"Thankfully, Cobalt Blue is only used in high-end porcelain; we discovered the issue in time and only lost one kiln load. Our Kiln Factory didn’t lose much, just over three hundred taels. But had we sold them all, we could have made five thousand taels. You’re an expert, and you can do the math yourself. I’m not cheating you; you know it in your heart."
"The main issues were the lost production during those few days, the wages we had to subsidize for the kiln workers and master craftsmen, and the silver used to compensate the merchants. All in all, it’s nearly impossible to keep it under fifty thousand taels, closer to eighty thousand taels, in fact."
"How could it be so much?!" Old Master Wang immediately jumped up upon hearing this, "At most it would be seven or eight thousand taels."
"Really?" Song Jiyun’s mouth curved slightly, her smile carried a trace of mockery as she leisurely said, "That’s for other kiln factories. They can only manage to produce three or four out of ten at most, making a thousand or two thousand taels of silver. But my family’s Kiln Factory has a success rate of around seventy to eighty percent. You do the math, see if we couldn’t have made five thousand taels of silver."
"Then there are the other expenses. When other kiln factories produce Shocked Glaze, they mostly hide it, fearing it would damage their reputation. I’m someone who has nothing to hide; I sent people to check the inventory, to recall the sold porcelain, and even to compensate double the amount, not to mention the damage to our reputation."
"Eighty thousand taels, I’m not asking too much, am I?"
As she spoke, her gaze fixed intently on Old Master Wang, as if daring him to utter a "no," ready to pull out the account books and do a meticulous calculation with him.
Old Master Wang’s face was filled with bitterness, and after a long while, he said, "That’s, that’s just too much!"
He pleaded, "Can it be a little less?"
Song Jiyun, with hidden sharpness in her gentle demeanor, smiled and said, "I also understand that it might be difficult for you to produce such a large sum of silver all at once, but since this trouble was caused by your brother-in-law, look, why not discuss it with your father-in-law? I am indeed planning to buy a few clay pits; maybe he can compensate me with their family’s clay pits."
Madam Wang’s family was also in the business of providing raw materials for porcelain making.
But they dealt in Kaolin Clay.
As soon as Old Master Wang heard this, he broke out in a cold sweat and hastily said, "How can this be done! How can this be acceptable!"
Song Jiyun smiled and asked, "Is it that you can’t discuss it with your father-in-law? Or is it that you’re unwilling to exchange the clay pits for the compensation?"
If the former, it proved he was lying; if the latter, it showed his greed.
He had to choose one of the two.
Old Master Wang was incoherent, and upon close listening, it was clear: he could neither turn to his father-in-law, nor would he sell the clay pits to her.
Song Jiyun did not press further, smiling she offered tea to see off her guest, saying, "Old Master Wang, whenever you’ve made up your mind, we can discuss this in detail later. It’s never too late."
Old Master Wang probably didn’t expect her to demand such a steep compensation and needed time to digest it, so he awkwardly excused himself and left.
However, Old Master Wang "cleared his thoughts" in just a day, bringing eighty thousand taels in a silver note to Song Jiyun and apologizing to her once more.
Song Jiyun accepted the silver note and turned around, letting the words she had with Old Master Wang be known everywhere.
Jingde Town immediately started spreading the news of Old Master Wang having an incompetent brother-in-law, and the consensus was established that Yan Ji Glaze Shop was the prime culprit behind the Shocked Glaze incident of Song Family Kiln Factory.
Of course, there were those who disliked Song Family Kiln Factory who said, "That shouldn’t blame the glaze shop. Don’t you inspect the glaze carefully after receiving it? Song Family Kiln Factory claims to be number one in Jingde Town, but I think that’s an overstatement."
But such voices were soon drowned out by a rising tide of rumors and gossip.
Lately, the most talked-about topic was the compensation by Song Family Kiln Factory: "I heard someone collected a cart of Shocked Glaze Porcelain and extorted three Buddha statues from Song Family Kiln Factory!"
