Chapter 172: Grading the Thesis

The rosewood floor gleamed with oil, and the air conditioner hummed. A cluster of pothos hung down from the window sill, swaying slightly.

The principal held a piece of paper, scrutinized it for a long time, and then pushed it forward.

It was an official document with a red header; the line of text at the top was particularly conspicuous: Letter Regarding the Secondment of Comrade Lin Sicheng.

Parentheses: Public Security Department.

Wang Qi Zhi sneered inwardly: Public Security Department?

Why don't you have the Ministry send me one and see what happens?

He didn't even think about it before shaking his head: "No time!"

The principal was taken aback.

What he found strange was not Wang Qi Zhi's attitude or speed, but this letter itself.

He looked at it again: That's right, the issuing unit in the header was the Public Security Department, and the seal below was also the Public Security Department.

"What did Lin Sicheng do to make a department-level unit send a letter for a secondment?" the principal asked, looking suspicious. "Director Qiu even called me personally?"

"He didn't do anything!" Wang Qi Zhi said dismissively. "Just a while ago, he helped the Cultural Bureau and the Public Security Bureau appraise a batch of stolen goods... I guess they got used to having him around and want to borrow him to use him some more!"

"The case isn't closed yet?"

"Probably not!" Wang Qi Zhi paused. "But Principal, this isn't a question of whether the case is closed, but rather like Liu Bei borrowing Jingzhou: if you're not careful, once you lend him out, you won't get him back."

The principal looked at the document: "It shouldn't be that serious, right? He's still a student; he doesn't even have an organizational affiliation here."

"Principal, look closely: this is the Public Security Department... look at the very bottom, isn't that Director Qiu's signature? For them to create a file for Lin Sicheng, wouldn't that be as easy as child's play?"

"Principal, think about it: if Lin Sicheng weren't useful, why would the Public Security Department send a letter?"

Wang Qi Zhi let out a "heh." "The Municipal Bureau wanted to send a letter, but Deputy Bureau Chief Chen brought it up twice, and I shot it down..."

The principal froze.

Had Lin Sicheng's appraisal level really reached such an absurd height?

Thinking back to Lin Zhangqing in his prime, at most the Municipal Appraisal Center would call the school to say a word; where would there ever be any official letter?

He thought for a moment: "Then we won't second him!"

"Of course we can't second him. At most, when they're in a pinch, he can go over to help... and he can't help too much, one or two days at most..."

Wang Qi Zhi let out a breath: "Principal, our application materials have been submitted for over a month, and the District Cultural Bureau and the Tourism Bureau have also been preparing for over a month; even the expert group has already been organized."

Just because he's helping the Public Security Bureau, this applicant and inheritor can't find the time? If Lin Sicheng is really seconded away, do we have to keep waiting??"

Oh right, the World Heritage Application!

Then he definitely couldn't be lent out...

The principal nodded, then looked at him with a half-smile: "Didn't you say it was at the provincial level last time? How did it become the district level this time?"

Suddenly, a sheepish look appeared on Wang Qi Zhi's face: he had gotten carried away and bragged too much.

When he returned to the capital for the National Day holiday, he had gone to his second sister and his father-in-law, but they had both shut him down: Wang Qi Zhi, do you think a national-level project application is child's play?

It's not that Lin Sicheng's technique isn't good enough, but you have to make it widely known; you have to popularize it for the masses. You must use publicity and exhibitions to enhance the public's cultural identity and confidence, and to consolidate the national spirit.

Otherwise, where do you think the significance of a World Heritage Application lies? Just to get you an award?

Go back and do it honestly, level by level...

Wang Qi Zhi knew that, of course; he was just a bit impatient, and as a result, he got lectured several times...

But as the saying goes, a blessing in disguise; he wasn't in a hurry anymore. Everyone was like a wolf; seeing Lin Sicheng was like seeing the flesh of Tang Seng—everyone wanted a bite.

Let them wait slowly: from district to province, it will take at least one to two years. From province to national level, that's another two years. In three or four years, it's not even certain if Lin Sicheng will still be in Xijing.

That's the first point. The second is that, according to the scope requirements of the national intangible cultural heritage catalog, the representative scope of "Blue-and-white Porcelain Restoration Technique" is too narrow.

First is the time span: it only represents the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, with at most half of the Republic of China period added.

Second is the geographical scope: it is limited to the Jingdezhen area, and even then, only a small portion of the kilns. It might involve a very few folk kilns from other provinces, but it basically lacks representativeness.

The third is the craftsmanship and the scope of use: just the four words "Imperial Kiln" limit these two points to a very narrow range.

In plain language: if you want to gain public recognition and play a role in cultural identity and consolidating the national spirit, the prerequisite is to let the public understand it.

But if you say "Blue and White Porcelain"?

Sorry, they've heard of it, but who the hell has actually seen it?

