Chapter 61
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“I have workshops in both the Imperial Capital and Lin City.”
Master Jiang spoke carefully, “If Miss Shen agrees, I would like to take it to the Imperial Capital side to test and examine the composition of this fire-proof cloth. The methods we use have also been tested on excavated cultural relics. They’re very safe and won’t damage the fabric. Or perhaps Miss Shen could come to the Imperial Capital together? Our workshop will arrange all expenses.”
As long as they could obtain it for research, let alone covering expenses, any conditions were negotiable.
Professor Li naturally hoped they could research it thoroughly, but since the item belonged to Shen You, he couldn’t speak up despite carrying the title of teacher.
Everyone present understood that research would likely take a considerable amount of time, and when difficulties arose, solving them could take years.
With such a valuable item, not wanting to leave it in someone else’s hands for so long was also human nature.
Shen You was still considering, and Master Jiang didn’t press her.
After a moment, she asked first, “Could you separate a portion for research?”
Master Jiang hesitated for a while before answering with visible reluctance, “It’s possible, but the collection value would…”
That made things easier. Wanting to collect a complete, intact piece of fabric was a preference of Master Jiang’s profession.
For Shen You, the best way to collect it was to make it into a finished product.
She needed Master Jiang’s workshop.
Asbestos was said to be potentially toxic if not handled properly, so it absolutely had to be tested thoroughly.
Moreover, she couldn’t find anywhere more professional than Master Jiang’s workshop.
During her time doing business in the Great Qi dynasty, judging from the situation there, she felt that old emperor had gone mad from consuming elixir pills.
This cloth was precious, and if it got ruined, it would probably be very difficult to obtain another piece, so after thinking it through, she still felt that Master Jiang’s side was more reliable.
However, she couldn’t just give the item to the workshop for free.
“Since that’s possible, then how about this: your workshop cooperates with the museum. The separated piece can be considered my donation to the museum for traditional craftsmanship research.”
“For the remaining portion, I’d like to have it made into clothing for collection, provided the test results show no problems.”
Master Jiang’s workshop also accepted private orders, custom-restoring fabrics and garments.
What’s more the complete process from weaving cloth took one to two years of waiting, and ordinary people couldn’t even get in line.
Compared to foreign haute couture costing millions, it was no less impressive.
After hearing Shen You’s intention, Master Jiang immediately agreed without hesitation, “Good. If Miss Shen is willing to provide the fire-proof cloth for our research, I can personally take charge of creating the finished product for Miss Shen.”
He wouldn’t feel at ease leaving it to anyone else. This piece of fabric might be the last remaining piece of fire-proof cloth in existence.
“Then I’ll trouble Master Jiang.” Shen You smiled.
It had to be known that Master Jiang’s workshop had teams handling everything, and he personally rarely worked hands-on anymore.
Even the upper-class circles in the Imperial Capital didn’t have many people who could request his personal involvement.
This time, it was his own request.
Although the others listening were somewhat surprised, when they turned to look at the fabric in the box, another thought arose: only Master Jiang working personally would be worthy of such excellent material.
After negotiating the terms, Master Jiang and his team needed to first take a small sample from the edge of the fire-proof cloth for preliminary testing, mainly to check if the fabric contained any harmful substances.
The Jiangcheng Museum had these facilities, and Professor Li would participate together. This was the result everyone had agreed upon.
Shen You felt more at ease with things happening in Jiangcheng rather than sending it directly to a completely unfamiliar place.
So now they had to wait for the results before making the next decision.
When taking the basic testing sample, Master Jiang pushed his prized disciple aside and wouldn’t let him do it.
“Don’t touch it! You’re clumsy and might ruin it. I’ll do it myself.”
Fu Xicheng pointed at himself with a confused expression. Was he the one being called clumsy?
Hadn’t he just been praised for his skillful hands yesterday?
How complex could taking a sample be? He had done it so many times before, but now he was being disdained.
Messages in the group chat were still coming in, with everyone asking about what the legendary fire-proof cloth felt like to touch, whether they had reached an agreement, and when he would bring it back for everyone to see.
Fu Xicheng replied: “Forget it. After touching it twice, teacher pushed me aside.”
After handling the matter, Master Jiang inevitably asked a few questions about the item’s origin. Shen You gave the same explanation as before.
She mentioned vaguely that she had heard it had been collected in her family for some years and was brought back together when returning to the country.
After lunch, Master Jiang and his group hurriedly rushed to the museum.
Shen You also returned to her shop and called her parents, telling them to prepare for the trip.
The fire-proof cloth would eventually be sent to the Imperial Capital.
And depending on the situation, she might also make a trip there, so she would arrange a better tour group for her parents at that time.
**
Shen You was carefully using tools to handle gold thread as thin as hair, repairing the phoenix coronet. She didn’t even dare to sneeze.
When someone came from outside.
A woman with excellent bearing walked into the shop wearing high heels.
She looked somewhat familiar. Shen You looked up at her.
“Are you Miss Shen? I’m Tu Yan. We met outside the auction house before.” Tu Yan was also examining Shen You’s shop.
She was a professional manager with connections to the auction company, so naturally her network wasn’t lacking. Finding Shen You’s shop wasn’t difficult.
“What do you need?” Shen You frowned slightly and carefully set down what she was holding.
“Can you contact Mr. Wen?” Tu Yan struggled to suppress her inner displeasure and put on a smile.
She had been managing that garden plus the two Western-style houses by South Lake for three years. Mr. Wen had always been very reassured, and people even treated her as half the mistress.
However, ever since that day when she had dealings with this Miss Shen, she received a contract termination notice.
Without any explanation, she was simply asked to transfer the properties she had managed for three years.
Tu Yan didn’t believe this matter had nothing to do with this Miss Shen.
“I can’t contact him.” Shen You replied flatly.
She wasn’t stupid enough not to notice the hidden hostility from the other party, so she couldn’t maintain a good attitude.
“Don’t you have his private number?” Tu Yan’s tone carried some questioning, along with some veiled hope.
The person was in the Great Qi dynasty, so no number would work.
Shen You didn’t speak. Tu Yan walked over, and it looked like her hand was about to rest on the table.
Shen You’s expression changed, and she stood up abruptly, “Say whatever you need to say standing there. Don’t touch anything!”
If something happened to the phoenix coronet in her shop, she couldn’t explain it.
Components that had taken her several hours to repair—if she had to start over, she would go crazy too!
“I have no obligation to help you find people. If that’s why you came here, then you can leave now.”
Tu Yan stood there stunned, still thinking about Shen You’s earlier scolding, and glanced down at the items on the table.
Just fakes anyway, what was the fuss about!
She thought she knew that antique shops wouldn’t display real items, at most high-quality replicas.
But if someone accidentally damaged even a little bit, they would definitely demand exorbitant compensation.
“Miss Shen, I don’t mean anything else.”
Tu Yan forced a smile and began looking for an exit strategy.
“I have urgent work matters and need to contact Mr. Wen, but I haven’t been able to reach him these past few days. I’m afraid of delaying things, so I came to find you.”
Regardless of whether Shen You knew about the contract termination, this explanation would work either way.