Old Harden, can you handle having your vision-shifting abilities on all the time?

Xu Xing could feel her soft fingers covering the back of his hand, and her warm body temperature transmitted through his skin.

He glanced at her and found that she was focused on the lines on the paper and had no idea he was looking at her.

"Yes, that's it."

Li Yuting released her grip. "Try again."

Xu Xing resumed writing using the posture she had corrected, and it felt much smoother.

"Yes, yes, that's it!"

Li Yuting clapped her hands excitedly and said, "Brother Xu, you're amazing! You got it right away!"

In the following period, Li Yuting taught Xu Xing some basic composition techniques and methods of using ink.

Xu Xing learns very quickly. He can grasp about 70-80% of what Li Yuting explains after just one explanation, and he can master it completely after practicing a few more times.

Li Yuting was envious of this learning speed.

Professor Feng arrived shortly afterward. Upon seeing Xu Xing's practice results, he remarked with emotion, "It's a pity that young Xu didn't embark on the path of traditional Chinese painting sooner."

Professor Feng looked at Xu Xing with admiration in his eyes.

"Your brushstrokes are very expressive and you have excellent control over the composition. If you had been nurtured from a young age, you would definitely be a rising star in the world of traditional Chinese painting."

She paused, then added, "To be honest, I even had the urge to reopen the door that I had closed."

Li Yuting's eyes widened: "Teacher, what are you doing...?"

Professor Feng waved his hand and laughed, "I did have the idea of ​​taking on a disciple, but Xiao Xu's social status is different now. He has already achieved great success in the field of porcelain restoration, so there is no need for him to switch careers to learn traditional Chinese painting."

"Besides, Yuting, you are my last disciple. Since you two are dating, there's no need for me to deliberately take on any more disciples."

……

For the next week or so, Xu Xing studied traditional Chinese painting with Li Yuting every day.

Besides spending time with Li Yuting, Lin Wan also invited him out twice during this period, allowing him to enjoy the different experiences brought to him by two beauties with very different styles.

Li Yuting was passionate and straightforward, like a flame that ignited his passion.

Lin Wan is mature and rational, like a clear spring, soothing his weariness.

He was captivated by both of these completely different feelings.

A little over a week has passed in the blink of an eye.

Xu Xing has already mastered the basics of traditional Chinese painting. The next step is to further solidify his foundation through extensive practice.

With the techniques he has now mastered, coupled with his existing expertise in porcelain restoration, he can handle the restoration of million-dollar polychrome porcelain with ease.

After all, the repainting in porcelain restoration is ultimately just a copying process, not a creative one.

As long as the original patterns and colors can be accurately reproduced, it is considered a success.

Xu Xing decided to suspend his studies and return to the repair center.

After entering the S-level warehouse, his gaze swept over the priceless artifacts, even the damaged pieces were treasures worth tens of millions.

There are blue and white porcelain from the Ming Dynasty, famille rose porcelain from the Qing Dynasty, Ru ware from the Song Dynasty, underglaze red porcelain from the Yuan Dynasty, and many other varieties, making it a dazzling array.

Xu Xing looked at each item one by one, finally stopping in front of a piece of blue and white porcelain.

This is a Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain plum vase with a design of intertwined peony branches.

The bottle is about 40 centimeters tall, with a dignified and elegant shape, a pure white and delicate body, and a smooth and clear glaze.

The bottle is decorated with a peony scroll pattern, with full flowers and gracefully unfolding leaves. The composition is well-balanced and the brushstrokes are smooth and natural.

The cobalt blue color is rich and deep, with obvious rust spots and blurring, which are typical characteristics of imported cobalt blue pigment from the Yuan Dynasty.

The market value of this plum vase is around 35 million.

Xu Xing chose it because blue and white porcelain is relatively easy to restore.

The blue and white decoration is located below the glaze layer of the body. If only the glaze layer on the surface of the object is damaged, the repair only requires surface glazing and polishing. The difficulty of repainting is very low. As long as the color is accurately applied, a good repair effect can be achieved.

Blue and white porcelain is currently the type of colored porcelain with the most mature restoration techniques and the lowest difficulty level.

Xu Xing asked, "Master Zhao, how damaged is this plum vase?"

Master Zhao glanced through the records and said with a solemn expression, "This plum vase is quite badly damaged. The body of the vase is broken into two large sections horizontally from the upper part of the abdomen. The break is uneven and there are several small fragments missing."

In addition, there is a longitudinal perforation on the bottle body that extends from the rim to the belly, about 18 centimeters long, with a fork inside the perforation that almost penetrates the body.

