Chapter 125 The name that has accompanied him till now - He Wu's son
Tong Zhongyuan's hand stopped. Song Suiyang gasped, and Ming Yuanxing glanced at Director Zhou calmly.
Director Zhou, as if sensing the unusual atmosphere, coughed lightly and said, "The damage is quite severe, so we can't repair it here. We did a rough job of splicing to locate the tiles. The first phase of the work... is complete."
Song Suiyang covered her mouth with her hand, afraid she'd curse. "Is this serious? It's already shattered into pieces!" The photos they sent earlier weren't like this at all! The biggest problem is, there's a huge piece missing from the center of the bottle! It's got the pattern and the porcelain pieces, and it's such a huge piece! How do I fix it? How do I fix a missing piece? Teacher Tong is amazing, but he's just a restorer, not a magician. Can he even make the missing piece appear?
Ming Yuan walked forward and looked down at the vase. His frown deepened. He had longed so much to restore Yuan blue and white porcelain. The moment the little boy agreed, he was incredibly excited. He would see the General Meng Tian vase restored in his lifetime. He hadn't expected this to happen. He pondered for a moment.
"Director Zhou, isn't this situation different from the information you sent me? Did they suddenly change their mission?"
Director Zhou felt a little embarrassed. This was already a hot potato, which was why Director Hua had made an excuse to escape, leaving him no choice but to make the trip. The National Museum had once requested He Wu to repair it, but she had come to Beijing to take a look and refused. More than 20 years later, the number of heirs to cultural relic restoration was dwindling, and the technique was being lost. This might be the last chance for the Meng Tian General Vase. If He Wu's son couldn't do it, this Yuan blue and white porcelain might forever lie in the National Museum in its fragmented state. In order to get him to accept the Yuan blue and white porcelain, they had slightly, slightly retouched the photos they sent. At this point, he had no choice but to shamelessly cheat.
"Ming Lao, look, this bottle has come a long way, and a lot of people have come to get it here. We're just saying, we don't ask for perfection. If we can fix it, we'll fix it! If we can't fix it... then we'll give it a try. It doesn't matter if it doesn't work. That's the difficulty, and we're not unreasonable people."
How could this be the same? Ming Yuanxing was furious. Xiaotong was renowned, and now the Yuan blue and white porcelain was coming for him. If he refused to accept it now, returning it to Beijing, he could say that Xiaotong hadn't been able to repair the original. But if he kept it for restoration and still couldn't do it, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing? No matter which choice he made, he would be putting Xiaotong in jeopardy.
Song Suiyang nearly bit his lip. Anyone familiar with restoration knows that a defect of this magnitude is impossible to repair. No wonder Zheng Bing rejected it! What's with his poor eyesight? He probably didn't want to be embarrassed. That woman, Xie Qiongyu, must have done this on purpose, trying to embarrass the Shanghai Museum. It was all her fault; it was her mouth that had embarrass Teacher Tong.
Ming Yuanxing thought about it and had already made up his mind. Although there was no perfect choice, he chose the lesser of two evils. Rather than drag it out, it was better to cut the Gordian knot. When the time came, he would say that the British Museum urgently wanted the child back home, and that the Shanghai Museum had rejected the Yuan blue and white porcelain after evaluation.
"Mr. Zhou, come here, let's talk for a moment."
Ming Yuanxing took Director Zhou to the next room.
"Director Zhou, you know that if Tong Zhongyuan were my Shanghai Museum employee, I would help you with this matter no matter how difficult it is! I would repair it even if he couldn't! But he is not one of us. To put it bluntly, we at the Shanghai Museum are not even considered his maternal family. He is purely here to help, and I can't treat him like this. We are all in this industry, and we all understand. Not repairing is one thing, and not being able to repair it is another. You saw him today, Tong Zhongyuan, what does he lack? Is he still lacking the reputation of repairing Yuan blue and white porcelain? Right. You said that He Wu refused the National Museum back then. Now I know why she refused. Oh, the mother didn't want to repair it, so she asked her son to do it. That's not right. Besides, he is still young, and he is not as skilled as He Wu back then. If He Wu doesn't want to repair it, then Tong can't do it either. Why bother to embarrass him? Well, let's leave it at that. I'll send it back to you tomorrow. I didn't understand it clearly and rashly took on the job. I will reflect on it. I will write a report on this matter. I won't let the reputation of the National Museum be damaged. Okay, that's it."
Director Zhou was rendered speechless by Ming Yuanxing's words. All the prepared rhetoric was useless. He hadn't expected that even after delivering the goods, Ming Yuanxing would still reject them. If he had known this would happen, why would he have bothered so much?
