Silver Leaf Whale Chapter 13

Retouch the painting

Chapter 13·Retouching Paintings

“It’s so delicious, Songsong, you’re so awesome.” Qi Zhixuan smiled and ate the small plate of cranberry cookies in front of him with squinted eyes, picking up his small teacup to take a sip from time to time.

“I know you like to eat.” Chen Runsong sat on the other side of the small tea table, watching Qi Zhixuan’s cheeks bulge as he ate, and couldn’t help but curl his lips.

Qi Zhixuan stretched out his hand to reach for the biscuits, not forgetting to stretch his injured leg to avoid being touched. When Chen Runsong saw his big pig’s hooves, the corners of his lips that had just turned up were helpless.

This man didn’t like to dress up. He wore T-shirts and jeans every day. Now his legs were twisted and swollen. He just came to the store with a pair of slippers. He had such a handsome face and looked like this. What a waste of appearance. Chen Runsong thought and shook his head.

This big pig’s trotter… He couldn’t help but ask, “When will you get better? Do you really not need to go to the hospital?”

“Well, no need, I…”

“Qi Zhixuan.”

Before Qi Zhixuan finished speaking, a familiar voice came from the door of the store, it was Pang Jing.

“Here you go.” He walked straight into the room and handed over a package.

“Huh? What.” Qi Zhixuan wiped the cookie crumbs on his hands and opened it. There were all kinds of medicines, including those for bruises, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and even cold medicine.

He raised his eyes and looked at Pang Whale with doubts on his face.

Only then did Pang Jing notice that Chen Runsong was still sitting by the tea table. He scratched his head awkwardly and spoke faster: “Don’t use ice tomorrow, start using hot compresses.”

He reached out and rummaged through the bag and picked out a few medicines. “I have marked the medicines that I will use in the past few days. You don’t have any medicines at home. I also bought you some regular ones. Keep them for emergencies.”

When he was talking, Chen Runsong kept smiling with his lips pursed, the pear dimples on his cheeks slightly sunken, and his eyes looked back and forth between the two of them.

Pang Jing became more and more uncomfortable being looked at, and his ears turned red quietly: “I…I’m leaving first, the team still has to train.” As soon as he finished speaking, he walked out as if running away.

“Eh?” Qi Zhixuan was about to stop him and say thank you, but Pang Jing had already disappeared. He stared at the door and muttered, “Why are you running so fast… without even drinking water.”

“Hey, how did he know that your family has no medicine?” Chen Runsong asked slowly, raising his eyebrows and hiding a teasing smile in his eyes.

Qi Zhixuan pretended not to hear and continued to eat his biscuits.

How did he know? Of course he knew that Pang Jing was accompanying Qi Zhixuan home when he sprained his ankle that night. Not only did he have to carry Qi Zhixuan with him on the way, he also had to carry a cat on his back.

It took a long time to get home. After returning, I was busy helping him treat his injuries. I didn’t go back to the dormitory at night, so I just spent the night on the sofa. Early the next morning, I went downstairs to buy a hot breakfast and came back.

Pang Whale may know his home as far as the eye can see better than he does.

“Knock knock…” The door was open, and someone came in and knocked on the glass counter.

Qi Zhixuan stayed in the room for a long time. When he heard the noise, Chen Runsong quickly supported him and limped out.

“Hello, you are free to look at everything in the store. If you need help, you can call me at any time.” Qi Zhixuan said gently.

He raised his eyes to look at the person coming. He looked about the same age as himself. He was wearing a neat three-piece suit, his shoulders were straight, his face was cold and hard, and he had a strong aura. He didn’t look like a student or a teacher.

The man’s eyes swept around the two of them. One was a young man wearing simple clothes and walking with a limp. The other was wearing an apron and looking at the childish child. He frowned and said with a bit of scrutiny in his tone: “Who is the boss of Qi Zhixuan Qi?”

“I am, what’s wrong?”

The man looked at it for a moment, then took out a business card from the inner pocket of his suit and handed it over, saying concisely: “Hello, my surname is Jiang. I run an art investment company. I have an ancient painting that needs to be restored. A friend recommended you.”

