Chapter 28: “Sick Book”
Mi Yang took the book and observed it carefully. Mr. Wei’s book only looked like it had severe page detachment, but the problem wasn’t major. He just needed to take it apart and re-glue it. The stained areas on a few individual pages were just ink, which was relatively easy to clean.
Beside him, Bai Luochuan looked at the old book with some disdain and hesitated. “Maybe you should wear gloves.”
Mi Yang didn’t even look up from the book. “Hmm? Why would I wear gloves to read a book?”
Bai Luochuan then took out a pair of transparent plastic gloves from a nearby drawer and handed them to him. Mi Yang couldn’t help but laugh when he saw them. They were the disposable gloves they had worn a few days ago to eat large bones. He shook his head. “No need. They don’t feel good on my hands and will be slippery.”
Bai Luochuan was still hesitant. Mi Yang said to him, “I’ll go wash my hands in a bit.”
Only then did the young master Bai agree.
Mi Yang took the book to the desk, turned on the lamp, and spread it out, flipping through it from left to right. He was basically confident about what to do. The next step was to rummage through the drawers for tools.
Bai Luochuan watched, curious, and also got off the bed. He walked over and said, “What are you looking for?”
Mi Yang said, “I remember putting it in the drawer a few days ago. I saw it… ah, found it!” He said as he took out a small pair of scissors, snipped them a couple of times, and seeing that they were quite sharp, he sat down at the desk with the scissors, very satisfied.
Bai Luochuan leaned over, curious. “What are you doing with the scissors?”
Mi Yang tilted his head and looked at him. “This book is ‘sick.’ I want to cure it. Weren’t you disgusted by how dirty it was? When I’m done, Grandpa Wei will definitely be very happy too.”
Bai Luochuan didn’t quite understand, but he had never stopped Mi Yang from doing anything he wanted to do, especially since this time it sounded quite novel.
Mi Yang spread the book open and began to “treat” it with the small pair of scissors.
With the desk lamp on, he could see the “cause of the illness” even more clearly. As Mi Yang had expected, this book had been with Mr. Wei in the south for many years, where the humidity was already too high. The owner, in his eagerness to care for the book, had also exposed it to the sun. The moisture in the paper had evaporated rapidly, making the pages dry and fragile, with slight wrinkling and cracking at the corners. A few pages were also excessively worn from being read for a long time, and the center of the binding had also cracked a little. But these were still “early symptoms,” only half-open, with one page turning into two single sheets.
Someone else might have just patched it with glue, but Mi Yang wanted to do a perfect job and decided to re-glue the whole thing.
He rubbed his hands together. It had been a long time since he had done these small handicrafts, and his hands were itching to get to work. He moved quickly, dismantling the book while clearing away the dust. His small hands became more and more nimble.
Bai Luochuan watched from the side, seeing him remove the binding thread, the cover, the pages… and then he blinked. Why did it look like Little Good Boy was dismembering the book?
Bai Luochuan frowned slightly, but seeing Mi Yang working so seriously, he quickly relaxed. He had always been unconditionally on Mi Yang’s side. If Little Good Boy said he was going to “cure” the book, he would help. At worst, when Mr. Wei returned in three days, he would apologize, and then have his family replace the book.
Mi Yang was busy with his work and didn’t talk much. Bai Luochuan sat beside him, occasionally leaning over to ask in a low voice, “How did this book fall apart? I saw Grandpa Wei cherishing it so much.”
Mi Yang said, “It was exposed to the sun for too long. Here, look.” He pointed to the corners and then to the inside of the pages. “The corners are more serious. The color is different from being in the sun, much darker than the inside.”
Bai Luochuan said, “Oh, I thought it was just dirty.”
Mi Yang smiled. “How could it be so evenly dirty? The corners are also damaged in two places. I’ll have to find some paper to repair it tomorrow.”
Bai Luochuan was surprised. “Little Good Boy, you know how to do this too? Where did you learn it from?”
Mi Yang said without batting an eye, “I learned it from watching TV.”
Bai Luochuan pressed on, “Which channel?”
Mi Yang continued to make it up, “CCTV-1!”
Bai Luochuan said, “The one that shows ‘The Windmill’ at 5:30? Was it taught in the ‘Smart House’ segment?”
Mi Yang nodded along. Bai Luochuan believed him and even added, “Big Thumb is very smart. He taught well, and you learned well.”
