Chapter 236: Do You Want the Kiln Site?

"Pfft," a handful of flour, and white patches bloomed on the dark rosewood cutting board.

The palm-sized dough portions were kneaded in a few quick motions, then "snip, snip," a flurry of cutting, and small, pinky-finger-sized fish-shaped noodles floated up in the pot.

Boiled through, rinsed in water, scooped into the soft, tender red braised pork, and stir-fried a few times—the fragrance was intoxicating.

Shanxi delicacy, red braised pork scissors noodles, also known as stir-fried scissors fish.

Tan Wu had given special instructions; the chef knew Lin Sicheng's habits like the back of his hand and had prepared a special meal.

In truth, the meat was from the same pot, with no special treatment; it was just that the noodles were boiled lightly, scooped out as soon as the water came to a boil.

Thinking that the separately prepared portion must be delicious, Ye Anning took a spoonful and chewed until her cheeks ached.

"It's so hard, how can you eat this?"

Lin Sicheng smiled: "My stomach is strong!"

Ye Anning rolled her eyes and kicked him.

Lin Sicheng picked up his chopsticks and chewed slowly: "Why did you come?"

"The data team has enough hands, and I don't understand the testing, so staying there is just causing trouble. My uncle said he was coming to find you, so I came along..."

"How is the collection task your company assigned to you coming along?"

Ye Anning didn't care: "It only starts at the end of June, there's still plenty of time!"

It was already mid-May; counting it all up, that was only a month. Was that still plenty of time?

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "How about this: since it's just sitting there, help me submit the Shen Du Authentic Work, and the Zhanjing Famille Rose Cup of Empress Xiaoquancheng (Xianfeng's biological mother), and see if they can be selected..."

Ye Anning paused: both items had been examined by experts from the Forbidden City and were as real as could be; how could they possibly not be selected?

The former had an "Imperial Inscription," and the latter was an imperial vessel of the Qing palace; if they went to auction, they wouldn't necessarily be the grand finale, but they would at least rank in the top few.

Wang Qi Zhi was sitting right next to them and blurted out: "It's just to handle the errand for her, why would you need two? The Shen Du Authentic Work is enough..."

Ye Anning didn't speak and pursed her lips: Don't I know that?

My uncle really talks too much.

After finishing the noodles, the group sat under a tree to enjoy the shade.

While chatting, with a "screech," a Mercedes-Benz stopped at the entrance of the Village Committee, and Zhao Xiuneng jumped out of the passenger seat.

Following behind him was Zhao Da, carrying a padded box in his hand.

"Oh, Professor Wang is here too?"

"Secretary-General Tan, no need to trouble yourself, we already ate in the county..."

After exchanging greetings, the father and son walked over carrying the box, and Wang Qi Zhi had Ye Anning fetch two folding stools.

The two sat down, and Zhao Xiuneng opened the box: "Collected it just this morning, it's a bit strange, and I'm not quite sure about it, so I brought it over for my junior fellow apprentice to take a look."

Even Zhao Xiuneng wasn't sure?

Wang Qi Zhi became interested and leaned forward.

A white porcelain bowl, with an everted rim that was slightly thickened. The body color was pure white, and the clay was solid and dense.

The glaze color was beautiful, white and lustrous, with an even texture that gave it a slightly translucent, jade-like quality.

Tapping it sounded like gold or stone. Turning it over to look at the base, the center of the bottom was concave, leaving a small circular ring.

"The body is a bit thick, but the glaze color is fired well, and it's a bit like the white porcelain shards collected earlier. The only thing is, it's too new; it doesn't look like an antique, it looks like it was just fired."

Wang Qi Zhi looked at it carefully: "General Manager Zhao, where did you collect this?"

"This morning, just as I was about to go out, the front desk called and said someone had left something for my junior fellow apprentice. I went down to look, and the person had already left, leaving only a bowl... Oh right, they also left a phone number!"

