Song Jiyun touched her forehead, feeling a mix of emotions that were hard to describe with laughter or tears.
However, her heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down firmly.
Although she did not know how Yuan Yunzhong had found out that she was in urgent need of a compass, his willingness to help her must mean that he had not taken their past friction to heart.
Wasn’t that better than anything?
Should she go after him and explain?
Looking at the clay in her hands and thinking about the Sacrificial White Porcelain she was about to deliver to the Imperial Kiln Factory, Song Jiyun decided to handle the most pressing matter at hand before repairing her relationship with Yuan Yunzhong.
After she had finished making the cups, bowls, and dishes from kaolin clay, Zheng Quan had already brought over the kiln builders.
The two of them placed the saggers in the kiln and began the firing process, substituting coal for firewood.
Zheng Quan said, "Miss, you should rest now! I will do as you instructed. As soon as the bisque ware is out, I’ll come and call you."
Song Jiyun nodded, reiterated a few instructions, and went to rest.
By evening, when she woke up, Zheng Quan had already stoked the kiln and, with excitement, showed her the results, "Miss, they’ve all been fired!"
This was an experience summarized by later generations.
First firing the clay body made of kaolin clay at the temperature used for pottery, then glazing and firing again at the temperature used for porcelain yield a better stability and higher success rate than firing directly.
Song Jiyun smiled with her eyes narrowed, divided the green glaze she brought back from the Kiln Factory into five portions, took a magnet from a compass, and slowly passed one portion of the green glaze through it.
Zheng Quan, puzzled, asked, "Miss, what are you doing?"
Song Jiyun replied with a smile, "I’m planning to try firing a piece of monochrome porcelain."
Zheng Quan did not understand.
Song Jiyun did not explain further but set aside the green glaze in her hand and then passed the remaining four portions of green glaze through twice, three times, and so on, adding one more pass each time until the last portion went through five times.
This was what an artist she had previously sponsored had told her.
He explained that the difference between celadon and sweet white porcelain lay only in the iron content in the glaze.
He had been very detailed, but at that time, she was more interested in collecting jewelry and, since it was too technical, she hadn’t listened very carefully.
Now she had no idea how to proceed in detail.
All she could do was to try little by little to see how much iron the green glaze needed to absorb to fire sweet white porcelain.
Since she was not skilled in handcrafting, she called over another master craftsman from the Kiln Factory who specialized in glazing to help her.
This master craftsman, named Gu Qing, was only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old but had very steady hands. He poured the black-gray glaze evenly, and even before firing, the glaze radiated a unique aesthetic similar to black pottery.
Gu Qing was very interested and said, "Miss, is this something the former Owner left behind? The glaze seems a bit different from the usual."
In someone else’s eyes, glaze is grass-ash colored before dilution and black-gray after dilution. Only a seasoned craftsman who had steeped in the craft for decades could discern the subtle differences based on feeling or intuition.
Not wanting to stir up unnecessary complications, Song Jiyun smiled and said, "It was left by my father before he passed. I’ve been a bit uncertain, and so I’ve only fired such a small amount. With the problem arising with the Sacrificial White Porcelain, I had no choice but to take a risk and try firing it." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
Her father had amassed considerable respect and trust at the Kiln Factory.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Gu Qing immediately showed a joyful smile and said, "If it was left by the former Owner, it will surely succeed! When he was alive, he even managed to fire tri-colored glaze. It’s a pity that the Capital City didn’t appreciate it, so it was not continued."
With laughter and conversation, the group quickly finished glazing all of Song Jiyun’s creations. They waited for them to dry, then Gu Qing helped load them into the saggers before returning to the Kiln Factory.
Song Jiyun still used coal for the second firing.
This was also experience deduced by later generations.
Coal burns at a higher temperature than pine wood, allowing for a quick production of the needed porcelain.
The reason coal was not used for firing kilns in later eras, aside from pollution, was its cost.
