But the bright moon shines on the ditch

Chapter 5

After the big dragon tank was carried away, Xu Zhong's right eyelid kept twitching.As if there was some omen, I couldn't stop dancing.Thinking about the opening of the dragon cylinder that day, I still feel a little scared.

He had a faint feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't put it into words. Thinking about the time before and after, the dragon vat was fired and was taken away. This matter has nothing to do with his Hutian kiln in the future. What else could it be?
Thinking of this, he asked Xu Zhiliu's right eye to jump for money or to jump into disaster.

Xu Zhiliu just came back from the outside, snow fell on his shoulders, he only patted it twice, took out an official post from his arms, and told Zhang Lei to send it to the porcelain shop.

Zhang Lei is his man in charge, and Zhang Lei runs errands for him, such as Gai Fan Kiln, Porcelain Store, etc.

The two said a few more words to the official post, and when Zhang Lei left in the face of the wind and snow, Xu Zhiliu exhorted a few more loudly, then slowly sat down, took a sip of the tea that had cooled at some time, and began to arrange the sacrificial activities of the Warm Kiln God again.

Sending invitations, borrowing flying tiger flags, cutting yellow paper to write pairs, and singing at the hall, everything was finalized, and then I remembered that Xu Zhong was still waiting for his response, so I thought about it, said to get rich, and hurriedly lowered my head to write something in the notebook.

Xu Zhong took a closer look, which porcelain shop wanted to hang Xu Zhiliu's post?
"It's endless every day, isn't it? I don't have any points in my heart? When did you come to find someone to handle errands? His family is not a new year?!"

I don't know when, the nature of production in Jingdezhen changed, craftsmen became businessmen, and a basket of troubles continued to be cut and messed up, and I was worried to death.

What Xu Zhong is most afraid of is that someone will come to your door, give you a lot of things, and praise you high, but you still can't refuse.

Regardless of the larger towns, there are so many big and small gangs that can scare a person to death. Either the Dugang and Huigang miscellaneous gangs formed based on their hometown, or the major guild halls extended according to the region in their background. A Duchang gang can develop ten township and county-level guild halls. The flow of water and luck has led to constant sacrificial activities in Jingdezhen throughout the year, and it is not uncommon to form cliques. The most terrible thing is that there are many "administrators" and thieves.

For example, in the past few years in the city, there has been a "street master" who has a very famous name and is in charge of the codes of conduct of various industries.

The official title is not big, so it can be lenient!

In this way, if the kiln householders want to move around in the industry and find top-level blank workers, they have to pay a visit to the wharf, so they put on the name of "Street Master" as their head, and the porcelain dealers in charge of buying and selling porcelain have to ask "celebrities" to write signs and help apply to the higher authorities for official posts with professional licenses, so as to enhance the reputation of the porcelain dealer in the industry.

And this celebrity is probably Xu Zhiliu right now.

Being praised as a celebrity, can't you worry about the common people?If you don't do it, scolding you will be light, and I will report you later, and most people like "Street Master" will come to inspect you.

Xu Zhong had a poisonous mouth, and he didn't know how to scold others, but seeing Xu Zhiliu's busy going in and out, after all, it was for the Hutian kiln, he felt bad.

"Why don't you ask the Ministry of Industry to set up an office in Jingdezhen, so that you don't have to go back and forth, and you don't need to spend money?"

"It's not easy in a snowy day."

Xu Zhong smiled: "You are willing to do good things. These porcelain shops, when you are asked to donate posts, rush to please them, and when they open later, they don't even want to post upside down."

Unlike the five famous kilns in the past, each of which had its glorious era, Jingdezhen porcelain is becoming more and more famous now, and there is a tendency for one single kiln to dominate.As he became more famous, more businessmen from all over the world followed suit.

When there are too many people, there will be problems.

Where do these businessmen know porcelain?They just do business.

To put it bluntly, the integrity of the craftsman, the inheritance from the ancestors, and the unified sales to other places are all about the market economy.Which kind of porcelain is easy to sell, they will sell that kind of porcelain.Regardless of Hutian Kiln or Anqing Kiln, the common people pay the most.

