Chapter 631: Why So Fast?

He Youhan watched from the sidelines, saying nothing, but his heart felt strange to the extreme:

He had brought this pot over just to test Lin Sicheng's mettle; he hadn't expected there to be a surprise.

When his father bought it at auction, he treated it as an aristocratic artifact of a nomadic tribe with no verifiable provenance, and the price wasn't high—just a few thousand Euros. After being appraised by Lin Sicheng, it had actually become an imperial vessel?

The gap between these two valuations was, to say the least, several dozen times over.

It counted as an unexpected gain, but He Youhan didn't feel there was anything worth being happy about.

He had spent time, effort, and energy; was it really just to make money?

For an ordinary person, a million might be a fortune unattainable in a lifetime. But for him, it was just one month's salary—

Sighing, He Youhan looked at the pot, then at Lin Sicheng, and suddenly smiled: Don't be anxious, this is only the first hurdle.

Sun Jingzhou also squeezed out a hint of a smile.

He truly hadn't expected before that Lin Sicheng's ability would be this strong, not at all inferior to authoritative experts like Museum Curator Tang or Teacher Zhang.

But it didn't matter: this was just an appetizer; the main course was still to come—

Just as he was thinking this, two "clack-clack" sounds rang out; the door was knocked twice, and Li Zhen walked in carrying a Folder.

"Teacher Lin, the machine inspection report is out!"

"Good!" Lin Sicheng replied, taking it into his hands.

A total of seven or eight items had been tested, and the conclusion was very clear:

One: The inlaid fragments are natural Gemstones, containing natural fissures and inclusions. There is no chemical adhesive in the inlay grooves; the surface staining is due to the infiltration of acid and alkali molecules from the soil. There are no traces of later artificial aging, consistent with the inlay craftsmanship of Song Dynasty official workshops.

Two: The leather texture of the pouch-pot shows a horizontal layered structure; the peeling layers are an inherent characteristic of Birch Bark, with no mechanical knife marks. The characteristics of hand-pierced Needle holes are obvious, with the edges of the holes naturally turned outward.

Three: The forging texture of the rivets is natural, and the structure is complete. The silver buckle shows obvious characteristics of localized grain recrystallization; the narrow bands at the corners are softened, the flat surfaces retain the elongated grains from cold forging, and the corners are smooth with no cracking or fine radial stress lines.

Four: Micro-residues collected from the crevices of the inner wall of the pot were analyzed by liquid chromatography, revealing residues of organic acids from milk fats and milk wine.

Five: Age Determination: 900 years ago (±50)—

Seeing this, Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng finally let out a sigh of relief: every single point and item here pointed without exception to Lin Sicheng's visual appraisal deduction.

Zhang Yuanqiao was even more joyful: what difference was there between these conclusions and what Lin Sicheng had analyzed?

As a business partner, he was naturally happier the stronger Lin Sicheng was.

Just as he was preparing to say a few polite words, they reached the tip of his tongue, but Zhang Yuanqiao suddenly paused: Lin Sicheng didn't seem very happy?

He was staring tightly at the report, his eyes narrowed into two slits, as if one of the tests hadn't been done correctly and something had gone wrong.

The key was the two experts beside him: eyes wide and mouths agape, as if they had seen something absolutely incredible.

Zhang Yuanqiao was baffled: it couldn't be that this test was wrong, could it?

It all looked correct, didn't it?

While pondering, he walked a bit closer and followed Lin Sicheng's gaze to look.

There were a few more items at the bottom of the report; besides tests on the skin crust, patina, and leather cords, tests had also been done on the bark seams, the spacing of the layers, and the adhesive used for the inlaid Gemstones:

The seam interlayer test detected animal Collagen (fish maw), Pig Blood Degradation Product, Lime Calcium Salt, White Alum, and a Herbaceous Composite Curing Layer—

Zhang Yuanqiao didn't understand too well and lowered his voice: "Professor Wang, what is this?"

Wang Qi Zhi thought for a moment: "It should be a composite glue!"

"It's an ancient glue, right?"

"Of course!"

"Then what's wrong with it?"

Wang Qi Zhi was stumped by the question.

