Chapter 264: Stunned

Wu Hui stared at the computer, not knowing what to say.

For just the BTA compounding system, Lin Sicheng had researched five major categories: Solvent-based compounding, Inorganic salt synergy, multi-functional eco-friendly composite corrosion inhibition, Plant-derived-inorganic compounding, and Organic material composite sealing.

How many categories had the Cultural Relics Research Institute and the National Museum of China researched?

The answer was one.

Namely, Solvent-based compounding: using water, acetone, or ethanol as a solvent to improve BTA corrosion inhibition efficiency.

The National Museum of China was slightly shorter, with the project established in 2005, making it about three years now. But the Cultural Relics Research Institute had been researching it for a full nine years.

How much money the two institutions had poured in, only the leaders in the department specifically responsible for project funds likely knew. As for manpower, the two project teams combined had nearly eighty or ninety people, if not a hundred.

Look here again: three experimental groups with sixteen people, plus twenty-four or twenty-five auxiliary staff, not even one-third of that.

Counting from the very first day the laboratory was established, Lin Sicheng had been researching for less than a year; even if all the experimental consumables were replaced with gold, would it amount to one-tenth of the two state-level institutions?

Yet the result was that the effectiveness was actually ten percent higher than the National Museum of China and the Cultural Relics Research Institute?

Even so, the two institutions had already blocked this track tightly, forcing other research organizations to look for alternatives.

Namely, the second type in Lin Sicheng's research report: Inorganic salt synergy.

I remember it was 2000, when Dou Peng, then a master's student in materials science at Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, first proposed: The synergistic effect of BTA and surfactant compounding on the anti-tarnishing performance of copper materials.

Four years later, in 2004, Beijing University of Technology preliminarily confirmed that there was a synergistic corrosion inhibition effect between Tungstate (NaWO) and BTA compounding.

It wasn't until this year that Professor Hu Gang and his team from the Peking University Cultural Relics and Museology College first confirmed that BTA+Sodium Molybdate compounding forms a composite film on the bronze surface, significantly improving corrosion inhibition efficiency.

This is considered the earliest and most significant research achievement in the field of BTA and inorganic salt compounding corrosion inhibition in the country. Even now, it is still in the verification stage, no Thesis has been published, and the news is only circulating within the cultural relics circle.

But in Lin Sicheng's research report, this was merely one item under a root directory—parent directory—sub-directory after sub-directory?

Namely: BTA compounding system—low-toxicity inorganic salt synergy—Molybdate compounding—bronze Cultural Relics corrosion inhibition: BTA+Sodium Molybdate compounding forms 【Cu(I)-BTA】 polymer and MoO composite film on the bronze surface...

If this achievement was plagiarized by Lin Sicheng, then what about the rest?

Wu Hui had never seen Professor Hu Gang's research data and core figures, but having worked for half a lifetime, he could tell at a glance if the data was correct or if there was any fabrication.

He even suspected that Professor Hu's data was likely not as detailed as Lin Sicheng's:

Every section and every link was recorded clearly: how many times the initial test was done, the data for each time, how the parameters were adjusted, the re-test process after adjustment, the reverse verification of data after research success, pre-tests in application environments, design process flows...

It could be said: it was just one step away from being put on a production line for mass production.

And this was just one item within Inorganic salt synergy; not only were there over a dozen similar achievements, but there were also three major categories outside the parent directory:

Multi-functional compounding, Plant-derived-inorganic compounding, and composite material sealing.

Although not a biology Expert, Wu Hui at least knew what Tannic Acid, Catechin, and Polyaspartic Acid were.

The first two came from common plants like grapes and tea leaves, while the latter came from the shells of mollusks like snails.

As for Glucose, anyone who can read knows what that is.

Can these prevent rust, and can they be used as corrosion inhibitors for metal Cultural Relics?

The answer is yes: two thousand years ago, during the pre-Qin period, our ancestors were already using them.

Of course they can be used now, but firstly, there are too many limiting conditions, secondly, the cost is too high, and thirdly, the effect is too weak.

Just the extraction and purification alone would take a massive amount of effort; why leave cheaper, more convenient chemical agents unused?

Although they are toxic, wouldn't wearing a mask suffice?

Therefore, when the projects were initially established, the Cultural Relics Research Institute and the National Museum of China never even considered them.

They also never thought: these things could actually be mixed with inorganic salts and chemical agents?

And they never thought that it could not only reduce the toxicity of the corrosion inhibitor but also increase the corrosion inhibition rate to over ninety-six percent?

What kind of concept is this?

Just to mention one point, the solvent compounding of the National Museum of China and the Cultural Relics Research Institute is seventy-five percent, and Professor Hu Gang's Molybdate compounding is eighty percent...

As for the latter, the organic material composite sealing system only exists in the imagination.

To use an analogy: in an era still riding horses and fighting with matchlock guns, Lin Sicheng brought a group of savages and built a tank.

Don't believe it?

