The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 160: Is there a progress bar for the degree of repair completion? No, only memory feedback? (Subscribe)

Mixing paint colors is a big project—and it’s a big project that needs to be done every time, is different every time, and is always new.

Shen Le sighed and started to work.

Of course, as a professional who just graduated, he would not rely on his eyesight and hands like the old master, and he worked in a laboratory style:

He turned on the computer, called out the data he had adjusted before, and then took out the paint color samples he had adjusted, and compared them one by one with the color of the brown paint that had fallen off the dressing box.

If the comparison is the same, cross out one data point. If the comparison is the same again, cross out another data point.

After comparing all the samples, he nodded and breathed a sigh of relief:

"We have roughly found the range...but we still need to continue trying to find out the exact proportion within the range...

Well, within this range, it is divided into 20 different proportions, and we can adjust and try them one by one..."

Shen Le created a new table, set 20 different data, then arranged the three pigments, weighed them one by one, and added them to the black paint one by one.

Add cinnabar (mercury sulfide), red alum (iron oxide), and ochre (ferric oxide) to the black lacquer.

Different versions of brown paint are mixed with different ingredients and proportions, painted on samples and sent to the shade room.

By the way, you also need to record the temperature, humidity, and time of drying. The basis of the authenticity and certainty of scientific knowledge is repeatability...

"Please pray that I can succeed in this experiment this time, and not have to do it again, twice, N times..."

Shen Le put all the sample wood boards into the shade room, no, a constant temperature and humidity test box, clasped his hands together, and bowed twice to the test box.

Although worshipping it is useless and not as useful as worshipping the copper piece, but, it doesn't cost money anyway, so why not worship it at least...

Mixing the paint color is not the end, it is just the beginning. Shen Le took a breath and started to work on the paint ash part, which is the part above the linen cloth on the wood frame and below the paint layer, commonly known as "putty".

According to the test results in the laboratory, the lacquer ash layer of this dressing box is made of blood ash, which is a mixture of pig blood, cooked tung oil, and tile ash.

This damn dressing box, the ash layer alone is divided into three layers: coarse, medium and fine, and the ingredients and proportions of each layer are different!!!
Shen Le had no choice but to hold his nose and saw a pile of wooden boards, trying them one by one.

He arranged the wooden boards and pasted the linen cloth on them first. He used the fine linen cloth selected after experiments and with the same mesh size as the original…

[What are you doing sticking the cloth on it?]

Xiao Ling helped him by the side, smoothing the linen so that Shen Le could stick it to the wooden board bit by bit using the paste made of glutinous rice paste and lacquer.

This job requires carefulness and patience. If you don’t love it from the bottom of your heart, it will be really boring.

Xiaoling doesn't like this job very much. Although she helps him very obediently, she really can't continue doing it without chatting with him.

Working alone is lonely, and Shen Le is willing to talk more when someone asks him questions or chats with him. He smiled and said casually:
"To paint it!"

[Painting? Why do you need to apply tape before painting? You paint me, why don’t you apply tape? 】

Xiao Ling kept asking. Shen Le suddenly had a headache - Oh no, the little guy is jealous...

This child is good in every way, except that she is a little jealous. She must have the same treatment as others.

If not, I must find out why I don’t have it - Hey, Pinocchio, you are the first child in the family, I will not ignore you just because of others!
"Because the paint on your body is only a very thin layer, it serves as a protection, so there is no need for a patch." Shen Le patiently explained to her:

"The paint on this dressing box is very thick. If I don't put a layer of cloth on it, the wood underneath will deform and crack, and the paint layer will also deform, which will not look good."

You have to know that natural solid wood will expand when heated and contract when cooled, which makes it possible for it to deform and crack.

Applying linen can stabilize the base, provide support for the upper paint layer, and prevent the paint layer from collapsing.

Therefore, the process of making the base of ancient lacquerware mostly consists of three steps: "base, embankment, and rough" - priming, painting, making ash, and roughing paint.

Each layer of paint must be sanded and shaped to create edges and corners after drying in the shade, so as to complete the repair of the base layer and the paint layer, providing a solid foundation for the next step of painting...

Of course, Shen Le was just trying it out, and he hadn't yet reached the stage where he could directly start repairing the lacquer layer of the dressing box. While practicing on the wooden board, he lamented:
“It would be nice if I could see the process of making a cosmetic box… It would be even better if I could inherit the craftsmanship of the master craftsman…

Can you please not wait until all repairs are completed and settle some of the bills in the meantime..."

The dressing box was silent, without a single word. Shen Le did not expect an answer, and could only rely on his own hands to advance the progress of the repair, hoping to find some answers:
He first cleaned and dusted the inside and outside of the box carefully, then disassembled the dressing box along the mortise and tenon structure.

The inside of the mortise and tenon joints, any damaged parts should be cleaned and any damaged parts should be filled;

The internal wooden boards were repainted with a thin layer of paint, dried in the shade, and polished to give them a brand new look;
After trimming the shape, I boiled fish bladder glue and applied a thin layer of it to the mortise and tenon holes, then reassembled it, put on the woodworking clamps, and corrected the crooked and loose makeup box back to its original position...

