Chapter 223 Accent
A gentle spring breeze drifts through the gauze window.
A swallow carrying mud flew by, leaving two silhouettes flashing across the glass.
The finance department handed over the materials list, which Wang Qizhi accepted with both hands.
Digestion solutions, colorimetric reagents, silicon carbide abrasives, as well as test papers, filter papers, crucibles, liquid tubes, and any equipment and instruments that may be provided.
Two large sheets of paper listed everything, including the cost of each item and the weekly lab rental fee.
After a quick glance, Wang Qizhi half-jokingly said, "Leaders, we're looking for local porcelain kiln sites, purely to contribute to the local area. Why are you charging us?"
Sitting opposite him were two officials from the Municipal Museum, one in charge and one in charge, who explained with smiles, "Professor Wang, many of the materials you requested are rarely used in the museum and need to be purchased on an immediate basis. The museum's funds are limited, so please understand..."
Wang Qizhi smiled and said, "Okay, no problem!"
Museums are among the most underserved departments in government, receiving limited support from higher authorities, which Wang Qizhi understands. He also understands the laboratory's daily fee structure.
But there are some things that need to be clarified beforehand.
Just like with Yaozhou porcelain, he was only there to study celadon techniques, but by a twist of fate, Lin Sicheng ended up creating tea dust glaze.
If something goes wrong in Yuncheng, it could lead to disputes later if we don't discuss it beforehand.
Wang Qizhi smiled and said, "If there is any progress, or even a groundbreaking research discovery, how would that be calculated?"
The two leaders nodded in unison: "What you researched is yours, of course. We will not interfere!"
That's good!
Wang Qizhi nodded, quickly signed his name, and then had his assistant go with the finance department to swipe the card.
Tens of thousands of yuan—not a huge sum, but not a small one either. But Wang Qizhi felt that things that could be solved with money weren't really problems…
After finishing quickly, Wang Qizhi went down to the second floor.
The lab isn't large, only about 50 or 60 square meters. The equipment isn't very complete and is quite old, but it's been agreed that if this lab isn't suitable, the Municipal Museum will be responsible for finding alternatives. Of course, that will cost money…
If all else fails, we can go back to Xi'an. It's only about 200 kilometers away, and even if we take the national highway, we can make a round trip in a day.
When they went in, Lin Sicheng was typing on the keyboard, while Ye Anning and the data clerk, Xiao Liu, were standing by the printer.
With a series of "clattering" sounds, the printer started spitting out paper, one sheet after another.
Wang Qizhi walked over: "How is it?"
"good!"
Lin Sicheng picked up the documents: "Teacher, look, these are the few pieces of fine white porcelain, which are suspected to be the clay composition of Song Dynasty porcelain: in addition to silicon and aluminum, there are also iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, manganese, calcium..."
Based on this, it can be inferred that in addition to common minerals such as kaolinite, montmorillonite, feldspar, and quartz, the original porcelain clay should also contain amphibole and epidote, which, due to their fine particles, were not filtered out. Therefore, this should be the silty clay unique to the Loess Plateau, formed by silt deposition in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River…
"Most importantly, the silicon content is only 40%, but the aluminum content reaches an astonishing 38% or more, accompanied by a considerable proportion of calcium, as well as small amounts of manganese and titanium... This is a low-silicon, high-alumina, and calcium-rich porcelain clay. In the northwestern provinces and Shanxi, only the porcelain clay mines along the Yellow River on the southern slope of the Lüliang Mountains meet these characteristics..."
"In this way, the production area of porcelain clay can be limited to a certain range: from Yongji in the south to Xiangning in the north, and it must be close to the Yellow River... After counting, there are only seven or eight counties..."
Lin Sicheng picked up another piece: "Teacher, look again. These are the fragments of pottery and sandstone. Although they are extremely impurities, the proportion of their main components is exactly the same as that of fine white porcelain, indicating that they all come from the same region."
"The difference is that the former is carefully selected and filtered, while the latter is fired directly from raw porcelain clay... Most importantly, both types of fragments contain coal..."
coal?
Wang Qizhi was puzzled: "Lin Sicheng, don't more than 70% of the counties and cities in Shanxi produce coal?"
“Teacher, isn’t there still thirty percent?” Lin Sicheng smiled. “Seventy percent of that thirty percent is concentrated along the Yellow River…”
Wang Qizhi suddenly realized: This means that Lin Sicheng has reduced the scope of the porcelain clay mine by several times.
"Where exactly?"
"Yongji, Hejin, and Xiangning—you can basically stay within these three counties!"
Lin Sicheng picked up another copy of "Hedong Zhi" (Records of Hedong), "Coincidentally, these three places are all located on the southern slope of the Lüliang Mountains, near the Yellow River, and produce both porcelain clay and coal... Even more coincidentally, Yongji and Xiangning both fired ceramics for a long time in ancient times... Especially Xiangning County, from the Tang Dynasty to the Republic of China, it basically never stopped..."
