Chapter 30: Goddess of Luo River and Cheer Up

"How is it? Wen Yan, to what extent do you think you can repair it?"

"Fortunately, although the groundwater mixed with mud and sand had some impact on the silk painting, you have done the best you could at the time."

"But if I hadn't been so hasty, the painting of the goddess of Luo River wouldn't have been torn so wide."

"Teacher, don't worry. Although it is a pity that the famous painting is damaged, you can see that the packaging on it is almost completely worn out. If it weren't for this accident, I don't know how complete this painting would be when it was discovered from the dark wall in the basement."

"Think about it from another perspective. What we are holding in our hands now is the original painting of "The Goddess of Luo River", which has disappeared in history for many years and only copies have been passed down."

"But teacher, hasn't our Yong'an Pawnshop been renovated several times in history? How come there are famous paintings buried in the dark walls of the basement and have not been discovered?" "That's because most of our renovations are transformations rather than complete reconstructions, and this basement was not so big at the beginning. It was the result of the owner of Yong'an Pawnshop widening the cellar when the provinces were building air-raid shelters.

It is said that the purpose was to protect the cultural heritage as much as possible during the war, and the air-raid shelter-level basement itself used the most advanced technology and materials of those years, so no matter how the building of Yong'an Pawnshop was renovated later, it was just to do corresponding maintenance and reinforcement in the basement. If the cooling pool did not need a more complete drainage system this time, I would not want to renovate the basement. "

"Then when you took over, did you not receive any tips like "inventory books" from your predecessor?"

"As for the account books, there are some. But you also know that Yong'an Pawnshop has long been out of the original bloodline. By the time of your master's generation, I don't know how many times it has changed its name. And when I took over, your master's wife and my father-in-law had just made up their minds to hand over all these cultural relics to the country."

"There are many cultural relics in that batch that can be compared with this Luoshen Fu Tu. Even if they wanted to keep it for themselves, they would not choose to keep such a silk painting that is more difficult to preserve."

"Besides, my father-in-law prefers lacquerware to calligraphy and painting. Also, before you came back, I also thought that there might be a traitor in the Yong'an Pawnshop. But considering the popularity of this Luoshen painting, it doesn't seem like someone could take advantage of the situation."

Dean Zhen also didn't understand why the "Goddess of Luo River" appeared here, but compared to finding out the reason, the most important thing at the moment was to restore the silk painting.

Thinking of this, Zhen Yuandao looked at Jia Wenyan who was holding a magnifying glass to check the remaining stolen goods and said:

"Wen Yan, what do you think? If necessary, I can help you apply for a copy of the Luoshenfu Tu."

"That's not necessary, but are you sure you want to give me this Luoshenfu Tu to repair?"

"Calligraphy, painting and classics... Isn't this the area you are best at?"

"That was in the past. I am older now. Although my skills have not declined, my eyesight is no longer what it used to be. Whenever I see the gap in the painting of the Goddess of Luo River, I will remember how reckless I was at that time."

"I'm relieved to leave it to you. Don't forget that this is Yong'an Workshop, and you are the manager here now.

"Shu Wang, take me home first. Oh, by the way, the renovation of the workshop will take some time in the next two days. It's not safe for her to stay in a hotel with the Luoshen Fu Tu alone at this time. You should go home first and let Wen Yan stay at your place."

"Got it, Grandpa."

After Zhen Shuwang finished speaking, he picked up the luggage that Jia Wenyan had placed at the door when she first entered.

Jia Wenyan wanted to decline, but Dean Zhen said first:

"Don't feel embarrassed. If you are alone with the original painting of the Goddess of Luo River while the workshop is being renovated, it will be inconvenient whether you stay here or stay in a hotel."

"Shu Wang lives in the same neighborhood as my husband and I. I asked him to temporarily move back to our place so that it will be more convenient for you to live there."

With just a few words, Zhen Yuandao blocked all the excuses that Jia Wenyan could think of.

Knowing that she couldn't stand still with the painting of Goddess of Luo River in her hand, she quickly put away the painting on the workbench and followed the two people.

Along the way, Jia Wenyan and Zhen Yuandao discussed many issues related to the restoration of "The Picture of the Goddess of the Luo River".

…

Dean Zhen's home is located in a famous high-end residential area in Xian'an City.

The overall design of the community is that the villas are in the front and the buildings are in the back. Zhen Shuwang's apartment was a "gift" that Dean Zhen bought at a package price of one villa and one house when the community was first developed.

Jia Wenyan felt uncomfortable all over when she suddenly came to someone else's house.

Therefore, almost immediately after she placed her suitcase in the guest room, she went to the study room that Zhen Shuwang mentioned could be used as a studio.

