Song Jiyun was busy with the preparations for firing the dragon kiln and had no time to pay attention to Madam Wang.
Yet Madam Wang actually went to the Song Family home, demanding to see Madam Qian.
Thankfully, Steward Wu was guarding the house and did not let her in.
Even so, Steward Wu broke out in a cold sweat and told Song Jiyun, "These days, all of Jingde Town is spreading rumors that Li Zixiu is sly and ruthless, venomous at heart, and heavy-handed. If anyone’s business does better than his, he will plot against them. From now on, if we see anyone from the Li Family, we must take a detour."
"They brought it upon themselves!" Song Jiyun did not want to comment further on this; she was more concerned about how to calculate the cost for those small workshops that wanted to fire their porcelain using their family’s dragon kiln.
Zhou Zheng thought that they should charge based on the number of pieces going into the kiln, "Who dares guarantee how many finished pieces can be produced? Certainly, it should be based on the number of biscuit porcelains!"
Luo Zixing had other concerns, "Whether the porcelain is successfully made depends not only on the heat, but also on its placement, the distance from the fire mouth, and the size of the sagger. We allowed them to fire with us as a courtesy, but the fear is, if there are not many finished pieces, they will think we reserved the best spots for ourselves. A good deed could turn into a bad one."
Xiang Yang hesitated, saying, "What if we allocate spots, and charge them based on the quality of these spots?"
"That’s even more inappropriate," Luo Zixing said. "Who knows which way the wind will blow on that day?"
Sometimes, the place by the fire mouth became the place where the wind blew.
Xiang Yang chuckled twice.
Gu Qing said, "Or we could allocate a section for them. They can arrange it themselves?"
"Then which section should we allocate to them?"
"In short," Xiang Yang sighed, "if there are many finished goods, everything is easy to discuss. If there are too few, nothing is right. We might as well not agree to it at all."
Everyone had their say, but no conclusion was reached.
In the end, it was Song Jiyun who said, "Let’s charge by the number of pieces placed in the kiln. But let me say this first, whether it succeeds or fails, let’s leave it to fate."
With no further comments, everyone went to discuss the matter with the small workshops that had approached them.
Within a few days, seven or eight small workshops had their biscuit porcelain carried over.
Song Jiyun looked and counted around a hundred pieces.
It was a lot less than she had expected.
It seemed that everyone still harbored doubts about whether she could successfully fire the dragon kiln.
Song Jiyun greeted the owners of the various workshops.
Since everyone was firing blue-and-white porcelain, she allocated spaces and let each workshop’s sagger masters load and fill the kiln.
After the Song Family’s biscuit porcelains were loaded, Song Jiyun started the kiln the next day.
She chose neither an auspicious day nor a lucky hour.
Luo Zixing said, "You’re really easy-going!"
Song Jiyun laughed, "What else can I do? The orders at the kiln factory have piled up as tall as a person. Once this kiln batch comes out, we can relax."
Luo Zixing fell silent.
After this batch of orders was completed, there was still the next batch.
But it was unknown whether Song Jiyun would fire the dragon kiln again.
The risk was too great.
A few people stood watch over the kiln, with the kiln workers tending the fire day and night without rest.
In the midst of this, the Xiong Family sent over a delivery of firewood.
This time, it was Old Master Xiong himself who came in person.
He asked Song Jiyun with concern, "How is it going? Do you have enough wood for the fire? I specifically instructed them to pick out old pine wood, over ten years old, which is very resinous."
Song Jiyun thanked him profusely and invited Old Master Xiong to dine with them.
"You go about your business; don’t mind me. I’ll come back when you open the kiln." But Old Master Xiong waved his hand and left the workshop the same way he came, escorted by the Xiong Family’s steward and servant boys.
This must be a form of support, too!
Song Jiyun smiled and continued to observe the fire mouth with Luo Zixing and the others.
The kiln was extinguished after five days, and the wares were removed after three.
Jingde Town’s onlookers crowded the small workshop until it was packed tight.
