The treasure of the museum: To like someone is to have a bit of admiration...
Before going out the next day, Wen Zichuan looked around his wardrobe. He hadn't bought any new clothes the whole summer, and some of his old clothes were wrinkled from washing, and looked tacky and ugly when he wore them.
It would be fine if he just ran around the tent on weekdays, but he couldn’t bring shame to Brother Zhou in such a culturally rich place like Lantern Expo.
In the end, I found a popular plaid shirt that was acceptable and made me look like a college student.
"Zichuan!" As soon as Wen Zichuan arrived at the entrance of the Lantern Festival, Cheng Sizhou came to greet him.
There were no tour groups that afternoon, and only a few local tourists were seen inside and outside the museum. Wen Zichuan exchanged his ticket and followed Cheng Sizhou, who could use facial recognition technology, into the exhibition hall.
The air conditioning in the exhibition hall was turned on very high. Cheng Sizhou suddenly shuddered and shrank his neck.
"Oh my god, it's so cold in there."
"It's okay. Maybe I've been outside for a long time, so it's more comfortable inside than outside."
"It'll be fine once you get used to it. Come on, I'll go shopping with you."
The porcelain exhibition was just opened last month. Inside the exhibition hall, various porcelain artifacts are arranged in different categories. The glaze colors are either elegant or bright, full of classical charm.
Wen Zichuan was attracted by the dazzling array of porcelain and instantly turned into a "curious baby", asking what it was used for and what era it was from. Cheng Sizhou had to temporarily change his position and serve as his exclusive tour guide.
"Brother Zhou, are there any porcelains here that you have repaired?"
"Yes," Cheng Sizhou pointed to a small, five-sided glass cabinet in the middle of the area. "A Song Dynasty porcelain plate with a blue ice crackle pattern and a rainy sky."
Wen Zichuan walked over and said, "Wow, it looks great!"
Cheng Sizhou pulled up the photo album on his phone: "When it was delivered, it was a pile of fragments. After we put it together, one-third of the bottom of the plate was still missing. We added the shape and color, and now you can see a complete plate like this."
"How did you create the pattern on the missing part?"
“I drew it.”
"You drew it?"
“…Is there something wrong?”
"No, no, you're amazing! I looked at it for a long time and couldn't find any part that was repaired. It looks like it was originally like this!"
Cheng Sizhou listened to the compliments shamelessly, feeling very pleased. But then again, if a layman could tell at a glance where the repairs had been made, wouldn't all the years of classes he had taken be in vain?
"There's also a set of blue and white porcelain cups in the back, which were restored when we first met..."
Before he could finish, Wen Zichuan looked around and was attracted by another exhibit: "Brother Zhou, this looks so strange, what is it used for?"
Cheng Sizhou followed and took a glance. There were four lines of words on the sign:
Longji Mountain Mutao Ancient Kiln Purple Gold Glaze Six-Handled Porcelain Gui
Song Dynasty (960-1127)
Unearthed from an unmarked tomb in Beiling Village in 1998
Collection of Dengyuan City Museum
"Oh, it is one of the treasures of the Lantern Museum." Cheng Sizhou said.
"The museum's treasure? Is it because it's very valuable?" The low-reflective glass reflected the light in Wen Zichuan's eyes.
Cheng Sizhou chuckled. His idea was so cute. How could he associate the words "treasure of the museum" and "valuable" together?
"Didn't you guess it? Because he's very strange." Cheng Sizhou pondered for a moment. "The gui is a ritual vessel used together with the ding. It was mostly used for sacrifices during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The gui unearthed so far are all bronze, but this is porcelain."
Wen Zichuan listened and nodded like a student in class.
Cheng Sizhou glanced at the contents of the cabinet again and continued, "The second thing is the color. Most Song Dynasty porcelains are quite elegant, mostly bluish-white. This persimmon-colored porcelain, also known as purple-gold glaze, is found in very small quantities, but that's not surprising; it's just rare at best."
"The Song Dynasty was quite far away from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, wasn't it? Is it possible that this isn't a gui, but an artifact with some other purpose?" Wen Zichuan offered his own opinion, adding, "I'm just guessing. Please don't mind if I'm wrong."
"You're right." Cheng Sizhou's eyes were filled with tenderness. "The strangest thing about it is its shape. The Lantern Museum has six or seven gui in its collection, all with two handles. I remember there being one with three handles and one with four, both in the National Museum. But you see, this one has six handles. Perhaps even archaeologists would be mistaken. It's not a gui at all."
"Really?" Wen Zichuan didn't expect that "archaeological expert" was such an authoritative title. Would they also present wrong conclusions?
"Well, I heard that only one piece was unearthed back then, and it's incomplete. There's nothing comparable or comparable in shape or pattern among vessels from the same period. It's like those unidentified oracle bones from the Yin Ruins, an unsolved mystery."
Cheng Sizhou only knew that this piece was unearthed very early and was broken into more than a hundred pieces when it was dug out. When his master participated in the restoration, it took him a year just to piece the fragments together because there was no reference for the shape and pattern.
Wen Zichuan looked around. The things left behind by the predecessors were vast, and each one was a cultural witness lost in history. Therefore, there was a need for many people like Brother Zhou to learn it, study it, and present its original appearance so that more people could appreciate its beauty.
