Chapter 25.2: Quick Drying Ink
Master Liu looked from Jiang Xia to the drawing in his hand, unable to keep from clicking his tongue in amazement.
She was so young, yet her draftsmanship was already this profound.
Heaven had truly favored her.
“With skills like yours, becoming a police officer is honestly a waste of your talent.”
His eyes drifted to the olive-green police uniform she was wearing, and he couldn’t help adding,
“If you came to work at our factory, you’d at least qualify as a senior technician. You’d be making over a hundred yuan a month.”
Wait…
Complimenting her was one thing.
Why was he trying to recruit her?
Lu Yixing’s heart immediately sank.
That salary was more than three times what she was earning now.
He glanced nervously at Jiang Xia, afraid she might actually agree.
“Everyone has their own aspirations.” Jiang Xia declined without hesitation. “I enjoy being a police officer and solving cases. It’s my way of helping keep the peace.”
Smiling, she took her notebook from her bag, removed the woodblock engraving design tucked inside, and handed it to Master Liu.
“This is the suspect’s portrait. I’d like to trouble you to print it. Please make it 16-mo size, include all the accompanying text, and print a total of three thousand copies. If possible, we’d like to have them by noon tomorrow.”
“And one more thing—the printing costs for this batch, along with the previous one, will need to be calculated as well. We’ll need the total so the bureau can reimburse the expense.”
Hearing that, Lu Yixing quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
“All right.”
Although disappointed that Jiang Xia had no interest in joining the factory, Master Liu understood. He accepted the portrait and glanced at the text beneath it.
The next instant, he sucked in a sharp breath.
“A murder-and-robbery suspect… Whew, that’s one vicious criminal.”
“The price won’t be a problem,” he continued. “The main cost is my labor and a bit of woodblock material. It won’t be all that expensive.”
Tucking the portrait away, he walked farther into the workshop as he spoke.
“I’m just a woodblock engraver, after all. The factory used to have plenty of work for me, but ever since they switched to offset printing and powderless etched copper plates, hand-carving is barely needed anymore. These days I only carve the occasional stamp. So having a job like this—and an excuse to put these old machines back to work—is a good thing.”
He selected a suitable woodblock from a rack, estimated the complexity of the engraving and the printing time, then said,
“It should all be finished by around three o’clock tomorrow afternoon. Be sure to come early to pick it up.”
“Got it, Master Liu,” Lu Yixing replied.
“You know,” Master Liu mused as he studied the engraved design with narrowed eyes, “I’d never imagined a woodblock master copy could be prepared faster than an offset plate. Your portrait looks so simple, yet it’s incredibly lifelike. You’ve incorporated some Western techniques, haven’t you?”
“That’s right.” Jiang Xia didn’t try to hide it. “Western sketching—mainly anatomical fundamentals and the separation of light and shadow.”
“It’s different from traditional Chinese woodblock engraving. If you want to study it, I’d recommend starting with references on skeletal and muscular anatomy. That’s the foundation. Once you understand the underlying structure, rendering light and shadow becomes much easier.”
Master Liu’s eyes lit up with realization.
“No wonder! You’re drawing the underlying bone structure!”
The two of them continued discussing the characteristics of Western drawing techniques and traditional woodblock engraving.
Before long, the increasingly bored Section Chief Ye found an excuse to slip away.
Lu Yixing, on the other hand, dutifully remained where he was.
Unfortunately, the barrage of technical jargon gradually emptied the expression from his eyes, and before long, his mind had wandered far, far away.
After quite a while, Master Liu finally brought the discussion to a reluctant end.
Looking somewhat embarrassed, he said, “Well… once I start talking about this kind of thing, I get carried away and lose track of time. I remember you were asking about quick-drying ink, Comrade Jiang?”
Jiang Xia nodded.
“That’s right. Does your factory have any?”
“We do,” Master Liu replied, shaking his head, “but I don’t think it’ll work for what you’re using.”
“This quick-drying ink dries extremely fast. Once you open the can and it’s exposed to air, by the next day it’ll have hardened so much it’s unusable. We use it for printing newspapers, where the print runs are huge, so there’s usually nothing left by the following day anyway.”
“But your mimeograph machine prints in much smaller quantities. Even if you used it every day, one can of ink would probably last you half a year. If you switched to quick-drying ink, every time you opened a can, you’d end up throwing away whatever was left. And once the ink remaining on the screen mesh and rollers dried, those would have to be cleaned out or discarded as well.”
Jiang Xia nodded slightly.
That was exactly what she had expected.
The slow-drying formulation of mimeograph ink was, to a large extent, a compromise made for long-term usability. It wasn’t as simple as substituting quick-drying ink.
Still, since Master Liu had brought it up, he probably had a solution.
Frowning thoughtfully, Jiang Xia asked, “So it’s that troublesome? Master Liu, do you have any ideas?”
“If you can’t buy it,” Master Liu said confidently with a grin, “then make it yourself.”
He took out several sheets of paper that he had prepared in advance and handed them to Jiang Xia.
