Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Su Yuan waited for him to continue, and Wu Zhenshan put down his thermos and said:

"The Su family has been in this business for generations. Some make swords, some make terracotta figures, some make mirrors, and some repair things."

He looked at Su Yuan without reacting:

"Your great-grandfather was a coppersmith, making bronze ware. Your grandfather was a carpenter, repairing old houses, and your father..."

Wu Zhenshan put down his thermos and continued:

"Your dad was the first to go to university, and he studied artifact restoration. He thought that going to school would make him unrelated to these things, but no, what's meant to happen will happen!"

Su Yuan remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. Wu Zhenshan stood up and said:

"You're the same. You went to school and learned a skill, and you still came here, didn't you? But you're not your father; you're better than him!"

Su Yuan was stunned for a moment.

"Your dad was insane for eighteen years, but you're out!"

Wu Zhenshan smiled and said, "Alright, go back and rest. You'll have work to do tomorrow."

"What kind of work?"

Wu Zhenshan didn't answer, and left with his thermos.

Su Yuan sat on the bench, and after a few minutes, he took out the bronze mirror. He stared intently at it, and in the mirror, several figures were huddled together arguing, with one voice being the loudest:

"Master Su, what needs fixing tomorrow?"

Su Yuan put the mirror back in his pocket and replied:

"have no idea…"

When Su Yuan returned to his dormitory, it wasn't dark yet. He glanced at his phone; it was 4:30 PM. He had spent almost a whole day in the warehouse, and his knees were swollen again; he hadn't recovered from squatting for so long.

He lay in bed staring at the ceiling for a long time, his mind replaying Wu Zhenshan's words.

He was half asleep when his phone vibrated at 6:20 PM. It was his mother calling.

"Yuan'er, have you gotten up and eaten yet?"

"without."

"Your dad sent you some food via SF Express, it should arrive tomorrow."

"What is it?"

"Homemade braised beef, roast chicken, and a jar of chili sauce—all made by your dad."

Su Yuan's dad can cook? I've never heard of that before, so I quickly asked, "Mom, when did Dad learn to cook?"

"He used to cook for you. When you were little, he even cooked for you. Oh...you don't remember...you were only three years old then. He held you in one arm and cooked with the other."

Su Yuan thought so too; who could remember something from when they were three years old?

He said he'd cook for you when you get back.

Su Yuan listened without saying a word.

"Alright, Yuan'er, get up and go eat. Stop lying there!"

After hanging up the phone, Su Yuan lay down for a while before getting up, taking out his phone to look at it. His mother had sent a photo of his father standing in front of the stove wearing an apron, holding a spatula, and smiling at the camera.

He went out to a noodle shop and ate a bowl of noodles. On his way back, he passed by the entrance of his workplace and saw the lights on inside. He stood there for a while, then pushed the door open and went in.

Wu Zhenshan was not in the lobby. Su Yuan passed by the director's office and saw that the door was open and the light was on, but Zhang Weiyi was not there!

He walked to his office, sat in a chair for a while, and prepared to go back to his dormitory to rest when he suddenly heard voices downstairs. It was Wu Zhenshan's voice, and there was another person, but he couldn't make out who it was.

He took a few steps down and saw Wu Zhenshan and Zhang Weiyi standing in the lobby on the first floor, facing each other, their voices very low.

"We can't delay any longer!" Zhang Weiyi said.

"I know we can't delay any longer," Wu Zhenshan's voice was deeper than usual. "But he's only been here a short time. You're already letting him touch that?"

"That's what Zhao Huaishan said back then," Zhang Weiyi said. "Wait and wait! In the end, he waited until he himself was imprisoned."

Wu Zhenshan didn't speak, and Su Yuangou remained motionless on the stairs.

"He's better than his dad!" Zhang Weiyi said. "Didn't you say that yourself?"

"He's better than his father," Wu Zhenshan sighed. "But he's still young. Those things can't be dealt with just by repairing a few artifacts!"

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

A moment of silence followed. Su Yuan took two more steps down, trying to listen more closely, when suddenly the wooden plank creaked. Wu Zhenshan looked over:

"Come down."

Su Yuan went downstairs and stood in the hall. Both men looked at him without speaking. Zhang Weiyi leaned against the table, a cigarette in his hand. Wu Zhenshan sat on a bench. It was Zhang Weiyi who asked Su Yuan:

"Did you hear that?"

"Um…"

"Please sit down."

Su Yuan sat down next to Wu Zhenshan, and Zhang Weiyi lit a cigarette and took a puff.

"Have you finished fixing everything on the list?"

"Hmm, the bronze mirrors are still left to be processed..."

"Don't rush with the bronze mirror," Zhang Weiyi said. "That belongs to your Su family; it won't run away."

"Do you remember that gap in Yongle Palace?"

"Remember…"

"It...didn't leave!"

Su Yuan's scalp tingled, and he exclaimed, "Didn't you say that once the mural was repaired it would..."

"It can't leave." Zhang Weiyi interrupted him. "The murals are repaired, so it can't get out. The stele has also been brought back, and the energy flow has been reconnected; it's sealed inside. But it's not sealed forever!"

Su Yuan listened quietly without saying a word.

"Zhao Cheng went to see it," Zhang Weiyi continued. "He said that thing had been growing during the more than 30 years it had been imprisoned, and in a few more years it wouldn't be able to be sealed off anymore."

"What should we do then?"

Zhang Weiyi didn't answer Su Yuan; instead, he looked at Wu Zhenshan. Wu Zhenshan took a sip of tea:

"Okay, someone's gone in."

"Go in? Go where?" Su Yuan asked hurriedly. Wu Zhenshan screwed on the lid and looked at Su Yuan:

"The hidden compartment in the wall! Where that thing is..."

Su Yuan's mind was buzzing. Seeing his dazed expression, Wu Zhenshan continued:

"When Zhao Huaishan sealed it off, he left an opening. Only by going through that opening can that thing be completely sealed off, but first, someone has to go in..."

"Who's going in?"

"Zhao Cheng?" Su Yuan asked. Wu Zhenshan didn't answer, so Zhang Weiyi chimed in:

"Zhao Cheng can't get in... He can only smell and see. Only one type of person can enter that opening."

Su Yuan listened intently.

"It's... someone with Su family blood." Zhang Weiyi's expression was grave. "It's you!"

Su Yuan sat there, unconsciously clutching the bronze mirror in his pocket.

"Your dad almost went to jail back then," Wu Zhenshan continued, "but he couldn't get in; he saw something else and got caught up in it..."

Su Yuan recalled the situation when he met his father and asked:

"I've gone in... will I be able to come out?"

Zhang Weiyi and Wu Zhenshan exchanged a glance, and Zhang Weiyi stubbed out his cigarette.

"Well... I don't know, I doubt anyone can say for sure!"

Su Yuan lowered his head, staring blankly at his hands without saying a word.

"You don't have to go," Zhang Weiyi said emotionally, looking at him.

"No one can force you to do it. Once the items on the list are fixed, you can take a break. As for those who contacted you, they can leave if they don't want to work. They have plenty of time."

Su Yuan didn't look up, and murmured:

"What will happen if I go?"

"I don't know," Zhang Weiyi said. "When Zhao Huaishan came out, he was seriously injured, and it was gone after a few years. But fortunately, he managed to seal that thing away for more than thirty years..."

Su Yuan remembered what Zhao Huaishan had said on his father's notebook, and now he understood why his father didn't want him to come!