Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Su Yuan tried his best to control his emotions, while Sun Guo pushed the photo forward again, staring intently at him.

A wisp of black smoke leaked from his cuff, but quickly retreated. Sun Guoliang straightened up and said:

"Yes, that's Mr. Su Demao. This is a work photo taken in 1937, right in front of that stone tablet at the east end of this town."

"The one you just fixed!"

Su Yuan glanced at Sun Guoliang, unsure how to respond. Sun Guoliang continued casually:

"I saw the company car leave, so I asked one more question. Qian Weidong came back and said you two went to repair a stone tablet, so I made a note of it!"

"I took a look when I passed by later, and it was indeed well repaired."

Su Yuan didn't reply, wondering if he was just passing by or doing it on purpose. He then looked back at the photo in his hand.

Sun Guoliang's voice came from behind:

"Your great-grandfather was very famous in the province back then. He was skilled in everything from bronzeware and porcelain to stone carvings."

"Several first-class cultural relics in the provincial museum were repaired by him when he was still alive."

When he walked up behind Su Yuan, Su Yuan didn't even notice! A cold sweat broke out on his back. He gently put the photo down and sat back down on the sofa.

"Have you met him?" Su Yuan asked deliberately.

"How is that possible! I'm not an immortal."

Sun Guoliang immediately smiled:

"I've only heard of him. In the provincial cultural relics system, everyone gives a thumbs up whenever the name Su Demao is mentioned."

He picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, and continued:

"Your great-grandfather was not only skilled in cooking, but he also had some... other talents!"

Su Yuan's heart tightened immediately, and he slowly asked:

"What else?"

"Hmm..." Sun Guoliang crossed his hands over his stomach and leaned back in his chair: "For example, he can talk to objects, and talk to some strange things."

He spoke casually, but Su Yuan was very nervous inside, though he pretended not to understand:

"I... don't quite understand what you mean."

"You don't need to pretend anymore. I've been here for over a week, and I roughly know what you've been doing and saying in the warehouse."

"You can hear those things, right?"

Su Yuan looked at him with a pounding heart, neither admitting nor denying.

"Don't be nervous!"

Sun Guoliang smiled triumphantly:

"I'm not here to arrest you. You're not the first person in this unit to be able to hear things talking, and you won't be the last."

As Su Yuan was pondering how to respond, Sun Guoliang spoke again:

"Your Su family has had this skill since the Tang Dynasty, passed down from generation to generation. Who knows when someone will emerge from this lineage?"

"It's your turn again in your generation."

As he spoke, Sun Guoliang stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to Su Yuan. He continued:

"Perhaps you still don't know the real reason your father went mad... He wasn't what Zhang Weiyi and Wu Zhenshan said..."

"He's not really crazy, he's been inside the mezzanine..."

Upon hearing this, Su Yuan really wanted to hear him continue!

"But no," he said, fidgeting with his trouser leg and regaining his composure, "I asked:"

"Director Sun, I don't know what you're trying to say?"

Sun Guoliang walked back behind his desk and sat down, leaning back in his chair.

"I just want to say that the jade ring on your hand is no ordinary thing. It is related to the stability of the interlayer and the spirituality of many cultural relics."

"It also relates to the terracotta figurine you repaired... Ah Wu, right? Your father's madness wasn't solely because of that Ah Wu!"

Su Yuan's heart leaped into his throat, and his tone changed:

"How do you know Ah Wu...?"

"I know more than you think," Sun Guoliang said, still with that same expression, staring at Su Yuan.

"After you finished repairing it, the spirit of that terracotta figurine stayed with you, and it's now reflected in your bronze mirror!"

Su Yuan trembled slightly, unable to control himself, and reached into his pocket, touching the cold edge of the bronze mirror.

The bronze mirror in the pocket remained silent; neither Zhong Ming nor Miao Deyu uttered a sound.

"Director Sun, I don't quite understand what you're saying."

Su Yuan stood up to leave, afraid that he would break down if things continued:

"I think we should stop here for today!"

"etc."

Sun Guoliang stopped him: "I haven't finished speaking yet."

Su Yuan stood still without turning around.

"The jade ring on your hand is not your personal property."

Sun Guoliang's voice came from behind: "It's one of the keys to the hidden compartment, and it's related to many things far more important than yourself!"

"I hope you will consider handing it over to someone more suitable for safekeeping."

Su Yuan tried to calm himself down, turned around, and looked directly at Sun Guoliang. Question:

"Then, to whom should it be given? To you? Or to Han Zhengming?"

Sun Guoliang's eyes twitched, and his right hand unconsciously clenched into a fist, but he quickly regained his composure.

"You know Han..."

"Yes, I know! And it's more than you think."

Su Yuan began to retaliate: "The jade ring belongs to my Su family and has been passed down for many generations. It has nothing to do with anyone else."

"I will not give it to anyone!"

After saying that, he opened the door and walked out. The corridor was quiet, with only the sound of his footsteps echoing in the empty space.

There was no sudden appearance of inhuman beings, nor any shadowy figures lurking in the dark…

Su Yuan forced himself to walk into the warehouse, and as soon as he closed the door, he leaned against the door panel, his heart pounding incessantly!

After a half-minute pause, he took the bronze mirror out of his pocket and placed it on his great-grandfather's workbench.

Zhong Ming's image immediately appeared in the mirror.

"You heard everything?" Su Yuan asked.

"I heard everything," Zhong Ming said in a deep voice. "He's here today to lay his cards on the table."

"He knew the jade ring was on my hand, knew that Awu was in the bronze mirror, knew about my great-grandfather, and also knew about my father."

Su Yuan counted them one by one: "How many more are he still hiding?"

"He doesn't know much."

Zhong Ming comforted him, saying, "He just repeated what you already knew to make you think he knows everything."

"This is to scare you and make you hand over the jade ring. It's a psychological tactic!"

Su Yuan let out a long sigh: "So... he was bluffing me?"

"Of course not entirely."

The bell tolled slowly in the bronze mirror, while the others watched Su Yuan from the side:

"What he knows is true, but he doesn't know the deeper layer. He doesn't know where your great-grandfather hid the lock!"

At this moment, the jade ring felt warm again.

"We don't even know the true use of the jade ring, let alone what will happen after Miss A-Wu wakes up..."

"If he really knew all this, he wouldn't just be talking to you about it today."

Su Yuan walked up to A Wu and reached out to touch the sleeve of the terracotta figurine.

The jade ring was a little warmer than usual, and the warm sensation traveled from my finger to my heart!

"He said my dad wasn't really crazy, and it wasn't just because of Ah Wu; he couldn't handle it after entering the mezzanine and that's when he became like that..."

Su Yuan asked softly, "Is this true?"

Zhong Ming glanced at Su Yuan's great-great-grandfather a few times, then turned around and said:

"It's true."

Su Yuan's mind was buzzing.

"Your father was more anxious than you were back then."

Zhong Ming's voice carried a sigh: "He was too eager to know the Su family's secrets, and he went into the mezzanine before he had honed his skills enough..."