Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 73 Stepping Stone

Madam He watched as the carriage sped past her.

That was Yang's largest carriage, which she used to use herself, and the driver was chosen by her. Now, however, it had to obey Xie Yuyan.

At this moment, Madam He truly felt her current situation in the Yang family.

"Second Mistress," the head housekeeper whispered, "why don't we follow them?"

Should we go see the porcelain kiln?

Yes, we are going.

Just as Madam He was about to respond, a servant came over to report, "The Second Master said he has official business to attend to and will not be coming."

Now even the master won't listen to her anymore.

He felt a sudden pain in her chest, and her legs went weak.

"Second Mistress, Second Mistress."

The stewardess's exclamation rang out, and people in Yong'an Ward all turned to look. Some instinctively rushed forward, but when they saw that it was Madam He, they all stopped in their tracks.

"Hurry up and carry your wife back," Granny Li glanced at her, "We're dirty, so we won't help."

After saying this, he acted as if nothing had happened and turned back to move the lotus root charcoal.

"Hurry up, everyone! The mule cart still needs to go back to Shuipu to fetch lotus root charcoal!"

The villagers responded, laughing and continuing their work, their voices drowning out the shouts of the Yang family steward.

……

Inside the carriage, Yang Qin looked at his uncle and said, "I haven't seen you in a long time, and you look much thinner."

“A while ago, I saw my aunt and fourth brother going to a pharmacy in the West Market to ask about medicine. I went up to greet them... At that time, my aunt's eyes were red, and my fourth brother's face was full of worry. He was concerned about my uncle's health in his words.”

Yang Mingde was slightly taken aback when he heard this, as if he had just realized that he had been immersed in sorrow all these years and had neglected his wife and children at home.

"Fortunately, my uncle is in good spirits. He'll eat more in the future," Yang Qin said. "He'll be back to normal soon."

"We'll soon be back to normal."

These words made Yang Mingde think not of his own body, but of the thriving Yang family porcelain kiln.

Yang Mingde reached out and patted Yang Qin's head as a response.

“If we go to the porcelain kiln now, won’t our secret clay kiln firing be discovered?” Yang Mingde was extremely worried. “What if the clan stops us, or someone tries to steal our skills…”

“Even if we don’t say anything, they will find out,” Xie Yuyan said. “The delivery of so many clay kilns to Yong’an Warehouse today will surely attract attention. Anyone who is interested can take a closer look and discover that the clay kilns have been fired in the kiln, and then they will think of the Yang family’s porcelain kiln and come to investigate.”

"Besides, we're about to switch to a large kiln, and the smoke from the firing process won't be able to be concealed."

Yang Mingde thought about it carefully and realized that this made sense. Nobody is stupid, so how could they not have thought of this?

“There aren’t many porcelain kilns in Daming Prefecture,” Xie Yuyan said. “Besides us and two independent kilns, there’s only the Xie family. Do you think the Xie family would imitate our clay kilns?”

Yang Mingde straightened his back: "My craftsmanship is imitation; it's impossible to make it look exactly the same in a short time."

Yang Qin understood Xie Yuyan's meaning: "Sister-in-law is right. If the Xie family also makes the same clay stove, wouldn't they have to burn our lotus root charcoal?"

"The clay stove was made for lotus root charcoal. It's the perfect size, and the lotus root charcoal is easier to ignite and burns longer."

Yang Qin heard all this from Xie Yuyan: "My husband can't live without the little clay stove now. He uses it to brew tea, roast chicken and dates every day." Yang Qin's face lit up when he mentioned this. Mr. Tong had a little clay stove, which attracted the attention of all the scholars and young men who would ask him every day: Where did you buy the clay stove?

Xie Yuyan said, "It's not difficult to modify the clay stove to hold charcoal. I hope the Xie family kiln will start making imitations."

These words made Yang Mingde and Yang Qin nervous.

Yang Mingde said, "Then...won't that be terrible? What should we do then?"

