Do you want Chapter 60?

They were traveling on a county road, which was full of large trucks, so Wang Qizhi and Lin Sicheng took turns driving.

Ye Anning sat in the back seat and started eating steamed buns as soon as she got in the car. After finishing the steamed buns, she ate snacks and occasionally handed some to Lin Sicheng.

He didn't speak, remaining quiet, serene, and elegant.

After eating, I went to sleep... and slept for three hours straight until we arrived in Qishan.

Upon arriving in the county town, the two got out of the car. Wang Qizhi opened the back door and said, "Eat and sleep, sleep and eat, just like pigs!"

Ye Anning closed her eyes and mumbled, "Uncle, I can hear you."

Nonsense, if you can't hear me even like this, you might as well just die.

Wang Qizhi grabbed her ear and pulled her awake: "We still have to pick someone up, make room for Lin Sicheng!"

"Oh, oh~" Ye Anning quickly sat up straight and smiled shyly.

Lin Sicheng got into the back seat, drove for a few more minutes, and stopped in front of a building.

Then a middle-aged man came up. Wang Zhiqi introduced him as Mr. Du, the curator of the county museum, who had previously worked at the Baoji Bronze Institute.

The chicken fat yellow dish we're going to see today is the one he recommended.

After getting in the car, Director Du gave directions, and after about ten minutes, we arrived at a place called Zhoucun.

As soon as she got out of the car, Ye Anning pointed into the distance and asked, "Uncle, what's that for?"

A mountain ridge was completely enclosed by netting, and many excavators and loaders were parked below. The densely packed figures of people could be vaguely seen on the ridge.

There seem to be police officers too?

Wang Zhiqi was whispering with Director Du, sounding rather impatient: "I don't have time, ask Lin Sicheng!"

Ye Anning rolled her eyes and made a face at Wang Qizhi's back.

Lin Sicheng smiled and said, "It's the Temple of the Duke of Zhou!"

Ye Anning was startled: "The tomb of the Duke of Zhou?"

"No, it's just the fiefdom of the Duke of Zhou, so many of his descendants are buried here. There are also tombs of other nobles from the late Shang and early Zhou dynasties... More than fifty tombs of varying sizes, making it the largest Zhou dynasty burial complex discovered to date!"

And the span is long enough: from the end of the Shang Dynasty to the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, nearly five hundred years.

There are also many cultural relics, the most influential of which are more than 15,000 oracle bone fragments from the late Shang Dynasty to the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty, among which more than 2,600 characters can be identified.

How many characters are there in the entire Chinese character system?

Therefore, it is very important, and it plays a crucial role in connecting the past and the future. It can be said that without these oracle bones from the Zhouwang Temple, paleography experts would have had to spend at least another ten years to fully understand the oracle bone script of the Shang Dynasty.

The key is its impact on history: nearly half of the content is not recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian.

Secondly, more than one hundred pieces of celadon-glazed porcelain were also unearthed. This means that the origins of porcelain making in China can be traced back to at least the Zhou Dynasty... This is irrefutable evidence.

Next came more than two thousand bronze artifacts, thousands of jade artifacts, and countless gray pottery pieces... It was hailed as the largest archaeological discovery to date, on par with the Yin Ruins.

Ye Anning listened with great interest, but Director Du, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around, his face full of surprise: "How did you know?"

"I read it in the newspaper!" Lin Sicheng thought for a moment. "Since last year, China News Service has reported on it almost every quarter!"

"China News Service...is that a foreign media outlet?"

"It was also reported internally: the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' journal *Archaeology*, the provincial archaeological research institute's *Archaeology and Cultural Relics*, and Peking University's internal journal all reported on it, though with a slight delay!"

Director Du was stunned for a moment, unsure of what to say.

The Zhouwangmiao site was originally organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and jointly excavated by the Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Peking University. Whenever there are new discoveries, these three institutions will definitely report on them.

The problem is, who would watch every single episode without fail?

He was a member of the local assistance team for the archaeological team, yet he didn't know as much as this young man.

