Chapter 541: If You Tell Enough Lies, Do You Even Believe Them Yourself?

The secretary was very polite and escorted Lin Sicheng upstairs.

Upon entering the elevator, he stepped back a pace and carefully sized up the young man before him.

He was in his twenties, quite tall, rather handsome, and also quite polite.

There was a scholarly air about him, which fit his current status perfectly: a graduate student at a prestigious university.

Therefore, the secretary could not fathom: how did a kid like this manage to force the entire Administration into such a state of chaos that they couldn't even enjoy the New Year?

While he was secretly pondering this, the elevator reached the seventh floor, and the secretary stepped out first: "Teacher Lin, this way!"

"Thank you!"

Lin Sicheng replied, following the secretary into the office.

It was very spacious, consisting of an outer and an inner room; Li Shichen was standing quietly in the small room reserved for the secretary.

Seeing Lin Sicheng, he reached out his hand first, with a smile that wasn't quite a smile: "Lin Sicheng, a rare guest! It's impressive that you still remember my number." His tone carried a hint of teasing, but it was certainly respectful enough.

Others might not know, but the secretary was very clear: unless a superior arrived, Bureau Chief Li would never come out. Even for peers, he would at most stand in his own office to greet them.

Lin Sicheng was neither humble nor pushy: "Bureau Chief Li, you are too kind; the only leader as high-ranking as you that I know is our university president!"

This was a blatant lie: did he not know Department Head Xiao from the Ministry of Culture, or perhaps Department Head Wu from the Cultural Relics Bureau?

Twitching the corner of his mouth, Li Shichen gestured inward: "Come, let's go inside to talk!"

The two entered the inner room, and the secretary hurriedly poured tea and closed the door.

Li Shichen looked intrigued: "Lin Sicheng, do you know how everyone in the General Administration evaluates you these days?"

Lin Sicheng didn't know, but he could guess: it was nothing more than words like "troublemaker," and the kind that was exceptionally good at stirring things up.

The Inverted Pot was the first time; not to mention how many inspection machines were added at every port and how much money was spent after that incident. Just looking at the regulations and rules from top to bottom: if that stuff were so easy to change, it wouldn't be called a regulation. Just the meetings to discuss it were enough to make the leaders want to vomit.

The batch of porcelain in Guangzhou was the second time; the impact wasn't as bad, and the consequences weren't as severe. But the probability of error was countless times higher than with the Inverted Pot.

The key was that it was hard to inspect; relying solely on machines was useless. Therefore, it wasn't just a matter of changing the system; you also had to produce detailed implementation rules on how to avoid such situations from happening again.

Lin Sicheng could imagine what the situation had been like here for the past few months: meetings in the morning, meetings in the afternoon, and meetings at night. Submit suggestions on Monday, submit supplements on Tuesday, submit reflections on Wednesday. By Thursday, everything would be rejected and sent back for revision, to be resubmitted the following Monday.

Repeating the cycle over and over, writing materials could drive a person insane.

It was easy to imagine how much he, the culprit, was hated here.

Lin Sicheng leaned forward slightly: "I've caused trouble for the leaders!"

This sentence actually caught Li Shichen off guard.

He thought about it very seriously, then shook his head: "Lin Sicheng, you've got it backward!"

Scolding was one thing, and gritting their teeth was another, but Li Shichen was clear on one thing: in every instance, Lin Sicheng had defused a major crisis for Customs and provided a huge help. The Inverted Pot incident went without saying; the leaders were very clear: if something had truly gone wrong, the consequences would have been severe and the nature of the incident atrocious.

The consequences of the Guangzhou incident weren't as severe, and the impact wasn't as far-reaching; the reason it forced them into such a frenzy was simply that it happened to coincide with the outbreak of the global financial crisis, the sharp decline in the world economy, and a window period where the national response was adjusting to major changes in foreign trade structures.

And as luck would have it, Guangdong was the pilot zone, so the problem appeared in Guangdong.

To use an analogy: it was like a patient preparing for surgery having an abscess burst just as they were being wheeled into the operating room.

Having to attend to two things at once, the doctors were flustered and naturally would curse.

But if you asked for his honest opinion: rather than affecting the quality of the surgery or even the patient's subsequent recovery, it was better to solve it all at once. Thinking about it this way: wasn't the timing of this abscess bursting just right?

