Later, Xu Jiang painted many portraits, the most of which was that of Xu Yuan. Finally, when she was fourteen years old, she painted the one she was most satisfied with, intending to give it as a birthday gift for Xu Yuan.
In the end, the painting was stained red with Xu Yuan's blood and was buried with him in the fire.
Xu Jiang woke from her dream, and the room was completely dark. She sat up, her mind in a tangle of confusion, and her vision was a mixture of reality and illusion.
She sat there for a long time before she stood up, tied her hair, fetched a tinderbox to light the lamp, then opened the box and took out a bamboo tube from the box.
She took the bamboo tube and a lamp and came to the bookstore, cleared out a desk, and then lit two lamps. Only then, in the bright light, did she carefully open the bamboo tube and pour out a painting.
The drawing paper has turned yellow, with faint traces of mold in many places, and the edges and corners are also worn. The places that were originally repaired are even more mottled, but the overall preservation is still intact.
Xu Jiang carefully pushed the painting aside and flattened it, then stared blankly at the person in the painting.
In the center of the painting, there is a man leaning against a rock and reading a book, with a relaxed and carefree look on his face. There is nothing else in the painting except a rock, a pine tree and clouds in the stream to keep him company.
Xu Jiang touched his face, tears welling in her eyes.
She carefully examined the painting and saw that the backing paper was also moldy and had a tendency to spread towards the face of the person, so she decided to clean it, repair it, and then remount it.
Just do it, it’s hard to fall asleep anyway.
She brought a small stove, lit the charcoal, started to boil water, and set up a chopping board specially made for restoring calligraphy and paintings. She found brushes, pottery pots, cutting knives, tweezers, cotton handkerchiefs and other tools that would be used later and placed them one by one.
Then he asked for a pot of clean water to be brought as a standby.
Once everything was ready, she removed the scroll, cut out the center, and then brushed a layer of water onto the chopping board. The chopping board had been waterproofed with tung oil and polished to a smooth surface to facilitate laminating the paper. The water helped the paper adhere more evenly and tightly.
After brushing with water, Xu Jiang carefully spread the drawing paper on it bit by bit, and then used the wet brush to gently brush it to make it fit smoothly with the chopping board.
At this time, the water on the stove was boiling.
Xu Jiang drew boiling water and used a brush as a medium to evenly pour the boiling water on the drawing paper. After the dirt and mildew were removed, he used a cotton towel to absorb the water.
Repeat this cycle until all the dirt and mildew are absorbed. This is called washing the painting.
After washing the painting, the paper is peeled off. This is to remove the moldy backing paper from the center of the painting and replace it with new paper to prevent the mold powder left after restoration from spreading and contaminating the painting.
Xu Jiang took up the center of the painting, turned it over and pasted it back on the wooden table. After brushing it with a layer of clean water, he used his fingertips to rub open the backing paper bit by bit and carefully peeled it off.
This process requires full concentration and caution. If you are not careful, you will accidentally damage the center of the painting and cause it to be damaged.
Xu Jiang held her breath and concentrated, spending half an hour before she peeled off the last piece of backing paper.
The center of the painting is intact.
She breathed a sigh of relief, then checked the center of the painting again, patched the damaged areas with the cut original painting paper, brushed the backing paper, and watered the edges. Finally, she peeled it off, turned it over, and pasted it on the chopping board with the center of the painting facing up. She brushed it flat and waited for it to dry.
Only after it dries can it be remounted.
Xu Jiang held the lamp and examined it carefully. When she saw the ink mark left by her childhood, she couldn't help but smile.
No matter how much they repaired it, these ink stains could not be removed. Fortunately, they did not stain the master's face at that time.
Xu Jiang stared at Xu Yan's face, sighed slightly, and her restless heart calmed down.
After checking, she was about to turn off the light, but she accidentally discovered a very faint signature in a cloud of ink.
She leaned in closer to look carefully and made out the two words "juanxiu".
Lasting.
"If it lasts forever, it will never be used up."
Then Xu Jiang was stunned. Wasn't this painting painted by the master himself?
Then who is this Miancun?
Why had she never heard of it?
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