Chapter 40 is certainly more... than the tiles burned by these Japanese pirates...
The two bricklayers were both surnamed Zhang, Zhang Dalang and Zhang Erlang, brothers. Zhang Dalang was Zhang Ying's father. The Zhang family had a long-standing friendship with the Xiang family and later settled in Xiangjia Village. Of the three surnames in Xiangjia Village, the Xiang and Li families were mainly carpenters, while the Zhang family's specialty was tile making.
Especially glazed tiles.
The gleaming golden roof of the Forbidden City was made by his ancestors.
"Whenever the sun rises, the rooftops shimmer with a golden light, but it's soft and not glaring," Zhang Dalang recalled of the Forbidden City. "Besides the yellow glazed tiles, there were all sorts of other colors. Blue glazed tiles were used for the Temple of Heaven, and green glazed tiles were used for the emperor's summer palaces..."
"There were also peacock blue glazed tiles, which the Chenghua Emperor greatly admired and used for the pavilions and stages in the Imperial Garden..."
Even when he and his colleagues were doing routine maintenance after firing them, they were often captivated by their beauty.
Even Yuwen Kai couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion after hearing his description.
Glazed tiles existed during the Sui and Tang dynasties, but they were difficult to manufacture and extremely precious, and were generally only used for eaves and ridges. Yuwen Kai used them when building the Taiji Palace, but he was not extravagant enough to use glazed tiles for the entire roof.
He had seen the Forbidden City described by craftsmen in picture books and on television. Although it seemed a bit smaller and not as grand as the Taiji Palace, it was truly magnificent and resplendent.
Among these, the roof is a major plus.
Zhang Dalang and his brother examined the glazed tiles produced domestically and those made in Japan. They felt that the firing quality of the two was not much different: "Even back in our time, they would be considered experts. If they could produce them as consistently and quickly as these, that would be even more remarkable."
They have been living here for a while now and have gained some understanding of the speed at which supplies are produced here.
“However,” Zhang Erlang added, “if I were to judge, these glazed tiles are somewhat stiff and lack dynamism. They’re fine when laid out in large, flat pieces, but they’re not enough to be used as decorative accents in important locations like the main hall.”
Yuwen Kai nodded.
In his view, this is a common problem for many things in the future world: rapid production but mediocrity. Unfortunately, Qinghe Ancient Town doesn't have much space that needs to be paved with large areas; what it needs is precisely this kind of exquisite detail decoration.
He asked, "If I were to entrust the firing of glazed tiles to you two, could you fire even better glazed tiles than these?"
Zhang Dalang looked at his younger brother and saw pride and joy in each of their eyes. They were worried that their talents were wasted and they could only do menial tasks every day.
The two men bowed to Yuwen Kai in unison and said, "If we had a kiln, Erlang and I would surely be able to fire the best glazed tiles!"
Zhang Dalang glanced disdainfully at the tiles sent by Japan: "They must be much better than the tiles made by these Japanese pirates!"
Business representative Lin Rong left Qinghe Ancient Town and checked into a hotel in the county.
He had just pushed open the door when he received a familiar phone call. He frowned slightly in annoyance, but as soon as the call connected, a familiar, slightly obsequious smile appeared on his face:
“Mr. Yamada…yes, they said they need to consider it.”
Lin Rong hesitated for a moment: "However, I think, Mr. Yamada, the possibility of them ultimately choosing Kyōgye is not very high."
He could clearly sense that the craftsmen and the planner didn't particularly like Japanese products. To be honest, this was quite new to Lin Rong. Although most Chinese people didn't like Japan, business was business, and many people trusted Japanese-made goods, even blindly so.
Therefore, Jingye tiles have no trouble selling, especially in the past few years, when many high-end cultural tourism projects in China chose this type of tile.
That was also a period when Japanese manufacturers and their companies made a fortune, earning money even while lying at home.
However, in recent years, the situation has suddenly changed. First, the government issued a document requiring cultural and tourism projects to purchase domestically produced materials as much as possible, leading to the cancellation of many of their orders. Secondly, the quality control of domestically produced roofing tiles seems to have improved, with breakthroughs in many technologies, making buyers less willing to pay exorbitant premiums for a relatively small difference.
Although Japan's Kyōgyo still holds a dominant position in the domestic high-end tile market, it's hard to say what the future holds.