Mi Yang couldn’t help but laugh to himself for a long time.
The repair work Mi Yang was doing was very tedious and required quiet patience for a long time. After working for a while, he calmed down and entered that world, with only the book he was repairing in his eyes and heart.
Bai Luochuan was quiet most of the time, but he was still a child. When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he would talk to him. He glanced at the characters on the page. This book was about the evolution of Chinese characters, with everything from large seal script, small seal script, Zhou script, to clerical script. Bai Luochuan was curious. “There are so many kinds of characters. Which one is good to write?”
Mi Yang, while dismantling the book, said, “Learn the one you like.”
Bai Luochuan looked at him again. “You really like writing this, don’t you? Are you going to be a calligrapher in the future?”
Mi Yang chuckled. “No, I’m just a little interested. I think it’s fun.” He found a small, soft-bristled brush to clean the book’s binding, his long eyelashes fluttering as he looked down at the book. “In the future, I just want to do some small handicrafts.”
Bai Luochuan looked at him thoughtfully as he fiddled with the old book. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind, and he pointed at it. “Like repairing books like this?”
Mi Yang nodded. “Yes.”
He had been thinking for a long time. In this life, he should do something he wouldn’t regret, like pursuing his greatest interest and doing a job he loved. He hadn’t cherished his last life. It was a rare opportunity to start over, so it was better to choose what made him happy. Mi Yang put down the small scissors in his hand and looked up at the little Bai Luochuan beside him, who was helping him arrange the pages. A hint of doubt was added to his heart.
He was still a little concerned about that kiss. The person in the dream was also him, and feelings couldn’t be faked.
Bai Luochuan noticed and also looked up at him. “What’s wrong? Did I take the wrong one?”
Mi Yang shook his head and made up a vague excuse. “No, I think I got something in my eye just now…” Before he could finish, Bai Luochuan leaned over and blew on it. Mi Yang couldn’t open his eyes from the puff of air. Then, his little face was held, and he was given two more serious blows. Mi Yang’s eyes reflexively teared up, becoming watery.
The child opposite him was concerned. “Is it better now?”
Mi Yang: “…It’s better. Let go, my face hurts.”
Bai Luochuan was not reassured. He took his hand and washed it carefully, then leaned over to check again, looking unhappy. “That book is dirty. Why don’t you play with new ones in the future?”
Mi Yang rubbed his eyes. “It’s fine. I’ll be more careful next time.”
The young master Bai was a bit of a germaphobe, but when it came to Mi Yang, he was helpless.
At night, Bai Luochuan secretly turned on a small lamp, holding up the quilt to block the light, and let Mi Yang hide inside to do his repairs. The two of them secretly stayed up, one hiding and working, the other holding up the quilt in front of the desk, listening for any movement at the door while looking back at Mi Yang. Soon, both of them were sweating. Mi Yang’s little face was flushed, and Bai Luochuan’s forehead was damp with sweat, looking like two pathetic little thieves. They looked at each other and grinned.
The young master Bai smiled for a moment, then quickly composed himself, pursing his lips and not smiling.
He had recently started losing his baby teeth and was not willing to let people see.
This old book only had seven or eight seriously soiled spots, which were just ink drop marks. It was clear that it had been cherished. On the first night, Mi Yang simply dismantled the pages and cleaned them, also noting down the parts that needed repair. The next day, after buying glue and some cleaning agents, he could continue his work. After he had a plan in his mind, he hid the dismantled book in a large cardboard box that Bai Luochuan had found. Bai Luochuan even specially placed a toy on top to disguise it.
Mi Yang yawned. “I’m not going home tomorrow either. I’ll repair the book here…”
Bai Luochuan’s eyes lit up. “Okay!”
After the two of them washed up and lay down on the small bed to sleep, Mi Yang was already too tired to even have the energy to tell a story.
Bai Luochuan had much more energy than he did. His battery was not yet fully drained. Lying there, his mind quickly wandered to other things. He suddenly rolled over to look at Mi Yang and asked, as if nonchalantly, “Little Good Boy, how many days will it take to repair this book?”
Mi Yang was too sleepy to open his eyes, but hearing his question, he still calculated the time in his mind and said vaguely, “Um, at least three days.”
Bai Luochuan said, “You’ll be repairing it day and night, right?”
