181: Chapter 181 Surprise! Unexpected?

Su Huairen nodded, saying it was indeed from Shaanxi, an old item from many years ago.

The conversation flowed naturally, shifting from bronzeware to jade, then to porcelain, lacquerware, and finally the appraisal of gold and silver ware. The three professors took turns speaking, sometimes testing him, sometimes debating, and sometimes outright asking for his advice.

Hu Tian didn't hold back, but he didn't show off either. He simply followed the flow of the conversation, explaining in detail when necessary and keeping it brief when appropriate.

When discussing porcelain appraisal, he mentioned an old method: using a cotton swab dipped in a little clean water to gently wipe the bottom of the object, using the speed of water absorption to help determine the degree of glaze aging. This wasn't some secret technique—some of the older generation of antique dealers had used it—but it was rarely used, and many young scholars were no longer aware of it.

Fang Jiye's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he immediately asked where he had learned it.

Hu Tian said he had seen it in a notebook on antiques from the Republic of China era. He had found the book at a second-hand stall; the cover was falling apart, but it contained many appraisal insights for old objects written by an anonymous antique dealer. It was folk experience, not mainstream academic knowledge, but it had considerable practical value in some areas.

Fang Jiye pondered for a moment and said that he had spent most of his life researching cultural relics and had read piles of official documents, yet he had neglected such private, folk-style notebooks. He decided he would look for materials in this area later.

Jiang Peiyuan pulled out a notebook and jotted down a few notes.

Su Huairen slapped his thigh and remarked that Hu Tian's words reminded him of a viewpoint his teacher once held: in the antique trade, the academic school and the street-smart school had always been two distinct lineages. The academic school had systems and theories, while the street-smart school had intuition and experience. The most formidable people were those who blended both. Looking at it now, it seemed young Hu Tian was walking that very path.

Hu Tian didn't accept the praise, instead shifting the topic to a question he had himself regarding the identification of the substrate of Han Dynasty lacquerware. He had a few insights but felt he hadn't fully grasped a certain part, so he wanted to hear the opinions of the veteran professors.

The three of them began to talk over one another, and soon the three professors were debating among themselves. Hu Tian listened quietly from the side, occasionally interjecting—not much, but every time, he hit the nail on the head.

Before they knew it, the sun outside the window had climbed to its zenith.

Fang Jiye glanced at his watch, slapped the table, and stood up: "It's almost twelve! Let's go, let's go eat first. It's rare to have such a good guest today; the faculty canteen has a few dishes that are quite good!"

The four of them moved to the faculty canteen. The canteen was small but clean, exclusively for the professors and researchers of the institute.

One of the dishes today was braised carp, which Fang Jiye had specifically instructed the canteen chef to make. He said it was his old habit to always serve this dish when a distinguished guest arrived.

Hu Tian held his bowl, listening to the three professors talk about interesting happenings at the institute. The atmosphere was relaxed, and he ate with ease.

After the meal, the group tidied up a bit. Just past one o'clock in the afternoon, they left the institute and got into Fang Jiye's old-model Volvo MPV.

Just as Hu Tian was walking toward the parking lot with the three professors.

In the open space at the entrance of the institute, a bus happened to be parked with its doors open, and a group of people were boarding one after another.

Hu Tian didn't pay attention.

But someone in the crowd noticed him.

Zhou Waner was holding a document bag and walking with the crowd, looking down at the materials in the bag as she walked. When she looked up, her gaze inadvertently swept across the parking lot, and she saw a side profile.

She froze for a moment.

That back...

Tall, a slightly casual gait, that plain-colored jacket, and that hairstyle...

Why did he look so much like Brother Hu Tian?

She blinked and looked again, but those people had already walked deep into the parking lot, their figures smaller and harder to see clearly.

Zhou Waner thought to herself, It couldn't be, right? Brother Hu Tian said last night he had things to do this morning; logically, he should have returned to the hotel after finishing his business. How could he possibly appear in the parking lot of Peking University, and with a few old men at that...

It was probably a mistake.

There were plenty of people who looked alike.

"Waner, why are you spacing out? Get on the bus!"

Shen Huairen stood by the bus door, waving at her with a fawning expression.

Zhou Waner came back to her senses, withdrew her gaze, and walked toward the bus, clutching her document bag.

Shen Huairen immediately came up to meet her, reaching out and saying: "Let me carry that for you, it's so heavy."

"No need, I can do it myself."

Zhou Waner walked around him, boarded the bus herself, found a window seat, and sat down. She placed the document bag on her lap and couldn't help but turn her head to glance out the window again.

Nothing could be seen in the parking lot anymore.

The bus started. The atmosphere in the vehicle carried that slight tension peculiar to academic seminars. Prof. Lin Ru was sitting in the front row, whispering with Prof. Professor Ma Yunhe. The other graduate students and teaching assistants were scattered, some flipping through documents, others looking at their phones.

Shen Huairen sat down in the seat next to Zhou Waner. No one had invited him, he just sat down himself.

"Waner, did you bring the materials for this seminar? My copy seems to be missing a few pages..."

Zhou Waner replied expressionlessly: "If you're missing pages, go find the teaching assistant to get them replaced. Don't bother me."

Shen Huairen gave an awkward smile but didn't leave. Instead, he said: "People from Japan and South Korea have both sent representatives to this seminar. I heard that Park Jae-soo from South Korea is very impressive; he has published several highly cited papers. I wonder if there will be a practical demonstration session this time..."

