When The Snow Falls In Autumn Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The air seemed to be drawn thinner by the fragile fragments of the page.The pre-noon sun scorched the oak tabletop, illuminating the corners of the yellow paper spread out on the white cotton paper. The irregular fibers on the edges were rough, like an old scar that had just condensed but was still painful.

Ye Qiulan’s eyes moved from the corner of the paper back to the blurry ink mark deep in the gap in the ancient book.The half-sentence interpreted by Ling Xueqing – “My father and brother were both here at that time, but the elders of the clan agreed that this field belonged to the third family. The real reason…” – was like a hook hanging in the air, hooking the corner of the hidden past, and also hooked her responsibility as a restorer to face the entire truth of history.She chose to continue, not to satisfy her voyeuristic desires, but because “wholeness” itself is the ultimate ethics of restoration.Even if this “completeness” contains abscesses that the person involved does not want to show.

She readjusted her breathing, shutting out all distractions—regulations, troubles, possible risks.At this moment, there were only two things left in her eyes: the fragile fragment that needed to be peeled off safely, and Ling Xueqing’s gaze next to her, as calm as an abyss, but firmly holding all her uneasiness in place.

She switched to a more sophisticated, miniature flat-blade shovel designed to handle extremely fragile paper, with a blade as thin as a cicada’s wings.She did not take action immediately, but leaned over again and used a magnifying glass to carefully observe the adhesion between the fragments and the back of the pages of the main album.The light was adjusted to the best angle with Ling Xuequing’s cooperation, and she could see clearly that the adhesions were not evenly distributed. The torn edges of the fragments were only connected by a few strands of very fine, semi-carbonized fiber roots, while the center part was more closely integrated with the back of the main volume due to moisture and colloid penetration.

“Start from the edge,” she whispered to herself, as if speaking to Ling Xueqing, “first cut off these fragile connections and release the tension.”

Ling Xueqing did not respond, but pushed the small dropper bottle of distilled water and the thinner capillary tube to her hand, and adjusted a miniature cold light lamp with a focusing aperture to the appropriate position to ensure that the shadow of Ye Qiulan’s hand would not interfere with his vision when operating.

Ye Qiulan used a capillary tube to absorb a small amount of distilled water, and precisely placed it on the thinnest adhesive fibers at the edge.The water droplets are quickly absorbed, and the dark brown fiber is slightly darker.After waiting for a few seconds, she used the tip of the flat shovel to gently pick it with barely noticeable force.

laugh.

A cracking sound that was so subtle that it was almost non-existent.A strand of fiber thinner than a hair was broken off, and a very small part of the edge of the fragment was freed, slightly tilted at an almost invisible angle.

The first step was successful without any damage.

Ye Qiulan did not relax at all, but became more focused.She followed the same method and dealt with the next marginal adhesion.The action is repeated, but each time the position of the water, the amount of water, the waiting time, the angle and force of the shovel are all slightly adjusted based on the observed fiber state.All her mind was absorbed in the microscopic world between her fingertips. Sweat slid down her temples and dripped onto the pre-paved blotting paper, spreading into a small dot.

Ling Xueqing’s eyes always followed her every move.She no longer just passively provides tools, but enters into some deeper state of “reading”.She read every rise and fall of Ye Qiulan’s breathing, every fine-tuning of his wrist muscles, every moment when his brows relaxed due to successful peeling, and every time he tightened his lip line when he encountered a stubborn point.Like a precise calibrator, she silently confirmed the stability of Ye Qiulan’s condition.When Ye Qiulan’s shoulder and neck muscles were slightly stiff due to maintaining a posture for a long time, she would reach out her hand very naturally, not to touch, but to brush the air above the back of Ye Qiulan’s neck with her fingertips, causing a slight disturbance in the airflow, as if it was a silent reminder: Relax, I am here.

This interaction is so subtle that it is almost mysterious, but it can convey more power than any words.Ye Qiulan didn’t even need to look back to feel that presence and support.In her suffocating concentration, she actually felt a strange, warm peace of mind.

