Chapter Fifty-One: Unveiling the Painting (Middle)

  This kind of thing, Chu Chen would not agree to it. He is now at a loss as to what to do with Wu Ke, let alone provoke other girls. Besides, he has no interest in having multiple wives and concubines.

  "Uncle Wu, why are you waiting for me at the door again?"

  When he arrived at Wu Shu's house, Chu Chen found that Wu Shu was already holding the painting and standing at the door waiting for him.

  Wu Shu didn't feel embarrassed at all, and said: "Hey, isn't it just that you want to see the portrait as soon as possible? It's been driving me crazy all night."

  Chu Chen was speechless upon hearing this, his own master wasn't in a hurry, yet you're getting anxious, it's truly "the emperor isn't in a hurry, the eunuch is", ah, this metaphor is a bit inappropriate, Wu Shu isn't a eunuch after all.

  "But isn't it a bit too early for us to go? Won't we be disturbing Old Liu?"

  Uncle Wu gave him a reassuring look: "Of course not, I just called him and he's also very interested in this painting now. Xiao Chuan, have you had breakfast? If so, let's set off."

  The two of them arrived at Liu's house, familiar with the route. Liu Qinshu was waiting for them at the door, just like yesterday. But unlike yesterday, today there were only the two of them as guests at Liu's place.

  This time, Liu Qingshu didn't take them to the pavilion from yesterday, but instead took them directly to the living room. Old Liu was already waiting for them there.

  The interior decoration and layout are also in a simple and natural style, different from the two places Chu Chen had seen before. The style here is natural with a warm feeling, making people feel like they have entered their own home as soon as they come in.

  Just as the two were about to ask after Old Liu, Old Liu hastily interrupted them and said:

  "Alright, stop teasing me, quickly take out the painting and let me see it."

  As he saw this, Chu Chen opened the painting while secretly laughing in his heart. Previously, he had seen Liu Lao as a steady and serious person, but unexpectedly, he also had a side that was impatient and eager to see results.

  After the stone bamboo painting was presented in front of everyone, Liu Lao stepped forward to carefully observe it. At this time, he was not anxious or impatient, first carefully browsing the entire painting, and then focusing on the areas where the ink had flowed, and carefully touching the paper.

  After finishing the painting, Liu Lao said with some admiration: "The person who mounted this painting has extremely exquisite craftsmanship and should be a master-level figure in the 'Wu school'."

  In the art of book mounting and painting, it can be generally divided into four major schools: Suzhou, Shanghai, Yangzhou, and Beijing. Among them, Suzhou mounting art is famous throughout the country, which is what Liu Lao called "Wu Zhuang".

  The characteristics of Su-style mounting are that the mounted pieces are flat, soft and smooth, with simple and elegant colors, ancient and dignified, harmonious and unified. The craftsmanship is exquisite, with a reputation for being "the best in Wu, unmatched elsewhere". It has also had an important influence on the mounting styles of other regions.

  Liu Lao studied Beijing mounting, which was directly influenced by Suzhou mounting. Beijing mounting, due to the influence of the imperial court, is characterized by its magnificent and elegant colors, thick backing, giving people a sense of nobility and luxury. Beijing mounting and Suzhou mounting are two major schools that echo each other from north and south, and still occupy a dominant position today.

  Now that this piece is Wu Bai, will Liu Lao not be able to take out the painting inside? Don't worry about this, because the core mounting technology is actually similar.

  I should also thank the traditional rules passed down from generation to generation in the mounting workshop. When mounting, a paste made from rice flour is used, which can be dissolved with water. This way, later generations can re-mount the painting when needed.

  Liu Lao smiled and said, "The person who mounted the painting was indeed clever. Who would have thought of using a genuine Zhang Sheng's work to conceal another painting underneath? Most people wouldn't think that there could be another painting hidden beneath the surface. However, you were also lucky - the water that splashed on it must have contained some oily substance, otherwise the colors of the underlying painting wouldn't have been revealed so easily."

  After listening to Liu Lao, Chu Chen and Wu Shu looked at each other in dismay. At that moment, they hadn't thought of this, but thinking about it now, it was indeed the case. If it were just ordinary water, after drying, it would only leave a yellow stain, which wouldn't bring out the colors of the painting underneath.

  Thinking of this, Chu Chen couldn't help but scold in a low voice. That little Zhou is really unreliable, actually looking at paintings while eating, anyone who has a bit of appreciation for art would never do such a thing.

  "Xiao Chu, when you unveil the painting later, it's possible that this shoulder-exposing painting may be damaged. What do you plan to do?" Liu Lao asked Chu Xun.

  Chu Chen thought for a moment, and said hesitantly: "Liu Lao, I'm not regretting the tens of thousands of yuan, but I think it's a pity to ruin such a painting. However, let's prioritize what's important."