Zhou Waner stared out the window, not bothering to respond.

Shen Huairen kept talking to himself, his voice buzzing in her ears. She didn't take a single word to heart.

The Capital Cultural Relics Exchange Center was located on the edge of the East Third Ring Road. It was a five-story building wrapped in dark gray natural stone on the exterior. It was solemn and had been around for a while, but it was well-maintained.

Fang Jiye's car parked in the underground garage, and the four of them took the elevator up. As soon as they entered the lobby, a staff member came up to lead the way.

Today's seminar was held in the academic lecture hall on the third floor. The scale was indeed high; the display board outside the hall listed the participating institutions. There were over a dozen top domestic universities and research institutions alone. In the foreign representative column, the Tokyo Cultural Property Conservation Research Institute from Japan and the Seoul Cultural Heritage Institute from South Korea were prominently listed.

Hu Tian looked around. He was no stranger to such occasions, but this was his first time attending in this capacity.

Fang Jiye led him to sign in. When registering, the staff member gave him a guest badge with gold-stamped lettering that read "Special Invited Researcher."

Hu Tian looked down at it and put it on.

Many people had already arrived in the lecture hall. The seats were divided into several areas, with domestic representatives sitting on one side and foreign representatives on the other, with an aisle left in the middle.

Hu Tian followed the three old professors toward the domestic representative area. Along the way, many people recognized Fang Jiye, Jiang Peiyuan, and Su Huairen and came over to greet them one after another.

Hu Tian followed behind the three professors, not speaking, but his eyes were not idle.

On the opposite side, among those already seated in the foreign representative section, there was a Japanese elder in his early sixties with graying hair, combed meticulously. He sat upright in his chair, his expression calm but carrying a subtle air of arrogance. His gaze occasionally swept across the domestic representatives, as if assessing opponents, or perhaps as if he didn't care at all.

This must be Hashimoto Kenji.

Looking next to him, there was a young man in his early thirties. He wasn't tall, but he sat very upright, his eyes sharp. He was looking down at the materials at hand. When he occasionally looked up, his gaze swept over to the domestic representative area, lingering for a moment, appearing thoughtful.

This was Park Jae-soo.

Hu Tian calmly withdrew his gaze and found a seat next to Fang Jiye.

The seminar was scheduled to officially begin at two o'clock, but not everyone had arrived yet. The hall was buzzing, with all sorts of conversations mixed together. The atmosphere had both the seriousness of academic exchange and a hint of suppressed competitiveness.

Just then, the bus arranged by the institute pulled into the parking lot. The group came up from the elevator and entered the lecture hall one after another.

Zhou Waner followed Prof. Lin Ru in. She scanned the hall, found a seat, and was just about to sit down when something caught the corner of her eye.

She slowly turned her head.

In the domestic representative area, in the row where Fang Jiye was, there was a person sitting sideways to her, wearing a guest badge, a jacket, that hairstyle...

Zhou Waner's heart skipped a beat.

She rubbed her eyes.

That person seemed to sense something and tilted his head.

Zhou Waner's eyes widened immediately.

It was Brother Hu Tian.

It really was Brother Hu Tian!

She opened her mouth, subconsciously wanting to call out, but then remembered this was a formal occasion, so she swallowed that "Brother Hu Tian" back down, turning it into a small jump in her seat.

Hu Tian also saw her, slightly stunned, then nodded at her. The corners of his mouth moved, seemingly saying, "Surprise, surprise."

Zhou Waner pointed at herself, then at him, and made a lip-reading gesture of "Why are you here?"

Hu Tian gestured with his chin toward Fang Jiye next to him.

Zhou Waner looked in that direction, saw Fang Jiye's familiar face, immediately understood seven or eight tenths of it, and gave Hu Tian a thumbs up.

At this moment, Shen Huairen sat down next to her. He followed Zhou Waner's gaze to the other side. He didn't recognize Hu Tian, assuming she was looking at Fang Jiye and those old professors, so he leaned over and asked in a low voice: "Do you know the people over there?"

Zhou Waner calmly withdrew her gaze: "No."

Shen Huairen said "Oh," didn't ask further, and took out his phone to look at it.

At two o'clock in the afternoon sharp, the seminar opened on time.

The host was a researcher from the Cultural Relics Exchange Center. He stood on stage and read an opening address, the gist of which was thanking everyone for coming, hoping to promote exchanges and cooperation in the field of cultural relic restoration through this seminar, and then outlined the agenda.

First was the report session, where representatives from each side took turns to give academic reports.

After 4:30 PM, it would be the practical demonstration session.

Hearing the words "practical demonstration," Hu Tian knew clearly that this was the main event of the day.

The report session proceeded according to plan. Several professors from the domestic side went on stage to give reports, with solid content and a high standard.

On the Japanese side, Hashimoto Kenji went on stage and, using an interpreter, gave a report on the seamless restoration of metalware. The paper was rigorous, citing several case studies. When the photos of the examples were shown, one had to admit there was indeed a unique ingenuity in the craftsmanship.

The report by Park Jae-soo from South Korea focused on the material analysis of ancient bronzeware. The data was detailed, the arguments were sufficient, and he was fluent in English, almost not needing an interpreter. His stage presence was mature, not at all like a young man in his early thirties.

Hu Tian listened attentively, forming a basic assessment of these two people in his mind.