Chapter 30: If You Break It, I'll Compensate You with a Piece

How much was three hundred thousand in 2007?

If you were in Xijing, you could buy a large apartment in the city center.

If you were in Beijing, even in the center of the universe, Wudaokou, you could buy twenty square meters.

But Lin Sicheng made two phone calls, and not only was the three hundred thousand not enough, he also racked up over one hundred thousand in debt:

One Japanese New Treasure fully intelligent small ceramic electric kiln, 70,000 USD.

One Foshan NKT Laboratory electric wheel-throwing machine, 30,000. Assorted pottery clay, glaze material, and broken porcelain, 60,000.

Fortunately, it was payment on delivery, and luckily he still had an Iron Tile in his hands, otherwise he would have had to rely on his parents.

Just as he was calculating the accounts, the screen lit up: Class is starting soon, why aren't you here yet?

Lin Sicheng typed back: Be there in a second.

……

Practical classes are all held at the Experimental Center, but today they were going to a new laboratory; Lin Sicheng took several turns and sent two text messages to Xiao Yuzhu before he managed to find the place.

The classmates were all waiting at the entrance, not yet inside. However, the door was open, and Lin Sicheng poked his head in to take a look.

The overall layout was very large, and there were many equipment rooms: Spectrometer, Qualitative Analysis, X-ray Imaging, Infrared Scanning, Ultrasonic Cleaning, Multi-functional Cold Welding, Argon Arc Welding, and Metal Restoration—everything was available.

Lin Sicheng was startled: The completeness was secondary; the key was that all the equipment was imported. Counting it all up, it was at least thirty or forty million.

It should count as a treasure of the university; let alone students, even the professors in the department probably hadn't used it many times.

He glanced again at the title on the electronic screen: Copper Artifact Shaping and Reinforcement.

They had only had three classes in total, how could the progress be so fast?

Seeing him standing at the very back, Xiao Yuzhu leaned over and sniffed: Oh, eating without calling me?

But immediately, she saw the bulging pockets of Lin Sicheng's white lab coat: dragon-eye buns on one side, soy milk on the other.

Xiao Yuzhu reached out with a smile, only to be swatted away by Lin Sicheng.

It was indeed brought for her, but look at where they were?

"Dummy, I'm going to the stairwell to eat!"

"There's ten minutes left, will you make it in time?"

"Pfft, why don't you try bringing two more baskets?" Xiao Yuzhu tugged at him, "Let's go!"

"I've already eaten!"

"Who told you to eat? I'm asking you to keep watch!"

"Aren't you capable?"

Xiao Yuzhu let out a "heh": "Next time you want to do something in class, don't come looking for me!"

Huh, come to think of it.

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Let's go!"

The two walked toward the stairwell, and a few cold snorts came from the group, all from girls.

……

The dragon-eye-sized buns, Xiao Yuzhu ate one in a single bite.

Lin Sicheng leaned against the windowsill: "Is this new Professor Wang going to launch a project?"

"Ah, haven't heard?"

It probably hadn't been announced yet, but Lin Sicheng estimated it must have already gone before the university committee.

"Pretty impressive!"

"Who, you mean Professor Wang?" Xiao Yuzhu slurped her soy milk, "Just feels quite young, thirty-five or thirty-six at most, even younger than Professor Shang."

Lin Sicheng smiled.

This wasn't a question of age.

Just teaching undergraduates, yet using the department's largest laboratory, and the course progress was this fast?

Combined with his status as a new hire, this was clearly an attempt to pick out workhorses from the senior undergraduates, or even graduate students.

And from the perspective of Cultural Relics Protection, the most valuable items for research and protection in Shaanxi Province were naturally the bronzes and stone inscriptions from the Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties.

Correspondingly, there were many institutions and units participating in the research, and the overall level of research was high. Often, a single sub-project would be fought over by dozens of units.

Narrowing it down infinitely, the same applied to Northwest University, and even the Cultural Heritage Conservation Department: out of more than a dozen professors, at least one-third researched stone carvings and bronzes.

Therefore, as a newcomer, to be able to snatch a project from the hands of so many seniors, besides having strong connections, one's level had to be high enough.

"You also said he's a concurrent department leader?"

"Yeah, Youth League Committee Deputy Secretary!"

Tsk, technical and administrative, impressive!

The key is this age, and this rank?

Lin Sicheng lowered his voice: "Aren't you planning to take the postgraduate entrance exam? I suggest you don't apply to Peking University, just apply for this!"

