Chapter 266: It

"Lin Sicheng, go to Beijing!"

Wu Hui's words were earnest, his attitude sincere, "There is a bigger stage there, a broader world!"

Lin Sicheng paused slightly: "Department Head Wu, what could I do if I went?"

"Conduct research, perform Artifact Restoration, what can't you do?"

"Can I also run a Restoration Center this big?"

Wu Hui was stunned for a moment: he could run one, but if compared to this place, there was truly no comparison.

If he went to Beijing, he would need to rent a venue, buy equipment, and recruit staff; which of those didn't cost money?

But here, the building was provided for free by the school, and the personnel were basically recruited internally by the school, including administrative staff, support staff, core Researchers, and even people like Shang Yan and Wang Qi Zhi.

The school paid their salaries; Lin Sicheng paid them based on his mood, at most providing some subsidies and bonuses.

How much money was that?

Even calculating conservatively, it saved at least several million a year.

Wu Hui thought for a long time: "My meaning is, you could enter the Cultural Relics Bureau; with your ability, you could completely be in charge of projects independently! Regardless of anything else, there is, after all, a gap between the provinces and Beijing."

"There is indeed a gap, but Department Head Wu, can one really be completely independent?"

Lin Sicheng smiled, "Can the team be built entirely by me, recruiting from wherever I want? If I want to divide it into several groups, recruit several Researchers, or even decide specifically who to recruit, or perhaps not recruit Experts and instead use more Masters and Interns, will absolutely no one interfere?"

"If I say how the money in the account should be spent, can it be spent that way? If I choose what equipment to use, what materials to bring in, and which manufacturer's Reagent to select, can I have the final say? Will the finance and procurement departments interfere, and will the subordinate enterprises have objections?"

"And even, if I say how the experiments should be conducted, which ones should be done and which should not, whether to do ten groups or over a thousand, or even do none at all and just fill in the data... and so on and so forth, can it all be decided by my word alone?"

Wu Hui was left speechless, not knowing how to refute him.

At first thought: Lin Sicheng, do you think this is your own home?

Haven't you read the newspapers? How many laboratory Persons in Charge have gone to jail in a year for unauthorized misappropriation of research funds?

There are equipment departments, there are procurement departments; you should just focus on research, why worry about so many idle things?

Of course, team building should be based on your suggestions, but with so many research departments and so many Experts in the Bureau, where is the need to recruit people from outside?

Not recruiting Experts and only using Masters and undergraduates... you are running a laboratory, not a training class.

And don't even talk about Lin Sicheng; even if it were Wang Qi Zhi, it wouldn't work. No matter how good the background, facing the entire collective, one would still be powerless.

Otherwise, why would Wang Qi Zhi leave a perfectly good Ministry position to run to Shaanxi?

Therefore, in any other setting, or with any other person, Wu Hui would likely have laughed out loud.

But looking at Lin Sicheng, he couldn't spit out a single word: because here, Lin Sicheng was doing exactly that.

Wang Qi Zhi had said more than once: apart from meetings and bringing school leaders for tours, the school leaders didn't even come by usually.

There were people stationed from the Municipal Cultural Bureau and the Cultural Relics Bureau, but those two Section Chiefs were equivalent to megaphones and part-time clerks: now, if the center had any documents to send or reports to be approved, there was no need for Wang Qi Zhi or Lin Zhangqing to step in; those two would fight to do it.

Not to mention core research personnel; if Lin Sicheng didn't give the word, not a single extra Intern could be recruited into the center. Including equipment and materials, Lin Sicheng said which to use, and that was what was used. The school and the Cultural Bureau at most asked for a list afterward for filing and backup.

And as for the laboratory: whether it was here or the key laboratory under Wang Qi Zhi's name, wasn't it exactly as Lin Sicheng said: no Experts recruited, primarily Masters?

Including all experimental plans, it was as if Lin Sicheng had written the formulas and listed the calculation steps, and the experimental group only needed to fill in the numbers and verify them.

