Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 253 Opening the Pottery Kiln
"As long as you do well, whether you are a clansman, a servant, or a hired laborer, you will be given important positions. Leaving the porcelain kiln in the future is not out of the question..."

"Just do as agreed in the written agreement, and Madam Xie will naturally agree."

The room suddenly fell silent, and the craftsmen stared at Old Yao with their eyes fixed on him.

Old Yao said, "This is not what I said, it is what Madam Xie said."

"The old lady said that if you want to run a kiln well, you must first make everyone feel at ease and know that they can earn money at the kiln and support their families. Only then can they work for the kiln with peace of mind."

Old Wei chimed in, "If we can't even get enough to eat, how can we have the strength to work?"

“We have seen all the clay kilns you have fired.”

Upon hearing this, the craftsmen's faces turned grim, because the clay kilns they had fired were all defective, and if the Xie family hadn't intervened, they would have been smashed.

“You changed the wood-fired kiln to a coal-fired kiln, but you didn’t control the temperature of the coal-fired kiln properly.”

Everyone nodded instinctively.

Old Master Wei said, "Why is this? Firstly, the Xie family is eager for quick success, and secondly, many of you lack the patience to learn."

"How many years does it take to learn to go from being a hired laborer to mastering the kiln? Not many people can persevere. Even craftsmen like you need to learn for a while to fully master the temperature of the coal kiln."

One of the craftsmen couldn't help but say, "It's not that we don't want to learn, but in the end, the master will hand over the work of stake-holding to the servants. If we don't want to be servants, we'll be kicked out sooner or later."

"That's exactly what happened to Miao Shun. If the Xie family doesn't fall, he'll be driven out soon."

“Not here with Madam Xie,” Old Wei said. “Madam Xie won’t send in servants. How much money you make and what kind of work you do depends entirely on your own abilities.”

"Wage laborers, craftsmen, and master craftsmen will all be divided into three classes: upper, middle, and lower. Their daily wages will vary. If you want to earn more, you don't need to sell yourself into slavery; you just need to have exquisite skills."

After Old Wei finished speaking, a murmur immediately arose among those around him.

Miao Shundao: "Is this true?"

Old Wei said, "You've all met that lawyer Liu. He'll be here soon, and all of this will be written in the contract."

This made everyone even more excited.

Someone impatiently asked, "Where is Lawyer Liu? When will we write the contract?"

Yang Xiaoshan said, "Everyone, don't rush, let's take it slowly."

Miao Shun still had many questions, and Old Wei, seeing his thoughts, took him aside.

Miao Shundao said, "If Madam teaches everyone how to make clay stoves and doesn't restrict the craftsmen, won't anyone be able to make clay stoves in the future? How will she make money then?"

Old Master Wei shook his head and said, "Do you think Madam Xie handed over the secret recipe to deceive the Xie family? Madam Xie truly doesn't care about these things."

"Madam Xie said that you don't necessarily have to keep a secret recipe and make your own money. You can still make money just by having the name 'Damingfu Clay Stove'."

Miao Shun suddenly thought of the Xie family's defective clay stoves.

After this incident, now everyone only trusts the genuine Damingfu clay stoves, that is, the clay stoves made by the Yang Family Pottery Kiln.

He seemed to understand something.

Only the clay stoves acknowledged by Madam Xie are genuine clay stoves from Daming Prefecture.

……

Hearing the lively sounds in the courtyard, Xie Yuyan looked at the merchants beside him.

Needless to say, Master Zheng and Master Xu were originally in the same business as Xie Yuyan, dealing in coal mines. During this period, they also tasted the benefits of selling lotus root charcoal.

After signing the contract with Madam Xie, they each returned home to make lotus root charcoal. Before they even started selling it, people were already inquiring about "Buddha charcoal." Originally, they planned to rely on the Yang family's water shop to get the people to accept the lotus root charcoal, but who knew that the charcoal would be sold before the water shop even opened.

