Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Zhong Ming said, "It left a long time ago. It needs to go back and guard that monument. It won't be at ease until you fix it."

Su Yuan stood by the window for a while longer, then decided to go back to his dorm to rest.

As he went downstairs, the corridor was quiet. He noticed light coming through the crack in Sun Guoliang's office door; he was still there!

Feeling relieved that Sun Guoliang hadn't bothered him these past two days, he didn't dare linger and briskly went downstairs.

The evening breeze was quite pleasant as I stepped out of the automatic door. I took a few deep breaths and headed back to my dorm. My phone vibrated twice in my pocket on the way.

Su Yuan took it out and saw that it was a message from Zhou Peiyuan:

"Xiao Su, the seminar starts on Tuesday. Come to the provincial capital on Monday night, and I'll have someone pick you up."

Su Yuan replied, "Okay, thank you, Teacher Zhou!"

As I approached the dormitory, I glanced back at the workplace; Sun Guoliang's office light was still on…

The next morning at 7:30, when Su Yuan arrived at work, Qian Weidong was already wiping the car in the yard.

After finishing breakfast in about ten minutes, Su Yuan returned to his office, picked up his toolbox, and came downstairs. Qian Weidong threw a rag into the bucket and clapped his hands.

"Have you brought everything? I've put lime, tung oil, and hemp knife in the car. Let's go."

"Um."

The two people got into the van, which sputtered twice and started moving.

Su Yuan leaned back in his seat, thinking about the steps to repair the monument. Soon, Qian Weidong parked the car in the open space next to the monument and turned off the engine.

Several young men living nearby were already in place. They only knew that they were there to lift the stone tablet a couple of times. The four of them did the job without much trouble, and each of them received fifty yuan.

"Xiao Su, I have to go back now. I have a small task to complete. You can keep the car; I'll hitchhike back."

"OK."

Qian Weidong took the car keys out and handed them to him, then went to the roadside, hailed a motorcycle, and left.

Su Yuan took the key, opened the trunk, took out the toolbox, and walked to the stone tablet.

"Master Su, you've arrived."

The stone tablet's voice was a little lighter than yesterday's, but only Su Yuan could hear it; the four youths would probably run away if they heard it.

"Um."

Su Yuan responded in his mind, opened the toolbox, and took out the materials one by one, including an enamel basin and a putty knife.

First, a few people helped lift the monument out; it didn't take much effort at all!

They moved the stone tablet to the side and laid it flat on the ground. The young men went to the side to smoke and chat, waiting for Su Yuan to finish repairing the base of the tablet.

Su Yuan first poured the lime powder into the basin, estimating it to be about one pound.

Unscrew the bottle of tung oil and, according to the ratio Zhong Ming mentioned: one part lime to three parts tung oil, slowly pour it into the basin.

Tung oil is the color of dark honey, and when poured into lime powder, it makes a bubbling sound!

After mixing, stir with a putty knife. The lime powder and tung oil are mixed together and become a grayish-green paste.

Su Yuan grabbed a handful of hemp fibers and poured them in, then continued stirring for about five minutes until the consistency was just right, enough to hold onto even when picked up with a putty knife.

Su Yuan first used a putty knife to pick up a small piece and tested it on the stone next to him. After applying it, the surface was quite smooth!

He nodded in satisfaction, then squatted down in front of the monument base with the basin to clean it.

Cleaning the cracks is the first step.

The cracks contained soil and gravel that had accumulated over countless years, and grass roots were growing out of the cracks!

Su Yuan used a bamboo skewer to carefully remove these things bit by bit. When he reached the deepest part, the bamboo skewer hit a hard bottom.

This means the crack did not extend through the entire base of the monument, which is extremely fortunate. It indicates that the base has not completely cracked, making repairs much easier.

After cleaning, Su Yuan used a very thin, damp cotton cloth to wipe both sides of the crack to remove the loose dirt.

Start by using a putty knife to pick up the mixed lime material and fill it from the bottom of the crack upwards.

Fill in the first layer of material and compact it with a putty knife, making sure the material is squeezed into every corner of the crack.

Under pressure, the lime seeped deep into the cracks, filling them completely.

Su Yuan picked out another piece of material, filled the second layer, and then compacted it. In places where the crack was wide, three or four layers were needed, while in places where it was narrow, two layers were enough!

Once the filler was level with the surface of the base, Su Yuan used a putty knife to smooth it out, scraped off the excess material, and wiped the stone surface on both sides of the crack clean with a damp cotton cloth.

Make sure the lime doesn't get stuck in the wrong places; that will make it more comfortable.

Otherwise, it's like having scabs on your skin—it'll be uncomfortable!

The whole process took nearly an hour. After Su Yuan finished filling it out, he stood up and straightened his back.

While moving around, I looked at the repaired area. The cracks were filled with lime, and the grayish-white patch was embedded in the bluestone surface.

Like a scar... Su Yuan couldn't help but think of the scar on Wu Zhenshan's arm.

After pausing for two minutes, he cleaned the groove and the bottom of the stone tablet, then used a paint brush to apply a layer of paint to the groove and the bottom of the tablet!

He called to the four young men to help him install the stone tablet, and the suction of the mortar helped the tablet stand firmly.

After placing the monument, the four young men completed their task and left.

"Master Su, this ingredient is hot!"

The stone tablet exclaimed in surprise, and Su Yuan smiled and told it:

"When lime and tung oil are mixed, a chemical reaction occurs, and the mixture cools down very quickly."

"I'm not talking about that kind of heat."

The stone tablet paused for a moment, then said, "I mean the thing in your hand makes me feel warm and cozy; it seeps into my body through the material and feels very comfortable."

Su Yuan looked at the jade ring; it was still warm to the touch.

The stone tablet suddenly let out a sound:

"I remember now! Your great-grandfather also treated me back then, using the same formula, but he didn't have this thing you have at the time."

The stone tablet became more and more excited as it spoke:

"The ingredients were cold back then, and they stayed cold even after we replenished them. Today's ingredients were hot, and I still feel warm after we replenished them!"

Su Yuan listened without responding, squatted down to inspect the cracks, and then corrected the connection between the stele and the base.

After confirming that nothing was missed, I put the enamel basin aside and started tidying up the tools.

"Thank you so much, Master Su. Now I can rest easy... Goodbye, Master Su!"

Su Yuan nodded, scraped off the remaining mortar and threw it into a ditch, then cleaned up his tools and put them back in the toolbox.

Just as I finished getting ready and was about to get in the car, a very soft sound came from the weeds not far from the stone tablet:

"Master Su... Master Su..."

After hearing this, Su Yuan walked around the stone tablet, parted the weeds from the source of the sound, and saw a palm-sized fragment of a stone carving lying in the grass.

It is the head of a stone lion, with half of its mouth missing and its nose smashed flat. Only the outline of its two eyes can still be barely discerned!

"How did you get here?"

Su Yuan squatted down and picked up the stone lion head, which weighed about four or five pounds.

"I've been stuck here for years!"

The stone lion's head sounded aggrieved:

"I used to be the head of a baluster on this bridge. I rolled here when the bridge was demolished decades ago."

"Nobody noticed me or paid any attention to me. Later, the grass grew and covered me up..."

"Master Su, can you take me away...?"

Su Yuan examined the broken section of the stone lion's head. The surface had weathered, but the edges were quite rounded. He asked:

Do you want to go back?

"Where can I go back to? The bridge is gone, I can't go back and I have nowhere to stand."

Lion Head said with a wry smile, and Su Yuan thought for a moment and said:

"Let me take you back to your workplace first, and I'll clean you up and fix your mouth and nose."