“Let them burn it,” Xie Yuyan laughed. “I’m not afraid they won’t do anything.” In fact, she was also forcing the Xie family to deal with her.

She wasn't after a few water stalls and this small clay stove.

The cat in Yang Qin's arms suddenly got up, stretched, and then gracefully jumped into Xie Yuyan's arms, curled up, and closed its eyes again.

“The imperial court has closed the trade markets with Western Xia and Northern Qi, but it will eventually have to reopen them,” Xie Yuyan said, looking at Yang Mingde. “Uncle, would you like to do business with the vassal states?”

Yang Mingde's eyes widened, and his face stiffened: "The porcelain sent to the border market must be selected by the imperial court. Even at the height of the Yang family kiln's prosperity, it would be difficult to be selected. And even if it was selected, the vassal states would have to be willing to accept it."

They couldn't possibly sell clay kilns, so before that, they had to fire a batch of porcelain that would be pleasing to the eye, and it had to be as famous in the capital as the porcelain made by the Xie family's paper kilns; otherwise, it was just wishful thinking.

"With me here, what is Uncle afraid of?" Xie Yuyan lifted the curtain and looked at a wisp of smoke above the porcelain kiln not far away. Although it was blown by the wind, it still rose up and flew straight into the sky.

In the past, choosing whose porcelain to enter the market was as simple as giving her a word. Now, although she no longer has the status of a saint, she is still herself, so... what's so difficult about that?
Some people made their fortunes at the border markets, not only selling goods but also peddling all sorts of information and secrets, and even colluding with the vassal states. She had long wanted to see for herself and compare herself with those people to see who was more ruthless and cunning.

Yang family porcelain is not easy to catch the eye at first glance, but... there is the Xie family as a stepping stone.

Since she has set her sights on the Xie family, the Xie family has no way to escape.

The carriage stopped, and Xie Yuyan was helped down by Mama Yu. As soon as she looked up, she saw several horses tied up at the entrance of the porcelain kiln.

"Madam," a servant of the Yang family reported, "Inspector He and Registrar Wang have arrived."

Xie Yuyan walked forward, and the cat lazily followed behind her. When He Tan saw it, the cat's tail was raised and swaying from side to side.

This scene suddenly gave He Tan a feeling that the cat originally belonged to Xie Xiao Niangzi, and Wang Hechun had only stolen it and raised it for more than ten years.

As expected, the cat didn't even glance at them. After Xie Yuyan stopped, it squatted down next to her and licked its paws.

After everyone exchanged greetings, He Tan said, "I heard that your large kiln is almost finished. I just happened to be passing by, so I came to take a look."

Given the commotion Xie Yuyan had caused in the city recently, it wasn't surprising that He Tan and Wang Yan had sought out the Yang family's porcelain kiln.

"Do you still have any fired clay kilns in your porcelain kiln?" He Tan asked. "The government office wants to buy some."

What a coincidence.

Xie Yuyan said, "The finished clay furnaces have just been sent to Yong'an Warehouse. There is still a batch that hasn't been ashed yet, and it will take another two or three days."

Yang Mingde never expected that the government office would also need their clay stoves. He was both happy and apprehensive: "Yes, my clay stoves are different from those outside. They require more steps and will inevitably take longer to make. We will have to trouble you to wait three more days. We will definitely deliver them to the government office then."

He Tan watched Wang Yan using a clay stove to brew tea and roast nuts, looking incredibly content. However, he had been busy running around in the prison lately, and even if the nuts were roasted, he couldn't snatch them from Wang Yan. So he wanted to buy a few more to take back.

I didn't expect things wouldn't go as planned.

If he had known, he would have snatched the clay stove from the duty room before Wang Yan. He subconsciously took two steps toward Xie Yuyan, hoping that Xie Yuyan would spare one for him to take with him. He had been away from the city for several days, and having an extra clay stove would make things much easier.

Just then, Wang Yan spoke up: "Madam Xie is repairing the kiln? Why don't you take us to see it?"

(End of this chapter)