Tong Zhongyuan donned gloves and gently lifted the Yuan blue and white porcelain to examine it. As He Wu had described, its color was truly unique, a moon-white color with a jade-like translucence. Beneath the glaze, the blue and white hues were perfectly balanced, the patterns intricate, and the shapes neatly symmetrical. Precisely because its texture, pattern, and color were so perfect, its missing surface was impossible to replicate. Neither plaster nor an ordinary ancient vase could replace this missing piece. Furthermore, the missing piece was centrally located, making it impossible to find a replacement.
Xie Qiongyu felt a little uneasy when she saw Song Suiyang glaring at her. Of course, she knew that it was almost impossible to restore the Yuan blue and white porcelain, but it was not her who suggested that Tong Zhongyuan restore it! She just told the leader that Tong Zhongyuan was at the Shanghai Museum. It was the leaders above who were too greedy and thought that there was only one chance, so they sacrificed the Yuan blue and white porcelain. Chen Jun proposed a plan to the higher-ups, saying that restoring the Yuan blue and white porcelain was not feasible. But Yuan blue and white porcelain has been the concern of the National Museum for decades. Successive leaders have been obsessed with it and want to leave their names in the history of the museum for this matter.
Ming Yuanxing and Director Zhou returned. Tong Zhongyuan gently put the spring vase back in its place.
"Little boy," Director Ming nodded at him, "Come here."
Director Ming and Tong Zhongyuan went to discuss the matter. Director Zhou looked at the Yuan blue and white porcelain with dismay, feeling like a daughter whose engagement had been broken off. In the middle of the night, the groom had just lifted his veil and run away. Sigh…
He weakly raised his chin towards Chen Jun: "Xiao Chen, wrap it up first."
Xie Qiongyu looked at him in disbelief. Song Suiyang was also shocked. No way! Mingguan was so ruthless, rejecting her right on the spot?! Wow, this is too... too awesome! It really is Mingguan!
Ming Yuanxing and Tong Zhongyuan stood in a corner of the collection room. Ming Yuanxing apologized, "Little Tong, this is my fault. It's superfluous to say anything now. Anyway, I've already refused. They will take the Yuan blue and white porcelain back tomorrow. I will issue a formal notice stating that it was the Shanghai Museum that rejected the Yuan blue and white porcelain, and it has nothing to do with you. I know that even so, this matter will still have an invisible impact on you. Alas, I can't make it up to you, I can only owe you."
"You're too polite." Tong Zhongyuan had a warm smile on his face. "I agreed to repair it myself, it has nothing to do with you. In fact, my mother warned me, but I was just angry and wanted to challenge it. I just saw the spring vase, it's a rare treasure. Do you think it's possible not to return the spring vase for now and give me a few days to think about it?"
Ming Yuanxing was greatly surprised. He could return the Yuan blue and white porcelain now, without anyone noticing. If anyone questioned him, they could simply say it had failed the Shanghai Museum's inspection. It wouldn't have had much of an impact on Tong Zhongyuan's reputation. But considering it for a few days would be a different story. Wouldn't returning it after considering it be a clear signal to the world that he couldn't do it? With Tong Zhongyuan's intelligence, he couldn't have been unaware of this.
Ming Yuanxing said in a deep voice: "Little boy, do you know what it means to retreat in a few days? Or have you found a way to repair it?"
"No. I haven't found a way." Tong Zhongyuan said frankly, "That's why I need time to find different ways and methods to break through."
"What if you can't find it?"
"That means I'm not yet capable of restoring Yuan blue and white porcelain. That's the truth."
Ming Yuanxing was shocked. This was the truth. He held these words in his mind, a surge of emotion in his chest. He now understood that Tong Zhongyuan's extraordinary accomplishments at the age of thirty were not simply due to inheriting He Wu's skills.
He couldn't help but pat his shoulder.
"Okay! Go ahead and look for it. And be sure to tell me if you need any help!"
Chen Jun listlessly applied layer after layer of white protective film. The translucent body of the Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain vase was gradually obscured. Xie Qiongyu hadn't expected this trip to end like this, and she was completely devastated.
"Ah," Ming Yuanxing came over with a smile, "Don't rush to pack. Put it aside for a while. Xiaotong said he wants to think about it for a few days before giving an answer. How about this, we put the things on our blog first and wait for Xiaotong's opinion. It's almost three in the morning now, everyone should go back and rest. We'll discuss it again tomorrow, Monday?"
The three people at the National Museum looked up in shock. Just when you seem to be at the end of your rope, there's always a way out!
Song Suiyang was also shocked. No way, why would Teacher Tong do this!
Tong Zhongyuan put on his gloves again, peeled off the protective film, and gently brushed his fingers across the bottle. Time intersected in the cracks of the Yuan blue and white porcelain. His mother, in her youth, had once touched it in this way.
"Zhong Yuan, this is not your chance. General Meng Tian's vase is not easy to deal with. It is not something you can fix now, not even me."
Maybe. She didn't do it twenty years ago, and he won't be able to do it twenty years later either.
However, this Yuan blue and white porcelain is his only chance to challenge his mother at her peak!
That unattainable back.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
