Chapter 13 Chapter 13 The next morning. "Master...
The next morning.
"Master! We have prepared the materials!" Wang Da held the stone millstone, and Wang Er followed behind with the sieve and stone pestle, jumping and looking at Jiang Wan with excitement and anticipation.
From a distance, he shouted, "Where are you taking us, Master?"
"Let's go outside the city and find materials suitable for making celadon." Jiang Wan loaded a bamboo basket with three shovels and led his two apprentices out of the city. When they reached the city gate, the guard noticed the tattoo on Jiang Wan's forehead and stopped her, giving her a lecture, saying that convicted slaves were not allowed to leave the city. Jiang Wan explained that she had been freed from slavery, but the guard remained unconvinced until she produced her indentures. His eyes widened, and he stared at her for a long moment before respectfully bowing and apologizing.
This batch of convicts had only just arrived in December, and they were freed in just a month. Either they possessed exceptional abilities and were redeemed by buyers, or they possessed connections within the government, allowing them to be rescued even after being convicted and exiled. The soldier stared at Jiang Wan in disbelief. This girl, with her delicate figure and plain clothing, looked nothing like either of these two types.
As expected, you can't judge a book by its cover. Fortunately, this expert seemed to have a good temper, otherwise he would have been in trouble.
Jiang Wan smiled and said, "It's okay. You're just following the rules."
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted two notices posted at the city gate. One announced a victory over the Xiongnu, proclaiming their forces had been driven west of the Morgele River. The other was a missing person notice, announcing that the general defending the city had gone missing during the battle and offering a generous reward for any clues. Next to it was a portrait. The artistry... who knew who had created it? But Jiang Wan doubted she would recognize the general in person even if he stood before her.
She pointed at the portrait and asked, "Sir, may I ask who painted this portrait?"
The soldier stood straight and said in the tone of reporting to his immediate superior, "This was painted by the general's deputy general. He has been with the general for a long time and is most familiar with him!"
...Look at the tear marks that have blurred the brush and ink. I can really feel the deputy general's sadness. It's true that they are very familiar with each other, but! But! A good relationship doesn't mean he is suitable for portraits!
But these had nothing to do with Jiang Wan. She nodded casually, called her two apprentices to follow her, and followed the direction of the lake in her memory.
Last night, a rare light rain fell, filling the air with the fragrance of earth. The morning mist still lingered, shrouding the lake. Shadows were hazy, yet unlike the picturesque beauty of the lakes in Beijing, it felt more like a vast expanse, where the water and sky merged. Even in winter, one could still see green tinged with yellow.
Jiang Wan took a few deep breaths, feeling relaxed both physically and mentally. She squatted down, took out a shovel from her backpack, gave it to her two apprentices, and began digging.
Wang Da and Wang Er took the shovels and looked at their master digging, looking at each other in confusion. Wang Da considered his next words and hesitantly said, "Well... Master, we need to choose drier clay. It rained last night, and we're near the lake. How about digging somewhere else? If that doesn't work out, we still have a lot of clay stored away before the New Year that we can use first."
Jiang Wan shook his head and explained, "We choose porcelain clay with less water content because it's easier to shape when dry and can be fired faster. However, the drier the clay, the more likely it is to crack and fade faster."
Wang Da couldn't believe it: "Ah? But this soil is so wet, it's hard to shape it into a neat plate."
Seeing her two apprentices' confused faces, she smiled and waved her hand: "Although it takes some effort to create the body of the new soil after the rain, it is better to have a uniform color. You will understand in a moment."
The two disciples didn't believe it, but since their master had spoken, they followed suit and began digging. Working together, the three of them soon filled half the bamboo basket. Jiang Wan dusted off his clothes, found a clearing, and instructed his disciples to use sieves to remove impurities from the soil. Without the weeds and pebbles to bind it together, the soil became even looser, spreading into a mess that made the Wang brothers shake their heads.
If I had known I had brought some porcelain clay, I would have thought that since the master had taken them out of the city early in the morning, she must have some secret skills to pass on. I didn't expect she was just fooling around.
Jiang Wan was unaware of the two apprentices' silent ridicule. She gathered a handful of clay and formed it into a roughly round shape, then slowly pressed it from the edge toward the center, creating a concave arc. To prevent the bottom of the bowl from collapsing due to excess moisture, she held the edge with one hand and gently pressed the bottom with the other, creating a circular, flat surface.
The prototype of the body of a porcelain bowl is now formed.
Wang Er exclaimed in amazement, "Master is amazing! Even with such wet and soft clay, he can mold a well-defined body! It's a pity we forgot to bring the mold. How about I go buy a mold and adjust the rim of the bowl?"
Jiang Wan stopped him: "No, no, I have a way. Come over here and help me hold it down."
She took out a stone pestle and placed it against the rim of the bowl, asking Wang Er to hold it still. With her left hand, she fixed the center of the bowl's bottom surface, while with her right hand, she slowly rotated the bowl. The pestle gradually smoothed out the irregularities of the bowl's rim, and after two rotations, it was a perfect circle.
Wang Da and Wang Er couldn't help but exclaim as they watched a lump of mud transform into a complete bowl in Jiang Wan's hands. This, this method is too clever!