Whether it was a Group Leader or a Researcher, I say how to do it, and you just follow along.

If it were replaced by an Expert: "Go to hell, I'm here to do academics, not to be a clay figurine for you to mold however you want."

But if one were to say that doing research this way definitely wouldn't work, then how were Lin Sicheng's BTA results researched?

Of course, there are gains and losses; Xijing has great limitations, research resources are relatively scarce, and opportunities are much fewer; this is an indisputable fact.

For example, the BTA that Lin Sicheng is currently researching; if it were in Beijing, even if it couldn't be applied for as a key project, it would at least be in the category of the Natural Social Science Fund. The approved research funding would be at least in the tens of millions.

But if one carefully did the math, Lin Sicheng felt that the cost-performance ratio was actually not high.

"My teacher advised me last year, and I said at the time that I would definitely go to Beijing, but it must be when I can have the final say alone, when I can make all those who doubt me shut up!"

Lin Sicheng smiled, "Department Head Wu, don't mind me saying the truth: many times, ability is secondary. You do a lot, but the return is not necessarily high, just like this time in Shanxi..."

Wu Hui was speechless.

In Shanxi, Lin Sicheng's ability was strong enough and his performance was outstanding enough, but what was the result?

The main strategy was to fatten the pig before slaughtering it.

If he went to Beijing, the result might be even worse than Shanxi; it was very likely that they wouldn't even give him the chance to get fat.

Unless, you could be strong enough to make everyone shut up.

Wu Hui sighed.

He was eager to cherish talent, only thinking that if Lin Sicheng went to Beijing, there would be more opportunities and greater achievements. But he hadn't thought about whether, once you had results, you could keep them?

Therefore, one still needs to settle down.

Wait until Lin Sicheng has enough honors and enough influence, to the extent that no one dares to harbor crooked thoughts easily.

And doing research is nothing more than taking on more projects, producing more results, and publishing more Thesis papers...

He thought for a long time, "You should make plans for this BTA Corrosion Inhibition research as soon as possible, and the Thesis should be published. If you encounter obstacles or have difficulties, have your teacher call me at any time!"

"Thank you, Department Head Wu!"

Lin Sicheng thanked him and exchanged a look with Wang Qi Zhi.

Not a single Thesis had been published, and not even a report on the results had been submitted; why did Wang Qi Zhi dare to let Wu Hui see the core data and materials directly?

Because of his understanding of Department Head Wu and his trust in his character.

Wang Qi Zhi was even certain that once Wu Hui saw the report, he would never let those results sit in Lin Sicheng's computer gathering dust.

And sure enough...

"And as for Shanxi, what are your plans?" Wu Hui sighed, "You aren't really going to be like what Old Sun said, preparing to work as free long-term labor for us?"

This wasn't wasting talent; this was ruining talent...

"I will definitely work, but it definitely won't be for long!"

Lin Sicheng said half-jokingly, pushing open the door to the material room, "Department Head Wu, please come in for a tour first!"

Wu Hui was stunned for a moment before he remembered: what were he and Sun Jiamu doing in Xijing?

Looking at Luanbai Jade samples...

He stood up: "Your teacher dragged me and Old Sun along for half a month with lies and deception; did you finally gather enough?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "It's alright, at least it's enough to use!"

The two joked as they entered the material room, with Wang Qi Zhi following closely behind.

The place was quite large, with shelves neatly arranged and filled with broken wares.

There were complete pieces too, but only a few.

Boxes were placed all around, totaling more than a dozen. There were White Glazed Pillows, Sancai Pillows, as well as bowls, plates, cups, stem cups, and also vases and bottles.

They were basically all white glaze, with both coarse porcelain and fine porcelain.

At first, Wu Hui didn't pay much attention and walked past them, but he suddenly realized something was wrong and turned back.

A Dark Pattern High-Foot Cup, its glaze color white with a hint of yellow, revealing a bright white Ivory color. The key was that the porcelain body was extremely thin.

