Jian Ning put one hand on Ding Youtian's shoulder and stood on tiptoe to look forward. He saw a strong kiln worker wearing cotton gloves carrying out a pile of square clay blocks from the lowest earthen kiln on the right and placing them on the grass.
He held the clay block with both hands while the kiln worker, holding an iron chisel and hammer, gently chiseled it from top to bottom. After separating the top clay block from the pile of clay blocks, the kiln worker who was holding the clay block brushed off the broken clay, revealing the first piece of porcelain to come out of the kiln.
It was a red, heavily crafted cup. Because the bottom was heavily stained, it was considered scrap. The official explaining the situation said loudly, "Opening the door to see red is a good omen! We must have a lot of finished products today. Let's open the next one."
"The temperature near the door is high, so the chances of getting a finished product are low." Blind Liu said from the side.
"What is the highest temperature?" Jane Ning asked.
Blind Liu said, "About twelve to thirteen thousand."
The second piece was still sticky on the bottom, green in color, with diamond-shaped patterns on the inside and outside of the cup, which was very delicate. However, after polishing, the glaze stuck to the bottom of the cup could be removed. The starting price was one cent, and after several rounds of bidding, it was sold for twenty cents.
Jian Ning didn't like any of the items that came out of the kiln earlier until halfway through, when a cup with a slight flaw came out. It was made of blue and white porcelain, with ancient carriages and horses on the outside of the cup, which was extremely exquisite. When clear water was poured into the cup, it seemed that there were shiny crystals shaking.
Jian Ning had never taken his eyes off the cup since he saw it. The starting price for the auction was fifty cents, and Jian Ning was the first to call out fifty-one cents.
"Fifty-two cents!" A male voice sounded from the left side of the crowd.
Jian Ning looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man who looked about the same age as Qin Yifan. He had a strong aura that could be felt even through the crowd. Jian Ning looked at him and met his gaze. The man's eyes were as deep as the sea. He looked calm and capable, and he was definitely not a pushover.
"Sixty cents!" Jian Ning directly bid sixty.
"Seventy cents!" Before she finished speaking, the man added seventy cents.
"eighty!"
"ninety!"
The surroundings became restless and the crowd automatically moved to the sides. Jane Ning and the man unknowingly reached the front. When the man added two hundred coins, Jane Ning gave up.
"Five hundred Wen!" Ding Youtian suddenly blurted out unexpectedly.
"You're crazy. I won't accept a cup if you pay me 500 coins." Jian Ning glared at him and lowered his voice.
The bid of one hundred and ninety wen was the highest price she could accept. It was just a cup, and it had a slight flaw, but she didn't really need it.
"Five hundred and one cents!" The other party added one more cent and glanced at Ding Youtian.
"No! He wants to be a sucker." Jian Ning refused to let Ding Youtian raise the price. He smiled slightly, raised his hand and shouted, "Six hundred coins!"
The crowd was in an uproar.
Jian Ning was so angry that she wanted to strangle him, "What's wrong with you? I won't pay a penny!"
She spoke with gritted teeth, but he smiled calmly and whispered in her ear: "As long as you like it, I will give it to you."
"Where did you get the money?" Jian Ning stared at him suspiciously. Could it be that this guy had some private money hidden?
That doesn't exist. She knows all the money transactions and they are all in her hands. She really can't understand where he can get the private money from?
The other party added another cent, and Ding Youtian raised his hand and shouted out seven hundred cents. Seeing that he looked confident, Jian Ning became even more suspicious.
"You are not allowed to borrow money. Even if you want to lend me money, I won't recognize you." Jian Ning was furious and warned him, fearing that he would ask Qin Yifan or Blind Liu to borrow money.
Ding Youtian, still smiling, added a hundred wen. For every hundred wen he added, the other party added one wen, seemingly deliberately provoking him. When Ding Youtian finally bid five thousand wen and the other party called out five thousand and one wen, Ding Youtian turned sideways, bowed to the other party, and said with a smile, "Congratulations, it's yours."
The crowd was in an uproar again.
Although the dust has settled and the other party has been taken advantage of, Jian Ning still has lingering fears and can't help but pinch Ding Youtian, "If he hadn't raised the price just now, five thousand coins for a cup, you don't plan to live like this anymore, do you?"
"He'll add it."
“What if it’s not added?”
"No..." He touched his nose and smiled, "No, I spent five thousand coins to buy a cup for my wife, and it was worth it to make her smile."
"What the hell am I laughing at! I'm so pissed off!" Jian Ning wanted to slap him, "Tell me, did you hide some money behind my back? Tell me the truth, and don't let me find it."
"Dad has silver." Dabao didn't even look at Ding Youtian, his eyes fixed on the kiln site. He said slowly, "Dad went to the clan school to teach, and the clan leader, grandfather, gave Dad one or two taels of silver. I heard Ding Quan tell others about it."
"Don't believe what that kid said." Ding Youtian was anxious. "My lady, Ding Quan was just talking nonsense. He said it on purpose for Baoer to hear. Don't be fooled."
Jian Ning narrowed her eyes slightly, stared at him and said, "I'm giving you one chance. Reorganize your words. Don't waste this opportunity. Think before you answer."
After a brief hesitation, Ding Youtian reached into his bosom, pulled out a piece of silver and handed it to Jian Ning, saying with a wry smile, "I simply forgot and didn't mean to hide it. Honestly, God can bear witness."
"The heavens are too busy to care about you." Jian Ning waved his fist at him, holding the silver in his hand. "If you dare to do it again, I'll beat you away!"
While Jian Ning was looking up at the kiln, Ding Youtian quietly kicked Dabao.
"Mom." As soon as Dabao called out "Mom," he quickly hugged Dabao and explained to Jian Ning, "It's okay. Bao'er was worried that you really got beaten up by his father." After that, he pinched Dabao's shoulders and said, "No, your mother is gentle and kind, how could she use violence? Don't think too much, your mother won't do that."
Dabao turned sideways, glanced at him, and said nothing more.
Seeing that Dabao didn't say anything, Jian Ning stopped asking questions and just glanced at Ding Youtian with a warning. When she turned her head back, she noticed someone looking at her from the side and immediately looked over, her gaze colliding with the man's.
Seeing Jane Ning looking at him, he turned his eyes away as if nothing had happened. After that, Jane Ning and the others did not make any more offers, and he remained silent.
After the kiln was opened in the morning, Jian Ning and his group returned empty-handed. On the way back, they met the man again at the city gate. There were five of them in total, and the soldiers guarding the city were questioning them about their entry into the city. After listening to the conversation between the soldiers and them, Jian Ning realized that they were from the Dayue Kingdom.
"So they are not from Dayan Kingdom, then why are they wearing Dayan Kingdom costumes? Did you know from the beginning that he was from Yue Kingdom?" Jian Ning saw that Ding Youtian also glanced at the man, and seemed not surprised at all that they were from Yue Kingdom, so he asked.
Ding Youtian lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, "If you pay attention, you'll see that the people of Yue Country behave differently from those of our Dayan Country."
Jian Ning pretended to glance back casually and said, "I don't think so. They all look the same."
"My lady, are you short-sighted?" Ding Youtian touched his nose. "Don't you realize that even if all five of them were tied together, they wouldn't be as handsome as me?"
Jian Ning squinted her eyes and asked, "Are you looking for death?"
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