The circumstances of each family were different.
It worked fine for a short period, but it definitely wouldn’t hold up over time.
Song Jiyun wasn’t too optimistic, but she still said, "Let’s just wait and see."
That was all they could do.
Zhou Zheng sighed helplessly, as he was helping Song Jiyun move a brocade box to the storage room when Old Master Wu, who had previously lent them land to build a Dragon Kiln, came to visit Song Jiyun.
Upon seeing Song Jiyun, he immediately stood up and respectfully saluted her. After exchanging pleasantries, he began discussing the Temple of the Wind God, "Although Chairman Ma told us to firmly stick to the price and pressure the raw material suppliers not to sell to Liangyu Kiln Factory, Liangyu Kiln Factory is dominant on its own. If they make money, they can just go to Hangzhou or Suzhou to buy raw materials; we can’t truly strangle them."
He then asked Song Jiyun for advice, "Here in Jingde Town, I respect no one but you. If you say stock up on the blue and white porcelain, I stock up. If you say sell it, I sell it."
It was clear that everyone was very skeptical about Chairman Ma’s decision.
Song Jiyun, of course, could not undermine Chairman Ma at this time. She tactfully declined, "Chairman Ma just discussed at the Temple of the Wind God about advancing or retreating together, how could you change your mind as soon as you turn around? I think since Chairman Ma is also doing this for our collective good, we should support him and give it a try."
Old Master Wu hurriedly said, "I definitely support Chairman Ma just like you do, but I feel that in this stormy weather, your place is the safest. I thought if you make any decisions here, just let me know, and I will certainly look to Boss Song as my leader."
By this point in the conversation, it would have been offensive for Song Jiyun to refuse further.
"Certainly, certainly," she said with a smile as she served tea to see the guest out.
Whether Old Master Wu was disappointed, Song Jiyun didn’t know, but just after he left, Old Master Chen arrived.
Song Jiyun said, "Is this Old Master Chen who proposed that his family’s young lad learn the craft from Master Luo when we wanted to borrow their sloping land?"
Zhou Zheng nodded and went to welcome Old Master Chen.
Old Master Chen shared the same sentiment as Old Master Wu, but upon leaving, he quietly expressed to Zhou Zheng, "It would be great if your owner were the chairman of our guild. I really respect your owner."
Zhou Zheng was overjoyed.
In his view, Song Jiyun was completely qualified.
But recalling Song Jiyun’s frequent admonitions about "A tree that stands out in the forest is the first to be blown over," "Isn’t it nice to make a fortune quietly?" and "The land under the heavens belongs to the emperor, how dare you be so arrogant on someone else’s ground, who else are they going to come for but you?" he said to Old Master Chen, "Your kindness is appreciated by our owner, but we barely have time for our own kiln factory, let alone to manage other affairs. People talk too much. It’s alright if you and I discuss this, but if word spreads to others with ulterior motives, they might think our owner wants to compete with Chairman Ma for the chairman position!"
Old Master Chen, perhaps also testing the waters, heard this and let the matter slide with a cheerful laugh.
What they didn’t expect, however, was to encounter a few fellow business owners at the main gate, coming to visit Song Jiyun; and these people had not coordinated their visits but had met by chance at the gate of the Song Family.
Zhou Zheng invited the business owners inside.
As Old Master Chen boarded his sedan, he thought: Sooner or later, the position of guild chairman would fall upon Song Jiyun’s shoulders!
Song Jiyun was busy until the time of lighting lamps before she finally managed to send off all the visitors.
She instructed Zhou Zheng and Steward Wu, "If anyone else comes to visit me, whether at home or at the kiln factory, tell them I’m in the other place."
Zhou Zheng and Steward Wu laughed out loud, saying in unison, "What if a group blocks you here at home and another group blocks you at the kiln factory, what will you do?"
"Then I’ll be at the docks!" Song Jiyun said.
This made both of them burst into laughter again.
Song Jiyun had originally planned to go to Yinyu Hall but hadn’t made it.
She simply changed clothes, washed up, and went to bed early.
