Chapter 184: Teacher Lin?

The reception was held at the school restaurant, but the decor was exquisite, and the food was no worse than that of the Xi'an Restaurant.

The liquor was also fine liquor, a ten-year cellar-aged Xifeng, yet the delegation found it as tasteless as chewing wax.

They only drank a few small cups, and neither the Dean nor Wang Qi Zhi urged them much; the banquet broke up just as it hit eight o'clock.

They were staying at the New Hope Hotel, an enterprise under the school office, with all expenses covered.

Even though he was a veteran of the officialdom, whenever he thought of the check tucked in his bag, Wang Zeyu still felt his face burning: that bastard Liu Dong was really bullying people too damn much...

After polite goodbyes, the group returned to the hotel. No one had notified anyone, but after putting their things down, they all arrived at Wang Zeyu's suite by unspoken agreement.

The secretary poured tea and brought out cigarettes; seven or eight old smokers sat in a circle, puffing away.

The situation was already very clear: according to the original plan, starting from Xida was almost impossible.

Not to mention a door, there wasn't even a crack in the window.

But as the saying goes, if the east isn't bright, the west will be; the matter had to be resolved eventually.

After discussing for nearly an hour, the clock pointed to nine-thirty. Just as Wang Zeyu was thinking about whether to call the two colleagues who had gone out to pull strings, there was a "knock-knock" at the door.

The secretary got up to open the door, and Wang Zeyu breathed a sigh of relief: speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

One was responsible for the city's propaganda work, surnamed Xiao, Xiao Zhenguo. The other was responsible for political and legal work, surnamed Jiang, Jiang Cheng. Both were deputy-level officials, and both happened to have transferred from Xijing to Tongchuan; they had many acquaintances in the capital, so Wang Zeyu had specifically entrusted them to go and pull strings.

Returning so late, they must have made some progress.

He hurriedly asked the secretary to pour tea and invited the two to sit down. But just as they had settled, Wang Zeyu's heart skipped a beat.

The expressions on these two men's faces were not very good.

He paused, picked up the cigarette case, handed each of them one, and then handed over a lighter: "How is the situation?"

Xiao Zhenguo shook his head: "I went to the Cultural Bureau first, then the Cultural Relics Bureau... The former is my old unit, and I have many colleagues there with whom I have good relations. The latter also has acquaintances, so it doesn't count as unfamiliar... At the beginning, whether it was old friends or acquaintances, they were all quite enthusiastic: exchanging pleasantries, pouring tea, handing out cigarettes, reminiscing..."

"Afterward, I stated my purpose: our city had a small conflict with Xida, and I asked if they could come forward to mediate... At the time, their attitudes were still fine."

"But later, when I asked about the specific project and who the person in charge was, their expressions were almost carved from the same mold: a mix of strangeness and astonishment, a mix of scrutiny and suspicion, as if: no need to ask, they already knew it was our problem..."

Wang Zeyu was stunned: "Did Xida notify them in advance?"

"Leader, it's not a problem with Xida, but with Lin Sicheng. If he had notified them in advance, I reckon I wouldn't even have been able to get through the door today..."

Xiao Zhenguo frowned, "The colleagues at the Cultural Bureau were still polite and refused quite tactfully: 'Sorry, Old Xiao, if you're talking about Lin Sicheng's project, then we really are powerless in this matter...'"

"After that, I went to the Cultural Relics Bureau. I had barely started when Director Liu Xin asked me directly: 'How have you been bullying Little Lin?' And then there's Deputy Bureau Chief He, that is He Zhigang. He, you, and I, the three of us were classmates at the Party School, right?"

"But I had only said half of it, saying that Lin Sicheng came to our city to learn technology and ended up not learning it... He glared at me as if I were an enemy..."

Xiao Zhenguo spread his hands: "Leader, given this situation, how can we talk about what comes next?"

He couldn't even say it: because Lin Sicheng had truly been wronged when he came to Tongchuan.

Wang Zeyu looked bewildered: "No, what did Lin Sicheng do?"

