Yuan Yunzhong appeared as if he hadn’t heard.
He quietly turned the tea cup in his hands.
Silly Girl was even more displeased, snorting as she wanted to pester Yuan Yunzhong with a few more words, but who knew Yuan Yunzhong glanced at Madam Qian, suddenly stood up, and strode towards Song Jiyun.
Song Jiyun was toasting Shopkeeper Zhou Zheng, the Store Manager responsible for procurement.
"Nowadays, Su mud macaque material is hard to come by, often mixed indistinguishably with Pei Tong Green, Cobalt Blue, and Zhejiang green," she said, "fortunately, Manager Zhou’s vision is sharp, thus our family’s glaze materials are always sufficiently supplied and never mistaken." She continued, "I shall drink three cups of tea to you, you may do as you please. Thank you for braving thorns and thistles for the Song Family Kiln Factory over these years, never sparing any effort."
Zhou Zheng was twenty-five years old this year, having worked as an apprentice at the Song Family Kiln Factory since he was eight, making him the youngest of the store managers and master craftsmen.
He was of medium height and a bit dark-skinned, but handsome, with a face flushed red as he held his tea cup, merely murmuring, "Miss is too kind!"
Song Jiyun smiled, lifted her tea cup to drink it all in one gulp, but was stopped by a pair of white, slender hands covering the rim of her cup, as Yuan Yunzhong’s deep yet still clear voice came from beside her, "Let me toast the store managers and master craftsmen on your behalf! Sometimes, drinking tea can be more unpleasant than drinking wine."
His voice dropped lower with the last sentence.
It was like a whisper, and she could even smell the scent of laurel on him.
Song Jiyun was momentarily dazed.
Yuan Yunzhong had already taken her tea cup, lifting his hand toward Zhou Zheng with a warm voice, "I’ve long admired Shopkeeper Zhou’s great reputation, and seeing you today, I see you truly live up to your renown."
He proactively moved forward, gently clinking Zhou Zheng’s wine cup, then lifted the teapot and drank three cups in succession.
After drinking, he even made a show of displaying the empty teapot to everyone, with a very forthright demeanor.
The crowd’s impression of him, already favorable, improved even further.
Yuan Yunzhong was also courteous, saying, "I cannot drink alcohol today, if I have been impolite in any way, please excuse me, store managers and master craftsmen!"
The Song Family Kiln Factory had made it to the top of Jingde Town not just because of Song Youliang, but also because everyone present had devoted a lot of effort, and none wanted to see this ship sink.
However, after the sudden death of the former owner who failed to leave behind a successor capable of managing the kiln factory—and having fallen into complications over inheritance due to not having a son—they too were at a loss, uncertain of what to do.
Now, seeing how Yuan Yunzhong spoke and acted like someone who could hold his ground, they couldn’t help but pin their hopes on him, thus they became even warmer towards him.
Wong Dahai simply picked up the wine pot in front of him, poured himself a cup, and took the initiative to toast Yuan Yunzhong, "Where does the Young Master get such words! We’re all simple folk, not good with words, it’s us who should ask for your generous pardon!"
As he spoke, he drained his own cup, saying, "I toast to you, Young Master. You may do as you please, while I’ll drink three cups."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Yunzhong turned with a somewhat helpless look back at Song Jiyun beside him, saying, "Head Shopkeeper Wong is making it quite difficult for me, this discretion is not easy to drink!"
The bantering tone, the affectionate manner, was just like a husband who had suffered grievances outside, complaining to his wife.
It was as if they were a loving couple.
Everyone laughed.
Luo Zixing even joined in the fun, "Young Master Yuan, rest assured, he really isn’t just being polite with you. After all, you said it yourself earlier, sometimes drinking tea can be more troubling than drinking wine."
The laughter grew even louder.
Song Jiyun just wanted to curse.
She quickly glanced at Madam Qian.
Madam Qian was laughing too, and moreover, she was looking at her and Yuan Yunzhong as she laughed, her eyes and brows filled with joy and satisfaction.
Song Jiyun was taken aback.
Her mother couldn’t be growing fonder of Yuan Yunzhong by the minute, could she?
