When singing a small opera at night, several bosses of the porcelain shop joined forces to invite Xu Zhiliu to drink New Year's wine, knowing that he was about to return to his hometown, for fear that he would be busier and have no time after the New Year, so he even coaxed and deceived him to the restaurant, accompanied by several other owners and stewards of the kiln.

They are all familiar faces of peers, and Xu Zhiliu nodded his head one by one.

Near the start of the banquet, Xiao Er asked if he could serve the food, and a boss looked at Xu Zhiliu and said: "I just arrived in Jingdezhen not long ago, I don't understand your rules, I only heard that Hutian Kiln and Anqing Kiln are the most famous, thinking that since they are serving wine, please take care of their peers, so I invited them together." After please, I found out that the two most famous kilns are naturally the ones who can't sit on the same bench.

There are many local kilns in Jingdezhen, some kilns do not burn porcelain, some kilns do not make porcelain, and some kilns do two kilns, which are generally large kiln factories. Since the Qing Dynasty, the Imperial Kiln Factory has begun to implement the system of official and private burning, and if the firing quota promulgated by the Ministry of Industry is exceeded, the rest of the "Qin Limit" will be completed by the private kiln factory. Burning imperial porcelain seems to be beautiful, but the requirements are also high, non-Baoqing kiln does not dare to try, so the two major Baoqing kilns led by Hutian kiln and Anqing kiln have become the best choice for the imperial kiln factory.

The so-called Baoqing kiln, Gaifan takes the blank into its kiln, and it will be pottery into a green product, and if there is a bitter kiln, it will be compensated for the burner. To put it bluntly, it is good to burn it, and if you don't burn it well, not only don't you need money, but also pay compensation, the tone is big, and the risk is also big, but at the same time, opportunities coexist.

Hutian kiln has Xu Zhiliu in charge over the years, as if a member of the tent has been added to the account, and it is not a problem to strategize eighty lines. Anqing kiln was pressed by Hutian kiln, and it has been in the position of the second oldest in ten thousand years, until another young man suddenly emerged two years ago.

This person's name is not unfamiliar to those here, including Xu Zhiliu.

"Sorry, I'm late." As he spoke, the curtain of the private room was opened, and a young man in a crescent white cotton robe walked quickly. He was covered in wind and snow, with a lingering coolness, but he didn't know how he came all the way to sweat profusely. He bowed down to apologize to everyone as he quietly looked around.

When he saw the awe-inspiring figure sitting by the window, his face suddenly turned red.

Seeing that he was coming to the banquet for the big boss, the few stewards next to him smiled and said, "It seems that Wang Yu's old guy is slippery and lazy again." ”

"Pei Qiu is only fifteen years old, right? He's an old sauerkraut man, how can he not do anything. Come, Uncle will pour you wine. ”

"Look at all your thoughts, it's all on your face! scolded Wang Yu on his lips, but he was secretly having fun in his heart, right? I heard that you went to dig up people's corners a few years ago and were beaten out by Wang Yu? ”

"What do you mean by the beautiful scenery? Peiqiu, do you want to go to my kiln factory for a palm when you have time? ”

At the beginning of these words, several potters threw olive branches one after another, you must know that Jingdezhen has been up and down for hundreds of years, like Liang Peiqiu, there is a god-endowed Zhuangtou, which is the only one, and has never appeared. Moreover, Master Zhuang can work in several shops at the same time, not all of them may be like Xu Zhiliu, and he only sells himself to a kiln factory. This opportunity to pry the corner of the wall is put in front of you, how can you not cherish it?

The boss of the porcelain store saw that the little boy was coming, and the heat wave suddenly rolled in the box, and he couldn't help but ask curiously: "What do you mean?" What does Master Zhuang do? ”

"Say you're a layman, you're really a layman, listen well, I'll teach you a lesson today."

