Chapter 177 That's more like it

As night fell, the massive chimneys spewed out thick, reddish-brown smoke, and the clouds seemed wounded, their crimson hue staining half the sky.

The bureau chief stood by the window, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, a hint of suspicion in his eyes: "Old Du, you suspect someone is trying to steal our technology? That's unlikely, isn't it?"

"Sir, we must be careful... Do you remember the year before last, when we went to Beijing to apply for the government's approval, those few units almost got into a fight at the meeting?"

The bureau chief paused for a moment, then remained silent.

To be honest, that time really opened his eyes: a prestigious state-owned enterprise, a research institution representing the highest level of research, had such a simple and unpretentious way of fighting.

The eldest brother said the second brother stole his technology, the second brother said the third brother stole his technology, and the third brother said the eldest brother also stole it, and that he stole from both of them.

In the end, the three parties started hurling insults at each other. It's no exaggeration; they were practically about to come to blows right there in the meeting room.

The debate raged on, but due to the long history of the subject matter, it was difficult to verify, and ultimately each institution was granted an individual permit. Thus, the first batch of traditional Chinese medicine and herbal techniques flourished: just three state-owned institutions applied for as many as twelve permits.

Although the firing techniques of Yaozhou kiln ceramics have already been included in the national catalogue, and cannot be taken away by others, if a project is established under the title of "Yaozhou Porcelain Restoration Techniques," while national inclusion is uncertain, there is a good chance of it being included in the provincial catalogue.

But then again, instead of sharing technology and helping Xida apply, why doesn't Tongchuan apply for an additional application itself?

Provincial honors are still honors; who would complain about having too few?

"We definitely have to be on guard!" The bureau chief flicked his cigarette ash. "What are their demands now?"

"They said the information wasn't very detailed, and asked if we could help them find more. Or perhaps we could borrow the application materials from when they applied for World Heritage status... I passed the buck to Director Meng, saying that he had taken them all to Beijing..."

The bureau chief looked at him strangely: "They believed it?"

"Of course I don't believe it. The institute and the bureau must have electronic versions... but they didn't say it outright! Then they asked if I could visit the R&D center and see the carving and glazing process of Yaozhou porcelain in person... That's why I came to ask the leaders!"

"Carving the porcelain blank and glazing?" The director recalled for a moment, "These are our core techniques, aren't they?"

“Yes!” Director Du nodded. “That’s why I’m in a bit of a dilemma: if we don’t let them see it, it’s been sitting there for over ten days, and they’ve remained amicable without any complaints. Besides, our city has a high industrial sector, and our bureau’s R&D capabilities are too singular. We often have to ask Xida University for help, and it wouldn’t be good to strain the relationship too much…”

But if I let him watch, he'll want to watch it again after the first time, and again after the second time, and he'll refuse to leave. What should I do?

"Idiot, does he think he can stay for 24 hours straight? Once he leaves, won't you close the door? Is it that the machine can't break down, or the circuit can't short-circuit?"

The bureau chief reprimanded, "Then let them take a look, but not for too long, okay? No photos, no videos!"

"Of course we can't film it?" Director Du nodded. "Then how long would be appropriate, a week?"

“Isn’t their inspection trip supposed to last a month? Half a month has already passed, so let’s observe for another half month!” The director thought for a moment. “Without the materials, I doubt they’ll be able to learn it!”

"Of course!"

Starting around the 1980s, Director Meng led the research institute in a dedicated study that lasted for more than a decade, combining research and sintering techniques to achieve a relatively complete restoration of the technology.

The amount of burnt porcelain can be measured in "hundreds of tons".

It's impossible to learn the whole set of techniques just by glancing at it twice.

Director Du stood up: "Okay, I'll notify them now!"

"Hmm!" the bureau chief nodded. "By the way, when is Old Meng coming back?"

"It's almost the end of the year, at the earliest it will be the end of January."

