"Teacher Wang, don't worry. I'll definitely do my best to restore it," Xu Qingqing assured.
In the villa, Wang Lide had set aside a special workspace for Xu Qingqing.
Xu Qingqing carefully picked out each porcelain shard with tweezers. Even the ones as small as soybeans were carefully placed on the table.
There were over a hundred porcelain shards, many of which were covered in dirt. Xu Qingqing fetched a basin of clean water, held the shards with tweezers, and carefully scrubbed them clean with a small brush dipped in water.
This process required extreme caution. The force applied by the tweezers and the softness of the brush bristles were crucial.
If too much force was applied with the tweezers, the edges of the shards would break. And if the brush bristles were too hard, the delicate edges and corners would be dulled, making restoration difficult.
Xu Qingqing spent over two hours on this task. Finally, all the over a hundred porcelain shards were cleaned, free of any dust.
Xu Qingqing let out a long sigh, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her elbow, and then continued with the next task.
To piece the shards together, Wang Lide had printed out over twenty photos and pasted them on the wall in front of Xu Qingqing.
Xu Qingqing quickly scanned these photos three times in her mind, and a three - dimensional image of the porcelain was already formed in her head.
Since most of the items Xu Qingqing had restored were porcelain, she was quite confident.
The larger porcelain shards were relatively easy to piece together, but there were only a few of them. The remaining shards were extremely fragmented. If an ordinary restorer were to handle them, they would never be able to piece them together.
Xu Qingqing spent most of her time just looking for the right shards. By the time she had sorted through all the shards, it was already dark.
...
After Xu Yiyi and Xu An'an were picked up from school, they began to conspire about getting a paternity test. They lied to Tang Li, pretending to go out and play.
"Uncle Tang, we've made an appointment with our friends to play in the square outside. We'll be back soon. Is that okay?" Xu An'an climbed onto Tang Li's lap, blinking her big eyes.
Tang Li had overheard their plan the day before. A meaningful smile curled up his lips.
"Sure, go ahead. I'll come find you after I finish my work."
"Thank you, Uncle."
The two kids ran out merrily, unaware that after they left, Tang Li put on a black baseball cap and followed them.
Watching the two kids enter the nearest hospital, Tang Li took out his phone and made a call.
"Two kids are going to the City Central Hospital for a paternity test. Arrange for them to get in without any problems."
Just like that, the two kids had a smooth journey through the hospital for their paternity test. They thought it was their cuteness and charm that made things go so smoothly.
"Kids, the test results will be out tomorrow. Come back then to pick them up, okay?" The female nurse, following Tang Li's instructions, said gently to the two kids.
"Okay, thank you, Nurse Sister."
In another ward, Lu Chuanbai received the personal information of Tang Li from his assistant.
Tang Li was the only son of the Tang family, a well - known antique collection family abroad. His ancestors had made their fortune through tomb - raiding, but they had successfully cleaned up their image and were now regarded as art connoisseurs.
Tang Li had inherited the family business and become the new owner of the Tang's Antique Store. He was highly skilled in restoration.
He was also good at investing and had made significant achievements in the domestic medical and real - estate industries. He was a shareholder in many hospitals.
Xu Qingqing had once worked as a restorer in the Tang's Antique Store, and their relationship had grown closer over time.
After reading his personal information, Lu Chuanbai closed the computer. His heart was filled with resentment.
Since they hadn't been together for all these years, he wouldn't let them be together in the future either.
After the two cute kids came out of the hospital, they ran into a smiling Tang Li.
"Uncle Tang, why are you here?" Xu An'an felt a bit guilty.
Tang Li ruffled Xu An'an's hair with one hand and pinched Xu Yiyi's cheek with the other. "Well, you two said you were going to the square to play. Why did you come here instead?"
Xu Yiyi took Tang Li's hand off his cheek and rolled his big eyes, looking for an excuse.
"My sister and I wanted to go to the supermarket to buy some candy. Uncle Tang, you're just in time. Mom isn't home. Take us to buy some candy."
Xu Qingqing usually didn't like the kids to eat too much candy because it was bad for their teeth. So she limited their sugar intake. Tang Li knew this, so it was a good excuse.
Tang Li took the opportunity to play along. He held the two kids' hands and said with a smile, "Let's go. I'll take you to buy candy, but don't tell your mom."
"Thank you, Uncle Tang."
Everyone had their own agenda, and Gu Anrou was no exception. She had taken a big fall after being reported to the police by Xu Qingqing last time. She definitely wouldn't let Xu Qingqing off easily.
Gu Anrou had come up with a vicious plan. This time, she was going to make everyone in Xu Qingqing's family suffer because of her!
Night fell. The neon lights outside flashed in all colors. The warm lights in thousands of houses were like a galaxy that had fallen to earth, warm and peaceful.
"Miss Gu." The sound of knocking on the table pulled Gu Anrou back from her thoughts.
She looked up and saw a middle - aged man sitting in front of her with an unhappy expression. The middle - aged man looked refined, with a layer of hairspray on his hair, which was greasy and shiny under the light.
His skin was fair, but there were a few moles on his face, which were like flies in white cream, looking a bit greasy.
"Miss Gu, did you ask your father to arrange this meeting just to let you daydream?" The middle - aged man snorted, looking a bit dissatisfied.
These capitalists thought everyone was as idle as they were!
Gu Anrou came back to her senses, smoothed her hair, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Uncle He. I really do have something to talk to you about. It'll only take a few minutes of your time."
After saying that, Gu Anrou took out a piece of A4 paper from her bag and pushed it in front of He Qingwei. It listed a series of antiques worth tens of millions.
He Qingwei raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean, Miss Gu?"
Gu Anrou got straight to the point. "These are all the antiques collected by the Xu family. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Their family even has a few collections worth hundreds of millions."
The information on the A4 paper was what Gu Anrou had found out and compiled through her contacts.
"So what?" Although He Qingwei remained calm on the surface, he couldn't help but complain in his heart.
Xu's father was just an antique appraiser. Where did he get the money to buy so many antiques? He would have to give him a warning in the future!
Gu Anrou was getting a bit impatient. Why didn't this man understand what she meant?
The Xu family had so many collections. They must have obtained them through illegal means. Shouldn't they all be arrested and their collections confiscated?
"Miss Gu, what do you mean by telling me this today?" He Qingwei repeated. "Don't tell me you're here to show off your wealth?"