A doctor who travels through two eras

Lin Sanqi took the pottery shard and looked at it, but then casually handed it to Director Liu.

Don't joke around. Lin Sanqi doesn't know anything about archaeology. He just has a god's-eye view. If he didn't have any cheat codes, he would also think it was a broken piece of someone's water tank.

Director Liu, being a professional, took it and examined it carefully before handing it over to Yuan Zhongyi and Zhao Kangmin, two archaeological experts behind him.

Zhao Kangmin touched it a few times and then replied:

"This is indeed a pottery shard from the Qin and Han dynasties. Its specific purpose is unknown. Looking at this fragment, it seems to have a pattern resembling armor plates."

Lin Sanqi clapped his hands excitedly, thinking to himself, "That's right, that's right, this should be part of the Terracotta Warrior's body."

Director Liu, still unperturbed, asked with a smile:

"Commissioner Lin, how do you plan to find the Terracotta Army you mentioned? Based on the Terracotta Army burial pits of Emperor Jing of Han that we have excavated, they are not very big, generally no more than 50 centimeters in size, so they are quite difficult to excavate."

Lin Sanqi gave a soft hum:
"Han Dynasty terracotta warriors? I've never even heard of them, which means they're definitely not valuable. As far as I know, the average height of Qin Dynasty terracotta warriors is around 2 meters, taller than me."

Director Liu and the archaeological team were all secretly taken aback.

Two-meter-tall terracotta figurines do exist; some tomb guardian beasts or door gods in Tang Dynasty tombs are that tall, but such excavations usually involve a maximum of two.

It's hard to imagine what a spectacular sight it would be to have more than 8000 terracotta warriors, each nearly two meters tall, standing in rows.
Did the Qin Dynasty, after unifying China, have the strength and ability to achieve its goals, given that it was a short-lived dynasty?
Director Liu still didn't believe it, while Commander Qi had already hidden in a small grove of trees in the distance to cool off. He wasn't interested in dead people's things and simply considered himself an outsider.

At this moment, Lin Sanqi glanced at the farmland in front of him, compared it with the map in his hand, and then pointed and said:
"Village Chief Yang, from here to there, this is about 10 mu of land, right? I'll take it. Can you calculate how much the crops and vegetables on this land will cost?"

Village Chief Yang, puzzled, asked, "Sir, what do you need this land for?"

Lin Sanqi waved his hand and said, "Dig! Dig away the surface soil and find the priceless treasure!"

The local officials and village chiefs all gave him a dumbfounded look. Could there be such a priceless treasure in this godforsaken place?

Even if it exists, how would you, an outsider, know?

Director Liu became anxious upon hearing that Lin Sanqi wanted to dig 10 mu of land and quickly tried to stop him:
"Commissioner Lin, an archaeological excavation of 10 acres is too large. Let's try it first, use a Luoyang shovel to check if there's anything underground before making a decision, what do you think?"

Lin Sanqi agreed. He was certain that there were terracotta warriors underground, but digging them out would be a huge project, and he couldn't stay in Xi'an forever.

Once it's confirmed that it exists, the rest is up to the local authorities.

"Okay, then you guys try drilling a few holes."

Director Liu wiped his sweat, thinking that he had finally managed to persuade this little devil, and then gestured to his subordinates.

More than a dozen archaeologists took some long tubular iron objects off the vehicle and began to assemble them.

For a time, Lin Sanqi was a believer in the Tomb Raider Chronicles and was particularly interested in the Luoyang shovel, so he decided to try it out himself.

Zhao Kangmin and Le Hehe demonstrated:
"Commissioner Lin, when using the Luoyang shovel, stand upright with your legs apart, hold the handle with both hands in front of your chest, and place the shovel head on the ground between your toes. Drill vertically downwards to create a probe hole."

Once the soil is unearthed, observe its color, texture, and other characteristics. Also check for artifacts such as pottery shards, bricks, and charcoal. These artifacts may be building materials or burial goods, indicating the possible presence of a cemetery below.

Like this, look at the dirt I've stirred up with these shovelfuls, there's... wait, there really are pottery shards in here!"

Zhao Kangmin was very vigilant and immediately squatted down to examine the broken pottery shards in the soil.

Just then, Yuan Zhongyi, who was about 20 meters away from Zhao Kangmin, also noticed the unusual soil in the Luoyang shovel:

"Wait, what kind of pottery shard is this? Hey, look at this, doesn't it look like a finger?"

Upon hearing this, Director Liu's alarm bells immediately went off, and he rushed over to investigate.
"This layer of soil is also wrong; there are wood chips in it, which means there were man-made structures underground?"

Not far away, another member of the archaeological team was also shouting:

"Team Leader Yuan, come and take a look. In the soil I dug out, there are several pieces of pottery with colors on them, including vermilion, green, and blue."

