Chapter 97 Shura Field Countdown
Tong Zhongyuan sat across from Ming Yuanxing. He pondered for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry to disappoint you. The Yuan Dynasty blue and white Meng Tian General Spring Vase is priceless and rare. My current skills are not enough to handle it. A national treasure needs a destined person, so I won't show off."
Ming Yuanxing looked at him and smiled. He had known this would be the answer. The National Museum of China had somehow gotten the news that Tong Zhongyuan was He Wu's son and was currently restoring artifacts for the Shanghai Museum. Director Hua of the National Museum had called him specifically, hoping to have Tong Zhongyuan come to Beijing to restore a Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain General Meng Tian vase. The vase was severely damaged, and the estimated restoration period was six months.
He smiled bitterly at the time. Although Tong Zhongyuan was at the Shanghai Museum, he wasn't an employee. How could he, the museum's director, get him to do anything? As expected, Tong Zhongyuan didn't want to go. He knew that he was staying at the Shanghai Museum to repair the artifacts because of Qin Tian's reputation, not his own.
"Nothing, I just wanted to ask you." He smiled gently. "I heard from Xiao Song yesterday that the ink bamboo bowl is almost finished, and the Song Dynasty black-glazed rabbit-hair teacup will be finished next week. So, are you planning to return to England after the repairs are done?"
"Yes. The Song Dynasty black-glazed rabbit-hair teacup will be repaired next week. I'll probably be back next weekend."
"Leave some time for me, I want to have a meal with you."
Tong Zhongyuan smiled: "No problem."
Song Suiyang was in a complicated mood. On the one hand, she was very happy that Tong Zhongyuan rejected the invitation of the National Museum. The class beauty obviously knew that Tong Zhongyuan had rejected the National Museum, and she played dumb in the group without saying a word. She won a great victory and was very happy, but she did not rush to provoke her. She realized that if it were not for her gossip, Director Ming would not have to be so embarrassed. After all, the other party is the director of the National Museum. Although the closed-door soup was given by Tong Zhongyuan, it is not certain that it will be blamed on Director Ming. Besides, for Tong Zhongyuan, it is also making trouble out of nothing. After all, they are in the same circle and they will meet each other sooner or later. It is not a good thing to offend the National Museum for no reason.
Song Suiyang confided her frustration to Qin Tian, who was also a little annoyed when she heard this. Ming Yuanxing and Tong Zhongyuan were both people she cared about, but Song Suiyang had to make things difficult for them just to vent her anger. But then again, from her perspective, she felt it was understandable that a national treasure couldn't be revived because no one was restoring it, so inviting capable people was understandable. She consoled her indifferently, "Tong Zhongyuan wouldn't care about offending anyone. As for Director Ming, he's seen a lot of ups and downs, so why would he worry about such a small matter?"
"What's the small matter?" Tang Zhixu brought his lunch tray and sat down next to Qin Tian. He had come to see her for lunch, but she wasn't there, so he decided to go to the cafeteria to take a look. He immediately spotted her and Song Suiyang sitting at the table by the window.
Song Suiyang remained silent and gave him a gloomy look. Qin Tian knew she didn't want to make it public, so he took the initiative to change the subject.
"How's the Chunhua Pavilion Calligraphy? Did the first batch of reporters come yesterday?"
"This matter..." Tang Zhixu reluctantly unpacked his chopsticks, picked out a piece of cod that Qin Tian liked, and placed it on her plate. "Ming originally meant for the reporters to write a report and put it on the news. But Wang didn't think so. He wanted to make a big deal out of it, hold a press conference, and even do a live broadcast or something."
"Oh? Director Ming agrees?"
"What should I do? After all, Wang is in charge of the calligraphy and painting department, and Director Ming has to give him face. So there will be a press conference on Friday. I have to work overtime again these few days. Do you know what Wang said to me? He asked me to coordinate the questions with the reporters. He asked me to write down my experience of purchasing the Chunhua Pavilion Calligraphy Collection and then turn it into questions for them. Then he asked them if they had any doubts and asked me to think of the answers in advance. After everything is ready, he will review it. I said I am just a painter, how could I be so good at this? Doesn't the museum have a publicity department? He said no, why should the achievements of the calligraphy and painting department be given to other departments?"
