Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 587 Rescue
Xie Yuyan promoted the use of coal kilns, which enabled the Duan family to produce begonia-red kilns ahead of schedule. It is conceivable that the kilns in Juntai would become famous sooner as a result.

So when the Duan family father and son bowed and thanked her, she accepted it without hesitation.

Besides the Duan family, three other kiln owners also produced excellent porcelain. The changes that could not be seen in the body and glaze before due to insufficient firewood firing were now revealed.

The exquisite porcelain pieces on the table ignited the eyes of many kiln owners, who couldn't wait to rush over and fire another batch.

Of course, many more people, lacking knowledge of the proper firing temperature in a charcoal kiln, had all their porcelain ruined. This is one of the difficulties of using a charcoal kiln.

Replacing a wood-fired kiln with a coal-fired kiln rashly could cost a lot of money and effort, and there's a risk that it might not even yield good results.

Xie Yuyan said, "Everyone wants to sell their porcelain at the market, right?"

These words immediately silenced the room.

One kiln owner said, "But our porcelain was not selected."

Xie Yuyan nodded: "It's just that I wasn't selected this year."

Upon hearing this, everyone showed expectant expressions.

Xie Yuyan continued, "In the first year of opening the border market, the requirements will naturally be stricter. However, porcelain will definitely sell well in the border market. To ensure sufficient goods, more porcelain kilns will need to join in."

"We need to think carefully about how to fire porcelain suitable for the border market."

Porcelain sent to the border market had to be transported by caravans over long distances to the border town, and there would inevitably be losses along the way, so the lower the cost of firing, the better.

Of course, this excludes exquisite decorative porcelain, which requires special personnel for delivery.

However, decorative porcelain is relatively rare; how many porcelain kilns can compete with this?

They had also seen the coal kilns that Xie Xing had repaired. The largest one was three times the size of a wood-fired kiln. If used properly, it would be possible to fire porcelain much faster.

Xie Yuyan waved his hand, signaling Mama Yu to put the accounts on the table.

"These are the accounts for firing the kiln. Every penny spent, from the initial construction of the kiln, is recorded here. If you want to know how much the coal kiln cost, you can just take a look and you'll know everything."

The kiln owners looked at each other, surprised that Xie Xinglao was so open with his secrets, even letting them inspect the accounts.

"For those who are really undecided, they can borrow my coal kiln to fire porcelain. However, for each kiln fired, in addition to the cost of firing the porcelain, I will have to pay an extra 20% interest. After all, I also need to pay wages for repairing the coal kiln, not to mention that there are fire masters and managers here to help."

The kiln owners all nodded in agreement: "Of course."

Xie Yuyan continued, "For those who want to build a coal kiln now, the rules I mentioned before still apply. I will cover the labor and material costs for the coal kiln and will also provide you with a fire master. Within five years, I will take 30% of the profits from the coal kiln, which will be reduced to 20% from five to ten years, and 10% after ten years. However, after ten years, I will no longer provide a fire master."

If a porcelain kiln cannot cultivate its own kiln masters within ten years, then there is no need to continue.

“Your wood-fired kilns have nothing to do with me. But if you repair your coal kilns and refuse to use them, I will send craftsmen to take over the firing myself, and of course, I will not share the profits with you.”

The kiln owners lowered their eyes in thought, meaning that if the coal kiln didn't work well, they could abandon it. However, no one would be foolish enough to do it intentionally; offending the elders would not end well, as evidenced by the cases of Guan Fenglin, Chen Yixiu, and Shanqing.

Shanjia spent his days pleading his case at the yamen and spending money to bribe officials everywhere. Not only was Shanqing not released, but Shanqing's younger brother was also punished with caning for bribing officials.

Shanqing usually seemed to have a fierce temper, but who knew that he would become completely weak-willed after entering the prison. He confessed everything before even being tortured. All of Shan's shops were seized, and their residence in Bianjing was also lost. The whole family has already hired a carriage to return to their hometown.

Xie Yuyan stood up: "You can think it over carefully. Those who have made up their minds can come and sign the contract with me. The contract will be sent to the Market Exchange Office together."

After speaking, Xie Yuyan walked out of the main hall. Only after she left could the merchants and the kiln owner discuss the matter.

As soon as Xie Yuyan left, Xie Zishao came over and said, "Should we move the porcelain we just fired now?"

The porcelain fired in the trial firing was only a small number; the rest of the coal kiln was filled with their porcelain. This batch of porcelain would be sent to the city and then to the market.

Xie Yuyan nodded and said, "Let's move it!"

The steward went into the backyard and instructed the foreman, "You can go move the porcelain now."

They nodded in agreement, a smile spreading across their faces. It was finally their time to show their skills.

"Be careful, we can't let the porcelain we've worked so hard to make be ruined in our hands."

"No rush, just place them securely."

The workers responded enthusiastically.

Upon hearing this, Wang Wu lowered his voice and said to Wu Qian, "Yang Kuan should have arrived by now. When you go out later, keep an eye on your surroundings and see if there are any members of your Wu family."

After speaking, but without hearing a response from Wu Qian, Wang Wu turned his head and saw that Wu Qian's face was pale and his forehead was covered in sweat.

"What are you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Wu's arm was grabbed by Wu Qian, who stammered, "Otherwise... I... I won't go out."

Wang Wu was taken aback, and after a long while said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Yang Kuan risked leaving the city for your sake. If you don't leave, what will we do? Qi Yong is still in prison."

"Hurry up, even though it's dangerous, there's always a chance of survival."

Wu Qian's lips trembled, and his gaze began to glaze over. Wang Wu's words did not comfort him; he did not want that "sliver of hope," he just wanted to live peacefully here.

“Come on,” Wang Wu grabbed Wu Qian’s arm, “I’ll protect you.”

As he spoke, he winked at the foreman: "When it's time to act, don't hesitate." This was a reminder to Wu Qian that if anyone tried to stop him before he left, he should take action and eliminate them.

Wu Qian nodded stiffly: "I... understand."

The group followed the foreman into the house to retrieve the porcelain, and then walked out of the back door into the courtyard.

The journey was exceptionally smooth, and it seemed that no one noticed him.

However, when Wu Qian returned to the courtyard, she realized that she had forgotten Wang Wu's instructions and had not looked up to see her surroundings.

……

Master Wu waited for his informant to send back a message.

He needed to confirm that Wu Qian was currently inside the porcelain kiln.

“Master,” the servant rushed back, “I saw the eldest son; he went into the porcelain kiln.”

Yang Kuan, who was standing next to Master Wu, was overjoyed: "The news my men sent was correct. Wu Qian has been taken to work for the Xie family and will also come to the porcelain kiln outside the city with them."

“We even lost some men in order to protect Wu Qian,” Yang Kuan said with a cold snort. “We went to such great lengths, and yet you still doubt me.”

Master Wu looked at Yang Kuan and said, "Brother Yang, you should also think about me. I have only just met you, so it is only natural for me to be more cautious."

"Now what?" Yang Kuan asked, "Should we take action to rescue them?"

“Of course,” said Master Wu, “it would be best to coordinate with your people from the inside out.”

Yang Kuan said, "Don't worry about that. I gave them all the instructions when I left the city. They will act according to the circumstances."

“Then let’s go,” Master Wu waved his hand. “Hesitation will only cause more trouble. It’s better to cut the Gordian knot.”

(End of this chapter)