Chapter 30: If I Ruin It Washing It, I’ll Pay You a Buck

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How much could three hundred thousand yuan buy in 2007?

In Xijing, it could get you a spacious apartment in the city center.

In the capital, even in Wudaokou—the supposed center of the universe—it could buy you twenty square meters.

But Lin Sicheng made only two phone calls, and not only was the three hundred thousand insufficient, he was left more than a hundred thousand in debt:

One Japanese Shinpo fully automatic small ceramic kiln: forty-seven thousand U.S. dollars.

One NKT laboratory electric potter’s wheel from Foshan: thirty thousand yuan.

Various clays, glazes, and broken ceramics: sixty thousand yuan.

Fortunately, it was cash on delivery. And fortunately, he still had an iron tablet in his possession; otherwise, he would have had no choice but to live off his parents.

He was still doing the math when his screen lit up.

Class is about to start. Why aren’t you here yet?

Lin Sicheng typed back without thinking: On my way.

…

Practical classes were always held at the Experimental Center, but today’s class was in a new laboratory. Lin Sicheng took several wrong turns and had to text Xiao Yuzhu twice before finally finding the place.

His classmates were all waiting outside and had not yet gone in. The door was open, though, and Lin Sicheng poked his head inside.

The overall layout was enormous, with a great many equipment rooms: spectroscopy, qualitative analysis, X-ray imaging, infrared scanning, ultrasonic cleaning, multifunctional cold welding, argon arc welding, and metal restoration. Everything was there.

Lin Sicheng was startled. The sheer number of facilities was secondary; what mattered was that every major piece of equipment was imported. Adding it all up, the laboratory had to be worth at least thirty or forty million yuan.

It was probably one of the university’s prized treasures. Forget the students—even the professors in the department had probably used some of the equipment only a handful of times.

He glanced again at the title displayed on the electronic screen:

Shaping and Consolidation of Bronze Artifacts.

They had only attended three classes in total. How had the course progressed so quickly?

Seeing him standing at the very back, Xiao Yuzhu came over and sniffed twice.

“Oh, so you eat without calling me?”

Then she noticed Lin Sicheng’s bulging white coat pockets: longan-sized buns on one side, soy milk on the other.

Smiling brightly, Xiao Yuzhu reached out her hand, but Lin Sicheng slapped it away.

He had indeed brought them for her—but did she have any idea where they were?

“Idiot. I’ll eat at the stairwell.”

“There are only ten minutes left. Will you make it in time?”

“Hmph. Try bringing two more baskets next time.” Xiao Yuzhu tugged at him. “Come on!”

“I’ve already eaten!”

“Who told you to eat? I’m telling you to keep watch!”

“Look at you, acting all high and mighty.”

Xiao Yuzhu gave a derisive snort. “Next time you want to pull something during class, don’t come looking for me!”

Well, now that she mentioned it…

Lin Sicheng nodded. “Let’s go.”

The two of them headed toward the stairwell. Several cold snorts rose from the group behind them—all of them from girls.

…

The buns were about the size of longans, and Xiao Yuzhu swallowed them one after another.

Leaning against the windowsill, Lin Sicheng asked, “Is this new Professor Wang planning to launch a project?”

“Huh? You haven’t heard?”

Apparently it had not yet been announced, but Lin Sicheng guessed it had certainly already been discussed at a university meeting.

“He seems pretty impressive!”

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“Who? You mean Professor Wang?” Xiao Yuzhu slurped her soy milk. “He just seems pretty young. Thirty-five or thirty-six at most—still younger than Professor Shang.”

Lin Sicheng smiled.

This was not a question of whether he was young or old.

He was teaching undergraduates, yet he had been given the department’s largest laboratory, and the course was progressing at such a breakneck pace.

Combined with the fact that he had only just joined the university, it was obvious that he intended to recruit capable undergraduates—probably seniors—and perhaps even graduate students, to work for him.

From the perspective of cultural preservation, the artifacts in Shaanxi Province with the greatest research and conservation value were naturally the stone and metal objects from the Shang and Zhou dynasties and the Qin and Han dynasties, including bronze vessels.

Accordingly, many institutions and organizations took part in their study, and the overall standard of research was high. A single subproject would often attract competition from a dozen or even several dozen institutions.

Narrowing the scope down to Northwestern University—or even just the Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation—the situation was much the same. More than a dozen professors worked in the field, and at least a third of them specialized in stone inscriptions or bronze artifacts.

So for a newcomer to seize a project from so many senior scholars, it was not enough to have powerful connections. He also had to be exceptionally capable.

“Didn’t you say he’s also part of the department leadership?”

“Mm. He’s the deputy secretary of the Department Youth League Committee!”