Perhaps because she had been continuously firing the kilns recently, even if she found it fun, she still hoped for a breakthrough deep down, unconsciously remaining somewhat tense. Once she stopped firing the kilns, she relaxed without realizing it, and she slept heavily until noon the following day.
She then went to Yinyu Hall.
Yuan Yunzhong must have just had lunch, sitting under the eaves basking in the autumn sun, drinking a brewed pear, Fritillaria, and honey drink.
When Shao Qing saw her, he even asked if she wanted a drink, "Authentic Laiyang pears, I specifically asked Deng Chen for them."
"Deng Chen?!" Song Jiyun glanced at Yuan Yunzhong who was sipping his drink with lowered eyelids.
Shao Qing quickly glanced at Yuan Yunzhong and hurriedly said, "Oh, it’s the newly appointed Lord Deng from the Inspection Division. Didn’t he help us a lot at The Eight Immortals Nunnery? I went to thank him a few days ago. He happened to have several baskets of Laiyang pears, and they are best for brewing drinks this season, so I took a few."
Song Jiyun smiled without delving further and said with a laugh, "Sure, I will also partake in Young Master Shao’s blessing."
"Not at all, not at all!" Shao Qing said, and quickly ran off.
Song Jiyun handed the brocade box she was holding to Yuan Yunzhong, "There are twelve in total; make do with them!"
Yuan Yunzhong’s hand paused as he took the brocade box, lifting his eyes to look at her, and frowned, "Twelve?"
The alum-red hexagonal boxes Song Jiyun had made were no bigger than a wine cup, exquisite and delicate, and would be suitable even for holding rouge.
She kept a few for herself.
That wasn’t the point; the point was that the alum-red she used involved techniques from future oil painting, which was bound to dazzle anyone who saw it.
Yet, Yuan Yunzhong merely took it and glanced at it.
She gritted her teeth and said, "What? Don’t you like the design? How about you draw a design you like, and I’ll make a few more for you?"
The kilns she had previously failed to fire properly seemed irritating to witness, unlike now, under the sunshine, where the orange-red cups looked like the warm sun of autumn, becoming more appealing, more likable the more one looked at them.
If Yuan Yunzhong didn’t like them, she could just take them back and keep them for her own leisurely use.
But when Yuan Yunzhong heard this, he suddenly closed the brocade box with a "snap" and his face tensed up, not knowing which sentence had prickled this prince again, he said sternly, "Weren’t nine kilns fired?"
Was he despising her low success rate? 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Song Jiyun scoffed and said, "You must not think that making porcelain is like growing cabbages, where, as long as the weather holds, scattering some seeds and sprinkling water will always yield some results. No wonder The Twenty-Four Yamen started straight away with wanting a dragon jar."
She wasn’t usually like this, but this time she really was made restless by a few alum-red hexagonal boxes she had fired for Yuan Yunzhong.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Yunzhong’s expression mysteriously cleared, and his voice softened considerably as he said, "Oh," and asked, "What about those that were ruined?"
"Smashed!" Song Jiyun said.
Ordinary porcelain would have its defective products discounted, but high-end porcelain, especially those limited for private use with her own design, needed to ensure that all outputs were fine products, and thus all would be smashed to pieces, buried underground, or thrown by the riverside.
She usually threw them by the riverside.
Yuan Yunzhong’s mood noticeably improved upon hearing this, and he even smiled at her.
Song Jiyun, looking at him like that, suddenly felt her interest wane unexpectedly; she felt too lazy to sit under the eaves and drink any pear and honey drink with him.
Thinking that she still had a pile of tasks at hand, she took a deep breath and stood up neatly to take her leave, "Please thank Shao Qing for me; I will not drink the pear drink now, I will visit again after I’m less busy in a few days!"
However, as she crossed the threshold of Yinyu Hall, she suddenly remembered Yuan Yunzhong’s remark about "not having fired nine kilns."
She intermittently fired kilns for over a month, with thick smoke billowing incessantly, with hardly a moment’s break unless she watched over her small workshop herself, not even Master Luo would likely know exactly how many kilns she had fired.
How did he know so clearly that she had fired nine kilns?
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