Lin Sanqi became even more certain when he heard it from afar, because when the Terracotta Warriors were first unearthed, they were not the dull gray ones that everyone saw, but rather they were covered in colorful decorations.

According to historical records, the terracotta warriors' clothing featured more than a dozen colors, including vermilion, green, blue, purple, pink, light green, light blue, black, white, and ochre. Light green, vermilion, purple, and sky blue were the most prevalent, and the painted patterns varied depending on the rank of the terracotta warriors.

However, due to inadequate technology, these colors oxidized quickly after being unearthed, leaving only the original grayish color of the soil.

The archaeological team members ran around excitedly, so they gathered more team members and started digging holes all over the mountainside.

As the sun set, smoke began to rise from the village's communal dining hall. Captain Yuan excitedly reported this to Lin Sanqi:
"Commissioner Lin, after several meetings and confirmation from provincial and municipal archaeological experts, there are terracotta warriors down here, and they are painted terracotta warriors with very diverse and vibrant colors. This is the first time such a discovery has been made in China."

If, as you say, the Terracotta Army is nearly 2 meters tall and numbers in the thousands, then such a scale of painted terracotta figures is absolutely unique in China, no, in the world—it's a miracle!

Lin Sanqi thought to herself, "I know this is a miracle better than you do. Do you want me to show you the short video of the Terracotta Warriors that I saved on my phone?"
"Commissioner Lin, since you know there are terracotta warriors here, could you please specify the approximate area?"

Lin Sanqi knew there were three pits in total, and he also knew where the bronze chariot and horse had been unearthed, but Lin Sanqi knew the principle of moderation; that was about enough.

"Captain Yuan, I don't know the exact size of the area. The reason I know there are terracotta warriors here is because before liberation, someone came to explore the area and tried to steal them but failed, so they were preserved."

At this moment, Director Liu also came over, and after hearing Lin Sanqi's words, he sighed:
"Based on our preliminary exploration results from Luoyang Shovel, the terracotta army pit is estimated to cover an area of ​​about 2 square meters, which is a very large scale."

I have already urgently reported this matter to the provincial authorities by phone, but the province is under great financial pressure, and I'm afraid there won't be any large-scale excavation in the short term.

Lin Sanqi thought to himself, "This provincial leadership is still short-sighted."

The discovery of the Terracotta Army can become a calling card for Xi'an, attracting tourists from all over the country and even the world.

After the reform and opening up, this prestigious business card will allow you to attract investment everywhere, which will generate a lot of money.

Of course, Lin Sanqi didn't blame the local government; the lack of money was a common problem across the country.

Even the tombs of emperors from past dynasties are abandoned and left unattended. It's probably because there are too many cultural relics and ancient buildings to protect, so they've stopped protecting them.

"Director Liu, could you estimate how much your excavation work, plus the subsequent construction of a museum, will cost?"

Director Liu thought for a moment, then said uncertainly:
"Archaeological work is very complicated and can take many years to excavate. It can't be rushed. In addition, we also need to build a new museum. No matter what, the investment will not be less than ten million yuan, which our province simply cannot afford."

Ten million RMB was a huge sum of money for the local government of Xi'an at that time.

But for Bao'an County, which holds hundreds of millions of dollars, it's just a small amount.

Lin Sanqi thought for a moment, then made up his mind and said:

"In that case, Director Liu, Bao'an County will cover the ten million RMB."

Director Liu and Captain Yuan were all stunned, wondering if they were hallucinating.

Lin Sanqi ignored the surprised expressions on the faces of the archaeologists; he had seen them far too often and was numb to them.
"However, I have two requests. One is that after the Qin Terracotta Warriors Museum is established, it should be permanently open to the people of Bao'an County free of charge, without charging admission fees or requiring reservations. You can just walk in."

Director Liu had a bunch of question marks on his forehead, thinking that these days museum tickets cost only a few cents and almost no one visits, so why do we need to make reservations?
Lin Sanqi suddenly swallowed hard, then bravely continued his deception:

"My second request is that you give me two Terracotta Warriors after they're unearthed. Cough cough, if you agree to these requests, I'll invest."

Lin Sanqi wants the Terracotta Warriors so he can brag about them later. They're national treasures, truly world-renowned treasures. It'll make him look good.

Of course, it's not for home decoration.

Using funerary objects from the dead as decorations in the home—that takes a lot of courage.

Director Liu was completely dumbfounded, his mind was blank, and he mumbled, not knowing how to answer.

Seeing that his senior leader didn't answer, Captain Yuan, unwilling to accept the hierarchy, excitedly shouted:

"Yes, we agree to everything! We'll give you more than just two terracotta warriors, we'd give you a few more if you wanted!"

Lin Sanqi thought to himself, "Based on what you just said, in a few decades, you, Yuan Zhongyi, might be cyberbullied and labeled a spendthrift." (End of Chapter)