Startled, Du Hai glanced at Wang Qizhi, who returned a reserved smile: "Calm down, don't be impatient."

Ye Anning was genuinely impressed: How much free time must he have, how many books must he have read?

So that's why you failed every subject?

But we're not that close yet, so I shouldn't be too forward, otherwise she'll definitely ask... really, she's so curious!

The road was paved with loess and covered with gravel, hard and flat. Walking along the street, we came to a house.

The house had a gable roof, red brick walls, and a tightly closed iron gate. I called out for a long time, but they wouldn't open it.

An elderly man sat on a small stool, squinting as he leaned against a doorpost, basking in the sun. His hair and eyebrows were all white, his body was hunched, and he was leaning on a cane; he was at least eighty years old.

"The old lady is the seller's mother. She's a little hard of hearing, so you don't need to worry about her!"

Director Du said something and went to the side to make a phone call to the buyer. Lin Sicheng glanced at the old man, his eyes slightly narrowed.

With grime on his hands and spots on his face and neck, one might mistake him for an elderly person who is unhygienic and has age spots.

But Lin Sicheng could tell at a glance that the grime was rust and the spots were seepage, all of which had seeped into the flesh... How many times had this person been in the pit?

The crucial point is that she was an elderly woman?

Subconsciously, Lin Sicheng turned around and looked at the distant mountain ridge.

Then she turned back and looked at the old woman's hands: Since the seller was her son, could it be that he was following in his mother's footsteps?

Could the items we're looking at today be genuine antiques?

Just as he was about to remind Wang Qizhi, the old lady opened her eyes.

His gaze swept back and forth, finally settling on Lin Sicheng's face. He grinned, revealing his bare gums.

"You're so kind to your child, how old are they?"

Lin Sicheng paused for a moment: "Twenty!"

"Pour the paste?"

Lin Sicheng's eyelids twitched: Is this old lady some kind of demon?

This is jargon, specifically from the Guanzhong region: "倒" (dao) means to tinker or repair, and "浆糊" (jianghu) refers to piecing together or restoring. Put together, it means to tinker with antiques and restore antiques. Coincidentally, Lin Sicheng was good at both.

He smiled quickly and said, "You have a good eye!"

"It's not going to work any earlier!" The old lady stood up with a smile, handing her cane to Lin Sicheng. "Here, take this, I'll open the door for you!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a bunch of keys, muttering to himself:

"Kid, don't be afraid! My son doesn't rob tombs, he's just a middleman. All his antiques are absolutely genuine. Come here whenever you have time, and I guarantee you'll find a bargain every time..."

Goodness: I only stared at her for a few moments, and this old lady guessed what I was worried about.

I've met a master...

Lin Sicheng forced a smile: "Okay!"

It was all slang, spoken in dialect, and Ye Anning couldn't understand a single word. Wang Qizhi only understood a small part, but put together, it was as if he hadn't understood anything at all.

The two blinked, looking at Lin Sicheng and then at the old lady: Isn't the old lady hard of hearing? How come she's chatting so well with Lin Sicheng?

Just then, Du Hai finished his call, looking utterly disappointed: "He said his mother doesn't agree and wants us to come another day... Huh?"

Wasn't his mother blocking the door and preventing him from coming in? How come they opened it for him?

The old lady picked up a stool, stepped over the threshold, and said, "Come in!"

Lin Sicheng nodded and returned the cane, but as soon as he handed it forward, he subconsciously paused.

The cane is made of ordinary old elm wood, smooth and glossy. A piece of tire leather is tied to the head of the cane with wire, but a piece of old jade is inlaid on the top of the cane.

It has no decorations, the fish's body is covered with spots, and the jade has turned black.

The key is its design: it's highly likely that this is a jade sword pommel from the Shang Dynasty.

The old lady glanced at Lin Sicheng, then smiled and took the bag: "Kid, do you want it or not?"

Lin Sicheng's eyelids twitched violently, and he quickly shook his head twice.