Chapter 191: Congratulations

The sky was pale blue, like half-congealed grease, hanging outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The three-story white building sat quietly by the lake, a light breeze brushing past the taut banners, stirring up a "rustling" sound.

In the panoramic exhibition hall, the lights were bright, and all kinds of porcelain emitted a faint glow.

A temporary stage had been set up at the entrance, with red carpets spread all around; a festive commercial atmosphere rushed to meet them.

Inside the exhibition hall, the receptionists were applying makeup. In bright red cheongsams and thin silk stockings, their figures were exceptionally alluring.

Outside the door, security guards in suits stood straight; seeing the Accord, they walked over quickly to direct it into a parking space.

Immediately, a guard opened the car door, shielding the roof with white-gloved hands, and helped the couple out of the car.

Lin Chengzhi and Jiang Yanfei stood at the entrance, looking at each other in dismay.

This formation, this atmosphere?

It felt less like the unveiling of a private studio and more like the opening of some massive commercial company.

Looking around further: corridor pavilions and water terraces, an icy lake like a mirror, and a locust-shaded path stretching straight ahead. The white building, covered in banners, sat amidst it all.

That's right, the couple had been here once; it was this place.

But compared to before, it was as if they had changed locations?

After carefully identifying it, the couple walked toward the entrance, but after only a few steps, they stopped short in shock.

Northwest University Cultural Heritage Research Center.

Beilin District Cultural Heritage Protection Center.

Northwest University Lin Sicheng Cultural Relics Protection and Artifact Restoration Research Center.

White background with black characters, there were about forty of them in total; they recognized them individually, but when combined, they were incomprehensible.

One of them worked in a government department, and the other was a special-grade teacher at a provincial key school; they understood what they should understand. But precisely because they understood, they could not comprehend:

How did the Xida Research Center and the District Protection Center get combined with the three characters "Lin Sicheng"?

Also, didn't Lin Sicheng say it was just a tiny studio? Looking at this scale, and then looking at the line of text on the third plaque...

The couple looked at each other, and for a moment, they were actually at a loss?

Just as they were stunned, footsteps came from behind, accompanied by soft whispers:

"Oh... Auntie, look, is it like an opening ceremony?"

"Isn't an unveiling just an opening ceremony?"

"But a research center, isn't it a bit mismatched?"

"Silly, with so many leaders coming and speeches to be made on stage, doesn't it have to be a bit festive?"

The two were muttering as they walked; as they spoke, Ye Anning paused and tugged on Dan Wangshu's sleeve.

Then, their eyes met.

The four of them had never met, at least not on a formal occasion. On the night the Blue and White Large Jar was completed, Lin Chengzhi and Jiang Yanfei had seen Ye Anning once through a window.

Dan Wangshu and Ye Anning had never met, and they didn't even know what Lin Sicheng's parents looked like.

But they had eyes and could see: Lin Sicheng's face felt as if it had been carved from the faces of these two?

They looked good and had an air of refinement; the couple was in their forties, but standing there, they looked so well-matched and pleasing to the eye.

All four were startled for a moment, instantly identified each other, and then, all smiled together.

"Director Dan!"

"Museum Curator Lin, Teacher Jiang!"

Although it was the first time the four of them had met, the gifts Lin Sicheng brought home from his teachers could barely fit in a cabinet.

It was the same at Wang Qi Zhi's house; cured mutton, stir-fried minced meat, pot helmets... Jiang Yanfei made them every few days, and as long as she made them, Lin Sicheng would bring them, and the whole family was almost addicted to eating them.

Therefore, there was no excessive awkwardness or reserve; it was natural and fell into place.

After introducing each other, Jiang Yanfei laughed again: "It's all Lin Sicheng's fault; he should have come to visit Professor Wang and Director Dan long ago, but I urged him eighty times, and he kept saying he was busy, busy, busy..."

"Right, it really is Lin Sicheng's fault; he's good at everything, but he's just too polite and always feels he should be more formal... Well, now it's fine, no need for him to introduce us at all!"

Dan Wangshu also laughed, "Teacher Jiang, Museum Curator Lin, there's no time like the present; I invite you to be guests at our home today!"

"It would be an honor!"

Jiang Yanfei smiled and looked at Ye Anning, her eyes filled with a gentle glow, "The girl is truly beautiful!"

Ye Anning was poised and graceful: "Uncle, Auntie!"

Dan Wangshu gave a silent thumbs-up.

That's right, you aren't nervous meeting his parents, so why are you nervous meeting Lin Sicheng?

Thinking this to herself, Dan Wangshu led the couple inside: "Teacher Jiang and Museum Curator Lin don't come often, and today Lin Sicheng is busy, and Wang Qi Zhi is also busy, so Anning and I will take you to look around first!"

"Then I'll trouble you, Director Dan!"

After replying, Jiang Yanfei's face couldn't help but flush, and she exchanged a look with Lin Chengzhi: they felt that they, the biological parents, were actually acting like outsiders?

It wasn't a complaint, but rather a feeling of being somewhat embarrassed: in September, their son said his teacher helped him establish a studio.

The couple found it quite novel, thinking their son hadn't even graduated yet and was already starting a business?

