Chapter 78 Pick Her Up After Class

Meng Tang and Wei Chuan are fake, but only the two of them know it.

"Yes." Meng Tang admitted directly, "I still have homework, so I'm leaving first."

Li Hanjin stopped the man and said, "I've read the information you sent me. I admit you're very capable, but I think traditional repair methods also have deep-seated problems that can't be solved."

Meng Tang was stunned. "You want to use modern technology and tools to repair it? Why? To improve the accuracy and efficiency of the repair?"

Li Hanjin: "To be precise, they are used in combination."

"I object." Meng Tang looked at him in disbelief. "It's not like modern machines haven't had problems restoring antiques before. In 2018, someone used a laser to clean a Ming Dynasty wood carving, and only later discovered that a shallow layer of wood, 0.3mm in thickness, had become vitrified."

Li Hanjin said: "This is just an isolated case."

Meng Tang sneered, "Just because it's an isolated case doesn't mean it won't happen. Take the 3D printing filler material, for example. The oxidation rate is nearly 300 times slower than that of century-old wood. In ten years, there will be a clear color difference between the two."

Li Hanjin sighed, "You've been with Master for too long, and your thinking has become stagnant. You're young, and you should accept the impact that new things bring to all traditional industries. You must learn to innovate."

Meng Tang laughed, his tone sarcastic:

"Apart from my talent for woodcarving, I'm not actually very smart. For more than a decade, my grandfather has only let me do one thing: carving or restoration, always following the traditional path."

"You should know that for woodcarvers who use power tools, their hand sensitivity to wood decreases by 53% or more over five years."

"All I have to do is pass on what my grandfather taught me, that's all."

"Okay, I won't argue with you anymore." Li Hanjin conceded and suddenly changed the subject. "It's already January. Uncle Zhang was sentenced to nine years back then. He should be released soon, right?"

Meng Tang froze and subconsciously looked around, afraid that someone might have heard him.

She frowned and questioned Li Hanjin: "Why are you talking to me about him?"

The family lost everything because of him, and she and her grandfather lived in poverty for a long time until they repented and returned the stolen goods.

"Uncle Zhang will definitely go home after he gets out. Master is tough on the outside but soft on the inside. It's impossible for him to ignore his three meals a day. After all, he is his own son."

Meng Tang said: "This has nothing to do with you."

Li Hanjin said, "Don't get me wrong, I just want to ask if your boyfriend knows about Uncle Zhang."

"What are you going to do?" Meng Tang immediately raised his guard.

Li Hanjin said, "I don't mean anything by that. I just think that since you two are in a relationship, some things shouldn't be hidden, unless you're just playing around with him."

"It's none of your business." Meng Tang didn't want to stay any longer. "I'm going upstairs. Please do as you please."

Meng Tang returned to the studio and found many of his classmates there. They worked hard for the entire afternoon. In the evening, they went to the cafeteria together and then came back to continue working.

It was not until the studio closed that Meng Tang and his classmates left.

The cold wind blew across her cheeks, and she suddenly thought of Meng Huaizhang.

A person who can't do anything right, a person who used to call her a good baby when she was a child.

Meng Tang was lost in thought as he walked forward when suddenly a light laugh came from the side.

Meng Tang was stunned when he looked up and saw Wei Chuan: "Why are you here?"

The classmates cheered: "Come and pick you up."

Meng Tang could only smile in response. Wei Chuan waved at them: "You go first, I'll take her back."

Everyone should be sensible and not disturb young couples when they are dating.

Meng Tang asked again: "How did you know I was here?"

Wei Chuan said: "I met Tan Xi on the way, and she said you were still in the studio, so I came to pick you up.

Meng Tang said "Oh".

"Are you feeling unwell?" Wei Chuan looked at her. "From the sound of your voice, it seems you are very tired."

To be more precise, he was in a bad mood. Meng Tang said, "I'm a little busy with homework."

Wei Chuan held her back and asked softly, "What's wrong? Don't hide it from me. I can see that you are very unhappy."

Meng Tang had no choice but to tell the story of his dispute with Li Hanjin:

"He scolded me harshly, saying the world needed innovation."

"But traditional wood carving doesn't need that! Because there are so many people innovating now."

"They create online accounts to show off their skills, get consumers to buy their carvings, and then mass-produce them, using machine carving and hand polishing to pass them off as pure hand-carving, squeezing out the jobs of genuine craftsmen."

"That's not all. They haven't read much and have simplified traditional patterns. They say they are drawing inspiration from ancient patterns to create a minimalist style, but they are just blindly pandering to the old ways."

She had seen on the Internet that traditional patterns such as the lotus and the Bogutu had been simplified beyond recognition.

She made a comment and was insulted and blocked by the other party.

"I know." Wei Chuan raised his hand and tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear. "I think you did a great job."

Meng Tang's ears went numb, and he stared at him blankly: "You know?"

Wei Chuan nodded. "Most handicrafts are rooted in traditional culture. Li Hanjin's so-called innovation is actually an excessive pursuit of modern aesthetics, abandoning the cultural foundation of this type of handicraft."

He really knew! Meng Tang was very surprised.

"So, let's not innovate on this kind of empty decoration, this work without memory and warmth." Wei Chuan rubbed her head. "Don't be unhappy, okay?"

"You——" Meng Tang was speechless.

She wasn't in a bad mood because of this matter, she was just saying it perfunctorily.

His comfort was so sincere that she didn't know what to do.

Wei Chuan glanced into the distance and asked Meng Tang, "Do you want to eat something?"

"There's nothing to eat at this time, right?" Meng Tang just wanted to go back to the dormitory.

Wei Chuan grabbed her hand, looking full of energy, and said, "Come with me."

Seeing the route was the place where they had been going to buy barbecue and climb over the wall, Meng Tang smiled:

"It's better not to go. What if your coach catches you?"

"Old He's daughter had a fever, so he went home early."

After bringing Meng Tang to the barbed wire fence, Wei Chuan called out to an old man on the side of the road, "Uncle, give me a sweet potato. A bigger one, a sweeter one."

The old man was used to it. He weighed the item, took the code and gave it to Wei Chuan to scan, and the transaction was completed in no time.

There was a hole at the bottom of the wire mesh. Wei Chuan took the sweet potato and stuffed it into Meng Tang's arms: "Eat it."

Meng Tang hadn't eaten roasted sweet potatoes for a long time, but the one in his hand was too big, so he broke off half and gave it to Wei Chuan.

The two found a place nearby and enjoyed a moment of peace while eating the sweet roasted sweet potatoes.

Meng Tang's mood was filled with sweetness. She smiled, turned to Wei Chuan and said, "You will still be..."

After he stopped talking, Meng Tang sat stiffly on the bench outside.

The corner of her lips was gently brushed by her thumb, and Wei Chuan raised his hand to wipe off the sweet potato that was stained on her.

In just a moment, the warmth on the lips was blown away by the cold wind.

Meng Tang blinked, his breath seemed to be frozen.

They were both speechless, and Wei Chuan was actually stunned by his own actions.

Meng Tang's skin was as smooth and delicate as jade, and the chill he felt when he touched it lingered between his fingertips for a long time.

"It's dipped in sweet potatoes." Wei Chuan rubbed his fingertips and explained stiffly.

Meng Tang responded softly.

Wei Chuan straightened up to shield her from the wind and said, "Are you cold? Let me take you back to the dormitory."

"There's still a little left." Meng Tang peeled off the sweet potato skin. "Let's finish eating before we leave."

The burnt sweetness of the sweet potato fills your mouth, so sweet that your throat starts to feel sticky.