Chapter 247 A Complete Mismatch
Dark clouds loomed overhead, the sky was gloomy, and the air outside was stuffy and humid. After standing for less than ten minutes, my clothes felt sticky, as if covered in a layer of wet mud.
The temperature wasn't too high, only around 28 or 29 degrees Celsius, but I was sweating profusely.
It's hard to imagine that Shanxi, located in the north, would have such weather.
But once inside the archaeological chamber, it was like entering another world: dry, cool, and with a comfortable temperature and humidity.
"Under the influence of the subtropical high, frequent rainfall increases humidity, and evaporation intensifies air humidity, resulting in persistent warm and hot weather..."
An expert flipped through the plan and said, "According to Lin Sicheng's prediction, this kind of weather will continue until mid-August!"
But it's only the beginning of July, so if you calculate it that way, there's at least another month and a half left?
If you told this to someone from the South, they would be absolutely astonished...
Some people were skeptical: "How accurate is the prediction?"
"Don't know?" The expert holding the plan flipped through the pages again. "But it was mentioned earlier that this year's summer vacation might start earlier, and it's estimated that there will be sustained high temperatures and frequent showers by the end of June. Both of these points were accurate!"
A group of experts fell silent: the temperature had been 37 or 38 degrees Celsius for over a week. There had been rain at least every other day, sometimes even twice a day.
Fortunately, precautions were taken in advance by covering the outer storage area. Otherwise, with the scorching sun and torrential rain, the site would have been washed into a mud pit long ago, and there would have been no excavation to be done.
Even without removing the layers, the site is only one meter deep. Due to the rapid cycle of moisture in the soil, the site will still be damaged.
Things like silk threads and furs would be strange if they didn't get moldy.
Someone looked up, glanced at the ceiling, and then at the fresh air and temperature and humidity control equipment: "I thought that kid was just making a whim and wasting money, but I didn't expect it would actually be useful?"
Sun Jiamu paused for a moment, then sighed: To be honest, he had the same suspicion before.
But looking at it now in conjunction with the excavation plan: it was damn prescient.
He quickly changed his mind and tapped the table again: "Don't be so childish, call me teacher from now on..."
"Hahaha……"
A group of experts burst into laughter.
Despite the laughter, the admiration was genuine, and no one felt there was anything wrong with calling Lin Sicheng "teacher."
Although in their eyes, Lin Sicheng was indeed still a child...
Just as he was secretly thinking about it, two sounds rang out: "Whoosh~ Whoosh~".
Two bolts of lightning flashed, and then it was as if the sky had opened up, and torrential rain poured down.
There was a series of rapid, banging sounds overhead. In an instant, water billowed up from the window, obscuring everything outside.
How heavy must this rain be?
Sun Jiamu paused for a moment, then hurriedly clicked the mouse. A group of people, as if waking from a dream, gathered around.
The gimbal slowly rotated, and the scene around the archaeological chamber was clearly displayed on the screen: the water from the eaves was like a waterfall, rolling down the canopy, gathering into a torrent at the foot of the house, and flowing into the drainage ditch.
Two yellow dragons surged down the archaeological chamber, then suddenly separated more than ten meters away, flowing away like the character "八" (eight).
The rain intensified, and in a short time, the terrace was flooded, but the flood control dam outside the cabin held it back.
Then, the water level rose higher and higher. Suddenly, a researcher exclaimed, "Look... the other side is about to collapse... that shot in the upper right corner..."
It was the gimbal on the roof of the cabin, and it was filming the opposite terrace. Sun Jiamu zoomed in on the screen, and everyone's hearts skipped a beat: a cliff six or seven meters high was gradually peeling away from the terrace, then collapsing faster and faster, crashing down like a giant wall.
With a loud "boom," water splashed up more than ten feet high. Instantly, it was washed away by the rain and turned into mud.
Someone frowned, staring at the pool of water outside the cabin: "With so much water here, won't it collapse too?"
Sun Jiamu shook his head: "Don't worry, there are drainage pipes buried at higher elevations. When the water level rises to a certain point, it will drain below the terrace!"
"Why not bury it at the bottom?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of experts turned around and looked at the newly arrived technician with rather strange expressions.
Sun Jiamu pointed at the screen: "It's all mud. If it doesn't settle, it could clog a drainpipe as thick as a bucket..."
The technician blushed and didn't dare to say another word.
This took more than an hour.
The opposite terrace collapsed and collapsed again and again. The old flood channels were just filled in when new ones were washed out. The edges of the terrace were jagged and uneven, as if a dog had chewed them.