So, no matter how much the doctors cursed out loud, they were grateful in their hearts. Not to mention the hospital leadership: if they could avoid major errors and medical accidents, being a little busy or tired and working overtime was nothing.

In any case, Li Shichen had never heard a leader in the Administration say a bad word about Lin Sicheng...

Although he thought this way, Li Shichen didn't lower his guard at all. The impression left by the first two times was truly too deep: whenever Lin Sicheng showed up, nothing good ever happened.

The key was, this time he had come directly to the Administration?

Li Shichen had a premonition: nine times out of ten, this was another trap.

"Lin Sicheng, come, have some tea first!" He pointed to the tea cup, "You never visit a temple without a cause; has something gone wrong somewhere again?" His guess was spot on!

"Thank you, Bureau Chief Li!" Lin Sicheng smiled, "There is indeed a small matter, but it's not big, just reporting some issues!"

It would have been better if he hadn't smiled; the moment Lin Sicheng smiled, Li Shichen's heart skipped a beat: "Lin Sicheng, just tell me straight!"

"Alright!" Lin Sicheng put down the tea cup, took out two documents, and opened his phone.

"Two months ago, we ordered a batch of instruments from overseas through Saishi Company. Bureau Chief Li, this is the contract..."

"A week ago, Saishi Company notified us that the equipment had cleared customs and could be delivered at any time. These are the invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, import license, and the inspection documents from the environmental and quarantine departments..."

"Yesterday, Saishi Company notified us for acceptance. These are the photos and videos taken when the crates were opened... Bureau Chief Li, look here, is this the inspection seal from when the equipment was transshipped?"

"And then look at this: this is the equipment nameplate we photographed during installation yesterday; it has detailed model and serial numbers..." Seeing those seals in the pictures, and the words "Hong Kong" and "Shenzhen" in the center of the seals, Li Shichen narrowed his eyes: it came through the Shenzhen port again?

"Lin Sicheng, get to the point!"

"Alright!" Lin Sicheng put down his phone, "The procedures are all legitimate; the contract, invoice, and customs declaration procedures all match up. Even the equipment model and serial numbers after the goods arrived and were unpacked match the various documents."

"However, after our verification: the equipment was swapped; it's all used machines and refurbished machines. A preliminary estimate: the loss is over ten million..." All the procedures matched, yet brand-new equipment had become used equipment?

He knew what Lin Sicheng was going to say: Customs had slipped up.

See, what did I just say? If this kid dared to come find him, it was definitely a trap...

Li Shichen's heart jumped: "Lin Sicheng, why couldn't it have been swapped domestically?"

Lin Sicheng didn't speak; he opened the video on his phone:

The background was the Zhongguancun Desheng Technology Park, where cranes were lifting crates of equipment down.

Suddenly, the camera zoomed in, and a blue seal appeared on the wooden crate: Inspected at Shenzhen Wenjindu Port.

Could this seal possibly be fake?

Since the seal was there, it meant the crate hadn't been opened again after clearing customs. Whatever was in the crate when it was opened was what was in it before clearing customs.

This meant the batch of equipment had already been swapped before clearing customs.

So then: how did Customs inspect it during transshipment and entry, and how did this batch of equipment get in?

Staring at the picture, Li Shichen's eyelids couldn't stop twitching: he just knew that whenever this kid showed up, nothing good ever happened.

See.

He really wanted to ask: Lin Sicheng, did you all verify it wrong?

The words reached his lips, but Li Shichen swallowed them back.

Just ask one thing: since the equipment was purchased through regular channels, why not declare it directly at customs, and why must it be transshipped through Hong Kong?

For example, entering directly through the Tianjin port would not only save one customs clearance, saving a lot of procedures and time, but also save a lot of money. Since it can save money, time, and effort, why not do it?

Li Shichen had spent half his life in anti-smuggling and could see the trick at a glance: because by transshipping through Hong Kong, one can enter the country quickly through "neighboring trade" and "express customs clearance" policies.

With such a transfer, the port will only check the paperwork and examine the physical goods through machine inspection, rather than opening the boxes for review.

As long as there is no contraband hidden inside, it is fine as long as it matches the paperwork: such as equipment certificates, certificates of origin, serial numbers, etc. Conversely: even if there were an inspection by opening the boxes, with current inspection capabilities, it is estimated that they wouldn't be able to find anything.

