When she arrived at the kiln, there wasn't even a place to park.
There used to be an open space in front of the kiln, which, although not large, was about the size of a minivan. Now it is completely filled with bags of materials.
Shen Qingqing parked her bicycle on the other side of the bridge and locked it. She then jumped into the field of raw materials, trudging through the muddy water.
Unexpectedly, we stumbled into the porcelain kiln, and the entire courtyard was surrounded by it.
A pile of raw mineral materials was stacked high against the wall.
Shen Qingqing was completely bewildered. What was this all about?
A small empty space had been created where her mother used to work with the millstone, just big enough for three adults to sit and two to stand—her mother sitting, and Wu Jingyuan and Zhang Hengyun standing.
To her mother's left and behind her were four or five bags of materials that were clearly different from the ones at Shen Qingqing's feet. Her mother was taking things out of those bags and turning them into mud.
Wu Jingyuan and Zhang Hengyun stood beside her, watching without moving, not minding the mud splashed on them.
Li Xunli and her team made a great trip, not only finding the raw materials they needed, but also discovering several types of glazes that Li Xunli had obtained by chance when her grandfather was still alive when she was a child.
The price difference between processed materials that can be directly used to make clay and unprocessed raw materials that need to be pounded and mined is as much as two times. However, Zhang Hengyun was in a hurry, and since she was paying for it herself, she asked Li Xunli how much material she needed to complete her batch of porcelain, and then placed an order without hesitation.
After seeing the glazes, Li Xunli couldn't resist buying the raw materials that she had to pound herself.
Since these things can be stored for a long time, she processed the raw materials little by little every day so that she wouldn't have to travel so far to buy them when she wanted to use them in the future.
As for Wu Jingyuan, after hearing the price of the materials needed to make the brooches and buttons from that batch of clothes, he was already having second thoughts.
Unexpectedly, after the person selling the materials showed him the finished product after combining the glazes with the raw materials, he immediately bought everything.
After Li Xunli selected the clay material for him, the finished product, after being fired and glazed, was very clear and natural, with a light and airy feel, which naturally reduced the weight of ceramics.
Since these are clothes for spring and autumn, and given that the weather in the south doesn't stay cold for very long, the fabrics used for the clothes tend to be lightweight. Naturally, the choice of decorative materials also leans towards lightweight materials.
Porcelain decorations are not uncommon, but since they are meant to be pinned to clothing, you can't just let the corsage keep drooping down when you pick it up and put it on, can you?
Therefore, it is necessary to make the design small and exquisite enough, and also to leave enough space for openwork to reduce the weight of the jewelry itself. Adding some visual lightness will achieve the desired effect.
After all, if you use some inferior metals, they will oxidize and look bad after a long time, and they will also easily stain your clothes.
Even if his clothes are made to be very beautiful, when people talk about them, they will only remember that the brooches from this shop are easy to fade and stain, ruining the clothes.
So he generously ordered all the materials he had bought to be transported to the Li family's porcelain kiln.
The three batches of materials arrived together, which is why Shen Qingqing saw the porcelain kiln completely packed when she arrived.
Right now, they are testing the batch of jade-like materials that Zhang Hengyun needs. From the process of forming the clay, there is not much difference yet, but after forming the clay, there is a very obvious sense of fineness.
There are two grinding discs in the kiln. The one being used now is a new one, while the one used before still has clay residue on it. The difference is indeed visible to the naked eye when comparing the two.
While making the base, Li Xunli would occasionally look up and explain to Zhang Hengyun. Just then, she saw Shen Qingqing standing at the door, leaning against the door frame. She changed the subject and said, "Qingqing, you've come at the right time. Your Aunt Zhang brought over the step-by-step diagrams for the tassel pattern you need. Mom also bought a lot of new thread. Take some back with you and try to weave it yourself by looking at the steps."
"The color of the thread used is also explained in the step-by-step diagram, just follow it. If you can braid it, teach Yangyang to braid it together, otherwise, wait for Mom to come home tonight and teach you."
Shen Qingqing came excitedly, wanting to tell her mother that she had made it to the finals of the competition and would even be able to compete in the city. How come she received a reward before she could even say anything?
Despite her thoughts, she still carefully stepped inside, walked to her mother's side, jumped down, and looked for the steps, diagrams, and lines her mother had mentioned.
After taking it, she ran back excitedly to tell her mother about it.
"Really?!" Li Xunli looked at Shen Qingqing with surprise after hearing this.
Shen Qingqing proudly raised her head: "Of course! I came back from the finals today!"
However, given that Wu Jingyuan and Zhang Hengyun were present, she didn't reveal the part about being able to go to the city for the competition.
"Okay, okay, Mom will buy some seafood tomorrow and cook you a delicious meal!" Although Li Xunli didn't understand the level of this competition, she knew that the finals meant that the people who stood until the end were all very capable, especially since that person was her daughter.
Zhang Hengyun was also very surprised, because she had heard her daughter Chen Yurong say that she had also participated in the competition, but she was too busy and seemed to have not heard her daughter talk about the competition again.
Chen Yurong is in fifth grade this year. She started participating in this competition when she was in fourth grade. Last year, her best result was that she made it to the semi-finals. She didn't ask about this year.
She knew her daughter well; she figured she probably hadn't made it past the next round, which was why she hadn't said anything.
I never expected that Shen Qingqing would make it to the finals at such a young age!
"Qingqing, I didn't expect you to be so clever! It seems I'll have to talk to you more in the future and see if I can learn any good ideas from you." Wu Jingyuan's words were just a joke, and he probably didn't have any real intentions.
Little did he know that Shen Qingqing would later actually give him some advice, enabling his clothing brand to break into the top tier in the domestic market.
Shen Qingqing didn't stand on ceremony and blurted out, "Then Uncle Jingyuan, you'll have to pay me the consultation fee!"
"Haha, you even know about consulting fees? Okay! As long as this batch of blind box clothes makes money, Uncle will definitely give you an even bigger red envelope!" Wu Jingyuan was amused by her, and even his somewhat fierce appearance softened a lot.
"Here, this red envelope is for you!" Wu Jingyuan took out his wallet from his pocket, counted out ten red bills, put them into the red envelope he was carrying, and handed it to Shen Qingqing.
Shen Qingqing was taken aback and subconsciously glanced at her mother, only to find that her mother also looked confused. She then asked Wu Jingyuan, "Uncle Jingyuan, what's the purpose of this red envelope?"
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