Tinker Not With Relics Chapter 1

At the beginning of February, just after the beginning of spring, David Jiang.

People who went out early in the morning rubbed their hands, and when they opened their mouths, white mist enveloped them. The whole city began a busy day in this chilly spring.

There was still more than half an hour before the scheduled clocking-in time, but Erick Qi was already sitting upright in the workshop.

This was his second day at Guanghe Cultural Relics Protection Co., Ltd. Before he could digest the contents of the dozen pages of the employee handbook he read yesterday, the person in charge, Brandon Dong, gave Erick Qi a restoration task before leaving get off work. Asking a fresh graduate to do practical work without even knowing the ropes showed that the company was indeed short of manpower.

The central air conditioner was running quietly, and the temperature in the studio was moderate, but there was no humidifier, so it was a little dry. This environment was not very comfortable for people, but it was suitable for some objects that were easily damaged by moisture.

For example, the bronze knife in Erick Qi's hand.

Among cold weapons, knives are the most common. However, bronze knives only account for a very small proportion among them, and it is very rare to see one. This is because although bronze is hard, it is very brittle and easy to break.

The blade in Erick Qi's hand was narrow and thin, about one foot and six inches long, with a single edge and a slight arc. The back of the blade was slightly thicker, with a door on the back carved into a row of animal teeth, adding a bit of ferocious beauty to the slender and smooth blade. The casting was exquisite, and the only flaw was probably the broken edge at the top of the blade.

This is a broken sword, broken into two parts at the junction of the blade and the disc.

The broken knife disc was also lying on the table, with a circle of vertical lines carved evenly on the side of the disc, and a half-finished round knife handle with fish scales on it. Above that, the place where the handle should have been was empty.

Yesterday, Brandon Dong patted Erick Qi on the shoulder and said, "The knife is missing a few parts. The blade was just found two days ago. It's also missing a handle and two exquisite pearls. You should repair the parts you found first. There are only two requirements, one is precision and the other is speed. There's nothing else. How about it, it's very simple, right? Don't be stressed, young man, you still have a bright future, work hard!"

Erick Qi spat out a mouthful of blood in his heart at that time: precision and speed combined are already the highest requirements, what else can there be? ... Simple as a B@st@ard!

However, after seeing the actual appearance of the knife this morning, Erick Qi's pressure was really reduced.

Because both the blade and the blade head of this broken knife have a dark golden metallic luster, without any rust or stains, and it feels smooth and sharp, and the blade surface is so shiny that you can see reflections in it.

It can really be used as a reference...

When the sunlight outside the window happened to fall on the water-like blade from a certain angle, the reflected light was enough to blind Erick Qi's eyes.

hehe.

This is a modern artifact, right?! What bronze artifact would look like this after being dug out of the ground? Where are the traces of age? Where is the ancient and profound cultural texture? Are you kidding me?!

"Knock, knock, knock." Someone knocked three times at the open workshop door. Erick Qi looked up and saw Brandon Dong walking in with his hands behind his back: "Xiao Qi, you're here so early? You're energetic! Not bad, not bad."

Erick Qi stood up: "Good morning, Director Frank." He flipped through the company's internal member position tree. Brandon Dong was obviously the top leader, but he liked others to call him director. I don't know what kind of weird thing this is.

But to be honest, there are many strange things about Guanghe Cultural Relics Protection Co., Ltd.

For example, the recruitment requirement of "those with self-defense ability and strong luck are preferred"; for example, the division of departments in this company, there are execution team and supervision team, but what the hell is the aftermath team? ! And Erick Qi, as a cultural relic restoration specialist, was assigned to the logistics team because of a trembling hand and a wrong click?

Erick Qi did not dare to think too much, fearing that if he thought too much, he would feel that he had entered a terrible place, as if it would be wiped out by the "anti-illegal" or "anti-crime" working groups at any time.

However, Erick Qi was a layman, and the company structure and job titles were all empty to him. Although this company seemed unreliable, the contract was very formal, the working environment was very good, and the work assigned to him was not deviant at the moment.

Of course, the most important thing is that the salary is good, and it also includes food and accommodation. Just for these two points, Erick Qi is willing to ignore those weird things for the time being and continue working here. Anyway, those things don't have much impact on a small employee like him, so he just collects his salary and does his job.

"How is it? Xiao Qi, are you having any difficulties?" Brandon Dong stood beside the table and waved his hand for Erick Qi to sit down and continue working on his own.

Erick Qi shook his head: "I took a look and found that the knife was well protected. There was basically no need for any preliminary treatment. The fracture was not a big problem. Just file it a little and make a small slope on the new slag and then weld it. After a final fine treatment, it will basically be invisible."

