Chapter 161 When he comes back, my dad and I will come over to play
Qin Tian felt her head buzz, and her mind went blank. She had guessed the number was from England, but she hadn't expected it to be He Wu. If she had received this call a few months earlier, the woman would have been an internationally renowned expert in cultural relic restoration. To Qin Tian at this moment, she was Tong Zhongyuan's mother.
"Teacher He, how are you? Long time no see."
"Yi Zhang, it's really you! It's been a long time since we last contacted each other. How are you? How is Dad?"
"I'm fine, Daddy... is fine too."
"That's great. Tong Zhongyuan said Lao Qin was hospitalized a while ago, and I was worried, so I called to ask about it. Oh, it's my fault. I haven't contacted you all in all these years. If Tong Zhongyuan hadn't returned this time, I don't know how long I would have delayed. Actually, I miss these old friends in my heart, but I just can't get over the hurdle in my heart."
Qin Tian's heart sank. Tong Zhongyuan and his mother were indeed very close. He had also told He Wu about Qin Yunjie's hospitalization. He wouldn't... tell He Wu about them as well, would he?
"Thank you, Mr. He, for your concern. I will tell my dad when he wakes up."
He Wu could sense her reservedness. She had left China when she was only nine, so it was no wonder she felt unfamiliar. Fortunately, her son and she must have gotten along well, otherwise he wouldn't have known about Lao Qin's current situation.
"Yi Zhang, Tong Zhongyuan must have troubled you this time. He came to Shanghai in a hurry and had no preparations. When he left, he asked me for some old-fashioned RMB. I thought he would only stay for a few weeks, but I didn't expect him to stay so long. I was wondering how he managed to survive with that little money until now, and then I found out that he had contacted you."
He Wu laughed happily on the other end of the phone, but Qin Tian couldn't even muster a smile.
"I didn't help much, but he helped me a lot."
"I don't know his temper, how can he help you? He's the kind of person who wouldn't meddle in other people's affairs. In fact, I quite regret that I shouldn't have come to England when he was so young and immature. He didn't learn the good things, but he did learn the selfish and cold ways of Westerners."
The topic has always been about Tong Zhongyuan. Qin Tian vaguely understood that He Wu had something to say to her. The current greetings were just opening remarks.
"When he first moved to the UK, he took a long time to adapt and never told me when he got home. He didn't have many friends until he went to university. I kept wondering if I had done something wrong. Letting such a slow-to-warm-up child leave a familiar place and familiar friends would have an impact on his future. His bad temper now is probably caused by that time. I was so happy to know that he and you had reconnected a while ago. He has no acquaintances in Shanghai except for a woman he doesn't keep in touch with. He's been alone in Shanghai for almost half a year, and with his personality, it would be difficult for him to make friends. Fortunately, you are here. You have been close since childhood. When you are away from home, you need someone to take care of you."
He Wu chatted and laughed, complaining about her son, but noticed that Qin Yizhang didn't seem to react much except for a nod. Then she thought, Qin Yizhang and Tong Zhongyuan are the same age, and a girl of that age should be married and have her own family. She actually excitedly entrusted her single son to her care.
"When you get older, you talk more. Auntie just wants to say thank you for this period of time. I hope I don't affect your life. When Tong Zhongyuan comes back, you and dad can come to England to play. I haven't seen Lao Qin for so many years, and I think he still looks like he did when he was young. My legs and feet are not good now, and my health is not as good as before. I can't handle long-distance flights. Besides, I don't have any worries in China. If Lao Qin is in good health, you can bring him to play. Let that kid treat you to dinner, and I will treat you well."
Perhaps because of the international long-distance call, He Wu felt that the line was not very clear, and Qin Yizhang's voice was vague and distant.
"Okay Auntie..."
It was already completely dark. She sat by the bed for a long time, forgetting to turn on the light. Qin Yunjie turned over, making the uneasy, slow rustling sounds that only an elderly person could make. She looked at him silently, watching the traces of time passing on his body, like a countdown. When he opened his eyes again, Qin Tian knew that he was no longer the same person he had just been.
She leaned against his knees, her gaze fixed on nothingness.
"Dad, do you want to come home with me?"
Qin Yunjie didn't answer. He was humming a nursery rhyme. His words were unclear and the melody was intermittent.
