Chapter 278 The truth of that year

Originally, Gu Jiayue planned to complete the home visits to all students in just one day, but in reality it took her a full five days.

It wasn't until the seventh day of the New Year that she finished checking the children's homework.

She originally wanted to take a half-day to relax, but just as she lay down, she heard a familiar voice calling her outside the yard.

I pushed the door open and saw an old man who looked familiar standing at the door.

The old man was a bit disabled, with one of his sleeves hanging loose and fluttering in the wind. His face was slightly red, as if he had been beaten and hadn't fully recovered.

Seeing Gu Jiayue open the door and walk out, the old man took the lead and put on a kind smile. "Young friend, do you still remember me?"

Gu Jiayue smiled gently, took a few steps forward, and bowed to the old man. "Remember, Mr. Tang's reputation is well-known to me."

The visitor was none other than Tang Yin, the most famous porcelain artist in Juzhou ten years ago. The celadons he crafted were all top-notch, attracting high-ranking officials and dignitaries to snap up their wares.

But the gods are jealous of talented people. Ten years ago, an accident occurred and Tang Yin's hand was blown off. He could no longer make porcelain. All those who surrounded him and admired him in the past left him, leaving only his only apprentice who remained with him.

But the disciple who seemed very filial to outsiders was secretly abusing the old man.

If Gu Jiayue and Hu Zi had not arrived in time, Tang Yin might have been beaten to death by his apprentice Wang Xiangui.

"It's cold outside. Old man, please come inside first and let's talk while we warm ourselves by the fire."

Gu Jiayue led the people in. Li and Gu Huangtai were adding charcoal to the brazier.

Seeing the person, Li stood up quickly. "Jiayue, what is this?"

Gu Jiayue quickly introduced him. "Mom, this is a wealthy man in the county. He used to make porcelain. His last name is Tang, so we can just call him Mr. Tang."

"Mr. Tang, this is my mother, and this is my father."

Li and Gu Huangtai were a bit bewildered, but Tang Yin was quite at ease. "Don't be polite. I'm older, so I'll be a bit more generous. Just call me Uncle Tang."

Seeing that Tang Yin was easy-going, the Li couple also relaxed a lot.

"Hey, Uncle Tang, please sit down first. I'll go make something to eat to calm your stomach." Li got up and left.

Gu Huangtai also quickly stood up and took the cane. "Jiayue, take care of Uncle Tang. I'll go help your mother."

Gu Jiayue knew that they were uncomfortable, so she didn't force them to stay. There was a fire in the kitchen anyway, so the two of them wouldn't feel cold while they were busy.

After pouring a cup of tea for Tang Yin, Gu Jiayue sat in front of the brazier. "Mr. Tang, is there something you want to talk about?"

After taking a sip of tea and savoring the sweet aftertaste for a while, Tang Yin finally spoke: "It's like this, I came here to thank you, young friend?"

grateful?

Gu Jiayue's eyes flashed with enlightenment. "Is it about the incident between Wang Xiangui's parents and you?"

Tang Yin nodded slightly. Thinking of Wang Xiangui's look of disbelief when he heard the truth, he couldn't help but sigh. "He's a pitiful man."

In fact, the matter is not complicated. Tang Yin and Wang Xiangui's father Wang Dahai are brothers who grew up together.

The two had been wandering together since childhood and had been beggars for more than ten years. By chance, they rescued an old man who was being hunted by bandits.

The old man has no children, but he has a skill in making porcelain.

The old man felt sorry for the two and adopted them and passed on his skills to them.

During his apprenticeship, Tang Yin showed a natural talent for this area and was eager to delve into it. Gradually, he not only mastered the old man's skills but also stumbled upon a new method for making celadon. The porcelain he created using this method was of the highest quality.

Wang Dahai, however, was a restless person and could not concentrate on learning his craft. After completing his basic homework every day, he would go down the mountain to play. Soon after, he met Wang Xiangui's mother and the two soon got married.

After getting married, Wang Dahai settled down in the city and opened a porcelain shop, leading a carefree life.

Later, the old man died, and Tang Yin came down the mountain to live with Wang Dahai. With Wang Dahai's support, he also opened a porcelain shop.

Because Tang Yin had a special skill in making celadon, his porcelain shop soon became famous and even took away a lot of Wang Dahai's business.