Wang Qizhi paused for a moment, wanting to give a thumbs up.
It's only been five days since those five baskets of porcelain shards were brought back. Zhao Xiuneng couldn't even get a single piece of information out of the fat man, let alone get any from him.
Zhao Da and Zhao Er have been there for four days. They've asked a lot about the waste porcelain pit, but who knows exactly which pit the fat man dug the porcelain shards from?
I only finalized the agreement with the Municipal Museum the day before yesterday, and Lin Sicheng only entered the lab yesterday. In a day and a half at most, he narrowed down the porcelain clay mining area to within three counties?
Oh no, two counties...
Wang Qizhi then noticed something amiss: "Does this mean that Hejin never fired porcelain in ancient times?"
"A search of historical records and documents revealed no record of it."
"What's the story behind all those abandoned porcelain pits that the two brothers inquired about in Hejin, even including Tang Dynasty porcelain?"
"Hejin was a vital transportation hub in ancient times. Longkou Ferry connected Weinan to the west, Jinyang to the east, Chang'an and Luoyang to the south, and the Hetao region to the north... Those porcelain pits were probably damaged goods from the loading and unloading of cargo ships transporting porcelain from various places to Jinyang, or from Jinyang to other places..."
"Teacher, there's more here..."
Lin Sicheng opened the local gazetteer, and exclaimed, "Look!"
Wang Qizhi looked down and narrowed his eyes: Republic of China blue and white porcelain?
The local chronicles clearly record that during the Republican era, there were three government-run porcelain factories in Shanxi: Baojin Company Porcelain Factory, Shanxi Northwest Kiln Factory, and Taiyuan Industrial College Porcelain Factory.
Its subsidiaries are located throughout most of Shanxi Province, using the most advanced porcelain-making techniques available at the time, and employing professionals from Jingdezhen for technical guidance.
In addition, there were many local folk kilns. There were 217 kilns in 48 counties that were recorded. Although they produced porcelain for civilian use, half of them produced blue and white porcelain.
The fact that Yongji and Xiangning are among them further increases the likelihood.
"We need to go and see for ourselves," Wang Qizhi sighed. "When do we set off?"
"Tomorrow!"
Lin Sicheng thought for a moment, "I'll call later and ask Senior Brother Qin (a key researcher at the center) to bring two people over to provide support..."
"Yes, we definitely need to provide support."
With Lin Sicheng gone, the testing had to stop, and we needed to find replacements as soon as possible.
Qin Tao has a PhD in physical chemistry, so he's a natural at this.
The two discussed for a few more minutes when the phone buzzed. Lin Sicheng glanced at it and answered it casually.
"Boheng (Zhao Da)!"
"Master, we've found the basket and the millet cakes too, they're in Hejin!"
Huh?
Lin Sicheng paused for a moment: "Where did you find it?"
"In the city!"
"How far is it from those porcelain pits?"
"It's not too far, about ten kilometers!"
It's not far, but whether it is or not, you'll only know once you get there.
"Thanks for your hard work!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Sicheng immediately took off his white coat: "Teacher, let's not wait until tomorrow, let's set off now."
Wang Qizhi nodded.
After gathering the documents and giving instructions to the data clerk, Lin Sicheng turned around and then remembered: There's an unofficial staff member here?
He turned back again: "Sister Anning, are you going or not?"
Ye Anning nodded vigorously, her eyes crinkling into slits with laughter: "Go!"
After tidying up a bit, they called Zhao Xiuneng, and Wang Qizhi borrowed a car from the Municipal Bureau of Industry. The seven people and two cars set off.
It was already mid-March, and green buds were beginning to appear on the sunny slopes of the roadbed, while the wheat fields in the distance were lush and verdant.
In the open space next to it, an old farmer was driving an ox to plow the field.
Having rarely been to the countryside, Ye Anning found everything novel and fascinating.
Wow, it's only March, and the wheat is already this tall?
"This is winter wheat!"
"Oh...hey, Lin Sicheng, look! Erniu is arguing?"
Lin Sicheng didn't even bother to turn his head: "What's the big deal!"
"Wait... this piece of land is so big, why not use machines?"
“This is a vegetable field. After the wheels roll over it, the soil will be compacted, which will affect the germination.”
Ye Anning looked surprised: "How do you know so much?"
"I've planted them!"
"impossible!"
Although Lin Sicheng's hometown is in the countryside, his grandfather and his family have not farmed. Where could Lin Sicheng farm?
Lin Sicheng simply smiled.
He, at twenty-one, had never planted it, but Lin Sicheng, at thirty-eight, had.
Some ancient tombs were only half-excavated before work was halted for various reasons. There were no holidays, no restrictions on movement, and no internet access.
Lin Sicheng had an unusually high level of energy. When he was bored and had nothing to do, he could only help the farmers with planting...
We chatted idly for a while, then left the provincial highway and entered the county road.