If one unit was like this, one could still use one's imagination: perhaps he had some incredible background and connections.

But with two units acting this way, and even Liu Xin and He Zhigang shielding him so blatantly, this was definitely not a matter of background and connections...

Xiao Zhenguo sighed: "Later, I asked He Zhigang out for a casual meal... It wasn't until halfway through the drinks that he told me: in the second half of last year, two Cultural Relics cases occurred in Xijing; the first was silent, the second was earth-shattering..."

"Lin Sicheng was the key to solving these two major cases, and he was irreplaceable... Old He even spoke bluntly: because of these two major cases, the number of people whose positions were saved by Lin Sicheng is at least eighty, including him, Director Liu Xin, and the Cultural Bureau and the Public Security Bureau... Especially the first case, which directly affected a higher level!"

"I thought at the time, a higher level, wouldn't that be the provincial level? So, how could I still pull these strings? I even thought at the time, Leader, that if you went to Xida today, you would likely return empty-handed..."

Wang Zeyu paused: and indeed, they had returned empty-handed.

But it had nothing to do with personal favors; based on the technical level alone, Xida already left him speechless...

He was even more unable to understand what kind of major Cultural Relics case could affect the provincial level?

After being stunned for a long while, he turned his head and looked at Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng looked bitter, holding a cigarette in his hand without taking a single puff: "I went to the Provincial Department first. I didn't get to see my old leader, but I did get through on the phone: he told me to go directly to the Municipal Bureau and find the old bureau chief (Li Chunnan)..."

"When I heard that, I thought, 'Tsk, is there a chance?' Then I went happily to the Municipal Bureau... As a result, as soon as I entered the door, I was dragged into the cafeteria..."

Jiang Cheng was so bitter and aggrieved: "The old bureau chief (Li Chunnan) plus the Political Commissar, plus the Executive Vice Mayor, plus Chen Peng, each of them had two bottles in their arms... That bastard Chen Peng was the most ruthless, forcing me to chug from a three-tael cup..."

"Leader, don't disbelieve me: in the public security sector, this is settling a private grudge under the guise of public business, telling you clearly: we're going to fix you, no question about it... It was early in the morning, not even ten o'clock, and they forced me to drink two jin..."

"When I saw that the situation wasn't right, I knew I must have offended someone somewhere, so I didn't dare reveal a single word, just saying I came to visit the old leader... But when I was leaving, the old bureau chief patted me on the shoulder and said: 'It's best you don't get involved in this matter...'"

Wang Zeyu's face darkened, and his heart sank.

His face didn't darken because Jiang Cheng had spent the day drinking; if you don't get on the wine table when pulling strings, what kind of strings are you pulling?

He was dark because as soon as Jiang Cheng arrived at the Department, the Department leaders pointed a finger and sent him to the Municipal Bureau, where he was then forced to drink.

And the words Old Xiao just relayed from He Zhigang, how did they go: it wasn't just the city that owed Lin Sicheng a favor, but also a higher level.

Wasn't the place Old Xiao went to first that higher level?

And the words of heartfelt advice from Bureau Chief Li Chunnan to his former subordinate before he left: don't get involved in this.

It meant that you couldn't get this done at all, so in the end, the more effort you put in, the greater the responsibility you would bear...

Looking at it this way, today was just visiting these three, but it represented the attitude of the entire municipal-level department: there's no way.

The key is that, based on their own connections, the only ones they could invite to be lobbyists and influence Xida were these three.

At most, add the education sector, but the problem was that the leaders they knew wouldn't even answer the phone.

So, they were stuck on the very first day?

They had thought the matter would be difficult to handle, but they hadn't expected it to be unimaginably difficult: the connections and paths they had envisioned were completely useless. Not only were they useless, but they would also have the opposite effect. Just like the Cultural Relics Bureau, just like the Public Security Bureau...

But the matter had to be resolved eventually.

Thinking it over, it seemed they could only have a higher-level leader come forward to coordinate?

It was shameful, but then again, it was better than losing political achievements...

Wang Zeyu let out a breath and picked up his phone, preparing to go to the bedroom to report to several city leaders.

