Before this day came, Xu Zhiliu didn't know that he would go that far. For him, his current life is not one step at a time, on the contrary, due to the difficulties of his family and the worries of his livelihood, every step he has taken under his feet since he was a child, he has gone through careful calculations and planning, but he is still in a calm, invisible wave, unconsciously sliding to another situation.

It all starts with this day.

The sky was full of firelight reflected in the sky over Jingdezhen. It is said that the kiln fire in this southern town has not been extinguished for thousands of years. Xu Zhiliu had heard his father mention Jingdezhen when he was a child, and it was all "stretched for more than ten miles, surrounded by mountains and rivers, two or three hundred districts of folk kilns, and no less than hundreds of thousands of craftsmen and husbands, so that there were many eaters".

It's about the day of my father's death, right? Lately, he's often reminded of that vague face with a smile on his lips. But at every critical moment, the fire in the sky is always blurred. He stood on the bluestone path that led directly to the wall, looked back in a trance, and seemed to see the two stone workshops in the east of the Imperial Kiln Factory.

Just as he was stunned, a steward ran towards him and said urgently, "Why are you still here?" The proprietors and potters have arrived, just waiting for you! With that, he grabbed him by the sleeve of his limestone coat.

The sleeve swayed, and gradually became steady with his slow pace at first.

Jumping over the wall, the sound of people was heard. The four strong men wiped their hands with cold water and dried towels, put them on their shoulders and looked at each other, and then sank down the dantian, and lifted a specially customized large sagger about three feet long outward, until the four corners of the long flower bench were put down smoothly, and they dared to let go when they saw this.

Everyone couldn't help but hold their breath and stared at the big sagger in front of them without blinking.

When firing the kiln, it is inevitable that there will be sediments such as soot, which will pollute the porcelain, and it must be fired in a box made of clay. At this time, on both sides of the path leading to the kiln door, the original sagger was empty, obviously the kiln farmers have picked up the small utensils that were burned a few days ago back to their homes, and now the kiln temperature is cooling, there is no need to worry that the large vessels fired at high temperature will be cracked into waste products after contact with cold air, and the last and largest sagger can finally be opened.

If the porcelain inside can be successfully fired, presumably the last royal tribute will be in place before the winter of this year.

Everyone looked at the nose and nose and looked at the front of the crowd.

Emperor Qianlong loves ceramics, the world knows everything, Jingdezhen blue and white skills leading the world's major kilns, Tiangong stunt is unsurpassed, over the years Jingdezhen has produced several great people, and now the big people are all crowded in this small courtyard, wait and see for the next brilliant scenery.

With the long flower bench as the dividing line, standing on the east side wearing a watermelon felt hat, a gray round robe covered with a black coat, and a simple middle-aged man is Xu Zhong, the big proprietor of Hutian Kiln. At this moment, his eyes were thick, and his two goatees were so tight that his chin socket was concave, and he could see how nervous he was.

The old man beside him who needs the support of a small servant is Yang Gong, the pottery supervisor of the Imperial Kiln Factory. Yang Gong is nearly sixty years old, his hair is gray, although his spirit is not good, his two pairs of eyes are still bright, staring at the sagger in front of him, as if staring at the last reward before his glorious retirement.

I know that he is about to step down, there was a little snowflake last night, and in the morning there was a little servant who begged for money to congratulate him again and again, and he also hoped that Ruixue Zhaofeng year, more than ten years of Tao Supervisor career can come to a successful end.

It's just that I don't know if I can get my wish.

On the west side of the flower stool is a young man with a male and female appearance, looking to be in his twenties, dressed in a fur jacket, carrying a small golden wire stove in his arms, and he is rich and noble. His face is also very young, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, like a spring breeze. Looking at this appearance, who can associate him with the great eunuch sent by the inner court to assist Yang Gong in supervising pottery? This person is none other than An XIX.

As the youngest and most valued son of his godfather, Xiao Nineteen is still majestic in the cannibalistic palace, not to mention Jingdezhen, a back garden of the internal affairs mansion dedicated to burning porcelain for the emperor. said that he was assisting Yang Gong, and he has been vigorous and resolute for three years, and this time Yang announced that he would return to his hometown, and he was likely to be the next governor to succeed Yang Gong. Speaking of Jingdezhen, the whole of Jiangxi has to listen to his orders.

Waiting a little impatiently, An Nineteen furrowed his brows. The stewards are all human spirits, seeing that he also appreciated his face today, he had already smacked out the unusual meaning, and he was careful to accompany the smiling face when receiving him from the door, and he saw that the stubble was about to be unable to pick up, at this time, I don't know who whispered "The little proprietor is here", the steward immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and the crowd automatically got out of the way.

