Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Su Yuan looked at Han Zhengming warily and replied:

"right."

"Nine Heavens Jade Pendant?"

Su Yuan was startled, glanced at him, and asked, "How did you know?"

"I heard it mentioned by the people at the museum," Han Zhengming continued. "That violin has had its strings broken several times, and they couldn't fix it themselves, so they came to you for help."

Su Yuan didn't respond; he really wanted to get away from this person.

Han Zhengming stood in the middle of the hall with his hands behind his back, looking up at the old-fashioned chandelier on the ceiling:

"I visited this building once more than 20 years ago, and it was Old Wu who received me back then."

Su Yuan just listened without saying a word.

"Back then, that was the color of the light; it made people sleepy." Han Zhengming looked away and then at him:

"I've heard some things about your great-grandfather's generation."

"..."

"The Su family's craftsmanship is renowned in the industry," Han Zhengming smiled. "Unfortunately, not much of it has been passed down."

Su Yuan's heart was trembling slightly; he stood still and didn't say a word.

Han Zhengming glanced at Su Yuan, who seemed not to have quite reacted, and said with a cryptic smile:

"Alright, you've had a long day, go home and rest. We'll talk again another day!"

After speaking, he walked out of the automatic door of the hall. His footsteps were very light, and his leather shoes made almost no sound on the terrazzo floor.

After watching his figure disappear, Su Yuan let out a long sigh of relief. A voice came from the second floor:

"Master Su, that guy seems even more sinister than us, be careful..."

Su Yuan simply nodded instinctively without replying; it was already dark outside the gate.

The streetlights were all on, and Chen Xiaohe was sitting in the driver's seat of the old Santana parked outside the gate, smoking.

Seeing Su Yuan come out, Chen Xiaohe stubbed out his cigarette and rolled down the car window:

"Su, get in the car this way."

Su Yuan opened the passenger door and got in: "Brother Chen, why haven't you left yet?"

"Director Zhang told me to wait for you." Chen Xiaohe started the car. "He said it's so you can avoid driving at night these next couple of days."

"You really have to drive me here even though it's so close?"

"Hehehe, didn't you know your brother Chen is too lazy to walk..."

Chen Xiaohe wasn't driving fast. He had one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand was taking out a cigarette, which he put in his mouth but didn't light.

Ask Su Yuan:

"Did you run into Han Zhengming? I just saw him come out of there."

"Um."

"What did you say?"

"He didn't say anything, just greeted me and mentioned that he had been here more than 20 years ago."

Chen Xiaohe snorted: "Twenty years ago, he wasn't even a section chief yet; he was just running errands for others."

Su Yuan stared at him, wide-eyed: "You know him?"

"I don't know him."

Chen Xiaohe took the cigarette out of his mouth and smiled: "I heard Lao Qian mention it during the day, saying that this guy has connections and rose through the ranks very quickly."

Su Yuan, preoccupied with his own thoughts, didn't ask any further questions.

The car stopped downstairs at the dormitory building. After Su Yuan got out, Chen Xiaohe waved to him without turning off the engine and left.

As Su Yuan entered the building, the bronze mirror in his pocket felt heavy.

He didn't pay attention, went into the dormitory, walked to the bed, sat down, took out the bronze mirror and put it on the table.

Looking at the tiny bright spot on the mirror, it seemed even brighter than in the afternoon, like a little star.

The shadows in the bronze mirror appeared now, but they were still huddled in the corner. The old man's shadow stood in front again, looking at Su Yuan.

Su Yuan looked at them without saying anything, thinking to himself that they had probably gotten used to the presence of the jade ring.

The jade ring must have realized they meant no harm...

He took off the jade ring and placed it next to the bronze mirror. As soon as the ring and the bronze mirror touched, Su Yuan felt an extremely subtle vibration travel from the table to his finger.

There was something responding, very faintly.

Su Yuan stared at it for about ten seconds before putting the ring back on his hand.

The tremor subsided, and I stretched my arms and legs before lying down on the bed. Just then, my phone vibrated—a WeChat message had popped up.

"Yuan'er, I'm your father. The Su family has suffered at the hands of that Han family before. Stay away from him, or at least be careful."

"He probably thinks I've been crazy for eighteen years and don't remember some things from before..."

Su Yuan stared at the screen and replied:

"Okay, Dad."

After replying, I tossed my phone onto the pillow, my mind filled with Han Zhengming's smiling face.

Thinking of his icy hands, and how opportune the question was—she hadn't even mentioned the name of the guqin, but Han Zhengming had already said it…

Su Yuan stared at the ceiling, then thought of the scene before the musician left. How much obsession must it have had to be trapped in the zither for thousands of years!

He didn't know how much time had passed, but just as Su Yuan was drifting off to sleep, he heard a sound.

The sound was very soft, as if it came from a very far place.

"Su Yuan..."

He suddenly opened his eyes and looked around the room, but no one was there! Su Yuan quickly sat up and looked at the bronze mirror on the table.

The tiny speckle on the mirror flashed several times…

Su Yuan stared at the bronze mirror for more than ten seconds. The light flickered twice before slowly dimming and returning to its normal brightness.

He touched the mirror with his hand; it was cool!

"Was that you calling me?"

There was no response after Su Yuan asked the question. The light spot remained quietly lit, just like before.

Su Yuan scratched his head and lay back down, waiting for a while but hearing no more sounds...

The next morning at seven o'clock, as soon as the alarm clock rang, Su Yuan got up, washed up, changed his clothes, put the bronze mirror in his pocket, and set off.

When I went downstairs, I ran into Liu Jun, the new security guard. He was a young man in his early twenties with a buzz cut, wearing a uniform, and walking to work.

"Good morning, Master Su," Liu Jun greeted him.

"morning."

"You live here?"

"Yes, the dormitory on the second floor."

"Let's do it together."

"it is good."

The two barely exchanged a few words on the way. At the entrance of the unit, they saw Zhang Weiyi walking upstairs in the lobby. He nodded when he saw Zhang Weiyi come in, but didn't say anything.

Su Yuan ate lunch at the cafeteria by himself. When he returned to his workplace and turned the corner on the second floor, the toilet door suddenly opened.

Chen Xiaohe poked his head out from inside: "Su Yuan, come here."

Su Yuan stopped and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Come in, come in and we'll talk."

After Su Yuan went into the restroom, Chen Xiaohe stood by the sink, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and said in a low voice:

"Han Zhengming didn't leave last night."

"Where does he live?"

"The reception room of a hotel not far away," Chen Xiaohe said softly.

"Old Qian is often here, so this time I'm in charge of entertaining him. He brought hot water for Han Zhengming to drink, but Han Zhengming said he didn't need it and that he brought his own water."

Su Yuan was thinking about other things and didn't say anything.

"Old Qian said he saw the light in his room on until late at night, and he didn't know what he was doing."

"That's normal, he's probably looking at some documents or something." Chen Xiaoshu scoffed as soon as Su Yuan finished speaking.

"Bullshit! You turn the light off and on again while reading documents? Old Qian said he turned it off three times."

Su Yuan frowned upon hearing this, and Chen Xiaohe tucked the unsmoked cigarette behind his ear and said:

"Anyway, you'd better be careful!"

After saying that, he patted him on the shoulder and left. Su Yuan stared at the mirror, washed his hands, and came out two minutes later to walk to the office.

At the end of the corridor, there was a person standing with their back to him, looking at the rule board on the wall.

It's Han Zhengming!

Su Yuan stopped and hesitated for a moment, then walked over. Han Zhengming heard the noise and turned around, a smile on his face:

"Good morning, Xiao Su!"