But just as he stood up, the phone started buzzing wildly.

It was text messages, one after another; in less than a minute, more than ten had been sent.

At first, he was still reading carefully, with looks of surprise flashing in his eyes from time to time. But then, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and tighter and tighter.

It was some information about Lin Sicheng that he had obtained through a friend he entrusted, including family members, social connections... and so on and so forth.

The rest didn't matter; the key was the last item... with these connections, with the background of this teacher Lin Sicheng, how high-ranking a provincial leader would have to step in to mediate the incident?

For a moment, Wang Zeyu only felt disheartened, as if his whole body was full of energy, yet he had encountered an iron wall thicker than a mountain and boundless.

Let alone knocking it open, you couldn't even get around it...

After reading for a long time, he gritted his teeth and placed his phone on the table: "Take a look, all of you!"

Seeing that his expression was not quite right, the group felt suspicious and huddled together.

Not yet graduated, still a senior... but actually in charge of a key laboratory at Xida, and independently founded a personal Cultural Relics protection and Artifact Restoration studio.

And, only twenty-one?

These circumstances had already been understood, but seeing the words "21 years old" again, the group still couldn't help but feel shocked and suspicious: they were considered the best in their respective fields, but what were they doing when they were twenty-one?

It couldn't be called slacking off, but they had definitely done every single thing young people were supposed to do: drinking, fighting, roller skating, dancing, and dating.

Yet Lin Sicheng, did he not do any of that?

The key also lay in the time this key laboratory and studio were established: did it mean he only used less than half a year to complete the path that others had racked their brains to study, and had worked hard on for at least ten years?

Looking further down: his grandfather is a professor at Xida, and also a famous collector and appraiser in the Xijing Cultural Relics and Antique Trade industry...

Museum Curator Xu's eyes lit up: "Eh, Lin Zhangqing... I know him?"

Bureau Chief Tian was invigorated: "How is the relationship?"

"I've only met him twice when the Folklore Literature Mountain Flower Award was held in the province, and exchanged greetings once through an introduction; there hasn't been any further contact..."

Bureau Chief Tian nodded: That will do, having something is better than nothing! At least they can speak to each other...

Continuing to look down: his father works at the Funeral Home under the Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, serving as Deputy Museum Curator. His mother is at a provincial key middle school, a provincial-level special-grade teacher.

It can be called a scholarly family, a household of poetry and ritual.

However, to say how deep the background is, it's just average. But it gives the feeling that Mayor Wang seems to have given up?

Secretly suspicious, looking further down: there is also a step-grandmother who is already divorced, and several former uncles and aunts with no blood relation. Some are doing business, some are ordinary civil servants, with ranks even lower than Lin Chengzhi.

Further down, it mentioned his teacher again, the Professor Wang Qi Zhi they met today: the General Manager of the key laboratory, and the Academic Advisor of Lin Sicheng's studio.

At the same time, he is also the Youth League Secretary of the Cultural Heritage College at Xida.

But it still feels very ordinary?

Immediately, they saw the small note at the very bottom: Wang Qi Zhi, father Wang**, grandfather Wang**...

Seeing that last name, they only felt a "Boom~", as if a hammer had struck their foreheads; the group was stunned and speechless, their brains "buzzing" with sound.

No wonder the leader suddenly lost his spirit?

Still looking for connections? You try going to Beijing and see if you can find any!

The crowd looked at each other, at a loss.

Wang Zeyu's eyes were dull, his spirit vacant.

No wonder, he is just a Youth League Secretary, yet he is at the division level?

Even less wonder, for today's reception, the Dean only accompanied them, while the person specifically in charge was this Secretary Wang.

This is telling you clearly: no matter how many connections you find, no matter how many favors you ask, no matter which leader you beg to put in a word, it is all useless.

So, it's more than just kicking an iron plate? This is a great mountain that cannot be bypassed...

The crowd was silent, and suddenly, Director Meng stood up, his face full of shame: "Leader, I will write a self-criticism; I bear the primary responsibility for this matter!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then, their faces were full of strangeness: Director Meng, you indeed have to take responsibility; since getting off the plane this morning, you have said this sentence more than once. The problem is, can you bear it?

