Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 160 Visiting
Liu Erniang picked up her teacup and drank it.

In her mind, the sooner Madam Xie and the Yang family fell into ruin, the better.

She didn't care about Madam Xie, but she wanted both the clay stove and the tabloid in Madam Xie's hands.

A merchant who possesses such a thing will only bring disaster upon himself.

Besides, what right does Madam Xie have?
A woman who was abducted and sold into slavery would have been killed long ago if she were in a wealthy or powerful family. How could she have the audacity to manage household affairs and dabble in tabloids?

Thinking of this, Liu Erniang frowned. She had someone inquire and found out that the words "Daming Prefecture Gazette" were written by someone Tong Zixu.

Who was invited? Others might not know, but she already had a guess…

That person is most likely Wang Yan.

Tong Zixu was also clueless. Relying on his relationship with Wang Yan, he actually asked him to do such a thing. He didn't think carefully about the fact that if this was done wrong, it could embarrass the Wang family.

How many lives does he, Tong Zixu, have to compensate Wang Shi?
She wished she could take back all the tabloids that had been distributed in Daming Prefecture and force the publishing house to hand over the printing plates.

But she had no right to do so.

Taking rash action could backfire.

Therefore, the best approach is to deter Xie Yuyan from printing the tabloid, and then subtly remind Tong Zixu that if he wants to continue publishing the tabloid, he should write some good articles so that he can explain himself to Madam Wang in the future.

She knew the Wang family's affairs very well. There was a woman from the Wang family whose husband died suddenly less than a month after he got married. She followed him in death and was even commended by the imperial court for it.

This demonstrates the etiquette of the Wang family.

How could Wang Yan be involved with a widow?

She helped the Wang family handle the matter, not expecting the Wang family to thank her, but at least it brought the two families closer together.

"Second sister, what are you thinking about?" Jia Si Niang asked.

"I wasn't thinking about anything," Liu Erniang said, feigning nonchalance. She picked up her teacup, blew on it, and took a sip. "Since you like that clay stove, I'll move it into your room to use!"

Jia Si Niang asked with delight, "Second Sister, you don't need it?"

“The Xie family will send a new one in two days,” Liu Erniang said, lowering her eyes. “It’s just a cheap little thing; it’ll lose its appeal after a few uses.”

Hearing this, Jia Si Niang couldn't stop smiling.

Clay stoves are so hard to buy; she thought she wouldn't be able to get one for two days. But she didn't expect to be able to bring it back to the house tonight. With this, she won't need to leave the house tomorrow.

Jia Si Niang left with the clay stove, and Liu Er Niang couldn't help but scoff, thinking, "She's really never seen the world." Thinking this, she opened the box again and took out the tabloids to read.

What are those things anyway? What's truly worth pondering is these few words.

……

Xie Yuyan had a particularly relaxing two days.

The women of the Yang family gathered in the ancestral home to prepare food. Various kinds of noodles were drying in the yard, along with steamed rice cakes and tofu soaked in wine.

Zhang made toothpaste for the children, and then wrapped a large one in a wooden skewer and stuffed it into her hand.

Xie Yuyan had seen these things in his previous life, but had never eaten them.

just now……

She looked around and saw that Yang's dolls were all squatting there, holding the same things as her.

The children twisted two bamboo skewers in their hands and then stuffed them into their mouths.

The dolls licked them with a "tsk tsk" sound, but she held them without moving. Perhaps realizing that she was different from the others, all eyes were fixed on her hand.

Left with no other choice, Xie Yuyan also imitated them, twisting her body slightly before opening her mouth...

It wasn't as sweet as I imagined; upon closer tasting, it was surprisingly delicious.

The children laughed when they saw this, revealing their gap-toothed mouths.

“You can’t eat so much,” Zhang instructed the children, then looked at her, “and you too, it’ll rot your teeth.” Xie Yuyan couldn’t help but find it amusing; it was the first time someone had reminded her of this.

"I have to go out early tomorrow morning," Xie Yuyan told Zhang and Yang Qin that evening. "Get some rest!"

Yang Qin was eager to try, while Zhang looked somewhat nervous.

Xie Yuyan remained calm as usual, picked up the stray cat, and walked into the inner room.

The Xie family's clay stove will be ready tomorrow, and she has to go and join in the fun.

……

Xie Chonghai got up at dawn, ate a bowl of noodles, and went to the pottery kiln.

Sitting in the carriage, Xie Chonghai rubbed his temples. After checking the accounts for two days, he had indeed discovered many clues. There were significant discrepancies in the amount of porcelain clay purchased each year.

Why do people buy less porcelain clay when it's cheap and more when it's expensive?

Xie Chonghai suspected that the hundreds or thousands of strings of cash inside had all been taken out by his elder brother and given to Xie Qi.

The carriage stopped, and Xie Chonghai immediately stepped out of the carriage, where the manager of the pottery kiln was already waiting to greet him.

"How is it?" Xie Chonghai asked.

The manager smiled broadly: "They've just come out of the kiln, and they all look great to me. We'll have the craftsmen inspect them in a bit, and if there are no problems, we can send them to the shop."

Why bother sending them to the shop? Just select the better-looking ones and take them directly to the Liu family.

The Liu family used it themselves, and the rest were given as rewards to the servants. Anyway, with this kiln full, they considered their task done.

Xie Chonghai walked inside.

The foreman had been on tenterhooks for the past two days, fearing that once the fire went out, all the clay stoves he brought out would be broken. Fortunately, only a dozen or so were unusable.

The rest are just some minor, insignificant flaws.

Anyway, this kind of clay stove is not as precious as porcelain, so this problem is really nothing.

"It was just placed here, take a look." The steward pointed to the clay stove in the room as if presenting a treasure.

No sooner had the steward finished speaking than Miao Shun and a few others walked over. They were about to examine the items more carefully when the steward frowned and gave them a meaningful look.

At times like these, it's best not to get involved.

"Second Master," Miao Shun said, ignoring the steward, "we've come to see the clay furnace."

The clay kilns were fired in the kiln by several craftsmen. They would have to check to find out if they were fired properly. After seeing several deformed clay kilns, they all suspected that the firing temperature in the kiln was not right.

Xie Chonghai's gaze fell on Miao Shun, then he frowned. Miao Shun was the one who started the trouble a few days ago. What is he up to now?
The two men exchanged a glance, and the atmosphere became somewhat tense. Xie Chonghai was about to speak when the steward ran over and said...

"Second Master, Madam Xie from the Yang family has arrived."

Xie Chonghai was taken aback by these words. What was Xie Yuyan doing here? He was probably here to gather information...

“Tell her,” Xie Chonghai said, “I’m busy today and can’t entertain guests. Tell her to find another time to deliver the invitation to the Xie family.”

The steward pursed his lips: "Master, Madam Xie is not here to see you."

She paused, her voice lowering slightly, and said, "She came to see the clay kilns we were making."

Xie Chonghai looked at the steward: "What did you say?"

The manager had no choice but to continue, "She also brought people from the county government with her, saying... saying they wanted to help us inspect the goods."

Xie Chonghai sneered after a moment: "I've never heard of an outsider coming here to point fingers at my family's pottery kiln."

The steward said, "That's what I said too, and the Second Master will decide, but what Madam Xie said..."

Before the manager could finish speaking, a voice rang out.

"I taught them the method of firing clay stoves, and I am the one who can judge whether the clay stoves are fired well or not."