To tell the truth, he didn't know much about this, because gold Cultural Relics rarely used glues, and even if they did, they only used Bone Glue and Hide Glue.

He almost never encountered mixed glues like this one, which contained a whole bunch of things. Even if he occasionally encountered one, he wouldn't research it, because even if he did, he wouldn't use it.

But Wang Qi Zhi at least knew: the things mentioned in the report, such as White Alum and lime, were definitely ingredients only found in ancient composite glues, so he didn't understand why the expressions of Lin Sicheng and the two experts were so grave.

Looking at He Youhan and Sun Jingzhou again, their expressions seemed even graver, and carried a look of extreme surprise.

Wang Qi Zhi understood even less: didn't you all want Lin Sicheng to appraise it incorrectly? You should be happy, right?

Actually, he had misunderstood: the two of them weren't grave, but surprised. Surprised at the speed of Lin Sicheng's reaction, and even more surprised that:

The trap they had painstakingly dug, Lin Sicheng hadn't jumped into it?

At just over twenty years old, could he be this shrewd and cautious?

While he was suspicious, Lin Sicheng put down the report and picked up the Magnifying Glass again, looking at the few Gemstones.

While looking, he used a probe to pick out a bit of black dregs: the color was dark brown, similar to blood that had been crushed after coagulating.

After looking for a long time, Lin Sicheng frowned: "Pig Blood Ash?"

Zhang Yuanqiao took a look: "General Manager Lin, what is Pig Blood Ash?"

"Earth Texture Glue, also known as Pig Blood Ash: a blood-based colloid made from fresh pig blood and slaked lime. It is then compounded with fish maw glue and used to make earth texture putty, which is what we commonly call putty paste."

"Because the process is complex and the cost is high, it isn't used in ordinary places; it is only used in the imperial palace to fill the gaps between golden bricks, or to bond and repair stone pillars and roof tiles—"

"Besides that, if you add Sichuan Pepper, Veratrum, fragrant thoroughwort, Soap Locust, and Ming Alum, it can be used as paste for mounting. It is also a classic insect-repellent glue for mounting ancient calligraphy and paintings."

Since it could repel insects, wouldn't it be even better to use it on a pot made of bark?

Zhang Yuanqiao was even more confused: "What is wrong with that?"

"Because this kind of composite formula didn't appear until the Ming Dynasty!"

Lin Sicheng paused, "To be precise, it was only used extensively in architecture after the Ming Emperor Chengzu moved the capital to Yanjing. Later, after many

improvements, it wasn't until the Yingzong period that it was used as paste for mounting window paper in the palace. It wasn't used for mounting paintings until the Chenghua era—"

Suddenly, everyone was stunned.

A Liao Dynasty pot using Ming Dynasty glue—there was a full five-hundred-year gap in between; what kind of joke was this?

Zhao Xiuneng had a sudden thought: "Could it be that it was restored during the Ming Dynasty and repaired with glue?"

It's not impossible, for instance, the phenomenon of Gemstones falling off or Birch Bark peeling. But even if it had been repaired, it's impossible for every single Gemstone to have fallen off, for every layer of bark to have peeled, and for every layer to need gluing.

The key point is: all this glue was applied during the exact same time period. It couldn't be that everything broke all at once, could it?

Unless it was all taken apart and re-glued. But the problem is, what would be the necessity?

Lin Sicheng couldn't figure it out, and the two Experts were even more baffled.

Zhao Xiuneng and Wang Qi Zhi looked at each other, a thought popping into their minds: is it possible that this item was originally a Ming Imitation?

For example, did a Craftsman take old Birch Bark, old Gemstones, and ancient silver materials from the Liao Dynasty to create an imitation of a Liao Dynasty antique?

As long as the bark is old, no matter how you carbon-date it, the age will certainly check out.

It doesn't matter if the Gemstones and silver/copper materials are new or old; as long as the cutting, inlaying, and forging techniques conform to the process of the Song Dynasty Directorate for Imperial Manufactories, a one-to-one copy is possible, and Ming Dynasty craftsmen were even more meticulous than those of the Song.

You wouldn't even need to imitate Song craftsmanship; you could just find old materials, like Gemstones and silver/copper sheets pried off other Liao Dynasty objects, and stick them on.