The bowl wall should have been slightly thicker, but the lip at the rim was less than a millimeter.

It was also extremely light when held in the hand, and looking at the glaze color again, it looked exactly like Ding Kiln white.

Tilting the light slightly, Wu Hui shook his head again: this is a Corundum Mullite crystal phase, a crystal structure with α-AlO as the main body, and the porcelain clay is characterized by high aluminum and low calcium.

But Ding Kiln porcelain clay is high-aluminum and high-calcium clay, and the glaze material is a calcium glaze system, which forms a glassy glaze texture after firing.

Since it is not Ding Kiln, then what kiln is it?

As these thoughts turned, Wu Hui looked at the bottom foot and then at the patina, and then, he was suddenly stunned.

Looking at the era, it was either Jin or Yuan, and the possibility of it being Yuan dynasty was even greater.

But when had the Yuan dynasty ever fired such thin White Porcelain?

Turning it over and over, looking at it several more times, Wu Hui became increasingly bewildered: it seems, it really is Yuan dynasty?

Just as he was secretly exclaiming at the rarity and preparing to ask Lin Sicheng, he froze the moment he turned around.

There were a few more pieces on the shelf next to him; although they were broken, they felt exactly the same as the one in his hand.

Exactly the same body, exactly the same glaze.

The key was the two pieces behind: one was carved with purple patterns, and one was carved with ochre red.

Although the patterns were incomplete, Wu Hui's eyes weren't blind; how could he not recognize that half of a purple phoenix wing and two Jiang-red dragon claws?

And it was even a Five-Clawed Dragon Pattern?

He set down the High-Foot Cup and grabbed the two porcelain shards.

Corundum phase, high-aluminum body, all four pieces were the same, with no difference from that high-foot bowl.

And the longer he looked and the more he understood, the more baffled Wu Hui became: not only was it Yuan dynasty White Porcelain, but it was also Tribute Porcelain?

He put down the porcelain shards and swept his gaze left and right, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

He hadn't noticed before, but looking carefully now: two shelves, five or six boxes, all filled with this kind.

Corundum phase, high-aluminum body, Fine White Porcelain...

But the Yuan dynasty had no White Porcelain; this is a consensus. There are no historical records, and no physical objects have been unearthed.

Including the Jingdezhen Official Kiln, Dehua Kiln, and Longquan Kiln of that time, they only fired White Porcelain with white-ground carving or painted flowers.

Yet here, so many had suddenly appeared?

But this was only one point.

Secondly, after the Song dynasty, anything with five claws must be Imperial Porcelain, and what fires Imperial Porcelain must be an Official Kiln. There was only one Official Kiln in the Yuan dynasty: Jingdezhen.

But these two pieces were clearly not fired in Jingdezhen.

Jingdezhen used Macang Clay, but these were high-aluminum clay; Wu Hui felt certain he wouldn't misidentify this.

Thinking along these lines, had Lin Sicheng discovered the second Official Kiln of the Yuan dynasty?

As soon as the thought popped up, Wu Hui was startled himself: if this were really the case, those five kiln sites in Hejin wouldn't even amount to a fart.

And the most incredible thing was: regardless of the body quality or the craftsmanship, it was very similar to those Hejin Kiln Fine White Porcelain pieces that Wang Qi Zhi had shown him before.

Which is the Luanbai Jade that Lin Sicheng talked about all day long.

There were differences between the two, but they were small: the Luanbai Jade was fully sintered with a hard body, but these before him likely had insufficient kiln temperature and incomplete atmospheric transformation, leading to an extremely brittle body; he estimated they would shatter if tapped.

From this, it could be inferred that the porcelain before him likely used the firing process of Luanbai Jade, but the inheritance was incomplete, leading to defects in the finished products.

The more he pondered, the more Wu Hui felt the possibility was high, and subsequently, he felt increasingly strange:

Didn't Lin Sicheng coax him and Sun Jiamu to Xijing just to let them see the Luanbai Jade samples?

