At the entrance of the Imperial Kiln Factory, Old Master Yan caught up with Song Jiyun and said, "Niece, don’t be sad, who can go through life without experiencing some hardship? Rest assured, I’ve decided to quit. The quota for our Yan Family Kiln Factory—I’ll give it to you!"
Fearing that she would have reservations, he added, "When you’ve finished making them, just sell them at our kiln factory!"
So as not to be discovered by Eunuch Wan.
Under such circumstances, Old Master Yan was truly like sending charcoal in snowy weather.
Song Jiyun was extremely grateful and said, "Old master, there’s no need. I have a plan."
In the time it took to have this brief conversation, Old Master Wu and the others had caught up and said one after the other, "Boss Song, we’ll work with you. We’ll still deliver the porcelain blanks to be fired. Eunuch Wan can control how much porcelain I fire in a year, but can he control how I fire it? To some extent, we can still support the master craftsmen and apprentices of the kiln factory. Otherwise, once these people leave, calling them back won’t be that easy."
Song Jiyun repeatedly thanked them and said, "When I need everyone to lend a hand, I will definitely come to you. Just not for the moment."
In the midst of talking, more and more people had gathered around, either offering her advice or asking what help they could provide.
Song Jiyun thanked each one, suddenly feeling that her life in Jingde Town was quite beautiful indeed.
*
In Yinyu Hall, Yuan Yunzhong picked up his tea cup, remembering it was one that Song Jiyun had made especially for him, and then put it back down again.
He paced back and forth in the courtyard several times, his inner rage gradually subsiding.
He asked Shao Qing, "You’re saying, out of the 150,000 pieces of porcelain sold annually in Jingde Town, they only gave the Song Family Kiln Factory a quota of 8,000 pieces?"
"Yes!" Shao Qing nodded, not forgetting to relay the information he had gathered to Yuan Yunzhong, "The quotas for other kiln factories and workshops haven’t decreased, only Miss Song’s has. They gave the Song Family Kiln Factory’s annual sales quota to the Liangyu Kiln Factory. The Liangyu Kiln Factory agreed to give him three percent of the profits for every piece of porcelain sold, only then did that eunuch take interest in backing Song Tao’s schemes."
Yuan Yunzhong sneered, his face frosty as he said, "Let him come see me!"
Shao Qing hesitated for a moment before saying, "Just now, in front of so many people, that eunuch taunted Miss Song for clinging to the wealthy as the reason for not paying him any attention. We are leaving sooner or later, but Miss Song will continue to live here. Once we’re gone, that eunuch might take the opportunity to retaliate against Miss Song all the more."
Yuan Yunzhong said coldly, "He wouldn’t dare!"
Standing erect in the middle of the courtyard, he declared, "I want Wan Xiaoquan to roll back to his vinegar and noodle bureau to scrub toilets!"
Shao Qing couldn’t help but smile wryly.
It was Wan Xiaoquan’s godfather’s godfather, Qian Fu, who came from the vinegar and noodle bureau; Wan Xiaoquan himself originated from the imperial censor’s office. He didn’t do toilet-scrubbing work before; he swept floors at the Baohe Hall.
If it wasn’t for the death of Wan Xiaoquan’s godfather and the fact that Qian Fu was competing so fiercely with the current Senior Eunuch in Charge of Writing Utensils, Qin Fang, from the Directorate of Imperial Ceremonies, Wan Xiaoquan wouldn’t have ended up being dispatched to Jingde Town to serve as the Supervising Pottery Officer.
Shao Qing could only say, "Though getting rid of Wan Xiaoquan wouldn’t be a bad thing, we can’t always be helping Miss Song... Besides, she doesn’t seem to be someone who lacks decisiveness. Let’s wait and see how things unfold."
Yuan Yunzhong was silent for a long while.
*
Song Jiyun returned to the kiln factory and called a meeting with Luo Zixing, Xiang Yang, and others.
They rushed over excitedly.