Zhao Xiuneng reached into his pocket and pulled out a hotel memo pad.

It was a mobile number, very distinctive, clearly a Taiyuan number at a glance.

Wang Qi Zhi frowned: "What does this mean?"

"I don't know! I didn't even see the person; the waiter said it was a man in his fifties who left the bowl and walked away, only saying it was a gift for Junior Fellow Apprentice Lin, and nothing else."

How strange?

No name, no reason, just giving a bowl to Lin Sicheng?

While they were suspicious, Lin Sicheng squinted and picked up the bowl, and Wang Qi Zhi was stunned again.

They had been teacher and student for nearly a year; Wang Qi Zhi knew Lin Sicheng's personality all too well. It could be said: if a knife were held to Lin Sicheng's neck, not only would he not change his expression, he might even smile at you.

But this time, Lin Sicheng was exceptionally grave: his brows were furrowed, his eye sockets slightly tightened, and his eyes were unblinking.

He first looked at the glaze, then the base, tapped it, and then touched it.

Finally, he put the bowl down, but kept his eyes fixed on it, motionless.

Thinking he had been stumped, no one spoke. After a long while, Lin Sicheng pointed to the bottom of the bowl: "This is Tang Porcelain, a Thick-lipped Jade-wall-bottom White-glazed Bowl!"

What?

Wang Qi Zhi was startled and suddenly lowered his head: No... how could this bowl be this new?

Looking closely again: the glaze was oily and bright, like silver and snow, without a single line or mark. Let alone signs of aging, he couldn't even find a trace of patina.

Looking at the base again, it was pure white and delicate, warm and smooth, without any stains of erosion.

If Lin Sicheng said this was new porcelain, Wang Qi Zhi would believe it one hundred percent. But if he said it was Tang porcelain... in any case, no matter how he looked at it, he felt it was impossible.

Subconsciously, he turned his head: Zhao Xiuneng didn't look any better, his neck stretched forward, eyes slightly bulging, with a look of being "dumbfounded."

Because it was too new, that was why Zhao Xiuneng said he wasn't sure. He had guessed that this might be an old object, but no matter how old, it couldn't be as old as the "Tang" dynasty?

It wasn't just the two of them; everyone, one by one, was stunned.

Lin Sicheng explained patiently: "What the appraisal and auction circles call 'as new' refers to this type: that is, porcelain that has been passed down for hundreds or thousands of years, yet basically shows no signs of aging, remaining as if it were new."

"The reason for its formation is not complex: first, it was stored in a sealed box away from light, avoiding cleaning, wiping, and physical wear from moving. At the same time, there was basically no human contact, so there was no contamination or erosion from oil, sweat, etc. Therefore, there is no patina layer formed by 'glassy aging'."

"But the most critical point: the quality of the body and glaze is top-tier. That is, high-purity fetal clay, high-purity glaze material, high-temperature firing, with a hard and dense glaze surface that has extremely strong anti-aging capabilities."

"It is very rare, but it is not difficult to identify!"

Lin Sicheng took out a magnifying glass and tilted the Bowl again:

"No matter how well it's preserved, no matter how new it looks on the outside, after over a thousand years, the interior of the porcelain must have undergone changes... Look here, this is the restructuring of the mineral structure within the glaze, forming flocculent spots and crystal-like formations... If you use instruments, like an X-ray or a vitrification analyzer, it would be even more obvious..."

Several people leaned forward in unison: under the magnifying glass, one could vaguely see milky-white flocculent threads like those only found inside jade, as well as faintly glowing transparent spots...

Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng exchanged a glance: it wasn't hard to appraise, but that was under the premise of having seen and understood it before, just like Lin Sicheng.

Just like the two of them, they were knowledgeable and experienced enough, but today was the first time they had truly had their eyes opened.

Ye Anning had heard of it, but she had never seen it.

She thought for a moment: "I think there are some in the Forbidden City."

Of course.

