employee from the Cultural Heritage Administration was dancing in delight.

“Can I really have it?”

Haejin asked once again. Haecheol rubbed his nose and complained.

“I cannot take back what I said, so I do not have a choice. This cannot be the only great relic you will find. Anyway, you have done well.”

He was certainly generous. The Goryeo Celadon’s beautiful hue enchanted people’s heart.

Even though he had made a promise, he couldn’t help but desire it, Haecheol, however, resisted that temptation and let Haejin have it. Haejin thought that he was not an ordinary man.

“It wasn’t hard. I’m young. You have gone through more hardship by standing here in sea wind.”

“I am not dead yet. This wind is not enough to kill me! Well, you all saw it! This diver here confirmed it. All that is left for us is to recover those artifacts at the bottom!”

“Yes!”

Everyone raised their fists and yelled. They were highly motivated to see the national treasure artifact come up in front of their eyes.

Haecheol had encouraged them enough, so it was time to go back to land. Haejin, Haecheol and his attendants got on a different ship and headed to land.

When they arrived, many people were waiting, including the curator and Park Haejin Gallery’s employees, who will work on the excavation and restoration of the artifacts. When they saw the celadon Haejin was carefully carrying, they all came to him.

“This just came out of the sea?”

“Yes, we cannot leave it here, so let’s go to the pool.”

“The water is ready. This way…”

The artifacts recovered from the ocean must go through a strict restoring process. Because of that, experts of many fields were waiting with all kinds of equipment.

Haejin’s employees had also prepared the devices and facility for the chemical processing.

Of course, all of this had been prepared with Haejin’s money. As he and Haecheol had agreed on 5:5, if Haejin used more of Yuseong’s money, he would be giving them the chance to take more relics, so he had refused all their help.

“Careful, careful…”

There was a pool big enough for dozens of people in the middle of the large ground. Digging and dragging had cost a lot of money. However, that kind of investment was necessary.

The huge pool was already full of water. The water wasn’t trapped there. It was coming in from one side and going out to the other side, so it kept flowing.

Haejin slowly dipped the celadon in the pool and stretched his back.

“Even though there are CCTV cameras and the police guarding, from now, you should take turns watching them. You know it should be in there for at least a week, right?”

“Of course.”

One of the employees replied. They had already learned everything about the restoration process of the artifacts from the ocean.

“After that, use the hydrochloric acid to remove the clams on one side. That job is not for you. I will bring an expert, so please, watch and learn.”

“Okay.”

Haejin had thought they would be disappointed about it, but they looked rather relieved. It was probably because the celadon was too valuable for them to touch.

“Learn that process and practice with the dishes when they come up. I will come back to look after the final ultrasonic waves cleaning.”

The artifacts that were going to be recovered were precious, but Haejin was an appraiser. It’s not like he could get better artifacts by standing there.

He would divide the artifacts with the Haevici Gallery after they had all been recovered, so he had no reason to stay there. It would be more productive to go back to Seoul and do something else. That is why he had hired the employees…

He took a shower and changed into new clothes to go to Seoul. Then, Haecheol called him. He invited Haejin to have some raw fish with him.

Haejin wanted to go home and get some rest, but he could see Haecheol was not just asking to have a meal with him, so he said he would go.

Among the many raw fish places in the seaside of Taean, inside a little shabby and old restaurant, Haecheol and a beautiful woman, that Haejin already knew, were waiting for him.

“Come and sit.”

“Ms. Yaerin is here, too.”

“Hello.”

She said hello with a little arrogant face while lifting her chin, just as usual.

“I thought you would reserve a much bigger restaurant and eat, but I guess I was wrong.”

Haecheol smiled.

“That only happens in dramas. Well, young people sometimes do things like that these days… but why would old people like us do that? We will just get criticized. This place also sells good maeuntang (Korean spicy fish stew).”

Yaerin added, “Although it is not my style.”

“Why is your taste just like your mother’s?”

“Why do you blame my mom in front of others?”

“What? I cannot say that about my own daughter-in-law? Khmm…”

Haecheol couldn’t handle his granddaughter. He coughed and turned away from Yaerin’s gaze.

After that, they talked about useless things like the weather and politics until the food came. When a plate full of raw fish came out, Haecheol picked up his chopsticks.

“This is expensive wild fish. Please, eat.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

After Haejin ate a little, Haecheol asked as if it was nothing of importance.

“I heard you went to the U.S with Saeyeon Gallery’s director?”

“Oh, yes.”

“And you brought a Renoir?”

“Yes.”

“Yaerin told me you bought it at a very low price.”

Haejin didn’t know what that was about, but he couldn’t avoid answering, so he spoke carefully.

“Not that cheap, but I bought it at a slightly lower price. There was a reason… I guess Ms. Yaerin has told you about it. She has also bought the Rembrandt, so she didn’t lose a lot.”

“I see. I didn’t ask because I thought I have lost, but because I was curious about the process.”

“The process?”

“After Hanseok… No, Sungjun’s father, the current vice chairman of Hwajin, died, I’ve never been to that auction. I sent my granddaughter instead, but it wasn’t because I wanted her to buy paintings. I wanted her to interact with the other participators and earn a lot.”

“Oh…”

“Everything in that auction is unclear, including its start. However, as the artifacts they sell are rare and more valuable than those of any other auctions, everyone has no choice but to participate, although they all doubted it.”

“I can understand that.”

“You are good at agreeing. Anyway, I poured a lot of money into that auction because I didn’t want to lose to Hanseok. All the wealthy people who participated did that. However, because of my obsession with artifacts and my competitive spirit that wanted me to win against the friend whom I’ve never won against when it came to business, I had to spend much more.”

“Then this auction was similar, too. In the end, Ms. Yaerin spent more than Ms. Eunhae.”

That hurt. Yaerin frowned hard.

“Odd, isn’t it? That is why I feel bad about it. I wanted to win against Hanseok, at least once.”

Haejin could understand that. Haecheol was leading Yuseong that was considered to be less good than Hwajin, so it was natural for him to have a sense of inferiority to Hwajin’s ex-chairman.

However, he couldn’t say ‘of course’ out loud, so he just nodded. Haecheol continued with a serious expression.

“Next Friday is Do Gyeongmin’s birthday, the former representative of the ruling party and minister of the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs. The rights for the duty-free shop business will depend on what he says. However, he receives a gift from only one person every year. The one he likes the most… and I want him to receive mine this year.”

“I guess the duty-free business rights are important.”

Haecheol nodded hard.

“It is, it has a huge meaning behind. I don’t want to lose this time. So, I need your help.”

“Why don’t you give him the Rembrandt?”

Yaerin, who had been eating quietly, answered instead.

“He doesn’t like dark paintings. If Hwajin gives him a Renoir that would be on the next exhibition, he would probably…”

Haejin didn’t have to hear the rest to understand.

“Helping with that is not hard, but where are you going to get a painting like that?”

Haecheol took out a business card from his gold wallet and put it on the table.

“Will you go to Hong Kong with my child?”

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