Chen Baiwei took them inside. They lived in a rather simple temporary residence, which was at most a shelter from the wind and rain. The only better house was given to the machines they brought. Those were high-tech precision instruments that Professor Zhang had specially applied for. They were used for analysis and sampling, and he was reluctant to damage them at all. The old man himself shared the joys and sorrows with the students, but he was reluctant to let them get damaged at all.
Three jeeps were parked in front of the residence. In the makeshift house, a few wooden tables were put together and covered with white cloth, with some newly repaired cultural relics placed on them. Professor Zhang was talking to his students. When he saw them come in, he stopped and smiled, "You're back."
Chen Baiwei brought the people over. Although he had only met them last night, he was able to introduce them to Professor Zhang very fluently, and he could even point out their respective strengths: "Teacher, these are a few students from Uncle Sun's department. This is Shan Jing, a second-year graduate student with solid basic skills and good coordination ability. This is Mi Yang, the youngest, who can learn a little bit of everything. His elders are craftsmen, and he has been learning since elementary school, so he has more than ten years of foundation. This is a student that Uncle Sun recruited from the oil painting department, a first-year graduate student, with good color control..."
A few young men were still a little unconvinced in front of Chen Baiwei, but when they came in front of Professor Zhang, they couldn't help getting excited. As long as they studied this major and came into contact with these things, they had heard of Professor Zhang's name. Many textbooks were written by Professor Zhang. He could be said to be a pioneer in this field.
The four people stood there holding their breath, watching Professor Zhang greet them with a smile and shake hands cordially, all of them were a little excited. Especially Shan Jing, whose eyes sparkled, if the occasion was not too scientific, it would have been like attending an idol handshake meeting.
Professor Zhang was very kind to them. He kept thanking them while shaking hands. "Thank you so much. You must be surprised that Bai Wei invited you here. Haha, don't be afraid. This is a national key repair project. Time is tight and we are short of manpower. The people I transferred from Beijing will have to wait for half a month. We really can't wait. We can only ask you to help during this period. Don't worry, I will personally ask for leave from your tutor for you." He looked at Chen Baiwei and smiled and instructed, "Bai Wei, take them over there to register their names. When the repair is completed, I will reward everyone for their contributions."
The four young men standing there calmed down when they heard what Professor Zhang said. They were all here to work, and it would be easy as long as the instructor gave instructions. And from what Professor Zhang said, the project here was bigger, and they could leave their names behind if they helped for half a month, which sounded like a good thing.
Chen Baiwei agreed and took the people to register. He looked at them signing and smiled at them, "You are lucky. Uncle Sun and Professor Zhang are both good teachers. Neither of them will take advantage of students. See, the weight of the names you sign now will be known by the end of the year. When this work is completed, whether it is compiled into a book or reported as scientific research achievements..." He ran his finger over the names in the signature book and smiled, "It will be equivalent to publishing two or three papers."
Except for Mi Yang, the eyes of the others lit up.
Chen Baiwei took them to assign work. Several people were assigned their own duties and were led by senior students who were already busy there. They were all boys, with Dan Jing being the only girl. When she came in, a blue-eyed boy with disheveled hair and slightly curly hair shouted in surprise, "Where did this girl come from?" He looked a bit mixed-race, and Dan Jing was amused when he heard this, because he could tell at first glance that she was a fellow Xinjiang compatriot.
The young man probably stayed in this windy and sandy place for a long time. He scratched his head a little embarrassedly. There was a lot of dust on his face, and his teeth were the whitest when he smiled.
Shan Jing is always serious about her work, especially she wanted to perform well in front of Professor Zhang, so she put on special gloves, tied up her hair neatly, fastened her hat, and went to work with the young man.
On the other side, Professor Zhang, who acted first and asked for permission later, also got through the phone. Professor Sun was about to jump up and down: "Mr. Zhang! I respect you as a senior, but a senior can't always do such things, right?!"
Professor Zhang said with a smile: "Young man, don't be impatient..."
Professor Sun: "I am not young anymore. I am already in my fifties!"
Mr. Zhang said kindly, "Aren't there thirteen of you?"
Professor Sun on the other end of the phone had already started to yell, "That's only thirteen including me! Including me!!" Professor Sun calmed down a little, took a deep breath and negotiated, "I don't want anything else, just return my student named Shan Jing to me. I still have half of the team in Hami, and you took away my commander!"
Professor Zhang agreed, then walked slowly to the back and asked, "Where is Shan Jing going?"
Professor Sun was also listening with bated breath, hoping that he could at least get a student back. He could hear what Chen Baiwei said from a distance over the phone, and then Professor Zhang said in a friendly tone, "Oh, I just asked, Shan Jing, go to work."
Professor Sun: “…”
Professor Sun was so angry that he was shaking. He said, "I brought twelve students here innocently, and you let that little bastard Chen Baiwei take away four of them at once! Four! You can do the math yourself. That's one-third of the team, and you picked the best ones to steal. This is too much, too much! I felt something was wrong when you left last night. Why did this little bastard stay here after you left? It must be bad!"