After viewing the exhibition, the two drank some water and rested in the public area on the second floor.
There was a huge transparent floor-to-ceiling window in front of them. Through the glass, Cheng Sizhou pointed to a row of two-story buildings on the right side. "Look, this is the Lantern Museum Cultural Relics Science and Technology Protection Center. The warehouse and restoration room are over there."
"See? There's a small door over there. Go straight out and turn a corner, and you'll find Yangliu Bank."
"Yes, this house is a good rental. It's convenient for going to work and saves a lot of time."
"Brother Zhou, have you ever considered... buying a house?"
"Buying a house in Dengyuan? It should be possible with some help from my family, but I'll be stuck with the mortgage for the rest of my life, and my quality of life will decline significantly."
"Then... have you ever thought about leaving Dengbo? Find a job with a higher salary."
"Why don't I find a rich man to support me while I'm still young?" Cheng Sizhou laughed heartlessly. "Look, I can cook, clean, and warm the bed. I don't have any bad habits, and I'm not bad looking..."
Looking at him smiling, Wen Zichuan felt a dull pain.
Brother Zhou's family is well off, but it can only support himself. If he marries a girl of similar social status and financial situation, they can buy a house and pay off the mortgage together, and they can live a comfortable life.
But what about me? I don’t even have a stable job. I took a 10,000 yuan appearance fee and came to share a house with him. Even if I can maintain the current situation for a short time, how can I talk about the future with him?
Thinking about it, Mr. Jin's words resurfaced in his mind: "The second you sign in, the platform will be different. Earning five million will be easy."
If I really made five million, at least I wouldn't have to worry too much about housing. Of course, five million wasn't even close to being wealthy...it wasn't even enough to support someone.
"Zichuan, Zichuan."
"……ah?"
"What are you thinking about? Why are you so absent-minded?"
"nothing……"
"It's almost time to go. The Lantern Festival closes at five o'clock, and security will be here to clear the place soon."
"Let's go then." Wen Zichuan followed him and asked again while riding in the elevator, "Brother Zhou, what do you think would happen if someone saw us going in and out together?"
"I can see it just by looking at it. What's wrong? We live together, is that illegal?"
"If I continue to be a voice actor, I might get fans or something..."
"What are you thinking? It's not illegal for a voice actor to share a house with someone else."
Yes, it’s just sharing a house, it’s a normal thing.
If we make an analogy with the entertainment industry, if a male idol goes in and out with other women, is photographed by paparazzi and exposed, it will certainly have an impact on his career, but if it is between two men, fans will only think that they have a good relationship.
The exhibition area of the Lantern Expo and the main entrance are separated by the wide and flat Lantern Expo Square.
As the school term is approaching, social education activities are held one after another. In addition to the neat greening of the square, activity-related publicity boards have also been set up. The colors are lively and vivid, full of childlike fun.
Wen Zichuan and Cheng Sizhou walked down the stairs and looked up to see a petite woman hanging on a truss about two people's height in the distance. She swayed in the wind.
"Yangyang? What's with all that?!" Cheng Sizhou ran over, carefully supported Xu Yang's waist, and helped her down. "Why did you climb so high? Are you taking your chances?"
Wen Zichuan was jealous. "Yangyang" must be his female colleague. Their relationship was so good that he could hold her waist without any hesitation. Although it seemed like he was scolding her, he was actually concerned about her, because the closer people were, the less they needed to be polite.
Xu Yang patted the dust off his hands and said, "One of the corners isn't taped firmly. The weather forecast says it's going to be windy tomorrow, so I'm worried it might collapse and injure the kids."
"That's not your place, what about the workers?"
"They finished loading and left half an hour ago."
"Is there not a single man in the Social Education Department?!"
"I didn't let them come. I didn't want to delay everyone's get off work because of such a small matter. Oh, look at me, I'm fine now. Senior brother, you should go home soon too."
As Xu Yang spoke, he noticed Wen Zichuan next to him: "Your friend?"
Cheng Sizhou nodded and introduced them one by one. "Well, my roommate is Wen Zichuan. Zichuan, this is Xu Yang, my colleague in the Social Education Department and also my junior from the same major as me in college."
Xu Yang smiled and was about to say hello to him when the phone rang.
"Hello, Sister Yang, yes, OK, OK, I'll be right back." When she said right back, she meant right back. Before she hung up the phone, she was already jogging towards the office area. While running, she turned back and mouthed to Cheng Sizhou, meaning that she should let them do as they pleased, as she had something else to do and had to leave first.
"Let's go, it's time to get off work. Let's think about what to eat tonight." Cheng Sizhou is a little taller than Wen Zichuan, and he always wants to put his arm around his shoulders.
Wen Zichuan felt a little tired and took two steps forward to avoid it: "Whatever."
"Where can I buy them for free?" Cheng Sizhou followed behind happily. "It's really stuffy, how about buying some barbecue and beer to take back?"
"If you think it's okay, then go ahead."
"Then I'll take that as your agreement... Hey, can you walk slower? We're not in a hurry."
Cheng Sizhou was completely confused. They had a good chat in the afternoon, so why did Zichuan seem angry for no apparent reason?
As soon as the two of them left, a man walked under the truss. He also saw Xu Yang's difficulties, but he was always one step late.
Every time you are late, you are already very late.
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