This work alone kept him busy for half a month. Half a month later, Shen Le loosened the woodworking clamp, observed and measured left and right, and nodded with satisfaction:
"Well, at least the structure is fine. The next step is to do some repairs..." He opened the cabinet door, pulled open the small box, and put the combs, brushes, powder boxes, and bronze mirrors back in place one by one.

When the spiritual eyes are opened, the aura of the entire dressing box and the aura of the internal components flow leisurely and blend into one.

It is not quite complete and still a little rough, because the dressing box has not been completely restored.

However, once the internal structure was adjusted, the entire box lit up under the spiritual eyes, as if a hollow doll suddenly had internal organs, and its entire aura was more than doubled!
"Well done..."

Shen Le smiled and gently touched the dressing box, especially the hardware that was relatively intact and did not require additional repairs.

"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer, until I fill in the missing parts for you, then you can tell me your story, okay?
Tell me what your master has been through, tell me what kind of hardships you have been through, so that these little guys are all scattered..."

The light from the fingertips rose slowly. Pink, rouge, dark green, and light yellow. Among the various lights, there was an extra heavy and deep color:

It looks like a withered gourd or an autumn leaf, slightly purple and dimly luminous. It seems to be the paint color of the dressing box itself, and it seems to have condensed more than a hundred years of time, more than a hundred years of nostalgia and concern.

"So, correcting the structure is a big step forward in the restoration process...

If I could see a progress bar, I wonder if it would say 'Repair progress 75%' or something like that..."

As soon as Shen Le’s thoughts turned to mind, he heard a loud bang, the earth and sky shook, and dust fell above his head.

Before he could figure out what was happening, there was another loud bang, bang, bang, mixed with adults' exclamations and children's cries:
"Wow--"

This situation seems familiar... as if I have seen it somewhere, as if I have been there at some time.

Shen Le sniffed slightly, smelled the smell of gunpowder, and suddenly realized:

Yes, it is in Pinocchio’s memory, and in the memory of Pinocchio’s first owner, the old man.

It was the same then, explosions, bombings, and continuous bombings.

Even if it wasn't hit directly, but only indirectly, it would cause an entire street of houses to collapse, and countless adults and children were buried under the broken wood and rubble...

War is coming...

Looking around again, I saw that the floor of the house was quite worn, and the mottled original color of the wood was revealed under the bright paint. However, the wainscoting on the wall still vaguely showed the prosperity of the past.

A middle-aged woman came out of the next room, holding a baby, and kept patting and coaxing:

"Linlin, don't be afraid, Linlin, don't be afraid... It's okay, it's okay, the bomb didn't hit us... Ah Xin! What are you going to do!"

"Mom! I really can't stand it anymore!" The young man named Axin was stopped by his mother and had to turn back from the door, his face full of anger:

"The Japanese soldiers have reached my doorstep! I want to join the army! I want to serve my country! If I don't go now, the land beneath our feet will fall into the hands of the Japanese!"

"Don't go!!!" Before the mother could say anything, a young woman rushed up from downstairs. She was furious and stood in front of her husband with her arms outstretched:

"What will I do if you go? What will happen to Mom and Linlin? You are the only boy in the family!
After you leave, will mom rely on teaching to make money, or will I rely on me to work as a nurse in the hospital to support mom and Linlin?

Even if you don't consider me, you should consider mom. Mom has worked so hard and been a widow for 20 years to raise you. Do you want me to die casually and leave us alone?!"

"Shulan, you can't just think about this." Ah Xin's face turned red and white, and he was sweating profusely. He softened his voice, half explaining, half begging:
"I know that my family is in trouble, and we need a man to support the family. But now, the country is in even more trouble.

Previously, the Japanese invaded the areas outside the Great Wall, saying that they were far away from us and we could take our time, but now they have come to our doorstep! If we don’t fight back, we will become slaves of a conquered nation!!!”

But what can I do if I join the army now?

Shen Le sighed silently in his heart. The Battle of Songhu, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Nanjing Massacre... After one defeat after another, it would take many, many years for the dawn to appear and for the restoration of the country to be restored...

If the young Axin resolutely joins the war of resistance, can he live to see the day of victory?

Will he be able to reunite with his family?
"I'm not stopping you." The middle-aged woman spoke lightly while thinking.

The years of widowhood left an indelible sorrow between her brows. However, the years when she followed her husband into the initial revolution and protected the family after his death gave her more fortitude.

At this moment, he spoke softly, and both the angry and sad daughter-in-law and the embarrassed but persistent son immediately stopped talking and listened with bated breath:
"But Ah Xin, you also said that the current government is corrupt and only knows how to fight among itself. Is such an organization really worth joining and risking your life for?
You are still young and studying at university. You haven't acquired any skills yet. Joining the army will not be of any benefit to your country except for your bravery.

Our home is in the concession, and the Japanese dare not invade. Mom hopes you will think about it again and take another look..."

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(End of this chapter)