From a distance, a tall figure stepped down the stone steps and slowly walked towards the atrium. He didn't breathe, and every step was steady, just like he had for the past seventeen years.

Xu Zhong watched him approach, and came to the front of him to shake hands with Yang Gong and salute him. However, in the face of An Nineteen, who was in full swing, he just nodded slightly, and Xu Zhong's tight goatee was suddenly dragged and gasped.

Xu Zhiliu didn't seem to notice, and walked to the sagger to give Master Zhuang a look. The old master nodded and asked everyone to take a half step back. With a slight "click", the sagger was removed by the big men.

The red-hot smoke over Jingdezhen stained half of the sky. In the bright red light, a sleeping green dragon seemed to pass in front of everyone's eyes.

This is a large blue and white flying dragon vat, the cylinder is about 1 foot 3 high, the diameter of the upper mouth is 2 feet 2, the diameter of the bottom of the cylinder is 1 foot 8, and the weight is about 58 kilograms. The cylinder shape is huge and Zhouzheng, and the blue and white painting is used to strengthen the four pairs of flying dragons, the painting is delicate, and the craftsmanship is exquisite. Eight flying dragons reflect each other, chasing and playing with each other on the seawater river, auspicious clouds are swirling, the sea of clouds is clearly layered, the blue and white hair color is pure and elegant, and the color is bright and purple.

Yang Gong trembled and walked forward two steps under the support of the little servant, carefully looked around the cylinder for a long time, and said three times in a row: "Okay!" ”

His sentence is a final conclusion on the coffin, and the big dragon tank is burned!

Everyone applauded in unison.

We all know that for this piece of Chinese New Year tribute porcelain to congratulate Emperor Qianlong on his birthday, Hutian kiln has been busy from the inside to the outside for a long time, from the billet to the finished product seventy-two processes, none of the processes can be ambiguous, the kiln is a few days no one dares to close the eyes, only hate to take the skewer to support the eyelids, all staring at the fire in the kiln, for fear that the temperature is a little higher, the humidity is a little bigger, the kiln is a little off, and it will be burned out accidentally.

Even if it is the Hutian kiln, the head of the Baoqing kiln that does what he says, in the face of tribute porcelain, the big proprietor Xu Zhong and the experienced master Zhuang do not dare to pack the ticket casually, and if they don't get it right, they will fall to the ground. But when he thought that this might be the last tribute porcelain before Yang Gong returned to the field, Hutian kiln finally took this hot potato.

Speaking of this, Master Zhuang patted Xu Zhiliu's shoulder meaningfully, and the big guys understood what it meant. Seeing that the atmosphere was delicate, someone came out to interrupt: "Look carefully, this big dragon tank is a few points better than the one in the Jiajing Ye period." ”

"The size is also a lot bigger, the key is that there are eight dragons, you look at their posture, or sitting or lying, or eyes open, or four-legged hanging, one by one alive is about to fly out!"

"The embryo is warm, the brushstrokes are powerful, and after ten years of hard work, there are more than a few points of excellence."

"There is only excess, and nothing more." Yang Gong praised again, pushed away the little servant's hand, took Xu Zhiliu's sleeve, there were tears in his eyes, and he was about to say something, when he suddenly heard a cough. Looking at the past, An Shijiu seemed to be smiling: "The saint's beloved celadon, Yang Gong's treasure is right." ”

"I ......" Yang Gong's expression changed, and he was even more sad, "It's all the credit of Gong An's strong supervision." ”

"Yang Gong can not say that, Jiangxi porcelain industry, especially led by Jingdezhen, is now thriving, all rely on Yang Gong you for many years of conscientiousness, diligence and pragmatism. Nineteen has only been in charge for a few days, how can I take your credit? ”

"My father-in-law is humble."

"If you want me to say, Yang Gong and Director An have made great contributions, which pole can be said to be able to leave the stone? Since the big dragon jar has been fired, I immediately asked someone to arrange for it to be sent to the imperial kiln factory. Xu Zhong changed the topic at the right time, planning to hand over the hot potato, as for whose credit it was, he didn't care, and he didn't want to wade into troubled waters.

While speaking, Xu Zhong also gave Xu Zhiliu a look. Xu Zhiliu saw that Yang Gong's face was like a vegetable, and in turn he held the old man's hand, and coldly met a sharp gaze.

The eyes of the two intersected, and Xu Zhong was so anxious that his chest was pounding. At this time, Yang Gong turned around and stopped between the two.

