Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Chen Xiaohe tossed the tissue into the bag, nodded to Su Yuan, and Su Yuan, understanding, tossed the tissue into the bag as well. Chen Xiaohe then said:

"I don't know. Director Zhang asked us to pick it up. He said it was a bronze tripod from the Western Zhou Dynasty."

Su Yuan asked thoughtfully, "What time are you leaving, Brother Chen?"

Two points.

"Okay, I'll go too."

Chen Xiaohe left with an empty lunchbox. Su Yuan cleaned the table and, having nothing to do, took out a bronze mirror and placed it in front of him.

The light was still on, and the old man's shadow had moved forward a few steps with a hunched back, as if he wanted to say something.

Su Yuan looked at it and asked, "Are you trying to say something?"

The old man's shadow looked at him without saying a word, but Su Yuan could see it open its mouth but didn't speak. After waiting for more than ten seconds without any response, it flipped the bronze mirror over and started looking at its phone.

I started scrolling through my phone out of boredom, and saw a video of a pretty girl that was a bit too much for my eyes. I curled my lip in disgust.

"What is this?!"

After swiping a few times and getting bored, I put my phone in my pocket, leaned on the table, and stared blankly at the bronze mirror.

The jade ring on my hand hasn't changed much, and I don't feel bored just looking at the sword-making tools kept in my toolbox.

At 1:50, Chen Xiaohe called Su Yuan from the lobby, and he hurriedly picked up his toolbox and went downstairs.

A white van was parked in the yard, and Qian Weidong was sitting in the driver's seat, looking at his phone.

"Old Qian, will you take us?"

Su Yuan asked, and Chen Xiaohe got into the passenger seat first, then told him to get into the back seat as well. Qian Weidong said to Su Yuan:

"Well, I just happened to be passing by and needed to take care of something."

Just as the car started moving, Han Zhengming appeared from the side. He stood in the middle of the road, smiled and nodded at Su Yuan in the car, then stepped aside to make way.

Qian Weidong stepped on the brake, rolled down the window, and waved:

"Director Han, weren't you supposed to be at a meeting in the provincial capital? You're back so soon..."

Han Zhengming forced a smile: "It's over. Where are you all headed?"

"Going to the suburbs to pick up something."

Qian Weidong continued, and Han Zhengming glanced at Su Yuan, then at Chen Xiaohe, and smiled:

"Then you guys get back to work."

Qian Weidong closed the car window and drove off. Chen Xiaohe turned around from the passenger seat and looked at Su Yuan in the back seat, but didn't say anything.

Su Yuan leaned back in his seat, his mind replaying Han Zhengming's smile from earlier, which made his heart tighten as he thought:

"Thank goodness I made it out..."

After driving for more than forty minutes, they arrived at a town and Qian Weidong parked the car in front of a courtyard.

"arrive."

After getting off the car, I saw that the courtyard was not big, and there were some stone carvings and ironware piled up inside.

An old man came out of the house and waved to Chen Xiaohe when he saw him:

"Xiao Chen is here? The things are inside, you can move them yourselves."

Chen Xiaohe responded and led Su Yuan inside. In one of the rooms, there was a bronze cauldron on the floor.

Su Yuan stared at the cauldron. It was about 30 centimeters tall, with a mouth diameter of over 20 centimeters, and a belly deep enough to fit two fists.

I weighed it in my hand and it was about thirty or forty pounds. It was quite heavy. The belly of the cauldron was slightly bulging, and the three legs were short and thick. The cross-section was almost circular.

There was a small copper scar welded to the base of the broken ear. I don't know when it was repaired, but the repair was a bit rough and didn't hold together!

The bottom of the cauldron was covered in soot, thick and shiny like the grime at the bottom of a pot. The body of the cauldron was plain without any decoration, except for a few vertical lines left by the casting mold, which felt like distinct lines to the touch.

The broken end of one ear is black, and the rust is seeping in from the edge, indicating that it has been broken for many years.

The broken edges are uneven, and there are several old cracks running down the body of the cauldron, like cracks in dried mud!

The other ear is still there, the casting marks are clear, and it feels a bit rough to the touch. The three legs are quite stable and not crooked.