It was a gray business card with “Jiang Xianfan” written in silver font as the leading artist. Below it was information such as job title and phone number.

Qi Zhixuan took it and looked at it, smiled and said, “I have done restoration of ancient paintings, but I haven’t touched it for a long time. I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it, which will disappoint Mr. Jiang.”

He did restore ancient paintings. Zhu Mingyue’s parents were also engaged in art investment, so his family got acquainted with the Zhu family. He had done a lot of restoration, appraisal and other work with his father very early on. However, there have been many changes over the years, and he has gradually alienated these circles. Now he usually only cooperates with individual collectors and never wants to be involved in the company’s business. I don’t know who recommended him to Jiang Xianfan.

Jiang Xianfan raised his eyebrows after hearing this and said, “It seems that my friend misunderstood. Boss Qi is not as powerful as he described.”

“Hey, let me ask you, do you know how to speak?” Before Qi Zhixuan could speak, Chen Runsong on the side was unhappy.

Jiang Xianfan glanced at Chen Runsong and said nothing.

Qi Zhixuan patted Chen Runsong’s arm to comfort him, then turned to Jiang Xianfan and remained polite: “I don’t know which of Mr. Jiang’s friends is the one asking for help. My skills are really limited, so I’m sorry for making your trip in vain.”

Jiang Xianfan became more and more irritable. He approached many college professors and big names in the industry. Either he was not satisfied with the other party’s repair style, or they thought he was too demanding and were unwilling to take over.

The level of technicians in his company was not high enough. If it were not for time constraints and the strong recommendation from friends, he would not have approached an unknown painting supplies store owner. According to his standards, this was too insecure.

Unexpectedly, he was rejected before he was tested.

Seeing that Qi Zhixuan was unwilling to take over, Jiang Xianfan didn’t bother much and turned around to leave.

“Wait a minute,” Qi Zhixuan suddenly stopped him, his curiosity overriding his worries, “I wonder which famous artist’s work you want to restore?”

Jiang Xianfan said a name, and Qi Zhixuan’s eyes instantly lit up. It was an old gentleman he had always admired.

He quickly changed his words: “Hey…Mr. Jiang…if you don’t find the right person in the future, why not…send me the painting information first? I…I also want to read the old gentleman’s original work.”

Jiang Xianfan didn’t expect that he would change his attitude so quickly. He was stunned for a moment, then said “Okay” lightly, then turned and left.

“He looks like a human, but it’s a pity that he has a mouth.” Chen Runsong looked at his back and muttered, then helped Qi Zhixuan sit down on the chair, and repeatedly warned, “You’re not strong enough on your feet, so don’t be brave. If you need anything, call me right away. I’ll go back to the store first.”

Qi Zhixuan thought the matter would just go away. Unexpectedly, two days later, Jiang Xianfan called. Not only did he send a bunch of detailed information, but he also invited him to the company to see paintings.

The information is very professional. The background of the painting, pigment analysis, and material judgment are all available, which shows the strength of Jiang Xianfan’s company.

But his requirements were also extremely strict. He required that the repairs must be done in his company’s laboratory with constant temperature and humidity. He also asked to watch and stop the work at any time if he felt dissatisfied.

Just because he was so stupid, the famous masters were unwilling to accept it, but Qi Zhixuan didn’t care. He was purely attracted by the painting and thought it would be a good thing to go and see the situation. If he could really repair it, it would be a good thing.

So that morning, Qi Zhixuan went to “Leading Art”.

His feet were no longer swollen and he could walk on his own, but he couldn’t bear the force for too long. When Chen Runsong heard that he was coming to the “nasty” company last time, he felt that it was not safe for Qi Zhixuan to go to someone else’s territory in this state, so he wanted to join him as a helper.

“I’m not going to fight, what kind of help do you need? You don’t have to look at your own store?” The two got out of the car, Qi Zhixuan was quite helpless.