As they approached the city center, Ye Anning pointed and poked at the spot, asking, "Lin Sicheng, what's that being built over there?"
Lin Sicheng turned to look out the window: not far away, only a kilometer or two, there were eight or nine small hills scattered about. On the top of the highest one, there was a very high platform built with scaffolding.
Dust was flying everywhere below, and there were both people and machines.
"Jiulonggang, Jiulong Pagoda!"
Ye Anning paused for a moment.
That day at Guansheng Temple, Zhuang Yi said he wanted to invite them to visit his hometown, and it seems he mentioned something about Kowloon Temple.
As she pondered what to say, she swallowed the words back down her throat.
Never mind, Lin Sicheng said her mouth is blessed.
Just like last time, she was only joking, casually making a remark to Lin Sicheng. And then, they actually ran into each other…
After driving for a while, the two cars entered the city.
This is a county-level agricultural city in northern China. There aren't many high-rise buildings, so it's not exactly bustling. And since it's the busy spring planting season, there aren't many people on the streets.
But it was very clean, and the streets were swept clean.
I randomly picked a restaurant, ordered some dishes, and then called Zhao Da.
Before long, the two brothers arrived. They carried half a bag of fried cakes and put it on the table.
"Master, we've found the place to sell baskets; it's in the northern part of the city!"
"Where is the waste porcelain pit?"
"On the riverbank of the Yellow River, about twelve or thirteen kilometers north of here. They say there used to be several, but a couple of years ago the city ordered peanuts to be planted on the riverbank, and all the flat land and potholes were dug up... We searched for two days, but we couldn't find a single piece of porcelain, let alone a shard..."
Peanuts require meticulous cultivation; they would have been harvested long ago.
Lin Sicheng nodded and took out a piece of fried cake.
The millet was ground into flour, filled with white sugar and sesame seeds, and then fried in sesame oil.
The outer layer is crispy, while the inside is soft and chewy. With a gentle break, the syrup coated with sesame seeds flows out.
The fat boss ate this kind, but it felt a bit harder than this one.
When was it bought?
"While you were on the phone."
It's been over two hours and it still hasn't frozen?
Lin Sicheng nodded, then tasted it again... Goodness, it's so sticky?
Lin Sicheng picked up the bag and gave each person a piece.
Just as he took a bite, Zhao Xiuneng exclaimed "Ouch!" Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and immediately burst into laughter: instead of biting off the fried cake, he had accidentally stuck a false tooth on it.
Why is it so sticky?
Zhao Xiuneng muttered to himself as he put his dentures back in.
Wang Qizhi also took a bite, then frowned: "Too sweet, and more importantly, too sticky and chewy!"
Ye Anning simply said, "It's not tasty!"
Even Ye Anning thinks it doesn't taste good, so it must not taste good...
Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "This fried cake wasn't bought here, and the fat man didn't haul away the porcelain shards here either. It's very likely that he's not from around here."
The group of people were stunned for a moment.
"These few pieces are still dripping with syrup, but the ones in the pickup truck are almost solidified, which means the fat boss is going to a much farther place. The key is the fried cakes..."
Lin Sicheng took another bite, chewed several times before swallowing, "This thing should be frozen before eating..."
Just then, someone knocked on the door, and two waiters appeared, one carrying a pot and the other serving dishes.
Lin Sicheng held it up, looking at the older woman: "Ma'am, can this cake be eaten when it's cold?"
The older woman glanced at it, nodded, and smiled: "The owner must be from out of town, right? This is a cold oil cake made from yellow millet flour. You have to freeze it in the refrigerator to freeze the sugar syrup before eating it, otherwise it will stick to your teeth..."
Didn't that cause Zhao Xiuneng's teeth to fall out?
"Is it only available here?"
"They grow it all nearby, along the Yellow River, in places like Wanrong and Xiangning, where millet is planted on the riverbanks!"
Lin Sicheng nodded: "Big sister, may I ask you another question? 'Pia' is pronounced as 'bai'. What accent is that?"
"Only people from Xiangning say it that way; we all say 'bie' here..."
"Clothes, pronounced 'ni she,' what kind of accent is that!"
"He's also from Xiangning!"
Lin Sicheng smiled and said thank you.
Okay, at least we can be sure that the fat guy wasn't a local. And most likely, the porcelain shards weren't even from here...
Several people frowned, trying hard to remember.
Most of the people sitting here have seen that fat man before. Especially the second time, Zhao Xiu was able to chat with him for quite a while. The fat man rambled on and on, saying quite a lot.
They knew the accent was a bit heavy, but among a group of people from Shaanxi, who would pay attention to which of the fat man's sentences had an accent or regional characteristics?
The group looked at each other in bewilderment. Lin Sicheng pointed to the hot pot and said, "Teacher, senior brother, let's eat first, and then we'll go check out the abandoned porcelain pit!"
Several people seemed to wake up from a dream...
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