Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

"Nine locations were also detected last night."

Zhang Weiyi said, "Around 2:10 a.m., the fluctuation value of the mezzanine within the repair center suddenly jumped."

"It jumped from 3.8% to 5.1%, lasted for about 30 seconds, and then dropped back down."

"Director, do you think it could be one of Han Zhengming's men?" Su Yuan asked.

"uncertain."

Zhang Weiyi stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked to the window:

"However, one thing is certain: someone or something is testing our defenses here."

"Xiao Chen is mainly in charge of security. The thing he sensed was probably testing his abilities."

Su Yuan thought for a moment: "Brother Chen's ability, I heard him say, is to suppress evil energy, which means something is testing his strength?"

"right."

Zhang Weiyi turned around and continued, "This shows that Han Zhengming's side is preparing to take action, testing the waters before waiting for a suitable opportunity..."

"Director, when you say 'timing,' do you mean when I've gone deep enough into the mezzanine?"

Zhang Weiyi didn't reply after Su Yuan finished speaking, but simply nodded.

When Su Yuan came out of the office, he ran into Qian Weidong in the corridor. Qian Weidong stopped when he saw him.

"Xiao Su, you didn't sleep well yesterday afternoon and night. Your eyes are all puffy."

Su Yuan gave an awkward laugh: "It's alright, I just slept too much... Brother Qian, you didn't go on a mission today?"

"Nothing much to do today. The director told me to stay at the office, saying that things have been a bit turbulent lately, and having more people here means more help."

Qian Weidong whispered again, "I heard there's news about Wu Zhenshan?"

Su Yuan nodded: "He appeared in the eastern suburbs of the provincial capital, was injured... and is still hiding."

Qian Weidong patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, Old Wu is tough, he won't get into trouble easily."

Su Yuan nodded and said nothing more.

Su Yuan didn't go downstairs; he went straight to the storeroom to repair the small bronze mirror, hoping to find some clues about the Ruins.

In the warehouse, Xiao Jue saw Su Yuan enter and immediately swayed, "Master Su, about warehouse number three last night..."

"I know, Xiao Jue, I'll fix things first."

Xiao Jue gave an "oh" and wisely shut his mouth.

Su Yuan picked up the small bronze mirror and carefully examined its condition with a magnifying glass.

The crack in the mirror wasn't deep, but it almost ran through the entire mirror, extending from about two centimeters down one side to the edge.

The pattern on the back is a common pattern from the Han Dynasty, with smooth lines. It is covered by a large area of ​​bronze rust, and in some places the pattern has been blurred by corrosion!

Fortunately, the rust doesn't look too deep, so it can be cleaned using traditional methods.

Su Yuan took out the prepared citric acid solution from the toolbox, dipped a cotton swab in it, and applied it little by little to the rusted area.

After the solution has penetrated for a few minutes, gently brush off the softened rust layer with a small copper brush.

After brushing a few times, I wiped it clean with chamois leather to check the results. I brushed carefully for almost an hour, and the rust on the back was completely removed!

The lines of the regular pattern are clearly revealed, and the cloud and nipple patterns carry the unique majestic charm of the Han Dynasty.

Su Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, stretched a few times, and began to repair the cracks in the mirror.

Ordinary adhesives cannot be used to repair cracks in the mirror surface, as they will leave obvious marks and affect the functionality of the bronze mirror!

He remembered a method: to fill the cracks with a mixture of copper powder and lacquer.

He found copper powder, mixed it with lacquer in the right proportion to form a paste, and used a bamboo skewer to pick it up and fill it into the crack little by little until the crack was completely filled.

After filling, set it aside to dry, which will take at least four or five hours.

Su Yuan washed his hands, checked the time (it was almost noon), packed up his tools, left the small bronze mirror on the workbench, and left the storeroom.

In the corridor, Zhao Cheng was walking downstairs when he saw Su Yuan and said, "The cafeteria made dumplings today, some with chives and eggs, and some with meat."

"Yeah, let's go together."