A few days later, Lin Chengzhi specifically brought Jiang Yanfei to see it. At the time, there were only two storefronts; the space was quite spacious, but they had just simply painted the walls and placed a few long tables.

There were no machines, not even an office desk, so it felt quite crude. The two of them thought it was just a small, playful venture.

Later, the old man became some kind of Consultant for the studio, and the grandfather and grandson only mentioned it occasionally; the couple thought that with the old man in charge, they didn't need to ask much more.

But who would have thought that in just four or five months, the scale would be this large?

Not to mention anything else, three floors with over a thousand square meters, and decorated so grandly—how much money must this have cost?

What about the even more expensive equipment and machines?

Like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, the two of them darted their eyes around, the more they looked, the more suspicious they became, and the more they looked, the more shocked they were.

The bright and magnificent exhibition hall, the exquisite and elegant decoration, the fully equipped Training Center, and the laboratory with a whole line of imported equipment.

How much money would this whole setup cost?

Calculating as they looked, the more they calculated, the more astonished they became; Jiang Yanfei truly could not hold back: "Director Dan, this must have cost quite a lot, right?"

Dan Wangshu nodded: "It is indeed quite a lot. According to Wang Qi Zhi, it's nearly ten million, right?"

Suddenly, the couple's eyes bulged: Nearly ten million... where would Lin Sicheng get so much money?

They didn't know if the old man had that much, but they were very certain that Lin Sicheng had basically never asked his grandfather for any money.

Otherwise, the old man wouldn't constantly grumble: "Your wings have hardened, you've grown capable, you don't even want money when I give it to you?"

Then where did Lin Sicheng get the money?

In an instant, the couple's thoughts went astray. In their minds, they recalled the first time they met Ye Anning and the old man's teasing words to Lin Sicheng: "With a ready-made meal of 'soft rice' to eat, you insist on gnawing on a hard bone with no meat; that's not having ambition, that's having a hole in your head..."

The couple exchanged a look again, their expressions gradually becoming embarrassed: It must be Professor Wang who helped.

They just felt that this family cared more about Lin Sicheng than they, his own father and mother, did.

Thinking again of the cabinet full of gifts at home, Dan Wangshu's tone that was both familiar and intimate, and Ye Anning's seemingly calm but occasionally evasive gaze, the two thought even more crookedly:

Their son's "meal of soft rice" was likely already firmly served...

Just as they entered the Training Center, and it happened to be empty, Jiang Yanfei squeezed out a smile: "Director Dan, thank you and Professor Wang; we really feel too bad about this..."

At first, Dan Wangshu was completely confused: She was just taking them to visit Lin Sicheng's studio; what did they have to feel bad about?

The key was this expression, this tone...

After a moment of thought, Dan Wangshu suddenly realized, feeling both surprised and unable to laugh or cry: Wang Qi Zhi had indeed mentioned that Professor Lin had said himself: because he was too strict, Lin Sicheng's parents had basically been in a state of "free-range" parenting toward Lin Sicheng since he was small.

It could be summarized in four words: "As long as he's alive."

At the time, Dan Wangshu didn't believe it, and Ye Anning didn't either. Now, looking at it again, a research center worth nearly ten million had already opened, and Lin Sicheng's parents didn't even know?

Was it really just "as long as he's alive"?

Professor Lin and Lin Sicheng were also something; they didn't even mention it when they went home?

She thought for a moment and felt it would be better to explain.

"Teacher Jiang, this center being able to be built this large has basically nothing to do with Wang Qi Zhi... The school invested a portion, accounting for about ten percent. The district supported a portion, accounting for about twenty percent. Lin Sicheng's friends, the partners of the World Heritage Application Protection Center, invested a portion, accounting for about thirty percent..."

"Lin Sicheng invested forty percent, but half of the district's twenty percent is to be counted toward Lin Sicheng, so just in terms of investment ratio, he accounts for fifty percent..."

"However, the share structure is more complex: because it is an innovative research center, the technical stake is relatively heavy, accounting for about half. So, strictly calculated, Lin Sicheng's share is around eighty percent..."

The couple was stunned again: Forty percent was four million... although it was much less than ten million, Lin Sicheng definitely didn't have that much money.

Furthermore, school investment, district government support... the former was easier to explain, one could imagine it as the old man's legacy or Wang Qi Zhi's influence.

But district government support, wasn't that policy-based support and sponsorship? This would inevitably have to be discussed at an executive meeting and form a resolution...

The key was this technical stake: it meant that this research center was now valued at twenty million, and Lin Sicheng accounted for fifty percent just based on technology?

Plus the money invested, he accounted for eighty percent, which wasn't that sixteen million?

Sixteen million... the couple's eyes were filled with stars.

Dan Wangshu understood their feelings at this moment very well, but she didn't know how to explain it.

Actually, to tell the truth, when she first found out, Dan Wangshu wasn't much better than Jiang Yanfei and Lin Chengzhi:

School participation and government support were easy to understand. But for these two parties to agree to Lin Sicheng's technical investment, and for it to account for fifty percent, was truly unimaginable:

Production hadn't even started, not a single product had been seen, and Lin Sicheng hadn't even published a single Thesis; how did the school and the district government make such an outrageous decision?