Jingdezhen is not only the Hutian kiln family that makes and burns porcelain. There are many kiln households competing with each other. The output is large and the quality is cheap.

At that time, under the name of Xu Zhiliu, but selling other products, no one can do anything about it.So Xu Zhong got angry many times, and also said Xu Zhiliu many times, but he just didn't listen.

He couldn't help complaining: "Why do you think of you when you need a celebrity's handwritten signboard? Is it because you are a child at a young age, and cultural people are more expensive? Or do you like the reputation of Xu Zhong's Hutian Kiln?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt something was wrong.

Sure enough, the steward next to Xu Zhiliu choked on his tea and stopped writing.

It doesn't matter whose face you look at, after all, it's all the mouth of the kiln, isn't it?The steward wanted to be sloppy, he opened his mouth and let out a sigh of relief, and quickly poured hot tea again.

There was a moment of silence in the house, and Xu Zhiliu finally decided to choose a Peking Opera troupe, and put on a few small plays at night, singing until dawn.

Xu Zhong hurriedly made up for it: "It's a good little play, let them walk on stilts and sing around the imperial kiln factory, so that all the kiln owners in the front and back streets can listen."

"I'm afraid I will be scolded for disturbing my dream."

"Let them scold you, the streets are full of big-time performers, maybe you will follow them here to win the prize."

"That's that."

As soon as the big dragon vat comes out, won't everyone come to win the prize?
Xu Zhong set up a step for himself, and came down on his own: "Don't worry about anything else, your super big dragon tank is burning well. According to the past practice, there should be a generous reward this year, and the big guy will be given a bonus at that time."

The stewards said yes again and again, and the foremen in charge of cutting and drawing blanks also laughed.

Speaking of this giant dragon vat, it was originally not included in the firing task of the Three Great Halls, but it was Emperor Wanqing's sudden whim to add some color to the rebuilding of the Three Great Halls.

How could he not have the good things he had in the previous dynasty?So the hot potato was sent to the front, which made the Hutian kiln exhausted up and down, but fortunately it was fired.

Still burning.

Only two dragons were drawn in the blue-and-white dragon vat in the previous dynasty, and there were eight of them!The size and size are not of the same order, and Xu Zhiliu's hand-painted paintings are precious and precious, ingenious and lively, and the dragon-shaped keel can be seen on the porcelain blank, which is exquisite.

Not only that, in the past two years, the blue and white materials have been mixed hundreds of times, and the glaze color is full and smooth, which is far superior to that of the previous dynasty.What's more, the blue and white porcelain used this time is the aristocrat——Su Mali Qing, whose color is pure and true dragon in the sky. It is no longer just a taste of blue and white porcelain, but has really reached its peak.

According to Emperor Wanqing's temperament of striving to be the first in everything, coupled with Xu Zhiliu's extraordinary talent, imitating the ancient and surpassing the ancient, creating new ones, he will definitely please the emperor, and will be rewarded greatly at that time.

The Hutian kiln is going to be beautiful.

Xu Zhong thought happily, with a smug face: "Zhiliu, you are really cunning, and the emperor's preferences are also tightly controlled by you."

Xu Zhiliu was slightly startled, looked around, and reminded: "Uncle, be careful."

The corner of Xu Zhong's mouth twitched, why don't people say it?It is only the brain of a scholar who can only think of these things after figuring and calculating all day long. If it were him, I am afraid that it would be impossible to create such a shocking and rare masterpiece in his entire life.

He was sure that this giant dragon vat would surely fall into the eyes of the emperor.

After thinking about it, he couldn't help worrying, Yang Gong is still in office, and An Jiu is in charge of supervising Tao, who should this credit belong to?
Xu Zhong's eyelids twitched again for no reason: "I've been feeling restless lately, why don't you go back to your hometown this year."

I don't know when the steward has quietly retired.

There is seldom a quiet time around Xu Zhiliu.He took another sip of herbal tea, his throat was clear, and he said with a bit of coolness: "I wrote to my mother the day before yesterday, telling her that I will return home as scheduled."

"What's the matter? Just say something happened and I can't go back."

"Uncle Xu, it's almost the anniversary of my father's death."

Xu Zhong's throat choked up and he couldn't speak.