Faced with this situation, Jingye shifted its focus to another major product category: glazed tiles. Domestically produced glazed tiles from Jiexiu are of excellent quality, possessing a technological advantage and a very high market share. However, the glazed tiles developed by Jingye are equally impressive, and what's even more astonishing is that they claim to have recreated the now-lost Ming Dynasty peacock blue glazed tiles!
At the same time, Jingye adopted a low-price dumping strategy, intending to first seize the market with low prices, and then raise prices without any scruples once domestic brands could no longer sustain themselves. In any case, they were financially strong and not afraid of temporary losses.
They offered high commissions to their domestic agents, who were happy to promote the products.
With these strategies, Jingye's glazed tiles managed to carve out a place for themselves in the domestic glazed tile market.
Glazed tile manufacturers in Shanxi have been greatly affected. Large manufacturers are not afraid, and small manufacturers are not afraid because they are in different markets and take the low-price route. However, several medium-sized tile factories that originally had the opportunity to grow have gone out of business in the past two years.
It was against this backdrop that Lin Rong came to Qinghe Ancient Town.
“Pointless nationalism.” Yamada snorted on the other end of the phone, clearly displeased. “Business is business, and profit is the most important thing. The owner of Qinghe Ancient Town is obviously not a professional.”
Lin Rong could only force a smile and added, "However, I think they are quite interested in glazed tiles."
Yamada hesitated for a moment, then said, "Lin-kun, take the peacock blue glazed tiles with you tomorrow and show them to them. Try to get them to agree to this again."
Jingye attaches great importance to the Qinghe Ancient Town project. Currently, it is the only large-scale cultural tourism project under construction in this area, and they want to use it to promote Jingye glazed tiles to the southern market of China.
Lin Rong respectfully agreed: "Yes, Mr. Yamada."
......
"You want to open your own kiln?" Lu Xiaoqi looked at Yuwen Kai, Zhang Dalang, and Zhang Erlang in surprise. "Aren't any of those samples satisfactory?"
She never expected to hear this proposal.
Yuwen Kai shook his head: "No, for ordinary tiles, Yixing ceramic tiles are fine. Although they are not as hard as Jingye tiles, the quality is sufficient." He disliked the trading company's agent, "It would be better to contact the factory in Yixing directly and order a batch."
"That's possible."
Lu Xiaoqi's face lit up with joy. The price of Yixing ceramic tiles was affordable, saving her a lot of money. If she ordered directly from the manufacturer, she could probably get an even better deal.
She only found out after asking around that they wanted to burn glazed tiles.
Lu Xiaoqi hesitated. The amount of glazed tiles needed wasn't large; in fact, purchasing them directly would be more cost-effective. Opening a separate kiln just to fire such a small quantity seemed wasteful. However, the Zhang brothers' claim that they could fire the best imperial tiles swayed her.
"And those peacock blue glazed tiles, we can fire those too!"
"That was originally a closely guarded secret of our Zhang family."
For some reason, the Japanese managed to crack the code! The Zhang brothers were shocked and frustrated when they heard that Jingye could also fire this, and now they are full of frustration.
Lu Xiaoqi's eyes lit up, but she didn't rule out the possibility: "Okay, I'll go back and look into it, and I'll give you an answer later."
This was another area she knew absolutely nothing about, so she had to find out more first.
As soon as the words were spoken, a familiar voice rang out: "Player, your new week's tasks have been issued. Please check them promptly."
Here it comes again!
Lu Xiaoqi took a deep breath to make her smile look more natural, and after discussing the purchase list with Yuwen Kai and the others, she hurriedly pulled up her weekly tasks after seeing them off.
Just as she had expected, the mission this time was to provide the Zhang brothers with an ideal place to fire tiles.
"So, you think the chances of this task being completed are pretty high?" she asked suspiciously. "But where am I supposed to find a kiln for them?"
Furthermore, it's limited to one week.
System: "Player, success depends on human effort."
Lu Xiaoqi twitched her lips and rolled her eyes. She knew the task was unchangeable, and since the system had said so, it meant it was within her capabilities. Fortunately, she had several employees now, and they could brainstorm together.
After calming down and weighing the pros and cons, she suddenly realized that opening a kiln to fire tiles might not be such a bad idea...
"Player, you have two more character cards to draw," the system reminded her.
Lu Xiaoqi waved her hand: "Forget it, I've changed my mind. I'll draw three cards all at once once I get the basic maintenance function."
There have been too many miscellaneous things to do these past few days.
