But the bright moon shines on the ditch

Chapter 50
In the long night, the smoke has not cleared up.

When the pigeons flew into the rows of neat red brick kiln houses, deep in the red and pink boudoir not far away, a group of men in black ducked into the Crane Pavilion.

The next day, An Jiu led a group of officials from the Imperial Kiln Factory to the Hutian Kiln in a swaggering manner.

The euphemistic name is to carry out another inspection and acceptance for the established system of "official and civilian burning" before the Wanshou Festival.However, they did not say hello in advance. They arrived suddenly and all of them were dressed in official uniforms and were serious in speech. As soon as they appeared, the workers stopped their movements.

The kiln room seemed to be enveloped by an invisible low pressure, and no one dared to breathe.

The young worker who was looking at the door cleverly winked. The young worker immediately understood and used the fastest leg and foot skills in his life to run to the green house to report the news to Xu Zhiliu.

Wang Yu is not at home today. He went to the dock to pick up the porcelain merchants from Suhu to discuss cooperation.Xu Zhiliu stayed behind to look after the house. His habit was to learn how to draw and sharpen billets in the billet room in the morning, and in the afternoon to patrol the kiln fire with the master's servant. Therefore, if something went wrong at home, everyone knew where to look for him.

Before the worker could reach the kiln, the people at the concierge had already informed the people quickly. Zhang Lei and Xu Zhiliu were hurrying towards the kiln house.

Hearing the noise in the distance, Zhang Lei couldn't wait for Xu Zhiliu and trotted over to inquire about the situation. Then he came back and said to Xu Zhiliu: "There was a fuss up front, saying that our six kilns in the east are old and cannot meet the requirements of the official system and need to be renovated. .”

Lu kiln means repairing and rebuilding kiln houses. This is also a profession. People who know kiln burning may not understand kiln kiln. You need to hire outside masters to evaluate and review the construction period.

The dragon-shaped kiln and egg-shaped kiln in the east six rooms are both Hutian kilns with a long history, relatively larger capacity and a larger number of firings. If they really need to be renovated, I am afraid they will not be able to pass the imperial kiln factory's review in a short time. , participated in the firing of Wanshou porcelain.

"Young master, if you suddenly say that our kiln is not good, aren't you deliberately looking for trouble?"

Zhang Lei became anxious and lowered his voice and said, "If our kiln does not meet the requirements of the official system, other families are afraid...who will the Wanshou porcelain be handed over to be fired? It won't be the Anqing kiln..."

Zhang Lei seemed to think of something mid-sentence, stopped hurriedly, and carefully glanced at Xu Zhiliu's expression.

Xu Zhiliu knew what he meant.

"Are you afraid that the Anqing kiln is secretly causing harm and deliberately united with the imperial kiln factory to target the Hutian kiln?"

"Recently, the major private kilns in the town have been a bit restless. Several regular customers have turned to the Anqing kiln. It is not impossible for them to take the opportunity to snatch Wanshou porcelain."

"It shouldn't be them. If those households outside want to switch to cooperative kilns, don't stop them, just let them go."

"But……"

Xu Zhiliu raised his hand to signal Zhang Lei to stop talking.

Zhang Lei saw that he looked determined, and since the two of them had already arrived in front of the kiln, he said no more.At present, the workers are all gathered in one place, surrounding the egg-shaped kiln in front. There are many people standing inside and outside, and everyone cranes their neck to look inside.

Someone on the periphery saw Shaodong's family approaching and shouted for him to take charge. They took the initiative to push the people in front to make way for Xu Zhiliu.

Xu Zhiliu walked smoothly into the encirclement and stopped in front of An Jiu.

"I was making porcelain clay in the kiln early in the morning. I didn't know that Master An was coming to visit me. I'm sorry for missing the welcome."

An Jiu heard that he had changed his title. In the past, he was only willing to call him "father-in-law, father-in-law, father-in-law and queen." It was rare that he softened his temper. He didn't want to pick on Qiao, so he nodded slightly and said politely: "Young master's family has many things to deal with every day. It's time to I said it would be a shameless interruption."

