Upon hearing Ning Zhiheng's words, Liao Chengren said with a hint of doubt, "Mr. Qi, you are too kind. I am just an ordinary clerk and I am afraid it will be difficult for me to help you."
Ning Zhiheng approached and smiled slightly, "Mr. Liao, then I'll be frank. It's like this: I have a roll of microfilm containing some precious ancient books and rare editions. To be on the safe side, I've been wanting to make another copy, but after inquiring in Hong Kong for a long time, I learned that only your museum has such equipment. So I'm taking the liberty of coming here to ask Mr. Liao for your help."
Upon hearing this, Liao Chengren realized that he could indeed be of use, but since he and Ning Zhiheng were complete strangers, he couldn't be so easy to talk to. So, he looked embarrassed, coughed lightly, and declined, saying, "Mr. Qi, our library does have such a set of equipment, but we have a rule that it is not for public use."
Ning Zhiheng understood what he meant. The emperor was not short of hungry soldiers. They were just strangers who would help each other for no reason. He immediately took out his wallet from his pocket, took out a wad of banknotes, and placed it on Liao Chengren's desk.
Liao Chengren's eyes lit up immediately. The person opposite him was a sensible person. Although the University of Hong Kong was a famous institution, the salaries of ordinary staff were not high. His own salary was very limited. Since it was a rare opportunity to make some benefits, he naturally would not refuse.
Ning Zhiheng said, "Mr. Liao, this is a small token of my appreciation. I really need it urgently, so please help me with this!"
"No problem, no problem, Mr. Qi, you're too kind. It's not easy for anyone when they're away from home. I'll help you with this!" Liao Chengren said politely, but after a moment's hesitation, he still accepted the money. After all, he was a scholar, and he was still a little uncomfortable doing this kind of thing.
Ning Zhiheng then took out the reel of microfilm and handed it to Liao Chengren: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Liao!"
At this moment, he carefully observed Liao Chengren's reaction, wanting to know whether the other party had anything to do with this reel of microfilm.
As he expected, when Liao Chengren's eyes swept over the microfilm, he hesitated for a moment, but quickly took the roll of film. He examined it carefully, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes, and couldn't help but look up at Ning Zhiheng.
Ning Zhiheng was overjoyed. He was lucky; the other party's performance was enough to show that he recognized the microfilm.
Although Liao Chengren hesitated for a moment, he did not ask any questions. He stood up and said, "If you need to make a copy, it will take some time. Please wait here for a while!"
"No!" Ning Zhiheng waved his hand and said. Now that he knew that this reel of microfilm was related to Liao Chengren, how could he let the film out of his sight?
"Mr. Liao, to be honest, this reel of film is extremely important to me, and I'm really a little worried. Can I watch you make the copy here?"
Hearing Ning Zhiheng's caution, Liao Chengren was not surprised. Besides, considering the money, he couldn't refuse and readily agreed, "Understood. Since Mr. Qi is worried, please come with me."
After saying that, he walked a few steps to the door, opened it and went out. Ning Zhiheng followed closely behind Liao Chengren, all the way to the door on the far west side of the floor. Liao Chengren took out his key, unlocked the door, and pushed it open to go in.
The room was quite spacious and appeared to be a projection room. A glass screen was positioned directly in front of it, facing a set of equipment. Liao Chengren explained, "This is the projection room, and also the place for reading microfilm."
Ning Zhiheng didn't speak. He looked around the room and nodded slightly.
To reassure Ning Zhiheng, Liao Chengren went to the door of a suite next door, opened it, and introduced, "This is the workspace."
The suite was quite spacious, with a long workbench in the center of the room, on which several rows of book pages were neatly arranged.
Ning Zhiheng stepped forward, bent down to take a look, and after a moment, said, "From the Song Dynasty!"
Liao Chengren was taken aback upon hearing this, and his expression turned strange. He then nodded and said, "Mr. Qi has a good eye. This is a rare Song Dynasty book that we recently acquired. It is just severely damaged. Our library often acquires some precious books and rare editions, and I am the one who handles the process of making microfilm for special preservation."
Is the operation complicated?
"Oh, no, it's just that you have to be careful and meticulous in your work. You have to break the book down into individual pages, arrange them, number them, and then take pictures with a special machine, adjusting the focus and parameters. It's just that the subsequent work is a bit tedious."
Microfilm photography is naturally different from ordinary photography, and there are many new techniques that need to be mastered, which Ning Zhiheng himself did not understand. This is why he had to rely on Liao Chengren; otherwise, he would rather do it himself.
At this moment, Liao Chengren went to the storage cabinet, took out a roll of film, and then pointed to the small room next to him, saying, "This is the darkroom. We will copy the film here in a while."
The two men pushed open the door and entered. For the next while, Ning Zhiheng watched Liao Chengren operate the machine skillfully, without doing anything underhanded, until the copying was completed.
The two men left the darkroom, and Liao Chengren handed two reels of microfilm to Ning Zhiheng, saying, "Mr. Qi, there is a reading device here. You can check the effect."
Ning Zhiheng shook his head and said, "No need for that. I can just take a look with a magnifying glass. Do you have one here?"
"Oh, yes!" Liao Chengren turned and went to the workroom.
Ning Zhiheng immediately examined the film reels carefully. The two reels were exactly the same in appearance and were both black. On the side of the new reel, he also found a mark "x-9". Even the hand-carved font was the same.
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