Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 523 New and Old

After Xu Sanjian finished speaking, there was an uproar in the room.

Then another woman came out, helping an old woman along.

The woman began to speak, “My parents-in-law have been selling porcelain and pottery at a stall in the West Market for forty years. After my father-in-law passed away, my mother-in-law continued the business with my husband and me. When a porcelain merchant asked for 300 strings of cash as a commission, my husband refused to pay, so they smashed the stall and broke his leg. He can’t walk now.”

As the woman spoke, her hand supporting her mother-in-law trembled involuntarily, and her eyes reddened. The old woman patted her daughter-in-law's hand and said, "Don't be afraid. The petition has already been sent to the yamen. We will surely get justice for my son."

After saying this, the old woman continued to say to the crowd: "Old woman Cui Mei has been collecting porcelain in the West Market for decades. No matter how well those porcelain pieces that are made to look like they were made in the Great Kiln are fired, they can't fool me."

“Granny Cui collects porcelain, I repair it,” an old man in his sixties said as he stepped forward. “I’ve handled hundreds and thousands of porcelain pieces of all sizes. Whether it’s mending, gluing, or lacquering, there’s nothing I can’t do.”

Behind the old man were his two apprentices.

The old man pulled over one of his apprentices' hands to show everyone; the hand was missing its index and middle fingers. "My most prized disciple, didn't you cut off his fingers just because you exposed your counterfeiting of famous kilns from the previous dynasty? You didn't take away his livelihood; you were warning this old man not to oppose you."

"Do the artisans at the porcelain kilns count?"

Three men walked over. The youngest was over forty and the oldest was over fifty. They were dressed in coarse cloth, revealing a section of their thick forearms, with dirt still stuck under their fingernails.

One of the men said, "When the boss withheld our wages, he said that some of it was to be used to pay the customary fees."

It sounds like an excuse, but the wages were really deducted. Is it wrong to say that the industry fee was paid now?

"Then we pay the same customary fees when transporting porcelain clay to Bianjing. Each boatload of porcelain clay costs at least two hundred coins, and sometimes we also have to pay for repairs."

"And me, I sell saggers, I also have to pay my share of the tax."

When firing porcelain, it is necessary to use saggars to store the porcelain to prevent it from being damaged during firing, which is why there are merchants who sell saggars.

As more and more people began to speak, Guan Fenglin realized that none of the people standing in the room were strangers; in fact, they were all experts in their respective fields and well-known figures in the community.

These people were different from the merchants who owned large porcelain kilns and multiple shops. They didn't earn much money and mostly did what the porcelain industry considered lowly work. The porcelain industry would only ask them for money and would never allow them to discuss the affairs of the guild.

Now the Xie family has brought them all here.

After he finished speaking, everyone sat down in their chairs. Those who couldn't write asked someone to write for them and handed over their papers.

Shanqing refused to move, but no one argued with him. The two men who worked in the porcelain kiln simply pushed him aside and took the paper and pen in front of him.

It's easy to imagine who these people would recommend to be the head of the industry.

Guan Fenglin's face turned pale, and his expression was full of resentment.

After everyone had finished writing, the clerk of the Market Exchange Office unfolded the paper and began to count the votes.

"It's all calculated."

"Xie Niangzi has 27 votes, Guan Fenglin has 15 votes, and the new head of the porcelain shop is Xie Niangzi."

Upon hearing this, Guan Fenglin felt as if all his strength had been drained away.

“Wait a minute,” Wang Yongnian shouted, looking at Xie Yuyan, “Do you know anything about porcelain making? We veterans in the porcelain business are all experts in porcelain making.”

Xie Yuyan said calmly, "I don't understand."

Wang Yongnian was overjoyed, as if he had caught Xie Yuyan red-handed: "Did you hear that? She admitted it herself, she doesn't know anything about porcelain making..."

Xie Yuyan ignored Wang Yongnian and instead glanced at Guan Fenglin: "Do you know how?"

“Of course,” Guan Fenglin said eagerly, “My family has a porcelain kiln, and I learned the craft from my father since I was a child…” Where in his family was there any porcelain-making tradition? It all depended on craftsmen to fire porcelain, but he believed he knew more than the Xie family.

Xie Yuyan said, "We'll collect porcelain clay."

"Ore beneficiation".

"Porcelain firing".

"Inspecting the porcelain."

"Do you know how to repair porcelain, make saggars, and transport porcelain?" As soon as Xie Yuyan mentioned a job, someone stood up next to her. Soon Guan Fenglin realized that there were only a few of them opposite Xie Niangzi.

They were outnumbered and outgunned.

At that moment, Guan Fenglin deeply understood the meaning of those words.

Xie Yuyan said calmly, "Does Elder Xing really want to do all these tasks personally?"

Guan Fenglin shut his mouth.

Xie Yuyan continued, "I also have porcelain kilns."

“There are three porcelain kilns in Daming Prefecture, twelve porcelain kilns in Lanzhou, and ten porcelain kilns that I co-operate with.”

"One fleet of ships, one caravan, one porcelain shop in Daming Prefecture, and seven other porcelain shops to sell the porcelain I sent."

"There are also perfume shops, restaurants, and post stations."

"Three volumes of the Craftsman's Handbook".

Just as Xie Yuyan finished speaking, Zhou Guangyuan and Jiang Qi moved chairs over and placed them behind Xie Yuyan.

Xie Yuyan sat on it: "Is that enough?"

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Guan Fenglin, Shan Qing, and the others were all stunned.

Xie's words were like thunderclaps from the sky, exploding one after another in their ears.

enough.

Isn't this enough?

The most important thing is not money, nor shops, but people...

"We are willing to serve Madam."

"Please, Elder Xing, do us justice."

Zhou Guangyuan, along with the merchants, and Xu Sanjian and Cui Mei, along with the rest of the group, bowed to Xie Yuyan.

Guan Fenglin and the others stared in astonishment at the scene before them, their hearts trembling. Those small merchants and craftsmen, whom they had completely disregarded, had become the key to turning the tide.

They thought they had victory in their grasp, but the Xie family had already undermined their chances.

Things are definitely different now.

With Han Si arrested, the world of porcelain trading changed.

Wang Yongnian swallowed hard. He began to regret it. If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have come to the porcelain shop.

Even more regretful were the merchants who had come to nominate Guan Fenglin. They looked at each other, quietly moved their feet, and stood on Xie Yuyan's side as well.

Even if they voted for someone else, Xie Niangzi is now a senior figure, and it is only right that they respect her.

Xie Yuyan raised his eyes and looked at the clerk of the Market Exchange Bureau: "Some people in the porcelain industry know about the bullying and abuse of power they have done. Please take them to the yamen."

Guan Fenglin's eyes widened, Wang Yongnian instinctively took a step back, and Shan Qing stood there frowning. He didn't know who Xie Shi was referring to, but if they dared to frame them, he would...

Just as Shanqing was thinking this, he saw the gaze cast towards him by the clerk.

The clerk pointed to Guan Fenglin, Wang Yongnian, and Shanqing, and ordered the bailiffs, "Take them away."

Shanqing trembled and hurriedly shouted, "Injustice! That woman is framing us!"

To everyone's surprise, the clerk sneered, "Where did you get these shops? Whether you're being wronged or not, a proper interrogation at the yamen will clarify everything."

Double monthly pass period is here! Those of you with monthly passes, please vote for the leader! Thank you all for your support! Love you all~