Later, when news spread that Lady Xie had encountered an accident, they rushed to Daming Prefecture, thinking that the deal might not be able to go through.

Upon inquiring, they learned that the situation was far more serious than they had imagined.

Fortunately, the scholars spoke out for Madam Xie and wrote about the matter clearly in the local newspaper of Daming Prefecture.

After the Daming Prefecture Gazette was printed, it sold out immediately, forcing the bookstore to reprint it, but it still wasn't enough to meet demand. People even started hand-copying the Gazette in the streets and alleys of Daming Prefecture.

It wasn't just people from Daming Prefecture who bought the tabloids; passing caravans also bought them to read.

The more tense the atmosphere was in Daming Prefecture, the better the tabloids sold.

At that time, they felt that there was still a chance for things to turn around.

Sure enough, a few days later everything took a dramatic turn for the better. Not only was Madam Xie innocent, but the imperial court was also going to arrest the prefect of Daming Prefecture.

After everything settled down, Third Master Zhao went back to manage the coal yard, while Third Master Zheng and Fourth Master Xu stayed behind to wait for Madam Xie.

They thought that only the people of Daming Prefecture knew about this matter, but unexpectedly, after Madam Xie returned, several merchants suddenly appeared who wanted to buy Buddhist charcoal and clay stoves.

When the two of them arrived, three merchants from the Yang family had already arrived. Seeing the merchants' eager expressions, as if they couldn't wait to get their hands on the Buddhist charcoal and the secret recipe for the clay stove, the two felt extremely fortunate. They were the first to sign a contract with Madam Xie, taking the lead in everything.

Now the two of them also want to take over a pottery kiln and start firing clay stoves.

After all, most people who buy Buddhist charcoal also need to buy clay stoves, so these two businesses can be combined into one.

But they didn't know how to fire a kiln, so they could only ask around with a try-it-and-see attitude. When they heard Madam Xie say "it's possible," the two were overjoyed. Just like that? They could do it even without knowing anything?
Xie Yuyan said, "We have enough craftsmen to help you build the pottery kiln, but the clay produced must be inspected by us."

“If you use our craftsmen, you will naturally have to pay them wages on a daily basis. Once you have trained your hired workers and craftsmen, they will no longer need to stay in your pottery kiln, and you will no longer need to pay them wages.”

“In addition, one hundred strings of cash are to be given every year as the cost of inspecting the clay furnace.”

The merchants looked at each other.

They had just heard voices in the courtyard and believed that Madam Xie had enough craftsmen to help them open a pottery kiln.

However, the inspection fee is one hundred strings of cash...

One of the merchants said, "Isn't this too much?"

Xie Yuyan said, "One hundred strings of cash is only the annual wage of two mid-level craftsmen. However, inspecting the clay furnace requires at least two top-level craftsmen."

Another merchant said, "But your craftsmen were only there to inspect; they weren't always in our kiln."

Xie Yuyan said, "Otherwise, why would you only ask for one hundred strings of cash?"

Indeed, if two top-notch craftsmen work at a pottery kiln, it would cost at least two hundred strings of cash a year.

"In addition, if problems are encountered during firing that cannot be solved, a master craftsman will come to help."

Master Xu couldn't help but ask, "Is there an extra charge for this?"

Xie Yuyan shook his head: "I won't accept it."

The merchant continued, "In that case, the words 'Da Ming Fu Clay Stove' can be printed on the clay stove?"

Xie Yuyan said, "The clay furnaces that we have inspected are naturally clay furnaces from Daming Prefecture." Otherwise, why would she set such a rule?
A pottery kiln can earn 100 strings of cash a year, and it can also standardize the price of clay kilns and firing standards.

The advantage of doing this is that clay furnaces will soon be everywhere in Daming Prefecture, and by then it will be too late for anyone to imitate them.

When she stipulated that clay kilns must be inspected, what she really wanted to do was help people open pottery kilns.