Reborn Troops

Zhou Wanwan sat in her small jewelry store, holding an email in her hand and frowning.

The email was from Xu Hao, and its content was concise and clear: he wanted an amber ring, the color of which should change with the light, creating a sunset red effect.

Zhou Wanwan stared at the screen, feeling nervous. It's not like she had never made an amber ring before, but this was the first time she had encountered such a request.

"What kind of ridiculous request is this?" Zhou Wanwan couldn't help but curse, her voice echoing in the empty store.

She stood up, walked to the window, looked at the busy streets outside, her heart in a mess.

She knew that this order was both an opportunity and a challenge for her.

If she does it well, her store might become famous; if she does it badly, her business will be completely ruined.

"No, I have to find someone to discuss this with." Zhou Wanwan said to herself. She picked up her phone, found her best friend Qianqian's number, hesitated for a moment, and finally dialed it.

"Hello, Qianqian, where are you?" Zhou Wanwan's voice was a little hurried.

"I'm at home, what's wrong?" Qianqian's voice was lazy, as if she had just woken up.

"I have something that I need your help with." Zhou Wanwan took a deep breath, "Can you come to my store?"

"Now?" Qianqian yawned, "Okay, I'll be there right away."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Wanwan felt a little more at ease.

Qianqian has been her best friend since childhood. Although she looks careless at ordinary times, she can always give her advice at critical moments.

She sat in the store, waiting for Qianqian while looking through Amber's information, trying to find some inspiration.

Not long after, Qianqian pushed the door open and came in. She was wearing a loose T-shirt, her hair was casually tied behind her head, and she still had a sleepy look on her face.

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?" Qianqian sat down on the chair opposite Zhou Wanwan, picked up the cup of water on the table and took a sip.

Zhou Wanwan handed her Xu Hao's email and said, "Take a look at this."

Qianqian took the phone, glanced at it, and frowned, "Sunset Red? This request is quite tricky."

"Yeah, I've never done this before." Zhou Wanwan sighed, "What do you think I should do?"

Qianqian put down her phone, stared at Zhou Wanwan for a while, and suddenly laughed, "What are you afraid of? It's just a ring, how difficult can it be?"

"That's easy for you to say." Zhou Wanwan rolled her eyes. "This is a big customer. If I don't do a good job, my store will be finished."

"So what are you going to do?" Qianqian asked.

"I don't know either." Zhou Wanwan shook her head, "That's why I came to you."

Qianqian thought about it and suddenly slammed the table, "I got it! Let's go find Lao Zhang!"

"Lao Zhang?" Zhou Wanwan was stunned. "Which Lao Zhang?"

"That's Old Zhang who makes amber. Have you forgotten him?" Qian Qian said excitedly, "He's an expert in this area. Maybe he can help."

Zhou Wanwan then remembered that Lao Zhang was an amber craftsman they knew before. He had great skills, but a strange temper and didn't usually interact with others.

The studio was dimly lit, and the air was filled with a faint smell of pine. Lao Zhang was sitting at his workbench, holding a piece of amber in his hand, polishing it intently.

"Lao Zhang!" Qianqian called out.

Lao Zhang raised his head and saw that it was Qianqian. A smile appeared on his face. "Hey, Qianqian, why are you here?"

"I brought a friend here and I need your help with something." Qianqian pointed at Zhou Wanwan.

Lao Zhang looked at Zhou Wanwan and nodded, "What's the matter?"

Zhou Wanwan repeated Xu Hao's request, and after listening, Lao Zhang frowned.

"Sunset Red?" Lao Zhang shook his head. "That's not easy to do."

"I know it's not easy, so I came to you." Zhou Wanwan said anxiously, "Can you help me think of a solution?"

Lao Zhang was silent for a while, then suddenly stood up, walked to a cabinet, opened the drawer, and took out a small box.

"Take a look at this." Old Zhang handed the box to Zhou Wanwan.

Zhou Wanwan opened the box and found a piece of amber inside. The color changed slightly under the light, showing a light red.

"This is..." Zhou Wanwan widened her eyes.

"This is a piece of amber I made before. The color changes with the light." Lao Zhang said, "However, to create a sunset red effect, it needs further processing."

"Then can you help me?" Zhou Wanwan asked.

Zhou Wanwan stood at the door of Master Zhongshan's studio, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door lightly with her fingers. A low response came from inside the door: "Come in."

She pushed open the door and saw Master Nakayama sitting at a large wooden table covered with various tools and unfinished amber works.

The master's hair has turned gray, but his eyes are still sharp, as if he can see through everything.

He raised his head and saw that it was Zhou Wanwan. He smiled slightly and said, “Wanwan, why do you have time to come to see me?”

Zhou Wanwan walked to the table and bowed respectfully: "Teacher, I have a difficult problem and would like to ask for your advice."

Master Zhongshan put down the tools in his hand and motioned her to sit down: "Tell me, what's the matter?"

Zhou Wanwan explained Xu Hao's request in detail and added: "I have already talked to Lao Zhang.

He gave me a piece of amber that changes color, but it needs further processing to achieve the sunset red effect. I... I don’t know how to do it. ”

After listening to this, Master Zhongshan was silent for a moment, then stood up and walked to a bookshelf.

He pulled out a thick ancient book, flipped through the pages, pointed to one of them and said:

"Look here, there is an ancient amber processing technique called 'light and shadow carving', which can make the color of amber change with the light and present different colors."