“If you want the ink to dry faster, the key is adjusting the binder and the additives. I’ve come up with a method. Leave the ink as it is during storage. Whenever you need to do a fast print run, pour out only the amount you’ll use, then mix in the additive at that point. That’ll make it dry quickly.”
“Once you’re done printing, make sure you immediately clean the screen mesh and rollers with a chemical cleaning solution. That way, they’ll still be usable the next time.”
“These sheets list the names and functions of the most common binders and additives. Some of them are available right here at the factory, while a few aren’t. Fortunately, I have a friend at a chemical plant. I’ve written down his address and phone number, so you can get the rest from him.”
He smiled apologetically.
“As for exactly how fast you want the ink to dry, I have no way of knowing. You’ll have to experiment with the mixing ratios yourself.”
This was far more comprehensive than Jiang Xia had expected.
With these notes in hand, she no longer had to worry about explaining how she knew how to formulate printing ink.
“That’s wonderful.”
She accepted the papers with obvious delight.
“Master Liu, you’ve really done me a huge favor.”
“It’s nothing.” Master Liu waved dismissively. “You taught me quite a few things yourself.”
Then he added,
“That said, the additives and cleaning solvents aren’t cheap. Printing this way will cost quite a bit more—probably four or five times as much.”
Jiang Xia waved her hand just as casually.
“That’s fine. That’s completely acceptable.”
Mimeograph printing was inexpensive to begin with. Even if the cost increased four- or fivefold, it would only amount to a few extra yuan. The time it saved would more than make up for the added expense.
Take the child tr*fficking case from the other day, for example. If the suspect portraits had been printed just one hour earlier, her mentor could have surrounded the traffickers at their hideout and arrested them on the spot. There would have been no need to dispatch the motorcycle squad to search all over the city afterward.
The fuel burned by those motorcycles alone had easily cost over a hundred yuan that day.
“All right then. It’s getting late. Come with me and I’ll get you the ink and additives, so you can head over to the chemical plant afterward.”
With that, Master Liu stood up and led Jiang Xia to the ink storage warehouse.
The storeroom was packed with every imaginable type of printing ink.
Besides black and white, there were the three primary printing colors—cyan, magenta, and yellow—along with fluorescent inks in all four process colors, as well as containers of metallic gold and silver powder.
Standing before the rows of pigments and printing materials, Jiang Xia found herself unable to look away.
In her previous life, Jiang Xia had loved collecting art supplies.
Her watercolor collection alone included complete sets from Daniel Smith, Rubens, and Holbein, along with paints from numerous other brands. She had also amassed a sizable collection of oil paints and crayons.
She’d rarely had the time to actually paint, but simply looking at her collection made her happy.
Sadly, after being reborn, all of it was gone.
So even now, the mere sight of the three primary printing colors was enough to make her heart skip a beat.
“Master Liu…”
Unable to resist, Jiang Xia asked, “Could I have a little of these colors too? And some of the gold and silver powder?”
“Sure. Hang on a second. I’ll find a few bottles and scrape out the leftovers for you.”
In any case, every ink container ended up with a little left at the bottom, and in the past those remnants had simply been left to dry out and go to waste. Giving them away now was at least a better use for them.
Master Liu readily agreed.
He found several glass bottles fitted with rubber stoppers and filled each with a small amount of black and white ink, the standard colors, the fluorescent colors, and even some gold and silver powder. Then he packed all the little bottles into a sturdy cardboard box.
“Here you go. Take these. If you run out, just come back and see me.”
Cradling the box in her arms, Jiang Xia couldn’t have looked more satisfied.
“Thank you, Master Liu. Let’s chat again when we both have some free time.”
“Sounds good. We’ll pick it up another day.”
After leaving the printing factory, Jiang Xia and Lu Yixing stopped by the chemical plant together.
Once they had gathered all the necessary additives, Jiang Xia handed the box of bottles and jars over to Lu Yixing.
She reminded him over and over again to place everything on her desk at the office—and, above all, not to drop any of it on the way.
Her solemn attitude made Lu Yixing’s movements stiffen.
It felt less like he was carrying bottles of ink and chemicals than a box full of explosives.
After saying goodbye to him, Jiang Xia finally headed home.
…
Jiang Weiguo had worked the early shift that day and gotten home ahead of everyone else.
He was sitting on a small stool with Zhou Mei, trimming Chinese chives while chatting with Jiang Ying about the eligible young men in the neighborhood.
The unspoken message couldn’t have been more obvious.
They were trying to nudge her toward marriage.
Jiang Ying, however, remained perfectly composed.
She was neither shy nor annoyed.
Instead, every time Zhou Mei mentioned a prospective bachelor, Jiang Ying would leisurely respond by pointing out a few shortcomings—either about the man himself or about his family.
Jiang Weiguo and Zhou Mei were both at their wits’ end.
The moment Zhou Mei saw Jiang Xia come home, it was as if she’d spotted her savior.
“Xiao Xia! You’re finally back!” she called out. “Come talk some sense into your sister. She’s already twenty-two, and there’s still no progress at all!”
“Mom, my sister’s busy with work.”
