The entire Liang County was discussing Song Jiyun’s donation of a porcelain Guanyin Seated on a Lotus Statue to The Eight Immortals Nunnery.
"I heard that the Buddha statue is as tall as a person, is that true or false?"
"They must be bragging! Every time the Imperial Kiln Factory fires a Dragon Jar, doesn’t someone die? Sometimes, they can’t even produce one in several years. To fire a Buddha statue, it must be a reincarnation of the Kiln God, right?"
"Isn’t that Miss Tao from the Song Family rumored to be the reincarnation of the Kiln God? Maybe they really do have the ability?"
"True or false, won’t we know once we go and see? The Song Family has scheduled the 18th of this month to deliver the Buddha statue; they are definitely going to hold a consecration ceremony then."
People were as excited as if it were the New Year, calling friends and making plans to go and enjoy the spectacle that day.
Song Jiyun, however, was cornered by customers in the Kiln Factory whose response to business opportunities was nothing short of astonishing.
"Boss Song, my father and yours were good friends, and our Putuo Temple is being rebuilt. You must help us fire a large Buddha, no matter what. The price is negotiable."
That person immediately faced the mockery of the others, "As if nobody else here has a relationship with Boss Song! Not only was I a friend of your father, but I am also a major customer of your Kiln Factory. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Shopkeeper Zhou to confirm. Even when your father passed away, our Owner personally paid his respects. At any rate, you have to prioritize our order."
"Boss Song, we know it’s difficult to fire a large Buddha statue, so we won’t ask for such a prominent piece. Can you see to firing some of the half-foot-tall Buddha statues like the ones displayed in your elegant hall for our family? We’ll pay in full—no, we’ll pay twenty percent extra."
Immediately someone else spoke up, "Shopkeeper Yang, you’ve really got no shame! Boss Song, our family might not be as rich as theirs, but we can promise that if you can arrange the orders we need, any unsellable daily-use porcelain from your family will be fully purchased by us, and we’ll pay the original price."
The so-called unsellable daily-use porcelain was a polite way of saying it. In reality, these were defective pieces.
The Kiln Factory would further categorize the defects: some usable ones were sold for next to nothing, while unusable ones were smashed and thrown by the riverside.
After all, defective porcelain is still porcelain. It neither eats nor drinks, and takes up space.
The front yard of the Song Family Kiln Factory was bustling and noisy, enough to give Song Jiyun a headache.
But once she spoke, everyone instantly became quiet as chickens, listening carefully to her words, "I know everyone is in a hurry. That’s exactly why our Kiln Factory has separated the Jade Porcelain Workshop from the Kiln Factory. If you want to place an order, just go directly to the Jade Porcelain Workshop and find Shopkeeper Zhou. I am only in charge of production—whatever orders he takes, we will fire."
"Boss Song, we’re here because we can’t get a slot with Shopkeeper Zhou!" the crowd grumbled.
Song Jiyun was helpless.
She finally managed to get away with the protection of Zheng Quan.
Feeling like she had run three kilometers, she collapsed into the Taishi Chair in the Kiln Factory’s accounting office and said with relief to Luo Zixing, "Thank goodness we spun off Jade Porcelain earlier; otherwise, the Kiln Factory wouldn’t have been able to start work."
These days, Luo Zixing couldn’t help but laugh every time he thought about the bonus he would receive at the end of the year.
"It’s the Owner’s wisdom and decisiveness!" Not only did he address Song Jiyun as "Owner" the same way he had referred to Song Erliang, but he also personally brought a cup of tea to her hand, "Nowadays, many craftsmen from small workshops, hearing that we are looking for mold makers, have come to inquire. In a while, it seems all the mold makers in Jingde Town will be working for us."
Song Jiyun mused, "See if there are any promising talents. During this year’s Kiln God Festival, try to invite a few master craftsmen who can bring apprentices."
She had been putting off reclaiming sweet white porcelain, but finding good mold makers was not as easy.
This time, when burning the Buddha statues, other families were affected by the firing temperature that influenced the success rate of the final products, but in their family, it was the skill level of the mold craftsmen that influenced the success rate.
Luo Zixing hurriedly said, "Owner, rest assured, I have people watching over it!"
At this point, he hesitated and said, "Owner, what do you think about taking in more apprentices during the Kiln God Festival this time?"
With the Buddha statues’ approval, their family’s daily-use ceramics all sold out.
No matter what the pattern was, everyone was eager to establish a connection with the Kiln Factory and scrambled to purchase.
He even wished he could buy his own clay pits.
Unfortunately, the clay pits in Jingde Town that were suitable for excavation had been passed down through generations and were rarely sold.
Song Jiyun nodded and brought up another matter, "Last time you mentioned that you had found a very good mold craftsman, but he was poached by the Liangyu Kiln Factory. What happened there?"
Luo Zixing was also quite frustrated as he mentioned this issue. He said, "As you know, the porcelain in Jingde Town is mostly thrown on the wheel, and mold craftsmen are only needed at specific times. Those who can fire large objects are all in the Imperial Kiln Factory; the mold craftsmen outside who do get work often deal with small items.
"That mold craftsman was famously skilled but didn’t get much work. Then the Liangyu Kiln Factory started poaching people around, and somehow they took an interest in that craftsman, offered a hefty sum, and signed him on.
"In the beginning, I was worried the Liangyu Kiln Factory had also decided to make Buddha statues and just got overshadowed by us acting earlier. But when I inquired, I found out that after poaching him, they persuaded him to switch professions. Now he is drawing a master craftsman’s salary at the Liangyu Kiln Factory, doing an apprentice’s tasks—Miss Tao guarantees that he is learning drawing from another master craftsman that the Liangyu Kiln Factory poached, preparing to make him a painter!"
This was rather odd.
A good mold craftsman was persuaded to become a painter.
Unless this person had the talent to be a painter.
Song Jiyun asked, "Are you certain they poached him first, then persuaded him to change his vocation?"
Luo Zixing nodded and said, "I’ve never come across something like this; I asked several times. The people at that place all said they thought he was recruited to be a mold craftsman, but only after going there did they learn that the Liangyu Kiln Factory didn’t need a mold craftsman."
That is to say, Song Tao knew something through the "future."
Currently, Song Tao’s Kiln Factory was only making "Jade Porcelain," and the biggest characteristic of Jade Porcelain was its whiteness, like jade. Even if one wanted to introduce some variety, it would require carving, not painting.
If Song Tao was preparing for the future possibility of firing "blue and white porcelain," there were plenty of craftsmen in Jingde Town capable of painting "blue and white porcelain," so she didn’t need to specifically train a painter.
This indicated that in the "future," this painter must have exceptional skills or have created a miracle.
The past cannot be changed, but the future holds infinite possibilities.
Song Jiyun smiled and said, "If she wants to train someone, let her! The bigger and stronger the Kiln Factory becomes, the more numerous and formidable our opponents will be. If she wants to be our rival, then we’ll see when the time comes whether she’s qualified to be our rival."
Luo Zixing nodded repeatedly and began to discuss the delivery of the Buddha statues on the eighteenth with Song Jiyun.
Meanwhile, Song Tao was thrilled by a piece of news from the Imperial Kiln Factory, paying no attention whatsoever to the matter of The Eight Immortals Nunnery.
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