At the time, she asked Wang Qi Zhi, but Wang Qi Zhi scoffed: Because the school leaders have eyes, and the district leaders also have eyes.

Do you know how much money that set of Blue and White Porcelain Repair technology could sell for if Lin Sicheng sold it?

Five million, and it would be fought over by every Museum.

And do you know how much money the leaders of Tongchuan were prepared to spend to buy out Lin Sicheng's Yaozhou Porcelain and tea-dust glaze technology after being sarcastically rebuked and threatened by him?

Also five million.

These two items alone were worth ten million; heaven knows how many more technologies Lin Sicheng could derive after he finished investigating the dozen or so kilns in his plan?

Therefore, the school and the district government knew clearly: it was estimated that the remaining twenty percent wouldn't last long and would only be gradually diluted.

But to be honest, did the school and the district government, including Zhao Xiuneng, expect to make money from this center?

What they were after was the technology...

Secretly sighing, she took the couple for a tour, and the four of them entered the office.

The host was explaining the process to Lin Sicheng, while Wang Qi Zhi, Lin Zhangqing, and Shang Yan were sitting on the sofa, studying a document.

A closer look: a shareholding agreement.

Looking at Lin Zhangqing's expression: shock mixed with incomprehension, doubt mixed with astonishment.

Sure enough, even Professor Lin couldn't understand how Lin Sicheng's eighty percent share came about...

Lin Sicheng hurriedly introduced them.

It was hard to tell if it was an illusion, but Lin Chengzhi and Wang Qi Zhi both felt that the other party was very compatible with them?

Their names were similar, and their personalities were too: laziness mixed with cynicism, and a hidden, devil-may-care attitude within their uninhibited nature.

But it wasn't strange: Wang Qi Zhi was a true "Second Generation," and Lin Chengzhi had been raised by Lin Zhangqing to be like this...

After a few pleasantries, Dan Wangshu took the couple to look at the honor wall.

The center had just been created, so there were no collective honors yet, only a few of Lin Sicheng's personal certificates.

Campus Top Ten Student, Outstanding Youth League Cadre, Star of Self-Improvement... these three were school-level awards.

Then, Advanced Individual in Social Practice, Excellence Award for Scientific Research... these were district-level honors.

After that, the National Level Inspirational Scholarship (applied for by the university, approved by the Ministry of Education), as well as the "Advanced Individual in Innovation and Entrepreneurship" awarded by the City Government.

The couple was stunned again: How did they not know that Lin Sicheng had won so many awards?

Looking at the dates, most were concentrated between after the eleventh and January.

Especially that "Xijing City Advanced Individual in Innovation and Entrepreneurship," which was awarded just the week before last, and the position listed was: Deputy Secretary of the Youth League Branch of the Xida Cultural Heritage College, Director of the Science and Technology Innovation Department, Comrade Lin Sicheng...

Comrade... when did Lin Sicheng join the Party?

No, that's not right, when did Lin Sicheng become an official?

The husband and wife looked at each other, feeling an indescribable strangeness in their hearts: it just felt as if a new son had suddenly fallen from the sky.

Just as they were stunned and speechless, laughter came from outside, and four or five men and women crowded into the exhibition hall.

A girl with a pretty face and a hint of cleverness in her eyes knocked on the door: "Professor Wang, Professor Shang, Teacher Lin, General Manager Fang is here!"

The three of them were all taken aback: Fang Jingxian?

"Professor Shang, did you send an invitation?"

"We aren't opening a company, why would I send him an invitation?"

Shang Yan thought for a moment, "That day, the night we finished moving the goods last weekend, she called and asked me when Lin Sicheng would have time. I said he wouldn't have any time before the New Year, and I mentioned in passing: the studio is unveiling its monument next week... I guess she remembered it!"

Huh, coming uninvited?

But since they were already here, and had arrived so early...

The few of them hurriedly stood up and went out to greet them together.

Seeing Lin Sicheng, the three siblings offered their congratulations in unison: "Teacher Lin, congratulations, congratulations!"

Afterwards, Fang Jingxian had her younger brother place a carving wrapped in Red Silk on the coffee table: "A small gift, please don't take offense!"

In an instant, the group of people all narrowed their eyes: half because they were shocked, and half because the object was truly quite dazzling.

A golden, bright Roc spreading its wings... shining like this, could this really be copper?

Looking at the size again: the body of the carving was nearly thirty centimeters high, with a wingspan of about sixty or seventy, it should be hollow. But even so, it should weigh two or three kilograms.

Just calculating the price of gold, it would be worth three or four hundred thousand...

This way of giving gifts is truly rare, and the group was quite shaken.

Jiang Yanfei was secretly shocked and lowered her voice: "Director Dan, who is this?"

Wang Qi Zhi had mentioned her, and Dan Wangshu had some impression, so she deliberated: "She can be considered an ordinary friend of Lin Sicheng!"

An ordinary friend?

And it's only "can be considered"...

If an ordinary friend gives a gold carving worth hundreds of thousands, then what about a close friend?