Firmly believing that what was happening to her older sister today would be happening to her tomorrow, Jiang Xia immediately took Jiang Ying’s side.
“And seriously, who are these men you’re introducing? My sister’s a head chef—a Grade Five chef! She earns fifty-two yuan a month on salary alone. How are those ordinary factory workers worthy of her? At the very least, you should be introducing her to a government cadre.”
“Oh, you child…”
Zhou Mei was a little annoyed, but deep down she had to admit Jiang Xia had a point.
She sighed in frustration.
“A government cadre? And where am I supposed to find one?”
“If you can’t, I can.”
Grinning, Jiang Xia finally shared the good news she hadn’t mentioned at lunch.
“I’ve been transferred to the Municipal Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Unit. Maybe I’ll run into one there.”
The moment he heard it involved her job, Jiang Weiguo looked up.
“The Municipal Bureau? Xiao Xia, how did you end up being transferred there? It’s only temporary, right?”
Jiang Xia shook her head.
“No. My personnel file will be transferred over in a few days.”
“That’s even worse.”
Jiang Weiguo frowned deeply.
“Being a criminal investigator is exhausting and dangerous, and the pay isn’t much better. Our family’s never cared about becoming officials. If you wanted better treatment, you’d have been better off working at the textile mill. Never mind the salary—at least it isn’t nearly as dangerous.”
His concern was understandable.
During the 1980s and 1990s, if people had a choice, many preferred not to become beat cops or criminal investigators.
Police officers not only earned little more than factory workers despite a far heavier workload, but firearms were also not yet tightly restricted. Arresting criminals was genuinely dangerous, and officers lost their lives with disturbing regularity.
“I’m not joining a Criminal Investigation Squad,” Jiang Xia explained.
“I’m being assigned to the Technical Division. The work isn’t nearly as demanding. At most, I’ll go out with the team to process crime scenes and draw suspect portraits. I won’t be taking part in arrests, so there’s basically no danger.”
“Oh, in that case, that sounds pretty good.”
Hearing Jiang Xia explain it that way, Jiang Weiguo immediately relaxed.
“Portraits?”
At the mention of that, Jiang Ying suddenly looked up.
“You got home so late yesterday, and you looked exhausted, so I didn’t ask. The sketch that the neighborhood police officer was carrying around at the intersection yesterday… was that the one you drew?”
Jiang Xia answered without hesitation.
“Yeah. That was mine.”
Her skill hadn’t appeared out of thin air, after all.
Ever since the first winter vacation after she started vocational school, she’d spent her spare time practicing at home. Her family had watched her grow from a complete beginner into an accomplished artist, so she had nothing to worry about being found out.
“I knew it! I knew you’d make it.”
Jiang Ying beamed with pride.
Yet beneath that smile, her emotions were a tangled mix.
She had many regrets in her life.
One of the greatest was that, in her previous life, her younger sister had drowned while trying to save someone.
After being reborn, Jiang Ying had done everything she could to prevent that tragedy—and, at last, she had succeeded.
What she hadn’t expected was just how extraordinary her sister’s talent for drawing was.
Once Jiang Xia had access to proper instruction at school, her skills had improved by leaps and bounds.
When Jiang Ying worked as the head chef at the restaurant, she often browsed videos on her phone during her breaks. She had once watched a CCTV program about a police sketch artist helping catch criminals. She had casually mentioned it to Jiang Xia a few times.
Who could have guessed that not only would it actually come in handy, but it would even lead to Jiang Xia being transferred directly to the Municipal Bureau?
It was undoubtedly wonderful news.
Yet the more successful Jiang Xia became, the more Jiang Ying mourned the sister she had lost in her previous life.
If she hadn’t died back then… how bright would her future have been?
Bah, what am I thinking?
My little sister is standing right here in front of me now!
“This is a transfer to the Municipal Bureau!” Jiang Ying declared, setting the bundle of Chinese chives onto the table. “That’s something worth celebrating.”
“Mom, you keep working. I’ll go buy some meat. Tonight we’re having a real feast!”
Jiang Xia immediately threw both hands into the air in agreement.
“Big Sis, you’re the best!”
“Honestly, you two…” Zhou Mei muttered, unable to hide the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Zhou Mei sighed helplessly as she reached for her wallet.
“You two eat meat every day. Are you planning to live like this forever?”
“Of course we are.”
Jiang Xia grinned.
“We’ll worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes. For now, let’s enjoy today.”
Jiang Xia ate until she was completely stuffed.
After a good night’s sleep, she got on her bicycle the next morning and stopped by the state-run supply and marketing cooperative to buy everything she needed. By the time she arrived at the Municipal Bureau, it was nearly noon.
The bureau wasn’t particularly close to home. Riding back and forth during the day was manageable, but making the trip at lunchtime was a bit rushed.
Fortunately, the Municipal Bureau had its own cafeteria.
Jiang Xia ate lunch there, took a short break, then pulled out the bottles and jars Master Liu had given her the previous day.
She was ready to head next door and start experimenting with the ink mixture.
Meanwhile, at Zhouying Police Station, Chief Wu was wondering whether he should make a trip to the Municipal Bureau.
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