It's already 2026, how can we still talk about having many children and having many blessings?

Back at Jubaozhai, the cut materials were moved into the workshop, where Yu Linglong sorted, numbered, and registered them.

Chen Mo carried the rosewood box, found an old table, sat down, and began to examine it carefully.

Plain noodle boxes from the Republic of China era are not particularly rare items.

What he coveted was the hidden compartment at the bottom of the box.

He turned the box over and ran his fingers along the edge of the bottom.

There is a very thin gap between the base plate and the box body, which is filled with dust and the patina of time and is not visible to the naked eye.

He gently pried along the seam with his fingernail, and the base plate loosened.

Open the bottom of the hidden compartment, and you'll find a roll of something wrapped tightly in oil paper.

The oil paper had turned yellow and become brittle, but the wrapping technique was very professional, with one layer pressing on top of another, and the corners were sealed with wax to prevent moisture and insects.

Chen Mo carefully unwrapped the oil paper.

He was stunned.

Inside is a long scroll of cursive script.

Judging from the paper, it should be a work from the late Tang Dynasty, with deep ink and unrestrained brushstrokes.

The very first character is captivating, and the rest of the strokes flow smoothly and effortlessly.

The entire piece of calligraphy seems to have been written in a burst of inspiration, with obvious flying white spaces between the strokes.

Where the brushstrokes are dry, the ink is almost broken, yet the connecting strokes are as fine as hair, but the strength remains undiminished.

Even after a thousand years, one can still feel the exhilaration of writing back then.

The expert knowledge that had been injected into Chen Mo's mind was automatically activated.

The character begins with a concealed brush tip, moves with a centered brush tip, and ends decisively, with both square and rounded turns.

It possesses the rounded and smooth style of Huaisu, a great calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, but is more robust; it also has the unrestrained style of Zhang Xu, but is more reserved.

This is not your average late Tang Dynasty cursive script; it is a masterpiece by a master with a lineage, skill, and unique style.

His gaze shifted to the end of the scroll.

There is a separate signature line there.

"Respectfully written by Gao Xian of Kaiyuan Temple in Huzhou after washing his hands."

Below is a seal with the inscription "Gao Xian".

It uses the fine red seal script style commonly used in Tang Dynasty temples, with simple carving techniques and lacking the elaborate carving style of later seal engravings.

Chen Mo took a deep breath.

Gao Xian was a monk and calligrapher at Kaiyuan Temple in Huzhou during the late Tang Dynasty.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang once summoned him to the palace and bestowed upon him a purple cassock.

However, very few of his works have survived to this day. The only known one is the "Fragment of the Thousand Character Classic in Cursive Script" in the Shanghai Museum, which is still incomplete.

If this is genuine, then it is the second surviving authentic work by Gao Xian.

Moreover, it is a complete long scroll, not a fragment.

"Damn it."

Suddenly, he started cursing, his heart aching so much he couldn't breathe.

He discovered that one corner of the scroll was soaked with oil.

The inside of the oiled paper was coated with a layer of tung oil for moisture protection, but due to its age, the tung oil oxidized and deteriorated, seeping into the paper.

Even more seriously, the paper fibers at the edges of the oil stains were corroded and became brittle, resulting in several small cracks.

Fortunately, it was only on the edge; the font was fine, but it still reduced its value.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

A whole bunch of knowledge popped into my head.

The system bestowed upon him "expert-level knowledge of jewelry, jade, and antiques," which includes more than just appraisal and gambling on stones.

There's also the exquisite Sky-Mending Hand.

This is not a single skill, but a comprehensive art that integrates carving and artifact restoration.

In the "life experience" that the system instilled in him, one memory stands out particularly clearly.

He studied under a famous teacher for many years.

From the most basic paper fiber analysis to the most advanced "old-on-old" restoration, from the restoration of inscriptions on metal and stone to the repair of ancient books and paintings.

Finally, he absorbed the strengths of various schools and created the Exquisite Sky-Mending Hand.

At this moment, his hands seemed to have developed muscle memory over many years.

Chen Mo looked again at the corner of the calligraphy on the table.

Oil stains have penetrated, causing the fibers to become brittle and resulting in several cracks.

If it were a typical restorer, they could most likely only do reinforcement work to prevent the situation from worsening.

