"Wen Gu Zhai", the ancestral craftsmanship of the Yue family, once said in "Bao Can Jing": There is no real or false meaning in the world of Wen Wan, only the old and the new.
This sentence is also the truth that is still regarded as the standard in the antique industry.
This "Picture of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty Paying Respect to the Buddha" was sold to the United States through the hands of shopkeeper Yue Da of "Wen Gu Zhai". There have been rumors that this is a fake made by shopkeeper Yue, and the original has long been missing. .
It's just that Shopkeeper Yue's methods prevented them from finding fault.
This "deal" ended up ruining the Yue family and almost became a long-lasting heartache for Wang Xiangfu.
Decades have passed, and he has never taken a direct look at these two stone carvings, no matter through any channel or on any occasion.
I'm afraid that seeing things and missing people will make my heart even more desolate.
He also knew in his heart that it was impossible to overturn the verdict.
Whether he was forced by the situation or coerced and induced, after all, it was Shopkeeper Yue who made the matter with his own hands, signed the contract with his own hands, and found someone to chisel the stone carvings. What’s more, he gave up on his own in order to save his family and apprentices. Opportunity to overturn the verdict.
Wang Xiangfu also knew that the person who caused this result was the "Zi Yihou".
Even if they let "Wen Gu Zhai" go, they would still find other shops to cause trouble.
Now that Lin Yi and the others had finally obtained important clues, as a senior, he was even more obliged to do so.
So not only did he promise to help them take a closer look at these two stone carvings, but he also promised to help them restore the stone carvings.
"Uncle, you're not joking, are you? You're not talking drunkenly, are you?"
Qian Sheng was afraid that the old man would regret it, so he quickly asked more questions.
Wang Qiang also quickly filled up the wine for the old man and waited expectantly for him to speak.
"Do you look like I'm drunk?"
"But didn't you say before that according to the method of "Bao Can Sutra", you can only imitate the original product after seeing it? We have also inquired at the National Museum. There were almost no stones left in the two boxes. It’s possible to put it together.”
Uncle Wang picked up the wine glass, drank half of it in one gulp, took another bite of peanuts and asked:
"It depends on what you want to do? If you want me to make a replica that is close to the real thing, then I can't do it, but if you want me to restore all the places that the shopkeeper has touched, then there will definitely be no problem."
Lin Yi thought for a while, and it seemed to make sense.
Restoring it one to one is of little use to them. Is it possible to become a bad guy and exchange the two stone carvings of the United States?
What they are looking for is the "password" hidden under the original version of "The Picture of Emperors and Empresses Paying Respect to Buddha".
"But no one can tell what the originals of these two stone carvings looked like now, right? There probably wasn't any image data left at the time."
"That's not necessarily the case!"
Uncle Wang replied loudly.
"Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?"
Qian Sheng looked at him with admiration, and couldn't help but raise the wine glass in his hand again.
“Now that technology has developed, you can take photos, videos, and even 3D printing before distressing.
Back then, before this kind of thing was made, there were only two ways to preserve the appearance of the original, either copying or rubbing. "
When it comes to copying, the requirements for painting skills are too high, and ordinary people are simply unable to do it.
When it comes to rubbing, Qian Sheng can be regarded as an expert.
For this kind of cliff stone carvings and stele carvings, using the rubbing method is undoubtedly the best way to restore the original appearance of the work.
"According to what you said, Shopkeeper Yue was..."
Uncle Wang waved his hand.
"Old rules, don't ask questions, let the Bai family girl go and show me the current situation of the other stone carving as soon as possible. Leave the rest to me."
After saying that, he raised his neck and drank the wine in the glass.
The three brothers looked at each other, feeling ecstatic in their hearts, but they couldn't make it too obvious, so they quickly drank several drinks with the old man.
Wang Xiangfu's line is now fully secured, and the work on Bai Lu's side is also proceeding in an orderly manner.
A day later, another piece of "Empress Wenzhao Paying Respect to Buddha" stored in Kansas City, Nelson Museum of Art, was presented to Mr. Wang in almost the same way.
The old man looked at it very carefully and wrote down the details he saw with a pen from time to time.
After Bai Lu went offline, the old man also took off his glasses, put down his pen and paper, picked up his wine glass and took the first step.
"Okay, your work is done. Leave the rest to the old man. This is a big job. Give me a week."
"A big job? It only takes a week?"
"This is quite slow. The main reason is that my eyesight is not good now, so I have to wear spectacles to restore the details bit by bit. If I had left it alone when I was young, I could have finished the job in two nights."
After saying this, the three brothers were stunned.
I can only keep toasting to the old man.
The matter was agreed upon, the deposit was paid, and the three of them returned to Shangjing to wait for Xin'er.
Bai Lu's work has been completed. She has no plans for the time being. She will take this opportunity to visit her previous teachers, classmates and colleagues to maintain her connections.
Qian Sheng is also looking for various information and content related to the two stone sculptures on the Internet in case of emergency.
Wang Qiang began to study the transactions at the recent large-scale autumn auctions to see what price the study room he brought out from Lushan could fetch.
In addition to checking information with them, Lin Yi also brought along the stone box to continue studying the "Book of Three Worlds" and how to open it.
It's a pity that after several days, I still have no clue. I want to break it open directly, but I am afraid of ruining Mr. Yuan's life-long effort inside.
When they were at a loss, news came from Uncle Wang that the two stone carvings had been restored and they were asked to go over and inspect the goods.
Lin Yi raised his hand and looked at the date. It took less than 5 days to get the results. It can be seen that shopkeeper Yue must have left important clues. If it was not a copy of the scroll, it must be a rubbing.
Of course, this is a matter within one's own family, and it's not easy for them to interfere.
After receiving the news, the three of them immediately drove to the Bai family courtyard and took Bai Lu straight to Cangzhou.
Entering the showroom on the fourth floor again, two stone slabs the size of door panels were laid flat on the ground, surrounded by stone powder and stone chips that had not been completely cleaned.
Mr. Wang looked haggard, and his eyes were bloodshot. It looked like he was very tired today.
"Man, let's see how our craftsmanship goes?"
He reached out and uncovered two felts covering the stone slabs, and two stone carvings appeared in front of the four of them.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze instantly. The four people's mouths were half-opened, but no one could say a word.
Especially Bai Lu, who was considered to have seen the "authentic work" with her own eyes, now covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes widened, and she didn't even dare to breathe.
"I said, brothers, let's take this thing and exchange it with the Americans for their two pieces. Will they exchange it?"
"Is it so beautiful? They deserve to see a fake. This thing is completely comparable to the original."
"Look at what you said, it's like you've seen the original product."
"It doesn't matter if you haven't seen it yet, even if the original product is still alive, that's pretty much it!"
Qian Sheng and Wang Qiang chatted with each other.
Lin Yi's eyes were attracted by the details on these two stone carvings. The appearance, expression, and eyes of the people on these stone carvings were far better than those two imitations.
The most important thing is that the objects held by two of the figures do not appear in the stone carvings collected by the American Museum. (End of chapter)