She turned her gaze towards Silly Girl.
Silly Girl was looking down, biting her lip, the very picture of pitiable cuteness.
Song Jiyun withdrew her gaze, watching as Song Li and Xiang Yang came one after the other to toast Yuan Yunzhong and started talking about their respective skills.
Yuan Yunzhong was quite surprised and said, "I know about glazing, but I didn’t expect there to be a master craftsman just for throwing pots."
Xiang Yang respectfully replied, "Actually, there are also master craftsmen who specialize in trimming clay bodies. However, I’m skilled at both throwing and trimming. When the owner was here, he entrusted me with both of these processes, and I’m also responsible for trimming clay bodies in the Kiln Factory."
Yuan Yunzhong nodded, not neglecting Song Li, "I know that making porcelain requires a painter. What’s the difference between glazing and painting?"
Song Li patiently explained to him.
Silly Girl stood up and walked towards Yuan Yunzhong’s direction.
A servant boy brought over a Liang County specialty, Clay Pot Chicken Soup.
Silly Girl made way for the servant boy, but somehow, her foot slipped, and she plunged toward the steaming chicken soup.
She screamed in terror, her hands flailing in the air.
The servant boy’s face changed, as he quickly raised the clay pot, trying to avoid her, but to his misfortune, Silly Girl grabbed his arm.
His hand hurt, and the pot tilted... It was about to spill right onto Silly Girl’s face.
Everyone gasped in unison.
But Yuan Yunzhong reacted quickly, grabbing the ear of the clay pot and lifting the pot of chicken soup onto the table, shaking his hand from the scalding heat.
"Young Master Yuan, are you alright?" Xiang Yang asked anxiously.
Yuan Yunzhong shook his head, showing his hand.
His fingers were red, but fortunately, no blisters had formed.
Still, Madam Qian rushed over, distressed and circling anxiously. After instructing the servant boy to fetch a doctor, she ordered a maid to get lettuce seed oil from the kitchen.
Lettuce seed oil was a folk remedy known to treat burns.
Yuan Yunzhong, however, was calm and composed, and turned to reassure Madam Qian, "It’s nothing serious, just bring me a basin of cold water to soak it in, and I’ll be fine."
"Okay, okay, okay!" At this moment, whatever Yuan Yunzhong said was gospel to Madam Qian.
Madam Luo also recovered from the shock and hastened to press Silly Girl to apologize to Yuan Yunzhong, "If it weren’t for Young Master Yuan, you would have disfigured your face."
Silly Girl, still in a state of shock, her face almost translucently white, could only mutter "I’m sorry" to Yuan Yunzhong.
Madam Qian felt a bit sorry for her and wanted to say a few words in her defense, but thinking of Yuan Yunzhong’s reddened hand, she ultimately said nothing.
Instead, it was Yuan Yunzhong who magnanimously said to both Madam Qian and Madam Luo, "It was an accident, nobody wanted this to happen."
Madam Qian kept nodding, wanting to pat Yuan Yunzhong’s hand like she would her own child but then thought it was not appropriate.
Madam Luo was even more grateful.
"Thank goodness it wasn’t serious. A scare, but no harm done!" Wong Dahai saw the atmosphere turning a bit heavy, quickly stood up and took charge, "Come, come, come, let’s share this clay pot chicken soup. This soup wasn’t easy to come by!"
The crowd laughed heartily, and that seemed to move past the recent incident.
Song Jiyun, who had been watching silently without saying a word, found it odd.
She commanded strict discipline among her subordinates, especially for banquets where accidents are likely to occur. She would have the stewards and nannies check the utensils and the banquet hall repeatedly, cautioning the servant boys and maids to be careful.
She saw nothing unusual around her.
How could Silly Girl have slipped?
When she sat down earlier, she deliberately rubbed the floor with her foot where Silly Girl had been standing, and it wasn’t slippery.
So...
Song Jiyun smiled and moved closer to Yuan Yunzhong, whispering, "What were you doing just now?"
He laughed softly, his chuckle seeming to echo within his chest, though his tone was light and quick, "What was Miss Song doing? That’s exactly what I was doing."
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