The two went downstairs together to the cafeteria. Li Xiulan was carrying two large plates of dumplings out of the kitchen. She smiled when she saw Su Yuan.

"Xiao Su, they've snatched up all the chive and egg filling, only the meat filling is left."

After Su Yuan thanked him, he took the plate. Zhao Cheng also took another plate and sat opposite him. Soon after, Chen Xiaohe and Qian Weidong also came over.

Chen Xiaohe looked a little better than in the morning, but he still seemed preoccupied!

He ate a few dumplings, put down his chopsticks, and said softly, "Su, I need to tell you something..."

"What's going on? Why are you being so mysterious?"

"After I got back this morning, I tested my abilities."

Chen Xiaohe's voice became even softer: "I've discovered that I can sense the existence of the gap now. For a while, I could only restrain myself and couldn't sense it."

"After last night, I can actually feel it, like... I can smell it."

Su Yuan glanced at Zhao Cheng, who then put down his chopsticks and asked, "What does it taste like?"

Chen Xiaohe frowned and thought for a moment, then said:

"How should I put it? It's a very faint rotten smell, like the smell of something that's been left out for a long time and has gone moldy."

Su Yuan and Zhao Cheng exchanged a glance. He was actually the same as Zhao Cheng; he could also smell the gap.

After listening from the side, Qian Weidong said:

"Well done, Chen Xiaohe, that means your abilities are awakening. I've seen people similar to you back in the provincial capital, this is a good thing."

Chen Xiaohe rolled his eyes and asked, "Old Qian, really?"

"Really, but you have to learn to control yourself and not smell it all the time, otherwise you won't be able to eat if you smell those smells all day long."

Qian Weidong picked up a dumpling and put it in his mouth. He glanced at Zhao Cheng, who also nodded to Chen Xiaohe.

Zhao Cheng continued Qian Weidong's words and said to Chen Xiaohe:

"When I first learned to smell, an old master taught me a method: you can imagine a door in your mind and shut the senses behind it at any time."

"Give it a try."

After listening, Chen Xiaohe closed his eyes for a moment with some skepticism, then opened them a few seconds later, his face showing a look of surprise and delight.

"It seems...it really works! Old Qian, I didn't know you had this skill?"

Qian Weidong smiled:

"I've lived in the provincial capital for so many years, how could I have gotten this far without some skills? It's just that I'm a low-key person and don't like to show off."

Su Yuan and Zhao Cheng shook their heads in disbelief, while Chen Xiaohe gave them a sidelong glance. Su Yuan swallowed a dumpling and said:

"Let's go check out warehouse number three after we finish eating."

"Um."

The four of them quickly finished eating and arrived at the entrance of warehouse number three. Chen Xiaohe pointed to the left corner, where nothing could be seen from the outside.

Zhao Cheng leaned closer and sniffed, then frowned: "It has a scent, but it's very faint."

Qian Weidong also went over and smelled it, his expression changing: "I recognize this smell. I smelled the exact same one when I was dealing with a case of interlayer infiltration years ago."

Su Yuan also took out his bronze spiritual eye. He had been carrying the bronze eye with him ever since he entered the mezzanine twice.

The image on the wall became transparent under the bronze plaque, revealing what was behind it—not just bricks and cement, but also a hazy mist!

He put down the bronze medal, knowing what was going on.

"There used to be an extremely fine crack here," Su Yuan said. "It was so fine that you wouldn't have noticed it at all!"

Qian Weidong squatted down, touched the ground in the corner, stood up and said:

"Xiao Su, this crack didn't just appear recently. Look at the dust on the ground. The dust in this spot is thinner than the surrounding area, which means that airflow is seeping out from the crack and blowing the dust away."

"This fissure has existed for at least one or two years. Few people usually come here, so we didn't notice it until recently when the interlayer pressure increased."

Su Yuan glanced at Qian Weidong and felt a surge of admiration.

After the group finished their discussion, they all left to go about their own business. Su Yuan went to find Zhang Weiyi, who said something that surprised Su Yuan...