Oil stains are irreversible damage, especially on ancient paper like this, and there is almost no way to completely remove them.

However, Linglong Butian possesses a "Bone-Changing Technique".

It's not about removing oil stains, but about replacing the damaged fibers one by one.

This requires ancient paper that is from the same era, origin, and process as the original paper.

The fibers of this paper are extracted and then embedded one by one into the damaged parts of the original paper using a "fiber-refining" technique, so that no seam is visible under a microscope.

While browsing the antique street today, he happened to see a blank piece of hemp paper from the Tang Dynasty in one of the shops.

The shop owner asked for 200,000, but he didn't buy it.

Because at the time he felt that a blank piece of paper, even from the Tang Dynasty, wasn't worth that price.

Now he knows.

That was the material God left for him.

"Linglong, I'm going out for a bit. Lock the door behind me."

Chen Mo went out immediately and arrived in a few minutes.

Mo Bao Zhai was still open for business, and the owner was sitting behind the counter making tea.

"Oh, Boss Chen is here again?"

"Take out that blank piece of hemp paper from the Tang Dynasty."

The boss paused for a moment, then took a long wooden box from the shelf behind him.

Inside the box was a yellowed blank sheet of hemp paper. The paper had a rough but uniform texture, and under the light, one could see the typical Tang Dynasty papermaking screen pattern.

"Two hundred thousand, the price I told you last time."

"make a deal."

After paying and taking the goods, he went to some other shops to look for other materials he needed before returning to Jubaozhai.

This market has a complete range of materials.

Back at Jubaozhai, he placed Gao Xian's cursive script scroll and the blank Tang Dynasty hemp paper side by side on the table.

"Linglong, I need to do some fine work. I'm not out, so don't bother me."

"Okay, Mr. Chen."

Take a deep breath and close your eyes.

He went through all the techniques of the Exquisite Sky-Mending Hand in his mind.

It's not just about knowledge, it's also about hands-on experience.

It is muscle memory built up over ten years of consistent training, and experience etched into the bones after countless failures.

He opened his eyes.

Pick up the cutter on the table.

First, cut a piece of paper from a blank piece of hemp paper that is about the same size as the damaged area.

Then I started "composing".

This is the most difficult step in Linglong Butian's work, even more delicate than carving patterns on a grain of rice.

You have to use a very fine bamboo tweezer to separate the paper fibers one by one, following the grain of the paper fibers.

The fibers of hemp paper from the Tang Dynasty were coarser and harder than those of later bark paper, but they were also more brittle and would break easily with the slightest force.

Just sorting out the fibers and arranging them one by one took nearly two hours.

The second step is to prepare the adhesive.

It requires a mixture of old ink powder, agar-agar glue, and several Chinese medicinal herbs in specific proportions.

After preparing the glue, the "bone replacement" process begins.

He carefully picked out the fibers corroded by the oil stains one by one, then inserted the new fibers one by one, and used an extremely fine brush to apply glue to the fiber joints.

The splicing of each fiber must be done under a magnifying glass.

The grain direction, thickness, and density of the fibers must be completely consistent.

Six whole hours.

The benefits of cleansing the tendons and marrow have become apparent again.

It's a perfect match for the Exquisite Heaven-Mending Hand, making his hands very steady.

Once the transformation is complete, the next step is "color blending," which involves completely eliminating the boundary between the old and the new.

Fortunately, the damage was only in the blank areas. If the writing had been damaged, the most difficult final step would have been to reconnect the pen, which would have greatly increased the chances of failure.

Once everything was finished, he leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

The oil stains on the scroll in front of me are gone.

The crack is gone.

The fibers that were replaced were exactly the same as the original in terms of texture.

Unless you compare the fibers one by one with a high-powered microscope, no one can tell that this calligraphy has ever been restored.

It appears to be a complete and well-preserved authentic work of cursive script by Gao Xian from the late Tang Dynasty.

Chen Mo looked at it for a long time to make sure there was no problem, then took out his phone and took a picture of the area next to the signature.

Send the photos to Gu Qingyao.

He added a note: "I have a piece of calligraphy I'd like you to take a look at. If it's convenient, please bring someone knowledgeable to take a look."

He thought to himself, "If the fragment in the Shanghai Museum is considered one of its most prized possessions, how much is this complete scroll worth?"