Before Lin Sicheng arrived in Tongchuan, Du Liangzhi and Liu Dong both reported to you, and you clearly instructed: Yaozhou Porcelain is currently in the key research and development stage, and there are plans to apply for important patents; the core technology must absolutely not be leaked.

This is of course correct. Even if reported to Deputy Bureau Chief Song, Bureau Chief Tian, or even Deputy Mayor Wang, the wording would certainly be similar.

But why didn't you instruct Liu Dong to make it clear at the time, instead of fishing for people for more than twenty days like playing with a monkey?

That's right, you were indeed unaware, but without your habitual acquiescence and indulgence, where would Liu Dong get the guts to bypass Du Liangzhi, or even deceive superiors and conceal from subordinates, and act on his own?

That sentence you said as Secretary, "Is the Porcelain Research Institute a research institution under the leadership of the City Committee and City Government?", was that sung for you to hear?

Everyone was silent, and Wang Zeyu didn't even look at him, letting him stand there stiffly.

Director Meng's face turned blue, then red, then white...

Continuing to be silent, after a long while, Mayor Wang sighed deeply: "Let's treat a dead horse as if it were a live one. Just as the Secretary said: the person who tied the bell must untie it... First, find a way to see Lin Sicheng!"

The crowd looked at each other.

They understood this principle, of course: but the problem is, it's been several days, and they don't even know where Lin Sicheng is now?

Director Meng's face was pale, and he gritted his teeth again: "Mayor, I think: if we can see Professor Wang, we should be able to see Lin Sicheng... At that time, whether it's apologizing or admitting a mistake, or carrying a rod to ask for punishment, I will never shirk..."

After a slight pause, he looked at Museum Curator Xu and bowed his waist: "Museum Curator Xu, please!"

Museum Curator Xu sighed secretly: The old Meng from before, what a proud person he was?

He didn't speak, just looked at Wang Zeyu.

Wang Zeyu pinched his brow and thought for a long time: "Don't fight a battle without certainty: let's find out more and make a good plan..."

The rest of the people were invigorated and nodded in unison...

The sun was three poles high, thin frost condensed on the flagpole, and the Red Flag swayed in the Wind with a crisp, snapping sound.

The lanterns on the residential gatehouse bumped from time to time, revealing the large characters on a red background: Happy New Year.

The phone kept ringing, but no one answered; through the car window, Ye Anning looked up at the second floor and wrinkled her nose.

No need to guess, he must be sleeping soundly, and the phone was turned to silent.

It's an old habit; every time Lin Sicheng stays up late for a period, he will sleep wildly for several days.

But he has been sleeping for three days now?

She thought for a moment, got out of the car, and looked at her empty hands again.

Then she cupped them into a trumpet shape: "Lin Sicheng... Lin Sicheng... Lin Sicheng?"

At first, she was a bit embarrassed, but after calling twice with no response, Ye Anning used all her strength: "Lin Sicheng~"

The voice resounded throughout the entire residential complex.

Lin Sicheng sat up in a daze, looked out the window, and his eyes popped: Did he oversleep again?

But the time was wrong: the sun had only just risen above the top of the building, ten o'clock at the latest.

He pressed his phone again: it was only five past ten...

He hurriedly opened the window: "Cousin Ye, you come up first, I'll open the door for you!"

Ye Anning glanced at her empty hands again: if she could go up, she would have gone straight to knock on the door; why would she have to scream at the top of her lungs?

"Lin Sicheng, you come down!"

Thinking she was just being shy, Lin Sicheng smiled: "It's fine, my dad, my mom, and my grandpa aren't here..."

Before he could finish speaking, the unit door creaked, and an elderly couple and a young couple walked out of the building and glanced upward.

Lin Sicheng was bleary-eyed, his hair as messy as a bird's nest. Not even afraid of catching a cold, he kept the window open, still bare-chested on one side.

Looking at the girl by the car again: she was quite pretty, wasn't she?

