Chapter 142 I found the person who is irreplaceable in the vast sea of people
A fierce flame danced in the kiln. Engineer Zhang took the temperature and said for the 31st time, "I have a feeling this time it will work."
Tong Zhongyuan held the cup and looked at the kiln fire, turning a deaf ear to it.
Without waiting for a response, Zhang looked at him, sighed, and walked away. He figured if the porcelain piece couldn't be fired, the expert teacher would probably have to return to Shanghai. The young man simply lacked patience. Firing porcelain wasn't that easy.
He guessed correctly. Tong Zhongyuan was thinking that if this batch didn't work, he would have to go back to Shanghai. Qin Tian had been back for three weeks and hadn't come to see him once. All the promises she made to him at the train station were now null and void. She always had a thousand excuses during the weekends; the bottom line was, she just didn't have time to visit him. He knew she was a workaholic, too busy to care about anything else. So, a long-distance relationship with her was out of the question. She couldn't even handle a three-hour drive, let alone ten thousand kilometers away.
All he could do was keep in touch with her every day. But Qin Tian was too lazy to chat with him on text. Her style was to talk about things when necessary, and then just go their separate ways when things weren't. These three short weeks felt like a preview of the future. When he returned to England, she would probably be gone in less than half a year, let alone two years.
He considered the reason. Qin Tian was used to being independent and hadn't yet adjusted to a relationship that required mutual cooperation. They had just started, and should have been inseparable, accustomed to each other's presence. Instead, the opportunities for contact they had previously had disappeared. And the most fundamental reason was that she hadn't fallen in love with him yet. She just liked him.
The kiln fire burned day and night. Zhang Gong, Master Li, the kiln fireman, and Tong Zhongyuan took turns checking the temperature to decide when to stop the fire. That moment, Zhang Gong's decision, was made. Amidst the song "Blue and White Porcelain," he declared, "Cease the fire."
Before taking the porcelain pieces, he muttered something again.
"This time it will work. I have a feeling."
Master Li nodded in agreement, saying that this time there was something strange, and it would be safer to sacrifice two more live chickens, and if that didn't work, then a live sheep.
Tong Zhongyuan remained silent. He didn't care whether to buy a chicken or a sheep; the cost wasn't the problem; the problem was that if others found out, he would look foolish.
Zhang and Master Li took out the porcelain pieces and let them cool naturally. Zhang was delighted by the color of the pieces. Tong Zhongyuan also saw that they were indeed the closest to Yuan blue and white porcelain to date. He hurriedly asked Zhang if the color would change after cooling.
Engineer Zhang sighed, "That's hard to say. It's fired. Cooling is the final step. Whether it's hard enough, whether it will crack, and whether the color will change all depend on these last 24 hours."
Tong Zhongyuan finished listening and glanced at the calendar. There was no calendar in the mountains, so today turned out to be Thursday.
When Ding Yi heard that the porcelain had been fired, he came over. Tong Zhongyuan looked anxiously, and when he saw her, he asked, "Where's Master Li?"
"Just went out for a smoke."
Tong Zhongyuan walked out quickly. Two hours later, Master Li returned in high spirits, with two live sheep, six chickens, and a box of Luzhou Laojiao tied to his truck.
Everyone ate well that night, and Master Li, drunk again, raised his glass and said that Tong Zhongyuan was generous and straightforward, and respected the kiln god, and he tried to praise him profusely. Tong Zhongyuan used water instead of wine, and after three drinks with him, he finally stopped his nonsense.
That night, his dreams were filled with the screams of chickens being pinched by the neck, and the delicious smell of fresh lamb. No matter what the outcome was tomorrow, he had to go back on Friday. He had a lot to tell her.
During those three weeks, he experienced failure after failure. Zhang, however, never gave up. Every time he looked at the porcelain pieces, he would say, "If you don't understand it, you can't create the porcelain you want." Every time we fired a batch, we understood it a little better, until we had it completely trusting us.
The song "Blue and White Porcelain" played over and over, and he knew where he'd gone wrong. Attraction alone wasn't enough. Between him and Qin Tian, there were 21 years and 10,000 kilometers. This time, he wanted to tell her the real him. He often had a drink with friends after work, he went hiking on weekends, and his best sport was tennis. He'd been lonely and had trouble fitting in, choosing cultural relic restoration because he didn't want to deal with people. He wanted to tell her everything about himself, to fill in the gaps. Those 20 years of life, never revealed to anyone, would connect their past and present.
Also, there is one important thing I want to say.
