Chapter 246 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Sitting in the car, seeing Sun Jiamu's brows furrowed into a deep frown, Wu Hui smiled and said, "Don't you feel like you can't understand anything, like it's all child's play?"

Sun Jiamu nodded vigorously.

The person in charge of the national-level archaeological site excavation is only in his early twenties. At first glance, it sounds like a joke.

The key point is that it only took about ten days from discovery to excavation. If this gets out, wouldn't the entire historical, archaeological, and academic communities be in an uproar?

But look at the local leaders, whether they are from provincial departments or city and county levels, they are all calmer and more at ease than the last.

Sun Jiamu felt that everything about this place and this matter was strange and bizarre.

Wu Hui leaned back in his chair: "He is Wang Qizhi's student!"

Sun Jiamu paused for a moment, looking at him strangely.

They were former colleagues, so of course they knew each other. But one was in charge of archaeology and the other was engaged in cultural heritage research, so they weren't in the same department and weren't very close.

But Sun Jiamu at least knew Wang Qizhi's background...

It was obvious he'd misunderstood. Wu Hui shook his head: "What I meant was that the lab Wang Qizhi was in charge of after transferring to Xida was actually always run by this kid. Including those two key projects, they were all designed by this kid; Wang Qizhi was just listed as a figurehead..."

Sun Jiamu was suddenly taken aback.

The leader was referring to Wang Qizhi's work on "iron artifacts" and "the origin of copper metallurgy."

Director Wu once joked with him: "Wang Qizhi is quite capable. He dared to steal from his former employer after only two years away from the Cultural Relics Bureau."

That's bad enough, but he even dared to steal the job from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences?

At the time, he wondered: Why did this spoiled brat suddenly become so enlightened?

So it turns out the kid did it?

But at just over twenty years old, independently designing a national-level project... Sun Jiamu found it even more bizarre.

Wu Hui smiled again: "You just got back from your business trip and haven't had time to find out yet: actually, Yuncheng... to be precise, the site that the child discovered in Hejin wasn't just this one, but three."

The first site is the Laoyaotou kiln site. Although it's a Qing Dynasty porcelain kiln, it's the most complete ceramic firing site in Shanxi to date, with the most intact technological chain.

"The second site is the Beiwuqin Tang Kiln. Its discovery pushed back the history of porcelain making in Shanxi from the late Song and early Jin dynasties to the Tang dynasty. But that's secondary. The key point is that Lin Sicheng also discovered coke remains while surveying fuel remains..."

Director Sun's eyelids twitched: "Coke from the Tang Dynasty?"

"More or less... because we don't yet have coal dating technology, we can only test auxiliary specimens from the same strata, such as animal bones and porcelain shards. Both of these have dating errors, so we've tentatively concluded it's from the early Five Dynasties period... but I think it's very likely from the late Tang Dynasty!"

Not to mention the Tang Dynasty, even the Five Dynasties period was nearly two hundred years earlier than the previous discovery.

More importantly, coke is not only related to porcelain making, but also to the history of metallurgy and even the origins of industry.

But that's not right.

Having spent half his life in archaeology, this was the first time Sun Jiamu had encountered such a concentration of archaeological sites: three major discoveries, all located in a small county-level city.

The timing is more concentrated: the discovery within just three months is, from an archaeological perspective, less likely than finding five million pieces in two separate pieces.

Wu Hui sighed again: "Compared to this, this is nothing. The difficulty is that all three sites are underground, and there are no landmark remains on the surface."

"Especially two porcelain kiln sites: Yuncheng has been planning to restore Fahua ware for a long time, and started looking for kiln sites around 2000. They searched for eight years without any results, but then that child came, and one kiln site after another appeared..."

Sun Jiamu suddenly realized: No wonder Lin Sicheng has so many titles?

The first one fills a gap in the province's historical record. The second one pushes back the province's porcelain-making history by two dynasties. The third one even goes back to prehistoric times?

This doesn't even include the Tang Dynasty coke from Beiwuqin or the pottery silkworm pupae from Guduo Village. These two items alone are definitely among the major historical discoveries of the year in China.

But the question is, given how difficult it was, how did Lin Sicheng manage to find it?

X-ray vision?

That's bullshit...

Wu Hui pinched his brow and recalled, "I read the survey report. The first time, he found the kiln site based on the abnormal distribution of plants within the site area..."

"To be more specific: Laoyaotou is located in a mountainous area, in the heart of a porcelain clay mine. Rivers have changed course, and the soil has become compacted. It not only lacks water but also the nutrients and conditions necessary for the growth of vegetation. Yet, on this barren wasteland, a lush patch of reeds grows?"

