Chapter 43: I Picked It Up

Li Zhen looked curious. "What did Professor Wang want with you?"

There was nothing really to hide.

Knowledge is meant for practical application, and teachers from the Heritage Academy hunting for antiques was hardly news. There were certainly more than one or two who were wealthier than Professor Wang.

Moreover, Li Zhen was not a gossipy person. Even if she found out, she wouldn't spread it around.

"The weekend before last, just the day before we ran into each other, I sold an iron certificate to Professor Wang... But it was heavily rusted, so I have to help him do some maintenance from time to time!"

"What iron certificate?"

"An iron certificate bestowed upon Prince Zhengshi, Lin Yangcheng, after Li Zicheng ascended the throne!"

Li Zhen froze abruptly, her eyes wide: Wasn't that essentially a death-exempt certificate?

"Unearthed from the Little East Gate market?"

"Right!"

"How much did you sell it for?"

"Half a million!"

Another half a million?

The words rose to the tip of her tongue, but Li Zhen had no idea how to spit them out.

The first time was a feather duster, the second time was a Buddha statue, and this time an iron certificate?

Calligraphy, paintings, wood carvings, ironware—what would it be next time?

Doing the math, he had already earned nearly a million?

One million could buy three apartments around the university—brand new ones at that, with each one measuring at least a hundred square meters.

If she were to measure it by other standards... Li Zhen truly had nothing left to measure it with.

The crucial point was that Lin Sicheng had only taken two weeks?

Li Zhen remained dazed for a long time, her lips twitching. "A million?"

"It's quite a bit, but it disappears even faster: I ordered a Japanese smart electric kiln, even the smallest model, and the shipping alone costs over fifty thousand dollars!"

"Wait... what are you buying that for?"

"Senior Sister, do you remember those few sketches I drew? I'm planning to piece them together, and then fire them..."

Li Zhen froze: It was precisely because of those three sketches that Professor Shang had been utterly astounded, setting her mind entirely on having Lin Sicheng apply to be her graduate student.

"So, just for those three Han dynasty tile teapots, you specially bought an imported electric kiln?"

"Of course not just for that. If the test-firing is successful, I can try other styles as well."

Professor Shang had said that even without firing them, if Lin Sicheng could simply piece those three teapots together according to the sketches, a single one could easily sell for twenty or thirty thousand.

And Xijing lacked many things, but it certainly did not lack Qin and Han dynasty tiles. They didn't even need to make many—two or three teapots a month, and how much would that be in a year?

If she were in Lin Sicheng's shoes, she wouldn't choose to pursue graduate studies either.

Immediately afterward, Li Zhen remembered something else. "So that's why you asked me to find you a place, preferably on campus and preferably with a garage?"

"Right, upstairs can be the studio, and the garage can be the small firing workshop!" Lin Sicheng nodded, then smiled. "I might ask Xiaoyuzhuzhu to help out when the time comes. If I invite Senior Sister, would you be willing to come?"

"Huh? Help with what?"

"Piecing things together, shaping, pottery throwing... We can do a salary, or we can do equity. Once the machine arrives, I'll find a chance to get Xiaoyuzhu together with us, and we can discuss it then!"

Lin Sicheng paused slightly. "Of course, the pay will definitely be much higher than what Senior Sister makes now, and it won't interfere with your current job!"

Li Zhen's lips moved, unsure of what to say.

She had originally been the one persuading Lin Sicheng to take the graduate entrance exams, but as it turned out, she was the one who had been flipped over to his side first: it wouldn't interfere with her primary job, and it was in her exact field—why wouldn't she do it?

It was just a rather peculiar feeling: Why was the gap between people so massive?

His classmates in the same department and year, the better ones, were agonizing over how to pass the graduate exams, while the even better ones were at most researching which organization or institution to enter after graduation.

The average ones were at best considering whether to stay in the provincial capital or return to their hometowns to develop after graduation. The even more ordinary ones were still living in a daze, either spending their days drinking and partying or chasing romance.

Yet Lin Sicheng had already started his own business and had even earned a million?

Even if one stepped outside the category of being a student, Lin Sicheng's achievements were dizzyingly impressive: a million—how long would it take an ordinary person to earn that?

If someone claimed it was because of Professor Lin: he wasn't the only child of a school leader studying at Xida University.

Li Zhen stared at Lin Sicheng, her pupils out of focus.

A strange feeling welled up inside Lin Sicheng. "Senior Sister... Senior Sister?"

"Oh, oh..."

Li Zhen abruptly lowered her head. "Then I'll find a place as soon as possible... Actually, I've already asked about two places, but the landlords haven't been around... Once I get everything sorted out, I'll call you!"

Lin Sicheng smiled. "Sorry to trouble you, Senior Sister!"

"No trouble, just pay me a higher salary when the time comes!"

"Definitely!"