"I wonder why you came here today?"

An Jiu was silent and silent, but someone immediately stood up beside him and explained the whole story one by one.Before the man could finish speaking, the workers started arguing over each other's words.

"What is non-compliance? If our family is not compliant, there will not be many compliant ones in Jingdezhen!"

"That's right, it's not all up to you to decide whether something is compliant or not. If you just say something, we people will suffer."

"Didn't you come here for inspection before? We are obviously preparing for the Wanshou porcelain. If this is not in compliance with the regulations, what should we do with the firewood and the fired saggers that we have been hoarding?"

"That's right, and we workers, it's autumn, and winter is about to begin. Many porcelain dealers have canceled their orders, just to prepare Wanshou porcelain. It's going to be yellow. Why don't you go to the northwest in the second half of the year?"

"Do you still want us to have a good year?"

The workers had many demands, and they were talking here and there, making An Jiu frown.

Seeing Xu Zhiliu following a petty official from the imperial kiln factory for a leisurely walk to inspect the conditions of the kiln, looking like a naughty and careless person, he became even more angry.

"Xu Shaodong's family!" He couldn't help shouting loudly, "Let me take a step to speak."

Xu Zhiliu replied: "I haven't seen the situation in the kiln yet. Father-in-law, please give me a moment."

"you!"

An Jiujiu was the one who started the matter. Xu Zhiliu wanted to see it, but he had to hold back his anger and show his dignity to the people below.The people here are all human beings, so they have no choice but to negotiate with the workers to distract them.

After finally waiting for Xu Zhiliu to see the six kilns in the east one by one, An Jiu had already exhausted his patience. Before Xu Zhiliu could speak, he asked: "It's been a few days, has the Young Master family figured out how to deal with the little god?"

Xu Zhiliu didn't seem to hear, and said to himself: "Mr. An, I have looked at these kiln houses. They are all ordinary and old. They can be simply repaired. I think the Wanshou porcelain promised before can be delivered as scheduled, so you don't have to worry."

"Young master, you and I have a word first. You will rectify the porcelain tax for me, and then I will give you the task of firing Wanshou porcelain. But now that the kiln building is out of compliance, so many people have seen it, and it is difficult for me to handle it. You said The simple repairs may not meet the requirements.”

"Then what should I do, sir?"

An Jiu was choked and his face turned red with anger.

Now he can finally understand that Xu Shaodong's family is doing Tai Chi with him!
"The broad road has already been laid out in front of your Xu Shaodong family, why do you need to pretend to be stupid with me again?"

"I really don't know what you mean." Xu Zhiliu frowned and thought, "Is it because of the person from Anqing Kiln?"

"Xu Zhiliu, I'm warning you, don't try to play tricks."

"If it's for Liang Peiqiu, it only takes a few days, sir, can't you wait any longer? Besides, I have been preparing for Wanshou porcelain these past few days. I am so busy every day that I have no time to spare."

An Jiu looked at him with a scornful expression, but was interrupted by Xu Zhiliu before he could speak. "In the final analysis, you still don't believe me. In this case, why bother..." Having said this, he thought of Anan who was slandered and committed a crime in the hall that day, and thought of himself who kowtowed twenty times on a rainy night. The young man's eyes flickered and he lowered his head. Turning his head away, his voice was a little harsh.

"If you really don't believe me, sir, let's forget about the cooperation between you and me."

An Jiu was stunned by this combination of punches.

"You really don't know?"

"What are you talking about, sir?" Xu Zhiliu said, "Since you don't believe me, there is no need to beat around the bush. If you have anything to say, just say it directly."

An Jiu fell silent.

After a long time, he touched his nose and sighed helplessly: "It's not that I don't believe you..."

"If you don't believe me, why would you threaten me with Wanshou porcelain?"

"I'm not threatening this, it's not all..."

It was all caused by the fact that he attacked Liang Peiqiu yesterday and was humiliated. An Jiujiu couldn't save his face, so he brought a group of people to settle the score.But who would have thought that this would be the situation?
"Forget it, today is my fault. I am here to apologize to the young master's family. I have seen your talent before. You have done a good job in the previous few things. I can rest assured that Wanshou porcelain will be handed over to you. Only Anqing Kiln there……"

Xu Zhiliu couldn't bear to say anything.