"The golden rose is blooming, waiting for me, waiting for you, waiting for a thousand years of fragrance."
She cried.
She burst into tears in the old, gloomy nursing home. Her father was beside her. In this small room, less than 20 square meters. They were so close, his warmth was so strong, his song echoing with her cries, a cycle. The only relative she had in the world was right before her, leaving her feeling so alone, so boundlessly alone.
Over the years, she'd grown accustomed to loneliness. In school, she rarely socialized, absorbed in her studies. After graduation, she lived alone, traveling extensively. She had dreams in her heart, and how could someone with dreams be lonely?
Tears fell on the back of her hand and seeped through her fingers onto the blanket covering her father.
It's not real, her strength is not real.
The desire to love and be loved has always been in her heart, she is just too timid to pretend not to care.
At this moment, with her loved ones by her side and her beloved in her heart, she felt lonelier than ever. Like a small fish caught in a current in the vast ocean, her most cherished and precious companion drifted away helplessly, in her inseparable sight, amidst her silent cries, carried by the irresistible current.
Ming Yuanxing was a bit surprised. Qin Tian was supposed to be on vacation, and he'd hoped she'd get a few days' rest. When she'd asked him about something, he'd assumed she was worried about the Tianmu. But she'd said no, it was something else. He'd said he was out, and Qin Tian had said, "Where are you? I'll come find you. Just give me ten minutes."
To that end, he ended a meeting early and headed to the hotel lobby bar where they'd agreed to meet. When he arrived, Qin Tian was dazed in her seat. He had already entered her sight, but she ignored him. When she spotted him, she quickly stood up. Ming Yuanxing, puzzled, didn't exchange pleasantries.
"What's the rush?"
Qin Tian took out a USB drive from his pocket and put it on the table.
"Director Ming, there won't be a second paper. I've deleted it. But the supporting data is still there, on the USB drive."
Ming Yuanxing picked up the USB drive and flipped through it, frowning. Qin Tian was a little confused, but Ming Yuanxing didn't seem surprised at all.
"Just because of the artificial reproduction of bronze artifacts, you're not going to write your paper anymore?"
"No. I won't be publishing any more papers on thermoluminescence. I'm still doing data analysis, but it won't be made public."
"So you're going to give me the data?"
"The situation is like this..." Qin Tian evaded the main point by recounting his encounter with the counterfeiting gang in Tokyo. "Then Tong Zhongyuan gave them the fake data, and we left."
Ming Yuanxing did not interrupt or express surprise, but listened calmly to the entire conversation.
"I don't know how to find these people, so I'm thinking... don't you have connections in Hong Kong who could spread the word and get this real data to them?"
This time Ming Yuanxing was really surprised.
"You're going to give them real data?? And let them falsify it?"
"No. Don't get me wrong. My idea is for you to give them the real data, and then we'll make it public at home and abroad within a week. They want the data, so take it. But that doesn't stop me from making the data public. That way, even if they falsify the data after getting it, it won't be of any use. The data is public. Even if your porcelain has the same radiation dose as the Song Dynasty in thermoluminescence, it doesn't mean it's authentic."
Ming Yuanxing leaned back in his chair, crossed his hands and thought deeply.
"But this won't allow us to authenticate the artifact. Currently, the field of thermoluminescence is at the forefront of research. Once the data is made public, how can we, all of us, use scientific identification to distinguish between genuine and fake artifacts?"
"I will continue my research. Over the next two months, I will sort through all the sample tubes, re-identify and analyze them, and identify other variables in the current radiation exposure to further refine the classification and dose of the existing radiation."
Ming Yuanxing looked at her thoughtfully.
"Two months? Before you published your first paper, the radiation data on bronze artifacts hadn't been updated in eight years. Once the detailed data is made public, how long will it take for new research to emerge?"
"That's because no one's pushing this forward," Qin Tian leaned forward, somewhat anxiously. "Since the data from eight years ago was usable, no one did a detailed analysis. Only when the data was no longer accurate did anyone make a move. But now it's different. I will push it forward! We at the Shanghai Museum have a unique advantage in this area, with so many sample tubes readily available. I can't guarantee results in two months, but I believe I will find new variables to prevent counterfeiters from artificially replicating the data."
Ming Yuanxing looked at her anxious expression, and the doubts in his heart dissipated, becoming more and more clear.
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