Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Su Yuan didn't want to respond, but still replied, "Good morning, Director Han."

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"good."

Han Zhengming gave a drawn-out "hmm" with an ambiguous meaning, and said:

"I didn't sleep well last night; the hotel heating was too strong, it was so stuffy!"

Su Yuan didn't answer, so he asked again:

"By the way, Xiao Su, who usually manages the keys to the old warehouse here, the one in the third section?"

Su Yuan frowned slightly and glanced at him: "Yes... Director Zhang."

"oh."

Han Zhengming smiled and said, "I was just asking casually. I wanted to see some old things from before. I had a deep impression of some of the things when I came here twenty years ago."

"Then you can just look for Director Zhang."

"Okay, go ahead and get busy."

Su Yuan returned to his office, closed the door, and leaned against it. He felt that talking to Han Zhengming was really tiring; it was a real test for someone with a social anxiety like him!

He rubbed his face with both hands and was about to sit down when the door was pushed open, and Lin Xi walked in with a smile:

"Su Yuan, you haven't written the restoration report for that guqin yet."

"Write it later."

"Okay, remember to give it to me when you're done so I can file it."

Lin Xi put down a form, stared at Su Yuan for a few moments, and seeing him organizing his toolbox, she quietly left.

Su Yuan's mind was filled with Han Zhengming, and the matter of asking about the old warehouse key earlier seemed to have been asked very casually.

But this casualness is just too much!

Just then, his phone buzzed with a message from his mother on WeChat:

"Your dad had another dream last night. He said he dreamt that your great-grandfather was holding three keys and standing at the door of a dark room. He can't remember anything else, and he forgot most of it when he woke up."

After reading it, Su Yuan knew it was his father suffering from aftereffects. He felt a pang of sadness and replied with a message:

"Mom, take good care of yourself and Dad. Don't worry too much..."

I put down my phone and started writing a report on the restoration of the guqin. When I finished, I looked at my phone and it was almost 10 o'clock.

Su Yuan straightened the pages and got up to go to Lin Xi's office.

Lin Xi wasn't there, so he put the report on his desk and headed back. As he passed the restroom, he noticed the door was ajar and the light inside was off.

Su Yuan ignored it and continued walking. He had only taken two steps when a voice came from behind him:

"Master Su..."

Su Yuan immediately stopped. The voice wasn't loud; it sounded like it came from a great distance, but it felt like it was being spoken right next to his ear.

He turned around and saw a figure standing at the toilet door!

The clothes were grayish-white, the style was hard to describe, it looked like a long gown but not quite, and the face was covered by a layer of mist so that it couldn't be seen clearly.

Su Yuan was relieved. At that moment, he felt that Han Zhengming's voice was much more terrifying than theirs. He put his hand in his pocket and touched the bronze mirror.

The jade ring on my hand felt warm. I asked it:

"Is...what's the matter?"

"Yes, my thing is cracked," the figure said in a drifting voice. "Could you take a look?"

"What is it?"

"Song Dynasty celadon porcelain."

Su Yuan then asked, "Where are you?"

"Curry..."

"In the warehouse on the second floor, or which warehouse?"

The figure didn't answer, but simply took a step back, and its silhouette slowly faded away.

The restroom entrance was empty again, and the light was still off. Su Yuan went downstairs and saw Qian Weidong squatting in the corner repairing an old chair, holding a glue gun in his hand.

"Old Qian."

Su Yuan thought this form of address was quite nice, and Qian Weidong didn't bother to look up:

"Um?"

Do you have any Song Dynasty celadon porcelain in your inventory?

Qian Weidong put down the glue gun and thought for a moment:

"I actually know. Even though I haven't been here long, I have at least three or four items. What's wrong?"

"Is any of them cracked?"

Qian Weidong stood up and patted his pants: "I don't remember that very well, you'll have to check the register."

Su Yuan nodded.

"Who's looking for you?"