Su Yuan squatted down to examine it closely, while Chen Xiaohe stood beside him and asked, "How is it? Can it be fixed?"

Su Yuan touched the broken edge and replied, "Yes."

"Okay, you keep an eye on things while I go get the paperwork done."

After Chen Xiaohe left, Su Yuan squatted there, turned the cauldron over, and looked at the bottom.

The plain noodles have no inscription!

He straightened the cauldron and touched the ear that was still there; the ring suddenly felt warm. Su Yuan withdrew his hand and waited for a while, but nothing happened.

He touched the ring again and it got warm again, but still nothing happened.

Su Yuan stood up, dusted off his hands, and waited for Qian Weidong to return so he could complete the formalities with Chen Xiaohe.

drop~

Qian Weidong returned after finishing his business and honked the horn. Chen Xiaohe, who had just finished the formalities, returned and, together with Su Yuan, lifted the cauldron and placed it behind the bread cart.

After taking precautions against collisions, Qian Weidong helped close the door, and the three of them got into the car and drove back.

It was almost five o'clock when I got back to the office!

The car was parked in the yard, and Su Yuan and Chen Xiaohe carried the cauldron down, while Qian Weibang carried the toolbox and went directly to the storeroom on the second floor.

After placing the tripod and toolbox on the worktable, Chen Xiaohe wiped his hands and said to Qian Weidong:

"Alright, take your time fixing it. We're leaving now."

Su Yuan stood in front of the worktable, looking at the bronze cauldron. The ring on his hand was still warm. He turned to wash his hands at the sink, and just as he turned on the tap, he heard footsteps at the door.

Su Yuan turned his head and saw that Chen Xiaohe was leading Han Zhengming to open the door. Chen Xiaohe kept giving him meaningful glances from behind.

Han Zhengming smiled, his eyes narrowed:

"I heard you brought back a Western Zhou Dynasty bronze cauldron?"

After washing and drying his hands, Su Yuan turned around and said, "Yes."

"May I take a look?"

Su Yuan stepped aside without speaking, thinking to himself, "So you're not going to watch it just because I say no?"

Han Zhengming walked in, went to the worktable, and looked down at the cauldron. After looking at it for a while, he also reached out and touched the broken handle.

"Shouldn't this be fixed by soldering?"

Su Yuan and Chen Xiaohe exchanged a glance and replied to Han Zhengming, "Yes."

"I've heard of the Su family's soldering skills."

Han Zhengming withdrew his hand and turned to look at him:

"I heard that in your great-grandfather's generation, a bronze artifact was welded, and after it was finished, it was as if it had never been broken."

Su Yuan just stared at him expressionlessly without saying a word. Han Zhengming smiled:

"Okay, you go ahead with your work, I won't bother you anymore."

Then, feigning a sudden realization, he asked Su Yuan:

"By the way, what was inside that wooden box in the old warehouse when you opened it?"

Su Yuan looked at him strangely: "Didn't Director Zhang tell you?"

"He said he didn't see it in person," Han Zhengming said with a smile. "I was just asking casually."

Su Yuan hid the hand with the jade ring behind his back: "It's just an old thing from the Su family, it's not worth much, I'll keep it as a memento."

Han Zhengming glanced at Su Yuan with a smile, then looked at the Tang Dynasty figurine A Wu on the shelf, and left without asking any further questions.

Chen Xiaohe gave another look and closed the door. Su Yuan exhaled and turned the cauldron over to look at the cross-section of the broken ear root.

Open the toolbox and take out the tools. The break is uneven, with several raised nicks, which need to be smoothed out first.

He chose a fine-toothed file and filed along the broken edge bit by bit. The copper shavings that came off were black. It took him more than ten minutes to finish filing!

I measured the size of the other ear with calipers and made a mark, so I have to make a replacement based on that shape.

The broken ear wasn't forgotten; it was wrapped in newspaper and brought back. Su Yuan unwrapped it and examined it. The broken piece matched the broken edge on the cauldron, thankfully no meat was missing.

He clamped the broken ear in the vise and used a file to smooth the broken edge, filing both sides until the new copper was exposed!