There was plenty of pine wood around Jingde Town, but the expense of transporting coal, among other costs, made it much more expensive than firewood.
Such a small-scale, urgent trial was manageable, but it was impractical on a large scale.
Song Jiyun kept watch by the kiln, waiting for the moment of truth.
The smoke in the house couldn’t be hidden from others.
Many people knew Song Jiyun was firing the kiln, they just didn’t know what she was firing.
Two days later, the fire was extinguished, and another day passed before the kiln was opened.
After prying off the saggers, most of what was inside were twisted, unrecognizable colored objects, except for a small pile of coarse rocks to the left, where a tiny ivory hand-pressed cup shone translucent under the sunlight, as lustrous as mutton fat, untouched by even the smallest particle of dust, resembling pearls and jade.
"Miss, Miss!" Zheng Quan, who helped Song Jiyun pry off the saggers, stuttered, "What, what is this?"
He had practically grown up in the Song Family, often following Song Youliang to the Kiln Factory as a child. If it weren’t for his lack of talent but innate strength, Song Youliang would have surely trained him to become a master craftsman or a Store Manager at the Kiln Factory.
He knew more about porcelain than the average Kiln Worker.
He had never seen such an exquisite piece.
He didn’t even dare to touch it with his hands, fearful that the calluses might damage the white cup, as pure as jade.
Song Jiyun took a long breath and laughed heartily.
She picked up the hand-pressed cup, checked the number at the bottom of the sagger, and quietly calculated in her head the correct ratio of how many taels of green glaze and how much iron filings were needed.
To ensure accuracy, it would be best to fire a large batch again.
Being able to produce a finished piece in one go was really lucky!
Song Jiyun instructed Zheng Quan, "Smash all the remaining porcelain pieces and bury them near the dock."
The soil laced with porcelain shards wasn’t suitable for farming, so they couldn’t just dispose of them carelessly.
"Okay!" Zheng Quan grinned foolishly, whispering, "Miss, does this count as a success?"
Song Jiyun nodded and said with a smile, "From now on, the Song Family’s sacrificial white porcelain will truly be unbeatable."
Zheng Quan didn’t understand why she said that, but he had seen the sacrificial white porcelain made for the Imperial Kiln Factory.
It was also white, but a ghastly white, not like the hand-pressed cup they had just fired, which had a warm, glossy sheen, akin to fine jade, very pleasing to the eye.
He knew that producing one successful piece and firing a batch successfully was not the same.
Song Youliang often conducted such experiments at home.
Firing at home turned out fine, but they couldn’t manage to do the same in the Kiln Factory.
There were many unique pieces Song Youliang had created stored in his study.
Pointing to the cup in Song Jiyun’s hand, he excitedly said, "Are we going to the Kiln Factory now, or shall we go tomorrow? When they see this cup, they will surely be overjoyed and can’t wait to start firing porcelain immediately!"
And with this, the Miss had truly won, firmly establishing her place in the Kiln Factory.
He was thrilled beyond measure.
Song Jiyun wanted to give the cup to Yuan Yunzhong.
She had once promised Yuan Yunzhong that if she managed to fire monochrome porcelain, she would give him one.
He remembered how she had also sent over a compass when he was looking for it, right?
Just that she couldn’t find it in time, rendering his visit fruitless.
Song Jiyun couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
She realized she hadn’t seen Yuan Yunzhong in the past few days.
She couldn’t help but ask Zheng Quan, "Have you seen Young Master Yuan these past few days?"
Zheng Quan said in confusion, "I’ve been with you firing porcelain these days..."
"Oh!" Song Jiyun interrupted him, "Let’s go to the Kiln Factory now! The sooner we fire the sacrificial white porcelain, the sooner we can be at ease."
Zheng Quan found her reasoning sound and turned to head to the sedan hall.
Song Jiyun, holding the cup, went to Yinyu Hall.
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