In the late 1980s, more than twenty pieces of porcelain were unearthed from the Famen Temple Underground Palace (Baoji, Shaanxi). In addition to thirteen pieces of Yue Kiln green-glazed Secret Color Porcelain, there were also eight pieces of Tang Dynasty Xing Kiln White Porcelain.

Because they were all sealed in boxes and stored in a cellar, the twenty-one pieces of ancient porcelain had basically not oxidized. When they were first dug up, they gave the Experts a huge shock: they were even newer than pieces just out of the kiln.

Afterwards, the thirteen pieces of Secret Color Porcelain were sent to the Shaanxi History Museum, while the eight pieces of White Porcelain were borrowed by the Forbidden City, and then it became like Liu Bei borrowing Jingzhou.

But that was the Forbidden City; it wouldn't be strange regardless of what kind of rare objects it kept in its collection.

As far as Lin Sicheng knew, the oldest "like-new" porcelain in private collections was the Ming Xuande blue-and-white Sanskrit-inscribed monk-cap pot collected by Christie's from the UK, which was only six hundred years old.

But this Bowl was from the Tang Dynasty? Even if it were from the late Tang, it would be eleven hundred years old.

One more point: to achieve an extremely strong anti-aging glaze surface, in addition to high-purity Fetal Clay and Glaze Material, it must be glazed under extremely high-temperature conditions. The minimum kiln temperature would have to be 1,400 degrees.

Yet during the Tang and Song dynasties, the Xing Kiln and Ding Kiln, which had the highest kiln temperatures, only reached about 1,300 at most. Therefore, to fire such a Bowl, besides technology, one also needed luck...

Several people listened in a daze: according to Lin Sicheng's explanation, even if this Bowl didn't reach the level of a unique piece, it could definitely be called a treasure.

Therefore, this was no longer a question of how much it was worth, but the kind of piece that could enter the central exhibition hall even if placed in the Forbidden City or the National Museum of China.

But inexplicably, and specifically naming him, it was sent to Lin Sicheng?

To give an example: who would send millions or tens of millions to someone they didn't even know for no reason?

What was even stranger was that they only left a phone number, didn't say another word, and didn't even leave a name?

Such a bizarre thing, they had never even heard of it...

Looking at the phone number on the sticky note, Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "It should have been fired around here!"

Feeling a "buzz" in his brain, Tan Wu felt his scalp tingle: "Teacher Lin, where did you say?"

"Guzhen!" Lin Sicheng flipped over the bottom of the Bowl, "This is Guzhen Porcelain Clay!"

The group was stunned again.

Having been here for more than two months, they had collected no fewer than six or seven hundred broken pieces and porcelain shards, and Lin Sicheng had handled them more times than he could count.

Laboratory tests were done every day; the elemental composition ratios, the changes in the texture of the fetal body, and the color of the glaze were already carved into Lin Sicheng's brain. Could he really be wrong just by comparing the texture of the fetal body?

The problem was, this was Tang Porcelain?

What did that mean? It meant the porcelain-firing history of the Hejin Ancient Kiln was even earlier than the Song and Jin periods Lin Sicheng had speculated, dating back at least a thousand years.

With a "zing," Tan Wu's eyes lit up like light bulbs.

But Lin Sicheng couldn't be happy: who had nothing better to do than send someone such an expensive item?

No matter how he thought about it, it reeked of suspicion and strangeness...

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment, took out his phone, and dialed the number on the sticky note.

The group perked up and pricked up their ears.

It rang five or six times before the call was answered, and a mellow voice came from the other side: "Hello, who is this?"

"Hello, my surname is Lin, Lin Sicheng!"

"Eh? Teacher Lin, hello, hello..."

After replying, the voice lowered slightly, "Dad, the call has come through!"

"Ask him to come over, we'll talk when he gets here!"

"Sigh, alright... Teacher Lin, my father is getting on in years, and his legs and feet aren't very nimble. If you have time, could you come to Taiyuan?"

Of course.