Only the glue cannot be made to look old, nor can it be salvaged from elsewhere, so one would have to use new glue—

The more they thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, and the two felt their hearts pounding.

They could think of it, and Zhang Yuanqiao could think of it too; the three of them looked at one another, not knowing whether they should speak.

If they spoke, it would be equivalent to overturning all of Lin Sicheng's previous deductions, while also giving him two slaps in the face for good measure.

If they didn't speak, such an obvious flaw would be exposed as soon as instrument testing was performed; could He Youhan not know?

He was here to set a trap in the first place; for all they knew, he was just waiting for this.

Thinking about it from the other side: even a layman like Zhang Yuanqiao could think of it, let alone Sun Jingzhou?

After holding back again and again, Zhang Yuanqiao finally couldn't resist: "Could it be—a Ming Dynasty old imitation? For instance, using old materials for everything—"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "General Manager Zhang, the Ming Dynasty couldn't imitate this!"

"Why?"

"Because of the bark: C-14 dating measures the time of the bark's death, which is used to determine the era of the raw materials for the pot body.

And the body of this pot was formed by high-temperature, wet-pressure integrated lamination—

To put it simply: you must peel fresh, tender inner birch bark, first steam and soften it layer by layer, and then heat-press it so that the fibers interlace horizontally and vertically to be pressed this dense and this flat—if old Birch Bark were used, it would at most be pressed into cardboard, unable to retain the original structure and fibers—"

Lin Sicheng pointed at the test report, "General Manager Zhang, look at these—don't look at the data, look at the test conclusion at the very bottom:

The instrument's layered scanning shows that the soil deposits and Salt Precipitation on each layer of the birch bark body completely cover all original curved surfaces. The blood-based glue is in the second layer, and then, on top of the glue, another layer of relatively new soil deposits has formed—"

"The test conclusion including the Gemstone surfaces and inlay positions shows the same result: outer layer of new soil deposits—middle layer of glue—inner layer of old soil deposits—since both the top and bottom layers are soil deposits, yet the glue is in the middle, this indicates: this item was buried for many years, dug up, a layer of glue was added, and then it was buried in the soil again—"

Zhang Yuanqiao was stunned: it could be like this?

"Look here—"

Lin Sicheng pointed to the next item, "The oxidized substances inside the Gemstone inlay slots, which is the most primitive glue, are at least five hundred years older than the layer of glue sandwiched between the soil deposits. The composition contains no pig blood or lime, just Bone Glue and Hide Glue—"

"And here: the aging traces of the fit between the Gemstones and the pot's inlay slots are from different eras and different storage environments—to put it simply: there are two layers of fit traces, one new and one old. There are two types of oxidation traces generated by aging, also one type new and one type old—"

Zhang Yuanqiao understood: this item is indeed from the Liao Dynasty, not some Ming Dynasty old imitation made with old materials.

It was just that a layer of glue was applied during the Ming Dynasty.

"Then where did this glue come from?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head.

It was definitely applied during the Ming Dynasty, but he couldn't figure out: why apply this layer of glue?

Because this layer of glue was applied comprehensively: applied where the Gemstones were inlaid, applied at the seams, and even every layer of the pressed bark was glued?

It certainly wasn't a repair, because the item wasn't rotten to the point of needing every layer to be re-glued. If it had really rotted like that, the pot wouldn't have its current condition.

In fact, there was no need for repairs at all—

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "It looks more like it was dug up in the Ming Dynasty, taken apart into pieces, re-glued, and then buried in the soil again—"

"Re-glued?" Zhang Yuanqiao was stunned, "Rather than patched with glue?"

"Yes, the original glue was sufficient, and this item was far from the point of needing glue patches—hmm—" Lin Sicheng thought for a moment, "It's more like someone was bored and took a perfectly good item apart and reassembled it."

"No—who would be that bored?"

Lin Sicheng didn't speak: it was indeed a bit far-fetched, but the problem was, other than this reason, he truly couldn't think of a second one.

The two Experts were the same; they also couldn't figure it out: looking at the condition of this pot, it didn't need this kind of comprehensive,

in-depth repair, so why re-apply glue to all the parts?

The three of them discussed it again, but still had no clue.

