Chapter 7: Washing the Ancient Paintings Su Guanqing felt a sweet feeling in his heart
When Su Guanqing returned to the compound, he heard the head of the team's voice as soon as he entered the door:
"Is all the money spent?"
Su Guanqing stopped when he heard the voice, pursed his lips and did not respond.
The squad leader sneered, "Others go out and make money, but you go out and spend money every time you come back."
Su Guanqing lowered his head and said nothing.
The squad leader had no intention of pursuing the matter further, and simply said, "Mr. Xu is having a banquet tonight, and he has asked you and Fu Liu to accompany him. You two can go together later."
Su Guanqing finally responded: "I can't sing, I'm afraid it will spoil Mr. Xu's fun."
"Who said you were asked to sing? Mr. Xu just admires Master Yuequan's talent and wants you to play some music and recite some poems." The team leader crossed his arms and looked at Su Guanqing's handsome face. He saw that the other party's lips were tightly pursed, and he was obviously very resistant.
This time he did not show the same fury as during the day. Instead, he snorted lightly and said with a hint of sarcasm:
"Su Guanqing, born in the Prime Minister's residence, is said to have possessed a photographic memory since childhood. From the moment he began to learn, he was known as a child prodigy. By the age of twelve, he was already a renowned talent both within and beyond the capital for his exceptional poetry and prose. At sixteen, he was even more renowned for his exceptional talent in calligraphy and painting, earning him widespread praise. At eighteen..."
He paused deliberately, not disguising the malice on his face. "...Lord Su has been convicted. The Emperor has personally decreed his immediate execution. It's a pity the Su family had served three dynasties, and was once so glorious, but now they've fallen just like that."
The squad leader admired Su Guanqing's pale expression, but deliberately used a bitter and earnest tone to persuade him: "Guanqing, don't blame me for forcing you. You have to recognize your current status. You are no longer the son of the prime minister. You might as well make as much money as possible while you are still young."
The team leader bought Su Guanqing back because he was attracted by his good looks. He thought that if his eyes could be cured and he could be trained a little, he could become a star. However, after seeing two doctors, they both said that it was difficult to cure and would cost a lot of money. He was not willing to waste the money, so he refused to treat Su Guanqing's eyes.
The second reason was that he was attracted by the reputation of Master Yuequan.
Although Su Guanqing was so famous for his talent in those days, he never liked to show up in public, and many people wanted to invite him but couldn't.
But Master Yuequan from the Su family couldn't be invited, so Mr. Yuequan, who was a musician, would be eager to come and see something new, right?
And it was for this reason that Su Guanqing was unwilling to attend the night banquet. He would rather play the violin with a group of musicians, hiding under the stage, even if he earned less, than meet those "old friends" and earn more tips.
Seeing that Su Guanqing still refused to give in, the squad leader said again: "Guanqing, think carefully about it. Since you have fallen into the lowest class, this is your fate. You must learn to accept it. Are you really expecting Miss Jiang to redeem you in a month?
I think Miss Jiang just wants to extort money from you. Do you really think she will come to redeem you?"
"Miss Jiang never lies." Su Guanqing immediately retorted.
...Tongtong said that once she restored and sold the Ni Zan painting, she would come and redeem herself. Tongtong was a person who never lied. If she said she would come, she would definitely come!
Thinking of this, Su Guanqing felt a sweet feeling in his heart.
The squad leader sneered, "You really believe it? I think you'd be better off praying for Mr. Xu to redeem you."
"What do you mean?" Su Guanqing's expression changed.
"What do you mean?" the squad leader asked, "Mr. Xu has already said that if he still can't hire you, he wouldn't mind buying you back directly. You said that Mr. Xu will offer a high salary by then, so how can I not make some money from it?"
.....
As soon as Jiang Tong returned to the Jiang residence, she locked herself in the study and began to tinker with the things she had bought.
She nailed the wooden keels that Su Guanqing had struggled to hold all the way into a rectangular frame, then pasted six or seven layers of rice paper on top, turning it into a paper wall. She meticulously wrapped silk cloth around the butt of a bedding needle, turning it into a needle awl. With a kitchen knife, she shaved the bamboo joint into a thin piece of bamboo screwdriver. Then, she ran to the kitchen to make a large bowl of paste...
After all the tools were prepared, Jiang Tong officially began the repair work.
She first cleared the desk and spread out Ni Zan's "Autumn Forest and Wilderness" face down.
Thanks to Jiang Tong, the painting had several obvious cracks. Jiang Tong took out the silk paper he had picked up from the mounting shop, cut it into appropriate sizes, and carefully pasted it over the cracks.
After pasting it, she placed a piece of silk with very sparse warp and weft threads under the painting to prevent the center of the painting from sticking to the table and being unable to be peeled off. Then she spread it flat, brushed it with water, absorbed the warm water with a brush, and gently poured it on the painting.
If Su Guanqing could see this scene, he would be very surprised to find that the Tongtong in his impression, who was lively and active and could burn famous paintings and calligraphy as waste paper, seemed like a different person at this moment and became extremely quiet. This painting, which had been battered and would be thrown away as rubbish, was treated with the most tenderness and care in her hands.
She held a rolled-up piece of clean fine cloth in her hands and rolled it over the painting with extremely gentle movements, squeezing out excess moisture as she did so.
At the beginning, the water squeezed out was dark brown. After she rinsed it repeatedly, the water squeezed out finally became clear.