Fragile adhesions at the edges are removed one by one.About one-third of the fragment has been peeled off from the back of the main book page, like a dead leaf that is about to fall, and is only held together by a few more stubborn connections in the central area.Here comes the most critical and dangerous part.The adhesion in the central area is a mixture of colloid, mildew and disintegrated fibers of the paper itself. The color is dark brown and the texture is unknown. Forcible handling is likely to cause the center of the fragment to tear or the back of the main volume to be damaged.

Ye Qiulan stopped.She did not try rashly, but carefully observed again, even using a magnifying glass to observe the thickness and layer of adhesions from the side.

“Here,” Ling Xueqing’s voice sounded, she picked up a slender probe, the tip of which was a few millimeters away from the adhesion area. “There is a very subtle gradient in color, from dark brown on the outer edge to a… grayish brown in the center. It may be the superposition of two different contaminants. Simple distilled water or ethanol mixture may not have enough penetration and softening effects.”

Ye Qiulan took a closer look and found the almost imperceptible difference in color.”Need to try a composite solvent? Or… local fumigation with a very low concentration of solvent?” She pondered.

“The risk is too high.” Ling Xueqing rejected the idea. “The heat and moisture of the fumigation may aggravate the embrittlement of the fibers of the fragments themselves. The composite solvent is even more uncontrollable.” She thought for a moment, and her eyes fell on a highly volatile organic solvent nearby that was used to treat stubborn oil stains. But then she shook her head, “This is too strong and will directly dissolve the ink.”

The two reached a brief, technical stalemate.The sunlight moves across the table, and time passes by.The ancient books department’s routine inspection time in the afternoon is coming soon, and Teacher Zhao may come over to check on the progress.

In this brief silence, Ye Qiulan’s eyes inadvertently glanced at the monograph on the compatibility of rubber materials and fibers that Ling Xueqing had just pushed over.The pages of the book are spread out in a certain chapter, which discusses the changes in properties of certain ancient regional glues (such as certain plant glues or animal glues) under different humidity and their bonding mechanism with paper fibers.

An idea flashed through him like a flash of lightning.

“What if…” Ye Qiulan spoke slowly, his voice a little delayed due to thinking, “The main cause of central adhesion is not water-soluble glue or mildew, but some kind of… glue that is sensitive to changes in humidity, but will soften slightly when exposed to a specific pH environment? For example, some local paste mixed with minerals or plant ashes?”

Ling Xueqing’s eyes flashed, and she immediately understood what she meant.She quickly flipped through the monograph, found the relevant paragraphs, and browsed quickly.”It is possible. This type of colloid is extremely hard after drying and does not react significantly when exposed to water. However, in a weakly acidic or weakly alkaline environment, the molecular structure may be slightly and reversibly loosened.”

“Do we have… an extremely mild buffer solution with controllable pH value?” Ye Qiulan asked.

Ling Xueqing stood up and walked quickly to the preparation room.A few minutes later, she came back with several smaller glass bottles and a set of miniature pH test strips.”There are only a few basic buffer salts, which need to be prepared temporarily, and the concentration and pH value must be precisely controlled.” Her tone was challenging, but her eyes were bright.

This is a more refined chemical experiment.The goal is not to dissolve, but to use extremely subtle changes in the chemical environment to temporarily “relax” the structure of the special colloid that may exist, so that it loses part of its viscosity in a very short time for mechanical separation.The slightest difference in timing, dosage, and action time can make a huge difference.

There is no time to hesitate.Based on the limited information collected by Ling Xue and the two people’s judgment on the shape of the adhesions, Ye Qiulan decided to try an extremely dilute, weakly buffered buffer.Ling Xueqing is responsible for weighing the reagents with a precision balance, preparing the solution with a micropipette, and repeatedly confirming it with pH test paper.Her fingers were as steady as a rock, and every step was calm and precise.