The next day, Lin Rong brought peacock blue glazed tiles to Qinghe Ancient Town.
He carefully took the tile from the box he carried with him: "As you can see, this is the peacock blue glaze that Jingye developed last year. It's said to be the favorite color of the Ming Dynasty emperors, but it's now lost in our country. Jingye invested a lot and spent more than ten years developing it..."
He told a story about Japanese "craftsmanship" that everyone enjoyed.
The glazed tiles were blue-green in color. Sunlight shone through the window and shone on them, making them sparkle and shine. The glaze on the surface was like glass, which made the bright colors underneath appear to float like light.
It is indeed a beautiful object.
Everyone present, including Yuwen Kai, was amazed and captivated by it.
Lin Rong smiled and continued to persuade, "This color matches the scenery of the Jiangnan water towns perfectly, and Jingye has never sold this kind of tile in the south before. If Qinghe Ancient Town can be the first to do so, it will be both beautiful and a hot topic, and it will definitely become a must-visit spot for tourists."
Lu Xiaoqi was almost convinced by him.
Nowadays, people love to travel, take photos, and check in. Just think about it: "lost national treasure skills" paired with unique and beautiful colors can easily become a check-in spot on online platforms.
With another round of dissemination, it's all under control!
Zhang Dalang tried to get closer to take a look, but Lin Rong blocked him.
Lin Rong smiled, but his eyes held a hint of disdain and impatience as he looked at these unassuming craftsmen: "Master, these tiles are very precious, don't break them."
He vividly remembered that it was these same craftsmen who had nitpicked and nitpicked yesterday, ruining his good deed. Moreover, Lin Rong felt he had the victory firmly in his grasp; the peacock blue glazed tiles were unique in the world, making it a typical seller's market.
Zhang Dalang sneered and turned to Lu Xiaoqi and Yuwen Kai, saying, "The color he used is wrong! If you look closely, it can't be considered a real peacock blue glaze at all."
The color of Jingye glaze leans towards green, more like a special kind of emerald green glazed tile, and upon closer inspection, the base color is slightly cloudy. Genuine peacock blue glaze, on the other hand, is more bluish, shimmering like peacock feathers, with a bright and flawless base.
He concluded that this was not peacock blue glaze, at least not the lost Ming Dynasty peacock blue glaze they claimed to have!
Lin Rong was dumbfounded. Where did this person come from, spouting such nonsense!
He laughed angrily, "Master, what else could this be but peacock blue glaze? You can't just spout such baseless claims, or you'll end up in legal trouble! After Jingye successfully restored this color, they spent a fortune hiring experts to authenticate it based on ancient texts. Do you think you know more than the experts?"
Lu Xiaoqi, listening from the side, had a strange expression: ...If the Zhang brothers can't be called experts in this matter, then there are no experts in the world.
Zhang Dalang's face flushed red: "Anyway, I just know this can't compare to real peacock blue glaze!"
Lin Rong: "Talking is useless, Master. You need to provide evidence! Otherwise, anyone can make a few slanderous remarks, and then how can we continue doing business?"
There are still one or two ancient sites that used peacock blue glazed tiles. Jingye once compared them and found that the colors were slightly different, but it is perfectly fine to say that his is made of peacock blue glazed tiles.
It's just this one color; people who actually buy it won't go to one or two historical sites to compare the subtle differences.
He was fearless and emboldened.
Moreover, even if this deal falls through, the reputation of Jingye cannot be flawed in any way under his control, otherwise he will be in deep trouble.
Lin Rong therefore became somewhat aggressive.
"Master, you must take responsibility for your words! Jingye has been doing business in China for so long, and its reputation is impeccable. You can't just say that their tiles are fake just because we can't make them domestically now, can you?"
"Blind arrogance and constant slander of competitors, it's no wonder that the quality of domestic tiles has never caught up."
Watching from the side, Lu Xiaoqi finally understood why Yuwen Kai and the Zhang brothers were so eager to open their own kiln and fire tiles. They were truly despicable traitors.
She coughed lightly and said to Lin Rong, "Mr. Lin, these glazed tiles are beautiful, but they are also precious. Our temple in Qinghe Ancient Town is too small to house such a large Buddha statue. Please take your leave."
Lin Rong sensed the sarcasm in her words and quickly put on a smile: "Mr. Lu, I was just in a hurry. You've seen our product; it definitely has advantages. I can say that for a long time to come, you won't find another manufacturer in China that can produce this color..."
