Song Jiyun felt a headache just thinking about these things.
Meanwhile, the servant boy had dashed off to report the news.
Song Jiyun quickly caught up with Qian San and Zhou Zheng, and the three of them went to the Accountant’s office, talking.
After the servant boy had served the refreshments, she apologized to Qian San with such earnestness that he became somewhat uncomfortable and said, "Miss Song, would you like to take another look at those porcelains?"
"No need," Song Jiyun laughed generously, "If you say they are fine, then they certainly are."
Qian San immediately showed an expression mixed with all sorts of emotions, saying, "After all, it’s a large Kiln Factory, truly magnificent."
Song Jiyun didn’t know about being magnificent, but after sending Qian San off, she immediately went to see Old Master Xiong.
Old Master Xiong had obviously already heard about what had happened, and he left without beating around the bush.
Song Jiyun breathed a sigh of relief and, with a solemn expression, went personally to the storage room to ask Luo Zixing, who was checking inventory, "Do you know which kiln had the problem?"
Porcelain was fired in batches; if there was an issue, it would affect an entire kiln full at a time.
Luo Zixing, while directing apprentices to soak the samples selected from each kiln in boiling water to verify if there was a problem, replied to Song Jiyun in flustered desperation, "We have already found problems with two kilns." He then informed her, "I have already handed over the findings to Master Xiang, who is verifying with a few apprentices who handled it?"
To facilitate calculation of wages, the Kiln Factory kept detailed records of who was responsible for each step of the process.
Since taking over the Kiln Factory, Song Jiyun had tightened management, and these procedures had become even more thorough.
Luo Zixing and his colleagues initially thought Song Jiyun was making a mountain out of a molehill, but now they couldn’t help but feel secretly relieved.
Song Jiyun’s original intention was entirely to prevent master craftsmen from encroaching on their apprentices’ wages.
The two waited in the storage room for the results when Wong Dahai ran in, panting, and said urgently, "I heard there was a Shocked Glaze? Who the hell did this?"
Luo Zixing glanced at Song Jiyun, whose face remained dark, and signaled him with his eyes to stop talking and not to add to Song Jiyun’s troubles.
Wong Dahai came to his senses, gave a sheepish smile, and said, "Owner, we’ve only found a problem with one kiln on our side so far, I think it’s not a big issue."
Song Jiyun, feeling irritated, said, "Why are you here instead of watching over the storage room? This isn’t a joke. If we let the porcelains with Shocked Glaze be sent out, do we not care about our Kiln Factory’s reputation anymore?"
Faulty glazing did happen in other places, but only their Kiln Factory, from the old Owner to the current one, made a big fuss about it.
But Wong Dahai dared not say this.
The Owner’s orders were to be followed.
He immediately said, "I’ll go back and keep an eye on it, and ensure that nothing goes wrong on my end."
Song Jiyun’s expression then eased a bit.
Just then, Zhou Zheng ran in, his face pale, and said, "Owner, it’s the glaze. There’s a problem with the glaze. Yan Ji substituted inferior products for good ones, that’s why we have faulty merchandise."
"What?" Song Jiyun was astonished, "How could it be the glaze?"
Yan Ji had been supplying glaze to their family since her father’s time, for more than twenty years.
If this was confirmed, and word got out, their family wouldn’t be able to remain in Jingde Town.
Were they trying to cut off their own lifeline?
Song Jiyun said gravely, "Are you sure?"
Zhou Zheng nodded repeatedly, saying, "Owner, I think there is something fishy about this. Our Kiln Factory, no matter how negligent, wouldn’t make this kind of mistake. Everyone was checking the defective porcelain, so I went to check the raw materials, and I did find an issue."
His voice was choked up as he said this.
It was not only because he was responsible for the raw materials, but also because if the issue involved the raw materials, the Kiln Factory’s losses would be an amount too staggering to contemplate.
It could even lead to a complete shutdown.
Song Jiyun’s eyes flickered with cold light, and she said, "Let’s go! Let’s have a look!"
Zhou Zheng hurriedly led the way at the front, as a group of people headed to the storeroom where the glaze materials were kept.
Several master craftsmen responsible for glazing were inspecting the glaze materials, bag by bag.
The vast storeroom was filled with rising dust.
The master craftsman in charge of glazing, Gu Qing, covered in dust, approached them anxiously and said urgently, "Owner, why have you come yourself? Rest assured, we guarantee to find all the problematic glaze materials."
As everyone was so stressed, it was even more important for Song Jiyun to keep a cool head at this time.
She consoled everyone, "You have all worked hard! I believe that with our united efforts, we can definitely overcome this hardship."
Then she instructed Zhou Zheng to prepare supper for everyone and to give out overtime pay, "Apprentices will be paid double their usual wages, and the master craftsmen triple. For those who identify the problem, the overtime pay will be doubled."
Upon her words, the entire Kiln Factory was abuzz with activity, everyone invigorated, and the previously subdued atmosphere due to the problem had vanished.
When the Kiln Factory business was good, the most they did was give a bonus to senior craftsmen like Luo Zixing, Zhou Zheng, and the Store Manager. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
With substantial rewards, brave men will emerge.
The most urgent task was to solve the problem at hand.
Zhou Zheng said with a pained heart, "I’m afraid all the money we made these last few days might go down the drain."
Song Jiyun replied, "It’s better than the Kiln Factory shutting down!"
How could that be possible!
With their Owner’s skill in porcelain making, other kilns might close down, but not the Song Family Kiln Factory!
Zhou Zheng dared not say this aloud.
He was afraid Song Jiyun might not take it well.
He said, "Owner, should we not keep this under wraps to prevent those who are jealous of our good business from making waves and gossiping?"
"No!" Song Jiyun said decisively, "Not only should we not suppress the news, but we should also spread this incident far and wide!"
She explained, "Too many people have seen what happened with Qian San. Can you go door to door asking people not to talk? Since we can’t stop it, let everyone know what we’re doing, how we deal with the problematic porcelain from our own family, and let them know that the porcelain we can sell is guaranteed."
Zhou Zheng still hesitated, saying, "Won’t some people take this opportunity to cause trouble? I worry that someone might follow suit, use deceit, and intentionally pick out porcelains with Shocked Glaze to pass off as our family’s ware for the sake of the Guanyin statue order."
The sale of Guanyin statues was soaring, with orders already backlogged for two years.
Song Jiyun chuckled and quoted a phrase that would be passed down in later times, "After all, infamy is also a form of fame! The important thing is to let everyone know what we’ve done for the quality issue of the porcelain. As long as we achieve this goal, we’ve won."
Zhou Zheng digested her words carefully.
They returned to the brightly lit storeroom.
Luo Zixing advised Song Jiyun, "You should go back and rest! It’s late at night, and this won’t be sorted out in a moment."
Song Jiyun felt that her main role here was to boost morale and being busy might not help much.
"It’s alright!" she said, mustering her energy, "I’ll stay with everyone. You all are busy here, and even if I go back, I won’t be able to sleep!"
Luo Zixing did not insist anymore.
The entire Kiln Factory had ceased production and work, all focusing on investigating this matter.
Song Jiyun also had someone post a notice at the entrance of the Kiln Factory, stating that the factory would take back any problematic porcelain, offering three times the compensation for returns or exchanges..
With yesterday’s incident involving three Guanyin statues, the news that the Song Family Kiln Factory had produced Shocked Glaze spread like wildfire, and by half a day, it had reached every street and alley in Jingde Town as well as the docks and inns.
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