Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

He closed the file, stood up, and realized his legs were getting numb from squatting for so long. He stomped his feet while holding onto the shelf, tidied up, and then turned to leave.

He stopped in front of Awu:

"Awu, I'm going to repair Yongle Palace..."

There was no response. Su Yuan stood there for a few seconds and then left. Chen Xiaohe saw him come out and waved his hand:

"Let's go, I'll close the door!"

Su Yuan walked to the door of the director's office and saw that the door was ajar, and Director Zhang was writing some document.

"director…"

Su Yuan called out after entering, and Zhang Weiyi looked up at him. He continued:

"I need to repair that mural in Yongle Palace..."

Zhang Weiyi just watched him quietly, and Su Yuan steeled his resolve:

"I know some people don't want me to fix it, but if that crack isn't repaired soon, it will completely split open, and then the wall will collapse!"

Zhang Weiyi put down his pen:

"Who's stopping you from fixing it?"

Su Yuan was taken aback: "Zhao Cheng said that..."

"Zhao Cheng is Zhao Cheng, and I am me!" Director Zhang interrupted him. "He told you not to interfere, I never said that!"

Su Yuan was speechless for a moment. Wasn't your attitude just that you didn't want me to get involved?

Zhang Weiyi took a sip of water:

"The thing is right there on the wall; it's broken, and that's it. You're the restorer, so fix what needs fixing, but there's one condition: you can't go alone!"

"Who's coming with me?"

Zhang Weiyi lowered his head and continued writing: "Wait, someone will come looking for you."

Su Yuan... This leader is so mysterious!

After mentally venting his frustration, he turned to leave, but Zhang Weiyi called him back at the door:

"Xiao Su, your dad came to the office today to complete some paperwork. He should be on the first floor right now. Go check on him."

Su Yuan nodded and hurried downstairs!

In the lobby on the first floor, Father Su Fu sat on a bench, Old Wu chatted with him, while Mother stood opposite, holding a thermos cup in her hand.

Su Fu wore a new blue and white checkered shirt today, got a haircut, and shaved his beard. He was still as thin as ever, but he looked much more energetic!

Su Yuan stepped forward: "Dad!"

Su Fu looked up at him and smiled, "Yuan'er..."

Su Yuan was very happy and sat down next to him:

"Dad, Mom, are the formalities finished?"

"It's done!" Su Fu replied. "Thanks to your Uncle Wu..."

Old Wu, standing to the side, chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "Hehe, it's nothing."

Su Yuan looked at his father:

"Dad, do you still remember... those things?"

Su Fu remained silent for a moment:

"I remember... but I won't think about it anymore. Your mother was right, thinking about it is useless."

The mother chimed in, "That's how it should be. It's been over twenty years; it's time to turn the page!"

Su Fu patted his knee: "Go do your thing, don't worry about me, your mother is here."

His mother put her hand on his father's shoulder: "Yes, I'm here for you, Yuan'er. You just focus on your work."

Su Yuan nodded: "Okay, Dad, Mom, Uncle Wu, you guys chat..."

He smiled, turned around, and went upstairs. Around 2 p.m., there was a knock on his office door.

"Please come in!"

The door opened, and a man in his forties walked in. He had a round face, wore glasses, and was dressed in the same navy blue work uniform as Zhao Cheng. He was half a head shorter than Zhao Cheng, and his belly was rounder.

"Su Yuan?"

"I am."

"My name is Qian Weidong." The man walked in and sat down opposite him. "Director Zhang sent me to see you!"

Su Yuan was taken aback: "Are you coming with me to Yongle Palace?"

Qian Weidong nodded: "Okay, I'll drive you wherever you want to go."

Su Yuan looked towards the door: "Just you?"

"Yes, it's me!" Qian Weidong replied. "Director Zhang said you just do your repairs and don't need to worry about anything else."