An Jiujiu was already familiar with him, and he knew that the talented man in front of him was very angry. He must have been angry when he came to his door and beat him for no reason.

Sigh, I still have to coax.

An Jiu seemed a little unfamiliar with this kind of thing for the first time. He cleared his throat and saw everyone on the left and right retreating far away. Then he took a step forward and said in a gentle tone: "It's not that I don't believe you, it's just you and me." The bridges formed in the past were too deep, and as for me, growing up in the inner court, I was like a bird with a broken bow, full of scars, and occasionally frightened."

Having said this, even the hard-hearted must soften.

"Young Master, please forgive me for once."

Xu Zhiliu raised his eyes and saw that his expression was serious and did not seem to be fake. He took a step back to distance himself, bowed his hand to him and walked down the steps: "My lord, just trust me."

"Then Anqing Kiln..."

"Your Excellency, please give me some more time. In half a month there will be a general election for the leaders of the Three Kilns and Nine Associations. I will give you a satisfactory answer by then. However, I have something to say first."

"You said."

"Sir, I am a scholar and I cannot play with swords or guns. If I want to defeat Liang Peiqiu, I must defeat her in an upright manner."

……

After leaving Hutian Kiln, An Jiu boarded the carriage. Zhou Yuan, who had been waiting in the carriage for an hour, immediately handed him a cup of hot tea.An Jiu cleaned his hands slowly and took some tea to moisten his throat. Only then did he realize that something was wrong.

In the beginning, didn’t he go to raise an army to punish someone?How come it was his turn to admit his mistake later?
An Jiu shook his head, his thoughts a little confused.

Zhou Yuan observed his expression and asked, "What are you thinking about, sir?"

"Tell me, who was it that intercepted our troops in the suburbs yesterday?"

Zhou Yuan was smart. After hearing what he said, he thought that the other party was not Xu Zhiliu.

"If it's not Xu Shaodong's family, maybe it's just the county government?"

An Jiu shook his head.

Last night, he was listening to music at the Crane Pavilion. Suddenly, his subordinates came to report, and he was so angry that he couldn't sleep all night.He had never thought that the extraordinary person hiding in the forest was sent by Xia Ying, but Xia Ying was a cruel official and always put the law first. He only had one master by his side all year round, so it was not like there would be The green forest masters defected, or they were secretly protected by the masters.

In addition, how could it be such a coincidence that just as his troops were dispatched, the other party appeared at the same place?

Or, the other party has been protecting Liang Peiqiu, and Liang Peiqiu is following.

Or, the other party is following him, and there are informants around him.

Although I have tested Xu Zhiliu today and temporarily dispelled my doubts about him, An Jiu is still more inclined to the latter possibility.As Xu Zhiliu said, in the huge Jingdezhen, the only people in the government office who were used to wielding swords and guns were the only people in their government offices, so no one should know anything in advance, and a master was specially hired to protect Liang Peiqiu.

The latter possibility is more real and greater.

who can that be?

An Jiu looked at Zhou Yuan while thinking.

Zhou Yuan's back was hairy when he looked at him, and his heart trembled.

"Your Excellency, you still don't believe me?"

"He is extremely talented, I don't deny that, but he has pecked my eyes after all. Even if the strong eagle is tamed in the palm of my hand, its temperament will never change. Sometimes I will be afraid that it will turn around and peck me again." Once. This man’s loyalty is so rare.”

Without waiting for Zhou Yuan to say anything, An Jiu poured Zhou Yuan a cup of tea and asked with a smile, "Sir, your loyalty is also very precious. I wonder if I, Xiao Jiu, am honored to have a glimpse of it?"

　Zhou Yuan: It took me eight lifetimes of bad luck to fall in love with such a guy!

　　Xiaojiu: Hey, hey, I’m not afraid of being pecked.

　　Zhou Yuan: Who told you to be mean?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)