To have an antique worth millions, or even tens of millions, sent over for no reason, inexplicably, without saying why it was sent, and not even leaving a name?

Furthermore, it happened to be related to the ancient kiln in Guzhen that he was desperately searching for. It was like falling asleep and having a pillow drop from the sky.

Never mind Taiyuan, even if it were Guangdong or Hainan, Lin Sicheng would have to go.

"Alright!" He nodded, "May I ask the old gentleman's surname?"

"My father won't let me say; he said if you hear his name, you might not come!"

How could that be?

Lin Sicheng was stunned, then smiled: "Alright, then how should I contact you?"

"Teacher Lin, call me when you arrive in Taiyuan, and I'll come to pick you up!"

"Alright, then I'll trouble you!"

"You're too kind!"

After Lin Sicheng hung up the phone, the group felt even more strange: they had said five or six sentences, but other than asking him to go to Taiyuan, nothing useful had been said.

The key was, when asked for their surname, they actually didn't dare to say it?

Wang Qi Zhi had a sudden thought: "Could it be... surnamed Yu?"

Surnamed Yu?

Yu what? The Yu Dahai who shook the Sanqin region and dug up the Zhang Anshi Tomb?

Lin Sicheng shook his head.

Being able to send the item to the hotel showed that they had a clear grasp of his recent whereabouts, and more importantly, they had already figured out his background clearly.

If it really were Yu Dahai, he would have already sent Lin Sicheng to eat a bullet; why would he need to send a bowl worth millions or tens of millions and then invite him to Taiyuan?

Looking at the bowl in his hand, and connecting the events before and after, nine times out of ten, it still relates to the ancient white glazed porcelain kiln site he is currently searching for.

But to be safe, it is better to be careful. After all, what Lin Sicheng does are things normal people do not do.

Wang Qi Zhi looked at Tan Wu, "Secretary-General Tan, can you look up that number?"

"Alright!"

Tan Wu nodded and stood up to make a phone call. In no time at all, there was a result: the owner of the phone is surnamed Zhang, a Section Chief at the Taiyuan Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and this mobile number has been used for nearly ten years.

Taiyuan Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Section Chief, surnamed Zhang?

Searching through his memories, let alone this life, even in his previous life, Lin Sicheng did not know such a person.

But at least he could be certain, they were not a bad person.

He picked up that white porcelain bowl and put it into the brocade box: "Teacher, Senior Brother, are you going?"

Of course they were going.

Not to mention what connection this bowl has with the Guzhen ancient kiln that Lin Sicheng is currently looking for, just ask who would be bored enough to send someone such an expensive antique?

Was he not afraid that Lin Sicheng would take this bowl and run?

And why invite Lin Sicheng to Taiyuan, and what were they planning to discuss?

It is no exaggeration: Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng were as curious as a cat scratching in their hearts.

Just in case, Wang Qi Zhi had Tan Wu call two criminal police officers from the Municipal Bureau to accompany them. Nine people, three cars, headed straight for Taiyuan.

Less than four hundred kilometers, it took almost four hours to drive.

Just after getting off the expressway, Lin Sicheng dialed that number again.

It only rang twice before the call was connected: "Teacher Lin!"

"Hello, we have arrived!"

"Eh, so fast? Teacher Lin, please wait a moment..."

It was as if the microphone had been covered, the voice was not very clear.

But it didn't last long, just a few seconds, and the voice became clear again: "Teacher Lin, ask the driver, he should know Bell Tower Street, we are at Ganhexiang next to it!"

Lin Sicheng replied and hung up the phone.

Not only did the driver know, he also knew: the only "Time-Honored Brand of China" in the Shanxi tea industry.

Founded during the Xuantong years, it was a well-known tea house in Taiyuan during the Republic of China period, and it has been in business for over a hundred years to this day.

The most famous is the jasmine tea, which is delicious and not expensive: the cheapest is twenty yuan per jin, and if you drink it in the tea house, you can sit for a whole day for three yuan a cup.