Look at this Zhu Kaiping, the resume of the Researcher specifically executing the experiments: both his Master's and Doctor's degrees were in scientific archaeology, barely touching upon sub-fields like metallurgy and ceramic composition analysis.

But corrosion inhibition technology belongs purely to materials science; what separates the two is not a mountain, but a galaxy.

Look again at the four project teams—the Cultural Relics Research Institute, the National Museum of China, Peking University, and the Beijing University of Technology—which one isn't led by top materials science Experts?

So, if the achievements in the report were researched by this Zhu Kaiping, Wu Hui would dare to chew up his computer and eat it.

He couldn't even explain it if he were given this report and told to read from it.

It was nothing more than Lin Sicheng telling him what to do, and him executing it, copying the cat by drawing a cat, meticulously.

Wang Qi Zhi is slightly stronger, but only to a limited extent: if you gave him this report, he would just barely be able to understand it, roughly equivalent to just barely escaping the category of a savage.

Even Wang Qi Zhi was almost a savage, let alone these people in the laboratory?

But then again, Lin Sicheng hasn't even received his graduation certificate, he doesn't even count as a college student, so how did he research this?

Looking at it again, Wu Hui could no longer hold back, his fingers gripping the mouse trembling: "Give me a laboratory."

Wang Qi Zhi was completely stunned: "Huh?"

"Huh what?" Wu Hui pointed at the screen, "Wang Qi Zhi, do you know what it would mean if these Theses were published?"

Wang Qi Zhi certainly knew, and he also knew what Wu Hui wanted to do: verify.

He also understood: Wu Hui was too shocked, to the point of not daring to believe his own eyes.

"But the problem is, a verification like this takes many days?" Wang Qi Zhi looked puzzled, "Leader, what about the ruins in Shanxi? Are you not going to lead the team for the inspection, not going to provide guidance?"

Guidance, what the hell kind of guidance am I supposed to provide?

Wu Hui stood up abruptly, took out his phone, and walked out while dialing.

Just as he left the laboratory, the call connected, and Wu Hui's voice came from afar:

"Department Head, I need to ask for a few days off."

"It's nothing, I took a fall, might have to stay in the hospital for a few days..."

"Old Sun? Oh, he didn't fall..."

Sun Jiamu's eyes went wide.

He had always worked in administration and was a complete layman, so he didn't yet know how much of a shock this report on the computer was to Wu Hui.

Wang Qi Zhi sighed: To think he could come up with such a lame excuse, it just shows how determined Department Head Wu is, doesn't it?

He turned around, waved his hand, and called Zhu Kaiping over.

If Department Head Wu wanted to verify the results, he couldn't exactly call people in from Beijing, could he?

That would blow the secrecy to hell!

They had no choice but to stop all other experiments and cooperate fully!

And this verification by Wu Hui lasted for a whole week...

At eight-thirty in the morning, just as work began, the molding room in the second-floor experimental area was already packed with people.

A group of people surrounded the Electric Kiln, silent.

The kiln door had been left open all night and had long since cooled to room temperature. Lin Sicheng put on his gloves and used tongs to extract the three saggers.

More than a dozen people held their breath, not even daring to let out a sigh.

After more than half a month of hard work, whether or not there was a return on their investment, whether or not they had succeeded in the firing, all depended on what was inside these three saggers.

He set down the tongs, opened the sagger lids, took one look, and sighed again.

Zhao Xiuneng's heart skipped a beat: Did it fail?

He subconsciously leaned in, and then, he looked as if he had been stunned.

Shang Yan, Li Zhen, Fang Jin, Sun Le (former Assistant), the three group leaders of the research groups, researchers, technicians, assistants, and Interns... more than a dozen people all crowded around.

Just by glancing at it, everyone's eyes lit up in unison:

Two cups and one bowl.

The entire body was lustrous, the glaze color like clear lake water, green showing through white, white flashing with green, as if carved from jade.

The vessel shape was elegant yet delicate, the body thin and moistly bright, like ice and fat, faintly translucent.

Li Zhen's eyes widened slightly, a hint of intoxication passing through them: "How beautiful?"

Zhao Xiuneng nodded in deep agreement, looking at Lin Sicheng: "Senior Brother, you're still not satisfied even after firing it to this level?"

Lin Sicheng was, of course, not satisfied.

He was trying to fire White Glazed Porcelain, but ended up with a kiln of Celadon-White Porcelain?

That would be one thing, but the glaze wasn't even uniform?

Look at those spots right in the middle of the cup wall: at first glance, they look like decorative patterns, but in reality, it was because the heat wasn't mastered well, resulting in pooled glaze.

Of course, he was the only one who wasn't satisfied.

For instance, Shang Yan and Zhao Xiuneng were as satisfied as they could possibly be.

They had only been back from Shanxi for half a month, and today was their first kiln opening; according to their previous estimates, nine times out of ten they would have fired a kiln of bricks (porcelain clay turned to tile), or worse, a kiln of slag.

Just being able to form a glaze was a favor from the heavens; they had never even considered that they could succeed on the first try, let alone produce high-quality pieces.

These three pieces right here were like spending two yuan and winning five million...