Based on this, Lin Sicheng deduced that there should be traces of plant ash from the porcelain firing process below, and then he poked around in the pot and found the pool of plant ash...

"The second time, in Beiwuqin, he deduced from a white-glazed bowl that looked as new as porcelain that the site might be the remains of an ancient kiln god temple. Then, using this as the location of the village, he further deduced the location of the workshops associated with the kiln site based on the terrain and river channels... This time it was even faster, taking only one day..."

"The excavation report includes a simple drawing he made at the time, which is compared with the actual site of the excavated artifacts, and the difference is perfect..."

"As for this last place..." Wu Hui paused for a moment, "Wang Qizhi said that this time it was indeed a coincidence!"

A ridiculous coincidence?

Zhang Jiamu opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

At first glance, they all seem quite simple?

But if you haven't studied botany or archaeobotany, who knows what kind of grass should grow on a wasteland and what kind of grass shouldn't grow there?

If it weren't for years of field archaeological experience, who would know what kind of growing environment and habits the pampas grass needs?

Even if you rack your brains, you still can't connect it to porcelain kilns.

There's a second time. First, you need to have a good understanding of the folk ceramic culture and beliefs of the Tang Dynasty: what gods were worshipped in the south, what gods were worshipped in the north, and what offerings were placed during sacrifices.

How should the temple be built, in what direction should it be built, and how should it correspond to the mountain terrain, river channels, and core workshops such as kilns?

How many porcelain kilns were there in the Tang Dynasty?

Across the entire country, the number of systematic, complete, representative, and valuable examples can be counted on two hands.

It might not be used even once every eight or ten years. Schools don't teach this kind of knowledge at all, and cultural heritage institutions and archaeological institutions also study it very little.

Nobody has the time to waste learning this kind of knowledge, so people don't even know where to look up information.

Where did Lin Sicheng learn that, and how did he manage to find the Beiwuqin Kiln Site in just one day?

After much thought, Sun Jiamu concluded that there was only one possibility: Lin Sicheng had accumulated a terrifying amount of knowledge and experience through continuous practice.

But then another problem arises: he hasn't even graduated yet, so where did he get his practical experience?

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Sun Jiamu opened his mouth and said, "This child... how can he be so strange?"

"Not exactly eerie, but certainly quite unique!"

Wu Hui nodded. "According to Wang Qizhi, this kid learns things incredibly fast, has a photographic memory, and is self-taught... Those two projects for our bureau and the Academy of Social Sciences were obtained by him from journals and publicly available data..."

Peel?

It's not uncommon to use journal articles to reverse-engineer research conclusions. However, this only happens when the research institution has completed the project acceptance process, all papers have been published, and there is core data to support them.

Regarding the two projects in Wang Qizhi's laboratory, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences have only just begun to study them and have only published a few general journals.

To put it bluntly: there was no core data at all, and the research was not conducted to that extent. So where did Lin Sicheng get it from?

Subconsciously, he recalled what Lin Sicheng had said at the meeting: RTK comes with a manual, and it's not difficult to change the application scenario; you just need to change the system parameters.

At that time, Sun Jiamu thought, "This kid is really good at bragging."

Regarding his mention of "changing parameters," the archaeological department's technicians would need about two months of intensive training to master it.

But now that I think about it: he has reached the point where he can deduce the core data of a research project based on a few public reports and dare to compete with the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences for projects. Modifying the RTK parameters according to the instruction manual is just a piece of cake for him.

Sun Jiamu felt that the word "evil" was no longer sufficient to describe it...

He pondered for a long time, still finding it unbelievable. He winced as if he had a toothache: "Where did Wang Zhiqi find this monster?"

Wu Hui shook his head: "No, just a student from Xida University, a senior this year!"

What? A college student?

Sun Jiamu was stunned again: "No... if he's this outstanding, why does he even need to go to school?"

Wu Hui nodded in deep agreement: "But graduation is just a month away. I talked to Wang Qizhi, and this time the teacher and student will join the group together. We'll put them in one group, with Wang Qizhi listed as the co-founder and Lin Sicheng in charge of the actual work. Then, during the campus recruitment in August, we'll ask the department to reserve a spot for that kid."

Sun Jiamu secretly praised: Killing two birds with one stone?

I don't know if this kid is any good, but Wang Qizhi is really useful.

Those who have used it know...

As the car pulled up, a group of people got out, looking rather dejected.

