The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 356: Finally going abroad - Copper piece, please don’t play tricks on me!

Facing the professors' questions, Shen Le could only laugh and shrug without answering. The professors looked at each other and had no idea what to do with him:

If this Buddha statue was a collection of any museum, Shen Le would have to write a paper to discuss his restoration plan if he wanted to repair it.

No matter how lazy you are, you still have to choose one from the plans of your junior classmates and explain why you chose that plan.

No need to write a paper or a report, just get started?

Take a break. Cultural relics belong to the country, not to you. If you damage them carelessly, can you afford the responsibility?

But now, this Buddha statue happened to be Shen Le's own collection...

He could repair it however he liked, not to mention covering it with gold foil, even painting it red paint would be his own thing.

As a teacher who taught him, the most I could say is, "When you go to academic conferences in the future, don't mention my name." I have no control over this matter...

Even so, the professors carefully examined the remains of the Buddha statue that Shen Le had restored. In order to prevent him from getting too cocky, they severely criticized his restoration techniques:

"How did you apply the gold leaf? You didn't even consider preserving traces of the old gold leaf!

It's all golden and magnificent, with no trace of history at all. You are restoring cultural relics, not repairing Buddha statues in the temple!"

"The colors of this painting are too saturated! You didn't leave any traces of the past at all!"

"How did you repair this loose rock part? I didn't see any traces of drilling holes upwards or driving anchors inwards!"

"How did you glue the missing parts together? What material did you use? I didn't see your experimental records!"

Shen Le: “…”

I'm going to pour the stone powder on it and ask the Stone Goddess to help solidify it. Is it too late?

Finally, the professors gave a summary of the value of this half-broken Buddha statue. In short:
"It could have been rated as a third-level cultural relic, but with your careless repairs, it's at best just an ordinary cultural relic! It's downgraded!"

Shen Le bowed his head obediently. Fortunately, it was just "originally it could have been classified as a third-level cultural relic."

If teachers knew that this was made by the first Jin King of the Ming Dynasty, that the Buddha statue’s face was modeled after Empress Ma, that it was worshipped in the palace for hundreds of years, and that it was later sold to Qinhuai and worshipped by Qinhuai’s famous prostitutes for hundreds of years…

Then it’s not a question of a third-level cultural relic. In any case, it should be at least a second-level cultural relic, right?

Fortunately, he did not report this to his teacher, and there was no trace left on the statue itself to prove this experience.

Shen Le calmly accepted the professors' comments and began to take out the Buddha's hand, preparing to put it on the Buddha statue:

"Professor Li, look, the cross section of this Buddha's hand is basically the same as the cross section on the Buddha statue. The shape of the Buddha's hand is also very harmonious when placed inside."

"Look, although this Buddha's hand is broken at the palm, its bent posture fits perfectly here..."

"Look at this..."

The three professors glared at Shen Le again and again. With their eyesight, how could they not see that these Buddha's hands were indeed a match for the Buddha statue, and they just needed to be cleaned and glued on.

However, this kind of archaeological restoration that involves traveling hundreds of miles to the sea to fish out a box that happens to contain the missing parts of the Buddha statue...

If it can be repaired like this, what else do we need these experts for!
Facing the professor's murderous gaze, Shen Le smiled awkwardly and calmly sent them away. However, facing the complaints of his fellow students, he could no longer remain calm:
"Brother, so this Buddha statue cannot be repaired according to our plan?"

"Brother, we have done so much homework before!"

"Brother, if the Buddha statue is not completed using our method, what will happen to the thesis?"

The most important thing is, we have printed so many Buddha hands, so many Buddha heads, and so many 3D printed Buddha statues. Has it all been in vain?
Those Buddha heads are really only worth throwing with bowling balls, and those Buddha hands are really only worth using for fencing...

At least two hours of working time every day are completely wasted!
If we don’t aim for a paper, what do we aim for? Although the special dishes and fruits provided by the senior are delicious, normal people also need a sense of achievement in their work!

Shen Le: “…”

I feel really sorry for these juniors... I have worked so hard for so long, collected so much information, and made so many plans, but now it's all gone to waste...

"How about you make a 3D printed Buddha statue and write your paper based on it?" He tentatively offered a remedy:

"Or, after I finish restoring this Buddha statue, you can work backwards from the result to the process, and write a paper on it as if it were your own plan?"

"Is there anyone like you, my senior brother?!"

It is certainly possible to write a convincing story by deducing the process from the result, but there is also a prerequisite, that is, the result is of overwhelming accuracy that is obvious at a glance.

Usually, if it is science or engineering, you can do this. If it is liberal arts or art, you will often get a good result:

"Chaplin won the second place in the 'Chaplin Look-Alike Contest'..."

"Stephen Chow was not shortlisted in the 'Stephen Chow Imitation Contest'..."

Faced with the protests from his fellow junior students, Shen Le could only spread his hands helplessly, indicating that he had tried his best.