Qin Tian looked at him sympathetically. His eyes were dark blue. He hadn't had time to adjust to the jet lag since returning from the United States. His hair had grown long again, so he probably didn't have time to get a haircut.
"When you're done, I'll treat you to a nice meal."
Tang Zhixu was delighted and became excited.
"What? Sympathize with me?"
He wanted to say that he felt sorry for her, but Song Suiyang was standing there in the way, so he couldn't be too explicit.
"Because I wanted to thank you. I saw Mr. Deng on Sunday."
She stopped talking about it. After all, Song Suiyang was there, and she didn't want to talk too much about family matters. He understood it immediately and didn't continue the topic.
"Okay, if you're treating me, I'm happy to do it. It's settled then, I choose the time."
Song Suiyang saw Tang Zhixu coming, and the two of them completely forgot about her existence. She quickly finished her lunch and returned to the office alone.
In the evening, she talked to her boyfriend about what happened recently. It would have been fine if she didn't talk about it, but once she started talking, she got even more emotional, feeling like she couldn't do anything right and was just causing more trouble. Her boyfriend rarely saw her so down, and he felt a little helpless. This weekend was Song Suiyang's birthday, and he had planned a series of surprises. But that's how adults are, compared to her setbacks in the workplace, surprises are not that important. He said to her, "Isn't Friday your birthday? It's a good excuse. If you express your gratitude, it can also bring you closer as colleagues. Besides, Teacher Tong will be leaving soon, so you can kill two birds with one stone. You can express your apology to him and see him off at the same time."
Song Suiyang thought he had a point and booked a private room at the restaurant for Friday afternoon. She also invited all the colleagues in the restoration department. She didn't say she was seeing Tong Zhongyuan off; if she had, Tong Zhongyuan, who didn't like socializing, would probably refuse to come. She simply said it had been a while since they'd been together, so she wanted to have a meal together.
Tong Zhongyuan asked her, "Are they just people from our department?"
"And Qin Tian and Chen Yun. I also called Tang Zhixu, but he had a press conference that day and couldn't come."
Tong Zhongyuan's eyes flickered as he agreed. He already had plans for this weekend. Rather than going out of his way to find her, having dinner and chatting together would be more natural.
On Friday afternoon, Song Suiyang and Chen Yun arrived at the restaurant first. Chen Yun privately asked her why she was invited to the department dinner. Song Suiyang said, "Teacher Tong will be leaving soon, so I'll let you take a few more glances while you can. Isn't that a sign of loyalty?"
Chen Yun found this both funny and a little sad. Although she and Tong Zhongyuan had little in common, she still felt a little regretful at the thought that she would never see him again.
The three teachers in the department arrived one after another, but one of them was absent due to illness.
Tong Zhongyuan and Qin Tian were the last to arrive. The restaurant was very close to the Shanghai Museum, a five-minute walk. So close that he didn't have time to say anything. He just opened the restaurant and asked about her recent work. He wasn't in a hurry, as he had to walk back later anyway.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Song Suiyang called for the food to be served. Dai Lihua said with a smile, "Hey, Xiao Song, what's your day today? It seems like it's more than just a department party."
Song Suiyang said, "Actually, today is my birthday, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the teachers. On the other hand, Teacher Tong will be returning to England soon, so I'd like to thank him here as well, just as a token of my gratitude for him."
Qin Tian was stunned, looking at Tong Zhongyuan. She knew Tong Zhongyuan's return was imminent, but he had never mentioned it to her, not even on the way here. Could it be that he had already booked a return trip and hadn't told her?
Tong Zhongyuan's face darkened slightly. He had only told Ming Yuanxing about his return the following weekend, a reluctance he had to decline the invitation to the National Museum. No one else knew. With Song Suiyang's words, everyone knew he was leaving, except Qin Tian.
Song Suiyang's comment was based entirely on the progress of the restoration. She naturally assumed he would return to England once he finished repairing the Song Dynasty black-glazed rabbit-hair teacup. However, she hadn't expected the atmosphere to subtly cool after he said this.
There were two knocks on the door of the private room. Song Suiyang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the food was finally served. The table was getting hot, and so was the atmosphere. She was about to call someone in when the door was pushed open. It wasn't the waiter who came in, but Tang Zhixu.
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