Forensic Medicine Qu Xiaoshui

Chapter 228 Handicraft Murder Case (7)

"Are you Li Yitai?" Li Dong raised his head and asked.

Li Yitai looked back at the few people below, his eyes were a little fierce, and he seemed not easy to get along with.

Li Dong showed him his ID.

Li Yitai's expression froze for a moment, and then he climbed down from the top.

"What do you want from me?" Li Yitai was still a little afraid of the police, and spoke more politely.

"Do you know the Chuanming Handicraft Store on Changning Street?" Zhao Jun asked.

"I know, I have been to that store to deliver goods before." Li Yitai took the brush, climbed up again, and carefully cleaned the floating ash on the base of the Buddha statue and some residues that fell on it with a soft brush.

His movements are very gentle, which doesn't match the feeling he gives people.

The things that were cleaned up were not disposed of casually, but were carefully put away in airtight jars.

"Wu Chuanming, the owner of that handicraft shop, was killed." Li Dong said.

Li Yitai's movements paused, and then continued the previous movements.

His indifferent attitude made Li Dong a little angry: "You!"

Zhao Jun stopped Li Dong and signaled him not to be impulsive.

He continued to ask: "May I ask, where were you between 9:11 and [-]:[-] yesterday morning? What were you doing?"

The top seemed to be cleaned up, and Li Yitai climbed down again: "I work in the studio."

After Zhao Jun wrote it down in his notebook, he asked, "Is there anyone who can prove it for you?"

"No, I was the only one working in the studio at that time, and everyone else was out to deliver the goods." Li Yitai sealed the tool bag, and finally found time to take a look at Zhao Jun.

Cultural relic restoration is an unpopular profession, so there are only four people in their studio: an accountant, but he doesn’t come often; a craftsman, who mainly helps to move goods or handle large pieces of wood; Qinghe apprentice Li Yitai.

Li Yitai actually has a kind of hostility towards the police, or fear, so his attitude of speaking is not very good.

Jiang Yue saw that he should have finished his work, so he asked, "Who is that person who just went out?"

"It's my master Jiang Jianqing, who is also the person in charge of our studio."

Their studio is a non-governmental institution for the restoration of cultural relics, with fewer people and more work, and many things can only be handled by themselves.

Seeing him squatting there to pack his things, Qu Xiaoshui also squatted beside him.

She handed the tape to his hand, and smiled gently at Li Yitai: "Hello, I am Qu Xiaoshui, the forensic doctor of the Criminal Police Brigade. I have a few questions for you."

Li Yitai nodded. The police already knew about his situation, so he didn't introduce himself.

"Excuse me, will gelatin be used in the restoration work of wood carvings?" Qu Xiaoshui's first question pointed to the core.

"Yes, but my technology is immature and I'm not qualified to use gelatin." Li Yitai replied very frankly, and didn't hide it because his technology was not good enough.

"Where's the Buddha statue on the pedestal up there?" Qu Xiaoshui asked, pointing to the place he just cleaned.

"Here." He pointed to the solid object wrapped in white gauze on the ground.

There are layers of thick gauze wrapped around it, and it is impossible to see what is inside.

Qu Xiaoshui cast his gaze over.

"Because it needs to be repaired, the Buddha statue will be handed over to us for the time being," he explained.

The restoration of cultural relics is very complicated. The folk restoration is quite different from the formal restoration of the Forbidden City, and it is relatively simple.

But the requirements for craftsmanship are also very high.

"What kind of wood is this Buddha statue made of?" Qu Xiaoshui asked.

Because the person who asked the question was a woman with a good attitude, Li Yitai couldn't bear to be impatient, so he had to answer: "It's a cypress tree."

"Then are there any wood carvings made of golden nanmu?" Qu Xiaoshui asked another question like a curious baby.

"Golden nanmu?" Li Yitai thought for a while, then shook his head: "I don't know very well. That kind of thing is really too precious, and I can't touch it with my current level." Li Yitai said.

Qu Xiaoshui looked at the toolbox and tool bag around him, pointed to the gloves behind him and asked, "Can you show me those gloves?"

"This one?" He took the white gloves out of his back pocket.

"Yes." Qu Xiaoshui nodded: "Is this the same pair of gloves you wear when you work?"

"I don't usually wear gloves. Wearing them will make my fingers less flexible." Li Yitai put on the gloves and demonstrated.

Qu Xiaoshui also took out his white gloves from his pocket, put them on, and took the gloves he handed over.

When the glove was in his hand, Qu Xiaoshui held it tightly, and smiled affectionately: "Can you lend it to me and take it back for an appraisal?"

Li Yitai looked at the gloves that he obviously couldn't get back, and nodded bravely: "Okay then."

If it wasn't for a woman, he would never compromise.

"Lend me this too."

Qu Xiaoshui pushed forward, pointing at the dust and debris he had just collected.

"This?" Li Yitai looked in the direction she pointed.

Qu Xiaoshui directly reached for it, but was stopped by Li Yitai before touching the sealed jar.

"This won't work." He was very firm.

This made Qu Xiaoshui very surprised. After all, Li Yitai was very cooperative in the previous questioning.

"Even broken parts or even useless dust are part of the long history of cultural relics." Li Yitai said in a very solemn tone.

Regarding this point, Li Yitai did not give an inch: "After we take over the restoration work, we will collect the dust and debris, mark them with numbers, and finally return them to the client together with the restored wood carvings. No less] principle."

"So this can't be given to you."

There are always some things that must be persisted.

This was the first lesson the master gave him.

Qu Xiaoshui withdrew her hand, sorry for her recklessness, she respected this kind of craftsman spirit.

"I'm sorry." Qu Xiaoshui sincerely apologized.

Because Qu Xiaoshui was too serious, it made Li Yitai uncomfortable. This was the first time a policeman apologized to him: "No, it's okay."

"Although these things look like dust, there may be fragments of Buddha statues in them. So I have to take them all back. This is a must for the final finishing stage."

Because Qu Xiaoshui gave him such a good impression, Li Yitai became more patient.

"The final finishing stage?" Qu Xiaoshui was never ashamed to ask about things he didn't understand.

"Well, they are necessary to make the repaired parts better integrate with the original materials." Li Yitai looked at the debris in the sealed jar, his expression softened.

He seems to really enjoy the job.

Qu Xiaoshui can understand his feelings, just as she loves her job, some things cannot be compromised.

"I see. Then I will take care of your gloves temporarily." Qu Xiaoshui said.

(End of this chapter)