With just one glance, Sun Jiamu knew why the locals were in such a hurry.

In typical loess plateau terrain like this, heavy rain can cause large areas to collapse.

Even though the site is located in the center of the plateau, the lack of vegetation means it will inevitably be washed away by floods, causing varying degrees of damage.

I didn't know before, but now that I do, I definitely need to take effective protective measures...

After a brief observation, the group of visitors went up to the platform.

Below the slope was soft loam; one step and your shoe would sink completely. Fortunately, to facilitate the transport of archaeological equipment, Lin Sicheng applied for and had a gravel road urgently built in Hejin.

Following the slope up to the terrace, two enormous steel roof trusses stand in the center of the terrace.

The exterior of the steel shed was covered with a 30-centimeter-high walkway made of stone bricks, and drainage ditches were dug around it. Since there was no time to harden it, plastic edging was laid on the bottom first.

Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu calculated that the two steel roof trusses, walkways, and drainage channels must have been built before the site was excavated. Even with overnight construction, it would take five days to a week.

Therefore, Lin Sicheng's excavation time at the site should be shorter than what was stated in the report: within ten days.

But that's secondary; the key is the planning and layout: the exterior of the site is spotless, with not a single weed or pebble in sight.

Don't underestimate this brick-paved walkway; it serves an extraordinary purpose: it can be walked on sunny days, rainy days, and even during floods.

Besides, there are no footprints visible inside or outside, indicating that once the trail was built, all work, whether it was for excavation, steel roof construction, or even taking a detour, could only enter the site through this one route.

Looking at the pyramid-shaped mound outside the gate, this should be the surface layer, intermittent layer, and subsoil layer scraped out from the site during the excavation and squaring process.

It's not surprising that they're piled up here, because the site hasn't been fully excavated yet, and further analysis and testing may be needed.

But strangely, the huge pile of soil was as fine as flour.

This indicates that the clay was indeed scraped off layer by layer with a scraper and then sieved through a fine-mesh sieve. Therefore, not only would no artifacts be missed, but even a single shard of pottery would not be overlooked.

Subconsciously, Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu turned their heads to look at Lin Sicheng beside them, and then exchanged a glance: Does this kid have obsessive-compulsive disorder?

To be honest, can't the national field institutes and archaeological teams manage things this strictly and meticulously?

Secretly surprised, Sun Jiamu turned around and asked, "Teacher Lin, how many people were working on the surface when you were scraping it?"

"One hundred and twenty, divided into two teams working in two shifts, with each team further divided into ten groups!" Lin Sicheng said succinctly. "Each group has four people responsible for scraping the surface, and two people for transporting and sifting the soil!"

That means there are at least sixty noodle shaving workers on site at the same time?

In addition to the technicians conducting secondary screenings and the archaeological team members conducting continuous surveys, there were at least one hundred construction workers on site at the same time.

With so many people, management is a major challenge: archaeology, unlike other fields, requires meticulous and time-consuming work. A slight mishap, such as digging too deep, can render the entire group, or even the whole team, of work useless for the entire day.

It is very likely that the work will have to be redone, and the time it takes could be two or even three times longer than before.

Therefore, in Sun Jiamu's view, completing the project in about ten days was like forcing a flock of ducks onto a shelf...

After a moment's thought, Lin Sicheng led them into the warehouse.

There was a clerk on duty at the entrance. He stood up and greeted him. Lin Sicheng smiled, picked up a pen, and signed his name in the register.

After signing, Lin Sicheng pressed the alcohol gel dispenser on the wall, carefully wiped his hands, gestured to the registration book, and then pointed to the changing room next door: "Two leaders, I'm sorry, the preparations were a bit rushed, and we don't have enough clothes!"

Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu were both stunned.

What does that mean?

Do I need to sign a document, wash my hands, and change into protective clothing?

The procedure is correct, of course. The Archaeology Department and Archaeology Management Office of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage have it clearly posted on the wall. The three essential elements for entering a historical site are: prevention of bacteria, prevention of dust, and prevention of pollution.

Local archaeological institutions certainly have similar regulations and rules. But honestly, how many of them are strictly enforced?

In the past, Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu would have thought: Is this kid trying to intimidate them?

But after seeing the layout outside the warehouse and the pile of soil finer than flour, the two had no more doubts: this kid just has obsessive-compulsive disorder.

No matter what kind of leader or expert you are, or where you come from, if you dare not sign, wash your hands, or change your clothes, he will dare not let you in, believe it or not?

So, sign it!