Chen Runsong gave him a hand, “There’s someone in the store. I’ve finished all the orders. Isn’t it because I’m afraid that annoying guy will chirp again? I feel uncomfortable seeing him and think I’m so great.”

While they were talking, they had already arrived downstairs in their company, and the front desk took them all the way to the experimental operation room.

Jiang Xianfan was already waiting. Qi Zhixuan greeted him. Today he was wearing a different three-piece suit. It was charcoal gray and the fitted tailoring made his figure taller. A delicate pocket square was exposed from the coat pocket, showing his meticulous seriousness.

Peacock, she wears this every day. Chen Runsong glanced at it from a distance and complained silently in his heart.

After greetings, Qi Zhixuan put on his dust coat and walked into the laboratory.

To put it bluntly, the restoration of ancient paintings consists of four steps: “washing, uncovering, repairing, and completing.” Wash away stains, peel off the heart of the painting, repair the damage, and unify the entire color.

The painting had been cleaned, and the unmounting was only halfway through. The person hired before did not meet Jiang Xianfan’s requirements, and the master he liked was unwilling to travel.

Although the painting was not large in size, it had a lot of damage, and some parts could be seen to have been repaired by others in other eras. It would be troublesome to remove the stacked pulp. Qi Zhixuan looked at it, and it would take a lot of time to repair it by himself.

However, the author of this painting, Qi Zhixuan, admired it very much and was sure that he could repair it. He wanted to take this job, but he didn’t want to waste time on the road. He thought for a moment and said, “Mr. Jiang, thank you for letting me come to appreciate the old man’s painting today. I can repair your painting, but as you know the actual situation, my shop cannot be separated from people. Running back and forth is a waste of time and it is really inconvenient.”

When he said he could practice cultivation, Jiang Xianfan immediately felt relieved, but he also said that the time was not convenient and he was blocked before he could finish the exercise.

Jiang Xianfan subconsciously thought that the money was not paid in place, “Boss Qi, I can fully reimburse you for your losses during the closure period.”

“It’s not about money.” Qi Zhixuan waved his hand quickly, “The weather in Beijing is stable, and the air conditioning in the store can meet the constant temperature conditions. There is no need to repair it in the laboratory.” Instead of wasting time on going back and forth, it is better to spend it on business.

The two bargained for a while and finally reached an agreement. The painting was moved to the “Little Painter” for restoration. Jiang Xianfan checked at any time, and Qi Zhixuan reported the progress on WeChat every day.

After the negotiation was completed, Qi Zhixuan simply sat down and started working.

There are many small damages in this painting, and even a large part requires the use of a macrometer. The damaged and adhering areas need to be separated slowly. He used tweezers and bamboo knives to carefully separate the adhering pulp. Even the old materials that were repaired before were carefully retained for filling. From time to time, he analyzed with Jiang Xianfan: “The material for this part of the repair is too thick, and the technique is also hasty. It is most likely the work of craftsmen during the Republic of China…”

Jiang Xianfan then took a serious look at Qi Zhixuan. Before, he only thought of him as an inconspicuous shop owner. Now when he was facing the paintings, his eyes were focused and bright, and he talked about professional knowledge. The contrast was huge, and it actually made people feel that he was exceptionally talented, even…a bit powerful.

This work couldn’t be finished in an instant. Seeing that it was getting late, Qi Zhixuan remembered Chen Runsong who was still waiting outside, so he stood up and left.

Jiang Xianfan sent him to the front desk, where Chen Runsong was chatting animatedly with the lady at the front desk, laughing constantly.

“Are you done?” Chen Runsong looked up and saw them, and immediately waved.

“Well, what are we talking about? Shall we go?” Qi Zhixuan said.

“Okay.” Chen Runsong raised his chin to Jiang Xianfan next to him and said, “Boss Jiang, you will be my boss from now on. Your beautiful lady at the front desk just booked a lot of afternoon tea with me. Thank you for taking care of me~”

Jiang Xianfan was stunned. He was surprised that this man could start a business here in a short time. He was a capable person. He smiled and said nothing.