After all, he is a two-dimensional animation artist, so there are quite a few tools in Jia Shuwang's study. The first time Jia Wenyan entered the study, she saw a whole wall of various figures on the bookshelf.

From relatively early Ultraman, Optimus Prime, Doraemon, Crayon Shin-chan, to the newer Donghuangwen two-dimensional characters/

Jia Wenyan can clearly see the changes in Zhen Shuwang's aesthetic taste in anime from the changes in the era and style of the figurine wall.

However, these are only secondary. The most urgent thing for Jia Wenyan to do now is to repair the "Goddess of Luo River" as soon as possible, so that she can move away quickly after sending the scroll back to the museum for exhibition.

However, just after Jia Shuwang left, Jia Wenyan was alone in the study preparing to start work.

[Your master is very nice to you? ]

"Who?" The sudden voice made Jia Wenyan unconsciously look at the painting of Goddess of Luo River which was spread out on the workbench in the study.

"Is that you? Are you awake?"

Jia Wenyan asked tentatively. She remembered that when Tianxing (the dragon scale jade pendant) appeared before, he had mentioned to her that in the yard of Yong'an Workshop, there was a calligraphy and painting work with a dormant spirit buried.

However, Jia Wenyan's abilities were limited at the time, and she didn't know how to explain to everyone why she had nothing better to do than to "dig the yard".

So she put the matter aside, planning to make plans after her abilities improved. However, she never expected that Dean Zhen actually dug up the water pipe when renovating the workshop.

The upgrade of the workshop was something that had been decided long ago, or rather, it was a decision that President Zhen had discussed with Jia Wenyan when he bought the Xingqiao Art Museum as the new site for the Yong'an Museum.

He said that since the original site of the Yong'an Museum would no longer be used as a museum, it would be a good idea to connect the museum and the workshop to create a large craft base.

This was something Jia Wenyan had known for a long time, but considering that the overall structure of the Yong'an Museum and Yong'an Workshop was still superior after several reinforcements.

Jia Wenyan had always thought that the upgrade that Dean Zhen mentioned referred to the purchase of some new repair equipment for both sides.

She also didn't expect that Dean Zhen would want to build a large cooling pool in the workshop to assist with the restoration work.

Jia Wenyan was now afraid when she recalled it. She didn't dig it before because Tianxing told her that the calligraphy and painting spirit was using dormancy to protect itself. He told her not to worry until she had enough ability to handle everything.

Otherwise, if she had known that Dean Zhen was going to start excavation, Jia Wenyan would definitely have ensured the safety of the scroll as soon as possible.

So when Zhen Shuwang mentioned to her on the phone that Dean Zhen had dug up "The Goddess of Luo River" in the basement of the workshop, Jia Wenyan really felt a disaster as if she was struck by lightning.

It would have been fine if she didn't know there were cultural relics underneath, but since Tianxing had already told her, she really couldn't imagine how she would deal with it if such important documents and pictures were destroyed due to her negligence.

So later when she saw Zhen Yuandao performing emergency treatment on the scroll, her first reaction was to determine the status of the spirit in the scroll.

Fortunately, the scroll itself did not suffer much damage.

Even though the color of the eyes on the silk painting has gradually become blurred or even faded due to oxidation, the energy of the spirit in the painting is still intact.

This was a blessing in disguise. Jia Wenyan estimated that if nothing unexpected happened, as long as she could restore "The Goddess of Luo River" as soon as possible, she would be able to reawaken the spirit of the "self-protective" artifact.

However, before she could start her work, the scroll spirit, which had been "sleeping" for who knows how long, suddenly "woke up" on its own.

Such a story development undoubtedly ignited Jia Wenyan's fighting spirit.

Although she currently has the confidence to repair the silk painting, the assistance of the spirit of the artifact will undoubtedly be a huge advantage that will allow her to achieve even better results in restoration.

She didn't want to have any regrets in the restoration of cultural relics. But when she asked the other party when it was buried in the basement and how long it had been sleeping,

The woman in feathered clothes suddenly laughed and said:

[You got the wrong person. I am not the little guy you said has been buried underground for who knows how long.]

"No? Then who are you?"

[Your teacher's collection, everything you just saw, is just a play performed by your teacher to make you own "The Goddess of Luo River" naturally.]

[As for the calligraphy and painting spirit mentioned in his mouth, it is still sleeping peacefully underground at this moment.]

"So what you mean is that the original painting of the Goddess of Luo River has always been in the hands of the teacher."

[Well... if you calculate it based on your age, then it is true. Your teacher did not lie to you. I was indeed dug out from the hidden wall in the basement when the Yongan Pawn Shop was repairing the water pipes.]