Zhou Zheng, upon hearing this, was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode. He found Song Jiyun and said, "I don’t know who started this rumor! We saw through it right on the spot, but how did it get distorted into us being deceived?"
"It was I who had it spread." Song Jiyun said with a smile, "With the rumor out, isn’t our kiln factory now the subject of everyone’s sympathy, and hasn’t the talk about our family producing the Shocked Glaze ceased?"
Zhou Zheng thought carefully, and it really was so.
Seizing the opportunity, Song Jiyun said, "People often like to sympathize with the underdog. Sometimes, appearing a little weaker isn’t a bad thing."
However, when Old Master Wang’s words about his brother-in-law reached Madam Wang’s ears, she was not willing to let it go.
As Old Master Wang was about to leave the house, she blocked him, "Did I come over with no dowry or without food rations? Did my family ever take a thread from you, or wear a piece of your clothing? You say he is incompetent, how is he incompetent? What have you ever done to support him? If you don’t explain yourself clearly today, don’t even think about stepping out of this door."
Old Master Wang spoke with a lowered tone, "Isn’t there a problem in the shop that needs someone capable to take responsibility?"
Madam Wang let out a cold laugh, "Why not have your brother take the responsibility? Using my brother as a scapegoat?"
"Where does my brother have the face that your brother has!" Old Master Wang said every which way, "This is also for the good of our family’s business!"
Madam Wang simply didn’t listen and was unrelenting, demanding he find a way to clarify that this matter had nothing to do with her family’s brother.
The two had a fight.
When Old Master Wang arrived at Li Zixiu’s house, his face was still freshly scratched by Madam Wang, beads of blood oozing out.
Li Zixiu stared in shock, "What happened to you?"
"Don’t ask!" Old Master Wang said helplessly, recounting what had happened, and added, "This injury was all for your sake, brother!"
Li Zixiu let out a hearty laugh, bowed to Old Master Wang with folded hands, "Brother, I’m truly grateful for your noble gesture!"
He ordered someone to bring a silver note for Old Master Wang, personally poured him a cup of tea, and smiled, "As agreed, no matter how much the Song Family wants for compensation, I’ll pay it. Here’s an additional ten thousand taels of silver as a token for your brotherly efforts."
Old Master Wang laughed heartily, and began talking about Song Jiyun, "After all, she’s just a woman, long on hair, short on insight, satisfied with merely eighty thousand taels of silver."
He also advised Li Zixiu, "Just treat it as spending eighty thousand taels for some amusement."
Li Zixiu spent more than that amount on drinking and gambling in Suzhou Prefecture every year; it didn’t hurt him at all.
"I’ll take you to Suzhou to listen to Pingtan sometime!" Li Zixiu invited Old Master Wang enthusiastically, "If we talk about the best place in the world, it has to be Suzhou and Hangzhou."
"Sure! Sure!" Old Master Wang nodded repeatedly.
The Grand Steward of the Li Family Kiln Factory rushed in, sweating profusely, "Owner, there’s trouble! People from Prince Huai’s Mansion said they won’t be needing our kiln factory to supply their daily porcelain anymore. They’ve decided to purchase from the Song Family Kiln Factory!"
"What?!" Li Zixiu was so startled that he almost dropped his teacup, "What did you say?"
He asked again in disbelief.
The Grand Steward repeated his words and added, "I have made inquiries. It was Zheng Quan from the Song Family Kiln Factory who brought a set of Alum-Red Snow Scene Hexagonal Dishes and Bowls to Prince Huai’s Mansion through the Grand Steward. The Old Dowager Consort took one look at it and was thrilled to bits, immediately saw Zheng Quan, and even ordered a set of tea ware to give to Noble Consort Wan in the palace.
"Then the Wang Residence notified us that we no longer need to supply porcelain to Prince Huai’s Mansion. They have switched to the Song Family for their porcelain supply."
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