Huh, Lin Chengwa is dating someone...

They didn't say anything, the four of them just smiled with full ambiguity.

Even with Ye Anning's extremely high mental fortitude, she couldn't help but blush: now she definitely couldn't go up, could she?

"Lin Sicheng, you come down, I'll wait for you..."

"Oh~" Lin Sicheng replied, and even smiled at the neighbors downstairs.

He closed the window, and about ten minutes later, he arrived downstairs.

He was carrying a bag containing several packs of vacuum-sealed medicinal paste.

It was the Anshen Decoction he had bought at Yaowang Mountain; half was left, and he had brought it all back.

Men take it to nourish the kidneys, women take it to nourish the spirit... truly good stuff.

Lin Sicheng smiled, sat in the passenger seat, and didn't forget to greet her: "Cousin Ye, it's only three stops away, I could have just gone over myself!"

"If I waited for you to wake up, you wouldn't even get lunch, you'd have to wait for dinner!"

Ye Anning replied, then turned her head, a flash of tenderness in her eyes, her tone becoming much gentler, "You've lost weight, and you've gotten darker... have you been staying up all night again?"

Lin Sicheng paused.

He had originally thought it would be like before, that Ye Anning would pout and glare at him: Lin Sicheng, can't you just call me by my name?

This time, it was so direct? As if, all of a sudden, the relationship between the two had grown much closer?

He touched his face, his tone indifferent: "I haven't really been staying up that much!"

Seeing him unmoved, Ye Anning froze, stunned for a long time.

Lin Sicheng, do you know how long I prepared to say this, how much mental construction I did?

And you, you're unruffled, even lighthearted?

She gritted her teeth: "Lin Sicheng?"

"Yeah!"

"Why is it that at any time, no matter what happens, you can be so calm?"

Even more direct?

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "Cousin Ye, actually, most of the time my reactions are quite slow, so I look quite calm..."

"But occasionally, I have a flash of inspiration: for example, I know you don't like me calling you 'Cousin'. But Sister Anning, if I really called you by your name, you wouldn't know what to do instead... do you believe me?"

After a slight pause, Lin Sicheng wiped away his smile, his face full of affection: "Anning!"

Hearing the first half, Ye Anning pouted: You're slow to react? Not even a ghost would believe that.

You're just playing dumb...

But in the second half of the second, she was suddenly stunned, as if unable to believe it, staring straight into Lin Sicheng's eyes.

I don't know if it was an illusion, but the Lin Sicheng before her seemed to have suddenly become a different person?

Seeing her as if frightened, Lin Sicheng took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and opened them instantly. His pupils seemed to reveal a hint of shyness, nervousness, and unease.

As if he had made up his mind, he gripped the seatbelt tightly, his eyelashes trembling slightly: "Anning..."

In an instant, it was as if she had been electrocuted; Ye Anning trembled all over, her cheeks turning red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Nervous... how could Lin Sicheng be nervous?

Shy... even more impossible.

But this look, this expression, and the emotion in his tone, revealed a kind of inseparable, intense, burning love, and a longing so thick it couldn't be melted away?

Lin Sicheng, longing my foot... we haven't even started yet, where would this inseparable love come from?

She knew Lin Sicheng was faking it, but why was his act more real than the real thing?

Ye Anning bit her lip and blushed, not knowing what to say.

Smiling, Lin Sicheng returned to his usual demeanor: "Sister Anning, isn't that cheesy!"

Cheesy? It felt like those two calls from Lin Sicheng had almost called her soul right out of her...

But Ye Anning didn't even dare to open her mouth; she was afraid that if she spoke, she would say something strange.

Really, Lin Sicheng is really... too good at this.

In that instant, many bad words floated into her mind...

But she was certain: Lin Sicheng had never dated anyone at all.

In high school, his grandfather was strict, and in college, he was rebellious himself, sulking all day long... so let alone dating, there probably wasn't even a hint of it.

But why does it feel so practiced, like someone long experienced in the pleasure quarters, an old hand at this?