The business at the Kiln Factory was booming during this period, and they all knew without calculating that this year’s dividend would definitely be much more than in previous years. However, when they lifted their eyes, they saw Zhou Zheng with a downcast face, looking as if he was about to cry. Everyone felt a sudden sense of unease, all having a bad hunch.
Indeed, without waiting for them to sit down, Zhou Zheng had already angrily started speaking about their trip to the Imperial Kiln Factory, "...It’s clear they’re targeting our Kiln Factory. Producing eight thousand pieces of porcelain a year, it’s not even enough to cover the wages for the master craftsmen, apprentices, and kiln workers. Are they trying to drive us to death?"
The most valuable asset of the Kiln Factory was the skillful master craftsmen. Without a generous income, it would be fine for a short while, and everyone would stay at the Song Family Kiln Factory out of respect for Song Youliang and Song Jiyun, but in the long run, people need to eat, and certainly, it wouldn’t be possible to retain them.
At that point, they would have no choice but to reduce the scale of porcelain production.
And the Song Family Kiln Factory would certainly not be able to maintain its position as one of the top in Jingde Town.
"This is outrageous!" Everyone was very angry, but they were also helpless, their eyes invariably turning to Song Jiyun, who hadn’t said a word.
Seeing this, Song Jiyun cleared her throat gently, pointed at the refreshments in front of everyone, and said, "Let’s all sit down and talk! This isn’t something that can be explained in a word or two."
The people arranged themselves according to their status and sat down, somewhat dejected.
After twirling the Tea Cup in her hand, Song Jiyun then said with a smile, "Eight thousand pieces of porcelain, for us, it’s not a small number."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, not understanding why she would say that.
Only Luo Zixing had a thought twinkle in his mind.
Years ago, when the Song Family Kiln Factory’s business was good, several master craftsmen’s deeds had expired, and many were poached by others, leading to a shortage of workers in the kiln. Back then, Song Youliang had said something similar, and afterward, they introduced Jade Porcelain and competed in the bids at the Imperial Kiln Factory, becoming one of the largest kiln factories in Jingde Town within a few years.
He couldn’t help but ask, "Owner, what do you mean by that?"
Confidently leaning on the Taishi Chair, Song Jiyun said with a gleaming smile, "What I mean is, we will no longer produce dishes and bowls and such. We will make plum vases a foot tall, offering plates big enough to cover a face, and flower jars too large to be embraced with both hands."
These were not easy to produce.
Especially the flower jars too large to be embraced with both hands—if made for the Imperial Kiln Factory, these were the Dragon Jars.
Jingde Town would produce no more than two a year.
In other words, they were giving up the low-end market to focus solely on the high-end market.
The Accountant’s room suddenly erupted like a pot boiling over, "How did I not think of this?"
"This is a wonderful idea! Jingde Town doesn’t produce more than three thousand custom-made porcelains a year, and high-end porcelains don’t exceed twenty thousand pieces. If we only make high-end porcelain, eight thousand pieces, that’s like picking four out of a hundred, which is nearly the same as before."
Zhou Zheng immediately began to ponder.
Excitedly, he said to Song Jiyun, "Owner, I’ve done some calculations, and we sell about a thousand Buddhist statues each year. We also have about six thousand other pieces to account for. If we make over four thousand Overglaze Enamels and two thousand custom porcelains, we can not only keep the kiln running but also the income won’t be less than in previous years. Plus, we’ll be avoiding the everyday blue and white porcelain that all other kilns and workshops are producing, hence not taking away their livelihood."
He chuckled a few times, "Hehe," and said, "Isn’t this a blessing in disguise for us?"
Still, pretending to be troubled, he added, "I don’t know whether to feel angry at them or grateful to them?"
Everyone was amused by his act.
After the laughter, Song Jiyun reminded him, "The Imperial Kiln Factory made it very clear, they only allow us to produce six thousand pieces of blue and white porcelain and two thousand pieces of other porcelain."
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