"This Master Zhuang, to put it simply, is the leader of the kiln. As the saying goes, the quality of porcelain lies in the kiln nine times out of ten. ”

"Blank, blank, painting blank, these previous processes belong to the porcelain industry, relying on craftsmanship is controllable, a blank is good or not, not thin, how to blue and white craftsmanship, connoisseurs can see through at a glance, but you say we built a kiln, the heat, atmosphere, humidity, kiln position and terrain, how to see through? How long to burn, when to burn, which direction is the fire better, and even the climate in the kiln is different on a rainy day and a sunny day, what should I do? Only empirically. ”

The vast majority of kiln factories are in this line of more than ten years of deep cultivation, experienced masters, to look at the kiln, or hook a piece of porcelain out, spit out thick phlegm to observe its changes, you can estimate the kiln temperature, judge whether the ceramic is cooked or not, whether the kiln position needs to be adjusted, etc. But even so, there are often times when you miss.

The wisdom of contemporary people can only go so far, and without measuring tools and scientific instruments, experience is particularly important. Especially in the ceramic line, no matter how flawless the blank is, it is burned out, that is a pile of useless garbage, or the quality of a piece of porcelain is nine times out of ten in the kiln?

A good head is even more difficult to find.

For example, Liang Peiqiu, except for a little guy who was white and delicate, and was inconspicuous in the crowd, who would have thought that he would actually have a divine endowment for that inexplicable kiln? How to fill the kiln, how to burn, and when to stop the fire, these experiences are only two words in his little brain - feeling.

This is called God's appreciation of food, and no one can envy it.

It's quite mysterious to say, at first no one believed in this evil, until the true chapter was tested. Seeing that the Anqing kiln "Bao Yao Qing" is becoming more and more stable, Wang Yu's old guy's tone is getting bigger and bigger, the waste factory has fewer defective products, and the number of orders has surged year by year.

There is a Xu Zhiliu in the Hutian kiln, which is Zhuge Liang under Liu Bei's account, and he can easily play with his eyes closed.

And there is a Liang Peiqiu in Anqing kiln, which is a red-hot broken iron and is refined into steel.

The so-called one mountain does not tolerate two tigers, as the two leaders of Bao Qing kiln, one is a unicorn genius with a rough background, and the other is a talented little god who came to the top, who will become the first person in Jingdezhen porcelain industry?

The storyteller patted the wood, stroked his beard and said in a long voice: I don't know.

And Xu Zhiliu, one of the parties involved, did not react at all in the face of the legendary rival. He looked out the window all night, thinking back to the words of Ann Nineteen during the day, and always felt that something was going to happen.

The troupe sang downstairs, together with the Beijing accent, babbling and humming all over the street, and several bosses of the porcelain store also rushed to the window to watch the play, and praised him for the team he chose this year. The repertoire of "Fishing and Killing Home" is also very appropriate, Water Margin Liangshan, that is called a heroic dry cloud!

"Zhiliu, you are the reclusive strategist in Liangshan, right?" Some people laughed and teased.

Xu Zhiliu smiled faintly and reached out to get the tea on the table, not wanting his other hand to be faster than him.

"Tea, tea is cold, I'll pour you a new one." The young man lowered his head, seemed a little embarrassed, and hummed in a low voice, "Drinking herbal tea will make your stomach hurt." ”

Xu Zhiliu was obviously absent-minded, otherwise it would be impossible for him to be stuffed with a cup of hot tea in his hand, and the whole person reacted. He hesitated for a moment and thanked him.

"No, no thanks, the big dragon tank is very difficult to burn, you can do it once, it's amazing!"

"It's just a fluke."

As the steward just said, the key to whether a piece of porcelain is good or not lies in the kiln. He has no divine endowment, relying on the precise arrangement of the pre-order project and the almost strict process requirements, coupled with the monitoring of several leading masters in the industry day and night, even so, he has smashed a lot of defective products, and even invited people to watch the sky at night before the kiln is full.

Not better than him, you can know good or bad at a glance.

I don't know who started first, and it is rumored that the two are incompatible. But in fact, tonight was the first time they had officially met.

Xu Zhiliu looked up, and the young man had his hands on his knees, his back straight, and he sat cramped as if he was being lectured by a teacher. As if sensing his gaze, the young man lifted the corner of his eye and glanced at him quickly.

"Have we met before?" Xu Zhiliu said suddenly.

