Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

"There are twelve people graduating from this department, why was I the only one chosen to go to a place like this?"

Su Yuan, a recent graduate in cultural relic restoration, was in a state of mental breakdown and secretly complained.

Socially awkward, he took the transfer order and read it. The address couldn't be found on Baidu or even Gaode Maps. Finally, he located a ghostly place marked "abandoned area" on Tencent Maps!

Mentor Lao Zhou smiled mysteriously: "This is a secure, government-affiliated job, a perfect match for you."

Two hours later, he finally stood in front of a small building with green paint, wooden windows, and gray bricks.

The entrance was eerie. The lettering on the sign on the left was almost gone, covered in a layer of dust, but you could still make out two or three words: "Renovation what?" On the new wooden board on the right, it read: "House for Rent!"

Su Yuan suddenly felt a chilling aura emanating from the hall.

Su Yuan had just asked the man in his fifties in the lobby on the first floor when he heard a conversation coming from the second floor, which made him stop in his tracks:

"Director Zhang, that Tang Dynasty female figurine in the warehouse is crying again. The new guy, Xiao Liu, was so scared he left. He's the third person to resign this year!"

Su Yuan was furious. He was here to repair cultural relics, not to repair ghosts…

They continued talking, and then the voice addressed as Director Zhang came over:

"Xiao Chen, what can we do? It's 2020 already, and she's been making a scene for so long, constantly asking to go back to Chang'an. Am I supposed to buy her a plane ticket and send her back to Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty?"

"Besides, none of us know how to talk to cultural relics, so how are we supposed to do it?"

The voice of Xiao Chen said, "If all else fails... I'll try hammering it in with a peach wood nail?"

"You dare? That's a national first-class cultural relic! If you damage it, we'll both go to jail!"

After listening to them finish speaking, Su Yuan stood there stunned, his body trembling slightly involuntarily.

He moved to the office door, turned his head and looked out of the corridor window at the old town. People were still hanging quilts on the rooftops of the bungalows. Everything seemed normal!

He strained his ears to listen further, when suddenly he heard Xiao Chen's voice shout:

"There's someone at the door!"

Footsteps approached, and the next second, a round face, around thirty years old, peeked out from the doorway:

"Who's there! What are you listening to while hiding here?"

"I...I'm new here!"

Su Yuan hurriedly took out the transfer order:

"Su Yuan, a graduate student in cultural relic restoration..."

Xiao Chen took the transfer order, glanced at it, then looked at Su Yuan, and called back into the house:

"Director Zhang! They've arrived—the restorers sent from above!"

The room was silent for two seconds:

"Let him in."

Xiao Chen stepped aside, gesturing for Su Yuan to go in. The office wasn't big, and an old man was sitting behind the desk.

He was also in his fifties, with gray hair, wearing reading glasses and looking down at some documents. Hearing Su Yuan come in, he looked up and glanced at him.

"sit."

Su Yuan sat upright in the chair opposite the desk. Director Zhang ignored him and continued looking at the documents. Xiao Chen stood next to him without saying a word.

Su Yuan hadn't recovered from what he'd just heard and couldn't say anything! About a minute later, Director Zhang put down the documents, took off his reading glasses, and rubbed his eyes.

"Xiao Su, right? You're Lao Zhou's student?"

"Yes."

"Old Zhou mentioned you to me, saying you're quite skilled, proficient in bronze, ceramics, calligraphy and painting, and a true all-rounder."

Director Zhang looked at him and asked:

"Do you know what this place is for?"

Su Yuan thought for a moment, then nervously recited the words he had memorized the whole way:

"Mainly responsible for the protection and restoration of the museum's collection of cultural relics, unearthed artifacts, and immovable cultural relics..."

Director Zhang waved his hand to interrupt him:

"That's what they say to outsiders!"

As he spoke, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from the drawer, took one out, lit it, and looked at Su Yuan with a complicated expression:

"Xiao Su, do you believe in ghosts?"

Su Yuan was stunned upon hearing this, and Xiao Chen coughed lightly:

"Director Zhang, please don't frighten him, he's just a child."

Director Zhang took a drag of his cigarette:

"I'm asking about something important, Xiao Su, go ahead and tell me."

Su Yuan's mind was in turmoil, and he didn't know what to say!

He's a scholar who studied cultural relic restoration; he does manual labor, mainly repairing and cleaning.

What does this job have to do with ghosts?

But if he doesn't believe it, what did he hear at the door just now?

Su Yuan struggled internally for a long time but couldn't utter a single word. Seeing him remain silent for so long, Director Zhang sighed.

"Alright, take your time! Xiao Chen, take him to the warehouse, let him get familiar with the place..."

Xiao Chen responded and waved to Su Yuan: "Let's go."

Su Yuan followed with a heavy heart!

Director Zhang had already put his reading glasses back on and was looking down at the documents, as if nothing had happened. Xiao Chen walked quickly ahead, and Su Yuan, following behind, couldn't help but ask:

"Brother Chen, that thing you guys were talking about earlier..."

"Female figurines?" Xiao Chen paused, glanced back at him, and said with a slightly subtle expression, "You can see for yourself when we get to the storeroom."

The warehouse was at the end of the corridor. Xiao Chen took out his key, unlocked the padlock, entered a series of numbers on the combination lock, pushed open the door, and stepped aside to let Su Yuan in.

"Go in by yourself."

When Su Yuan entered, he saw that the warehouse was very large, bigger than the entire hall downstairs, with rows of shelves filled with things!

There were pottery jars, bronze mirrors, Buddha statues, scrolls, and so on. There was a slight musty smell in the air, mixed with the scent of camphor wood and Sichuan peppercorns, which was used to repel insects.

Xiao Chen stood outside the door smoking. Su Yuan took two steps forward and looked through the aisle between the shelves. On the third shelf of the innermost row, there was a female figurine.

The piece is in the style of Tang Dynasty sancai (three-color glazed pottery), about 30 centimeters tall. It depicts a woman with her hair in two buns, wearing a long skirt, her hands tucked into her sleeves, and a smile typical of Tang Dynasty ladies.

Su Yuan took two steps closer, squatted down, and took out a magnifying glass to examine it carefully. The condition was not bad, with a bright glaze, even crackle, and the painting was basically intact. Only a small piece had peeled off at the right cuff, revealing a slightly whitish body.

Suddenly! He saw the female figurine's eyes move!

Su Yuan's mind jolted; the tingling sensation spreading throughout his body left him stunned...

The terracotta figure was still in the same pose, still with the same smiling expression, but its eyes did move. From its perspective of looking straight ahead, it quickly turned to look at him!

He saw her open her mouth, though no sound came out, Su Yuan clearly understood the two words she said:

"Hello!"

Su Yuan's soul jolted, and he stood there motionless. The fluorescent light behind him crackled, and only one thought occupied his mind:

"Is it too late to quit this job?"

Su Yuan was in a daze, not knowing how long he had been standing there!

The female figurine's eyes remained fixed on him, unwavering, in its own direction, with the same smile, but he had clearly seen the shape of her lips just now.

It's just the two words "hello"!

It was Xiao Chen's voice from outside the door that pulled him back:

"Have you finished reading? If you have, come out. You can't stay in the warehouse for long if you don't have any tasks. That's company policy."

Su Yuan was trembling slightly, still in a daze, his mind racing as he thought about telling Xiao Chen:

"That female figurine... just spoke to me..."