Wang Dahai was jealous and conspired with someone to murder Tang Yin. However, he did not expect that the man was a ruthless person who wanted to take over both families.

Before the incident, Wang Dahai discovered the man's evil ambitions and got into a fight with him, but was accidentally killed.

That person had a strong background and ordinary people could not compete with him. Wang Dahai's wife had no choice but to take Wang Fugui to Tang Yin.

At this time, Tang Yin still didn't know that his good brother wanted to frame him. Seeing his brother being killed, his brother's wife knelt in front of him in mourning and begged for shelter. What could he do?

He had no children and no desire to marry. Now that his brother was gone, he naturally had to take on the responsibility.

Later, he took Wang Fugui and his mother back home and took care of them as family members.

A few years later, Wang Dahai's wife somehow learned the truth about Wang Dahai's death and thought about taking revenge herself.

Unexpectedly, not only did he fail to take revenge, but he also lost his life.

None of this had anything to do with Tang Yin, and he almost became a victim.

But in Wang Fugui's eyes, these were all designs made by Tang Yin in order to seize his family's property.

He had hated and resented Tang Yin for so many years, but in the end he realized that he was the one who let Tang Yin down.

"Zheng County Magistrate sentenced Wang Fugui to a prison term of one thousand miles, which was considered to be justice for me. Now I have no worries. I just still need a thank you from you, young lady. So I came here to thank you."

Gu Jiayue felt a little sad for a moment. In this series of events, Tang Yin was innocent, but Wang Fugui was also quite pitiful.

Blinded by hatred since childhood, I have put the shackles of hatred on myself.

Is he a pure villain? No, otherwise Tang Yin would not have lived for so many years.

He himself was actually quite conflicted. On one hand, he felt the gratitude for his parents' upbringing and the teaching of their skills for over a decade, while on the other hand, he felt the deep hatred for his parents. The inner struggle and torment tormented him constantly.

Now that the truth has come out and he has been sentenced, he must feel relieved, right?

"Last time, young lady, you came to see me, I guess there must be something wrong. I wonder if there is anything I can help you with?" Tang Yin really couldn't think of anything that Gu Jiayue could ask of him.

He is just a cripple now.

Gu Jiayue smiled and pushed the snacks made by Li towards Tang Yin. "It's like this. I opened a school in Taohua Village, but not all children are suitable for studying. So I thought about finding some craftsmen to teach them some skills. This way, when they grow up, their lives will be easier."

Tang Yin was a little shocked.

Only then did he look at the little girl in front of him with a serious look.

The girl didn't look very old, only about seventeen or eighteen at most. She wasn't tall and strong, but she was able to do such a courageous thing.

It's really impressive.

He hesitated for a moment, then refused. "I'm afraid I'll be a disappointment to the young lady. Now I can no longer make such sought-after celadon."

He looked down at his empty right hand and gave a wry smile.

"Mr. Tang, are all the celadons you make really top quality?" Are there not one or two that are not heated properly?

Hearing Gu Jiayue's question, Tang Yin didn't have time to retract the bitter smile on his face.

Looking up, the two of them met eyes.

Then, Tang Yin burst into a hearty laugh. "Hahaha, you little devil."

“Of course not all of them are top quality, but only the top quality can be found on the market.”

Because all the things he did not do well were destroyed by him silently.

As long as I don’t sell it, who knows how many times I’ve made mistakes?

The world can only see the top-quality celadons he sold!

"Yes, not every piece of celadon is perfect, and I don't need Mr. Tang to teach all his students to become masters of porcelain. I just want them to have another way to make a living."

“It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.”

"There's a saying that goes, 'Man disposes, God proposes.' All we need to do is teach them how to make a living. As for how far they can learn and whether they can make money with this skill, that's no longer up to us."

Gu Jiayue didn't say anything profound, because Tang Yin had experienced much more than him. He had seen more people and things than Gu Jiayue had eaten salt.

Sure enough, Tang Yinlianxing smiled, looked at Gu Jiayue and said, "What you said makes sense, little girl. I understand what you mean."

"In that case, as long as the young lady doesn't mind, I'm willing to teach the children of Taohua Village a craft. Perhaps there are one or two pieces of top-quality celadon here?"