Museum Curator Tang and Teacher Zhang's suggestions were very consistent: since it didn't affect the appraisal result, there was no need to delve into it.

Because the appearance of this layer of glue did not overturn Lin Sicheng's initial deduction: this pot was indeed a wine pot used by the Liao Dynasty emperor to hold milk wine during the Four Seasons Nabo hunting.

It was just taken apart and reassembled during the Ming Dynasty.

In this way, this item could no longer be considered a primitive Cultural Relic, but a restored piece, and the price would certainly have to be discounted. But to be honest, the item wasn't Lin Sicheng's, so why care about the discount?

But Lin Sicheng was still somewhat unwilling: thinking about it, He Youhan must have wanted to use this flaw to mislead him, making him think it was a Ming Dynasty imitation.

And because there was no physical excavation evidence, let alone documentary proof, he would then doubt it was a fabrication by Ming Dynasty craftsmen.

Fortunately, he had read many books and had sufficient experience, so he wasn't fooled by him, nor was he led into a ditch.

Courtesy demands reciprocity; Lin Sicheng always felt he should do something.

Secondly, he was curious: no matter how he pondered it, he could never step into the mindset of a Ming person: why take apart a perfectly good item?

Lin Sicheng was calculating against He Youhan, and likewise, He Youhan was calculating against him.

Whether this item had been re-glued, He Youhan knew better than anyone: he was an Executive at the instrument company, and running a test was a matter of minutes. With an expert like Sun Jingzhou by his side, inference and analysis were not difficult.

What was difficult was the time and speed: at the beginning, even Sun Jingzhou thought this pot was a Ming Imitation. Later, he repeatedly tested and studied it before confirming that the era of the original pot was still the Liao Dynasty.

At that time, Sun Jingzhou re-deduced that the pot had been repaired in the Ming Dynasty. To prove this point, he performed a large number of tests, and finally, he successfully overturned his own deduction again: no one doing a repair would need to take a perfectly good item apart into pieces and reassemble it.

And this process took Sun Jingzhou a full month and a half.

They did indeed want to use this point to mislead Lin Sicheng: to make Lin Sicheng mistakenly believe that this pot was a Ming Dynasty imitation.

But when Lin Sicheng laid out a pile of evidence and produced the pictures of those two "birch bark boots," He Youhan knew that this plan had failed.

If he could dig up such obscure and niche information, it was not very difficult to prove whether this pot was the original item or to find relevant literature and supporting evidence.

But what He Youhan did not expect was that Lin Sicheng could be this fast: Sun Jingzhou had spent a month and a half, while he had only spent fifteen minutes?

Sun Jingzhou used the same equipment, even more advanced than what Lin Sicheng used. Although Sun Jingzhou did not invite any Experts, He Youhan felt that the two people Lin Sicheng brought today had not displayed the value they should have.

It was not that these two were unprofessional, but that Lin Sicheng did not give them a place to show their skills. He Youhan could at least tell that, basically, what they understood, Lin Sicheng also understood, and perhaps even understood more than they did.

He Youhan could not figure it out: compared to their age, Lin Sicheng was not even half as old as these two, so why was he so professional?

The key was, would the remaining two pieces also be easily seen through by Lin Sicheng just like this pot?

With these thoughts swirling, he raised his head, and the two men's gazes collided.

Lin Sicheng's eyes brightened slightly: "General Manager He, is further appraisal needed?"

He Youhan paused: "General Manager Lin, I didn't quite catch that!"

"If not, I will add a clause after the previous conclusion: this pouch-shaped pot was a diplomatic gift from the Northern Song Dynasty, a wine pot used by the Liao Dynasty emperor during Nabo hunting trips. Then add another clause: it was repaired during the Ming Dynasty—the reason for the repair is unknown. If you want to know the reason, it must be taken apart, which is what I call in-depth appraisal—"

He Youhan let out a "Ha": "General Manager Lin, are you trying to take apart my pot so that I can't sell it for a single cent?"

"General Manager He, you are overthinking it, because not only can I take it apart, I can also repair it, and even restore it!" Lin Sicheng said righteously, "I can guarantee that whatever this thing looks like now, it will look exactly the same after being taken apart and restored."