Tsk. Technical expertise combined with administration—now that was impressive.

The key was his age and rank.

Lin Sicheng lowered his voice. “Aren’t you planning to take the graduate entrance exam? I suggest you forget Peking University and apply here instead.”

“Huh? Why?”

“My guess is that he may be a golden opportunity.”

Once she finished her master’s degree, staying on at the university would probably be only a word from him.

Xiao Yuzhu was skeptical. “Really?”

“Trust me. You can’t go wrong.”

“I’ll think about it.”

She drained the last of her soy milk and was wondering where to throw the cup when footsteps sounded in the corridor.

A moment later, the class adviser and Wang Qizhi appeared around the corner.

Xiao Yuzhu ducked her head and hid the cup behind her back, then tugged at Lin Sicheng. “Let’s go!”

But he did not budge.

When she looked up again, Lin Sicheng stood frozen. His eyelids fluttered once, then again.

Wait… weren’t you at the Baoji Institute of Bronze Research?

How had you transformed into a professor in the Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation after only a few days away?

Wang Qizhi looked up and immediately burst into laughter.

Just moments ago, he had been thinking that the seniors had already attended several classes, yet he had not caught sight of this boy even once. Today, at last, he had finally caught him.

He had never expected Lin Sicheng to deliver himself right to his door.

“Teacher Yang, organize the students first.”

“Of course, Professor Wang!”

The class adviser gave Xiao Yuzhu a meaningful glance, and she obediently followed him away.

Lin Sicheng came back to himself and was just about to greet Wang Qizhi when the latter got straight to the point.

“Did you sell the Iron Certificate?”

How could that be?

“I haven’t even had it cleaned yet.”

“You haven’t cleaned it… Then where did you get the three hundred thousand?”

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Huh. Those two teaching assistants had rather loose tongues.

“I picked up a Vajrayogini at Little East Gate and sold it to Rongbaozhai.”

“What?”

“A Vajrayogini from the Yuan dynasty, a Tantric Buddhist artifact.”

Wang Qizhi had not failed to hear him. He was simply too astonished.

A sacred mother of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism was about as obscure as a cultural artifact could get. Without exaggeration, even if one were placed in front of Wang Qizhi, he might not have recognized it.

That was not strange. Every profession had its own specialty, and the boundaries between fields were like mountains.

But why did those words cease to apply whenever Lin Sicheng was involved?

The first time, it had been a confidential contemporary report. The second time, a Ming dynasty Iron Certificate. The third time, a Tantric Buddhist artifact.

Not only were the materials entirely different, but the eras were separated by centuries.

“You found it yourself?”

“Oh. Li Zhen, Professor Shang’s teaching assistant, was there too, as was that student Xiao you just saw.”

One was a teaching assistant who specialized in ceramics, and the other was an undergraduate. They surely had nothing to do with it.

Wang Qizhi studied him thoughtfully. The next time he went treasure hunting at Little East Gate, should he bring this boy along?

Lin Sicheng failed to notice the unusual look on his face. Instead, he was staring at Wang Qizhi’s hands.

“Weren’t you in Baoji?”

“I was transferred here in June. I took the opportunity to rest for two months.”

“And you’re also part of the department leadership?”

“What’s so strange about that?” Wang Qizhi adjusted his glasses. “At the Baoji Bronze Museum, I was in charge of the cultural preservation department.”

Lin Sicheng understood at once.

His rank was already established, so even after transferring to another institution, he had to be given a specific position. The university had probably been unable to arrange anything suitable for the moment, so they had put him in the Youth League Committee instead.

It was rather an awkward fit.

“Let’s start class. We’ll talk afterward.” Wang Qizhi glanced at his watch. “It’s been more than a week. Why haven’t you cleaned the Iron Certificate yet?”

As if I don’t want to.

But doing it entirely by hand was too slow, and preparing the chemical solutions was troublesome. To use proper equipment, he would have to find a professional laboratory…

Wait.

His eyes lit up as he remembered the ultrasonic cleaner and multifunctional metal restoration machine he had just seen.

“Professor Wang, when do you have practical classes again?”

Wang Qizhi knew immediately what he was thinking.

“I use the laboratory every day, but the question is, who are you going to let operate the equipment?”

Lin Sicheng nodded. “Me.”

You?

Even I can’t do that.

Just as Lin Sicheng had said when the two of them first met, although bronze and iron were both metal artifacts, the factors behind their corrosion and the conditions required for their restoration were worlds apart.

Wang Qizhi frowned. “What if you damage it during cleaning?”

Lin Sicheng thumped his chest. “If I ruin it, I’ll compensate you with another one. Free of charge!”

Wang Qizhi said, “Heh…”

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