When The Snow Falls In Autumn Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The sound of Ms. Chen’s high heels hitting the ground completely disappeared at the end of the corridor, like a stone thrown into a deep pool. The ripples spread and then fell silent, leaving only the turbidity at the bottom of the water.The angle of the afternoon sun was lower, but most of the heat seemed to have been sucked away by the brief but intense conversation just now, and there was still a hint of stagnant coolness in the air.

On the table, the yellow fragment closed by white tissue paper lay quietly on the corner of the table, like a taboo with demarcated boundaries.Ling Xueqing’s eyes stayed on it for a moment, then quickly retracted it, landing on the pages of the ancient book that had just been separated and were still fragile.She ran her fingers over the fine, slightly rough fibers at the edge of the paper, which were just peeled off, and her fingertip movements were steady and gentle.

“The separation edge needs to be reinforced first,” she said, her voice deeper than usual, as if the aftershocks of the previous conversation were pressed into the bottom of her throat, “Especially in the area close to Zhu Pi, the fiber damage is the most obvious.”

Ye Qiulan said “hmm” and forcibly drew his attention away from the small “taboo package” on the corner of the table.She looked at the place where Ling Xueqing’s finger pointed. The paper there was slightly darker, and the fibers showed a tired feeling after being overstretched under the magnifying glass.”Use diluted methylcellulose? Or special silk protein reinforcement liquid?” she asked, her voice still a little dry.

“Silk protein has better permeability and less impact on cinnabar ink marks.” Ling Xueqing had already stood up and walked to the preparation room to get materials.Her back was straight and her steps were steady, as if the confrontation with the donor’s descendants had never happened, but was just another technical problem that needed to be solved during the restoration process.

Ye Qiulan looked at her back and then at the broken pages on the corner of the table. The subtle wavering in his heart caused by Ms. Chen’s pleading was smoothed over by Ling Xueqing’s calm attitude of quickly returning to professionalism.Ling Xueqing is always like this, like a mountain, blocking the wind and rain from its own outline, leaving only a piece of solid land for a foothold.

Ling Xueqing returned quickly, holding a small brown glass bottle and a brand new, extremely fine brush.She dropped a drop of transparent liquid as viscous as honey into the porcelain dish, carefully diluted it with distilled water, then dipped the tip of a brush into an appropriate amount and handed it to Ye Qiulan.

Ye Qiulan took the brush, held his breath, and held his wrist in the air. He used the slightly shiny reinforcing fluid to gently trace the damaged fibers on the separated edges with almost invisible brush strokes.The liquid was quickly absorbed, and the color of the paper did not change significantly, but the rough edges seemed to soften a little instantly under the light.

This is an extremely boring and repetitive job that requires a high degree of concentration.One stroke after another, along the long separation gap.Ye Qiulan worked extremely patiently, while Ling Xueqing stood beside him, sometimes handing over clean absorbent paper to absorb any excess droplets, sometimes adjusting the light, and sometimes using a very thin bone pick with a smooth tip to gently roll the edges when the reinforcement liquid was half dry to make it smoother and more compliant.

The silence between the two fell again, but it was different from before.The previous silence was the intensity and concentration of coordinated operations, but the silence at this moment was mixed with a certain tacit solemnity after the brief confrontation about concealment and revelation that had just occurred.The movements are still tacit, but every handover of tools and every brief meeting of eyes seems to carry a little extra weight – that is the subtle sense of alliance that arises from jointly guarding a secret (even if it is forced) and jointly adhering to a certain bottom line.

The sunlight continues to move westward, stretching out longer, blurry edges of light across the tabletop.The shadows of the camphor trees become sparse and mottled.There were fewer people in the reading area and it became quieter.

When the last separated edge was reinforced, Ye Qiulan gently put down the brush and stretched his stiff neck.Ling Xueqing also put down the bone tag in his hand and scanned the area to confirm that it was correct.

“The next step is flattening and pressure recovery.” Ling Xueqing said, taking out several specially made, extremely light-weight acid-free foam boards and smooth glass boards from the side. “It takes time.”

This means that today’s substantial repair work is about to come to an end.The ancient books will be carefully sandwiched between these boards, applying even and slight pressure, and left to rest in a constant temperature and humidity environment for at least twenty-four hours, allowing the newly reinforced fibers to slowly adapt to the original paper and return to smoothness.

Ye Qiulan helped Ling Xueqing and carefully placed the processed pages together with the unprocessed parts into the prepared plywood.Move gently and slowly, as if you were treating a sleeping baby.When the last layer of glass was covered, the ancient book, which contained past disputes and secrets, temporarily disappeared from view and was sealed in a transparent and quiet space.

The desktop suddenly became much empty.Only scattered tools, used materials, porcelain plates, tissue paper, and… the small white tissue paper package on the corner of the table were left.

The two began to clean up silently.Ling Xueqing cleaned the brushes and porcelain plates, while Ye Qiulan sorted various bottles, jars and tweezers.The movements were orderly, but no one touched the package first.

Ling Xueqing didn’t stop until the desktop was mostly clean.She turned around, looked at the corner of the table, and walked over.She didn’t pick it up immediately, but first cut a small piece of thicker acid-free cardboard, and then took out a roll of special, low-tack archival tape.

