Chapter 44: Adding a Little Confidence

Wang Qi Zhi stared at Lin Sicheng, feeling quite incredulous.

"Cloisonne is classified as miscellaneous ware, but strictly speaking, it also belongs to bronze!"

"Professor Wang, I know that!"

"What I mean is: has Professor Lin also researched this?"

Lin Sicheng paused: he couldn't let his grandfather take the blame again this time, otherwise, he would be exposed in a minute.

He thought for a moment: "I learned it from books."

This again?

Wang Qi Zhi sighed: "Lin Sicheng, can you dare to be any more full of it?"

"Professor Wang, it's true!"

Lin Sicheng was dead serious, "Professor Zhu Jiajin's *Ming and Qing Palace Enamel Ware Examination* from the Forbidden City, the *Yanjing Eight Wonders: Cloisonne* by the Beijing Enamel Factory and the China Arts and Crafts Society, *Chinese Cloisonne Art* by Chinese Arts and Crafts Master Professor Zhang Tonglu..."

Before he could finish, Wang Qi Zhi waved his hand sharply: "Stop!"

What did a few art appraisal and research theories related to cloisonne count for?

Didn't Lin Sicheng point out every single error in the ironware protection thesis published just last year?

But the same point remained: if one could reach Lin Sicheng's level just by reading a few books, then every university student who had taken courses in Appraisal, Cultural Relics Protection, or Archaeology could become an expert in identification and Cultural Relics Protection.

There would be no need for teachers to instruct them.

But the problem was, Lin Sicheng's level really was very high: if it were truly as his older brother and An Ning said, that he had only barely managed to see those two fish at the bottom of the basin at the time, he himself might not have noticed them either.

Therefore, if it wasn't learned from books, Wang Qi Zhi really couldn't find any other reason for Lin Sicheng.

After thinking, Wang Qi Zhi suddenly sighed: "Then what about the *Draft History of Qing* and the *Qing Palace Archives*?"

Lin Sicheng answered immediately: "I read them in the school library, I memorized them for a long time!"

Wang Qi Zhi opened his mouth, really wanting to curse: who the hell memorizes this stuff if they're a normal person?

Can you even memorize it?

Forget it, this guy is a slippery character; his speed at spinning lies is faster than his speed at fabricating them.

"When the basin was sold, why didn't you go?"

"I got nipped by a dog, didn't I have to go to the hospital for a check-up first?"

Wang Qi Zhi's eyelids twitched: "Where did it bite you?"

"It was close, it just bit off half a pant leg!"

He let out a sigh of relief and pointed at the Sunflower-mouth Plate again:

"Forget it, I won't ask about the rest, but since you sold the item, you have to be responsible to the end. My requirements aren't high: how about this, you ask Professor Lin to step in and help fix the glaze on these two fish...

It's best to use Traditional Enamel Mixing, Traditional Enamel Filling, and Ancient Method Blue Dotting... I'll find whatever raw materials are needed, and Professor Lin can name his price for the Artifact Restoration..."

"The requirements are indeed not high!" Lin Sicheng nodded and took a few glances, "But there's no need for my grandfather to step in, I can do it myself... you don't even need to pay for the restoration."

What the hell?

Lin Sicheng, is this a question of whether or not to pay money?

Wang Qi Zhi widened his eyes: "Did you hear clearly what I said?"

"I heard it clearly: Traditional Enamel Mixing, Traditional Enamel Filling, Ancient Method Blue Dotting... to put it simply: minimal intervention, restoring the original form of the object as much as possible, while simultaneously preserving the historical traces of the original object as much as possible..."

Lin Sicheng's expression was very earnest: "Professor Wang, I'm not lying to you, I really can do it!"

Nonsense, who can't talk a big game?

Wang Qi Zhi didn't doubt Lin Sicheng's appraisal level, but as for restoration... this wasn't a matter of being smart, being a fast learner, or how many times he had followed Professor Lin into the laboratory and watched him perform Artifact Restoration.

One must do it personally, practice over and over again, correct errors over and over again, and even more so, accumulate experience over time...