To put it more bluntly: the "Blue and White Porcelain Restoration Technique" envisioned by Wang Qi Zhi is basically a "dragon-slaying skill" (a skill with no practical use). Applying for the district and municipal levels should be no problem.

If he works hard and maneuvers a bit, the provincial level isn't impossible. But national level... Wang Qi Zhi, what are you thinking?

Those were his father-in-law's exact words.

He not only broke it down for him but also offered advice: if you want to apply for the national level, first the coverage must be broad enough, such as time span, geographical scope, and the degree of public acceptance.

Since Lin Sicheng can even repair blue and white porcelain, and the inheritor (Zhao Laotai) has techniques originating from the Imperial Household Department of the Qing Dynasty, then surely she can repair any kind of porcelain, so why not expand the coverage?

For example, remove the "Blue and White" from the front and apply directly for "Artifact Restoration."

Wang Qi Zhi could only say that his father-in-law really stood high enough: from the Han Dynasty to the Republic of China, from the coast to the northwest and northeast, over two thousand years, how many types of famous kilns and famous porcelains have appeared?

Never mind whether Lin Sicheng can repair them, and never mind knowing them all; just selecting the most representative part would take years just to collect the data.

Material characteristics, craftsmanship features, historical context, lineage of inheritance... and the current status, value... and so on and so forth—which of these doesn't require field research?

As a result, just after Wang Qi Zhi finished speaking, he was lectured by his father-in-law again: if you don't do field research, if you don't fully understand and learn, what kind of heritage are you applying for?

After he came back and told him, Lin Sicheng was quite calm and even said that the Bureau Chief was right.

If national-level projects were that easy to apply for, the Shanghai Museum wouldn't have had to apply from 2004 until 2021 to finally succeed.

But at the time, Wang Qi Zhi was in high spirits and wouldn't listen to any advice...

Thinking secretly, Wang Qi Zhi pushed the secondment letter back.

Standing up, he feared the principal might be soft-hearted, so he emphasized again: "Principal, it's settled then—no matter who comes to borrow him, we aren't lending him!"

"Rest assured!" The principal nodded. "Oh right, when is the district coming to audit?"

"They can come anytime." Wang Qi Zhi patted his chest. "How about this afternoon?"

The principal was startled: "So fast?"

"Of course!"

Just look at what Lin Sicheng has been doing all this time.

Never mind the district; if we just put the word out to the city: "We need an evaluation," the expert group could storm the school in under two hours...

Assuming Wang Qi Zhi had pulled some strings, the principal thought for a moment: "We'll need to accompany them, host them, we definitely need to prepare... Can they come tomorrow?"

Wang Qi Zhi nodded: "They can definitely come... Principal, if you don't believe me, call and invite them right now..."

The principal, half-doubting, picked up the desk phone.

At first, the conversation was quite normal; once they knew it was the principal, the other party was quite polite.

But when they heard "Blue and White Porcelain project evaluation," the other party suddenly became enthusiastic, saying that the bureau leadership (District Cultural Bureau) had already given instructions, and the evaluation team could come at any time.

Tomorrow is fine, even today is fine.

Finally, they even asked if the inheritor and applicant was named Lin Sicheng.

From beginning to end, they never mentioned Wang Qi Zhi.

The principal always felt something was wrong.

He prepared to ask Wang Qi Zhi, but when he raised his head, the person was already gone...

The accumulated snow was swept into piles, looking exactly like one grave mound after another.

The soles of his shoes crunched over the broken ice, "crunch, crunch."

But after walking only a few steps, Wang Qi Zhi stopped again.

Not far away, just downstairs from the Experimental Center, a Leopard was parked.

It had a standard blue license plate, no police lights, and no parking permit displayed. But Chen Peng was standing by the car, baring his teeth and smiling at Wang Qi Zhi.

They just sent the official letter, and they've already chased him down?

What do they want? If the hard approach doesn't work, try the soft one?

Deputy Bureau Chief Li really wasn't wrong; this Deputy Bureau Chief Chen really doesn't care about his own face...

With a huff, Wang Qi Zhi walked over. Just as he prepared to throw a few barbs, the back door opened, and Li Chunnan stepped out of the car, rubbing his hands together.

Rubbing them until they were slightly warm, he reached out: "Professor Wang, sorry to bother you again!"

Wang Qi Zhi sighed.

Encountering a thick-skinned person like Chen Peng, he naturally wouldn't be polite. If he was in a good mood, he'd mock him a few times; if he was in a bad mood, cursing him a few times wasn't out of the question.

But when it came to Deputy Bureau Chief Li, even if he had opinions in his heart, it wasn't appropriate to show them on his face.

He hurriedly shook his hand: "Deputy Bureau Chief, you're too kind... It's cold down here, let's go to my office first!"

"Good!"

Li Chunnan replied, looking over the experimental building: "Professor Wang, is Lin in there doing experiments? I knew he was busy, so I didn't want to disturb him..."

