130: Chapter 130 Just thinking about it makes me happy! I'm starting university life tomorrow!

Hu Tian walked over to an empty spot nearby and gently set down the tray. He then moved the Prunus Vase from the tray to the shelf, adjusting the angle so that the interlocking lotus pattern on the belly of the vase faced outward. As the light hit it, the glaze shimmered with a pale and even greenish-white hue.

He took a step back and looked.

Among the items in this row, the size of this Prunus Vase was about average, and its shape was well-proportioned. After the restoration, no flaws could be seen on the body of the vase, though its overall condition was clearly a notch below the pieces next to it.

Hu Tian flipped to the storage entry page of the collection room logbook and filled in the Prunus Vase's name, era, source, restoration status, and estimated value range in order. Finally, he wrote a line of small characters in the remarks column: "Salvaged, Yongzheng Emperor, 99% restoration rate, glaze slightly pale, otherwise flawless."

The pen glided across the paper, the handwriting neat and precise, each stroke reflecting the same state of mind he had when restoring porcelain.

He closed the logbook and pulled the collection room door shut again, hearing the soft click of the latch.

Upstairs.

Cousin Zhang Fei was still sleeping, very soundly, occasionally turning over before settling down again.

Inside the villa, it was so quiet that it felt as if time itself had slowed its pace.

Hu Tian emerged from the collection room and went upstairs.

The light in the living room was excellent; the afternoon sun slanted in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the floor in a warm glow.

He walked to the dining bar, picked up the nearby coffee pot, and poured half a cup. He didn't add sugar or milk, just held the cup and took a shallow sip.

The coffee had been brewed in the morning and was mostly cold by now, leaving a slightly bitter aftertaste. He didn't mind, took another sip, and with the cup in hand, turned and headed toward the basement.

On the workbench, the second damaged artifact was still in its original place, covered with a velvet cloth. He had placed it there after cleaning it yesterday, intending to continue processing it today.

He set the coffee cup on the edge of the table and lifted the velvet cloth.

It was a Lotus Leaf-Covered Jar.

Yuan Blue and White, with a full shape and a bulging belly. The lid was shaped like the curled edge of a lotus leaf. This is a typical vessel type among Qing Dynasty imitations of blue and white porcelain; few have survived, and even fewer are in pristine condition.

When this piece was salvaged from the shipwreck, there was a large gap on the right side of the jar's body. The edges of the gap were jagged, as if it had been struck by some hard object, causing fragments to break off and scatter among the debris of the shipwreck.

At that time, he had searched for many fragments underwater.

A thick layer of silt had accumulated at the bottom of the shipwreck's hold, where fragments and sand were mixed together, and visibility was extremely low. Relying on the scans from his Treasure Hunting Radar, he had searched the entire area bit by bit, eventually finding the fragments belonging to this jar.

There were seven fragments in total, varying in size; the largest was as wide as a palm, while the smallest was only the size of a fingernail.

He laid the seven fragments out on the velvet cloth one by one and did a rough assembly according to the shape of the gap.

He had performed this puzzle-like task many times and was already very skilled at it.

Once the seven fragments were pieced together, the gap could basically be restored. Only two very tiny spots along the edges had slight losses—those were taken by the seawater and time and could not be recovered. They would later need to be filled with restoration materials and then colored to match the original glaze as closely as possible.

He put on gloves, picked up a magnifying glass, and first carefully inspected the cross-section of each fragment.

There were traces of seawater erosion on the cross-sections, and in some places, tiny shell fragments were attached. These needed to be cleaned off first; otherwise, they would affect the tightness of the joints during bonding.

He picked up a fine-bristled brush, dipped it in clean water, and gently brushed along the cross-sections, removing the attachments bit by bit. His movements were slow and steady. For the tiny areas, he switched to an even finer brush, advancing almost millimeter by millimeter.

This process was tedious, but he didn't find it annoying.

Restoration is something that cannot be rushed. The more one rushes, the easier it is to make mistakes. Once the position is slightly off during bonding—even by just a few tenths of a millimeter—the subsequent seam treatment becomes much more troublesome. That subtle misalignment would reveal a faint shadow under the light, which an expert could spot at a glance.

After cleaning the cross-sections of the seven fragments, he laid them back on the velvet cloth and checked them again against the light. Once he confirmed nothing was missed, he began preparing the bonding materials.

He used a Reversible Adhesive, which is one of the basic principles of cultural relic restoration. All restoration materials must be guaranteed to be reversible so that if better restoration techniques become available in the future or if re-processing is needed, the materials can be removed without causing secondary damage to the original artifact.

After mixing the adhesive according to the ratio, he picked up the largest fragment, tested its position first to confirm the fit with the gap, then applied a thin layer to the cross-section, aligned it with the gap, and pressed it on gently.

At the seam, the two cross-sections pressed together. He held it down with his finger for about two minutes. Once the adhesive had initially set, he wrapped a few loops of fine cotton thread around the outside for temporary fixation.

The first piece was set.

He picked up the coffee cup and took a sip. It had gone completely cold, and the bitterness was even stronger. He didn't change it, just kept drinking as he picked up the second fragment and repeated the previous steps.

The second piece, the third, the fourth.

For each piece, he had to align the position, apply the glue, press, fix, wait, and then move on to the next.

At the fifth piece, he paused.