Ye Qiulan also stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

Ling Xueqing placed the white tissue paper package in the center of the cardboard, carefully and tightly folding the edges of the tissue paper to completely cover the remaining pages inside.Then, she picked up the tape, but it wasn’t simply pasted crosswise.She used tape along the edge of the package and applied it with extreme precision, leaving only a very small opening on the back that could be easily opened by future technology.During the whole process, she lowered her eyes and looked as focused as if she was undergoing another repair, only this time, it was “seal”.

Finally, she used a very fine waterproof pen to write a few lines of small words on the blank space of the cardboard:

Object: Fragments of loose pages from Li’s literature (with main volume attached)

Treatment: physical peeling, surface stabilization

Condition: Extremely fragile, ink marks clear

Note: Donor requests restricted access.The content involves old affairs within the family.

Her handwriting is still strong and clear, and the four words “restricted access” are written particularly neatly.After writing, she capped the pen, packaged the sealed fragments, and gently placed them into a prepared light gray cardboard file bag marked “Special Collection – To be processed.”

“This,” she handed the file bag to Ye Qiulan, “you and I need to send it to the confidential temporary storage cabinet of the Ancient Books Department. Registration requires two people to sign.”

Ye Qiulan took the file bag.It was so light that the weight could hardly be felt, but it was so heavy that her wrist dropped slightly.She looked at the label that Ling Xueqing had just written on the file bag. Behind the concise and objective words was the silent sacrifice of a woman a hundred years ago, the scars that a family tried to cover up, and a heavy past that they had just faced together and reluctantly settled.

“Okay.” She whispered, holding the file bag tightly.

Ling Xueqing also packed her things and put on her bag.The two of them took one last look at the plywood-covered ancient book volume waiting quietly on the table, then turned around and walked side by side towards the door of the reading area.Ye Qiulan held the light gray file bag in his arms.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the corridor a warm orange color, but with a slight coolness as the day was drawing to a close.Their footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, one light and one heavy, but in the same rhythm.

The corridor leading to the secret room of the Antiquities Department was quieter and darker.There is a heavy metal door at the end that requires a swipe card and password.Ling Xueqing stepped forward to operate it, and the door lock made a low buzzing sound before sliding open.Inside is cool air with constant temperature and humidity, and rows of cabinets with a dark metallic sheen.

Ling Xueqing found an empty safe cabinet, entered another set of passwords, and the cabinet door popped open.She motioned to Ye Qiulan to put the file bag in.

Ye Qiulan stepped forward, bent down, and carefully put the light gray bag into the cabinet.It was quickly swallowed up by the dark space inside the cabinet, leaving only a vague outline.Ling Xueqing then closed the cabinet door and locked it with a soft “click”.Then, she entered the portfolio number, deposit time, and depositor (her and Ye Qiulan’s work numbers) in the electronic registration book next to her, and selected “Special Restrictions on Donors” in the “Access Permissions” column.

“Sign.” She handed the electronic pen to Ye Qiulan.

Ye Qiulan signed his name on the touch screen.The strokes are a bit dull.Ling Xueqing then signed hers, and her handwriting was still stable.

After doing all this, the two exited the secret room, and the metal door closed silently behind them, isolating the inside and outside.

The corridor was still empty, and the last remaining light of the setting sun slanted in through the high windows, drawing out a long, golden grating on the ground.None of them spoke, they just stood quietly, as if they were digesting all the meaning of the series of actions just now.

It wasn’t until the last ray of golden light began to dim that Ling Xueqing turned around and looked at Ye Qiulan.Her face looked a little blurry in the growing dusk, but her eyes were still clear.

“Let’s go.” She said, her voice was very soft, “Tomorrow… we’ll check the status of the main register.”

Ye Qiulan nodded.The two of them walked side by side again, walking towards the library exit along the way they came.Behind him are the secrets locked in the cabinet, the ancient books waiting to be revived, and the technical challenges, moral choices and silent side by side experienced in this long afternoon.

Walking out of the library door, the evening breeze blows on your face, carrying the scent of the campus’s vegetation and the faint aroma of the food.The sky at dusk was a gentle blue-gray, with a few early-bright stars dotting the sky.

They stood on the steps for a moment, their shadows stretched out by the street lights and overlapping behind them.

“That…” Ye Qiulan suddenly spoke, his voice hesitant.

Ling Xueqing looked sideways at her.

Ye Qiulan looked at her side face in the dusk. The words that had been swirling in his heart for a long time were not asked after all – if someone really needs to know that complete history in the future, is it right for us to seal it up today?

Ling Xueqing seemed to understand something from her eyes.She didn’t answer, but just stretched out her hand, not to shake it, but to pat the empty canvas bag in Ye Qiulan’s arms – the file bag was taken out from here just now.

“What should be done has been done.” She only said this, her voice was calm, but it seemed to carry some kind of heavy comment about “the present” and “responsibility.”

Then she descended the steps into the deepening dusk.Ye Qiulan looked at her back, stood for a few seconds, and then followed her.The figures of the two people quickly merged into the crowds of people on campus and the growing darkness. Only the tall silhouette of the library stood silently behind them, like a gentle tomb full of stories and secrets, and like a long river of time that has no end in sight and requires patience and courage to read through.