Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

After processing some of the information in his mind, Su Yuan asked, "What are those talking objects...?"

Zhou Peiyuan took a sip of water and continued:

"The older some objects are, the stronger their spirituality becomes, and the clearer their projection within the interlayer becomes."

"The spirits within those objects are actually projections of those objects within their interlayers. The more intact the object, the more stable the projection!"

Su Yuan understood some of it but not all of it, and could only try his best to remember what Zhou Peiyuan said.

Zhou Peiyuan slowed his speech and said, "If the object is damaged, the projection will be incomplete."

"Every time you repair an object, you are not only repairing the object in this world, but also repairing its shadow in the interlayer."

"The more you repair, the more it will help you!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yuan seemed to understand: cultivating more old objects with sentience and the non-human beings in the interlayer would only benefit him.

It's like gathering some kind of power...

"What about the jade ring?" Thinking of this, Su Yuan continued to ask. Zhou Peiyuan walked over and sat down in his office chair, saying:

"The jade ring is something that your Su family has guarded for generations. It can build a bridge between the two worlds."

"Wearing it will allow you to sense things that are not visible inside the interlayer."

"When can I go in?"

Su Yuan asked anxiously, and Zhou Peiyuan emphasized:

"Wait, when Miss Awu tells you, your grandfather told me that she can sense the movement in the interlayer, and she knows when the right time is."

"What you need to do now is not to rush in, but to accumulate knowledge and become familiar with the connections between the sword, the bronze mirror, the jade, and so on."

Su Yuan nodded, keeping those words firmly in mind.

Zhou Peiyuan glanced at his watch: "We've talked so much, it's already past three. Let's go eat first. After we eat, I'll take you to meet someone!"

"Whom are you going to see?"

"Hehehe, you'll see when you get there."

Zhou Peiyuan stood up and picked up his coat draped over the back of the chair: "Your grandfather met this person back then."

The main meal was arranged at a small restaurant near the workplace. The storefront was small and the decor was ordinary, but the food was very authentic!

Zhou Peiyuan ordered four dishes: braised pork, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, a sweet and sour carp, and a bowl of hot and sour soup.

When Su Yuan saw that the portions were quite large, he knew he couldn't finish it. Since Teacher Zhou was treating, he couldn't say anything.

Xiao Meng sat at the table, not saying much, and focused on eating her meal.

Halfway through the meal, Zhou Peiyuan's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, frowned, and got up to answer it outside.

Su Yuan picked up a piece of braised pork, his mind still replaying Zhou Peiyuan's words...

He placed the braised pork on his small plate and subconsciously touched the jade ring on his finger.

Xiao Meng glanced at him, hesitated, and then silently continued eating her vegetables.

Zhou Peiyuan returned quickly, his expression unchanged, but Su Yuan, who had developed the ability to read people over the past six months, noticed that Zhou Peiyuan's gesture of putting down his phone was heavier than normal.

"Teacher Zhou, are you alright?"

Zhou Peiyuan sat down, picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of sweet and sour fish: "It's nothing, it was the secretary of the person I was supposed to meet this afternoon who called, saying the time has been postponed by an hour, and I'll go over later."

Su Yuan hummed in agreement and didn't ask any further questions.

After finishing their meal, they chatted for another half hour. When it was almost time, Xiao Meng drove them there.

Instead of heading towards the bustling city center, the car turned into an old town area. The streets here were quite narrow, and the houses on both sides were in the style of the 1970s and 80s!

Su Yuan rolled down the car window and looked out, feeling as if he had returned to his hometown.

"This is an old residential area in the provincial capital."

Zhou Peiyuan said, "Many veteran craftsmen live here, including coppersmiths, carpenters, stone carvers, and several retired cultural relic restorers."

As they were talking, the car stopped in front of a small gray brick building.

This building is older than the surrounding residential buildings. The exterior walls are plastered with cement, the windows are old-fashioned steel windows, and there is a small patch of bamboo planted in front of the door.

Xiao Meng didn't get out of the car. She turned back to Zhou Peiyuan and said, "Teacher Zhou, I'll wait in the car."

Zhou Peiyuan said okay and then got out of the car with Su Yuan.

He rang the doorbell first, and the door opened after about ten seconds.

The woman who opened the door was in her seventies. She had her hair in a low bun, wore a light gray sweater, and had a plain scarf around her neck.

She has delicate features and bright eyes, and she looks at people with a quiet focus!

"Teacher Zhou, you've arrived." She nodded to Zhou Peiyuan.

"Aunt Lin, I'm sorry to bother you."

Zhou Peiyuan spoke in a much more polite tone than usual, helping Su Yuan up as he said, "This is Su Yuan, the great-grandson of Su Demao, whom I mentioned to you before."

"Su Yuan, this is Aunt Lin Yuelin."

"Hello, Aunt Lin!"

The woman shifted her gaze to Su Yuan's face and paused for two or three seconds.

Su Yuan felt a little uncomfortable under that gaze, as if she were looking at... a junior she hadn't seen in a long time!

"Like..." Lin Yue nodded and stepped aside to let the door open. "Come in."

Su Yuan followed Zhou Peiyuan and was led into the house by Lin Yue.

Her living room wasn't big either, and the furniture was all old-fashioned—solid wood sofas, coffee tables, and TV cabinets—clearly old items that had been used for many years.

Several paintings and calligraphies hung on the wall. Su Yuan glanced at them and immediately recognized one of the landscape paintings as a work from the Ming Dynasty, not a print or a counterfeit.

It's an authentic work!

"Have a seat." Lin Yue gestured to the sofa and went to the kitchen to make tea for them.

Su Yuan sat down, looked around, and his gaze fell on a blue and white porcelain cup on the coffee table.

He wasn't quite sure about the age of the cup, but the body and glaze were fine, and the color was deep and rich, indicating that it was at least an early Qing dynasty artifact.

I just casually put it on the coffee table and use it as an everyday cup!

Zhou Peiyuan noticed Su Yuan's gaze and whispered:

"Aunt Lin used to work at the provincial museum, but she's long retired. Most of the things in her house were repaired by her."

Su Yuan nodded in understanding.

Lin Yue came out of the kitchen carrying two cups of tea and handed them to them. The tea was Longjing tea, brewed at the perfect temperature, and the tea soup was clear and bright!

She went back, brought out some tea, and sat down on the rattan chair opposite her, her gaze falling on Su Yuan's face again.

"I've met your grandfather, Su Shouzhou."

She said slowly and deliberately:

"I was just a little girl back then, not much younger than your grandfather. I went to a meeting in the province with my father that time, and your grandfather was the main speaker."

"I didn't understand a single word of the restoration knowledge he talked about at the time, hahaha."

As Su Yuan listened, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside him.

"Your father is..."

"Lin Heming," Lin Yue continued, "My father was the curator of the provincial museum during the Republic of China era. He was a friend of your great-grandfather."

Su Yuan had never heard of this name before, but Zhou Peiyuan nodded beside him, as if confirming something.

"Aunt Lin's father and your great-grandfather were very close friends."

Zhou Peiyuan said to Su Yuan, "When your great-grandfather made that lock, he entrusted one of the parts to Old Lin's house for safekeeping!"

After hearing this, Su Yuan suddenly looked at Lin Yue.

She smiled, put down her teacup, stood up, and went into the inner room. A few minutes later, she came out with a cloth bag in her hand.

Su Yuan immediately recognized that the fabric of the cloth bag was exactly the same as the one in the hidden compartment of his great-grandfather's workbench!