The young man immediately confided: "See, see, in the Xiangshe Teahouse." As if he was afraid that he wouldn't remember, the young man gestured in a direction, "Outside the wing room on the second floor, Xiao Er bumped into you, and when you turned around, I, I happened to be opposite." ”

Oh, remembered.

The young man smiled at him in the corridor opposite, when the doors of the wing room were open, the copper bells under the corridor were tinkling, and the hall was full of spectators, telling the story of the two people.

A glimpse of it, impressive. Xu Zhiliu said: "I remember. ”

When the boy heard this, he laughed. When he carefully stretched his face, there was really nothing eye-catching, but when he smiled, the whole person was alive, revealing two small tiger teeth, and his eyes were big and bright, very smart.

That's a beautiful pair of eyes.

Xu Zhiliu said: "We should have met more than once? ”

"Ah, do you remember?"

"It's supposed to be you."

This time, he no longer had a tone of doubt, and seemed to encourage the boy. The young man said: "I, I know that you will patrol the night every three watches, the lower lane of the Hutian kiln factory and the upper lane of the Anqing kiln factory, across a small hill, you can be seen when you climb up the tree." ”

Well, it's no wonder that every night when he patrols to the lion lane, he always feels that there are a pair of eyes behind him, but there is no hostility, and the night is thick, he doesn't take it to heart, only occasionally hears a cry of pain, as if he has crashed into a pair of eyes, but it disappears in an instant, probably falling from a tree, right?

It's just that it's the third watch, why doesn't he sleep and climb the tree...... Look at him?

The boy seemed to guess his thoughts, and swallowed nervously.

"I admire you. I've always admired you. After he finished speaking, he picked up his head and buried it in his chest, and his back rose and fell several times in succession, and finally peeked at him in the gap between his arms. A pair of fawn-like eyes flickered, with a slight timidity and redness.

This......

Xu Zhiliu unconsciously put down the teacup, and the young man seemed to be startled, and he also fled. A few stewards looked back after listening to the play, and the guests were actually gone?! Looking at Xu Zhiliu again, he looked like an old god, one by one frosted eggplant, he didn't dare to show it on his face, and he scolded him by beating gongs and drums in his heart.

Conspiracy! It's definitely Xu Zhiliu's conspiracy! Such a wonderful scene as capturing and killing a fishing bully is also his accomplice!

This night, the stewards were drunk one by one, and Xu Zhiliu's heart was depressed all night, but it was strangely quiet.

His ears were full of human voices, and he looked sideways as if he saw a rabbit jumping on its feet. Snow-white hair, jet-black eyelashes, and a pair of dripping red eyes.

It's cute.

At that time, he sent away the stewards and the boss of the porcelain shop, and when he returned to the side room, he saw that the son had half an arm, his eyes were misty, the corners of his mouth were slightly pursed, and he smiled lightly. The cold moon hangs upside down by the window, and the snowflakes are fluttering. The long curtain is open, the drama is tactful, some people are not dripping wine, and some people are drunk with cherries.

It was night, but some people were killing in Wuyi Alley.

For more than half a month, Xu Zhiliu returned to Jingdezhen from Fuliang County, and was entangled in everything as soon as he arrived at the kiln factory. Asked where Xu Zhong was, the steward glanced at him and whispered, "Liu's alley plays mahjong." ”

Flattering.

The serious proprietor seems to be a rich idler, and he is a mediocre and mediocre person under the fence who does not touch the ground. Xu Zhiliu was busy until midnight, and had dinner under the urging of the year several times, and wrote New Year's greetings to the merchants one by one.

Shi Nian was startled in a daze, and said in a suppressed voice: "You scared me to death, why did you come here so late?" ”

The little worker refused to say anything, only hugged his head and whimpered. At that time, I was afraid of disturbing Xu Zhiliu, and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if I delayed, and I just wanted to drive people away.

"Don't you cry, don't you care about coming back tomorrow? It's already late today, and the son hurried overnight, and he didn't close his eyes for a few nights. Besides, what are you crying like during the New Year, how unlucky. ”

The little worker was dumb for a while and continued to cry. When he was in a hurry, he raised his hand to grab him, when the door opened from behind. Xu Zhiliu stood in the winter night in thin clothes, her voice was cool but warm: "It's cold outside, come in and talk." ”

When the little worker saw him, he fell to his knees without saying a word, and wailed and wept.