He also knew that if there hadn't been that accident, with the pride of this young man, it would be absolutely impossible for him to abandon his career and go into business to join him.

Speaking of the relationship between the two, as we all know, Xu Zhiliu is just a side branch of his Xu family, a relative who can't be farther away.

Fortunately, the poor relatives who came to the door many years ago are not like those Xiao Xiaoxiao who coveted his family property in the past. This young man is talented, quick and studious, with a calmness that does not match his age, and his hands can not only write poetry, but also be good at construction.

It took him less than half a year to learn the craft of sharpening blanks. Two years later, he was able to sharpen all kinds of utensils, and they were as thin as paper wings, which caused quite a stir at the time.

It should be known that fifteen minutes on the stage and ten years of practice off stage, some people can't do it in ten years, and some people can comprehend it overnight.

It's so smart it's hard to say.

Hutian Kiln is a large kiln household with two lines of firing. It is related to the eighty industries involved in porcelain, such as Hongdian, blue and white material industry, kiln firewood, and porcelain merchants.

Xu Zhong was delighted by Xu Zhiliu's talent and spared no effort to train him. For more than ten years, the boy who looked quite embarrassed in the rain in the past has grown into a towering tree, defying the wind and rain.

Even, there is a hidden tendency to call the wind and call the rain.

Xu Zhong stared at him for a long time.

The two confronted each other silently.

After an unknown amount of time, Xu Zhong sighed, "After so many years, you are still the same."

He wanted to say, I understand what you think about every time you go back to your hometown to worship your ancestors and visit your dead father's grave, but you want to be famous and not to be in the same boat, you want too much.

However, the words stopped at the end of his mouth, "Forget it, you go."

Xu Zhiliu nodded, and before leaving the door, Xu Zhong said: "Zhiliu, I'm not young, and I'm afraid I won't have a son in this life. From the first day you came to my Hutian kiln, I have treated you as my own son. Ah Yao is sixteen years old. You know her thoughts. Why don't you mention it to your mother when you go back, and marry A Yao when you come back, okay?"

It was rare for him to have a negotiating tone, and Xu Zhiliu's heart moved slightly when he heard what he wanted to say, but he finally gave up, he just pursed his lips, lowered his head, and the narrow sunlight elongated his figure.

This tree is graceful, but with little aftertaste.

After all, there is no sound.

After Xu Zhong left, Xu Zhiliu suddenly felt tired and sat quietly in the armchair for a while, until Shi Nian came to sort out the books in the cage.

He casually took out a copy of "Confucian Textual Research Posts" and spread it out on the table, when he heard the sound of "ah", a mouse jumped out of the cage.

Many books have been eaten, and some have been eaten by moths.

Xu Zhiliu stared at the textual research post for a while, put down his pen, and went to Si Nian to help him clean out the cage.

It was cold in the past two days, charcoal was burned in the house, and it was warm, and the two relayed the books one by one in the corner of the wall.

When Shi Nian looked at it, he said "ah" again, scratched his head and said, "There are so many books before I know it."

One wall is full, stacked up to half a person's height, full of yellowed old books, mixed with a few handwritten notes written by Xu's father when he was young, but now they have been bitten to pieces by mice.

Seeing that Xu Zhiliu didn't say a word that year, he must have felt very sorry, so he said: "I heard that there are people in the east of the city who can repair books, why don't I try it?"

Xu Zhiliu shook his head, he knew the contents of the diary by heart, so why waste money, he can repair it himself.

"Tomorrow, help me go to the east of the city to buy some cementing materials and come back."

"That's not necessary, I saw the purchase before, and there are all in the workshop."

Xu Zhiliu paused for a while, then slowly said: "Don't just use things from the workshop."

Seeing that he started to read his notes again, he looked like he didn't want to have a deep conversation, he knew it, and retreated in silence. After a while, he came back with food from the kitchen, but saw people in the study.

The notes are still pressed under the case, and the textual research posts have disappeared.

Various documents are spread on the table, and several stewards are reporting kiln affairs.

By the time Xu Zhiliu finished his work, the dinner had already cooled down.

He dealt with two casually, and then immersed himself in official duties. At midnight, the door of the house slammed softly, and Shi Nian stood by the door with his cloak in his arms and said, "Master, it's almost three o'clock."