Generally speaking, a framed calligraphy and painting has four layers:
The center of the painting, the fate paper that supports the center of the painting (because it is close to the center of the painting and is directly related to the survival of the center of the painting, it is called fate paper), and the two layers of backing paper behind the fate paper.
After completing the cleaning process, Jiang Tong carefully turned the painting over, and then used a needle to gently lift the backing paper from the edge of the painting and peel it off.
The next thing to deal with is the fate paper that is attached closely to the back of the painting.
Because the painting has been in a humid environment for a long time, there is a certain indistinguishability between this layer of paper and the core of the painting. Separating the two pieces of paper without damaging the core of the painting is a test of the craftsman's skill and patience.
At this time, the tweezers could not pick up anything, and the needle and awl were useless. She had to rub the life paper lightly with her fingers and peel off the center of the painting bit by bit.
This painting had been buried underground for several years and had become extremely fragile. If one touched it with even a little more force, one's fingers would pierce through the paper, tear the center of the painting, and directly destroy it.
Therefore, this step is the key to the success of the entire restoration work.
But for Jiang, a painter who has peeled off thousands of different kinds of fortune papers, this is not a difficult task; it just takes a little more time.
For the next five days, Jiang Tong seemed to be glued to the stool. Except for the necessary eating, drinking, defecating, urinating and sleeping, he basically never stood up.
When restoring ancient paintings, Jiang Tong is always completely immersed in his work.
All her disciples from her previous life knew that even if the sky fell at this moment, they must not disturb their teacher.
But Zhong Wanci obviously didn't know.
That day, when she discovered that her husband's medicine was gone and the newly bought maid had disappeared, she had no idea where to go. She could only look for her daughter. After knocking twice on the door, she heard a cold shout from inside: "Silence!"
Jiang Taidou's commanding voice stunned Zhong Wanci. She froze for a moment, not daring to utter a single word, and tiptoed away.
But this meant her husband's medicine was nowhere to be found. Zhong Wanci was at a loss for a moment, wandering around the yard like a lamb that couldn't find its leader.
Jiang Ming came back at this time.
What happened next was exactly the same as in her previous life. Zhong Wanci regarded this only remaining adult male in the family who could walk upright as the only correct answer. She gave him her own money and asked him to buy medicine.
.....
In the study, Jiang Tong finally peeled off the painting's core completely. She then used a piece of white paper to "absorb" it from the tabletop and pasted it onto the paper wall she had previously made, leaving it to dry. She finally took a breath.
She hadn't seen the sun for a few days, so she took this opportunity to go out and pick up the horseshoe knife she had ordered from the blacksmith shop.
The so-called horseshoe knife is actually a kind of cutting knife, named after its shape like a horseshoe.
Jiang Tong struck with two knives, one with a blade about the width of a finger, the other about the size of a palm.
After several days, the blacksmith had already made the horseshoe knife according to her requirements.
Jiang Tong was thinking about going back to repair the painting, so he paid the money and without any further delay, put the horseshoe knife into his sleeve and walked back.
When passing by a tavern, I heard a familiar voice coming out——
"No credit today, I have money today!"
It’s Jiang Meng’s voice!
Jiang Tong paused and looked inside the tavern, only to see Jiang Tong throw something on the counter: "My cheap mother gave it to me!"
When Jiang Tong heard this, his face darkened and he turned around and walked into the tavern.
A silver hairpin was placed alone on the counter, with a lotus flower that was about to bloom carved on the hairpin.
Jiang Tong recognized it; it belonged to Zhong Wanci. Jiang Tong's gambling addiction had drained the Jiang family's wealth, and the only reason their family wasn't living on the streets was thanks to Zhong Wanci's dowry.
Most of Zhong Wanci's jewelry had been sold, and this hairpin was one of the few things she had left.
Before the waiter could reach out, Jiang Tong quickly grabbed the lotus hairpin and glared at him: "How dare you steal my mother's hairpin to buy wine?!"
Jiang Xuan hadn't expected to run into Jiang Tong. A hint of guilt flashed across his face, but he still stiffened his neck and said, "What's the point of snatching it? It was clearly given to me by my mother!"
"You're lying! How could mother give it to you and not to me?" Jiang Tong's heart was burning with rage, but his face did not show any fury. Instead, he had a majestic demeanor without even getting angry.
A customer who was also buying wine at the counter, watching the fun, said something helpful: "That's right, the hairpin must be a dowry for my daughter."
"What do you know!" Jiang Meng yelled at the man, "I am the heir of the Jiang family. She is a person who will be thrown away sooner or later. How dare she want to snatch my wealth from me?"
As he spoke, he forced a fierce look at Jiang Tong again: "I advise you to stop thinking about the Jiang family's wealth, and return that land deed to me as soon as possible. Do you really want to take it to your husband's family?"
Jiang Ming was already so fat that his face was covered with flesh. His expression at this moment was quite ferocious. The passerby who joined in the discussion turned his head away and pretended not to see them when he saw that the situation was not good.
The waiter tried to smooth things over across the counter: "Since we're family, we can talk it out. Harmony brings wealth."
Seeing that he had shocked the whole place, Jiang Tong became complacent. He ignored Jiang Tong and turned to the counter, knocking on the wooden surface: "Hurry up and get me some wine!"
However, before he could finish his words, he saw the waiter looking behind him with a shocked expression.
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