Chapter 22: A Poisoned Kiss

Chairman Ding pondered for a long while. "Who is Zhuang Wanfang?"

Several people nearby looked at each other, but no one spoke. It seemed no one knew.

He patted Secretary-General Hao Jun on the shoulder, smiling with his eyes narrowed. "Secretary-General Hao must know."

Truth be told, Hao Jun didn't have a clue either. However, he knew that Lin Sicheng would never make such a claim in front of so many people without a solid reason. He thought of the feather duster, the Vajra Yogini statue, and the reverse-flow pot at the cultural relics company. It was precisely because of this that he had jokingly encouraged Lin Sicheng to give it a try. Of course, it wouldn't have mattered if he failed; the idea was just to help the young man gain some exposure among the seniors. He hadn't expected the kid to actually make such a compelling case.

"It seems Secretary-General Hao doesn't know either?" Ding Liang sighed, shaking his head. "Tsk, with so many experts here, are we really being outperformed by a university student? Come, young Lin, tell us about this Zhuang Wanfang!"

The remark was quite pointed: it was you who had a grudge against Lin Changqing, not us. It was rather petty to make things difficult for a child in front of such a crowd. Just as Hao Jun was about to speak, Director Guan of the Municipal Public Security Appraisal Center patted Lin Sicheng on the shoulder. "It's fine, go ahead and enlighten Chairman Ding!"

Ding Liang let out a cold snort but dared not object.

Having reached this point, there was no way for Lin Sicheng to back down. At the very least, he had to make Chairman Ding understand that his grandfather hadn't sent him here just for those eight hundred yuan.

"Mr. Zhuang was a contemporary agronomist, tea scientist, and an expert in tea cultivation. He was a professor at Zhejiang University and Fudan University, and a founder of contemporary tea cultivation studies in China. He authored works such as *Tea Studies*, *Tea Tree Biology*, *Tea Economy*, and *Tea Trade*... In the eighties, he received a personal commendation from national leaders at the Great Hall of the People!"

Seeing Lin Sicheng speak with such authority, everyone was stunned. Not only did such a person exist, but his credentials were quite impressive. To receive an official commendation meant his contributions to the country and society were significant; the earlier descriptions were certainly not exaggerated.

Ding Liang pondered for a moment. "That just makes him a scientist. What does that have to do with the cultural world?" He was implying that fields are as different as mountains, so it was perfectly normal for them not to have heard of him.

"After retiring, around the early eighties, he was appointed Deputy Director of the Tea Ceremony Philosophy Research Institute at the People's University. He also served as a council member for the tea societies of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, leading research into tea culture and the promotion of the tea ceremony. The former is a research institution, while the latter two are among the earliest official academic organizations in the country initiated by provincial departments, dedicated to promoting tea culture and tea ceremony theory to the world!"

Hao Jun's eyes brightened. "Chairman Ding, look, doesn't that relate to the cultural world?" And it was a significant connection at that!

Ding Liang kept a cold face and pointed at the bamboo basket. "Fine, according to you, this tea set was carved by him, right?"

"It wasn't carved by him, but he wrote this poem, and this set was indeed a gift for him."

"How can you prove it?"

"The provincial news broadcast and the provincial newspaper both reported it, though that was a long time ago!"

Everyone was taken aback again.

"In 1988, the Japanese tea beverage giant Ito En was surveying the domestic tea market, planning to cooperate in building large-scale tea plantation bases. At the time, they were considering four locations: Anxi in Fujian, Xinchang in Zhejiang, Gao County in Sichuan, and Pingli in Shaanxi..."

"Because Professor Zhuang communicated frequently with Japanese tea academic groups and was well-known in the Japanese tea community, and also served as a council member for the Fujian and Zhejiang tea culture societies, he became one of the accompanying representatives for the inspection team. Later, when they visited Shaanxi, although they didn't reach an agreement, the relevant departments presented the inspection team and the accompanying representatives with exquisite local specialties upon their departure. Knowing Mr. Zhuang greatly admired Tang Dynasty tea culture, they commissioned a local master woodcarver to craft a set of twenty-four Tang-style implements specifically for him."

Ding Liang squinted. "A master craftsman carved it like this?"

Lin Sicheng sighed. "They only had two days for twenty-four pieces. How else could you expect a master to carve them?"

Hao Jun chuckled. Even without eating or sleeping, forty-eight hours meant an average of two hours per piece. Being hand-carved, just having them look decent was quite an achievement. Of course, "master craftsman" was relative; honestly, from modern times to the present, Shaanxi hadn't exactly produced any renowned woodcarvers.

Hao Jun clapped his hands cheerfully and pointed to the staff member responsible for record-keeping. "Let's check the computer first... Lin Sicheng, 1988, Ito En, provincial newspaper, right?"

"The provincial newspaper only reported the itinerary of the inspection team. The gifts were reported in the evening and cultural newspapers."

The staff member worked quickly, tapping away to pull up the reports from the provincial newspaper regarding the delegation. The headline was quite prominent: *Promoting Tea Culture, Bringing Qin Tea to the World... The Trip of Ito En Group Representatives to Pingli.*

Checking the morning paper, the headline was equally significant: *Culture Knows No Borders, Folk Art Connects the World.* It was a long article, focusing on how the delegation members were delighted by the local folk art—such as opera masks, window paper-cuts, and waist drums—and how they praised them. There were photos, and the twenty-four Tang-style implements were prominently featured. Looking closely, it was exactly this set in the basket—including the poem on the tea scoop, the patterns on the handle, and the silver filigree on the tea tongs.

Being experts, they lived by their sharp eyes; one glance was enough to confirm it was undoubtedly the same set.

"So, it wasn't taken away at the time?"

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment. "It was, but it probably circulated around and eventually found its way back." It was quite a heavy set, after all.

"Where was it collected from?"

"Teacher Hao, this tea set wasn't 'collected' in the traditional sense; it was organized out of the museum's warehouse..." the staff member said, tapping the keyboard. "Wait, let me check... Oh, it actually was collected, but four years ago."

"From whom?"

The staff member hesitated. "It was from Director Liu of the Tea Culture Research Institute!"

So it really had found its way back. Director Liu was no outsider; he was a famous collector, and his institute was one of the sponsors of this very exhibition.

Thinking back to Ding Liang's earlier arrogant remarks—"This poem is neither literary nor coherent; one can tell at a glance that the author is uncultured"—and the fact that it came from a scientist and a famous provincial collector, Hao Jun found the situation increasingly hilarious as he looked at Ding Liang's face, which looked as if he had swallowed something foul.

"Lin Sicheng, does your school teach tea studies?"

Lin Sicheng replied calmly, "The school doesn't, but my grandfather does. He likes to study all sorts of miscellaneous things when he has free time."

Hao Jun nearly burst out laughing. What counts as "miscellaneous"? Do paintings and calligraphy count? This kid was insulting him without using a single dirty word; his little mouth was as sharp as a venom-tipped blade.

Ding Liang gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. If glares could kill, Lin Sicheng would have died a thousand times over. But Ding Liang was in the wrong, especially regarding his jab about whether "Old Lin" only came for the eight hundred yuan. If it were Hao Jun, he would have spat in his face, but Lin Sicheng maintained his composure.

Growing angrier and unable to vent, Chairman Ding snorted, flicked his sleeves, and stormed off.