Zhang Erlang was furious at his brother's disrespect and interrupted him, saying, "What's so difficult about that? We can burn it!"
Lin Rong swallowed his words, raised an eyebrow at the two unremarkable craftsmen in front of him, and after a moment chuckled: "I see. Mr. Lu, since you have no intention of making a purchase, then I shall take my leave."
He now feels that this group of people planned this all along, and might have wanted to steal physical samples of the peacock blue glazed tiles from him.
Lu Xiaoqi gestured for him to leave: "No need to see me out."
Lin Rong put the glazed tile back into his small box lined with silk satin, picked it up, and hurriedly walked out.
When he reached the door, he still couldn't swallow his anger. He turned back and gave a forced smile: "Then I look forward to the early release of your glazed tiles."
Lu Xiaoqi returned the same smile: "I'll send you an invitation to the ceremony later."
Once Lin Rong's figure disappeared from sight, her face fell, and she turned to the person next to her incredulously, saying, "Look at him like that, acting as if Jingye is his own business. How much money did Xiaozhi give him?"
Su Jun was standing right next to her, and he smiled wryly, "There are just too many people like that."
In the past, many ministers in the court also spoke up for the Jin Dynasty, as if they were Jin people, not Song people.
"Fire it! I'll find a kiln for you right away!" Lu Xiaoqi pointed at the Zhang brothers and said with extreme domineering confidence, "You must fire a real peacock blue glazed tile. When it's fired, I'll hold a ceremony for it and tell everyone that this is the real peacock blue glazed tile, this is our true national treasure craft!"
She's so angry!
The Zhang brothers were overjoyed and patted their chests, promising, "Miss Lu, rest assured, we will certainly live up to your expectations!"
Lu Xiaoqi mobilized everyone around her to find a kiln or a suitable place to build a kiln, requiring it to be relatively close to Qinghe Ancient Town, because the Zhang brothers only had low-level freedom.
Although Chen Yingying and the others felt that buying directly was the most cost-effective and convenient way, they could only cooperate fully since the boss had made up his mind. They just mentally raised the level of these craftsmen a little higher.
The boss really values these craftsmen.
Perhaps, as she said during her previous interview, Qinghe Ancient Town will indeed be reborn by relying on traditional culture and craftsmanship. Now that the country is strongly promoting various intangible cultural heritages, cultural tourism projects across the country are jumping on the bandwagon, and this is an excellent entry point.
It's truly remarkable that a boss so young can grasp policies and trends.
Chen Yingying seemed lost in thought. She admired Lu Xiaoqi even more.
She had no idea that her boss simply wanted to complete the weekly tasks as quickly as possible, essentially being forced into it by the system.
The happiest person here is Liu Chan: "This is a great subject. We will follow the whole process and release several long videos. I guarantee it will be a hit."
He now has three people under him: one is in charge of post-production editing, one assists him in filming and goes to Qinghe City every day or two to film footage of Zhao Feiyan and Song Wusao cooking, and the other is in charge of managing the existing accounts. The whole department is extremely busy.
But the hard work has paid off. The account matrix for Qinghe Ancient Town is now gradually taking shape, just as Lu Xiaoqi had envisioned.
In addition to the official title "Qinghe Ancient Town", Liu Chan also opened personal accounts for all the craftsmen in Xiangjia Village, including Xiang Xuezhi. If Yuwen Kai and Su Jun hadn't both firmly refused, he would have wanted to open one for them as well.
Of course, they don't need to run the operations themselves; someone else does it for them. They just need to do their regular work every day.
At first, people were not used to seeing him constantly pointing his phone camera at himself, and he even walked with his hands and feet in unison, which was quite funny. But after watching a few short videos, their eyes lit up immediately.
This thing is so interesting!
Their interest grew, and they became very cooperative. Xiang Qi and Xiang Ming even demonstrated their skills on camera—the simplest way to square a log with a single axe stroke. Without any measuring tools, using only a chalk line and an axe, they visually cleaved a round log into a square pillar.
Finally, Liu Chan specifically measured the square wooden pillar with a laser in front of the camera; all four sides were exactly ten centimeters, without the slightest error.
If the first time was a coincidence, then the fact that it was chopped into five perfect 10-centimeter pieces in a row is rather alarming.
"One stroke determines the square, three strokes complete the beam. It's just a trivial skill," Xiang Ming said casually in front of the camera, displaying the demeanor of a master craftsman.
