Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 270 Vision
Xie Zishao arrived at the Yang family's house before 11:00 PM.

Knowing that Xie Yuyan was still looking at the accounts, he did not disturb him, but instead talked with Cheng Qi to the side.

Cheng Qi beamed with joy: "Although I've never seen Madam Xie's Luozhou kiln, I heard from people in Sanhe Village that it's really good."

"Master Yang has been there for quite some time now. The newly built coal kiln is two or three times the size of the old one, and it has already fired several kilns."

"All the hired workers that Madam Xie hired before the New Year went to Lanzhou, and yesterday she led more than thirty people there."

Xie Zishao didn't expect it to happen so quickly: "There really are people willing to go to Yizhou."

“Of course there are,” Cheng Qi said. “Many of them come from Yizhou. Madam had already thought of that. Originally, we were a new kiln, and the craftsmen might have worried that it wouldn’t last long. But once Madam’s reputation spread, the craftsmen trusted her and were all willing to go.”

Cheng Qi had learned a lot. Yesterday, the old lady paid the craftsmen and laborers extra money, and this morning, they all went to the pottery kiln.

I've never seen a craftsman like this before, finding work on his own without being urged by his employer.

Xie Zishao listened attentively.

After the Xie family's downfall, all of the Xie family's ceramic kilns were seized. Except for the money Xie Zishao had saved up and had already left with the Xie family, which would not be affected, the Xie family's land and shops would be confiscated by the imperial court.

Xie Zishao hadn't thought about what to do next, but if his tenth sister was willing, he would help her with her business.

Regardless, he was fortunate to be traveling with his tenth sister, otherwise he would definitely have lost to her.

It wasn't that he was intentionally praising his tenth sister; the difference in their clay stove recipes alone was enough to show their skill level.

If he were in charge of the Yang family pottery kiln, he wouldn't easily reveal the secret recipe for the clay kiln.

The recipe for fireproof clay will eventually be discovered by someone, but until then, this is the perfect time to make money. He will seize the opportunity to earn a large sum of money. Even if someone later succeeds in making fireproof clay and the clay stove business becomes less profitable, he can still use the money to do other business.

This is the style of a true merchant.

But the tenth sister did not do that.

More than the secret recipe, she cared about the artisans and laborers. Taking advantage of the opportunity to fire clay kilns, she launched a village association and classified the laborers and artisans. If someone wanted to make a clay kiln, they had to treat the artisans and laborers the same way she did.

In this way, he gained the support of the craftsmen and employees.

With someone around, what can't be accomplished?
These craftsmen were devoted to her and would work diligently at the ceramic kiln. No employer was better than Madam Xie when it came to hiring workers.

Xie Zishao felt he had grasped something. The reason why his tenth sister was able to beat Xie Chongjun and Xie Chonghai was because of their different perspectives.

What they saw was different from what the tenth sister had imagined.

In fact, the tenth sister is not much like a merchant. Like Wang Yan, she is more like an official. They are focused on the big picture rather than immediate interests.

“Seventh Master,” Madam Yu said as she came out of the house, “Madam is waiting for you.”

Xie Zishao strode into the door.

Xie Yuyan and Xie Zishao drank a cup of tea together before Xie Yuyan asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

Xie Zishao had already thought about these things: "If you need manpower here, I will come and help. If not... I will go and do some other business."

"Or leave Daming Prefecture and buy a coal mine elsewhere to make Buddhist charcoal, or... like those people, work with you in a pottery kiln."

After Xie Zishao finished speaking, he looked at Xie Yuyan. He didn't see any approval on Xie Yuyan's face. Could it be that none of what he said would work? Xie Yuyan said, "Both Buddhist charcoal and pottery kiln are not your specialties."

Xie Zishao nodded: "However, apart from the Yang family, everyone is pretty much the same." Since everyone is starting from scratch, there's no reason why others can do it but he can't.

Xie Yuyan said, "I know what you're thinking. Buying Buddhist charcoal and clay stoves isn't a bad idea, but it's not the best option."

Xie Zishao was somewhat surprised: "Then what should we do?"

Xie Yuyan's eyes were clear: "You've been in the Xie family for so long, you should know a lot about the Xie family's porcelain kiln, not to mention that the Xie family has many craftsmen who have spent most of their lives working in the porcelain kiln."

Xie Zishao was stunned for a moment, as if he realized what Xie Yuyan meant: "Tenth Sister means... that I should continue running the Xie family porcelain kiln? How can that be?"

"Why not?" Xie Yuyan said. "Do what you're good at. The Xie family has been making porcelain for many years, and our porcelain has always sold well in the north. Why give it up now?"

“The guilty ones are Xie Chongjun and Xie Chonghai, not the Xie family’s porcelain kiln and porcelain.”

Xie Zishao said, "Didn't you build a new kiln in Liuzhou?"

“It’s true that I’m building a new kiln,” Xie Yuyan said, “but if I’m firing a new kiln in Lanzhou, can’t I have other kilns?”

"With so many porcelain kilns in the entire Daliang region, do you think I can make everyone fire the same thing?"

"Wouldn't it be better to have a variety of styles, with a hundred flowers blooming?"

"Now, replacing wood-fired kilns with coal can reduce the cost of firing porcelain and allow us to hire enough craftsmen. It's the perfect time to expand our porcelain kilns, so why limit ourselves to one place?"

Xie Zishao's eyes lit up: "Then... I'll run a porcelain kiln with my tenth sister. When the Xie family builds a new kiln, we'll manage it together. I also want to... change the wood-fired kiln to a charcoal kiln."

Xie Yuyan nodded: "You can work with me in the porcelain kiln, but there is one condition: you must join the village association, abide by the village rules, and manage the porcelain kiln according to my requirements."

Xie Zishao agreed to this without hesitation, as he had already seen the benefits of doing so.

"Then..." Xie Zishao said, "Didn't Tenth Sister want to send the porcelain to the border market? How should we send it?"

Previously, it was the Xie family's porcelain kiln. Only when the tenth sister's new kiln replaced the Xie family's could she be selected to go to the border market.

Xie Yuyan looked at Xie Zishao: "I didn't say I would only send the porcelain from Liuzhou to the border market."

Xie Zishao didn't understand. Did he mean to send porcelain made by the Xie family's kiln? Thinking this, he thought about what Xie Yuyan had said again twice, and then his eyes gradually widened.

What my tenth sister said was: it didn't say "only" that the porcelain from Luozhou would be sent to the border market, so...

Xie Yuyan said, "What I want is to send the porcelain from the coal kiln to the border market."

Porcelain from the coal kiln could be from the new kiln in Luzhou, or it could be porcelain from the Xie family, or... porcelain from other kilns.

Join the village association, abide by the village rules, and manage the porcelain kilns according to the method of the tenth sister. All the porcelain they produce will be counted.

Xie Zishao said, "Then what we need to do now is..."

Xie Yuyan said, "First, we need to promote the porcelain from the new kiln; second, we need to rebuild the Xie family's porcelain kiln."

The revival of Xie Family Porcelain Kiln is a prime example, clearly demonstrating the benefits of using coal-fired kilns. With so many small porcelain kilns in the north facing abandonment, how could they not be tempted by Xie Family Porcelain Kiln's success? As long as they were willing to join the village association, her porcelain kiln would grow stronger, and the shapes of the fired wares would become more diverse.

Some people want to take advantage of her and try to control her. But if she has porcelain kilns everywhere, how can they control her? How can they guard against her?