"That's perfect. After all, he has a deep connection with Xida University. Since he's coming back early, we can have a chat and then see him off!"

"That's true!"

Director Du neither agreed nor disagreed, and then took his leave.

He had just left the Industry Bureau building when he dialed Dean Su's number. His tone was one of relief, even showing a hint of emotion: "Dean Su, I have lived up to your expectations..."

...

After finishing his call, Dean Su called Lin Sicheng.

Honestly, the research institute's attitude was actually quite good: apart from being wary of them like thieves, not providing core information, and not allowing them into the R&D center, they were quite generous in other aspects.

A small laboratory was set up, with equipment and instruments sufficient for repairing porcelain, and materials were provided in a timely manner.

So Lin Sicheng has been busy for the past two weeks, researching processes and formulas in addition to finding information.

Unfortunately, besides restoring the ancient methods, there are also some technological innovations that cannot be deduced in a short time.

Just like this jar on the table: a Yaozhou celadon jar with a design of peonies and tang grass.

Although the repair was done, traces of the glaze repair can still be seen in the finer details.

This is because different glaze ratios result in color differences.

Secondly, Lin Sicheng repeatedly tried various ceramic carving techniques before repairing the damaged parts: carving, scratching, shaving, shallow carving, deep carving, openwork carving... He tried all the ceramic carving techniques from the Tang to the Qing dynasties, but still found them somewhat unsatisfactory.

Therefore, he was quite certain that this was not an ancient method, but rather an innovative alternative technique created by Director Meng. However, he couldn't determine its specifics simply by looking at the finished product.

But as long as he sees the process of carving a wet clay model once, he can deduce most of it...

Just as I was examining it, Dean Su called: "Director Du called and said he agreed and I can go to the R&D center tomorrow. But because the equipment needs maintenance at the end of the year, I only have half a month..."

Lin Sicheng took a deep breath: Half a month is more than enough.

For such a large jar with extremely intricate carving, the carving process takes at most a week. Then, it takes a day to prepare and apply the glaze, another day to fire it, and another day to let it dry... ten days is enough.

Secretly calculating, Lin Sicheng, phone tucked between his fingers, took off his gloves and asked, "Dean Su, what time tomorrow?"

"It'll be 8:30, we have to wait until people start work!"

"good!"

After hanging up the phone in a few words, Lin Sicheng looked around and said, "Senior Sister Li, get ready. You'll come with me tomorrow. Professor Shang and Senior Brother Sun, you can rest!"

The three nodded.

The Porcelain Research Institute treated them like thieves, so having too many people go would be counterproductive. Besides, apart from Lin Sicheng, the others who went were just there to watch the spectacle.

After a slight pause, Lin Sicheng looked at the other three with a half-smile: "Director Ge (the criminal investigation captain), are you going or not?"

“Go!” Ge Xu nodded.

But he thought to himself: But I definitely won't go... He felt that doing research with Lin Sicheng was worse than being in prison.

At first, they were quite curious, and they would follow Lin Sicheng to the lab when he did experiments.

As a result, Lin Sicheng didn't hold back at all and treated them like assistants: washing broken pieces of porcelain, grinding porcelain powder, and kneading clay (mixing porcelain clay)... Basically, he let them do whatever required the least skill and was the hardest to do.

Otherwise, they had to copy documents, since Director Du wouldn't allow photocopying, so they had to copy them by hand. After a week of copying, Zhang Feng and Captain Ge were both dizzy and exhausted.

It's no exaggeration to say that they felt even more exhausted than chasing thieves on the street.

Naturally, these two started to shirk their responsibilities: either they'd work half a day, or the other would work the other half. When asked to do something, they'd dawdle and procrastinate…

Captain Ge pointed at Xu Gaolan: "Just let Xiao Xu go..."

Xu Gaolan frowned, about to say something, when he quickly added, "One day's work counts as two days' duty!"

Xu Gaolan was satisfied: That's more like it.