But he and Sun Jiamu had never believed it: this is ancient porcelain, not cabbage; you can't just pick it up whenever you say, and pick it up by the ton?

But looking at what was before him, this was more than a ton?

He subconsciously raised his head, and that expression of looking at an alien appeared on his face again: "Where did you find these?"

"Huo Prefecture!"

Wu Hui was stunned for a moment and picked up the broken bowl.

*Records of Things* (Late Ming · Gu Yingtai): The Huo Kiln's clay bone is fine and white, all rims are smooth, but it lacks luster and the quality is extremely brittle.

That's right, fine bone, white body, extremely brittle.

But it was too white, lacking a bit of that warm and moist feeling.

The problem is, it also records: Huo Kiln is Peng Kiln, named after the Yuan dynasty Craftsman Peng Junbao who pioneered the firing...

Wu Hui subconsciously turned his head: then where did these Jin dynasty porcelain pillows and White Glazed Bowls with identical body quality and identical craftsmanship come from?

Lin Sicheng explained: "Perhaps the ancients were mistaken, mixing up the Peng Kiln pioneered by Peng Junbao in the Yuan dynasty in Huo Prefecture with the Huo Kiln that was pioneered in the Jin dynasty... I checked the Shanxi Local Chronicles of the Jin dynasty and speculated that Huo Prefecture was established in the third year of Zhenyou (1215) of the Jin dynasty, and subsequently the Huo Yi Kiln was created..."

This was easy to explain: in modern archaeology, there are mix-ups from time to time, let alone by the ancients?

Wu Hui's focus was not on this, but rather: was the Huo Prefecture Kiln a Yuan dynasty Official Kiln?

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "It doesn't count as an Official Kiln; it can only be considered a Tribute Kiln. It is roughly similar to the Official Kiln Supporting Folk Firing of the Ming Dynasty: the authorities determined the vessel shapes and patterns, while the Folk Kiln handled the firing. Once fired, the superior grade entered the palace, the secondary grade was sent to the Ministry of Works for official sale, and the tertiary grade was sold to the public... From this, it can be confirmed that during the Jin and Yuan periods, the Huo Prefecture Kiln at least produced Tribute Porcelain."

"Secondly, through chemical composition analysis of the Fetal Clay and glaze, the Huo Prefecture Kiln and Hejin Kiln used the same type of Fetal Clay and the same firing technique. The only difference is that the Huo Prefecture Kiln did not know how to refine Coke and lacked advanced Wind blowing technology, making it impossible for the kiln temperature to reach 1,400 degrees, which is why the body texture is extremely brittle..."

Wu Hui remained silent.

The items were right there; even without looking at the analysis report, he could deduce a few things.

But he did not understand: Lin Sicheng had just finished surveying the Hejin Kiln, and in only one week, he had found the Huo Prefecture Kiln?

It couldn't have been found; it was more like he knew about it beforehand?

Seeing exactly what he was thinking, Lin Sicheng spoke up immediately: "It was also a coincidence; while collecting Cultural Relics in Yuncheng, I collected some Huo Prefecture White Porcelain."

"Later, Professor Huang analyzed it and said the porcelain body composition was completely identical and the craft lineage was basically consistent, only the kiln temperature was insufficient, leading to the extremely brittle porcelain body. At the time, I only thought it must be a product of the Fine White Porcelain craft at the Hejin Kiln having degenerated after the Song Dynasty..."

"But after surveying the Jin and Yuan kiln sites at Guduo and Shangxia Bamu, I didn't find any similar remains, which made me suspect that the kiln that fired this kind of porcelain might not be in Hejin..."

"After checking historical records and Local Chronicles, I saw the records regarding the Huo Prefecture Kiln, so I thought since I was idle anyway, I might as well take a look. As it turned out, I stumbled upon it by accident, so it was all luck!"

Wu Hui let out a "Ha": he didn't believe a single word!