It's no exaggeration to say that without ten or twenty years of experience in Artifact Restoration, who would dare to claim they make a living at this?

Wang Qi Zhi squinted: "Lin Sicheng, this is Ancient Method Blue Dotting: it requires layered filling of the glaze, layered firing, and repeated testing of the Glaze Material ratio and firing temperature.

Moreover, the composition, oxidation level, and color-changing range of the glaze for each layer of Blue Pointing are different; only after the previous layer is successfully fired can the ratio of the next layer's glaze be mixed.

And the most critical part is: you don't know what the appropriate Kiln Furnace temperature control is for each time, yet you must achieve precise temperature control of the Kiln Furnace."

Isn't that contradictory?

To put it bluntly: it's too old and its origin is unknown, so it's impossible to infer what environments the original object has experienced, or what kind of corrosion and oxidation processes it has undergone.

Therefore, it is difficult to infer the temperature range of the Kiln Furnace each time it was fired during the original object's creation. So it is also hard to deduce how high the temperature should reach when entering the Kiln Furnace for restoration so that the various components in the newly added glaze can fully react to reach the texture and saturation of the original Glaze Layer. Yet, one cannot cause the original Glaze Layer to crack due to the Kiln Furnace temperature being too high.

The point is there's no good way to solve it, so one can only rely on the restorer's experience to adapt to the situation.

And the problem arises again: where would Lin Sicheng get the experience?

"Professor Wang, I really have experience: my grandfather has a small studio at home with an Electric Kiln and Glaze Material, and I often use them to practice."

After a slight pause, Lin Sicheng sighed again: "Besides, no matter how difficult this bronze plate is to handle, could it be harder than that Iron Certificate from before? Even without anyone teaching me, I didn't feel it was that hard to learn..."

Wang Qi Zhi leaned back sharply, the retorts he had prepared all stuck in his throat.

Social science institutions had only just begun to research protection and Artifact Restoration techniques related to ironware, and only a few theses had been published, yet didn't Lin Sicheng understand them?

And he understood them too well: he knew how to test, how to analyze, what methods were the fastest, and he understood systematic maintenance and care procedures even better.

And with no one teaching him, and not having read it in books, where did he learn it?

Compared to that, with Professor Lin, a master, providing personal instruction and constant reminders, shouldn't knowledge regarding ceramic Artifact Restoration be learned faster and better?

The logic holds, but Wang Qi Zhi always felt the reasoning was wrong.

For example: Einstein was just twenty years old when he solved the problem of the photoelectric effect?

"Professor Wang, how about we try it first?"

Seeing him hesitate, Lin Sicheng blinked, his tone revealing a hint of persuasion, "If it's possible, let's borrow the Ceramic Group's laboratory first, a small one will do.

It won't take long, one to two hours; you can first look at the finished effect of the sample Glaze Layer after multiple firings, and then compare it with the original object's Glaze Layer. At the same time, we can also test the safe temperature range for the original object's Glaze Layer when entering the Kiln Furnace..."

Wang Qi Zhi's eyes lit up: That's right, why bother arguing with Lin Sicheng here?

Whether it's a mule or a horse, won't we know once we take it out for a walk?

He stood up immediately and took out his phone: "Let's go!"

I just love this attitude of Professor Wang's—getting straight to work without a hint of hesitation or delay.

Lin Sicheng closed the box in a rather sycophantic manner and held it in his arms.

Li Zhen was somewhat puzzled and kept signaling with her eyes, as if asking: If it's inconvenient for Professor Lin, you could have completely refused, right?

It was hard to explain for the moment, so Lin Sicheng smiled.

With so many research results and so many patented technologies in his head, it would be a real pity not to bring them out.

But this requires time, a process, a suitable excuse, and even more importantly: a Partner who is professional enough, has a strong enough background, and whose character is above the passing grade.

Although they had only worked together a limited number of times, Lin Sicheng felt more and more that Professor Wang was quite good.

Therefore, when necessary, one must instill a little confidence in a potential partner.

For example, right now...