Chapter 73 The First Disciple of the Sect, the Senior Brother
As soon as she entered the room, Shang Yan's face darkened instantly.
Her face was full of anger, just like a lioness.
"Professor Shang, don't get upset!" Wang Qizhi gestured for Ye Anning to pour tea. "Let's talk calmly!"
The less anxious he was, the angrier Shang Yan became. Just as she was about to say something, Wang Qizhi glanced at her:
"Professor Shang, let me ask you this: if we were in the porcelain room, would you dare to let Lin Sicheng sell that plum vase?"
Shang Yan froze, her expression shifting between anger and rage, which subsided like a receding tide.
Exactly, you can't even guarantee students' basic rights, so why do you blame Wang Qizhi for competing with you for students?
After a long pause, she gritted her teeth and said, "This is a school!"
"Yes, this is a school, a place to cultivate talents, to establish words, morality and conduct, not a place to morally blackmail... What if, and I mean what if: the school doesn't allow selling, if I were Lin Sicheng, do you believe me if I dared to drop out of school?"
Wang Qizhi spoke and gestured, "Then he took this plum vase and the sunflower-shaped plate from last time, and randomly found a university of the same or even higher level. Do you think other schools would accept him?"
Shang Yan stared wide-eyed: Do I even need to guess?
With such skill in applying blue pigments and mending porcelain with gold, Peking University's gates are always open, welcoming you with open arms...
Wang Qizhi shrugged: "So, I'm helping the school retain talent. Of course, I also know why Professor Shang is so angry: because you feel I lied to you, that's why you didn't recruit Lin Sicheng in time..."
But then I turned around and realized that I had actually managed to get Lin Sicheng into my team? So, the more outstanding Lin Sicheng is, the angrier you get..."
Wang Qizhi smiled again, "That's right, I did say that Lin Sicheng's abilities are too outstanding. Bringing in a student like him is like a wolf jumping into a flock of sheep... However, in this world, ordinary people are the majority, so it's unfair to other students and even more difficult to manage..."
But I'm not lying to you. If you asked me now, I would still say the same thing... Professor Shang, if you don't believe me, just think back carefully: how was Assistant Professor Li different today compared to before?
Shang Yan paused for a moment, then glared fiercely at Wang Qizhi.
Outside the door, Hao Jun lingered for a while, and happened to hear this sentence. Out of curiosity, he glanced over.
Suddenly, Li Zhen's face flushed red, from her ears to the roots of her neck...
"Admiring strength is human nature, especially for the opposite sex. Unfortunately, there are quite a few female students in your graduate program... Isn't this obviously going to split your originally harmonious and perfect research team into two opposing factions? So, for Professor Shang, what else is Lin Sicheng but a menace?"
Seeing that Shang Yan was about to lose her temper again, Wang Qizhi changed the subject, "Anyway, she's really hard to manage, don't you think?"
Shang Yan snorted: "You think you're so easy to manage?"
"Of course, Feng Lin is already thirty, so Lin Sicheng definitely wouldn't be interested... More importantly, my research group was just established, and Lin Sicheng was the first to join. What does that mean?"
Wang Qizhi waved his hand, his eyes sharp as never before. "This is the founding disciple, the sect's senior brother. Anyone want to mess with me?"
Shang Yan opened her mouth, unable to speak for a long time.
She had never really thought about this before. The question is, does what Wang Qizhi said make a lot of sense?
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Wang Qizhi will hand over all new graduate students and existing teaching assistants to Lin Sicheng to manage. He will certainly make it clear beforehand: anyone who disagrees should get out of here.
She could even imagine what Wang Qizhi would do after gathering everyone: the first task would inevitably revolve around Lin Sicheng.
Don't believe me?
Just that fish scale today, and that golden branch on the plum vase, are enough to start two small research topics:
The use of hammering techniques in ancient armor restoration;
Goldwork, engraving, antique porcelain!
Lin Sicheng reads papers until his hands are sore.
But what if it were you?
We can't just give Lin Sicheng a new research topic to accommodate him, can we?
But what about the other eleven students?
Or, we could pick one of the existing research projects and assign it to Lin Sicheng?
But what about the students who were previously in charge?
The more Shang Yan thought about it, the more tired she became, and the more she felt that Wang Qizhi's words made a lot of sense: He is indeed a talented person, but how will you arrange things for him and manage him?
But we can't just let it go like this.
Even if you know you're going to die, you still have to try.
Shang Yan gritted her teeth: "Professor Wang, I admit you have a point. But you can't mislead students just to make them feel comfortable?"
You know better than I do: there are countless institutions and talents researching bronze artifacts in our school, and even in the province and the country. The major, high-level research directions have long been taken up by others...
Therefore, you can only focus on specific sub-topics, but what future is there for you or for Lin Sicheng? But porcelain is different: there are enough dynasties and even more kilns... Just the Cizhou kiln in this province alone is enough to study for a lifetime..."
"Haha..." Wang Qizhi laughed. "Professor Shang, when did I ever say that Lin Sicheng and I were mainly researching copper?"
Wang Qizhi declared emphatically, "It's iron, it's an iron artifact!"
One sentence, like a hammer blow, slammed hard into Shang Yan's forehead.
My head went blank for a moment, and my face gradually turned pale.
Subconsciously, the day Wang Qizhi took Lin Sicheng to the ceramics lab to repair the sunflower-shaped plate flashed into my mind:
"Professor Wang, how does Lin Sicheng know X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy?"
"He said he learned it from books..."
"He also knows penetrating imaging of the surface of iron specimens... This technique was only published in a paper by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last year... He told me that he learned it from reading the paper..."
"He also knows a systematic process for desalination, dechlorination, corrosion inhibition, and sealing... This technology was only patented by Beijing University of Technology at the beginning of the year, and the National Museum of China and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage are still in the trial stage... He also said that he learned it from academic papers, isn't that amazing?"
Therefore, Wang Qizhi and Lin Sicheng never intended to make a big deal out of the copperware, but rather... wanted to overthrow the Heavenly Gang?
At first glance, it seems ridiculous: if it were so easy to research, why would the government establish a special fund and provide key support?
The problem is, what if?
What if Wang Qizhi wasn't lying? What if Lin Sicheng really could deduce the technology based on the paper?
Even a small amount, even just one-tenth, even just scratching the surface, even just following in the footsteps of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and the National Museum of China, is equivalent to round after round of support policies and key funding.
With a little more effort and marketing, the Heritage Institute could apply to the university to establish a separate major in this field…
On second thought: Wang Qizhi was studying bronze artifacts, which belong to the same category of "metal artifacts" as ironware, so he could easily switch his focus.
But my research focuses on ceramics, so how can I switch fields?
Suddenly, Shang Yan felt utterly disheartened:
No wonder Lin Sicheng refused without even thinking when I asked Li Zhen to sound him out? I've tried to talk to him face to face many times, but Lin Sicheng avoids me whenever possible.
On the contrary, Wang Qizhi had only given a flirtatious look, and the two of them had already become lovers?
If it were her, she would be just like Lin Sicheng.
So what's the point of arguing?
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