The Shen family couldn't reach a definite conclusion on this matter. They all knew it was impossible, but they couldn't get over the hurdle in their hearts.
Li Xunli had no choice but to bury her head in the sand and stop thinking about it, deciding to handle it quietly.
Unexpectedly, when Li Xunli went to the kiln the next day, she saw Chen Manyu again at the corner of the wall at the entrance of the kiln.
He was still wearing the same blue coat as yesterday, but he must not have gone into his family's abandoned porcelain kiln today, as he was clean.
Upon seeing Li Xunli arrive, he stood up shyly, smiled at her, and greeted her, "Aunt Li."
One shouldn't hit a smiling face, especially since Li Xunli already had compassion for Chen Manyu.
She smiled and nodded, then asked him, "Manyu, what brings you here again?"
"I didn't get my clothes dirty today, I'll help you pound the fabric!" Chen Manyu patted his chest, as if making a guarantee.
Li Xunli paused for a moment: "Does Grandma know you're here?"
Chen Manyu shook his head: "Grandma and Grandpa went out and told me to stay home and not run around."
Thinking of what Li Huifen had said yesterday, Li Xunli felt even more conflicted.
She looked at Chen Manyu, who was standing there somewhat awkwardly, yet his eyes were bright and sparkling as he looked at her, expecting her to give him something to do. She softened a little and said, "Come in with me first. Your grandparents aren't home. Will there be lunch?"
Chen Manyu grinned and said, "Yes, Grandpa and Grandma left some big steamed buns and small fish at home!"
Li Xunli understood. It was probably Huifen's attitude yesterday that made her understand, but she didn't want to tell Chen Manyu, so Chen Manyu came over again.
"Then why did you come? It's so cold." Li Xunjin unlocked the door of the porcelain kiln with her key and let Chen Manyu follow her inside.
As soon as he entered, Chen Manyu's eyes were glued to the raw materials and tools, his eyes sparkling. "I'm here to help Aunt Li, for free! No money required! Grandpa and Grandma don't know, I'm doing this secretly! I want to be like Grandpa, making ceramics!"
Li Xunli was very surprised. She thought that Aunt Huifen had not told Chen Manyu that it was actually Chen Manyu's own idea.
That's true. Even though there was an accident, Chen Manyu was already 10 years old when the accident happened. He already knew what he was supposed to know, and Aunt Huifen seemed to have been teaching him slowly over the years what he didn't know.
She could tell, and she could see, that what Aunt Huifen said about Chen Manyu just being a slow learner and a slow learner was true.
Perhaps people like Chen Manyu are more suited to inheriting porcelain art because they are more pure.
Li Xunli believes that everything she does is to support her family. Her pursuit of porcelain art needs to be based on the premise of having enough to eat and wear, and not having to stretch every penny.
But she also understood that what was more important for Chen Manyu now was how to survive.
Art and survival are always intertwined; survival always comes first, and then art.
Li Xunli didn't say anything more, but instead showed Chen Manyu some materials and utensils that he had never seen before when he was a child. Then she told him to go home and eat when he was hungry, and not to stay in the kiln.
Chen Manyu nodded.
Today, Li Xunli is going to start making those fragile porcelain sets, including two intricately carved openwork pendants.
Zhang Hengyun planned to stuff something inside, then smash it and take it out.
Because the base of the clay is thin, Li Xunli needs to be very careful when carving it.
At first, she could still keep an eye on Chen Manyu, but gradually she didn't have that spare time anymore. As more and more of the base of the clay body was hollowed out, the area under stress became smaller and smaller, so she had to be more and more careful.
The rhythmic sound of pounding materials echoed in the kiln. Li Xunli was so engrossed in her work that she didn't notice when the sound stopped.
After she finished carving the two intricate openwork pendants and placed them on a special drying rack, she stretched and then remembered Chen Manyu.
Turning around, I realized the person was no longer in the kiln.
However, next to the tools used for pounding materials, there were three bamboo winnowing baskets filled with sifted raw material powder.
Looking at the fine powder in the three winnowing baskets, Li Xunli sighed deeply and made a decision in her heart.
After returning home, Li Xunli announced her decision at the dinner table: "I've decided to take Manyu on as an apprentice."
Shen Rongzhou and Shen Qingqing both looked at Li Xunli with considerable surprise.
Li Xunli sighed and told her husband and daughter what Chen Manyu had said and done at the porcelain kiln that day. "...This child will definitely come again. I can't let this child work for nothing, right?"
Shen Qingqing looked at her mother and knew that Chen Manyu's apprenticeship was basically settled.
"Mom, how much salary do you want to pay him? Or is it like Aunt Huifen said, just enough to provide him with three meals a day?"
Li Xunli thought for a moment, "Let's go to Aunt Huifen's house this afternoon to discuss it."
After dinner, Shen Qingqing went to Chen Manyu's house with Li Xunli.
Chen Manyu's house is located in an area a little further back from the archway next to the Li family's old house.
However, that area is basically uninhabited, with only one or two elderly people who are unwilling to leave.
The further they walked, the closer Shen Qingqing became to Li Xunli.
It's so desolate, so desolate it's almost frightening.
Fortunately, Chen Manyu was playing right in front of his house, so he could see where his house was at a glance.
"Aunt Li!" When Chen Manyu saw Li Xunli come to his house, he thought she had come to tell his grandparents about him sneaking off to her porcelain kiln that morning. He panicked for a moment, quickly threw away the tree branch sword in his hand, and called out anxiously.
This shout immediately brought out Li Huifen and her grandfather.
Li Huifen was still holding the dishes she had packed up to wash when she came out and saw Li Xunli standing at the door with a child. She paused for a moment, then handed the dishes to her husband and went to greet her, "Xunli? What brings you here?"
Li Xunli explained her purpose: "Aunt Huifen, I'd like to talk to you two about taking Manyu on as an apprentice."
After hearing this, Li Huifen was stunned for a moment. She and her husband exchanged a glance and saw excitement in each other's eyes. "Come, come, come in quickly!"
Shen Qingqing followed her mother inside. As soon as she entered, she could smell the rotten wood, but apart from that smell, everything in the house was very clean.
The only electrical appliance was a spotless electric fan placed in the corner; the only other thing was a lone light bulb hanging from the rafters.
There are two side rooms on the left and right sides of the main room. It is clear that these are the rooms of the old couple and Chen Manyu. The doors are open, and there are probably windows, so some light is coming out of the rooms.
Most of the plaster on the adobe wall has fallen off, revealing the mud bricks underneath.
In short, the word to describe it is: poor.
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