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

Before we knew it, more than two hours had passed.

Professor Feng glanced at his watch and smiled, "That's all for today, Mr. Xu. Please practice more when you get back, and feel free to come to me anytime if you have any questions."

"Thank you, Professor Feng. I have benefited greatly from today's lesson."

Xu Xing sincerely thanked him.

The three got up and left the restaurant. Professor Feng took a taxi home, while Li Yuting got into the car with Xu Xing.

"How about we relax tonight?"

As she spoke, she winked at Xu Xing.

Looking at her playful expression, Xu Xing smiled slightly and said, "Okay, relax a bit."

That night, naturally, was another passionate encounter.

For the next few days, Xu Xing spent almost every day in Professor Feng's studio.

He arrives at the studio at eight in the morning to practice basic brushstrokes with Li Yuting, and in the afternoon, when Professor Feng has free time, he specifically asks him about the techniques for adding details to the lotus scroll pattern.

In just a few days, he made a qualitative leap in his painting of lotus scroll patterns.

Especially in the painting of lotus scroll patterns, he has become proficient in using various brushstrokes to create smooth and natural lines and rich colors.

Professor Feng, after seeing his practice work, couldn't help but praise him repeatedly: "Mr. Xu, your progress is so rapid that it can only be described as 'leaping forward in a day.'"

At this rate, it won't be long before you're able to independently complete high-level porcelain restoration work.

Xu Xing smiled modestly: "Professor Feng is still the best teacher."

A few days later, Xu Xing felt that he had enough confidence in repainting the lotus scroll pattern, so he decided to officially begin the restoration work on the Jiaqing celestial globe vase.

He first called Zhu Yong and Liu Jian to inform them that they would be at work as usual the next day.

Then he called Zhang Ming again: "Xiao Ming, have you finished handing over your work?"

"The handover is complete, bro!"

Zhang Ming's voice was filled with excitement, "I'll be in Chang'an today!"

"Okay, call me before you arrive at Chang'an Station, and I'll wait for you at the entrance."

"Okay!"

That afternoon, Zhang Ming, carrying a large bag and looking travel-worn, appeared at the entrance of the bus station.

He was wearing a faded T-shirt, and his tanned face wore a kind smile.

"elder brother!"

Upon seeing Xu Xing, he quickly stepped forward to greet him.

Xu Xing glanced at him and smiled, "You've worked hard. Let's go, I'll show you where you're staying."

He drove Zhang Ming to the apartment he used to rent.

The lease on that apartment hasn't expired yet, but he's been so busy lately that he forgot to buy it. He'll contact the landlord to buy it after he finishes repairing Zheng Mingyuan's important artifact.

"You can stay in this house for now. You'll have to pay for your own water and electricity, but we won't charge you rent."

Xu Xing opened the door and led Zhang Ming inside. "The furniture and appliances are all complete. You can just move in with your bags."

Zhang Ming looked around, his eyes lighting up: "Brother, this house is amazing!"

"Let's just make do with this place."

Xu Xing patted him on the shoulder, "Get ready first, and come to the repair center at 8:30 tomorrow morning. I'll show you around the work environment."

"Okay!"

Zhang Ming nodded excitedly.

At 8:30 a.m. the next morning, Xu Xing arrived at the Chengxinzhai Restoration Center on time.

He first took Zhang Ming to Li Jianjun's office to register and file the fragment of the Jiaqing Doucai and Famille Rose lotus scroll vase, and then processed his onboarding at the studio.

Although his studio has been established, the personnel process still goes through Chengxinzhai, but he has to take care of his own salary and other expenses.

"Mr. Li, this is a damaged piece of equipment that I purchased privately. I would like to have it repaired in the workshop of the restoration center."

Xu Xing handed the relevant documents to Li Jianjun.

Li Jianjun glanced at it and nodded: "No problem."

Li Jianjun signed and stamped the registration form.

After leaving Li Jianjun's office, Xu Xing, carrying the damaged artifact and Zhang Ming, went to his own studio.

The studio is located on the innermost side of the 22nd floor of the restoration center. It was originally an unused warehouse, which has been transformed into a fully functional restoration room.

It's not very big, about eighty square meters.

High-powered microscope, shadowless lamp, ultrasonic cleaner, miniature electric kiln, precision balance...

All kinds of professional equipment are readily available.

Zhu Yong and Liu Jian were already waiting at the door. When they saw Xu Xing coming over, they immediately stood up straight.

Good morning, XCMG!

Good morning, XCMG!

Xu Xing nodded, swiped his card, and pushed open the door: "Go in."

The two quickly followed.

Entering the studio, Xu Xing looked around and nodded in satisfaction.