In his previous life, when he came to Shanxi to provide technical guidance, Lin Sicheng came here often...

It wasn't far, just three kilometers from the expressway exit, and they arrived in the blink of an eye.

A two-story small building, still in the style of the Republic of China period, with green walls and gray roofs, wooden doors and red windows.

A man of about fifty years old was standing at the entrance. Seeing two Shaanxi A license plates and one Shanxi M license plate pull up, he quickly walked down the steps.

As soon as Lin Sicheng got out of the car and stood steady, a pair of hands reached out: "Teacher Lin, nice to meet you, nice to meet you!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Nine people, men and women, old and young. As old as Zhao Xiuneng, as young as Zhao Da. As elegant as Tan Wu, as tall and strong as the two police officers.

Yet this man recognized Lin Sicheng at a glance, which shows how well he knew him.

The key was that he was overly polite; not only did he reach out with both hands, but he also bowed slightly.

Lin Sicheng hurriedly shook his hand: "Hello, what is your honorable surname, sir?"

"I don't deserve to be called sir!" The man smiled, "No need for formalities!"

No... it's come to this point, and you don't even dare to say what your surname is?

Besides, this isn't a den of tigers or a nest of wolves; could it be that I would be scared away just by hearing your surname?

Secretly suspicious, Lin Sicheng pointed to the brocade box in Zhao Da's hand: "Was that white bowl sent to Hejin by you, sir?"

"Yes, my father asked me to send it!" The man smiled, "Teacher Lin, my father is upstairs, let's go up and talk!"

"Alright!"

Lin Sicheng followed the man, and the others followed behind.

After going up to the second floor, the man led Lin Sicheng into a fairly large private room.

It had the layout common to tea rooms: rosewood tea tables, master chairs, with sofas and coffee tables on the side, and a mahjong machine placed by the window.

There were several antiques on the tea table, and people were sitting on both sides, six or seven men and women, none of them young; the youngest should be the man who went to pick him up, and the rest were all around sixty or seventy.

Sitting in the center at the head of the table was an old man with snow-white hair and a thin, short stature.

Hmm, this one should be the oldest, at least eighty or more... eh, that's not right!

After a rough glance and a shift in thought, just as he was about to say hello, Lin Sicheng paused.

Then, he turned his head again and looked at the man who brought him up: these two, their faces were like they were carved from the same mold, could they not be father and son?

But the point was not this, but rather that he knew this old man.

Of course, from his previous life.

Shui Jisheng, a native of Shuocheng, Shanxi, graduated from the Jiangxi Provincial Ceramics Vocational School (Jingdezhen) in 1945, and was later assigned to the Shanxi Industrial Company. After the liberation, he entered the Taiyuan Light Industry Bureau.

Since then, he has devoted his life to ceramics research and ceramics archaeology, investigating more than 70 ancient kiln sites throughout the province. Famous sites that are peerless in Shanxi, such as the Hunyuan Kiln, Jiexiu Kiln, and Bayi Kiln, were all archaeologically discovered and excavated under the direction of Mr. Shui.

At the same time, he presided over the restoration of lost techniques: including Pingding Sandware, Pingding Black Glaze Carved Flower Porcelain, Shanxi Glaze, Chengni Inkstone, and so on and so forth.

Half of the lost crafts that have been restored and included in the National Level Intangible Cultural Heritage list in Shanxi were restored under the guidance of Mr. Shui.

When he retired in 1990, he was already the Chief Engineer of the SX Province Light Industry Department, Chief Engineer of the SX Province Glass and Ceramics Research Institute, a member of the China Arts and Crafts Committee, a director of the Chinese Ancient Ceramics Research Association, and a Senior Engineer of Ceramics.

It can be said that: he is not only the pioneer and founder of the Shanxi ceramics industry, but also the core figure in the protection of Shanxi's traditional culture.