He Youhan pondered for a moment, both angry and amused: "General Manager Lin, when you restore it, do you still have to brush on a layer of modern chemical glue?"

With this extra layer of glue, the price of this thing would be discounted by more than just a little: originally worth one million, it might not even sell for one hundred thousand. "General Manager He, you must trust my technique: whatever glue was originally used, I will definitely use the same glue, and the formula will absolutely not be off by even one percent—even to the point where no traces of disassembly or repair can be seen!"

Lin Sicheng paused, "General Manager He, I won't hide it from you, I am indeed very curious: why would people in the Ming Dynasty insist on taking apart such a perfectly good item? Because of this, I highly suspect: could it be that the people in the Ming Dynasty hid something inside?"

Lin Sicheng, are you trying to hoodwink me?

He Youhan remained unmoved: "General Manager Lin, don't tell me you aren't aware of how advanced the batch of machines you extorted from our company is? I don't believe you can't even perform the most basic perspective inspection?"

"Of course I can. But General Manager He, this pot is a birch bark casing formed by high-temperature wet pressing, and its main component is cellulose. If what is hidden inside is paper, and the component is also cellulose, how am I supposed to see through it?"

He Youhan let out a "Heh": "X-rays indeed can't detect it, but can't Micro-CT (Micro-computed tomography, 3D advanced analysis, micron-level resolution) detect it either?"

Lin Sicheng looked very strange: "General Manager He, I would like to test it, but I would have to trouble you to help me import one first—"

He Youhan was stunned for a moment, then realized: this type of machine is a controlled item and is not imported into China.

Aside from this, with the existing instruments currently in China, there is indeed no way to see through whether a piece of paper is hidden inside the tree bark.

But the point is not this, but what Lin Sicheng said: why would people in the Ming Dynasty insist on taking this pot apart?

To tell the truth, he and Sun Jingzhou had really never thought about this question, at least not considered it as deeply as Lin Sicheng, and were certainly not as curious as he was.

And, that follow-up sentence: could it be that the people in the Ming Dynasty hid something in the middle?

To put it another way: if they didn't hide something, why would they take apart a perfectly good pot?

Suddenly, He Youhan frowned and looked at Sun Jingzhou.

Sun Jingzhou had a strange expression: That's right, why take it apart?

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him: "General Manager He, could it be that something was originally hidden inside, and the people in the Ming Dynasty discovered it, so they took the pot apart to take it out?"

He Youhan's frown deepened: Mr. Sun, I wanted you to analyze whether Lin Sicheng was hoodwinking me into ruining this thing. You, on the other hand, are completely following his lead?

Whether something was hidden before or hidden after, if one wants to verify it, doesn't one still have to take this pot apart?

But looking at it from another angle: it was not impossible that Sun Jingzhou had completely accepted Lin Sicheng's speculation.

The key was, after being told this by Sun Jingzhou, He Youhan also began to doubt: was it hidden before, or was it hidden after?

He thought for a long while: "General Manager Lin, besides disassembly, is there any other method?"

"Yes, drill sampling!" Lin Sicheng said decisively, "But the drill hole cannot be too small, the diameter needs to be around two to three millimeters. In addition, to avoid sampling deviation, multi-directional drilling is required—"

Lin Sicheng pointed at the pot: "Four spots on the front and four on the back!"

Eight holes, each at least the size of a grain of rice; even if this item wasn't scrapped, it would become a damaged piece.

It would be better to just take it apart and reassemble it after.

Since it could be assembled to look like the original after being taken apart in the Ming Dynasty, it certainly can be done in modern times as well.

Regarding Lin Sicheng's Artifact Restoration technique, He Youhan had indeed learned about it: although Lin Sicheng had never repaired tree bark, he had repaired paintings and could repair them to the point where no traces of repair could be seen at all.

But He Youhan always felt that Lin Sicheng did not have good intentions.

No reason, just intuition—

He thought for a moment: "General Manager Lin, what if nothing is found after taking it apart?"

"General Manager He, I cannot guarantee that!" Lin Sicheng smiled, "I am only suggesting, the decision is yours!"

He Youhan started to laugh: he knew Lin Sicheng wouldn't be fooled, but he didn't expect him to be so alert, so straightforward, and not get involved in any karma at all?