"You... where did you learn that? Is it from a book again?" Ye Anning blushed, "Why don't you learn something good?"

"Don't worry about where I learned it: I'll just ask you, every time I call you 'Sister', do you glare at me? Even the teacher's wife says I pretend to be stupid when I'm not. But when I don't pretend, you can't handle it, can you?"

Lin Sicheng sighed, "If you love to hear it, shall I call you that from now on?"

In an instant, Ye Anning's face turned completely red.

Calling her that every day... if someone heard, it would be mortifying...

"Don't... don't call me that!"

"Fine!" Lin Sicheng nodded with a smile, "Then I'll keep calling you Sister Anning from now on!"

Ye Anning glared at him and gritted her teeth: Lin Sicheng was doing it on purpose.

Lin Sicheng laughed "hee-hee-ha-ha," jumped out of the passenger seat, and came around to her side.

"What are you doing?"

"Get out, let me drive!" Lin Sicheng helped her unbuckle her seatbelt, "Don't go driving into a ditch..."

She was indeed feeling a bit restless, mainly because that moment just now from Lin Sicheng had given her quite a scare.

It felt just like a clay statue in a temple suddenly starting to disco.

But driving into a ditch... how could it be that exaggerated?

Her brain seemed to have short-circuited, and Ye Anning reflexively gave him a punch.

After hitting him, she realized that in all the time they had known each other, they had never had such a casual interaction.

Whether it was unbuckling the seatbelt or messing around.

They hadn't even said many casual words to each other. No matter when it was, Lin Sicheng had always been incredibly polite...

Ye Anning lowered her head as she got out of the car and sat in the passenger seat, then she realized: Lin Sicheng dares to call me that, why wouldn't I dare to answer?

He was just deliberately trying to shut her up.

The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became; Ye Anning's mind was a chaotic mess: she discovered that her so-called high IQ and high EQ were completely useless in front of Lin Sicheng.

It was like a three-year-old child standing in front of an adult...

The atmosphere inside the car gradually became romantic, but unfortunately, the phone rang twice at an inopportune moment.

Seeing it was "Grandpa," Ye Anning picked it up and turned on the speakerphone.

Lin Zhangqing's voice came through: "Are you up yet?"

"Up, getting ready to go to the teacher's house!"

"So early?" Lin Zhangqing paused, "I was thinking it was still early, and wanted you to come over to look at a few things?"

"Huh?" Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment, "Are the items strange?"

"Indeed a bit, there are two pieces of ivory ware, but I don't know what kind of animal's ivory it is... and there is a bronze plaque with engravings, it looks like a tally, but I don't know if it's Khitan Script, Bronze Script, or Western Xia script..."

Huh, that is rare?

If even Grandpa can't be sure, it must truly be something rare.

Lin Sicheng checked the time: 10:30?

If it's just a quick look, there should be enough time.

"Grandpa, is it far?"

"It's just at the teahouse outside our residential complex!"

Isn't that just next door?

Then there is definitely enough time.

Lin Sicheng turned the steering wheel: "We'll go take a look!"

Ye Anning gave a soft "mm."

The three-story teahouse was decorated in an antique style.

Having been notified in advance, the waiter waited at the entrance and led them up.

The private room was large, with a mahjong table to the side and a huge root-carved tea table in the middle; besides Lin Zhangqing, there were five or six people sitting around.

Taking a look, Lin Zhangqing's eyes lit up: he didn't know Ye Anning and Lin Sicheng were together, otherwise he wouldn't have called Lin Sicheng.

Ye Anning was extremely well-behaved and respectfully greeted him: "Hello, Grandpa!"

"Good, good... don't worry, Lin Sicheng will be quick!"

Lin Zhangqing nodded with a smile, "Come, let me introduce you: this is Director Tao from the Collection Department of the Xijing Museum, and these few are his friends..."

Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment.

The Xijing Museum only opened last May, barely half a year ago, and they are already asking Grandpa to appraise things?

It's not that they don't have many items, nor is it that Grandpa's level isn't sufficient, but rather that there is a specialty in every trade: his specialty is Ceramics Appraisal.