Besides that, he is also a highly authoritative appraisal Expert and scholar in the country. His book, "Reference Series on Microscopic Trace Identification of Historical Famous Kilns," covers all kiln systems and all famous porcelains from the Tang Dynasty to the Republic of China.

From analyzing the body, glaze, bubbles, crackles, patina, aging, porcelain clay, Glaze Material... and other microscopic traces, it serves as an ancient porcelain scientific identification specimen Treasury that provides a scientific basis for appraisal.

Even now, Lin Sicheng keeps a copy by his bedside, flipping through it whenever he has time.

He is not the only one studying it; any Expert involved in porcelain appraisal inevitably cannot bypass it, including the porcelain Experts at the Forbidden City.

It was probably around 2014 when the Forbidden City invited him to give a lecture. At that time, Lin Sicheng even made a special trip to seek his advice...

At this point, Lin Sicheng finally understood why the mobile number left behind belonged to the Federation of Literary and Art Circles: he is not only an archaeologist and scholar of Ceramics, but also a famous calligrapher and seal carver.

Lin Sicheng knew even better why his son would never dare to say what his father's surname was.

In Shanxi, whenever it involves archaeology or ceramics, this person is an insurmountable mountain that one absolutely cannot bypass. The surname Shui is so rare, and combined with that White Glazed Bowl, anyone with a little bit of expertise could guess it was him.

Honestly, if Lin Sicheng had known it was this person, he would never have come, even if it killed him.

In fact, he was already thinking about running away.

Thinking it over: the old man's son found the hotel directly, which shows that he had already understood everything clearly and plainly before coming.

This includes his own search for the Guzhen ancient kiln, which samples he had collected, and roughly what kind of Artifact Research he had done.

Furthermore, the moment he saw that bowl, Lin Sicheng concluded: the Egg-white Jade Craft of Guzhen White Porcelain originated from the very kiln that fired that bowl.

The old man has spent a lifetime in archaeology and a lifetime studying porcelain; how could he not know the value of this bowl?

There is no need for testing; by comparing it with a porcelain shard he had collected himself, he could guess what Lin Sicheng wanted to do: to restore the Egg-white Jade Craft while keeping it hidden from Hejin and Yuncheng.

The key point is, a unique piece of porcelain worth millions, perhaps tens of millions, and he just gives it away like that?

To put it nicely, this is called "buying horse bones with a thousand gold." To put it bluntly: if you don't risk the child, you won't catch the wolf...

But since he was already here, could he really just run away without even saying hello?

Sighing, Lin Sicheng bent at the waist and bowed: "Hello, Mr. Shui!"

"Eh?" The old man was startled, "We have met!"

Lin Sicheng shook his head and pointed at the old man's hands.

The old man raised his hands to look, and suddenly realized: how much porcelain must one touch, and how much Iron Oxide must seep in, to stain the skin on one's hands that shade of brownish-black?

Tsk, impressive; these eyes are truly like knives.

Secretly praising him, the old man was a bit suspicious again: "In Shanxi, I am not the only one who has studied porcelain for most of my life; how did you know I was me?"

Lin Sicheng pointed to the case: "Because of that bowl!"

Eh, it really was?

How would an ordinary person know what Guzhen ancient kiln Lin Sicheng was looking for, or what connection it had to this bowl?

"Sit first!" The old man stood up, leaned on his cane, and walked over to the sofa, "Everyone sit!"

"Okay!" Lin Sicheng nodded and walked over.

The others followed behind, confused, and sat down one by one.

A waiter brought tea, a fine Floating Jasmine.

The old man made a gesture of invitation: "Little Lin, I'll call you that, is that alright?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "That's fine!"

"Good!" The old man smiled, "Then let's discuss something?"

Lin Sicheng paused and sighed: "Mr. Shui, let's get this straight first: I don't want the bowl!"

As if he had expected this long ago, the old man was not surprised at all and leaned back gently: "You don't want the bowl, is that right? Then do you want the kiln site?"

(End of chapter)