Old Master Xiong, Chairman Ma, Old Master Yan, and others had already been waiting in front of the kiln.
As they opened the kiln mouth, with each sagger that was broken open, more and more gasps of amazement were heard as blue and white bowls, dishes, and cups were carefully retrieved from the sand and rubble.
"This is already the tenth sagger, and we haven’t seen any defective pieces yet. They can’t have all turned out perfect, can they?"
"How is that possible! The wares coming out now are from near the fire mouth, they’re definitely well-fired. The farther back, the more defects we’ll find."
"Ah! Another intact sagger."
"Here’s a ruined one! There’s one that’s ruined!"
When defects finally appeared, they actually prompted loud exclamations from the crowd.
While others counted their success by the number of finished products, the Song Family counted theirs by the number of defects, something that was unprecedented in Jingde Town.
Many who saw this couldn’t help but think to themselves with a chuckle.
A total of over 4,700 porcelain blanks were placed in the dragon kiln, producing more than 4,200 finished pieces.
"My goodness!" The cheers were everywhere, "So many have been successfully fired."
"How much money is that going to make?"
"The Song Family is on a streak of luck this year! Everything they do turns to gold!"
Mixed in were a few excited exclamations: "Struck it rich! Struck it rich! Only eleven bowls were ruined."
Some regretted, "I told you to fire more pieces, but you wouldn’t listen. What now? Boss Song said he’s only firing this kiln once this year."
Most voices were ones of congratulations: "Boss Song, that’s really impressive! Truly a case of the pupil surpassing the master."
Song Jiyun smiled as she accepted the congratulations and invited Old Master Xiong and the others to the celebration feast.
Old Master Xiong and the rest did not stand on ceremony, and they all headed to Peach Blossom Residence together.
During the feast, Old Master Xiong specially proposed a toast to Song Jiyun, praising her, "A woman who doesn’t let the men overshadow her."
The company laughed and said, "You’ve borrowed someone else’s witty remark! Our County Magistrate had praised Boss Song with ’A woman who doesn’t let the men overshadow her’ when he first came to Liang County."
Old Master Xiong laughed heartily, unconcerned, and said with generous spirit, "I’m less learned, how can I compare with the County Magistrate."
When leaving, he still walked out together with Old Master Yan.
Song Jiyun didn’t dwell on it, as she was eager to get home and celebrate with Madam Qian and the others! 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
*
Peach Blossom Residence, originally a property of the Hong Family, was the venue Song Jiyun chose for the celebration feast; naturally, Old Grand Master Hong was informed right away.
"They truly fired over 4,200 pieces in one kiln?" he asked the Hong Family’s head steward, who had gone to watch the excitement.
The head steward nodded repeatedly, still somewhat excited by the scene, and said, "I did the math, just from this kiln they must have earned at least 100,000 silver taels."
The Hong Family had also started making porcelain and was naturally aware of the lucrative profits involved. Even so, Old Grand Master Hong couldn’t help but inhale sharply.
He stroked his beard contemplatively and said, "The eldest son has reached the suitable age for marriage, hasn’t he? I recall the Song Family has two young ladies. Even though there’s a bit of an age difference, the eldest son is considered one of the top catches in Liang County."
The head steward caught on immediately, nodding continuously and praising Old Grand Master Hong’s idea, saying, "Do you think, should I extend an invitation to the official matchmaker or to a private matchmaker? Our household is indeed lacking a young mistress to manage the household."
Old Grand Master Hong smiled with a twinkle in his eye, "No hurry, no hurry. In choosing a wife, one must choose wisely. Boss Song is talented, but we should inquire more about Miss Song. In the future, Zhaozhao still needs his brother and sister-in-law to take care of him. If the sister-in-law is too shrewd and tough, it’s not necessarily a good thing."
"I wouldn’t dare presume to take credit for your wisdom!" said the head steward humbly, adding, "Still, you’ve considered it more thoroughly. I’ll take care of this matter."
The head steward then visited Liangyu Kiln Factory to subtly inquire about Song Tao and the Song Family’s affairs.
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