Otherwise, how did so many second-hand pieces of equipment get in before?

After watching for a long while, Li Shichen raised his head, not knowing what to say.

His eyes seemed to have hooks, piercing straight into Lin Sicheng's face.

Lin Sicheng felt his hair stand on end from the stare: "Director Li, don't look at me like that. I really didn't come to cause trouble this time; I came to bring you performance results!"

It really didn't count as trouble, and the matter wasn't big: because it had nothing to do with the internal staff, at most it could be considered negligence and a lack of precaution.

People make mistakes, and organizations are the same. But Li Shichen couldn't figure it out: why is it that every time a mistake is made, it happens to be at Lin Sicheng's place? Is this kid at odds with the Customs?

As for the performance results... they really do count as performance results, and they aren't small: because this batch of equipment came through the channels of the Saishi Company. A World Top 500 company—how many years does it take to catch one of those?

But energy is conserved: performance results cannot come out of thin air; it must be that some brother unit messed up, which gave the Anti-Smuggling Bureau these results. Li Shichen thought for a long while, his expression extremely serious: "Lin Sicheng, I'll give you a piece of advice!"

"Go ahead, Director Li!"

"In the future, when you see people from port supervision, walk around them."

Lin Sicheng was between laughter and tears: he would like to walk around them, but would he be able to?

It's not like he can never go abroad again, right?

"Thank you, Director Li!"

Leaving the General Administration, it was almost five o'clock.

Li Shichen extended a special invitation, saying it wasn't easy for Lin Sicheng to come to the Customs, and invited him to try the staff meal in the cafeteria.

Lin Sicheng refused without even thinking.

To tell the truth, he was also a bit afraid:

There is no one who can offend a unit of this level three times, and offend them from top to bottom, yet have them be unable to do anything about him. Not only can they do nothing, but when they are grinding their teeth in hatred, they still have to be grateful to him.

Furthermore, he still had to rely on the Customs to recover the losses from this time, so it was better not to be too arrogant and to keep a low profile.

Therefore, he absolutely dared not go to this Customs cafeteria.

He contacted Wang Qi Zhi, saying he was prepared to take the Saishi Company people to eat a staff meal and continue after they finished.

This meant everything was going according to plan.

Lin Sicheng contacted the Criminal Investigation Detachment Captain again: the police were all set and just waiting to make arrests.

The anti-smuggling side had contacted the General Team, and both sides had already communicated about this matter. As long as the Economic Investigation Division had a conclusion, the anti-smuggling side could take action. It was equivalent to everything being ready, only waiting for the east wind.

The staff meal was still sumptuous, and the people accompanying the meal were still enthusiastic.

Only Wang Qi Zhi seemed a bit absent-minded.

Zhao Xiuneng was too lazy to remind him: that Professor Wang could endure to this extent was already quite remarkable.

In the past, even if he hadn't turned hostile on the spot, he would have worn his emotions on his face.

Zhao Xiuneng directed the waiter to serve the dishes, and seeing that the juice wasn't enough, he had Zhao Da go and fetch two more cases.

The standard was very high, half of it was seafood, and the group of technicians ate until their mouths were oily.

It ended after about an hour, and the group swayed back to the Center.

They didn't drink alcohol, but they were a bit stuffed. It was only a few hundred meters, so they didn't take a car; it was just right to walk off the food.

There were a few more cars around the Center, mostly vans, Ivecos, and the like, but no one paid any attention.

Going upstairs, the group was stunned: when did Lin Sicheng get back?

At this moment, he and several middle-aged men were surrounding the machine, as if discussing something.

Hearing the commotion, Lin Sicheng greeted them and pointed to the few people beside him: "General Manager Fang, these few are leaders from the competent department, here to take a look in advance!"

Fang Yin didn't take it to heart, just nodded.

Among this batch of equipment, there were both radioactive devices: such as the X-ray diffraction instrument (XRD) and the X-ray Flaw Detector (CT System), as well as testing instruments with radioactive isotopes as the core.

For example, the C-14 Dating Instrument, the Thermoluminescence Dating Instrument, the X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF, isotope source type), and the Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating Instrument (OSL dating instrument).