Old Zhang laughed and said, "Oh, don't say that. He is doing this for my own good."
Professor Sun said angrily, "Why doesn't he think about me? He stole my tea yesterday and stole my people today. When will he stop? Chen Baiwei, this bastard! This little bastard!"
Old Zhang was still in a good mood, and he consoled him, "Don't say that. Bai Wei is already grown up, you can't always scold him."
Professor Sun said he was so angry that he hung up the phone. If he continued talking, he was afraid he would not be able to bear it and would drive after the person and beat him up.
Professor Zhang's cell phone was a bit old, and the sound of the call was particularly clear. People around him couldn't help but look sideways when they heard it.
On the contrary, the person involved, Chen Baiwei, was still working with a smile on his face, as if nothing had happened.
Mi Yang followed Chen Baiwei and was the closest to Professor Zhang. Professor Zhang was old, and Chen Baiwei quietly took over many heavy tasks beside him. If he couldn't be replaced, he would help the old professor as much as possible. He was simply an all-purpose little helper who knew a little bit about everything. If there was anything going on in the entire venue, it was right to find him. Although he was not there, he seemed to have four pairs of eyes and eight arms, and he could get involved everywhere and solve the problem.
Apart from anything else, just looking at his filial piety towards Mr. Zhang, Mi Yang felt that he and Mr. Zhang were like a real grandfather and grandson. Chen Baiwei treated the old man's affairs as his own family affairs, doing his best and doing it naturally.
Professor Zhang was showing them the thangka on the stage. The shape of the thangka had come out a little, but it was still unclear. They could only guess based on the patterns and colors on the corners. Professor Zhang pointed over there and whispered, "Look here. Do you see the one on his shoulder? The shape of 'Left Sutra, Right Sword' has been pieced together. It should be a thangka of Master Tsongkhapa..."
Chen Baiwei nodded in a low voice and began to carefully organize things according to what the old professor said.
Mi Yang also put on a mask, listened to Chen Baiwei's words, and helped him with some small things. Chen Baiwei did not dare to let him touch big things at the beginning, for fear that he would break them, so he only let him do some unimportant chores.
Mi Yang has a calm personality and steady hands, and he does whatever he is told to do seriously. Another advantage he has is that he doesn't talk.
If Chen Baiwei had not stopped to rest for a moment and looked up, he would not have noticed that there was a little junior brother beside him. He was so well-behaved.
Chen Bai smiled and walked over to see the work at hand of Mi Yang. He had just instructed Mi Yang to grind the pigments. The pigments used in the restoration here are all mineral pigments, and they must be ground on the spot, so that the effect is softer, more natural and more coordinated with the original color. In other words, this job needs to be done constantly, bit by bit, and it is both delicate and trivial. Mi Yang sat there quietly, his hands very steady, mixing the indigo and gamboge into grass green. Next to him were a few small bowls filled with the prepared colors, extremely light colors, and pleasing to the eye.
Chen Baiwei observed him for a while, and was quite satisfied with the child's patience. After Mi Yang finished what he had on hand, Chen Baiwei said, "These paints are enough for today. Put them aside, wash your hands and find a pair of gloves to help me put the pieces together."
Mi Yang agreed, packed up and went to help.
Chen Baiwei looks frivolous, but he is very careful and gentle with the fragments in his hands. While guiding Mi Yang to do things, he whispered to him the things that need attention.
"Here, compare this and put it together. Yes, be gentle with the tweezers. This is too dry and will easily crack. This is the part above the shoulder. The yellow part is the hat. You are responsible for this." Chen Baiwei said, "Ask me if you are unsure."
Mi Yang nodded and pieced it together for a while. Chen Baiwei looked at it and nodded, praising: "Well done."
Mi Yang followed Chen Baiwei, so naturally he had the most contact with Professor Zhang. However, after two days, Professor Zhang asked him his name: "What's your name? Are you also from Shanghai University?"
Mi Yang shook his head and said, "No, I'm a sophomore, and Professor Sun asked me to help."
Professor Zhang liked obedient students the most. Mi Yang was also dexterous, so he quickly handed over some trivial patchwork tasks to him and sent Chen Baiwei over to record the information of the cultural relics.
"The fiber test analysis needs to be done quickly. It's still waiting for allocation. You go do that. Also, get the data sheet ready as soon as possible. And..." Elder Zhang patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "There's another chair over there. Sit down and write. When you're done, go take a nap. You've been busy for two days and only slept for four hours. Even an iron man can't do that. Go quickly."
Chen Bai smiled and said, "Oh, I see."
After sending Chen Baiwei to rest, Professor Zhang took Mi Yang to continue working. The old man knew a lot and explained as he worked. It was Mi Yang's first time to come into contact with Thangka and he was very curious about it, but he was also cautious in his words and actions. He just nodded and was particularly careful when he worked.
Professor Zhang looked at him, smiled and shook his head: "You are too calm. When Bai Wei was your age, he was in a mess and had a lot of trouble. At that time, I was looking forward to him going to college, so I calmed you down. Look, just like you are now."
Mi Yang smiled and said, "Brother Chen is doing well now, and everyone likes him very much."