The figure behind the case remained motionless, the candlelight flickered in the night wind, and the tip of the pen had stopped for a long time.

Thinking that he was sitting and fell asleep, Shi Nian approached on tiptoe, and when he arrived in front of him, a pair of eyes suddenly shot over.

Dense red, enveloping the bright pupils, sharp in an instant.

"Time."

"Ai."

Xu Zhiliu's voice was blunt and hoarse: "I..."

Shi Nian was looking forward to what he would say, eyes full of boredom, face pale, and body full of loneliness, surely there must be something to say?But Xu Zhiliu didn't say anything after all, just smiled at him and took the cloak.

Holding umbrellas one behind the other, the two walked toward the lion toward the snow field illuminated by lanterns.

Shi Nian mentioned A Harrier, and said: "She came here once in the evening, when you were still busy, she waited outside for a while and then left. I saw that her eyes were red, and she seemed to have something on her mind..."

Be careful what you say, there is no lack of temptation in it.

He is Xu Zhiliu's school boy, the two of them are master and servant on the surface, but they are like brothers in private.A Yao was born in a family of merchants, even though the Hutian Kiln was very powerful, she didn't have the pretensions of a young lady, instead she grew up with them and had a close relationship with them.

Xu Zhiliu mentioned Xu Zhong's meaning.

Shi Nian opened his mouth slightly after hearing this, and immediately understood.

Probably Xu Zhong also felt unhappy about this unresolved marriage for many years, so he went back and said something to A Yao.The last thing A Yao wants Xu Zhiliu to be in trouble, and she doesn't want him to be forced to express his position on the marriage, the father and daughter may have a quarrel, and her eyes will be red, right?

In fact, this matter is also simple, as long as Xu Zhiliu says a word, everything can be solved.

However, he has been by Xu Zhiliu's side for many years, and he knows his ambition best. He will not stay in Hutian kiln forever, nor will he be stumbled by anyone.

Ten years of grace, is it not ten years of imprisonment?
He wanted to leave a long time ago.

However, in today's world, can he really get away?Let's not talk about it, let's talk about Xu Zhong's place. Although he has never nodded to the marriage, but based on his current situation in Hutian Kiln, it is obvious that Xu Zhong has already treated him as half his son.

If he wants to leave, how will the ten years be counted?What about Hutian Kiln?
What about the Harrier?

Shi Nian lowered his head, staring at the shadow under his feet, thinking of A Yao's little face that was crying pink and tender, and thinking of him holding the "Research Post" in a daze, and felt a sense of powerlessness.

"My lord, maybe there is a way to get the best of both worlds?"

Make her happy, but also make you happy?
"Dadong Xu's family is only in their [-]s now, and they still have enough strength. Maybe a young master will be born in a few years. Why don't you... wait a little longer?"

Xu Zhiliu waved his hands: "Even if I can afford to wait, can Ah Yao afford to wait?"

Ten years ago when he first came to Hutian Kiln, Ah Harrier was only six years old. He was pampered by Xu Zhong, and he had a somewhat lawless temperament, but he was the only one who could control it. So Xu Zhong became more and more the shopkeeper, not only asking him to learn kiln work, but also to discipline Ah Harrier.

Unexpectedly, Ah Yao was trained to be submissive, instead of hating him, she was extremely clingy, always following behind him, saying "Brother Ah Qian".

Now that she is 16 years old and has called him his brother for ten years, can she really judge whether her feelings for him are based on dependence or love?
"Ah Harrier's birthday will be in two months. You know what she likes. Help me prepare a birthday present."

"Sir?"

"I'll make it clear to her."

"But……"

Before Shi Nian could say anything else, Xu Zhiliu looked at him quietly, and he lowered his head, daring not to say anything.

Although the young master is generous, he is still his young master.

That bright look made him realize how much he had crossed the line.

Shi Nian felt uncomfortable with suffocation, unspeakably uncomfortable.He knew that Xu Zhiliu was not a fickle person, and he also knew that A Yao was a staunch character, if he put the two of them on fire in a marriage, he would definitely be hurt.

