Chapter 60
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Master Jiang arrived by plane after nine o’clock in the evening. After resting at the hotel for one night, he kept thinking about the fire-proof cloth from the video while eating the buffet breakfast.
Fu Xicheng was contacting Xu Jiayan to ask about the situation.
When he looked at the WeChat Moments post from last night announcing his arrival in Jiangcheng, he noticed two people had replied with complaints full of resentment.
He felt somewhat guilty, but not too much.
“Who showed this item to Old Master Xu? There shouldn’t be many people in Jiangcheng who could produce something that even the old master couldn’t determine accurately.” He continued asking.
If everyone knew this person, they probably would have mentioned it directly yesterday, so he was genuinely curious.
Master Jiang’s workshop had direct cooperation with the Imperial Capital Museum. Where did they obtain materials that even his team couldn’t produce?
Xu Jiayan simply sent over screenshots from the museum’s official WeChat account, including the previous porcelain donation.
Fu Xicheng studied them for a long time. He had never heard of such a person before.
Beside him, Master Jiang had already checked the time several times.
They had agreed to meet at ten o’clock in the morning.
Shen You’s place wasn’t particularly far away. She wore a pure-colored cloud silk airplane-sleeve short shirt paired with a silk spiral skirt. Although it was traditional clothing, it also suited modern wear.
She bought a set of jianbing guozi and a cup of soy milk at the alley entrance for breakfast. Only after finishing did she set out.
When she arrived at the hotel, she didn’t rush inside. Instead, she waited outside for Old Master Xu, who was the intermediary.
Xu Jiayan usually lived in an apartment not far from the Jiangcheng Museum, close to Professor Li’s home, so he conveniently picked up Professor Li on his way there.
Everyone entered the hotel and met in the reserved tea room.
Master Jiang’s group first greeted Old Master Xu, Professor Li, and Xu Jiayan before noticing Shen You.
“This is Shen You, my disciple. She runs a shop on Antique Street, and that piece of fire-proof cloth belongs to her.”
Professor Li stood beside Shen You and introduced her with a smile.
Master Jiang looked at Shen You with some surprise. Such a young woman already had these kinds of connections in their circle.
Ordinary antique shop owners couldn’t invite both Old Master Xu and Old Master Li.
In this circle, high-end players and items were all traded at auction houses or within small circles. And without some ability, one couldn’t enter.
However, thinking about how she could produce such precious fire-proof cloth, everything made sense.
Fu Xicheng had just told him that she was not only the donor of the complete Ru kiln tea set but had also provided the museum with lost craftsmanship techniques.
“Hello, Miss Shen.” Master Jiang greeted her politely.
After both sides became acquainted, Shen You took out the item. Master Jiang and his disciple Fu Xicheng held their breath for a moment and couldn’t speak for a long time.
Rushing here overnight had been the right decision!
What Old Master Xu had said on the phone yesterday wasn’t an exaggeration.
Under the natural light from the floor-to-ceiling windows, within the woven threads of the fabric, a subtle luster appeared that was restrained and gentle, yet carried an ethereal quality.
One point more would seem too luxurious, and one point less would lack something.
This perfectly balanced texture was something that even Master Jiang, who was familiar with various ancient weaving techniques, had never seen in such unique fabric.
As an expert in this field, he understood even more clearly how precious this was.
This was a priceless treasure!
When they saw Shen You raise a lighter to burn it, he and Fu Xicheng almost jumped up in alarm.
Although they knew she must have already tested it with fire, they simply couldn’t bear to witness such simple and crude behavior that might damage this cloth.
Those few seconds made their hearts race with fear.
“We need some time to examine this carefully.” Master Jiang asked with his eyes toward Shen You.
“No problem.”
With Shen You’s agreement, the master and disciple were very happy, moving much more carefully than Shen You had just done, as if they were holding not a piece of fabric but a fragile treasure.
While Master Jiang and Fu Xicheng examined it using their professional methods, Shen You and the others drank tea and chatted at the tea table.
“How is the restoration of the coronet coming along?” Professor Li asked with concern.
“It’s going quite smoothly currently, but the craftsmanship is really complex, so progress is slow.” Shen You answered honestly.
“That’s good then.” Professor Li nodded. “If you encounter any problems, contact me anytime.”
“Will do.” Shen You wasn’t formal with Professor Li. “Once I finish restoring this piece, I’ll have time to come help you.”
Professor Li smiled with satisfaction, almost wanting to boast to everyone about what a wonderful disciple she was.
“How can you talk about work as soon as you meet!” Old Master Xu turned toward Shen You, smiling kindly. “Young lady, you don’t have a boyfriend yet, do you? Tell Grandpa Xu what type you like, and Grandpa Xu will arrange it for you.”
When this topic came up, Xu Jiayan’s gaze carried a few more hints of expectation. And Professor Li, seeing this situation, also leaned over curiously.
He usually observed Jiayan’s abilities and character, and both were admirable.
However, the Xu family was a prestigious clan with vast holdings, making their internal situation much more complex than ordinary families.
Old Master Xu was very satisfied with this young woman Shen You.
If both young people had such intentions, with his support, there wouldn’t be any problems. However, Shen You’s personality might not necessarily accept the ways of large families.
Facing everyone’s attention, Shen You was stunned for two seconds before answering, “I don’t have any thoughts in that direction currently.”
As for what type she liked, she was too embarrassed to say.
She was rather shallow in that regard. She liked men over 180 centimeters tall, good-looking, with abs, who could deceive her feelings but not her money.
“Young people nowadays are all like this, putting work first.” Old Master Xu smiled and shook his head. “When you have someone you like in the future, you must tell Grandpa Xu, and I’ll help you evaluate him.”
Shen You smiled and nodded.
Master Jiang and his group had also finished their examination, their faces filled with joy.
“Miss Shen, may I take some photos of this fire-proof cloth?” Fu Xicheng asked politely.
“Yes.” Shen You agreed, knowing he wanted to send them to the workshop team.
Fu Xicheng used a camera to capture the details as clearly as possible.
The two simple photos he took with his phone caused everyone to become excited when he sent them to the “Loving Fellow Disciples” group chat.
“It really is fire-proof cloth! We’ve never seen anything like this before! We just don’t know what the composition is.”
The Classic of Mountains and Seas and some mythological stories all recorded the raw materials for making fire-proof cloth, each with their own miraculous properties.
Currently, the most common theory was natural asbestos, which was a type of silicate mineral.
However, to craft this material into the exquisitely beautiful fabric before them, the intermediate processes certainly wouldn’t be simple.
“Miss Shen.” Master Jiang spoke up, “What are your plans for this piece of fire-proof cloth?”
If she wanted to sell it, he would definitely want to acquire it.
However, this kind of priceless treasure, with no second piece found and the weaving techniques being a mystery, anyone who didn’t particularly need money would be reluctant to part with it.
Just looking at it here for a while, even the most skilled person could only see the surface.
Only by returning to the workshop with a professional team would there be any possibility of analyzing the raw materials and weaving techniques, thereby replicating it.
This required the owner’s agreement, which was also difficult.
“What do you think?” Shen You directed the question back to Master Jiang, wanting to hear his opinion first.
Selling it—she really was reluctant to part with such a rare item.