Chapter 2054: Chapter 1957: Good News
At this moment, Zhou Shitao was completely different from the cold and arrogant Zhou Shitao in Old Qi’s courtyard in Anmin Alley. Even Hong Wenkun, whether familiar or unfamiliar with Zhou Shitao, would not have thought that the eccentric and hard-to-please Professor Zhou in their eyes could also have such a moment.
Of course, Huo Sining could see a kind of care and affection in Zhou Shitao’s eyes. She knew that her mentor was not joking with her; he truly felt this way.
Huo Sining’s eyes immediately turned red. What had she done to deserve this...
The actions from the Imperial Capital were swift. On the evening of the day Huo Sining and others discovered the Han Dynasty Pottery Jar, professors like Shi Qingyun and Zhuang Xiangyang had already arrived in Fucheng. Coming along were officials from the Imperial Capital Cultural Relics Bureau who held considerable power, such as directors and vice ministers.
To people like Zhou Shitao, the official titles of these individuals didn’t matter much, nor did Huo Sining care. But to those in the Fucheng Cultural Relics Bureau who were not worldly, these workers from the Imperial Capital Cultural Relics Bureau were undoubtedly figures of great importance.
Hong Wenkun was extremely excited, flattering those directors and vice ministers in every possible way.
Usually, these officials would gladly accept such flattery and bootlicking from local relics bureau members, but this time was different.
This time, Zhou Shitao was in charge, and these so-called directors and vice ministers had to obediently listen to his command. At this moment, Hong Wenkun’s flattery was just hitting the wrong chord.
Those directors and vice ministers sat properly, acting as if they hadn’t noticed Hong Wenkun’s clownish behavior.
Hong Wenkun assumed these people from the Imperial Capital were putting on airs, unaware that in their hearts, they were cursing him, thinking, "Damn, if this kid doesn’t want to continue, don’t drag us down with you! Didn’t you see Mr. Zhou’s face elongate? This guy named Hong is really annoying, like a stick stirring up trouble!"
Zhou Shitao had already noticed that Hong Wenkun was a fool, but he felt a bit annoyed. He had made up his mind to strictly forbid this person named Hong from entering during the excavation of the Han Tomb this time. The farther he stays away, the better, so as not to affect Zhou’s mood.
After continuous investigation by Wu Jun and Ji Kun, they finally followed the clues from the originally filled-in river, marking a line, and gradually assessing upstream. Eventually, they confirmed the source of those pottery jars at a section protected by a stone wall embankment.
"The soil here is loose and keeps collapsing. In earlier years, there were mudslides whenever it rained. Later, the river dried up and the riverbed was filled in. The slope above was bricked into a stone wall. But I remember my grandfather telling me that this was originally the source of the river."
A man in his fifties living near the stone wall noticed Ji Kun and Wu Jun surveying nearby and, after inquiring about the situation, enthusiastically began explaining to them.
Upon hearing that this was the river’s source, Ji Kun’s eyes lit up, and he curiously asked, "Do you know if a lot of pottery jars have ever appeared in the lower reaches around Sanfang Street?"
The old gentleman shook his head, "I’ve been to Sanfang Street many times, but I don’t know what kind of pottery jars you are talking about."
Ji Kun took out his phone to show the old man pictures of the three Han Dynasty jars used for pickling vegetables that he photographed the day before.
After just a glance, the old man was startled, then said, "I don’t know the situation at Sanfang Street, but if you’re asking about the source of these jars, I think I might know where this place is."
"What?!" Ji Kun was shocked, widening his eyes in surprise and confusion at the old man, "You know where these jars floated down from?"
The old man nodded, "When I was young, I often played along that part of the river. A group of us kids would make our way along the riverbank. One time, after heavy rain, there was a landslide on a hillside near the river, and many pottery jars, like the one you showed me, rolled out of the mud. But these were made too roughly; I took a bowl back home and my mom threw it away directly."
Thrown away...
Ji Kun couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of his mouth, inwardly feeling relieved that his mentor didn’t hear this, otherwise, who knows how distressed he would be.
But this news was still very exciting, even though confirmation of the old man’s story was still pending, Ji Kun wasn’t about to overlook any leads.
So, the two followed the old man downhill to find the hillside with lots of pottery jars.
The river in the Sanfang Street area had long been filled in, but upstream, because it was outside the city, the river channel was preserved within the town area.
Ji Kun followed the old man to a planned pedestrian street entrance, where the old man pointed to the retaining wall behind a house and said:
"Right there, back then, this wasn’t urban, just barren hills. It’s a hillside less than five meters from the river. Later, the river was filled, and the hillside was cemented over."
Ji Kun looked at the location of the pedestrian street, and couldn’t help but be taken aback.
This pedestrian street was actually located right behind Anmin Alley, just at the juncture of Anmin Alley and Fuxing Street.
This discovery surprised Ji Kun greatly. Then he quickly understood what was going on; the filled-in river was originally a moat. Back then, Fucheng’s urban area was very small, and the moat circled outside the city. Thus, rivers were in front of and behind Anmin Alley because Anmin Alley was on the city’s edge, with the river passing through the front and back of Anmin Alley.
This discovery further affirmed Huo Sining’s hypothesis. Anmin Alley was very likely the true location of the Han Princess Tomb.
Thinking this way, Ji Kun couldn’t help but feel excited. After thanking the old gentleman, he couldn’t wait to bring back this good news.
Zhou Shitao moved quickly on this side too. Upon receiving Ji Kun’s news, he immediately gathered those from the Cultural Relics Bureau for a meeting, and they quickly came up with a concrete plan.
Early the next morning, they, along with Ji Kun, arrived at the hillside sealed with cement. Without a word, Zhou Shitao ordered workers to start breaking it open.
Breaking through the cement covering the hillside, soon the soil layers inside were exposed.
