Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Grouting may look simple, but it actually requires a lot of strength and patience. It's no wonder your hands shake!

Su Yuan picked up the teapot, took a sip from the spout, sat on the ground to rest for about ten minutes, then got up and began to paste the Xuan paper, which was the last step in the grouting process.

The freshly poured paste hasn't dried yet, so we have to seal the cracks with Xuan paper to prevent the moisture from evaporating too quickly and causing it to crack.

After soaking the Xuan paper, stick it to the crack, layer by layer, until the entire crack is covered. Once the paste dries, peel off the Xuan paper!

Su Yuan cut the Xuan paper into strips, soaked each strip in water, and pasted them onto the paper carefully, making sure each strip overlapped the next by one or two centimeters, pressing the edges flat to prevent air bubbles from forming.

When he placed the image of Chunyang Zhenren on the shoulder, he looked at the Taoist priest in the blue robe, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly...

Su Yuan pasted the Xuan paper on it, covering the repaired crack. He took two steps back and looked at the whole wall. There were strips of Xuan paper pasted everywhere, but the crack underneath was no longer visible. He would peel off the paper after it dried, and that would be about right!

Su Yuan put away the remaining Xuan paper, cleaned up the toolbox and the ground, and sat down on the ground to rest against the wall.

"The craftsmanship is quite good..."

Su Yuan's heart skipped a beat at the sound of that shadowy voice:

"You're still here? I thought you had left..."

"I'll just watch you fix it!"

Su Yuan's heartbeat slowed a little, and he didn't speak. The voice said again:

"None of the first three achieved this!"

Su Yuan calmly asked, "How far have they gone?"

The voice was silent for a moment:

"The first one saw the crack, did nothing, and left. The second one left after patching it halfway. The third one... finished grouting..."

Su Yuan waited for it to speak.

"I didn't have time to put on the sticker after filling it!"

Su Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and his nervousness vanished: "Where is he?"

There was no response from the voice. Su Yuan stared at the pile of things on the ground and asked again:

"Were they scared away by you? Or by something else...?"

After waiting a while without a response, Su Yuan stood up and dusted off his pants. He limped to the wall and looked at the strips of rice paper:

"I don't care what happened to the first three! I will fix this one..."

There was no movement in the bronze mirror.

Su Yuan squatted down, put the lid back on the remaining pig blood bucket, cleaned up the things on the ground, and carried his toolbox outside.

"By the way, what's your name?" There was no response, so Su Yuan asked again:

"Can't you tell me your name?"

"I have no name." The voice rang out, and Su Yuan thought for a moment:

"I'll call you Old Black!"

"..."

"Don't want to? Then call him Little Black."

"..."

Su Yuan pushed open the door and went out: "Old Hei, see you tomorrow..."

When Su Yuan walked into the courtyard, Qian Weidong was squatting under the locust tree playing chess with the old Taoist priest. Seeing Su Yuan limping out, Qian Weidong stood up and asked:

"What's wrong?"

Su Yuan sat down on the stone bench: "My legs are numb from kneeling..."

Qian Weidong glanced at his knees; his pants were almost worn through.

"Can you keep kneeling tomorrow?"

Su Yuan looked down and said, "Yes..."

Old Master Xu chimed in from the side, "Young man, your knees are your own; you should use them sparingly..."

Su Yuan nodded, and the old man continued:

"That crack has been there for many years. Several people have come and gone, but none of them could fix it. You are the first person to finish filling the grout and pasting the paper."

Su Yuan was taken aback: "You know about what happened a few times ago?"

Old Master Xu nodded:

"The first one just glanced at me and left. The second one ran away that night, without taking anything. The third one... I finished him off, and when I found him the next day, he wasn't moving!"

"They couldn't wake him up, so two people came and carried him away..."

"What happened to him afterward?"

The old Taoist priest shook his head: "I don't know, I've never been here again."