Mi Yang said, “Right.”
Bai Luochuan said “oh” and then, “The book is already in pieces, so it’s not easy to take it back… You’ll repair it here? Then you’ll sleep over on Monday too?”
Mi Yang rubbed his face against the pillow. “Mm, I’ll sleep over.”
The young master Bai was overjoyed. He readily agreed, “Then I’ll close the door properly and not tell anyone.”
Mi Yang chuckled softly, fumbled to find him, and patted him as he usually did before falling asleep. In his sleep, it seemed that someone gently touched his lips, their finger reaching in to carefully feel his teeth, as if to confirm that they were all intact and healthy, before retreating with relief.
Mi Yang wanted to bite that finger, but he was too drowsy. He only managed to suck on it and grind it a couple of times before falling into a deeper sleep.
When he woke up the next day, Bai Luochuan’s first reaction was to continue repairing the book with Mi Yang.
Mi Yang yawned. “No rush. We have to go buy some things in a bit.”
Bai Luochuan said, “Buy what?”
Mi Yang thought for a moment. “Xuan paper and glue. Um, and we’ll need a spray bottle.”
Bai Luochuan said, “A spray bottle? The kind for watering flowers?”
Mi Yang shook his head and gestured to him. “As big as my palm, preferably smaller. It should spray a very fine mist, like water vapor.”
Bai Luochuan thought for a moment. “My mom has a lot of small bottles like you described on her dressing table. They’re even made of glass. I’ll go take a look…”
Mi Yang: “Come back!”
The young master Bai stood there, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
Mi Yang held onto him, his head aching. “If you touch those ‘small bottles,’ we’ll both be having an extra dish for dinner.”
Bai Luochuan was curious. “What extra dish?”
Mi Yang said, “Bamboo shoots stir-fried with shredded pork. Have you had it?”
Bai Luochuan wrinkled his little nose. “Bamboo shoots? No, I’ve only had them steamed. They’re not good.”
Mi Yang was amused by his naive look. He pretended to be serious and gave the young master Bai a light slap on the bottom, even providing a sound effect, “Pa!”
Bai Luochuan was startled and jumped to the side, covering his bottom, his face red. “Why did you suddenly hit me?”
Mi Yang said, “This is ‘bamboo shoots stir-fried with shredded pork.’ It’ll really hurt when they use a bamboo cane to hit you.”
Bai Luochuan frowned for a long time before he understood and immediately retorted, “They won’t. I’ve never been hit before.” But he quickly looked at Mi Yang, his gaze falling on his bottom. “Did Auntie Cheng hit you like that? Did she use a bamboo cane?”
Mi Yang thought about it seriously. In this life, he had been obedient and sensible, not as naughty as before, so he really hadn’t been hit. He shook his head. “No, I’ve seen other people get hit like that.”
Bai Luochuan breathed a sigh of relief, but since Mi Yang was stopping him, he didn’t go after the cosmetic bottles on Mrs. Bai’s dressing table.
The tools needed for this “sick book” were not many. Mi Yang thought about it in his mind. The easiest way to remove the ink stains from the pages was with potassium permanganate solution and oxalic acid solution. But he was just an elementary school student, and children were generally not allowed to handle these things. After thinking about it, he decided to use soapy water and alkaline water instead, which could be found in the bathroom and kitchen.
Mi Yang then took the young master Bai’s hand and, as they went downstairs, said, “Let’s look around the house first. If we can’t find something, we’ll go to the store to buy it.”
Bai Luochuan said, “Okay, I have money.” He thought for a moment, then added proudly, “A lot!”
The nanny, Auntie Wu, who was cleaning the stairs, heard them and smiled. “Yangyang and Luochuan are awake? What are you looking for?”
Mi Yang said, “Good morning, Auntie. We’re looking for ‘treasure’.”
Auntie Wu smiled. “Breakfast is on the table. Go look for it after you’ve eaten.”
“Okay!”
These little things, which seemed useless to ordinary people, were really like “treasure” to Mi Yang. The moment he started to get back into book restoration, his mind worked faster than ever, and he unconsciously used some of his old tricks. It was truly a case of practice makes perfect.
And Bai Luochuan, beside him, was in high spirits, probably treating it as a new treasure hunt and having a great time.