  Liu Lao listened to Chu Chen's choice and said with a smile: "Little Chu, your attitude is not bad. Not only in the aspect of calligraphy and painting, but also in dealing with other antiques, in such cases, we should try our best to preserve those with lower value as well. These are all the sweat and artistic crystallization of our ancestors, and if we have the conditions, we should protect them well."

  "But Xiaochu, your last sentence, are you doubting my level?" Liu Lao joked again in the end.

  Looking at Chu Chen's nervous appearance, Liu Lao Da laughed and said: "You little guy, you're acting so exaggerated. Quickly go help me boil a kettle of water and bring it to my adjacent workshop."

  The effect of flushing with water is to rinse the entire painting, which not only cleans the floating dust on the surface of the painting but also cleans the area where water has been applied before. Of course, this method can only remove the water stains that have just been stained for a short time. If it takes too long and has penetrated into the painting, it can only be treated with medicine.

  When Chu Chen walked into Liu Lao's studio with a kettle of boiling water, he had already removed the painting's mounting rods and other fixtures, leaving only a scroll of painting.

  Liu Lao put the painting on the table, wrapped it with a towel, and then used a spray bottle to wet the painting. After the painting was moistened, he poured the boiling water that had just been heated onto it. This step was to wash away the places where the paint had previously adhered, and also to wash away the dust and impurities that had accumulated on the ancient painting over time.

  Liu carefully tidied up the painting, then carefully used a towel to absorb the water on the painting and wrung it into a basin on one side. Chu Chen stared at the yellow liquid that had been squeezed out, which was the dirt washed off from the painting.

  Then Liu Lao used the same steps back and forth several times before he managed to make the entire painting slightly drier.

  After finishing everything, Liu Lao straightened his waist and twisted it a bit. After all, he was a bit old, and he had been bent over for a long time just now, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Seeing the worried eyes of the three people beside him, Liu Lao smiled and said:

  "Alright, I've also practiced, I'm not so fragile now. Let's take a look at the painting below and see where it's hidden."

  As soon as the words fell, Liu Lao took out a pair of tweezers and started to carefully pry from one corner. With just one try, he pried off three thin sheets of paper. Everyone was extremely excited, thinking that these three sheets must be the heart paper, mounting paper, and second heart paper of the first painting.

  "It shouldn't be this simple."

  Liu Lao looked carefully again, then used tweezers to try to peel off the first layer of paper. Sure enough, after a while, the first layer of paper was divided into two sheets, and the second sheet should be a white paper that serves as a separator between the two paintings. The third layer of paper was also divided into two sheets.

  In this way, the whole from top to bottom, a total of five layers of paper, the first layer is the heart paper of "Stone Bamboo Painting", the second layer is its backing paper, the third layer is a blank sheet of paper, the fourth layer is the heart paper of the second painting, and the fifth layer is the backing paper of the second painting.

  "Awesome!"

  Seeing the whole painting was divided into five layers, Liu Lao couldn't help but sigh, and the three people beside him also nodded in agreement. It's worth noting that there are five layers of paper here, and its thickness is almost the same as the usual mounting thickness of a painting scroll, which shows that the person who mounted this painting was very meticulous and skilled, indeed worthy of admiration.

  Liu Lao said to Chu Chen with a somewhat serious tone, "Little Chu, the next task is going to be a bit troublesome. Look here, it can actually be peeled off in five layers, and this paper is quite thin, so peeling it will be a bit difficult. You must prepare yourself mentally."

  Liu Lao originally thought there were only three layers of paper, so he was fairly confident when he lifted the painting. However, with five layers now, the difficulty had greatly increased, and he couldn't help but remind Chu Chen again.

  Line

  Chu Chen didn't even think about it and agreed, "Old Liu, just go ahead, my current idea is that if I get it, I'll be lucky, and if I lose it, I'll die."

  "Haha, Xiao Chu, your attitude is good. Since you said so, I will definitely try to preserve both paintings."

  Liu Lao listened to Chu Chen's words and was extremely delighted. Next, he explained the steps of uncovering the painting to the three people, then took out a bottle of secret washing liquid, preparing to officially start uncovering the painting.

  The first step is to use a cleaning solution to soak the painting, but because of the need to pay attention to the second one, the soaking time should not be too long. When it's almost done, Liu Lao's idea is to start peeling from the second layer, doing so to ensure that the first one is completely safe.

  After the first one is removed, quickly flip it over, flatten it out, and remove the backing paper. Then, tidy up the painting heart of the first one, and mount it on the wall.

  After the first painting is processed, a new medicinal liquid is reapplied and the second painting is continued to be steamed. This is because the first steaming time was short, and there is also an intermediate layer of blank paper that may block the downward penetration of the medicine.

  After the painting is completed, the blank paper can be removed, then flipped over, smoothed out, and the tracing paper of the second painting can be removed. After cleaning and tidying up, it can be mounted on the wall, and the entire process is complete.

  As Liu Lao's work unfolded step by step, it proved that his plan was still very reasonable. The first painting did not have any accidents and was displayed perfectly in front of everyone.