"I'm slandering you?!" Manager Sun stepped forward and shoved Zhao Kui hard on the fat shoulder. "I've put up with you for too long! Today, in front of Mr. Qian, let's settle this score!"
Caught off guard, Zhao Kui stumbled and nearly fell. Supervisor Wang's expression changed, and he immediately stepped forward to protect his master, pointing at Steward Sun and yelling, "You, surnamed Sun! How dare you lay a hand on the head manager?!"
Several craftsmen who were usually taken care of by Steward Sun immediately surrounded him, blocking Supervisor Wang. The two sides immediately started shoving each other, and shouts of anger and accusations filled the air.
"Who do you think you are, Wang San?!"
"Exactly! Zhao Kui is heartless and rotten!"
"Manager Sun, don't be afraid! We'll be your witnesses!"
"They've rebelled! They've all rebelled! Beat them!"
The scene instantly spiraled out of control! Zhao Kui's trusted thugs, the craftsmen on Steward Sun's side, and even some kiln workers who had long disliked Zhao Kui, all started pushing and shoving each other and fighting!
Some people raised their fists, while others grabbed nearby firewood sticks! The entire kiln site descended into chaos! Shouts of fighting, curses, screams, and the sounds of things being overturned mingled together, and dust flew everywhere.
The two attendants who had brought Mr. Qian immediately shielded him and retreated, watching the farce with icy expressions. Mr. Qian looked at the chaotic scene before him and the scattered fragments of the tribute porcelain, his facial muscles twitching, his eyes so gloomy they could drip water.
In the center of the chaos, Zhao Kui, protected behind Supervisor Wang, trembled with rage. Pointing at Steward Sun, who was being shielded by several craftsmen, he cursed, "You bastard surnamed Sun! I'll kill you!"
Manager Sun, having lost all sense of urgency, shouted across the crowd, "Zhao Kui! You heartless, rotten beast! This is retribution! This is retribution!"
In the workshop courtyard, the dilapidated mud houses had their doors and windows tightly shut. Jiang Chan stood behind the only crack in the window, and could clearly hear the clamor of shouting, cursing, and fighting coming from the direction of the kiln.
Her face was expressionless, and her eyes were like a frozen lake, unfathomable.
The shouts, fighting, and the sounds of things being smashed from the brickyard drifted over on the wind like boiling porridge, rising in waves. The air inside the earthen house was still, with only fine dust floating in the beams of light filtering through the windows.
Jiang Chan stood motionless behind the window crack. Her face, half-hidden by her disheveled hair, was expressionless. Her eyes were like two deep wells, frighteningly calm. She listened to the chaos outside as if it were a play that had nothing to do with her.
Then she turned abruptly and rushed to the pile of firewood in the corner of the earthen house. Without hesitation, she bent down and pushed aside the surface of the firewood, revealing the hidden wooden plank. Lifting the plank revealed a small recess beneath where she had hidden her booklet. She quickly pulled out the oilcloth bag and clutched it tightly in her hand.
Her gaze swept quickly across the room. She rushed to the only dilapidated earthen stove, where a few cold ashes from the previous night's fire still lingered in the firebox. She lifted the baffle of the stove opening and, without hesitation, stuffed the entire oilcloth package she was holding inside! She then grabbed a handful of dry straw from the nearby woodpile and stuffed it around and on top of the oilcloth package.
Without hesitation, without reluctance, she took out the tinderbox she had been hiding in her bosom, pulled out the stopper, and blew hard! A dark red spark ignited. She held the tinderbox close to the dry grass.
puff!
The dry grass instantly ignited! Orange flames leaped up, greedily licking the oilcloth bundle and the surrounding dry firewood. A burnt smell mixed with the pungent odor of burning oilcloth filled the air.
The firelight reflected in Jiang Chan's cold pupils.
...
The clanging sound of chains being roughly pulled came from the direction of the courtyard gate! And there was Wang the foreman's familiar, furious roar: "Open the gate! Open the gate! You little bitch! Get out here! The head manager is looking for you!"
Clang! Clang! The lock was smashed with a loud thud.
Jiang Chan's eyes narrowed, and her body tensed instantly.
The banging and shouting outside grew louder. It seemed that Supervisor Wang had brought people with him, and someone was using a heavy object to ram the door!
"Boom!"
The courtyard gate finally gave way under the combined force of the people outside and was forced open! The gate collapsed askew, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Supervisor Wang, his face contorted with malice, stormed in with two equally fierce thugs! He immediately spotted Jiang Chan standing in front of the stove, half her face illuminated by the firelight, and the burning object inside the stove!
"You bitch! What are you burning?!" Supervisor Wang's eyes were bloodshot as he lunged at Jiang Chan like a mad boar!
"Boss Wang! Boss Wang! Something terrible has happened!" A servant, his head covered in blood and his expression panicked, stumbled into the courtyard, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Manager Sun's men have set fire to kiln number three! The warehouse! There's a fight going on in the warehouse too! Mr. Qian's guards are trying to arrest the head manager! It's chaos! It's all chaos!"
The warehouse? Kiln No. 3? That's where the workshop stores finished products and raw materials! It's a million times more important than catching this little bitch!
Wang, the foreman, abruptly stopped in his tracks as he lunged at Jiang Chan! He turned back in horror to look at the messenger who had brought the news, then suddenly looked at the oilcloth bundle in the stove, which was already curled and blackened from the fire. The flames were raging, and it was clear that the contents inside had been destroyed!
"Ah—!!" Supervisor Wang roared like a wild beast, half anger and half immense panic! The secret formula was destroyed! The kiln and the warehouse were set on fire! The head manager himself was in dire straits! He turned abruptly and charged out of the yard like a mad bull, running wildly toward the warehouse where flames and thick smoke were rising. The two thugs panicked and ran after him.
The courtyard was suddenly empty, leaving only half a broken door that had fallen down and the crackling sound of fire burning in the stove.
Jiang Chan didn't even look in the direction where Supervisor Wang disappeared. She bent down, quickly grabbed a handful of cold ashes from beside the stove, and smeared them haphazardly on her face and neck, making her already messy hair even more disheveled.
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