Although they still didn't understand why Jiang Wan chose to use soil with high moisture content as the body, the two of them had much more trust in her. Wang Er had already begun to imitate her method to make porcelain bowls, and Wang Da also volunteered to go to the city to buy colorants.
"We don't need the coloring agents sold in the city." Jiang Wan pulled Wang Da aside, "Let's find some ourselves."
"Huh?" Wang Da's face was full of disapproval. "Master, although the colorants on the market are expensive, they are better than homemade ones after being purified. Besides, it takes too long to make the colorants yourself."
Jiang Wan said mysteriously, "Iron colorant is difficult to make, and the color fades quickly. Master will teach you how to use a new colorant. Have you heard of coral stone?"
The two brothers looked at her blankly.
"A kind of stone that grows in water, with a dark red exterior." Jiang Wan patiently explained, "Using it as a colorant, the color is evenly applied, and it won't fade when exposed to water. It also becomes clearer, like the sky after rain."
"Really? So magical!" The two brothers have been following craftsman Cheng for three years, and have never heard of encountering celadon that does not fade with water. This is also the reason why few people buy celadon.
"Of course, eldest brother, come with me to look for it by the lake, and second brother, you continue to make the bowl tire." Jiang Wan commanded.
"Okay, okay." Wang Da usually looks steady, but he is only a child of fourteen or fifteen years old after all. When he heard that they were going to the lake to find stones, he immediately became interested.
Wang Er pouted in grievance: "Master, I also want to go find stones."
Jiang Wan couldn't help but laugh, and patted Wang Er's head soothingly: "You cooperated with me so well just now. I think you have a talent for making bowl molds. If you practice more, you will definitely surpass me."
Wang Erxi smiled happily: "Okay, Master, I will definitely work hard!"
Wang Da was behind her, rolling his eyes in dissatisfaction.
Jiang Wan and Wang Da arrived at the lake. Jiang Wan reminded them, "Coral stones often appear near lakes with aquatic plants. They are dark red and about the size of a fist."
Wang Da said "hmm".
Jiang Wan: "Be careful when you go into the water. Only search along the edge, don't go into the center of the lake. Watch out for the aquatic plants."
Wang Da said "hmm" again.
Jiang Wan pursed his lips, suppressed his smile, and said seriously, "Big brother, you are also very good at making bowl tires, just as good as your brother. But the second brother is shorter, so it would be more dangerous to go into the water."
Wang Da then relaxed his brows and said happily, "Okay, Master. I'll go find the coral stone."
Jiang Wan couldn't help but laugh as she watched the usually steady eldest brother looking around and jumping around in the water. He was still just a little kid after all.
She took off her straw sandals by the lake, rolled up her trouser legs, squatted down, and with one hand pushed aside the emerald green water plants, looking at the soil where the roots grew. A faint hint of red appeared among the intertwined algae and water plants.
After a while, both of them had half a bag of coral stones in their pockets. Wang Da was still not satisfied and wanted to look for more, but Jiang Wan smiled and pulled him aside, "Okay, these will be enough for us to use for a few days. If this is left out for too long, the effect will be lost. Come back next time."
Although Wang Da was in a playful mood, he was very obedient. Knowing that there was something important to do, he followed Jiang Wan obediently to find his brother.
Elsewhere, Wang Er had already made fifteen bowls using Jiang Wan's method, with only a small portion of the soil left. Seeing his master and brother return, Wang Er curiously watched them pull coral rocks from their pockets, then picked up a piece and examined it carefully.
"Okay, this time it's your turn to make the bowl base, and the second one and I will work together to deal with these coral stones." Jiang Wan ordered.
"Master, why are these stones red?" Wang Er asked, "Aren't we making celadon?"
"It'll be fine once it's dealt with." Jiang Wan replied.
This time, the brothers had no objections. Jiang Wan scooped some water from the millstone to clean the coral stone. He then picked up a few thick branches and polished away the red rust on the stone's surface. As the coral stone rubbed against the wood, the translucent green inside gradually emerged.
"Wow! What a beautiful color!" Wang Er stared at the polished stone without blinking, turning it over and over. "It's much prettier than those colorants sold in the city!"
After polishing all the coral stones, Jiang Wan rinsed them again with clean lake water, then poured out the water from the millstone and wiped both the bowl and the stones dry with a towel. Wang Da also used the remaining clay to make ten bowl bases.
Jiang Wan took the stone pestle, poured a few stones into the mortar, and handed it to Wang Da to grind into powder. The grinding method was the same as for common iron ore colorants, but after a morning of brainwashing about novel methods, Wang Da subconsciously felt that the grinding method must be different, so he stayed there waiting for the master's instructions.
Jiang Wan tapped his head amusedly: "Grind these stones into powder, the same way you grind iron colorant."
Wang Da then said "Oh" and began grinding the powder. When he was done, he couldn't help but look up at Jiang Wan. Seeing her smile without saying anything, he realized that the next step in making the colorant was to dissolve it in water. A little embarrassed, he rubbed his head and carried the bowl to the lake to fetch water.
While scooping water, he blamed himself in frustration. He had learned a new method and had forgotten all the old knowledge, and he still needed his master to remind him.
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