Liangyu Kiln Factory, Song Tao stood on the steps of the accountant’s building, watching the continuous flow of workers carrying the porcelain blanks into her storeroom, her face breaking into a grin of self-satisfaction.
She asked Song Ren beside her, "Does the Song Family Kiln Factory still have that many customers?"
Originally, she hadn’t planned to lower the prices, but even though both kilns produced from the Dragon Kiln, the customers still preferred the Song Family Kiln Factory. If there were any issues with the porcelain, they could still possibly get Song Jiyun to compensate them with three Buddha statues. The business at Liangyu Kiln Factory wasn’t as good as she had imagined.
With the New Year approaching, and Eunuch Wan’s incessant demands being a bottomless pit, she had no choice but to drink poison to quench her thirst by lowering the prices.
Moreover, she thought, since prices had to be lowered, why not do it drastically? She could drive the other kiln factories and workshops into the ground, making Liangyu Kiln Factory the first name that came to mind when one thought of blue and white porcelain.
Liangyu Kiln Factory could also break away from the established impression that they could only produce Jade Porcelain,
Fortunately, she was now able to fire the Dragon Kiln, and could control the quality of the finished products up to seventy or eighty percent. After doing the calculations, her cost was much lower than other kiln factories and workshops; even with lowering the prices, she still made a profit.
However, this meant that the price of blue and white porcelain would be difficult to raise again in the future.
Song Ren furrowed his brow and said, "There are still many customers. Moreover, some customers find it reassuring to buy from them since their orders specify the exact delivery dates, facilitating the tracing of the porcelain’s quality. Not only do they feel secure purchasing their porcelain, but they also feel lucky, thinking that the Song Family Kiln Factory would definitely find a way to compensate them, and they don’t seem afraid at all. In fact, they feel like they got a great deal."
"Now in Jingde Town, only our kiln factory and the Song Family Kiln Factory sell blue and white porcelain."
After he finished speaking, a hint of hesitation flashed across his expression.
Song Tao smiled and said, "Just speak your mind! In this kiln factory, you are the person I trust the most. If I can’t even listen to you, then this kiln factory is probably not far from collapsing."
Song Ren smiled gently, then softly said, "It’s nothing major. It’s just that I’ve heard some rumors that the Song Family Kiln Factory might also start operating a Dragon Kiln. I’m worried that the Song Family Kiln Factory might also lower their prices. Their success rate in producing quality goods seems to be slightly higher than ours. If they sell cheaper than us, that would be troublesome."
Their kiln factory wasn’t making money, not really; what they earned had to be handed over to the Hong Family and used to appease Eunuch Wan. Despite the business booming, not much money actually ended up in their pockets.
Song Tao felt somewhat displeased after hearing this and said, "She has just fired one batch in the Dragon Kiln; it’s still questionable if she can maintain a success rate above eighty percent."
She didn’t acknowledge that Song Jiyun was more skilled at firing the Dragon Kiln than her.
In her previous life, Song Jiyun often personally fired the kiln when she first took over the Song Family Kiln Factory. By the time she started working there, Song Jiyun was no longer making porcelain herself. The few times the Dragon Kiln was fired, it was she and Luo Zixing who did it together.
Yet she continued, "Even if Song Jiyun wants to fire the Dragon Kiln, they need a place to do it. There aren’t many slopes suitable for firing a Dragon Kiln, and we own most of them. Their only piece of land is borrowed from the Wu Family, and I have already sent people to contact Old Master Wu to rent that land at a high price. Song Jiyun, wanting to fire the Dragon Kiln, would need a place to do so."
Indeed.
Song Ren nodded repeatedly.
The accountant with a grim expression hurriedly approached Song Tao and reported, "Third Miss, the Song Family Kiln Factory’s overglaze enamel has been sold at the price of blue and white porcelain, and they also announced that, during this period, anyone who bought blue and white porcelain could redeem an equivalent amount of overglaze enamel for free as per their order. Our kiln factory’s business... Once the customers queuing in front of our factory heard the news, they all rushed to the Song Family Kiln Factory." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
"What?!" Before Song Tao could react, Song Ren gasped in shock and questioned the accountant, "Are you certain it’s overglaze enamel?"
Overglaze Enamel, as its name suggests, involves applying a colored glaze over an existing layer of glaze.
Thus, it requires a high-temperature firing followed by the application of the pigments and a second, low-temperature firing.
In other words, it needs to be fired in the kiln twice.
Therefore, everyone is firing other colors on top of the blue and white.
If one could say that firing once was already a gamble on how many successes there would be, firing twice was akin to waiting for heaven’s grace for food, wherein you get as much as heaven is willing to give.
Not to mention its cost.
It was several times that of blue and white porcelain.
Song Tao’s face turned pale as she exclaimed, "Impossible!"
This meant that Song Jiyun had perfected the technique of firing blue and white porcelain.
To the extent that she could fire as she wished.
Song Tao could no longer sit still and called out to Song Ren, "Let’s go and see!"
*
At the Song Family Kiln Factory, Song Jiyun stood on the steps of the elegant room, watching the queue at the entrance of the kiln factory stretch like a dragon and teased Zhou Zheng with a smile, "Now you won’t be frowning and unable to eat, right?"
Zhou Zheng touched his head sheepishly and said, "Still, the owner is wise!"
"Wise might be an overstatement," laughed Song Jiyun, "but I am just a bit protective over my own bowl of rice, and I cannot let anyone else smash it."
Zhou Zheng sensed the underlying message in her words, guessing she was alluding to Song Tao.
He felt utterly gratified by her words and chuckled, "Owner, many stewards from other kiln factories and workshops have come to me, asking if our family would like to accept their porcelain blanks. How should I respond to them?"
Song Jiyun pondered and said, "First, discuss it with Chairman Ma and others. Even if others do not regard him as the chairman, we still need to give him a heads-up."
Since Song Tao made a scene at the Temple of the Wind God, Chairman Ma had never appeared in Jingde Town again.
He usually took the affairs of the guild quite seriously and had done quite a bit for it.
Song Jiyun felt that the porcelain industry really needed a chairman like him.
Zhou Zheng cheerfully agreed and brought up another matter, "Old Master Wu came to visit you yesterday, but you happened to be at the Imperial Kiln Factory and he missed you. However, he asked me to tell you that Song Tao sought him out, wanting to rent his slope land at a high price, but he wants to continue lending it to us and even sign a long-term contract with us."
"Great!" Song Jiyun replied with a smile, "After the New Year, we’ll fire up the Dragon Kiln and make Overglaze Enamel."
"Really?!" Zhou Zheng burst with joy and eagerly said, "I will go and let Old Master Wu know right away." Then he asked for her instructions, "Should I arrange the meeting with Chairman Ma at our kiln factory?"
The Porcelain Guild had a resting place next to the Temple of the Wind God in a side hall, where Song Jiyun said, "I’ll visit the guild and meet him there."
And there was also Old Master Yan to consider, who needed to be pacified.
The next year’s Dragon Kiln might need to be dedicated solely to them.
When Chairman Ma saw Song Jiyun, he was almost in tears, choked up and barely managed to call out, "Boss Song" before he could say no more.
Song Jiyun comforted him, "Don’t worry about the Liangyu Kiln Factory. We all know how much you have done for the guild. See, I came to find you first when I had a matter to discuss!"
"Good, good, good!" Chairman Ma replied, visibly relieved, and when Old Master Yan and a few other respected seniors in the porcelain industry came over, she reiterated her intentions.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