Chatting and laughing, the two of them entered the research building. When they reached the door of Wang Qizhi's office, Li Zhen finally snapped back to reality: What reason did she even have to follow him inside anymore?

"After we finish talking, go find Professor Shang yourself. Don't forget this time!"

"Senior Sister, don't leave just yet..."

Lin Sicheng stopped her, lowering his voice slightly. "I also want to discuss something with you: if I occasionally need to borrow Professor Shang's laboratory, what should I tell her later?"

Li Zhen froze, then burst into a laugh: No wonder he had been zoning out for so long back in the classroom!

"Professor Shang has a very good impression of you, so it shouldn't be too difficult... We can discuss it after you come out!"

"Alright!"

Just as the words fell, with a loud clack, the door was pulled open. Wang Qizhi was about to say something when he paused in surprise: Why did this kid bring a woman with him?

And she looked somewhat familiar, too?

"Professor Wang, this is Teacher Li, Professor Shang's teaching assistant!"

"Oh, Teacher Li..."

Hearing that she was Shang Yan's teaching assistant, Wang Qizhi instantly guessed seven or eight parts of the truth: Shang Yan wanted Lin Sicheng to apply for her graduate program and probably wanted to talk to him face-to-face.

She must have looked for him before, and the kid had likely forgotten about it, which was why Teaching Assistant Li was keeping such a close watch on him, implying that no matter how busy he was today, he had to go pay a visit.

Wasn't Professor Shang's eagerness to recruit talent a bit too exaggerated?

However, as the saying goes, spending a thousand gold to buy a horse's bones—contrasting the two situations, his own hope of getting Lin Sicheng to take his graduate exams was probably looking bleak.

Wang Qizhi rolled his eyes. "Well, Teacher Li... would you like to come in and sit for a while?"

Lin Sicheng was completely dumbfounded: Wait... did you actually want Li Zhen to come in, or did you want her to leave?

Was his intention to chase her away really that obvious?

Li Zhen was startled: What was there about doing maintenance on an iron certificate that had to be kept hidden?

Subconsciously, her thoughts drifted elsewhere: Wasn't it common knowledge that Professor Wang was starting a new project and that the academy had assigned him the largest and most advanced laboratory?

And it was an open secret that after joining the faculty, Professor Wang had been concentrating on teaching practical classes to juniors and seniors precisely to recruit labor and graduate students.

Combining that with the fact that he had sought out Lin Sicheng on multiple occasions, coupled with his current expression: Ha, he probably had the exact same idea as Professor Shang, which was why he was guarding against her like a thief!

So, whether Lin Sicheng agreed was one thing, but if another professor snatched him away first, how was she supposed to explain it to Professor Shang?

A thought flashed through Li Zhen's mind, and she smiled again. "Thank you, Professor Wang!"

Wang Qizhi froze for a moment, silently groaning: Disaster?

He had tried to be clever only to end up shooting himself in the foot.

This young lady looked quite young, so why was her brain reacting so fast?

Never mind, the words were already out of his mouth; could he take them back now?

Sighing inwardly, he stepped aside to let them pass. "Teacher Li, please have a seat. Xiao Feng, make some tea!"

Then he gestured to Lin Sicheng. "Come here, let me show you something good!"

What kind of treasure had he dug up to make it so mysterious?

Following behind him, Wang Qizhi opened a box sitting on the coffee table. His face wore an expression that was both wistful and miraculous.

"Let me broaden your horizons today: heard of someone picking up a dog basin as a bargain and eventually selling it for over a million?"

What on earth?

Lin Sicheng froze in shock. "A dog basin?"

"A dog basin smeared with dog feces, thrown into a trash can, one that even the junk collectors couldn't be bothered to pick up!"

With a look of profound emotion, Wang Qizhi unlatched the box. "If you don't believe me, smell it!"

Glancing down, Lin Sicheng's eyes nearly blinded themselves: Wasn't this exact one the basin he had picked up yesterday?

He had only dropped off the Golden Retriever at Gu Ming's place that very morning when he came to school...

Thinking he had been utterly stunned, Wang Qizhi smiled triumphantly. "Well? Learned something new today, haven't you?"

He certainly had learned something new: How could things possibly be this coincidental?

Thinking back to yesterday's buyer: The more he thought about it, the more he felt the buyer looked a bit like Wang Qizhi...

Grimacing as if he had a severe toothache, Lin Sicheng pointed at the basin. "I found that!"

"What?"

"I picked it up, just yesterday, at the Xicang bird and flower market!" Lin Sicheng sighed. "The buyer was driving a Beijing-plated Mercedes, two men and three women, saying they came to Xijing to visit relatives!"

Now it was Wang Qizhi's turn to wear a completely blank expression: That's right, a Beijing-plated Mercedes, coming to visit him as their relative.

His older brother and sister-in-law, niece and nephew, plus Ye Ning'an acting as dead weight—wasn't that precisely two men and three women?