"Ah, why?"

"I suspect this might be a golden thigh!"

Once you finish your studies, staying at the university would be a matter of just one word from him.

Xiao Yuzhu was half-believing: "Really?"

"Listen to me, you can't go wrong!"

"I'll consider it!"

She finished the last of the soy milk and was just thinking about where to throw it when footsteps came from the corridor.

Shortly after, the class advisor and Wang Qi Zhi rounded the corner.

Xiao Yuzhu ducked her head, hid the cup behind her back, and pulled at Lin Sicheng: "Let's go!"

But it didn't budge.

He looked up again; Lin Sicheng was like he had been frozen. His eyelids fluttered once, then fluttered again.

No... aren't you at the Baoji Bronze Research Institute?

I haven't seen you in a few days, and suddenly you've transformed into a professor in the Cultural Heritage Conservation Department?

Wang Qi Zhi looked up and immediately beamed.

He had just been thinking: he had taught several senior-year classes, but hadn't even caught a glimpse of this kid; he had finally caught him today.

Yet he hadn't expected him to deliver himself to his doorstep?

"Teacher Yang, you organize the students first!"

"Very well, Professor Wang!"

The class advisor gave a wink, and Xiao Yuzhu followed obediently behind.

Lin Sicheng came back to his senses and was just about to greet him when Wang Qi Zhi got straight to the point: "Did you sell the Iron Certificate?"

How could that be?

"I haven't even cleaned it yet?"

"You haven't cleaned it... then where did you get the three hundred thousand?"

Huh, are those two teaching assistants such blabbermouths?

"I picked up a piece of Vajravarahi at Xiaodongmen and sold it to Rongbaozhai!"

"What thing?"

"From the Yuan Dynasty, a Vajravarahi of Esoteric Buddhism!"

It wasn't that Wang Qi Zhi hadn't heard clearly, but that he was too astonished.

A holy mother of Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism is absolutely a niche item among niche Cultural Relics. To put it without exaggeration: if it were placed in front of him, Wang Qi Zhi might not even be able to recognize it.

It's not strange, though; as the saying goes, every trade has its master, and different professions are like mountains apart.

But why, when it comes to Lin Sicheng, do these two sayings not apply?

The first time it was a contemporary Shen Mansion, the second time it was a Ming Dynasty Iron Certificate, and the third time it was an Esoteric Buddhism artifact.

Not only were the materials vastly different, but the eras were also far apart.

"You found it yourself?"

"Oh, at the time, Professor Shang's teaching assistant, Senior Sister Li Zhen, was there, as well as the student Xiao you just saw."

One teaching assistant, who specializes in ceramics, and the other is an undergraduate... then it certainly has nothing to do with them.

Wang Qi Zhi looked at him thoughtfully: next time he goes to Xiaodongmen, should he take this kid along?

Lin Sicheng didn't notice the strange look on his face and was still staring at Wang Qi Zhi's hands: "Aren't you in Baoji?"

"I was transferred here in June, and I took the opportunity to rest for two months."

"And you're also a leader of the school?"

"What's strange about that?" Wang Qi Zhi adjusted his glasses, "At the Baoji Bronze Museum, I was in charge of the Cultural Relics Protection department!"

Lin Sicheng understood in a second.

With his rank, even if he changed units, he had to be assigned a specific position. But the school probably couldn't arrange it immediately, so they put him in the Youth League Committee.

It was just a bit incongruous.

"Let's have class first, we'll talk later!" Wang Qi Zhi checked his watch, "It's been over a week, why haven't you cleaned the Iron Certificate yet?"

I would like to clean it.

But doing it by hand is too slow, and mixing the chemical solutions is a hassle. If I want to use equipment, I have to find a professional laboratory... huh?

His eyes lit up as he remembered the Ultrasonic Cleaning machine and the multi-functional Metal Restoration device he had just seen.

"Professor Wang, which day do you have a practical class?"

Wang Qi Zhi knew what he was thinking at a glance: "I use the laboratory every day, but the problem is, who are you going to let operate it?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Me!"

You?

Even I can't do it!

Just as Lin Sicheng said when they first met: although copper and iron both belong to metal Cultural Relics, whether it's the factors of corrosion or the conditions for Artifact Restoration, they are worlds apart.

He frowned: "What if you ruin it by cleaning it?"

Lin Sicheng patted his chest: "If I ruin it, I'll pay you for one, no charge!"

Wang Qi Zhi: "Heh..."