"I'm leaving, I don't know if I'll ever see you again. Zhiliu, you are cautious, diligent, and a motivated child. I have also seen your children's exam questions, and with your knowledge, if it hadn't been for that accident, you might have been out of the ordinary. The champion and the first, the marquis and the prime minister, can't it? It's a pity ......"

It's a pity that after all, this kid can't return to his career.

"That's it, although Shinong industry and commerce have ranks, but people are not noble or cheap, I have an acquaintance with you, I only hope that you are better than today." As for the rest, leave it to your fate and don't care.

Yang Gong's unfinished words were shown to him one by one in his eyes. However, Xu Zhiliu is not a person who will resign himself to fate. He bowed slightly to Yang Gong and thanked him for his many years of care for the Hutian kiln and his dedication to Jiangxi pottery.

The thought that such a benevolent and kind governor was about to leave brought tears to everyone's eyes. Jingdezhen because of the blue and white porcelain in the world, the only favor, but did not change too many industrial and commercial class in the society in the status quo of humility, but because of the emperor's attention suffered from extraordinary pressure, the process to keep improving, in order to survive under the fierce competition, in the business road also have to mediate the imperial kiln factory, the porcelain bureau, the gang and the three kilns and nine associations, must be the essence of the people in order to seek a place. If the governor is benevolent and righteous, their lives should be more harmonious. But if the Tao Governor is as tyrannical as Pan Xiang, I don't know how many children will appear in this world.

Xu Zhong once said that Yang Chenggong was weak and incompetent, and he was overwhelmed by a milky little eunuch, but he didn't want to think about it, if Yang Chenggong and An Shijiu openly fought in the ring, who would suffer? Xu Zhiliu could feel how cautious and tolerant the hands on his wrists were.

"Yang Gong, I listen to your words, and I hope that you will be better every year than you are today." After he finished speaking, he looked back at An XIX.

The clouds are all over the place, and they are burned red, revealing an eerie black.

An Nineteen's heart jumped suddenly inexplicably.

Most of the young people are upright, especially the young people who are good at reading, and they are more willing to bend. An Shijiu didn't like Xu Zhiliu's high spirit, and of course Xu Zhiliu didn't like the gloom of his body, which was neither male nor female. is not a gentleman, there is no need to talk about Leiluo, three years now, they have fought dozens of rounds openly and secretly, Hutian kiln has jumped to the forefront of hundreds of kilns in Jingdezhen, and An Nineteen, also relying on the forces behind him almost sat in the position of the leader.

Even if Yang Gong is about to step down, he still has to grab the last fragrant dumpling on the credit book. What if that kid never looked at himself squarely? It's not that he was trampled under his feet, and he didn't dare to say a word.

An Nineteen thought so, put Xu Zhiliu's inexplicable glance behind him, and when he returned to the Imperial Kiln Factory, he made arrangements to send the big dragon jar back to the capital, and wrote another letter of affection to submit, although the words were humble, but the invitation was full of meaning. I didn't want to put down the pen as soon as I put down the pen, a little eunuch rushed in with a rolling belt, crawling on the ground and screaming tremblingly: "Father-in-law, something is wrong!" ”

After leaving the inner court, An Shijiu never wore a eunuch's suit again, and he didn't like the little eunuch's sharp voice, so he directly put down his pen and said in a deep voice: "Panic, what kind of system?" ”

What is the difference between Duan Ting's voice and that of an ordinary man? The little eunuch was stunned for a moment, as if he understood what was coming, swallowed saliva and cleared his throat, and also learned a little: "Yes, all slaves don't understand the rules, and slaves should die." ”

"What's the matter?"

"Big Dragon Tank ......"

"What's wrong with the big dragon tank?"

The little eunuch suddenly didn't dare to say anything. An 19 had no patience, swept away the obstacles and went straight to the front hall, and at the bottom of the big dragon jar surrounded by many people, he saw a clear line of words: During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Yang Cheng, the governor of Jiangxi, respectfully went up.

Plain and upright, dignified and bright. The mere ten numbers almost burned An Nineteen's eyes.

He didn't say a word, his face changed a few times, just when the little eunuch thought he would smash the big dragon jar with a stick, he saw him squatting down, his almost transparent hand gently brushed the line of words, and for a long time, his teeth were half-open and spit out a few words: "Xu Zhiliu, you yin me." ”

The letter of invitation before the ink was dried was torn and shredded in an instant, and it fell into the snow. The little eunuch was terrified, his head hung down to his chest, and he didn't dare to breathe.

He vaguely felt that Jingdezhen was about to change.