Anyway, this Buddha statue will not be exhibited in a high-level museum, and it may not even have the opportunity to be exhibited in this lifetime. They can write whatever they want about it, no pressure at all!

The junior brothers and sisters protested to no avail, extorted a big meal, and then left in dismay. Shen Le locked himself in the studio and began to slowly repair these precious Buddha's hands:
First, through the nitrogen-filled storage box, use the cleaning technique to remove the seaweed, seaweed, dust and mud on it.

The shells stuck on it could not be removed by cleaning techniques, so I had to pick up a scalpel and carefully cut along the edge of the Buddha's hand.

After a crazy process of cutting, peeling, picking and slicing, the cleaning was barely completed. Next, I covered the Buddha's hand with clean tissue paper, soaked it with pure water, and slowly desalinated it...

Clean, desalt, pour stone powder on it like crazy, and ask the Goddess of Stone to come out and stick these broken Buddha's hands onto the Buddha statue piece by piece.

After all the preliminary work is completed, the ground layer is applied, gold foil is applied, and color painting is done...

"Good news, the Buddha's hand has been repaired, and the statue is now more spiritual.

Bad news, my spirituality is still not strong enough, at least I can't locate the Buddha's head from halfway across the world. It seems I have to go there myself...

So did the Special Affairs Bureau help me with this?"

The Special Affairs Bureau really managed it. Three to five days was too tight, but a month was plenty for them.

The exhibition was not found, mainly because there would be no exhibitions in the target city or even the target country in the next three months. However, the Special Affairs Bureau successfully found the white gloves——

They contacted a businessman who was engaged in cross-border auction of cultural relics and organized a small-scale auction, and naturally included Shen Le's Buddha statues and scrolls in the auction.

When cultural relics are exported and transported to designated destinations, they are all licensed and certified along the way. When the time comes, you can just find a reason not to put them up for auction.

After finding the Buddha head, you can also launder it through an auction or a private transaction and bring it back the same way you came.

As for the small oil lamp, the child doesn't need to apply for a permit, he can just carry it out. The customs officers won't stop him, at most they will think Shen Le is mentally ill...

Everything is thoughtful and perfect. The only thing that is not thoughtful and imperfect is:
"…So, am I going to go alone?"

He got a visa and itinerary, air ticket and hotel orders, and the contact information of the local antiquities dealer.

And then, nothing happened. No tour guide, no translator, no local guide, nothing.

From leaving the airport to checking into the hotel, from moving freely in the foreign city, to finding the Buddha head and trying to get it, now it seems that he can only rely on himself to struggle, no one helps...

"I mean, is there no one who can give me a companion?"

"Well... it's not convenient for members of the Special Affairs Bureau like us to go abroad for no reason..."

Gu Yulin, who came to deliver the documents to him, explained awkwardly:

"First of all, we have to hand in our passports. Secondly, we have to report to the local authorities when we go abroad, otherwise it may be regarded as an invasion. I'm afraid it's not convenient for me, a non-member of the Special Affairs Bureau, to cooperate with you?"

"Boss! I'll go abroad with you! I'll help you!"

Lao You interrupted in high spirits. Shen Le forced a smile at him:

"How's your French?"

"Uh... I can barely speak a few words in English... If that doesn't work, can I use a translator?"

Shen Le traveled across the ocean to a foreign land. He held a small oil lamp, huddled in the spacious compartment of the first-class cabin, half asleep:
When the plane took off, the copper sheet was still and there was nothing unusual.

The flight map showed it heading north, out of the country, and over Lake Baikal. The copper piece didn't show any special reaction. Then, in the middle of the night, it suddenly started to make a noise!
Shen Le suddenly twitched in his sleep and jumped up, almost hitting his head on the top of the cabin. The flight attendant heard the noise and saw him huddled up, his face pale:

"Sir? ...Sir? Sir, do you need any help?"

"Give me some hot water...hot sugar water..."

Shen Le's voice was intermittent. He had just been sleeping soundly, and the copper piece suddenly began to drain his mental power, draining a large amount of it, completely without mercy -

He was simply treated as a dry cell battery, or even a storage battery!
He is a human being, he can't stand being beaten like this, he will become an idiot if he is beaten again!

While the stewardess turned around to get some water, Shen Le took out two pills given by the lady boss, opened the wax coating, and swallowed them in one gulp. He then gulped down a glass of sugar water and quickly closed his eyes to meditate.

The golden ball in Dantian was spinning rapidly, and the generated spiritual power was finally able to supply the extraction of the copper piece.

In the meditation world, light shone brightly, and the copper sheet stretched out automatically without wind. The map quickly extended outward, and mountains and rivers appeared...

I go!

Take it easy, copper piece!

I am just an ordinary human being. My mental strength cannot support your global satellite scan!!!
　Thanks to @我在氪金啊 for the 100 starting coins reward

　　It finally cooled down today, I'm so happy...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)