Yet these people brought ivory ware and a bronze plaque?

But after just a moment of suspicion, Lin Sicheng didn't think too much about it, nodded, and greeted them.

The six men and women all seemed quite curious, their eyes all darting toward his face.

Having long been accustomed to being stared at, Lin Sicheng didn't mind, sat down, and Ye Anning sat quietly to the side.

On the tea table lay three items: a jadeite-colored ivory plaque, a string of ivory-white bracelets, and a bronze plaque the size of an egg.

Lin Sicheng first picked up the green ivory plaque: it was indeed ivory ware; at first glance, it looked a bit like dyed Ivory. But the texture was coarser than Ivory.

The bone structure showed brain-like patterns, but they were irregular, a cluster here, a piece there, fragmented, intricate, and chaotic.

The density was very high, clearly heavier than Ivory, and the material was also very fine and dense. It had been handled for quite some time; holding it in his hand, it had the texture of raw jade.

After taking a rough look, Lin Sicheng put down the ivory plaque and looked at Lin Zhangqing again.

Lin Zhangqing gestured, "Feel free to speak!"

"Alright!" Lin Sicheng nodded, "The material is correct, Walrus Ivory. In the Qing Dynasty, it was called 'qiu jiao,' dating roughly to the mid-to-late Qing period. Because imported ivory was extremely scarce, it was a substitute temporarily sought by the Imperial Household Department..."

"Also, because the grain is too coarse, the texture too dense, and the patterns clustered and chaotic, it is not as exquisite as real ivory. Furthermore, it is not as pure in color as Jadeite, nor as warm and moist as Green Jade. The Imperial Household Department did not produce many, so it counts as a niche item among niche Cultural Relics..."

"But precisely because it is niche, there are a great many fakes on the market... mostly made from the large bones of cattle or horses, dyed with strong acid..."

"This piece is correct in material, and the carving method is also correct, including the color soaking, which strictly follows the Qing Dynasty Imperial Household Department's seven-soak, seven-sun, and three-steam dyeing method. It also uses purely natural pigments like indigo, Madder, and Sappanwood... but the era is wrong. To put it bluntly: it has been artificially aged, but the technique was too light..."

Lin Sicheng touched it, then held it under his nose and sniffed: "It has been no more than ten years since it was cut!"

The group of people was stunned into silence.

The Museum Curator was indeed a real Museum Curator; he had been invited personally by Wang Zeyu, and the three items were also brought by him.

To avoid revealing the truth too early, he had specifically explained to them before coming: the items were auctioned back from overseas by the Museum Curator last year, said to be repatriated Cultural Relics, intended to be part of the collection after the museum opened. But after taking them to Beijing for testing, they realized they had been fooled.

The Walrus Ivory was indeed real ivory, and the process was correct, but the era was wrong: it had been less than eight years since the biological blood supply stopped.

Isn't that exactly what Lin Sicheng said, that it had been cut for no more than ten years?

They had thought that since Lin Zhangqing was famous, Lin Sicheng would have been influenced since childhood, so his appraisal level shouldn't be bad. But they hadn't expected it to be this high, and this fast?

Thinking of Lin Zhangqing just now, he had spent nearly an hour on this one piece. Yet Lin Sicheng had likely used only three minutes.

But they were only surprised for a moment; their ultimate goal wasn't really to have Lin Sicheng appraise items, was it?

Pondering secretly, Wang Zeyu gave a wink, and Bureau Chief Tian picked up the second item, which was the bracelet, and handed it over with both hands: "Teacher Lin, please take another look!"

Lin Zhangqing was stunned for a moment, and Lin Sicheng was also stunned: Teacher Lin?

It wasn't that no one addressed him this way, but those who did had basically dealt with him many times and already understood him quite well.

Like Zhao Xiuneng and his son, or the Municipal Appraisal Center, or the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau and the Provincial Cultural Relics Examination Institute.

But to call him 'Teacher' upon the first meeting, and with such a respectful attitude?

Subconsciously, Lin Sicheng narrowed his eyes...