Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

After Su Yuan finished asking, A Wu's voice chuckled:

"Not necessarily, they all have different personalities. Some like to talk, some don't."

"I remember seeing the shadow of this cauldron once in the interlayer; it was a very quiet creature."

Su Yuan smiled after hearing this, washed up, lay down on the bed, and placed the bronze mirror next to his pillow. A Wu's reflection looked at him in the bronze mirror.

"Su Yuan, you always think through the steps before fixing things, you're so meticulous," A Wu whispered.

"I'm used to it."

Su Yuan said with a smile, "Teacher Zhou mentioned this back in school."

"When you encounter something complex, it's much better to think about it in your mind twice before you start doing it than to repeatedly modify it after you've started."

"Su Yuan, do you remember when I brought you back to Chang'an?"

"How could I not remember... I thought you'd never come back!"

Su Yuan sighed, thinking about what happened before he knew A-Wu could be resurrected. A-Wu in the mirror also lowered her head.

"At the time, I never knew this day would come. Su Yuan, thank you..."

Su Yuan's eyes reddened again:

"Awu, I should be thanking you, and I should also thank Zhao Cheng's father for leaving that peace symbol."

Awu nodded: "Get some rest, Su Yuan. Goodnight."

After saying that, A-Wu disappeared into the bronze mirror. Su Yuan said goodnight to the bronze mirror and slowly fell asleep.

The next day, Su Yuan went to the warehouse after having breakfast at 7:30.

He rearranged everything on the worktable and first used a soft brush to sweep away the dust from the bronze tripod.

Then, using cotton swabs dipped in distilled water, they carefully cleaned away the remaining mud and impurities at the broken ends of the tripod legs.

The rust layer at the fracture has covered the fracture surface. It needs to be gently scraped off with a scalpel to expose the fresh metal surface so that the welding can be strong!

Su Yuan scraped away the rust layer with perfect control of his strength, removing only the rust layer without damaging the bronze body underneath.

After scraping, he picked up a small file and slowly filed down the deformed part at the break, trying to restore the broken surface to its original shape as much as possible.

This task alone took almost an hour. I had to stop every few strokes to use calipers to measure and make sure the angle and depth were correct!

After correcting the broken edges, Su Yuan compared the legs and body of the cauldron.

Seeing that the angle of the prototype was just right, I breathed a sigh of relief and started welding.

After heating the soldering iron to the appropriate temperature, Su Yuan applied rosin paste to the broken edge with a small brush, picked up the solder bar, and melted it with the soldering iron.

Molten tin flowed along the cracks, slowly reaching every crevice.

Su Yuan controlled the speed at which the soldering iron moved. If it moved too fast, the solder wouldn't be evenly distributed; if it moved too slowly, too much would accumulate.

He tried his best to keep his hands steady and to bring out the skills he had learned at school.

The soldering was completed quickly. I unplugged the soldering iron and waited for the solder to cool and solidify.

Su Yuan put down the soldering iron, stretched his wrists, and glanced at the time. Less than twenty minutes had passed since he started soldering.

After the solder had completely cooled, he began to use a file to remove the excess solder from the solder joint, then sanded it with fine sandpaper, and finally polished it with chamois leather!

The welded joints were made to have the same rust color as the body of the tripod using an antiquing technique.

The weld joint is almost the same color as the legs of the tripod, so it is not noticeable unless you look closely.

Next up are the handles of the cauldron.

Su Yuan first used a small air pump to blow away the debris from the gaps, then used a syringe to draw in the reinforcing agent, pointing the needle at the fine crack at the base of the cauldron's handle, and injected the reinforcing agent into it.

Once the reinforcing agent has fully penetrated and filled the cavity, wipe off any excess with a cotton swab and set aside to dry naturally.

The repairs continued after breakfast the next morning, and the final step was sealing!

Su Yuan used a brush to apply a layer of the prepared sealant to the welded and reinforced areas.