Brandon Dong's mouth twitched for some reason and he asked, "Do you want to file it off?"

"Uh...right." Erick Qi didn't know what he meant by that. After thinking about it, he felt that although Brandon Dong was the person in charge of the company, he was still a professional in the field of repair. He might just not understand the specific details, so he asked casually.

Unexpectedly, Brandon Dong silently glanced at the broken knife on the table, then hesitantly said to Erick Qi: "That little Qi..."

Erick Qi waited for instructions: "Hmm?"

Brandon Dong: "When filing and welding, be gentle."

Erick Qi: ...

Brandon Dong: ...

Erick Qi: "Director, you are joking."

Brandon Dong: "No."

Erick Qi: ...

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. Brandon Dong coughed, cleared his throat and said, "That's it. You go ahead and get busy. Repair it and give it to me later. I'll be in the office before 3 pm." After that, he strolled out with his slightly protruding belly that had grown from middle-aged obesity.

Erick Qi blinked, then looked down at the broken knife again. He really didn't understand what Brandon Dong's expression, which seemed like he had a toothache, meant.

It's fine to be gentle when filing the cut, but how can you be gentle when welding?! Licking it gently with a flame?! That's enough...

He originally thought that Brandon Dong had only taken the broken knife under the guise of a cultural relic to test his practical skills, but now it seems that Brandon Dong really feels sorry for the knife.

But whether it is a test product or a craft collection, it is all the same in Erick Qi's hands.

He rolled up his sleeves over his wrists and stretched his thin fingers over his forearms. Then he opened the tool cabinet beside him, picked out a flat file, picked up the blade, turned it over to compare the direction of the cut, and started working.

Erick Qi's previous estimate was correct. It really didn't take much effort to repair this broken sword. There was no need to clean, rust, or replace it, and it didn't need to be old. When he finished the last step in one go and stood up to stretch his muscles, there was still nearly half an hour before lunch time, which basically met Brandon Dong's requirements for fine acceleration.

Taking out a special soft cleaning cloth from the cabinet, Erick Qi carefully wiped the bronze knife one last time, then tidied up the table, put the knife into the slender solid wood box with a simple shape, and went to find Brandon Dong.

Guanghe did not rent one or two floors in an office building as many companies do, but directly bought a piece of land in the East District of David Jiang and built a twin office building and a staff dormitory in a yard. From the outside, the office building is only three stories high, and the dormitory building is only five stories high. There is a layer of green plants climbing on the wall. Overall, it is a bit old and looks inconspicuous in the business district with high-rise buildings. But the building is decorated simply and elegantly.

Erick Qi's studio was on the third floor of Building A, on the same floor as Brandon Dong's office. He held the wooden box containing the knife and walked to the door of the office at the end of the corridor. He raised his hand and knocked on the open door: "Director Frank."

Brandon Dong, who was sitting behind a dark brown wooden desk, put down the documents in his hand and waved at him: "Oh, Xiao Qi is here, come in. What's up? Have you repaired the knife?"

"Well, can you take a look at it?" Erick Qi walked over and handed him the wooden box.

"Let me take a look." Brandon Dong took the wooden box and opened it, but did not reach out to take out the knife. Instead, he carefully measured the wooden box for a moment, nodded after a while, closed the wooden box, and gently put it on the desk. Then he smiled at Erick Qi and said, "Not bad, the broken ends are connected very naturally. Thank you for your hard work. You can go back. It will be time for lunch if you are busy for a while. Oh, by the way, help me close the door when you leave."

"Okay, Director, I'll go back to my office first." Erick Qi nodded. He had just entered the workplace and was not quite used to the change of roles. He always subconsciously put his leader in the position of a mentor in school. He respected him but was not afraid of him. Moreover, Brandon Dong was always smiling, very easy-going, and not arrogant. So Erick Qi was not so restrained.

He took two steps and turned back to Brandon Dong and said, "Director, this knife is very beautifully made. Does it have a name?"

"Yes!" Brandon Dong glanced at the wooden box and said, "Did you see the animal tooth pattern on the blade?"

Erick Qi nodded.

Brandon Dong: "The name of the knife fits the shape very well, it's called Dragon Tooth."

Erick Qi: ...

Brandon Dong: "What?"

Erick Qi twitched his lips and shook his head, "No, I just remembered that I had seen a demon sword called Dragon Tooth somewhere before. The blade was shattered. Later, it was said that it was dug out during the Song Dynasty and used as a dragon-headed guillotine for Bao Gong."

Brandon Dong didn't even blink: "Oh, what a coincidence!"

Erick Qi: ... When you express surprise, remember to agree with me with your facial expression, okay!