Before Su Yuan could ask anything else, Qian Weidong stood up and said, "I'll be waiting for you at the company entrance at eight o'clock tomorrow morning!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

Su Yuan stood up, watched Qian Weidong leave, and took out a bronze mirror from his pocket. The reflection in the mirror began to stir again, as if several people were whispering inside:

"Going to Yongle Palace tomorrow?"

Is that gap still there?

"That's for sure..."

"Can Master Su fix it?"

"He said he could..."

After hearing this, Su Yuan silently turned the mirror over and put it back in his pocket, staring out the window in a daze. The next morning at 7:50, Su Yuan arrived at the entrance of his workplace carrying his toolbox.

Qian Weidong had arrived and was leaning against a white van, eating a steamed bun. Seeing Su Yuan approach, he pointed to the passenger seat:

"Sit here."

Su Yuan got into the car, which was quite clean and tidy. Qian Weidong swallowed the last bite of his steamed bun, got in, and started the car.

"How long will it take?" Su Yuan asked.

"About three hours." Qian Weidong shifted gears. "You can take a nap on the way!"

Su Yuan gazed at the scenery outside the window, which gradually changed from the city to the suburbs, and then from farmland to the mountains.

"Have you been here before?" he asked Qian Weidong. Qian Weidong, while keeping a close eye on the car, replied, "Yes, I've been here a few times before with Zhao Cheng!"

Su Yuan looked at him: "Zhao Cheng came here too?"

"Yeah, I've been here a few times, but each time I just look around and leave without doing anything."

"Why aren't you moving?"

Qian Weidong did not answer immediately, but remained silent for a moment before speaking:

"There are some things that we don't want to do, but we can't do... Master Xu of Yongle Palace is probably getting impatient."

Su Yuan waited a few seconds but didn't say anything more, so he didn't ask any more questions. More than two hours later, the car stopped in front of a Taoist temple.

The entrance was not large, with gray walls and a black door. Above the door hung a plaque with the three golden characters "Yongle Palace" written on it.

An elderly man dressed in a gray cloth shirt was standing at the door. Seeing the car stop, he quickly came forward to greet it.

"Master Qian?"

"Hmm." Qian Weidong got out of the car: "Master Xu, this is Master Su, he's here to repair the murals."

Old Master Xu looked Su Yuan up and down: "So young?"

Su Yuan didn't respond, thinking, "So what if I'm young?" Old Master Xu looked at him for a few more seconds, then turned and pushed open the door: "Come in."

Su Yuan followed them inside, passing through the front courtyard and the middle hall, until they arrived at the main hall at the far end. The old Taoist priest took out a key, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. The light inside the hall was somewhat dim.

Su Yuan stood at the doorway, looking at the wall and the entire hall. It was the same as the last time he had seen it, except that the colors were not as bright!

The Taoist priest in the blue robe was still there on the side wall, but the crack from his shoulder to his waist was deeper than the last time I saw it, the plaster was peeling off, and the edges were blackened.

"It's too deep..." Su Yuan muttered.

Old Master Xu nodded in agreement: "It wasn't this deep last month, but it's already like this at the beginning of this month."

Su Yuan took a few steps closer, put down his toolbox, and took out a magnifying glass to examine the crack closely. The crack was extremely deep, penetrating the surface layer and the base layer, reaching all the way to the mud brick layer. Ink, cinnabar, and black dog's blood had stained the edges of the crack black!

"Do you know who did this?" he asked. The old Taoist shook his head. Su Yuan stood up, thinking:

"You people..."

Without a word, he took a few steps back, staring at the crack. His estimation matched the record—about 73 centimeters. He then looked at Qian Weidong at the entrance of the hall, who was leaning against the doorframe, smoking.

"Master Qian..."

"Um?"

"I'm going to stay here for two days!"

Qian Weidong nodded: "I'll go with you."

"No need..." Su Yuan started to say, but then remembered Director Zhang's instructions and said instead:

"OK…"

Qian Weidong smiled and stubbed out his cigarette:

"Then I'll go find a place to stay; the temple should have guest rooms."