Especially the latter category; these instruments use the characteristics of radioactive isotopes (such as decay laws, nuclear reactions) to detect data as the basis for identification, and regardless of size, they are all included in the "Catalogue of Restricted Import Electromechanical Products" and the "Regulations on the Safety and Protection of Radioactive Isotopes and Ray Devices." If imported, one must apply to the local environmental protection and safety departments for a "Radiation Safety Permit" and an "Import Approval Form for Radioactive Isotopes." After buying them and installing them, they must also accept regular inspections and daily supervision by ecological environment departments and health departments, so it is normal for the relevant units to come and take a look in advance.

It didn't have much to do with them, so Engineer Qin and Engineer Xu arranged for the technicians to carry out normal debugging.

But Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng both knew that these people could not be leaders from any environmental protection department or safety supervision department.

Lin Sicheng wasn't that idle, and this wasn't his job.

If the leaders of these departments came to inspect, the first person they would notify would definitely be Wang Qi Zhi.

The two looked at each other and walked up to them.

But after only a few steps, Zhao Xiuneng suddenly paused, opening his eyes wide.

Wang Qi Zhi also stopped: "General Manager Zhao, what's wrong?"

Zhao Xiuneng moved his lips, not knowing how to say it.

The reason Wang Qi Zhi didn't recognize them was because he hadn't seen them. But he, Old Zhao, was a good citizen who had received verbal commendations from the General Team leaders: that burly man standing quietly by the door at the very back, looking like a driver—wasn't he a detachment captain under Yan Wenjing of the Criminal Investigation Detachment? When they cracked the Wang Chun Case, it was always him leading a team, at Lin Sicheng's beck and call.

That time in the basement, it was him who led the criminal police and the Special Duty Team to meet and protect Lin Sicheng.

If a person like that could only play the role of a driver, then who were the people surrounding the machine with Lin Sicheng, acting like good little boys?

Zhao Xiuneng thought for a moment and mouthed a word: Public Security!

Wang Qi Zhi's eyes popped out.

He guessed Lin Sicheng would meet force with force, but he did not expect it to happen so quickly.

Now that everyone was on-site, he could guess with his toes that the next step would be making arrests.

Sighing, Wang Qi Zhi walked up to greet them: "Leaders, thank you for your hard work!"

Upon hearing the words "hard work," these people knew: Wang Qi Zhi already knew their identities and what they had come for.

What was critical was his expression: utterly unwilling, yet completely helpless.

Although Wang Qi Zhi did not know them, they all knew Wang Qi Zhi and had roughly understood his relationship with Lin Sicheng.

Therefore, they found it particularly hilarious.

Several of them held back their laughter and shook hands one by one: "Professor Wang, you are too polite."

Wang Qi Zhi was very solemn: "If there is any place where cooperation is needed, just give the order!"

"Professor Wang, we will!"

In fact, there was nothing to cooperate with: this was not a major crime or injury case. In economic cases, violent non-cooperation is rare. Moreover, proper arrangements had already been made, and the scene was completely under control.

Out of the needs of the investigation, several Captains specifically asked about the performance and characteristics of these machines.

Lin Sicheng opened the manual and read from it mechanically.

Seeing this, Fang Yin and the two Engineers felt even more relieved: anyone could read from the parameters.

It only showed that Lin Sicheng learned English well, and even more so, that he was pretending to understand when he did not.

The three Engineers invited by the Party A had long since given themselves away: they were a bit better than Lin Sicheng, but only to a limited extent.

At most, they only half-understood.

After watching for a while, Lin Sicheng accompanied those people downstairs, where the debugging and verification were proceeding in an orderly manner.

It was even easier than Fang Yin had expected: no one was following behind to watch, and no one was being curious here and there, asking questions incessantly. Including those three Engineers, they at most discussed it among themselves and did not even dare to ask.

Because they really could not understand.

Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng were the same; apart from ensuring logistics, they played no other role. By the second half of the night, perhaps unable to hold on, the two even took turns sleeping for a while.

As for Lin Sicheng, he had not appeared since he left in the afternoon.

Several video cameras had been recording the whole time, and the people operating them had even been swapped in the middle. But the same point remained: if you do not understand it at all, what is the use of recording it so carefully? Time passed second by second, and the number of un-debugged and un-verified machines grew smaller.