[The owner of Yongan Pawnshop at that time hid me in a dark wall in the cellar of the pawnshop to avoid the war.]

[The pawnshop owner's idea at the time was that even if the other cultural relics in the cellar were looted and destroyed, at least I could be saved as a piece of paper for easy hiding.]

[In order to protect our cultural relics, Xu Jingmao, the owner of Yong'an Pawnshop at that time, chose to hide my existence from everyone. He originally wanted to wait until he passed away before informing his successor of my existence.]

[But he never thought that the war was even more cruel than he imagined. Xu Jingmao eventually died under the bombardment of grenades, and my existence became a secret that no one knew.]

[Later, your master discovered me when he came to Yongan Pawnshop to install water pipes for his future father-in-law.]

[Originally, your master wanted to hand me over to the Xian'an Museum, but I think you also know that the replicas of me are exhibited in major museums across the country. In addition, during those years, the National Museum was under construction and national treasures were borrowed from various places. Your master was afraid that my original would cause controversy, so he hid my unrecorded original separately. ]

[Until recently when your Yongan Museum opened, your master was worried that you didn’t have enough exhibits, so he found me and wanted to bring me to you as a treasure of the museum.]

[Don't think your master is being nosy. Although your Yong'an Museum has several amazing exhibits, replicas are replicas after all. Even if some of them have completed the transfer of spirits, it cannot change the public's stereotype that the Yong'an Museum is full of "imitations".]

[Your master admits that your idea has merits, but the museum still needs to have a few authentic works to ensure your quality. So he directed and acted in this play himself.]

When Luo Ji said this, Jia Wenyan roughly understood why Zhen Yuandao had to go through such a big circle.

It's not just because I'm worried that she will refuse, but there is also a very important reason, which is to give a reasonable explanation for the appearance of this Picture of the Goddess of Luo River.

After all, according to the law, such unowned national treasures must be handed over to the state as soon as possible after excavation. Zhen Yuandao chose to "excavate" the Luoshen Fu Tu in a damaged state in the Yong'an Workshop in the hope that Jia Wenyan would be able to obtain the restoration rights of the Luoshen Fu Tu, and at the same time, she could exhibit the restored silk painting in the Yong'an Museum after registration.

Speaking of this, Jia Wenyan even suspected that when her master introduced her to Director Liu, it was just to establish this relationship.

"Find an opportunity to thank the master."

Jia Wenyan smiled warmly when she thought of this, and at the same time, Luo Ji, who was floating in the air, seemed to suddenly remember something and added:

[Oh, and even the water pipe he dug up was laid by him himself. He knew very well that even if it broke, at most there would only be a shallow layer of water in the basement.]

"Sou Ka, but if that's the case, why is it in an unrestored state? Isn't the teacher the best at restoring calligraphy and painting?"

[Correction: it is a word, not a painting.]

When Loki said this, she smiled bitterly as if she had remembered some dark history that she couldn't bear to look at:

[I told you that your master is very good at repairing this kind of paper and silk cloth, but compared to his calligraphy, his painting skills are really unbearable to watch. Even when he repaired me, he just mended the damaged parts and cleaned my silk surface. ]

[As for the tear on my body, it was actually because your master, when he was young, was worried that his mending skills were not proficient enough, so he left a loose button on the tear so that it would be convenient to start over.]

[Okay, I've told you everything you want to know, so now you can hurry up and help me repair it. Really, you may not understand since you are a human, but it is really tiring to maintain a damaged body like this.]

[Hurry up and finish repairing the mending part, so that I can have enough ability to take you into my spirit space to learn how to paint. ]

"Okay, wait... no... I still need to learn to paint? My painting skills should be... pretty good, right?"

Jia Wenyan muttered to herself that after all, she had studied painting seriously for a long time, and with the blessing of the Golden Eyes of Time, although she could not compare with those professional painting masters, she was the best at copying, um... substituting a cat for a prince... and making a lifelike reproduction, she was the best.

But Luo Ji seemed to have very strict requirements on painting. Jia Wenyan initially thought that this was a legendary painting produced by a famous Donghuang painter, so she naturally had high requirements.

She estimated that if Zhen Yuandao could understand it, she would probably set corresponding requirements for him. However, not long after, when she was in Luo Ji's painting class, she heard Luo Ji complaining about her teacher every now and then.

She thought that Loki was just demanding, but suddenly she had a hunch that maybe it was because her teacher's attempt to replicate the painting left some psychological trauma on Loki, which is why he was so demanding of his own painting skills.

Fortunately, because Jia Wenyan had just undergone music training at the Jiaoweiqin not long ago, she was mentally prepared for this rigorous artistic practice.

