Song Daliang cursed and grumbled, but couldn’t resist being overpowered and alone.
Yet Song Tao continued behind him, saying, "Dad, rest assured, since I’ve promised to give you one hundred taels of silver as filial support money every month, I will definitely give it to you. It’s just that I haven’t officially taken over the management of the kiln factory yet, and I haven’t received the dividend promised by the Hong Family. I truly want to, but I’m powerless, with no silver to offer my filial respects. If you give me a few more days, even if I have to borrow, I’ll get the first month’s silver to give to you."
The crowd outside the accountant’s office buzzed with discussion, "The third daughter of the Song Family is really down on her luck, saddled with such a father!"
"While it’s true that children should show filial piety to their parents, who forces their children like this? No wonder he previously owed us wages, he’s not a good person at all!"
The voices, some high and some low, drifted into the accountant’s office.
Song Daliang realized he had been tricked.
He was both angry and anxious, unable to utter a word.
Seeing the protector from the Hong Family moving to close the door, he stepped forward and slapped Song Tao across the face.
Song Tao’s face quickly swelled up red.
But she didn’t even turn her head, instead, she struggled to lift up the Taishi Chair beside her and smashed it toward Song Daliang.
Song Daliang did not expect her to fight back. Stunned, he was hit squarely, the pain making him bend down and fall to the ground.
The protector from the Hong Family rushed over and asked Song Tao, "Are you all right?"
Before they left the house, Old Grand Master Hong not only instructed them to follow Song Tao’s orders but also to ensure that Song Daliang did not harm a single hair on Song Tao’s head.
Song Tao shook her head, feeling an exhilarating sense of revenge.
She squatted down beside Song Daliang, her smile radiant, "Dad, you’d better stay far away from me in the future, and don’t anger me again. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what I might do!"
"As for this slap you gave me," a chill flashed in her eyes, "you’ll soon know the consequences!"
Song Daliang didn’t know how he got out of the kiln factory.
He only remembered the Grand Steward of the Hong Family returning with the deed to hand over to Song Tao, smiling as he said, "From now on, this kiln factory belongs to you."
He also handed over five thousand taels in silver notes to Song Tao, "This is the silver note we agreed on before. With your father in this state, I’m afraid it might be stolen from him before he even leaves the kiln factory, it’s safer with you."
That little wretch Song Tao tricked him again!
That was his silver!
Five thousand taels!
He lunged at Song Tao.
But he was restrained by the Hong Family’s protector and handed over to Song Tao.
Song Tao still hypocritically helped him out of the accountant’s office.
The kiln workers, seeing the slap mark on her face, glared at him in anger, rallying around Song Tao and calling her "Owner," chastising him, "There’s no excuse for hitting the face, that’s too much."
What did that little wretch Song Tao say?
"It was also because I went against his wishes." She looked somber, "But if I didn’t find a way to sell the kiln factory, what would you all do?"
"The third Miss truly has the heart of a Bodhisattva!" they said, their tears brimming with admiration.
"Bah!" Song Daliang muttered, "What Bodhisattva’s heart, it’s all an act!"
As he spoke, there was a sharp pain in his heel.
Song Daliang finally snapped back to reality and realized that, without knowing it, he had walked to the door of a tavern he often frequented.
Someone at the door of the tavern was talking and laughing loudly, "Have you heard? Song Daliang’s kiln factory was sold to the Hong Family. They even made his third daughter the steward, and not only did the Hong Family give Song Daliang five thousand taels of silver, his daughter also committed to giving him a filial piety of one hundred taels of silver every month. Tell you what, this Song Daliang has some dumb luck. As a child, he relied on his father, as he grew older, he depended on his brother, and now in his old age, he’s relying on his daughter."
"There’s such a thing! To rely on a daughter to live before he’s old and immobile! In our Liang County, this must be the first time since the beginning of the world, right?"
There were some who were not convinced, "Pah! He has sons, yet he relies on a daughter, what’s there to be proud of!"
But more people were reflective, "The daughters of the Song Family are impressive one after another. First, there was the eldest daughter of Song Youliang’s family, and now the third daughter of Song Daliang’s family. Their family seems to have a special talent for porcelain making."
Song Daliang was dumbfounded.
How could these rumors spread so fast?
Just like last time when Zeng Wenxing ran off with someone, he and Old Master Zeng didn’t even know, but the news had already spread throughout the whole of Liang County.
"It’s all bullshit!" he fumed, unable to help himself from jumping out and yelling, "When did I take five thousand taels of silver? When did I accept one hundred taels of silver from Song Tao... "
Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
A drinking buddy of his ran over to pull him aside, saying, "Oh dear, oh dear, we’re not asking to borrow silver from you. Rest assured, we won’t spend a penny of your five thousand taels. What are you so anxious about?"
Another chimed in, "You’re being too stingy. If you’ve got it, you’ve got it. Who are you hiding from? We’ve invited you for drinks before, didn’t we? Is there a need to make it clear that you’re no longer one of us so soon?"
"Exactly, exactly!"
The crowd pushed him into the small tavern, not listening to his protests. The more he tried to explain, the more they jeered, and before he knew it, they had somehow switched the topic to playing horseshoes and card games. A group of them tried to drag him to the courtyard to play a few rounds, and Song Daliang found it impossible to get away.
Then someone said, "Remember the Mid-Autumn Festival when you lost money at the gambling house and were afraid to go home? Wasn’t it me who vouched for you to let the gambling house release you? You can’t forget your brothers just because you’ve come into money."
Song Daliang was miserable but still got dragged along in confusion to the brothel, Chu Pavilion.
When he woke up in the morning, he found that his "friends" had disappeared, but he now owed the brothel three hundred taels of silver.
Because of this, Madam Wang and Song Daliang had a big fight...
Having received the news, Song Tao laughed coldly and said to the person she had sent to follow Song Daliang, "You keep on following him, and inform me immediately if anything happens." She also praised the one who had previously spoken well of her in front of the kiln workers, "Well done, from now on you will be in charge of the Kiln Factory’s protection." She also asked the accountant, "Have all the arrears owed to the kiln workers been paid off?"
The accountant had witnessed firsthand how Song Tao had driven Song Daliang away. He didn’t dare to cut corners in front of Song Tao and immediately replied, "All checked and distributed. Following your instructions, we also gave each household two boxes of pastries. Everyone says you are generous and are hoping that you will soon lead them to produce fine porcelain to wash away past humiliations."
Song Tao nodded with a smile, put Song Daliang out of her mind, and gathered several master craftsmen from the Liangyu Kiln Factory to start planning for porcelain production.
*
Song Jiyun was quite surprised to learn of the changes in the Song Family.
Why would the Hong Family help Song Tao acquire the Liangyu Kiln Factory?
And what was it about Song Tao that made the Hong Family willing to lend a hand?
Thinking of Song Tao’s occasional hostility towards her in the past, Song Jiyun instructed Zheng Quan to pay attention to Song Tao’s movements after taking charge of the kiln factory.
She had been busy with "Jade Porcelain" workshop matters lately.
"Separate the Jade Porcelain workshop from the family’s workshop," she told Guo Zixing and others. "Firstly, it can give some apprentices a chance to practice; secondly, we are ultimately going to reclaim sweet white porcelain."
The Jade Porcelain workshop was just a way to make quick money.
She knew the history of porcelain development, and ultimately, blue and white porcelain would be fired on the sweet white porcelain base, which is as smooth as jade. The current versions with blue or yellowish tints would eventually be phased out.
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