Metallographic Microscope, Polarizing microscope, Scanning Microscope, Raman Spectrometer.

As well as the chromatography-mass spectrometry combined instrument, CT, Ultrasound, Laser Cleaner...

Debugged one by one, everything was normal.

It was not until around five o'clock that Lin Sicheng arrived fashionably late.

He must have slept quite well; his spirits were good.

Behind him followed several people, all of them unfamiliar faces.

After saying good morning, Lin Sicheng introduced them briefly, saying they were friends from the field of Artifact Research who had come to visit.

They all looked very young and did not look like scholars or Experts. Moreover, they seemed to respect Lin Sicheng a bit too much, nodding and bowing, acting timid and submissive, calling him "Teacher Lin" at every turn.

Therefore, Fang Yin and the Engineers did not pay any attention, assuming they were Cultural Relics Protection practitioners from some unknown institution.

Furthermore, having stayed up for nearly twenty-four hours, their minds were a bit sluggish. These people had absolutely no energy to think: it was only five in the morning, the sky had not even brightened, so what kind of visit was Lin Sicheng bringing colleagues on?

Only the last few remained: X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer, Fourier transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction instrument.

The technicians turned on the power one by one, and the two Engineers debugged them one by one.

Lin Sicheng came so early precisely for this: he really wanted to see how Saishi Company planned to verify these large-scale X-ray equipment. Although there were only two generations between the First Generation Machine and the Third Generation Machine, the difference between the two was infinitely close to that of different species.

It could be said like this: what the Third Generation Machine could detect, the First Generation Machine could not detect at all. Including the standard samples, X-ray intensity, and even the wavelength used for performance testing, they were simply not the same thing.

If you forced it, would you believe the instrument would collapse on the spot?

After watching for a while, he could not help but exclaim: no wonder these people dared to treat him like a fool?

Because they had the confidence, and even more so, the technology and craftsmanship: it was clearly a First Generation Machine, yet the Engineers were using the debugging methods of a Third Generation Machine, and even more so, using the performance verification process of a Third Generation Machine.

Including standard sample types, quantification, detection temperature, resolution, high-voltage generator fluctuation frequency, and X-ray intensity.

Guess what: the machine not only did not collapse, but it also ran quite well.

Even the detected data standards were as perfect as could be, and the indices were as superior as could be.

Whether it was the entire process or the performance verification results on the screen, everything indicated: this was a latest-model, most advanced Third Generation XRD. At this point, Lin Sicheng was certain: this was done by pre-programming the internal Software through a Backdoor.

Never mind using a silicon powder standard sample, even if you took a dump on it, today's test results would inevitably be silicon dioxide crystals.

Therefore, Lin Sicheng could not figure out: how did these people convince the original factory Engineers to open a Backdoor for them?

An Engineer with this authority definitely had a high rank; an annual salary of one million was just the starting price, and two or three million was not out of the question.

But if it were verified, not only would the high-paying job be gone, but they would also have to go to jail.

Amidst his suspicions, the verification program ran steadily, and the sky grew brighter.

At seven-thirty, the first round of verification, namely the standard sample verification, was declared over.

Next were: angular accuracy, resolution, sensitivity, and repeatability verification.

But Lin Sicheng felt there was no need to watch anymore.

It was all pre-set programming and data; even if he watched it ten thousand more times, the result would only be the best result.

Just as he was about to have the technicians stop, Fang Yin walked over gracefully, holding two documents in her hand:

"General Manager Lin, please take a look!"

One was a "Purchase List," the other an "Equipment Acceptance Report." Compared to the last time, the second document lacked the word "pre-". But Lin Sicheng did not take them: "General Manager Fang, wait a little longer!"

Fang Yin revealed a trace of suspicion, as if asking: General Manager Lin, this was agreed upon beforehand, right?

The purchasing company had to file for tax rebates within this week, otherwise, it would affect the tax refund. If delayed, all losses would be borne by Party A.

Today was Friday, so these two documents had to be signed today.

Seeing Lin Sicheng not speaking, Fang Yin forced a smile: "General Manager Lin, the first round of verification fully meets the standards, there are only some details and repeatability verifications left, there won't be any problems!"

"Is that so?"

Lin Sicheng sighed: "General Manager Fang, when you tell lies too often, do you even believe them yourself?"