The cross-section of this fragment had a slight deviation in its curvature, so the fit with the gap wasn't one hundred percent—it was off by just a tiny bit. If he forced it on, there would be a tiny crack in the seam, which would be quite troublesome to fill later.

He put the fragment down, picked up the magnifying glass, re-examined the edge of the gap, then looked at the cross-section of the fragment, mentally overlaying the two shapes.

It wasn't an issue with the fragment; there was a slight protrusion on the edge of the gap that hadn't been noticed during the previous cleaning. A tiny bit of attachment was still left on it, affecting the fit.

He switched to an even finer brush and cleaned that protruding spot again. He tried it once more, and this time the fit was much better, with the seam showing almost no gap.

He bonded that fragment, fixed it in place, and continued with the sixth piece.

The sixth and seventh pieces went relatively smoothly, with very accurate positioning. After bonding, the gap was essentially restored. With the seven fragments pieced together, the large gap on the right side of the jar's body no longer showed its original shape.

He placed the Lotus Leaf-Covered Jar on a Turntable and slowly rotated it once, inspecting the positions of the seams from various angles.

There were several fine lines at the seams left behind after the adhesive cured. The color differed from the glaze, so a Coloring Treatment would be needed later to adjust the color of the seams to match the surrounding glaze. After that, a protective coating would be applied, and only then would the entire restoration be considered complete.

But that was a task for the next step.

Today's task was to bond and fix all the fragments. It would take about twenty-four hours for the adhesive to fully cure, and he would perform the subsequent filling and coloring tomorrow.

He flipped to the page for this Lotus Leaf-Covered Jar in the logbook and recorded today's progress: "Fragment cleaning complete, bonding and fixation finished, awaiting curing, filling and Coloring Treatment expected tomorrow."

The pen glided across the paper, the handwriting as neat as before.

He carefully moved the Lotus Leaf-Covered Jar along with the Turntable to a position further back on the workbench, away from the edge where it wouldn't be easily bumped. Then, he gently covered it with a thin layer of dust cloth, leaving it there to cure quietly.

The hands on the clock on the table pointed to 6:05 PM.

He had been sitting in the studio for nearly another two hours. From the time he entered until now, his coffee cup had become empty, and he hadn't even noticed when he'd finished it.

Hu Tian took off his gloves, put the tools back in their places one by one, washed the used brushes, sealed the remaining mixed adhesive and put it back in the storage cabinet, folded the velvet cloth, and put away the sealed bags for the fragments. The workbench was tidied up until it was as clean as it had been before he entered.

Carrying the empty coffee cup, he turned off the light above the workbench and headed upstairs.

Upstairs, the light in the living room had already dimmed. The sun was setting in the west, and the sky outside the floor-to-ceiling windows began to take on an orange-yellow glow. A few trees in the yard moved gently in the wind, their leafy shadows falling on the floor and swaying along with the breeze.

Cousin Zhang Fei had woken up at some point and was sitting on the sofa watching a variety show, holding a cup of hot tea in her hands. Seeing him come up, she lifted her eyelids slightly.

"Cousin, finished the repair?"

"The bonding is done, but the repair isn't finished yet. I have to wait for it to cure."

Hu Tian put the empty cup on the bar and washed his hands at the sink. "How long did you sleep?"

"I don't know."

Cousin Zhang Fei took a sip of tea. "It feels like I slept for a long time, yet also like I didn't sleep for long at all."

Hu Tian dried his hands, walked over, and sat down on the sofa opposite her.

The sky outside darkened bit by bit, orange-yellow turning into deep blue, and the tree shadows in the yard gradually blurred. The lights in the villa hadn't been turned on yet, so the two of them just sat there in the half-light, neither of them speaking.

It was very quiet.

Hu Tian leaned against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes for a moment. The shape of the seams on that Lotus Leaf-Covered Jar remained in his mind—the curvature of each of the seven fragments' cross-sections and the position of every fit seemed to be etched there, unable to be cleared away for the time being.

This was likely a professional habit shared by all restorers: the hands have stopped, but the brain is still turning.

He opened his eyes and looked out the window.

The sky had completely darkened.

Hu Tian leaned against the back of the sofa, watching the sky outside turn completely dark, when he suddenly remembered something.

"What time do you report for registration tomorrow?"

Cousin Zhang Fei was lowering her head to drink tea; hearing this, she looked up. "What?"

"University. Registration is tomorrow. What time?"

Cousin Zhang Fei set her teacup down and thought for a moment. "The school notice said anytime during the day is fine, morning or afternoon. There's no specific time set."

Hu Tian nodded. "Then go early. The earlier you go, the earlier you can get settled, and you can get familiar with the environment in the afternoon."

"Alright."

After Cousin Zhang Fei spoke, she paused for a moment. As if those words had flipped a switch, she suddenly sat up straight, her eyes brightening. "Cousin, I'll be a university student starting tomorrow."

Hu Tian glanced at her. "Mhm."

"Really, just thinking about it makes me happy. I'm going to start my university life tomorrow."

Cousin Zhang Fei placed her teacup on the coffee table, propped her hands on her knees, and leaned forward, her tone carrying an irrepressible excitement. "Dorms, the cafeteria, the library, clubs... Cousin, do you know? I've already made up my mind. I want to join media-related clubs, preferably the Photography Club or the Journalism Club. Then, I'll start working as a Campus Reporter in my freshman year to build up a portfolio, and try to get a media internship by my sophomore year..."