Chapter 260: 5,000 Years of Huaxia Civilization: A Controversy Because of Sanxingdui?
Chapter 260: Chapter 260: 5,000 Years of Huaxia Civilization: A Controversy Because of Sanxingdui?
The question sent a jolt through Zhang Zhengyi. His voice trembled as he said, "Shengsheng, you can’t just say things like that."
"Are... are you sure it’s welding technology?"
"Yes. If you don’t believe me, you can take it and measure it with an X-ray spectrometer."
She closed her eyes in resignation. ’In the parallel world, my other self ran countless X-ray experiments, and the result was always welding technology.’
’Welding... This is terrifying.’
’Bronze ware didn’t even exist back then, so how could welding be possible?’
’It’s absurd. Utterly absurd.’
The civilization of the Sanxingdui period seemed to be one completely different from the normal course of historical development.
It was almost like an extraneous addition, as if it formed a closed loop.
Neither Gu Shengsheng nor Zhang Zhengyi looked pleased.
Zhang Zhengyi said half-jokingly, "Could it really be time travel? You know, someone travels to another time, changes things, and brings advanced civilization with them?"
The surrounding students had no idea what to make of it. This was all far beyond the scope of their textbooks.
So they all turned to Gu Shengsheng with wide, questioning eyes.
Zhang Zhengyi and Gu Shengsheng sat to one side. He asked, "Shengsheng, setting aside scientific research for a moment, what are your thoughts on this?"
"An civilization this advanced, something that defies the natural laws of development... what do you make of it? Do you think it’s the result of artifact restoration? Or perhaps artifact restoration already existed in that era."
Having studied this for so long, Gu Shengsheng took this opportunity to finally voice all her thoughts.
"I don’t think it’s artifact restoration, nor do I believe in any of these supernatural explanations."
"In my view, it’s a case of a civilization that developed to its absolute peak, then faced resource depletion, causing it to come to an end."
"After a civilization is destroyed, humanity reverts to a primitive society, and the Earth’s resources gradually regenerate. If it were really restoration, time travel, or something like that, civilizations wouldn’t need to cycle. Take the legendary civilization of Atlantis, for example—it wouldn’t just vanish."
At this, Zhang Zhengyi nodded in approval. "Then how about we steer our research in that direction?"
"Huh?" Gu Shengsheng was taken aback. "Aren’t you being a bit hasty?"
"Not at all. Every time you speak, it’s the result of deep and careful consideration. If I didn’t take your ideas seriously, it would be a huge loss, you know?"
Hearing this, Gu Shengsheng gave a resigned smile. "Alright."
Her eyes sparkled. "I’m looking forward to it, too. To working hard with you."
"It’s just that the public might not be so pleased."
Gu Shengsheng said, "Mr. Zhang, we both know full well that a major reason the Sanxingdui research was halted was because of public opinion."
"And that so-called public opinion might be vastly different from what we understand through our research."
Someone like Mr. Zhang, who is completely absorbed in academia, wouldn’t understand this.
But there was no way Gu Shengsheng wouldn’t understand.
After all, in the parallel world, her other self had been unable to continue exploring the mysteries of Sanxingdui precisely because of public opinion.
The problem just hadn’t surfaced yet. Once it did, it might be too late to do anything.
But the Gu Shengsheng of today was prepared. She wasn’t worried about the storm to come.
She simply asked Mr. Zhang one question: "Mr. Zhang, if a lot of uncontrollable factors arise, will you be able to handle the pressure?"
"Don’t worry," Zhang Zhengyi said. "I’ve already taken full responsibility for this project. I can handle anything that comes our way. You shouldn’t feel any pressure."
"If the sky falls, I’ll be here to hold it up." Then he chuckled. "And you’ve got that Lu Shijing of yours, too."
Gu Shengsheng was speechless. "...Didn’t you have a bad impression of him before? Why do you seem so pleased with him now?"
At her words, Zhang Zhengyi’s face filled with amazed admiration. "Well, you have to understand. I didn’t know until recently that his mentor abroad was that famous economics professor. That man helped me back in the day, even taught me how to survive in a foreign country."
"I’m more grateful to him than anyone. I just found out. A student of a teacher like that is bound to be outstanding. He’s got nothing but good qualities."
"He’s handsome, he’s not in a field like geology, and he’s not in the antiques business like you. The young man is reliable, and a good person."
"Anyway, I think he’s great now, HAHAHA."
Gu Shengsheng glanced over at Lu Shijing, who was helping the others with the excavation, his sleeves rolled up as he bustled about.
Although he seemed a bit out of place, the sight was still heartwarming.
Lu Shijing raised an eyebrow at her, as if to say, ’What do you think? Not bad, right?’
Gu Shengsheng was speechless.
’Of course he’s not bad. He won over Zhang Zhengyi in a single day, and with a trump card, no less.’
Zhang Zhengyi continued, "Of course, the young man is great, but Shengsheng, if you still want a divorce, that’s fine too. I’ll always respect your decision."
Just as he said that, Lu Shijing called out, "We’ve dug something up. Come take a look."
Seeing the serious look in his eyes, Gu Shengsheng and Zhang Zhengyi walked over.
Zhang Zhengyi went over and said in astonishment, "Is that a steering wheel?"
Gu Shengsheng was speechless.
The surrounding students were speechless.
Everyone stared at him, at a loss for words.
Zhang Zhengyi scratched his head. "My mind is just full of modern people time-traveling back to ancient times to reform society."
He knew a man of his age shouldn’t be thinking about such things, but once the idea of time travel took root, he started seeing signs of it everywhere.
Gu Shengsheng smiled. "It does look like a wheel, but it’s not a steering wheel. It’s a sun wheel, which is related to what they call the Sun God Bird in Chuan City. The Sun God Bird represented the hopes and beliefs of the ancient people."
"Things like this also existed during the Shang and Zhou dynasties."
Even as Gu Shengsheng said this, she was worried inside.
’In the parallel world, the Sanxingdui research came to a halt right at this point and never continued.’
’And it was because of this that a massive public backlash erupted...’
Just as she thought of this, the director of the Ruishi Cultural Relics Administration Bureau walked in with the media.
The director looked apologetically at Gu Shengsheng and Zhang Zhengyi. "Sorry to interrupt your research."
"We heard you excavated a golden scepter and a Sun God Bird here, so we came to conduct an interview and document it for the record."
"Miss Gu, Mr. Zhang, you don’t mind, do you?"
Zhang Zhengyi and Gu Shengsheng glanced at each other and both replied, "We don’t mind."
When they signed the project agreement, it stipulated that all cultural discoveries had to be made public.
’Gu Shengsheng already knew what was coming.’
’She just hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.’
Only two or three hours had passed, but rumors were already spreading across the internet like wildfire.
Lu Shijing handed Gu Shengsheng’s phone to her.
"Take a look at the news. You’ll probably have to do a livestream."
"Mm."
Gu Shengsheng took it and looked.
It was the number one "Explosive" topic on Weibo’s hot search.