The sealant is transparent, will not change the appearance of the object, and can prevent the weld from rusting or loosening in the future.

The final step was to wipe the entire body of the cauldron twice with a cotton cloth, which made the overall rust color look more uniform.

Repair completed at 10:30 AM!

Su Yuan looked at the bronze cauldron on the worktable and nodded in satisfaction.

After putting away all the tools and cleaning the workbench, wash your hands and take the bronze mirror off your neck.

Awu's light and shadow appeared, looking at the cauldron.

"It's moving," Awu said softly after watching for a few seconds.

Su Yuan stared at the bronze cauldron for a few seconds, but there was no change in the cauldron. After a few more seconds, a faint spiritual fluctuation suddenly emanated from the cauldron.

It's really weak, like someone who just woke up and is still dazed!

The spiritual energy fluctuations slowly condensed, then dispersed after a few seconds, condensed again, and dispersed again... This repeated several times before it finally stabilized.

"I...this is..."

Ding's voice sounded as if something was blocking his throat: "My leg... is it reattached? And my ear... is it fixed too?"

"It's connected now," Su Yuan said. "How are you feeling?"

The cauldron remained silent for another ten seconds or so, its spiritual energy fluctuations gradually stabilizing. Its voice could be discerned to belong to a middle-aged man:

"Much better..."

"I don't know how many years it's been, but I remember... on the day it broke, something fell from the sky, it was very heavy, and after that I don't know anything..."

"You must have slept for a long time," Su Yuan said. "Now that my leg is set, it won't break again unless something unexpected happens."

Ding sighed, paused for a moment, and then spoke more clearly: "Thank you, young man, you are..."

"His name is Su Yuan, and he is a cultural relic restorer."

A-Wu's voice came from the bronze mirror: "Do you remember me?"

Ding was puzzled for a moment, then his spiritual senses jolted: "You are... Miss A-Wu? How did you become like this?"

"My spirit dispersed in the early Song Dynasty, and you were the one I met. Later, part of my remnant soul resided in this bronze mirror."

Awu's voice was calm: "Su Yuan is currently helping me find the remaining fragments of my soul. Once I collect them all, I will be able to recover."

Ding was silent for a few seconds, then his voice carried a hint of apology:

"Miss Awu, I've always felt indebted to you for not being able to help you back then. It's wonderful that Master Su can help you now. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything from me."

"Just focus on getting better. He'll help you recover and he'll also benefit himself. You don't need to do anything else; he's enough."

Awu said with a smile.

Ding hummed in response, and the fluctuations in his spiritual sense gradually calmed down. He then fell silent.

Su Yuan took the bronze tripod off the worktable, placed it on the shelf, and waited for the people from the province to come and pick it up.

Xiao Jue watched from the side without daring to say a word. Only after Su Yuan finished his work did he whisper, "Master Su, it actually knows Miss A Wu too."

"Um."

Su Yuan packed up the toolbox: "They're all from the Tang Dynasty and earlier, so it's normal that they've met in the hidden compartments."

"I know Miss A-Wu too, don't I?"

Xiao Jue's voice carried a hint of resentment. A Wu's little light and shadow chuckled, "Well, it's because you kept pestering me to ask who could save you that I told you to come find him."

"That's right, hehehehe, Miss Awu, you're so kind."

Su Yuan smiled as he put the bronze mirror away. Seeing that it was almost noon, he prepared to go have lunch.

Just as I stepped out of the warehouse, my phone vibrated. It was a message from Zhou Peiyuan: "Xiao Su, is the cauldron repaired yet?"

Su Yuan replied, "It's fixed, Teacher Zhou. The welding and reinforcement went smoothly."

Zhou Peiyuan sent a thumbs-up emoji and then added another comment:

"Come with me to the provincial exhibition next week. That bronze tripod will be on display there, and you'll see what they think of your craftsmanship!"