The equipment was complete and the environment was clean, with tools arranged in an orderly manner, clearly showing that Li Jianjun had put a lot of effort into this aspect.

He took out the fragments of the Jiaqing celestial globe vase and arranged them one by one on the worktable.

Then, Zhang Ming was introduced to Zhu Yong and Liu Jian. They were instructed to talk less, observe more, learn more, and tidy up the miscellaneous items on the side, and to run errands or do whatever they needed.

"We will begin restoring this Jiaqing doucai and famille rose lotus scroll vase today."

Xu Xing looked at Zhu Yong and Liu Jian, his tone calm but with a hint of solemnity, "The difficulty of restoring this piece of porcelain is higher than any we have restored before."

The combination of doucai and famille rose techniques, and the precise mixing of multiple colors for the large-area inlay of the lotus scroll pattern—each aspect presents an immense challenge.

"Therefore, this time we are not pursuing speed, but rather taking steady steps and doing our best in every step."

Zhu Yong and Liu Jian exchanged a glance and nodded in unison, "Understood!"

"Okay, let's begin."

The restoration work has officially begun.

Xu Xingxian started with the most difficult part: the glaze formula.

He took a small piece of the fragment that had fallen from the broken vessel and used a portable XRF analyzer to analyze the elemental composition of the glaze.

Test results show that the glaze of this celestial globe bottle has an extremely complex composition, containing a variety of colorants such as cobalt oxide, iron oxide, manganese oxide, copper oxide, and chromium oxide, with the content of each one accurate to a few ten-thousandths.

Based on the test results, Xu Xing began to adjust the glaze formula.

The cobalt oxide content determines the depth of the blue-and-white color, the iron oxide content affects the formation of rust spots, and the chromium oxide content determines the presentation of certain specific colors in famille rose porcelain...

The amount of each colorant added must be precise to the milligram level.

Xu Xing weighed, mixed, and ground the materials, making more than twenty test pieces with different proportions, which were then marked and placed into the electric kiln.

During the firing process, he repeatedly activated his X-ray vision to observe the microscopic changes in the glaze at each stage of heating, holding, and cooling.

It was already afternoon when the first batch of test films came out.

Xu Xing compared the formulas under standard light and found that the color of seven or eight formulas was already quite close to the original, but there was still a gap in the formation of rust spots and the diffusion effect.

Based on the differences in microstructure observed with his X-ray vision, he adjusted the formula and made a second batch of test pieces.

This time the effect was much better.

Xu Xing selected the two closest formulas and made five minor adjustments to them before finally determining the glaze formula.

By then, it was already the afternoon of the second day.

Next is a practice exercise in completing the lotus scroll pattern.

Xu Xing did not start working directly on the celestial globe bottle, but instead practiced with a blank test piece first.

Following Professor Feng's method, he began practicing drawing a single lotus flower, then the flipping and turning of the leaves, and finally the composition of the entire intertwined branch.

He drew each stroke meticulously.

With the aid of X-ray vision, he could clearly see the penetration depth and distribution of the cobalt blue pigment on the surface of the porcelain body, ensuring that the newly painted patterns were completely consistent with the original patterns in terms of microstructure.

After practicing for two days, he felt confident enough to begin officially adding the decorative patterns.

Repainting the lotus scroll pattern is the most challenging part of the entire restoration process.

Xu Xing held his breath and concentrated, using the finest wolf-hair brush to dip into the prepared pigments and paint stroke by stroke on the repaired body.

The strokes should begin lightly, be steady in the middle, and end naturally.

When depicting the rotation of leaves, pay attention to perspective; the layers of flowers should be represented by varying shades of color.

He painted very slowly, carefully considering each stroke and making sure it was correct before putting pen to paper.

With the aid of X-ray vision, he could clearly see the depth and distribution of the pigments on the surface of the body, ensuring that the very few newly painted patterns were completely consistent with the original patterns in microstructure.

After completing the repainting, Xu Xing carefully placed the celestial globe bottle into the medium-sized electric kiln and set the firing curve.

The doucai (enamel overglaze) part requires high-temperature firing, while the famille rose (enamel overglaze) part requires a second firing at low temperature.

He first set a high-temperature firing curve, with a firing temperature of 1180℃, held at that temperature for 30 minutes, and then allowed it to cool naturally.

The entire firing process takes ten hours.

Ten hours later, the electric kiln completed the cooling process and emitted a beeping sound.

Xu Xing put on thick, heat-resistant gloves, opened the kiln door, took out the celestial globe bottle, and then carried out a second firing of the famille rose part.

This time, the firing temperature was lowered to 800℃, held for 15 minutes, and then allowed to cool naturally.

The entire second firing process takes four hours.

By the time the final step was completed, it was already evening of the fifth day.