Su Yuan sat on the stone bench, staring blankly at the locust blossoms on the ground. Old Xu called out:

"Master Su!"

"Um?"

Are you scared?

"Afraid!"

The old Taoist priest nodded and asked no more questions. That afternoon, Su Yuan didn't go to the main hall; he rested in his side room, looking at the wooden beams on the roof. He took out a bronze mirror and called out:

"Old Black?"

Seeing the bronze mirror move slightly, he asked:

"How long have you been staring at Yongle Palace?"

No reply.

"I know even if you don't say it; it's been at least thirty years!"

The bronze mirror moved again, this time making a bigger noise.

"Why are you staring at it? Trying to eat it?"

Then that muffled voice rang out:

"Not eating..."

"What is that?"

"go home…"

Su Yuan was stunned: "Go back to what home?"

Two minutes have passed, and there's still no answer. The mirror is completely empty.

"Old Black's gone? Home..."

He thought of A-Wu and what she had said, placed the mirror next to his pillow, and closed his eyes.

The next day, the Xuan paper covering the ground layer dried completely. Su Yuan entered the main hall again, carefully peeled off the Xuan paper, and found that the cracks had stabilized.

He took out a scalpel, tweezers, a spray bottle, and gelatin, walked to the repaired ground layer, and was about to start working when he heard a noise behind him!

He didn't turn around, nor did he stop what he was doing.

"Your skills are good, but you can't finish fixing it all."

The sound rang out again, but Su Yuan ignored it, picked up a brush, dipped it in gelatin, and applied it to the seam of the crack:

"Did you say the same thing to the first three?"

There was no reply from the voice. Su Yuan patiently applied the glue, letting each layer dry completely before applying another. When he reached the third layer, the voice sounded again:

"Aren't you really afraid?"

With a trembling heart, Su Yuan put down his brush, cut strips of Xuan paper, pasted them onto the glued area, and carefully pressed them flat.

"Afraid…"

"Then why aren't you running?"

"I don't want to run, and I can't run..."

Why?

Su Yuan didn't answer. He picked up a brush and began mixing pigments: azurite, malachite, ochre, and clam shell powder, carefully blending them in precise proportions.

"Because... someone is waiting for me!"

The sound hummed and disappeared. Su Yuan adjusted the color, picked up the brush, dipped it in the color, and brought it close to the edge of the crack. His hand trembled, but the stroke was very steady!

Start touching up the color, blending the new color with the old wall stroke by stroke to cover the cracks.

When the repair was halfway complete, there were no abnormalities in the surrounding area!

Once the last stroke was made, all the cracks in the wall were repaired. The new color blended seamlessly with the old wall, making it almost indistinguishable without close inspection.

Su Yuan took two steps back, breathed a sigh of relief, and began packing his toolbox. At that moment, a voice came from the mural:

"Thanks…"

A yellow object floated out of the painting.

"Also, keep this talisman safe, and don't tell anyone..."

Su Yuan looked up in a daze and saw the Pure Yang Immortal in green robes on the wall smiling and greeting him.

A yellow talisman, already folded, gently landed in his hand. A moment later, the Taoist priest returned to his original position…

Su Yuan stared blankly at the talisman in his hand for a moment, then carefully put it away before continuing to pack. Footsteps sounded outside the hall; Qian Weidong was carrying two lunchboxes and quickly approaching.

"Dinner's ready!"

He glanced at the wall: "It's fixed so quickly?"

"Um…"

Qian Weidong walked closer for a closer look, then turned to look at Su Yuan:

"Your cooking skills... are good!"

He handed over the lunchbox, which contained rice, braised pork, and stir-fried vegetables. The food was still warm. Qian Weidong sat down next to him and they ate together.

The two ate their boxed lunches quietly, surrounded by walls covered with images of gods and immortals. Suddenly, Su Yuan asked:

"Master Qian..."

"Um?"

How long have you been working at this company?