After getting the alkaline water and soapy water, Mi Yang mixed the cleaning agent according to the dosage, put it in a small bowl, and took it upstairs to hide. On the other side, Bai Luochuan had also found some Xuan paper. He came in with a large stack and asked him, “Little Good Boy, is this enough?”
Mi Yang said, “Where did you find all this?”
Bai Luochuan said, “Grandpa bought it for me last time. He said I could use this paper for practicing calligraphy in the future.”
Mi Yang leaned over to take a look. The old Mr. Bai himself only practiced hard-pen calligraphy, using things like fountain pens. He didn’t know much about Xuan paper. Raw Xuan and sized Xuan were mixed together, with all sorts of types and grades—but thin paper was suitable for painting, and thick paper was suitable for calligraphy. Having a full set was convenient.
Bai Luochuan first took out a sheet for him. “Use this one?”
Mi Yang glanced at it. It was waxed raw golden flower luo wen paper. You could tell it was expensive and exquisite at a glance. No wonder the little young master had taken a liking to it first. He shook his head. “This is sized Xuan. We don’t use this.” He reached out his finger and touched a softer sheet, then pulled it out. “Let’s use this one. This one is good.”
Bai Luochuan curiously compared the two. “They are a little different. Do you learn all this in the third grade?”
Mi Yang said vaguely, “Yes, we even have to write with a brush in art class recently.”
The young master Bai then closed his mouth and said no more, thinking to himself that he would have to add a calligraphy class when Mr. Wei returned.
The sheet Mi Yang had taken was cotton paper, which was cheap and durable, perfect for repairs. When he couldn’t find suitable absorbent paper, he could also use several layers of it. It was the jack-of-all-trades for book restoration.
The remaining glue and spray bottle were not found, so the two of them went to the store and searched for a long time before they found everything.
The small spray bottle was easy to find, but the glue Mi Yang wanted was not. In the end, they found a can of bletilla striata paste at a small calligraphy and painting mounting shop. This glue was very strong and was the best for gluing seams, making it most suitable for repairing thick-paged books. Mi Yang had restored two large volumes of Buddhist sutras before, and he had used this kind of glue. It was just that the can in the mounting shop was too big, so Mi Yang spent fifty cents to have the owner give him a small bottle of it.
Bai Luochuan’s gaze was still on the large can of bletilla striata paste. He suddenly said, “Do you want that one?”
Mi Yang immediately shook his head and pulled him out the door. “No, no, this small bottle is enough for me. I won’t even be able to use all of this!”
He had seen it when they left. The young master Bai had taken out two ten-yuan bills from his little dog piggy bank. Mi Yang was truly envious. He also had a pink piggy bank, a gift from the bank when Cheng Qing had deposited money. But it was filled with coins, and the occasional bill was only a few cents. Maybe in a dozen years, it would be worth a hundred times more—a huge sum of several yuan.
Mi Yang thought that instead of exchanging it for a few yuan, he might as well keep it and fold it into a pineapple tower. At least he would have an old object as a memento.
After buying everything, the two of them returned home, hastily ate lunch, and went back upstairs to the small bedroom under the pretext of a “nap” to continue their work.
Mi Yang worked, and Bai Luochuan kept watch for him.
Compared to Mi Yang’s leisureliness, the little young master Bai was still a little worried. The “bamboo shoots stir-fried with shredded pork” that Mi Yang had told him about had always been on his mind. Mi Yang was at his house, so he could protect him. But what if Auntie Cheng found out that he had dismantled Grandpa Wei’s book and he got hit?
This anxiety lasted until Mi Yang had reassembled the book. Bai Luochuan watched as Mi Yang used all these strange things, and the pages, as if by magic, were reassembled into a book. Using a cotton ball dipped in the “cleaning agent” he had mixed earlier, the pages became as clean as new. After spraying the book with hot water from a spray bottle, not only was it not damaged, but the pages were even smoothed out. Xuan paper could even be used to repair the damaged pages, integrating with them so that even the colors of the old and new were consistent… The young master Bai thought it was magical!
Mi Yang placed the absorbent paper inside, then pressed two large, thick hardcover encyclopedias on top of the book. He shook his hands and said, “Alright, press it overnight, and it should be almost done by tomorrow morning.”
Bai Luochuan looked at the book being pressed underneath and couldn’t help but look forward to tomorrow.