So, to take it apart or not?

To tell the truth, after being hoodwinked by Lin Sicheng, He Youhan was becoming more and more curious: if something had only been hidden inside before, then after taking it apart and removing the item, what was the need to put it back together?

Thinking about it, it could only be the latter: the item wasn't hidden before, but hidden inside after it was taken apart, which is why it was assembled to look just like the original.

There is one more point: before the auction, this pot was locked in a Copper Box, the kind that was completely welded shut.

The pot was only taken out after using a machine to cut open the Copper Box. If it were just a simple Tree Bark Pot, what was the need to preserve it using such a solemn and rare method?

The deeper he thought about it, the stranger He Youhan felt, and he suddenly spat out one word: "Take it apart!"

"Good!"

Lin Sicheng nodded and let Li Zhen and Fang Jin go to prepare.

The group of people looked at each other: this works too?

No matter how they looked at it, they felt that Lin Sicheng was hoodwinking He Youhan.

Lin Sicheng's Artifact Restoration technique was indeed very high, just as he said: whatever glue was originally used, he would definitely use the same glue, and he could even repair it to the point where no traces of disassembly or repair could be seen.

However, what has been taken apart is, after all, taken apart; the higher the degree of restoration, the lower the value of the item.

From the perspective of Cultural Relics: starting from scratch to take it apart once and then assemble it again, this pot is no longer the original pot, but a modern handicraft.

To put it another way: a High Imitation pieced together with old materials—

Not to mention them, even Sun Jingzhou was somewhat shocked: curiosity aside, suspicion aside, he had not expected that He Youhan would actually dismantle it?

If one followed Lin Sicheng's appraisal conclusion, this pot was worth at least over a million.

But then again: setting aside He Youhan's family background, one million was merely his monthly salary—

In his astonishment, Sun Jingzhou felt it was still better to offer a reminder: even if it had to be dismantled, Lin Sicheng should not be the one to do it.

What if he sabotaged it?

Sun Jingzhou blinked his eyes: "General Manager He, dismantling it here?"

"One task should not trouble two masters; General Manager Lin can handle it!" He Youhan smiled, "If Mr. Sun is interested, you can act as an assistant to General Manager Lin!"

Sun Jingzhou was stunned for a moment and hurriedly shook his head.

He Youhan spoke very politely, but he could understand: it was possible not to let Lin Sicheng dismantle it, but he would have to find someone who knew how to dismantle and reassemble it.

Or even better, do the dismantling yourself.

When it came to appraisal, he certainly didn't flinch, but when it came to Artifact Restoration, Sun Jingzhou would at most stand to the side and watch.

Of course, he could find someone else, but the problem was, who?

There were only a handful of people who dared to do this work and dared to take a blade to this item; He Youhan was a stranger here, and even if he could find someone, he would have to pull strings and owe favors.

If he let Sun Jingzhou find someone—as long as it was someone he knew, no matter who saw him, they would treat him like dog shit and dodge him before he could even get close—

Not daring to speak carelessly again, Sun Jingzhou shut his mouth and watched Lin Sicheng make arrangements.

Several assistants were methodical; those heating machines were heating, those finding tools were finding tools, and those preparing Reagent were preparing Reagent.

Regardless of the technical skill, at least this process could not be faulted in the slightest.

Sun Jingzhou realized belatedly: Lin Sicheng not only had an appraisal center here, but also an Artifact Restoration center.

Because there were too many signs, there was only a "Cultural Relic Protection and Research Center," and the two words "Artifact Restoration" were not reflected.

But in He Youhan's background check file, it was written very clearly: Lin Sicheng could restore porcelain, could restore gold and silver wares, and could also restore Calligraphy and Painting.

Thinking of this, Sun Jingzhou sighed inwardly: this was what one called an all-rounder.

If it were just appraising antiques, he could certainly go toe-to-toe. If it were Artifact Restoration, even if he couldn't be considered proficient, he was at least knowledgeable and could see some of the tricks.

But if it were more in-depth, more professional cultural relic and archaeological research, Sun Jingzhou could only look at the Lock and sigh.