"Little owner, Kuroko was beaten to death!"

"Two, two pockmarks are stupid."

"The three dogs were crazy, and they jumped into the river by themselves last night and drowned."

Every time Xiao Gong said a word, Shi Nian's heart sank a little. Several of them were brought back by Xu Zhiliu from the beggar's nest. Kuroko is a half-old boy who is only thirteen years old, with dark skin, but he has a mouthful of big white teeth, and a mouth that makes people want to laugh.

Mazi said, it's the dead eunuch, it must be him. He must have heard Kuroko's words that day in the Warm God Kiln, and he killed Kuroko that night. "It's just that these people are used to having no branches to rely on, plus singing all night long, what is it if they don't see a trace for a few days?

By the time he found out, Xu Zhiliu had already returned to his hometown. It's useless to tell Xu Zhong about this kind of thing! The big proprietor will not care about their life or death, only the small proprietor will take care of it.

In this world, only Xu Zhiliu cares about their cheap lives.

"The steward said, this matter is bad on the bad mouth of the sunspot, not to mention that there is no evidence, even if there is evidence, you can't kill the eunuch, and it will cause trouble for the little proprietor, but I just ......" He cried breathlessly, tears and snot on his face, looking at the sky and panting.

"I just can't swallow this breath, why? Why is he! ”

The wild words of a half-grown child cost two and a half lives.

Why?

On the third watch, Xu Zhiliu went to inspect the kiln factory as usual.

This continuous hilltop is full of kiln factories, and the kiln fire is still vigorous in the sky above Jingdezhen at night, and occasionally the red light is leaking, like a god descending into the world. However, the gods are only in the shrines, and there are no gods in the world.

At that time, he was also a little beggar who was exiled to Jingdezhen due to natural disasters, knew a few big characters, and luckily followed Xu Zhiliu as a scholar, and had a decent name, unlike Heizi, Erma and Sangou, who were unfamiliar to the public, but a mark, but these untouchables who died without even a sound were his childhood companions.

They used to fight for a steamed bun, and they were beaten by outsiders to find teeth all over the ground to protect the territory, but since Xu Zhiliu brought them back to the kiln factory, those days have been very long.

Over the years, he has been stained with the light of his master, and he has lived a good life, and he has become beautiful from the inside out. Sometimes when he met Kuroko in the kiln, he would pretend not to know them. Kuroko laughed at him for changing, he couldn't open his mouth, he didn't know why he was like this, and it wasn't until tonight that he realized that he hadn't changed.

In fact, he wanted to change himself. He favored Childe, wanted Childe to stay away from those filthy people and things, and wanted him to be better than today every year, but he still cried uncontrollably.

He walked in front of Childe, holding a lantern, listening to the sound of beating the watch from near to far, tears burst out of his eyes uncontrollably, and suddenly Childe said behind him: "When the year comes." ”

"Huh." He hurriedly wiped his eyes with his cuffs.

"Look at the moon tonight."

The year is up.

Where is the moon?

"Isn't it big and round?"

The sound of bangzi was completely far away, and the night became darker and darker. The lion clears the cool silence, and the cold wind is biting. At this moment, a head popped out of nowhere, and a pair of eyes were amazingly bright.

"Oh, what a big moon!"

Who is this, talking nonsense with his eyes open, which is terrifying. Shi Nian stomped his feet and lifted the lantern to look at him.

The young man blushed and said, "It's really big and round." ”

Xu Zhiliu pursed her lips and smiled.

The heart of the year was ironed.

Is Childe coaxing him? It's rare to have an open-eyed blind cooperation. He didn't see the situation in the restaurant that night, and he didn't know the origin of the young man, so he felt inexplicable and at ease.

It wasn't until many years later, when he followed the boy and re-measured the road step by step, that he understood why the moon was so big and round tonight.

It turns out that the perfection of this world is forever yesterday.