There are multiple dents and scratches on the glaze, one of which is on the shoulder of the bottle, covering an area of ​​about two square centimeters. The glaze is missing along with the outer body.

Additionally, there is a chipped area on the foot ring of the bottle, about one centimeter long.

Xu Xing frowned slightly after hearing this.

Breakage, cracks, glaze defects, chipped foot rims...

The damage was indeed much more severe than expected.

But he did not back down; instead, he became even more determined to restore the site.

"This one is fine. Please register it for me; I've locked it in."

Xu Xing said.

"Okay, XCMG."

Master Zhao took out the register and recorded Xu Xing's information and the selected collection number.

After identifying this S-class weapon, Xu Xing went to the A-class warehouse.

The collections in Grade A warehouses are valued between one million and ten million, and are more diverse.

Xu Xing selected two pieces of blue and white porcelain.

The first item is a Qing Dynasty Kangxi period blue and white phoenix-tail vase with landscape and figure design, valued at approximately three million.

This phoenix-tail vase has a beautiful shape, with an open mouth, constricted neck, bulging belly, and flared foot, resembling the tail feathers of a phoenix, hence its name.

The bottle is decorated with landscape and figure patterns, with distant mountains, nearby waters, pavilions and towers, and a scholar strolling among them, creating a profound and serene atmosphere.

The cobalt blue color is bright and clear with distinct layers, making it a top-grade piece among Kangxi cobalt blue porcelain.

This phoenix-tail vase is also quite damaged, with a four-centimeter-long arc-shaped chip on the rim, along with a small section of the rim edge that is completely missing.

There is a seven-centimeter-long puncture line on the neck, which forks in a Y-shape, with minor cracks at the fork.

There is a glaze peeling area of ​​about three square centimeters on the abdomen, exposing the body. There are several radial fine lines at the edge of the peeling area.

In addition, there are several scratches of varying depths on the bottle, one of which, a deeper scratch, runs through a pavilion pattern in the landscape design.

The repair is also quite difficult.

The second item is a blue and white porcelain vase with lotus scroll design from the Yongzheng period of the Qing dynasty, with a market value of approximately five million.

This vase has a regular shape, with a flared mouth, long neck, round belly, and ring foot, which are typical shapes of Qing Dynasty official kilns.

The bottle is decorated with a lotus scroll pattern, with full lotus flowers and intertwined leaves, and the composition is rigorous and the brushwork is exquisite.

The underglaze blue is light and elegant, a style unique to Yongzheng blue and white porcelain.

The damage to this vase was also quite severe, with a 12-centimeter-long arc-shaped crack on its belly. The crack splits into a 3-centimeter-long branch in the middle, giving the vase an overall herringbone shape.

There is a glaze peeling off about two square centimeters at the bottom, and the peeling depth is quite large, which has damaged the surface of the body.

There is a chip about two centimeters long on the rim, and there are fine cracks extending from the chipped area into the body.

Additionally, there is an impact mark on the shoulder of the bottle. Although the glaze has not completely peeled off, it has developed fine, spiderweb-like cracks that require reinforcement.

After examining the damage to the two porcelain pieces, Xu Xing had a clear understanding of the situation.

He directly retrieved the two fragments of blue and white porcelain, registered the information at the entrance, and brought them back to the porcelain section.

This time, instead of using restoration room number 0, we chose a workstation in the common work area of ​​the porcelain group.

"Brother Xu, you're back!"

Upon seeing him, Sun Hao immediately came up to him and asked, "How did it go? Have you chosen a project?"

"I've made my choice."

Xu Xing placed two pieces of blue and white porcelain on the worktable and said, "Let's practice with two Grade A pieces first and get a feel for it."

"Blue and white porcelain?"

Sun Hao looked at the two porcelain pieces, then at Xu Xing, and asked, "Brother Xu, aren't you a specialist in monochrome glazes? Why are you suddenly interested in blue and white porcelain?"

"I'm quite skilled at restoring monochrome glazes, and I'd like to broaden my scope of services."

Xu Xing smiled and said, "Moreover, the restoration of blue and white porcelain is relatively easy, which is perfect for a novice like me."

"Are you a newbie?"

Sun Hao rolled his eyes and retorted, "If you're a newbie, then aren't the rest of us even worse than apprentices?"

Xu Xing laughed and said, "I am indeed a novice when it comes to blue and white porcelain."

As he was speaking, his phone rang. When he answered, it was a call from HR. They had recently been looking for several assistant candidates for him.

Ask him when he would be available for a personal interview.