Wang Qi Zhi was half-truthful: "Yes, he's more than just busy: he rested for two days after returning, then started working overtime again... He has to; he is the Person in Charge of the laboratory, the studio, and two projects. I can still keep an eye on things here at the lab, but over at the studio, if he isn't there, the projects have to come to a standstill..."

Li Chunnan smiled: "Professor Wang, I know... The reason the bureau sent the letter was purely out of respect. Therefore, Chen Peng and I came specifically to visit Professor Wang..."

That's more like it.

Wang Qi Zhi nodded and led the two into the Experimental Center.

The office was right next to the laboratory. As they passed by, they heard Lin Sicheng's voice, and the two stopped subconsciously, glancing through the glass.

The laboratory was large. Lin Sicheng stood on the platform holding two sheets of paper, and Zhu Kaiping (Doctor) stood to one side.

Below, a row of people sat with pens in one hand and notebooks in the other, writing non-stop:

"Senior Brother Zhu, starting from traditional desalination methods or from a technically proven perspective to open up new arguments is, of course, good. For example, the Paper Pulp Wrapping Method, the Electrolytic Desalination Method (Copperware Rust Prevention)..."

"But if we do vertical segmentation, firstly, the impact factor of the journals we can publish in is too small; secondly, the overlap is too high; thirdly, the difficulty is too low... We might be halfway through our verification experiment and suddenly discover that someone else has already published the thesis? It would be equivalent to doing all that work for nothing, wasting time, effort, and money..."

"Therefore, we must widen the moat until it's so wide that others can't catch up even if they want to. Secondly, it's best to open up a separate track... I'll mention two points for you to consider, Senior Brother: for ancient Copperware Rust Prevention, besides lacquer, people also used tung oil, beeswax, and resin... So why were they able to prevent rust?"

"The principle is actually the same as painting: the biological substances within them adsorb to form a film, which is both waterproof and oxygen-proof, providing protection for the copperware... But no one has ever researched exactly which biological substances these are."

"And what specific film is generated, whether the protective effect is greater, or the Corrosion Inhibition effect is greater, or if it even forms a biodegradation effect—no one has researched that either... So, can we try to..."

Zhu Kaiping listened quietly. After a long while, he frowned: "Junior Brother, that already involves the level of biotechnology..."

"Yes!" Lin Sicheng nodded, "But no one has stipulated that those who study Cultural Relics protection cannot study biotechnology... We are studying the rust prevention technology for copperware; whether it's chemistry, biology, or physics, any technology that can prevent rust is good technology!"

"Besides, it's just plant extraction; at most, we can study amino acids and derivatives. For Senior Brother, that isn't particularly difficult, is it?"

Zhu Kaiping's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

For a biochemistry Doctor like him, it was indeed not particularly difficult, but if given to a Cultural Relics Expert who only studied physics and chemistry, this would be like reading a heavenly book.

You tell me, is this moat wide enough?

And the feasibility is extremely high... If it weren't high, it wouldn't have been used for thousands of years!

Zhu Kaiping hurriedly took the thesis: "Junior Brother, the direction you've proposed is quite good, but why haven't I heard of anyone researching this before?"

Lin Sicheng smiled: "The cost is too high, and it's not durable!"

Zhu Kaiping suddenly realized.

To put it another way: even if they applied for a patent, there would be no market for it for the time being.

But in three or four years at most, after it is successively revealed that most metal rust inhibitors and Corrosion Inhibition agents from the United States and Europe are carcinogenic.

Only then will international organizations conduct large-scale research on natural plant-extracted Corrosion Inhibition agents; Lin Sicheng is just five or six years ahead of the curve.

Hmm, which organization was the first one again? I just remember it was Switzerland, or maybe the United States?

But it doesn't matter, idle is idle...

He explained the details again, and Zhu Kaiping simply sat down below and picked up his pen to take notes.

Wang Qi Zhi listened in a daze, but experience told him that this direction Lin Sicheng proposed might just result in a whole bunch of patents?

And it is not just about Cultural Relics protection; it also involves industrial technology, daily life applications...

Li Chunnan and Chen Peng naturally could not understand.

After watching for a good while, Chen Peng pointed and asked, "Professor Wang, who is that person, the one who looks a bit older?"

"A core Researcher of the laboratory, Doctor Zhu. Those below are Masters!"

Ah, a Doctor?

But it feels like when standing in front of Lin Sicheng, they seem a bit restrained?

Chen Peng thought for a moment and, pretending to understand, complimented, "The atmosphere for discussion is quite good!"

"What discussion?" Wang Qi Zhi frowned, "He is grading Doctor Zhu's Thesis, and those below are auditing the class..."

"What?"

Chen Peng was stunned, "Isn't he only a fourth-year undergraduate?"

Wang Qi Zhi was stunned for a moment, then let out a "Heh": "He isn't even Police yet, but hasn't he done plenty of things he shouldn't have?"

Even someone as thick-skinned as Chen Peng couldn't keep a straight face and couldn't help but blush a little...