This was fundamentally different from appraisal: appraisal could rely on talent, but cultural relics could only rely on accumulation. Running from one Seat Mountain to another, looking at one ruin after another, and gnawing through one massive tome after another.

But thinking back: what kind of style the Khitan had, what their craftsmanship characteristics were, and how they differed from the Northern Song Dynasty official workshops; the properties of silver-copper alloys, and what kind of tempering technology was needed when bending was required.

And which Birch Bark cultural relics had been unearthed, which era they belonged to, which year they were discovered, which year they were excavated, and what else was unearthed at the same time,

and what the final conclusion was—and so on and so forth, Lin Sicheng didn't even need to flip through a book; he just rattled it off.

Especially those two Birch Bark shoes: the place was so remote, the items so obscure, and he hadn't even been there, yet Lin Sicheng could remember them so clearly?

The key was that General Manager He had come prepared, specifically to catch Lin Sicheng off guard; it was impossible for him to have prepared in advance or looked up data. This showed that this was his own accumulation—

Looking at that young face, Sun Jingzhou felt somewhat dazed: General Manager He had asked him to compete with Lin Sicheng, but the problem was, how should he continue to compete?

He even had an intuition: the two remaining items General Manager He had would not cause Lin Sicheng much trouble. It might even be that Lin Sicheng would resolve them even more simply than this one—

Just as he was feeling daunted, He Youhan stood up: "Let's go!"

Sun Jingzhou woke as if from a dream: "General Manager He, where to?"

"The laboratory—Lin Sicheng is about to take the blade to it!"

Sun Jingzhou's spirits lifted: he also wanted to see if, just as He Youhan's investigation suggested, Lin Sicheng's Artifact Restoration skills were ridiculously high, even reaching the level of being miraculous?

He hurriedly followed behind and went up to the next floor.

Appraisal didn't require much space; as long as the lighting was sufficient, the tools were ready, and a workstation was provided, it was enough. But Artifact Restoration was different: as long as it was a machine used for Artifact Research, it could basically be used during restoration. For this reason, Lin Sicheng had specifically reserved an Artifact Restoration room on this floor of the Research Center.

Not letting him watch was certainly not an option: Lin Sicheng was afraid He Youhan would dig a pit for him, and He Youhan was even more afraid Lin Sicheng would sabotage it. But also fearing that He Youhan would ask endless questions and interrupt his train of thought, Lin Sicheng first had Li Zhen print out a dismantling process and sent it out.

Not letting him see it was certainly not an option: Lin Sicheng feared He Youhan would dig a pit for him, and He Youhan feared even more that Lin Sicheng would play dirty. But fearing that He Youhan would ask endless questions and interrupt his train of thought, Lin Sicheng first had Li Zhen type up a disassembly process and send it out.

Step one, inspection and filing: the position of metal parts, the orientation of rivets, the cross-section of the adhesive layer, the overlapping relationship of soil deposits—this was in preparation for the subsequent assembly and restoration.

Step two, removing decorative parts: silver-copper hanging rings, Gemstones, and silver-copper edge wrapping.

Step three: Targeted Softening and glue removal.

Step four: steam plasticization. To put it simply: using steam to fumigate and moisten, so that the bast fibers of the birch bark would recover their plasticity after absorbing water, causing the layers to loosen.

Then there was step five, which was also the most critical step: layer-by-layer reverse removal.

The paper was written in great detail, and He Youhan could roughly understand it: Lin Sicheng was using the method of Drawing Dismantling.

It looked very simple, but the process was not ordinarily complex; it was no simpler than the precise surgery a doctor performed under a microscope.

The key was experience and the grasp of the timing: when to peel, when to stop, when to strip, and when to

The key was experience and the grasp of the heat: when to uncover, when to stop, when to peel, when to

If his hand shook even once, this pot would be ruined.

Just as he was watching carefully, "Dang~ dang~ dang—" a few crisp sounds came over, and He Youhan raised his head.

The leather pot was fixed under the microscope, Lin Sicheng was looking into the lens with one eye, tweezers in his left hand and a Needle in his right, picking once and then clamping once, then picking again, then clamping again.

In the tray next to the microscope lay five or six Gemstones—

He Youhan's pupils contracted: how could it be this fast?

He Youhan's pupils constricted: How could it be so fast?