The greatest truths are the simplest; even the most basic chopping can best demonstrate a craftsman's skill.
Netizens who were still following the event recalled that these two old men were the chief judges during the sacrificial ceremony, scoring all the craftsmen. Even the carpenter Li, who had amazed everyone in the competition, behaved very respectfully in front of them.
It's clear that these two old men are no ordinary people.
So, in the end, besides Li the carpenter and Xiang Xuezhi, who performed the best in the ritual, having the most followers on their personal accounts, Xiang Qi and Xiang Ming came from behind to surpass them. This made the two old men extremely happy during those days. Although they didn't show it on their faces, they ate two extra bowls of rice and walked with a leisurely pace.
Very proud.
The craftsmen's personal accounts tend to be more fragmented and life-like. Right now, they are all preparing for the last part of their assessment. After finishing their work, they think about this. Liu Chan is not worried about not having enough material to shoot, but only about having too much material and not being able to choose.
He never imagined he would have such a wealthy day! It was a bittersweet experience.
In contrast, the official account of Qinghe Ancient Town focuses more on the restoration of the ancient town. For example, these days Yuwen Kai is organizing them to dismantle the brackets and the messy ridge beasts on the roof of Qinghe Tower, which netizens are watching with great interest and are urging Liu Chan to start a live broadcast.
Liu Chan was thick-skinned. Although Yuwen Kai rejected him, he was not afraid at all and still often went over to ask questions about ancient architecture.
Yuwen Kai's temper is much more easygoing than before. He just doesn't want to become an internet celebrity with a personal account, but he won't make things difficult for others at work, and he basically answers every question. After communicating more with Lao Lin, he also understood some of the dilemmas of modern Chinese ancient architecture, so he took it personally and explained things very thoroughly and seriously each time, which attracted a group of ancient architecture enthusiasts in China.
Qinghe Ancient Town has gradually gained some recognition, and its online buzz is even greater than before.
But none of these can compare to Zhao Feiyan.
After Wang Ying published that long article, Zhao Feiyan released two short videos. One was a clip of her practicing dance in the studio, and the other was just a shot of her standing in front of a field of roadside roses, scrolling through her phone, when her assistant called her name, and she looked up blankly and then smiled sweetly.
A few seconds is enough for fans to drool over the screen and shout, "Sister, kill me! My wife is so beautiful!"
Leaving a screen full of drool.
In just half a month, "Zhao Yizhu's" account has gained more than two million followers, becoming the number one internet celebrity in the Qinghe Ancient Town account group, and work invitations have been pouring in.
Seeing this, Liu Chan almost wished he could get plastic surgery and become a beauty blogger himself. He felt his heart bleeding when he turned down various job offers on her behalf. He even took one or two that he thought were decent to Zhao Feiyan for advice.
Zhao Feiyan merely glanced at it lazily: "Love variety show? What does that mean?"
Liu Chan explained.
She frowned: "Dating a man? No way!"
She's spent half her life scheming and manipulating men, she's had enough of that. Now she's going to date men again? Is she just bored and has nothing better to do?
In the end, Liu Chan only accepted two skincare product advertising deals. The brands only required a certain number of seconds of screen time in her daily videos, without insisting on endorsements, hence the lower price. However, he felt it better suited the current tone of his account.
Zhao Feiyan insisted on trying the product herself before advertising it, and she really liked her current fans. Most of them were girls who expressed themselves directly and enthusiastically, asking for nothing in return. This selfless affection even made her feel unworthy of it at times.
She has a responsibility to them.
Both of these skincare products are from well-known brands. Although Liu Chan felt that her insistence was unnecessary, she was also pleased—it was good that she cherished her personal reputation, and it shouldn't lead to a collapse of her image later on.
In any case, this is the first money their self-media department has earned for the company, which is cause for celebration!
When Qin Shaohua contacted her, Liu Chan was envisioning the future.
He read Qin Shaohua's email and then looked into her dance troupe, finding it rather unreliable. A dance troupe on the verge of bankruptcy, and a director who preferred highbrow, unappealing music—they didn't seem like a reliable group at all.
Liu Chan almost wanted to reject her outright, but according to their prior agreement, he still called Zhao Feiyan.
"A dance drama?" Zhao Feiyan frowned on the other end of the phone: "...Zhao Feiyan as the female lead?"
She seemed a little lost; was she playing herself?
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