Moreover, compared to music, painting itself is her interest. Even if there is no person to restore the Luoshen painting, Jia Wenyan is completely happy to have the opportunity to learn from a spirit that embodies the skills of the Donghuang painting master.

And perhaps it was because the image of the Goddess of Luo River itself was closely related to various kinds of folk art, but while Luo Ji was instructing Jia Wenyan in painting, she also brought in the Jiaoweiqin who was watching the show nearby.

In her eyes, meticulous painting techniques are indeed a very important part of recreating a painting, but if one wants the restored painting to truly reproduce the charm of the original master's brush, it is imperative that Jia Wenyan understand and appreciate the emotions contained in the painting as much as possible.

And the folk art adapted from the story of Luoshen is the best medium.

Luo Ji asked the Jiaoweiqin beside her to help, and took the Goddess of Luo River as the theme so that Jia Wenyan's entire learning process was immersed in the tragic love of Goddess of Luo River, where two people loved each other but were forced to separate.

It was a glimpse that spanned a thousand years. Although Jia Wenyan, like most people, believed that so-called love at first sight was nothing more than the "lust at first sight" of human spring.

But this does not affect many people from developing many beautiful relationships because of this instinct.

The most vivid thing about the painting of Goddess of Luo River is its depiction of the eyes, which reveal all the sorrows and worries.

From the affectionate gaze between the two, to the gradual distance between them as they parted, and to Luoshen’s reluctant look back.

The legend of this painting is that it fully presents the character's inner emotional changes through the depiction of the character's eyes.

This is also the premise for "The Goddess of Luo River" to become a true "masterpiece".

Even the subsequent copies that were widely recognized by the public could hardly convey the deep meaning behind it. This was also the reason why Luo Ji emphasized that Jia Wenyan must further improve her painting skills.

She hopes to have this opportunity to allow the true beauty of the "Daughter of Luo River" to be revived in the world.

They continued their teaching in the spirit space. Meanwhile, in the villa area a hundred meters away, Zhen Yuandao, who had just returned home, was being questioned by his wife.

"So what you mean is that you let Wen Yan live with Shu Wang, and let Shu Wang come back to live at home?"

"Yeah, didn't you always complain that when Shu Wang was alone at home, he would stay up late all day and eat takeout instead of eating properly? Now that he's moved in, you can have a chance to help him fix those "bad habits."

After Zhen Yuandao finished speaking, he stood up and prepared to pour himself a cup of tea.

However, who would have thought that as soon as he made his move, his "wife" who was already angry at the side, directly held down his hand.

"Who told you this? Don't play dumb with me. When can I not correct my faults?"

"I mean, why would you call our grandchildren back? What if the two children become like that?"

Zhen Yuan said: "No... As elders, we can help with work matters, but as for emotional matters..."

Xu Yonghe: "We need more help!"

"Yes, I admit that Shu Wang is not old for his generation, but as a grandfather, aren't you worried at all that he hasn't been in a relationship at the age of 20?" Zhen Yuan said, "These are two different things?"

"Don't change the subject. Why do you think I spent a lot of money to buy such a large art museum? Isn't it to put my grandson in there and create opportunities for them?"

"You also know the situation of our family. I just want a daughter-in-law who can let me pass on the dowry without worry. What's wrong with that?"

"A girl, a cultural relic restorer, capable and pretty, and just one year younger than Shu Wang. Do you know how excited I was when I saw this panel?"

Dean Zhen: "Arranged marriages are not advisable."

"I didn't tell my two kids that I was going to introduce them to someone. I just created opportunities for them."

"Besides, if you hadn't been so strict when they were young and scared away all the kids, I wouldn't have set my sights on my future granddaughter-in-law."

Zhen Yuan said: "But the problem is that he is not qualified."

"Yes, I admit that Shu Wang is more rational than his father in this regard. But compared to Shu Wang, who is still a young entrepreneur, Wen Yan has already made her own achievements in the field of cultural relics restoration. If I introduce our grandson to her, I am worried that the child will think that I, an old shareholder, am forcing him to buy and sell by arranging the wedding."

"And let's take a step back. Do you know what standards those old guys used when they asked me about Wen Yan? Let's not talk about the distant past. Let's just talk about the elders that Wen Yan has met."

"Liu Qingyang's grandson is building rockets in Yanjing, Su Chenghe's son is the chief of surgery at the People's Hospital, and even Gu Yuan's nephew who joined the army seems to be promoted to major recently."

"If I introduce Shu Wang to Wen Yan, I will save my reputation for the rest of my life."

Xu Yonghe: "Then my grandson won't work, but don't I still have him? My grandson is unreliable, but isn't my two warehouses a dowry an advantage?"

Zhen Shuwang who just came in: "..."