After the solution is prepared, it is only a few milliliters. It is clear and transparent. It looks the same as distilled water, but it contains the key to breaking the situation.

Ye Qiulan used the thinnest capillary to absorb an almost invisible drop.Her heartbeat was beating heavily in her chest, but the hand holding the capillary tube did not tremble at all.She aimed the tip of the tube at a tiny spot that was the deepest color of the adhesion area and was most likely the core of the colloid. She held her breath and touched it gently, allowing the small drop of solution to penetrate extremely slowly relying on capillary action.

wait.Time is stretched.Both of them stared intently at that spot.

A few seconds later, under a magnifying glass, it seemed… there was an extremely weak sign of lightening at the edge of the dark brown area?Very vague and difficult to determine.

“That’s it now.” Ling Xueqing’s voice was low and urgent.

Ye Qiulan immediately put down the capillary tube and picked up a flat-head shovel. At the smallest angle, the shovel blade cut into a spot next to the point soaked by the solution.She didn’t pry, but used an extremely short and precise horizontal picking force.

In the core area of ​​adhesion, there is a sense of separation that is different from the brittle and slightly tough one before.Immediately afterwards, a clear gap appeared between the center of the yellow fragment and the back of the main booklet, thinner than a hair!

Success!The solution worked, softening the critical glue in a very short time!

Without any pause, Ye Qiulan took advantage of this short “window period” and used a flat-head shovel and a thinner bone pick to quickly and gently separate the remaining connection points in the center of the fragment along the gaps that appeared.

The last bit of adhesion breaks.

The yellowed, fragile, scattered pages of the family letter, carrying the secret text, were finally completely separated from the main volume of the ancient book, and lay flat and intact on the white tissue paper.

The sun just falls on it.The ink stains became clearer, more visible than before.The beginning is still the sentence read by Ling Xueqing, followed by more striking words covered by the adhesion: “…The actual reason is that the third wife offered her daughter to the person in charge of the clan in order to seek protection. This is indecent, so I will write it down here. If future generations see it, they should know that it is dirty and not the right way.”

An ugly record of gender sacrifice and power negotiations behind land deals.

Ye Qiulan looked at the few lines of scrawled but sharp words, and felt a dull pain in his chest as if he had been hit hard by something.Not for the unknown woman a hundred years ago, but for the oppressive feeling revealed by the text itself that remains heavy across time and space.

Ling Xueqing also saw it.Her eyes stayed on those lines for a moment, her face expressionless, but her lips pursed tighter.Then, she looked away and looked at Ye Qiulan. She stretched out her hand, not to touch the fragment, but to gently cover Ye Qiulan’s hand with white knuckles that tightly held the shovel.

Her hands were warm, dry, and with firm strength, she slowly opened Ye Qiulan’s overly strong fingers, took away the tool, and put it aside.Then, she held Ye Qiulan’s cold and slightly trembling hand, put her somewhat stiff fingertips into her palm, and rubbed them slowly until the fingertips regained some warmth and softness.

There were no words of comfort, no comments about that passage.There is only the warmth of palms touching each other, and the heavy understanding that silently conveys “I am here, we have seen all this, and we have endured it together.”

Ye Qiulan held Ling Xueqing’s hand with his backhand, as hard as grabbing a piece of driftwood.She raised her head and looked at Ling Xueqing.Ling Xueqing was also looking at her, and the deep pool in her eyes reflected the too bright sunlight outside the window, as well as her own pale face.There was the familiar calmness in her eyes, the exhaustion after just finishing a tough battle side by side, and a deeper, silent resonance and love that seemed to be touched by the words written a hundred years ago and belonged to their era.

The restoration of ancient books has come to an end for the time being.The sensitive fragment of the page, together with the ugly secrets on it, lay quietly on the white cotton paper, waiting for the fate of being recorded and sealed.And their hands, under the afternoon sun, were still tightly held together, as if that was a reality that needed to be confirmed by each other more than any historical fragments.