People who had experienced public relations crises in their past lives knew that issues serious enough to reach the master of the house were never trivial.
Song Jiyun suddenly rose to her feet, hurriedly saying to Old Master Xiong, "Please, make yourself comfortable here, I’ll go take a look and be right back!"
Old Master Xiong nodded, sitting boldly and serenely as he continued to sip his tea.
Song Jiyun quickly exited the private room.
Outside the private room, a crowd three layers thick inside and out had gathered in the square, most of whom were merchants who had been waiting there for orders over the past few days.
She could also hear Zhou Zheng’s voice, "Impossible! Our Song Family Kiln Factory has been in Jingde Town for so many years, it’s impossible that we sold you this kind of porcelain."
An angry man said, "Look at this! Isn’t this your kiln factory’s order? Look at this again, isn’t this your kiln factory’s porcelain? I, Qian San, have been around Jingde Town for so many years; everyone knows what kind of person I am! Would I falsely accuse your kiln factory?"
The bystanders were buzzing, "Exactly! Qian San is most trustworthy, he wouldn’t do such a thing."
"I think the Song Family Kiln Factory has been too successful these days and has gotten a bit arrogant. Normally, their shop assistants greet with smiles, but their faces look worse than a stepmother’s. Even asking them for a price is met with reluctance."
"It’s clearly their kiln factory’s products. These are designs that the old owner started making back in the day. Our family has always been ordering this design too. But it’s always been fine, without issues like this!"
The majority of people were siding with Qian San.
Song Jiyun felt a heavy feeling in her heart and shouted loudly, "What’s happening?!"
The crowd immediately parted.
All eyes turned to her.
"It’s Boss Song!"
"Didn’t expect her to be so beautiful!"
"Really? So young!"
"I saw her once when she was a child. The Second Old Master of the Song Family took her to the temple to offer incense; she looks the same as she did when she was a child, no mistake!"
The crowd then started murmuring again.
Song Jiyun walked forward without a sideways glance.
"Owner!" Zhou Zheng, drenched in sweat, bowed to Song Jiyun.
Qian San was a man in his thirties, not very tall, dressed in a khaki-colored coarse cloth short gown typical for kiln workers, yet he had a ruddy complexion, looking unlike someone engaged in physical labor.
This was presumably for convenience in doing work.
It also indicated that his business wasn’t large, but he was hands-on with everything and very hardworking.
Such people are usually very meticulous as well.
Song Jiyun quickly surveyed the newcomer, guessing at his personality traits in her mind.
Qian San, on seeing her, was startled and at once his face flushed red; after a moment, he hurriedly bowed to her, saying, "Boss Song!"
"Boss Qian!" Song Jiyun smiled and returned the bow, "This isn’t a good place to talk, shall we go sit in the accountant’s office first?"
Inside the private room was already Boss Xiong.
As Song Jiyun spoke, she glanced at the cart next to him stacked with a load of ceramics.
And just that glance was enough to make her heart sink.
Blue and white porcelain bowls with knife patterns, the most common design in Jingde Town. The porcelain surface was smooth, yet it had shattered into several pieces.
Shocked Glaze!
This was caused by improper use of the glaze.
And it was a very basic mistake.
Even an apprentice from a large kiln factory would not make such a mistake.
"Boss Song, it’s not that I don’t trust you," Zhou Zheng struggled, then stammered after a long pause, "but without an explanation from you, things will become more unclear later."
Ultimately, he feared that they would use the power of the kiln factory to bully him.
Song Jiyun knew that under these circumstances, she had to act decisively to resolve the matter quickly to prevent the information from spreading too fast, and even if it spread, it would be positive.
"Alright!" she agreed briskly. "Then let’s resolve it here."
She asked Zhou Zheng, "Is Boss Qian’s order from our kiln factory?"
"Yes," Zhou Zheng hesitated for a moment before affirming confidently, "I’ve seen the order, it’s from our kiln factory."
He walked up to her and even lowered his voice as he said, "The quantity matches too."
Song Jiyun nodded slightly and asked Qian San, "Boss Qian, since it’s our products that are problematic, what would you like us to do? Do you want to return the goods and receive compensation triple the amount according to standard practice, or would you prefer a replacement batch?"
Qian San looked at Song Jiyun in surprise.
He hadn’t expected the matter to be resolved so simply.
Song Jiyun genuinely said, "I trust that you’re not the type to blackmail us. It must indeed be an issue with our goods."
Upon hearing this, Qian San’s eyes moistened. He hurriedly said, "Boss Song, I mean no disrespect. My family is small, and the money for this stock is pooled from several families. I wouldn’t have come if there were no issues. I would like to select a new batch myself."
This signified a lack of trust in their goods!
What’s more, Qian San clearly wasn’t framing them.
Song Jiyun felt a sinking feeling in her heart, but she didn’t show it and continued sincerely, "That is only fair. Since it’s a problem produced by our kiln factory, your request is entirely reasonable."
She then deliberately pondered and said, "This is the first time I’ve encountered such an issue. What if we do this? We’ll open up the warehouse so you can pick a batch you’re satisfied with, and we’ll also include three additional Guanyin statues, each a foot tall, in your order as compensation. You can come to collect them in six months."
The porcelain needs to be fired in advance; otherwise, she would have given it to him right away.
Qian San and the onlookers were all astonished.
"Qian San has struck it rich!"
"Such good fortune! I wonder if I smashed the porcelain in my house, whether I could have such luck!"
"Oh, Qian San, do you want this order? Instead of coming back in half a year, why not sell them nearby? The money you get is real!""
"These days, the market price for their foot-tall Guanyin statues has tripled!"
No one cared anymore about what the real issue with the blue and white porcelain was! 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
Song Jiyun felt a slight relief and again warmly invited Qian San to the accountant’s office, "The return of this batch of porcelain still needs to go through a process, and you would just be waiting here idle. Let me show you some hospitality."
She also said, "Rest assured! I will not go back on my word said in front of everyone. Otherwise, our kiln factory’s reputation would be lost, and we could not stay in Jingde Town!""
In these times, honesty was paramount in business.
Qian San, feeling somewhat embarrassed, followed Song Jiyun to the accountant’s office.
On the way, he said, "That Guanyin Goddess, just sell me one. I’ll take it home to delight my mother. You don’t need to compensate me with three."
"Certainly, certainly!" Song Jiyun laughed, "It was our kiln factory’s fault, so we should compensate you."
As she spoke, she made a meaningful glance at Zhou Zheng.
Zhou Zheng caught on and started chatting with Qian San about everyday matters, gradually making their way and walking alongside him to the accountant’s office.
The moment they left, Song Jiyun’s expression turned ashen, and she ordered the following servant sternly, "Go, send a message to Master Luo, have him seal all the storage areas in the kiln factory, and no one should move. Also, send someone to inform Shopkeeper Wong to stop loading the goods. Goods stored at the docks must not be shipped out."
Troubles might still arise.
They might even need to recall the porcelain that had already been sold.
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