Qian Weidong glanced upstairs; he didn't have Wu Zhenshan's skill. Su Yuan smiled.

"I just ran into one upstairs."

Qian Weidong glanced back at him, but didn't ask any further questions. He then went to a shelf and pulled out a booklet:

"Look it up yourself."

Su Yuan opened the booklet and carefully flipped through it, finding the entry for the Song Dynasty and making a record of it.

A Northern Song Dynasty celadon porcelain pillow, collection number C-037, with the status bar indicating a length of 28cm and multiple cracks in the body requiring repair.

He wrote down the number, closed the booklet, and returned it to Qian Weidong.

Thanks!

"Don't mention it." Qian Weidong put down the booklet, squatted back down, picked up the glue gun, and said, "Your overtime work is about to start, right?"

Su Yuan smiled but didn't reply. He pushed open the door and went out.

Liu Jun was sitting on the security desk, staring intently at the monitor screen. Seeing Su Yuan pass by, Liu Jun stood up:

"Master Su, did someone look for you just now?"

"What's wrong?"

"The surveillance footage shows you standing in the second-floor corridor for a while, talking towards the direction of the restroom." Liu Jun scratched his head: "But there was no one else there."

Su Yuan glanced at him: "You're mistaken, I didn't say anything."

Liu Jun had heard some things about Chen Xiaohe, so he didn't ask any more questions. Su Yuan took out his phone and sent a message to Zhang Weiyi:

"Director, in which warehouse is the Song Dynasty celadon porcelain pillow located?"

After waiting for five minutes, Zhang Weiyi replied:

"Old warehouse, Section 3, Row B, what's wrong? Does it need repairs?"

"Um."

"I have the key. I'll give it to you tomorrow. If you don't have anything to do today, go home and rest."

Su Yuan put his phone back in his pocket, went upstairs to get his toolbox, said goodbye to Qian Weidong and Liu Jun, and went back to his dormitory.

He placed the toolbox on the table and took out the bronze mirror, placing it beside it.

The shadows inside emerged now, but they were all huddled in the corners of the mirror, as if hiding from something.

Su Yuan couldn't help but ask, "What are you afraid of?"

The shadows didn't speak, except for the old man's shadow, which stood sideways as if listening to the sounds outside.

Seeing this, Su Yuan didn't ask any more questions. He lay down on the bed and sent a message to his mother, saying that he needed to repair a celadon porcelain pillow tomorrow.

Two minutes later, his phone vibrated. It was a message from his mother:

"Your dad said that the Su family had repaired a piece of Yingqing glaze before, and something happened after the repair."

"He can't remember what it was, but he remembers your great-grandfather saying that he should avoid touching this kind of thing in the future."

"Mom, haven't you bought Dad a cell phone yet?"

"You silly child, your dad said it wasn't necessary, so we didn't buy it. Let it be."

When Su Yuan arrived at work the next morning, Zhang Weiyi was already in the office.

Su Yuan knocked on the door and went in. Zhang Weiyi took a brass key out of the drawer and pushed it over.

"The old warehouse, section three, row B," Zhang Weiyi said. "The porcelain pillows are on the third shelf. Find them yourself."

Su Yuan took the keys: "Okay."

"Han Zhengming went to a meeting in the provincial capital today and won't be back until this afternoon."

Zhang Weiyi glanced at him again: "If you want to go to the old warehouse, go in the morning."

Su Yuan nodded knowingly and put the key in his pocket.

Su Yuan took two steps toward the stairwell, then stopped. He turned and walked toward the warehouse. Chen Xiaohe wasn't there. He pressed his fingerprint to go inside and stayed in front of A Wu for a short while.

A few minutes later, as they exited the gate, Liu Jun greeted them:

"Master Su, are you going out?"

"Um."

Su Yuan walked around the main building to the back. The warehouse in Zone 3 never gets any sunlight, so the walls were damp at this moment.

Su Yuan took out his keys, opened the door, turned on the light switch, and saw…