The more she looked, the more satisfied she was; Shang Yan picked up the cup and poured half a cup of water into the one without spots.

Then she shone a Flashlight on it.

Suddenly, a series of gasps rang out.

The water was still sloshing, ripples swaying in the cup, but when the beam of the Flashlight hit it, it projected light spots onto the outside of the cup wall?

Streaming light and mirror shadows, fantastic and bizarre.

But looking closer: the cup body wasn't actually that thin, about one millimeter.

So, just how translucent was this?

Sun Le let out a low cry: "Shadow Blue Porcelain?"

Li Zhen was about to say something, but paused and closed her mouth again.

It didn't quite feel like it.

Although she had never seen what the famous Shadow Blue Porcelain looked like, ancient texts recorded: body thin as jade, glaze moist and celadon-white, patterns showing through light and shadow, dim and indistinct.

The first two phrases described the body, glaze, and quality of Shadow Blue Porcelain, while the last two described its translucency.

Since it was "dim and indistinct," it would at most reflect some light and shadow, and certainly wouldn't be like this: where even the lines of the ripples from the water in the cup were projected onto the outside of the cup wall.

Sure enough, Lin Sicheng shook his head: "It's far from Shadow Blue Porcelain, at most it's a bit like the Thin-body Porcelain of Dehua white... *Exploits of Nature* records: plain skin and jade bones, thin as cicada wings, clear as ice, that's about this type... but that is white porcelain, it isn't this green!"

Zhao Xiuneng nodded: "Then, has the craftsmanship for that Dehua white Thin-body Porcelain been restored?"

Lin Sicheng was taken aback: he had really been stumped by that question?

Strictly speaking, not really, at most half-restored. That is, the "thin as paper, white as jade, clear as ice" part—the thinness and the whiteness.

Like this:

Or like this:

If comparing translucency, it might not even match the Eggshell Cup of the Ming Dynasty Chenghua period.

It wasn't that he didn't want it to be translucent, but the different focuses led to technical limitations. So, looking at it from another angle, he had stumbled into filling in the final short board of the Dehua Thin-body Porcelain?

Of course, it wasn't that simple, and besides, what he was currently restoring was the Luanbai Jade of the Song Dynasty, not the Dehua white of the Ming Dynasty.

Was this a case of the donkey's head not matching the horse's mouth?

Secretly mocking himself, Lin Sicheng sighed: It could be considered a failed firing!

He waved his hand: "Senior Brother Fang, put them away!"

Fang Jin put on his gloves, but before he could pick it up, Zhao Xiuneng blocked him: "No... Junior Brother, is this Dehua white thin-body porcelain?"

Lin Sicheng knew what he meant: although the Luanbai Jade hadn't been restored, hadn't they restored the real Dehua white?

The problem was, would the Dehua Kiln acknowledge it?

He sighed: "Senior Brother Zhao, how thin is Dehua white now?"

Zhao Xiuneng froze, his lips moving, but he couldn't say a word.

Shang Yan realized it belatedly, her eyes lighting up: Had Lin Sicheng stumbled upon the solution to the most difficult problem of Dehua white?

But that wasn't right.

Ancient texts recorded that the thinnest Dehua white thin-body porcelain was three millimeters, but how thin was Dehua white now?

Zero point two millimeters, about as thick as paper. That was why there was the saying, "It looks like paper, but it's actually porcelain."

To put it bluntly: the technology tree had been pointed in the wrong direction.

Therefore, even for Lin Sicheng, it was impossible to fire porcelain that was zero point two millimeters thick to be as transparent as ice.

However, it wasn't impossible to solve, and strictly speaking, the three pieces Lin Sicheng had fired were the true Dehua white thin-body porcelain.

That was why Zhao Xiuneng was so excited.

But looking at Lin Sicheng, he seemed to feel that it was "just so-so."

This was because he already knew how to do it; it was equivalent to reviewing his homework from a past life, so there was nothing to be excited about.

Having Fang Jin put away the cups, Lin Sicheng arranged the tasks: those for kneading clay, those for shaping the bodies, and those for mixing the glaze.

After making the arrangements, he sat in front of the computer, preparing to recalculate the oxidation-reduction conversion data.

But just as he turned it on, there was a "thump, thump, thump" sound from outside, and Lin Sicheng turned his head.

Hmm, the teacher and Department Head Wu.

But why did they look like savages?

The two of them looked like they had just run out of the mountains: their eyes were bloodshot, their eye sockets were sunken, their beards were stubbly, and their hair was as messy as a bird's nest.

They were still wearing white lab coats, but they were dirty and wrinkled, like rags. Even from that distance, a sour smell of not having bathed for many days faintly drifted over.

Lin Sicheng looked stunned and stood up subconsciously.

Wu Hui rushed in front of him like the Wind, his eyes burning, looking him up and down as if he were an alien.

Lin Sicheng immediately understood: they had been shocked by the research results of the Iron Artifacts.

With this thought in mind, he smiled: "Department Head Wu, please sit down first!"

(End of chapter)