The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 27 Could this inkstone turn into a monster?
"To be honest, if the instrument readings hadn't shown normal, I would have really thought that the couple would turn into zombies."

"I thought so too. If they hadn't turned into zombies, why would the ink lines stick to them?"

The two brothers complained as they walked. They walked down the sixth floor, out of the community, and went to the local police station to communicate. This unfortunate broken community was actually a poorly managed community, with no property management and no surveillance at the gate. If they wanted to know who the ink fountain was sold to, they had to rely on the ability of the police station...

"Alas, he didn't sell it to a rag collector, but to a stranger. Otherwise, the police must have known about this special profession of rag collector and found it immediately!"

Shen Le didn't know that the pair of brothers he had dealt with last time were looking for him again. He opened his eyes wide and tried to observe the inkstone in his hand and the layer of mist surrounding it:
I remember Pinocchio, no, Xiao Ling, had a similar fog on her body. Even on the furniture in the room, on the roof, and even on the big camphor tree, A Lu, there was a similar fog. The thickness was different. The fog on the ink fountain was similar to that on Xiao Ling, much more than on the furniture in the room, but much less than on the big camphor tree and the roof.
The colors are different. The big camphor tree is green, the roof is red, Xiao Ling is orange-red like a flame, and Mo Dou is...

black?

The other tools in the wooden box were also stained with a thin layer of black, but the amount of fog was about the same as the furniture in the room. Therefore, the source of the fog on these tools was the ink fountain, and the reason why the ink fountain was entangled with black fog was...

Darkened?
Will it turn into a monster?
Will do bad things?

Or is it because it is just an ink fountain, its belly is already filled with ink, and its mist should be black?

There is too little information to make a judgement. Fortunately, Shen Le has a unique skill in this regard:

Can't I just fix you?
After the Pinocchio was repaired, it was able to develop intelligence and talk to me. Your inkstone, the mist is similar to that of the Pinocchio. After I repair you, you should also be able to develop intelligence and talk to me, right?
After making up his mind, Shen Le calmed down and began to observe the ink fountain to see if there was anything that needed repairing. This time, the ink fountain had gone through quite a few ups and downs:
Over time, the paint has peeled off a bit, and the lion head of the ink fountain, with its tufts of lion hair, has been bumped more than once. A piece of the lion hair on the top of the head has been knocked off, making the chrysanthemum formed by the lion hair no longer so perfect;
There was a scratch on the lion's right ear, almost splitting it in two. The lion's body and four legs were covered with scratches of varying sizes, coarse and fine, some on the surface, some deeply embedded in the texture, bringing with them the dirt from the outside world.
The reel with the ink thread wrapped around it doesn't move very smoothly, the metal shaft in the middle seems a little rusty, and the silk thread in the reel always feels a little off. I wonder if it has not been used for too long and needs to be replaced with a new one...

"These aren't too difficult." Shen Le encouraged himself. These were all within his capabilities. It could even be said that they were easy to do. The only problem was...

"I go!"

Shen Le cursed. Whatever you fear will come true. That ghost ball needs to be repaired! There is something wrong with that ghost ball!!!
It was not known whether it was hit or knocked, but the surface of the ghost ball cracked and even a piece flew off, revealing the sphere inside;

The outermost layer was missing half a dragon, and the next layer also had a piece of carving missing;
Poke it again and turn it, it broke and another piece fell out!
I can't fix it, the only way to fix it is to replace it. The problem is, I'm a specialist in ancient building restoration, I've barely touched wood carving, but I've never touched ivory carving!

The ghost ball is the art of ivory carving! Although it is made of wood, it is also the direction of ivory carving! I don’t know how to do it at all, half of it, or even a quarter of it. I have never touched it before. I have no idea at all and don’t know where to start!
Shen Le grumbled and was angry with himself. After getting angry, he gritted his teeth and decided to repair it:

Fortunately, the ink fountain was carved out of a whole piece of wood, so he didn't have to use a rubber hammer to knock and knock, knock and knock, knock the mortise and tenon, and pull the parts out one by one. He just had to pick up a wrench, loosen the nut on the other side of the spool, and then carefully pull out the shaft of the spool bit by bit...

"Alas! Rust removal of metal parts is another job... It requires skills, tools, and chemicals..."

Shen Le sighed and stood up. He searched the kitchen and found that there was no suitable rust remover. Fortunately, during the restoration of ancient buildings, it was often necessary to repair some metal parts. He had enough experience and connections. He took out his phone and placed an order with ease:
Humph, when working on projects in other places, you often need to buy various things. It's always him and his seniors who buy them. He is very familiar with these useful stores!
After a bunch of orders were placed, Shen Le put the shaft of the spool aside, pulled it out of the wooden handle outside, wiped it clean, and put it away one by one. Then, he picked up the ghost ball and began to observe and measure carefully:

"Ah... this thing is only 15mm in diameter! How can you be so crazy! For a diameter of 15mm, you made a three-layer ghost ball!"

"The material should be... is..."

To be honest, for those who do ancient building restoration, identifying common wood materials is a basic skill. After all, ancient building restoration emphasizes restoring the old as it was, and as long as the material is not particularly expensive, such as golden nanmu pillars, try to use the original material for repair and replacement.

However, the objects to be identified are usually pillars, beams, brackets, rafters, or at least a toy like a pen holder.

The devilish ball in Shen Le's hand is only 1.5 cm in diameter, and is delicately carved with dragon claws, dragon scales, and dragon whiskers. It is beautiful, but what exactly is the wood grain?
Sorry, can't tell.

And the color is not reliable. After such a long time, the color will definitely change, and the original color can't be seen at all. Shen Le pinched left and right, and could only confirm that the ink fountain and the ghost ball were not made of the same wood. As for what kind of wood the ghost ball was made of, this...

"Are you going to force me to resort to some tricks? Do you want to measure the density? It's such a complicated shape, measuring the density..."

This is the crown that Archimedes measured! If you don’t immerse it in water, you can’t measure its exact volume!
Shen Le grumbled, rolled up his sleeves and began to dismantle the ball, pulling it out of the plumb bob. He weighed it in his hand, but couldn't figure it out:

"You need a precision scale. An ordinary scale won't do. A small thing weighing a few grams..."

(End of this chapter)