Why is the world like this?Why is it always uncomfortable, and I can't help myself.

Xu Zhiliu couldn't bear to see the little bookboy fell into such a foolish pain.

When he was young, he left home and wandered around alone. Occasionally, in the dead of night, he felt panic in his heart, and there was always a kind of loneliness that could not be shaken off.

Later, when Shi Nian appeared, there were more Harriers around him, and they were like his younger brothers and sisters, chattering around him, and at the same time slowly brushing away the loneliness in his heart.

Looking at them, he can't help but think of his younger brother and mother who are far away in the country, and then burst out with an unspeakable tenderness.

So he smiled slightly: "You don't have to think too much about the kiln, I'll take care of it. Tomorrow afternoon, I have an appointment with the owner of the porcelain shop, Dock, to discuss things. You can ask A Yao to go with me, and I'll buy her candied haws."

Shi Nian suddenly became happy: "Then, that... just buy it for her?"

"Why, you want it too?"

"Who said that, I don't want it!"

Xu Zhiliu slightly raised his eyebrows, smiled and said nothing.

Shi Nian was so hot from seeing him, he ran forward with the lantern in hand, Xu Zhiliu told him to slow down, and was about to catch up when he heard a sound.

He stopped and looked back, only to see an old tree sticking out of the whitewashed wall, with huge white flowers covering the branches.

The branch was shaking, and pieces of white flowers were flying down, whirling around, touching the feet.

I couldn't tell whether it was snow or flowers.

Xu Zhiliu was suddenly a little confused. He walked this road every day, but he never found that there was a wall here, and there was a pear tree behind the wall.

He looked closely, white flowers were flying, the moonlight was cool and cool, the surroundings were silent, and there was no sound.

Did he hear wrong?Maybe the movement just now was made by something that is nocturnal?He shook his head suddenly, and after a while, his eyebrows froze slightly, and he went to inspect the kiln again.

When he walked away, the motionless figure of the cat under the tree hissed softly, lifted the hem of his clothes and ran back to the room in a hurry.

Hiding under the quilt, clutching the pear blossoms she picked from her hair, Pei Qiu's heart was still pounding and couldn't stop beating.

Finally saw him again.

She hadn't seen him for a long time, he seemed to be a little lighter than before, and the black cloak was pressed on his shoulders, as if to crush his young body.

Is it because the kiln has been too heavy recently, are you tired?Or are you worried about the dragon tank?
Just thinking about it like this, suddenly remembered the phrase "Tomorrow afternoon, I have an appointment at the dock to discuss things. You call Ayao together, and I will buy her candied haws." It seemed impossible to ignore it.

Ah Yao is the young lady of the Xu family, his fiancée, right?
He came from afar from the depths of the corridor, and even though it was dead of night, she still couldn't hear anything even though she was hiding among the trees.

Only when he came to the bottom of the wall, she happened to hear this sentence.

It was only this one sentence, I was startled by his gentle tone, my heart palpitated, and then overflowed with unprecedented difficulty, until my eyes were sour, and I fell from the tree without even noticing it.

Thinking back to the year when she first came to Anqing Kiln to learn porcelain painting, she heard that there was a young man in Hutian Kiln who was very good at painting. For some reason, she felt that he was him, so she chose porcelain painting without any hesitation among so many professions.

The ban was lifted in the same year, and he was accepted as an apprentice by Wang Yu, who taught him hand in hand, studying hard day and night, so tired that he couldn't lift his arms. Whenever he wanted to cry, he couldn't help but flash back to his mind when he first met him when he was young.

His smile is so gentle and firm, like the first ray of sunshine thrown into the cold winter pool, it makes people breathe, make people yearn for, and even make people love, so she also burst out with unprecedented courage, and just survived like this.

Night after night, thinking about his smile.

However, he is so good, he will marry someone else.

And she could only hide behind trees and hide in the sea of ​​people. In the small town where he lived, she heard a little bit of stories about him from the market, from the kiln mouth, and from the storytellers, secretly dreaming and missing him.

Other than that, she couldn't do anything.

Can't do anything.

　Every day is a big fat chapter~~ Don't you praise me?
　　In the next chapter, Yunxian may have to pierce the window paper.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)