Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Zhong Ming sighed as he said this, "There was too much stuff and too much air in the interlayer, he couldn't withstand it and collapsed..."

"The key is that he's not mature enough, and he's not destined for you. But if you didn't have Miss A-Wu protecting you, or the jade ring to calm you down, you'd be in the same boat!"

Su Yuan turned around and looked at the bronze mirror.

"Can I go in now?"

"No! You're missing one thing."

"What is it?"

"The thing inside the lock that your great-grandfather hid."

Zhong Ming said, "Once you find it, you'll know how to get into the mezzanine, how to stand firmly inside, and how to wake up Miss Awu completely."

Su Yuan remained silent for a while, then walked to the workbench, placed his hands on the table, and stared at the circular pattern engraved on the crossbar.

We have the key diagram, but where is the lock?

He looked up and out the window, where a ray of sunlight shone in and landed on the table above the line of words his great-grandfather had carved!

Wait a minute... This was established by Su Demao in the spring of the 23rd year of the Republic of China.

A thought suddenly flashed through Su Yuan's mind: What was it? Was it this workbench, or something else entirely?

He quickly squatted down and crawled under his great-grandfather's workbench, feeling around with his hands on the bottom of the table, leaving no corner untouched.

Zhong Ming's voice drifted down from above: "Kid, what are you looking for?"

"Find the hidden compartment."

As Su Yuan searched underneath, he said, "It suddenly occurred to me that these old-fashioned workbenches often have hidden compartments underneath, used to hide tools or money."

"I'm wondering if Great-Grandpa might have hidden the lock in..."

Then his hand touched something different.

At the bottom right corner of the desktop, there's a piece of wood that feels different from the rest. It's not the smooth feel of nanmu wood; it's very rough.

It looks like it's been covered by something!

Su Yuan took out his phone and shone the flashlight on it.

There was a thin wooden board about the size of a palm, darker in color than the surrounding wood, held in place by several copper nails.

The copper nails all had a layer of green rust, and upon closer inspection of the nail heads, the patterns on them were still clearly visible.

Similar to the pattern engraved on the cross brace!

"Found it!"

Su Yuan's voice trembled as he stared at the copper nails, his hands also shaking.

Overjoyed, Zhong Ming asked from above, "What did you find?"

"It's a hidden compartment."

Su Yuan replied from under the table: "The pattern on the copper nails in this hidden compartment looks the same as the pattern on the cross brace!"

The bell rang silently for two seconds, then sounded again with surprise:

"Where did your great-grandfather hide the things? I've known him for so many years, and I never knew! That guy!"

Su Yuan smiled but didn't reply, gently flicking the copper nail with his finger.

He couldn't pry it open with his fingernails, so he crawled out from under the table, pulled a small flathead screwdriver from the toolbox, and crawled back inside.

The head of the first brass nail was very thin. With a gentle pry from the edge of the screwdriver, the edge of the nail head lifted up.

Su Yuan dared not use too much force, and could only pry it out little by little, for fear of cracking the wood.

The copper nail slowly emerged from the wood, its length exceeding an inch, and its surface was covered with a layer of green rust!

Su Yuan put it aside and began to pry open the second one.

The second screw was even more rusted than the first, with a chipped edge on the head. Su Yuan switched to a thinner screwdriver, inserted it through the chip, and slowly pushed it upwards.

The wood made a slight creaking sound, and the copper nail loosened a little before getting stuck again.

Su Yuan stopped, adjusted the angle, and tried again from the other side. This time, the copper nail obeyed and slowly withdrew from the wood!

With the experience gained from the first two, the third and fourth ones were much easier to pry open.

In less than five minutes, all four copper nails were removed.

Su Yuan put the screwdriver aside, gripped the edge of the thin wooden board with his fingernail, and gently lifted it upwards.

The wooden board moved slightly, then got stuck on something again!

Su Yuan took a closer look and found a layer of dried glue on the back of the wooden board, which he guessed was glued on by his great-grandfather using fish glue.

Years have passed, and the glue has dried out and become brittle, but it still retains a little bit of stickiness.

Su Yuan didn't dare to lift it forcefully. He took out a small utility knife from the toolbox and slowly cut into the back of the wooden board with the blade against it.

After the dried glue was cut open, the small wooden board gradually loosened!

After the final cut, the wooden board sprang up with a "snap".

After Su Yuan removed the wooden board, he saw a palm-sized, gray-blue coarse cloth bag lying in the hidden compartment. The surface was covered with a layer of dust, but the cloth was still very sturdy.

Su Yuan reached in and pulled it out, feeling that the cloth bag was heavy, as if it contained some kind of metal object.

Su Yuan tied three knots with hemp rope, carefully cut them open with a utility knife, placed the cloth bag on the worktable, and slowly opened it!

Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Su Yuan took it out and saw that it was a message from Zhou Peiyuan:

"Xiao Su, the seminar originally scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed to next Tuesday due to the passing of an elderly person. Please contact me then."

Su Yuan stared at it in surprise for several seconds before replying with a single word: "Okay."

At that moment, Zhong Ming's shadow floated out of the bronze mirror and peered closer at the contents of the bag.

Miao Deyu also squeezed in, and today there were several more shadows superimposed on the mirror, as if they were watching some kind of treasure.

"Master Su has found another great treasure."

"Old Su, why don't you come and see for yourself..."

"That's right, I'm also anxious about my future."

"..."

Upon opening the cloth bag, I found two items inside.

The first item is a brass key. It is about seven or eight centimeters long, with a handle shaped like a ruyi (a traditional Chinese scepter symbolizing good fortune) and the character "Su" engraved on it!

The key body is square-shaped with two teeth at the top. The teeth are irregularly shaped, unlike the teeth of a regular lock.

Su Yuan picked up the key and examined it closely in the light from the window.

The key is made of good brass. Although it has been inside for several years, it has not developed green rust. It has just become dark on the surface with a layer of dark patina.

The second item was a slip of paper, smaller than the palm of my hand, the paper already brittle. Two lines of faded writing were on it:

"Locked inside the stone lion in the ancestral tomb!"

Su Yuan's heart raced and his head throbbed after reading it.

"Ancestral graves! Stone lions! My great-grandfather hid a lock inside the belly of a stone lion in the ancestral grave. What important thing could it be?"

Zhong Ming's voice came from the mirror: "Your great-grandfather has taken the lock apart. The key is for unlocking, and the note tells you where the lock is."

"By the way, that little jade piece you had before was used to prove that you are a descendant of the Su family."

Miao Deyu added, "Your great-grandfather was quite cautious in his actions."

After listening, Su Yuan rewrapped the items and put them in his pocket.

He glanced at the time; it was past 4:30 PM. Only an hour had passed since he finished talking with Sun Guoliang, but it felt like a whole day had gone by!

"I'm going back to my hometown tomorrow."

Zhong Ming asked, "To see your father?"

"Go to the ancestral graves and find that stone lion."

Zhong Ming hummed in agreement: "Your great-grandfather hid the lock in the ancestral grave, which means it's very important. You can go get it, but be careful!"

"Now that Sun Guoliang has laid his cards on the table with you, he'll definitely be keeping an even closer eye on you from now on..."