The muddy water converged into a yellow torrent, rushing straight down the gorge, rolling over rocks and breaking trees.
But this area remains exactly as it was before. Especially around the inside and outside of the archaeological chamber, there isn't even a puddle to be seen.
Looking at the monitoring screen and then at the excavation plan next to it, the group of experts exchanged bewildered glances.
Looking at the opposite terrace, without this archaeological chamber and without the flood control and drainage system, even if the land beneath our feet hadn't collapsed, it would have been washed away and broken into pieces.
With a plot of land that's only three acres in size, how much bigger can be left?
The warehouse was completely silent until the sun shone through the back window and an arched rainbow rose across the plateau.
Along the gravel road, a minibus drove up from behind the slope and honked its horn twice.
Sun Jiamu sighed inwardly: If it weren't for the road built by Lin Sicheng, with this heavy rain, let alone archaeology, even people wouldn't be able to get up here.
But now it's time for it to rain, for it to flood, for it to be excavated, and for people to go home.
After a moment of reflection, Sun Jiamu took off his gloves and walked out, saying, "Duty officer, stay. You can go home now!"
A group of experts nodded in unison.
After taking off his protective suit and changing into casual clothes, Sun Jiamu thought for a moment, then took out his phone and dialed Lin Sicheng's number.
But he couldn't get through, so he called Wang Qizhi instead.
"Professor Wang, are you at the village committee?"
"Yes, Director Sun!"
"Lin Sicheng is here too, right?"
"He's not here; he went to Longmen Mountain."
"What?"
Why can't I get through on the phone?
Sun Jiamu paused for a moment, then listened intently to the rumbling sound coming from the gorge.
Such heavy rain has caused flooding even on the plains, let alone in the mountains.
Wang Qizhi explained, "He went up the mountain because of the heavy rain today, saying he wanted to observe the direction of the floodwaters to deduce the possible route of the ancient riverbed..."
Sun Jiamu didn't know what to say.
The logic is correct: rivers may change course from time to time, but the terrain of mountains generally does not change significantly. Based on the course of flash floods, it is indeed possible to deduce which gorges or valleys are ancient river channels that were interrupted by the rise of the riverbed due to siltation after floods.
But that requires visiting each gorge one by one. Even with a drone, do you have to climb to the top of each gorge to take pictures?
What if there's an accident because of the heavy rain and slippery roads?
"No... how could Lin Sicheng be so bold?" Sun Jiamu looked puzzled. "Professor Wang, why didn't you try to persuade him?"
Wang Qizhi remained silent.
What kind of audacity is that?
Lin Sicheng's battle of wits and courage against the tomb raiders truly put his life on the line.
He pleaded with all his might, his lips were worn thin from talking so much, but did Lin Sicheng listen?
The main point is that you say your piece, and I'll do mine...
"Director Sun, don't worry. We have a local guide, and we've brought all the necessary protective equipment. There shouldn't be any problem..."
Sun Jiamu really wanted to curse: "That's not my student, why would I be worried about him?"
He secretly grumbled to himself as he boarded the minibus with the experts.
When he arrived at the village committee, he kept a cold face and didn't want to say a word to Wang Qizhi.
It wasn't until dusk, when he finally got through to Lin Sicheng, that Sun Jiamu's expression softened somewhat.
Wang Qizhi was both amused and exasperated: It's only been a few days?
More than two hours later, around 11 o'clock, Lin Sicheng finally returned.
He was covered in mud, his raincoat had tears on both sides, his hands were covered in bloodstains, and there were two streaks on his face.
Wang Qizhi was startled: "You fell down?"
"No, the pickup truck got stuck, and we dug it out for a long time!"
After replying, Lin Sicheng picked up Wang Qizhi's teacup and gulped it down in one go.
Sun Jiamu tapped the table: "Lin Sicheng, why don't we wait until the weather clears up? Although the floodwaters have dried up, the traces are still there, and we can still observe them!"
"Director Sun, we need something more visually clear when there's a flood!"
"It's intuitive enough, but what if something unexpected happens?"
Lin Sicheng paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Thank you, Director Sun!"
A simple "thank you" left Sun Jiamu speechless. He sighed again, "Did you find the ancient riverbed?"
"Not yet!" Lin Sicheng shook his head. "But we found a tomb, which should be from the Jin-Yuan period!"
What is that, a tomb?
What is the connection between the kiln site you found and the tomb?
It just feels like a complete mismatch...
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