On the winter afternoon of the next day, Zhang Gong carefully lifted a piece of moon-white porcelain, and the clear and crystal light reflected the smoothness of white jade.
Everyone put down what they were doing and gathered around.
"In ancient times, every kiln firing was subject to uncertainty. Was it fired on a rainy day or a sunny day? Was it fired in the center of the furnace or on the side? Was there wind that day? Did ash from the furnace happen to fall on the body of the porcelain? It is these uncertainties that constitute the soul of ancient porcelain."
This piece of porcelain from a sunny day lay quietly and warmly in the palm of his hand, accompanied by the words he wanted to say.
"I have found it, that one and only piece among millions, that one person who is irreplaceable in the vast sea of people."
She walked through the long hospital corridor and turned a corner to the ward. Why are there always so many corridors in the hospital? From one end to the other, every step is in the passage of life.
She had taken a leave of absence to come here today. Director Qian had said he wanted to talk to her about Qin Yunjie's condition, but unfortunately, when she arrived, Director Qian had left due to an emergency. The call from the hospital couldn't be good news; she felt like a suspect awaiting trial.
She grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. Qin Yunjie heard the sound and looked at her. There was light in his eyes, and he said clearly, "Why are you here?"
She was in a trance for a moment, as if this was just a routine visit like any other. She put down the fruit she had bought on the way and sat down next to him.
"How are you feeling today?"
"Good. You're busy with work, so you don't have to come see me all the time."
She sat by the bed, peeling an apple. Was this even necessary? Gilded Plate, Zhuang Beiyao, was this conversation still meaningful? If the trial turned out as she expected, he would soon forget it.
"What is Xiao Tang busy with recently?" Qin Yunjie asked.
The apple peel broke, so she started peeling it again.
"I don't know. I haven't been in touch with him much lately."
"Oh. What about Zhongyuan? Is he still in the Shanghai Museum? I remember he's been here for a long time."
The apple peel broke again. She didn't want to peel the remaining apple anymore, so she cut the peeled apple into pieces and ate the core herself.
"He makes porcelain in Jingdezhen."
"Why did he go to Jingdezhen? Did you tell me that and I forgot?"
Qin Tian handed the apple to Qin Yunjie. Although her memory was failing, she still remembered Tong Zhongyuan. Her relationship with Tong Zhongyuan was the most difficult to define. To avoid the topic, she had no choice but to ask the question that had been lingering in her mind.
"Dad, do you still remember Uncle Zhuang?"
Qin Yunjie was stunned: "Which Uncle Zhuang? Zhuang Beiyao?"
"Yeah, you guys used to be in the same group. Are you in touch with him?"
Qin Yunjie's eyes became distant: "No. I haven't had any contact with him since I left Shanghai Bo."
"Why? I remember you two used to be very close."
Qin Yunjie smiled and agreed calmly: "Yes, we had a very good relationship before."
He picked up the apple and ate it, without adding anything else. Qin Tian had a vague intuition that the name Zhuang Beiyao was a wisp of wind blowing through the mist of the past.
After leaving the hospital, I received a call from Tong Zhongyuan on the subway. The signal was intermittent, and his voice was unclear. He hung up and sent a message.
"Tell me when you get home."
Qin Tian turned off her phone. For the past three weeks, Tong Zhongyuan had called her every day at the appointed time. Even if they didn't speak and were doing their own things, he wouldn't hang up, as if he were right beside her. She went from being unfamiliar and uncomfortable to gradually getting used to it.
For thirty years, she hadn't worried about him, yet it only took him three weeks to make her worry. On those rare occasions when he didn't call on time, she'd tell herself no one ever said they had to call every day. Even a week, let alone a day, was perfectly normal. The minutes ticked by, unable to do anything except glance at her phone. She began to suspect he was doing it on purpose. He was so shrewd, he must have tamed her, and now he was deliberately not calling, just to see how she'd react. She couldn't let him have his way. Yet, her heart contradicted her thoughts, a strange unease spreading from her heart to her limbs. He was always punctual, so what was stopping him from calling? Was he feeling unwell? Had he gone downtown to do some shopping? The mountain roads were difficult to navigate, so would he be okay if he switched directions? Even if he didn't have time to call, he'd always have time to send a message explaining. He was such a sensible man, he wouldn't make her worry over a frivolous test.
Just as she was about to contact him, he called. He explained that he had just been adjusting the temperature of the kiln. She breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had never expected his call. But a new panic, even greater than before, was engulfing her. She glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that the call was only 15 minutes later than usual.
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