eurekapd Chapter 197 People from the Pottery Village Arrive, Bone Ceramics Are Fired
Chapter 197 People from the Pottery Village Arrive, Bone Ceramics Are Fired
I went home and had breakfast.
Gao Mengli and Lin Xi were about to go to the village chief to discuss digging a cave dwelling when the village chief of Tutao Village arrived in an oxcart with the villagers and knocked on the door.
The one who opened the door was Ah Li, whose unapproachable expression startled the village chief, who took two steps back.
"Young man, we'd like to see Madam Lin."
Ah Li turned back to look into the courtyard with a blank expression. Gao Mengli and Lin Xi had heard the sound and had already come out of the main house.
"Huh? Village Chief Tutao? You brought so many people here so early in the morning, is there something you need?" Lin Xi's eyes showed a hint of doubt, but more so, curiosity.
The village chief hurriedly stepped forward with a smile, rubbing his hands together: "Oh, from the Lin family, we're looking for your wife!"
Upon hearing the voice, Gao Mengli stepped forward from behind Lin Xi. "Village Chief Tutao, what brings you here?"
When the village chief of Tutao Village saw the person he was looking for, he beamed and waved to the villagers behind him, "Go, take the porcelain from the oxcart and show it to Madam Lin!"
Several villagers quickly agreed, turned around and walked towards the oxcart, carefully lifting down a bamboo basket wrapped in layers of coarse cloth.
"porcelain?"
Gao Mengli murmured twice, even more confused.
Seeing the villagers carrying it over, she curiously lifted the coarse cloth covering the bamboo basket.
Inside the bamboo basket were white ceramic bowls, plates, and tea sets.
It's so much better than the earthen trays we use at home.
Gao Mengli and Lin Xi exchanged a surprised glance. This pottery village had actually figured out the ratio of bone ceramics to clay!
They had expected it to take a long time, but they hadn't imagined it would be so fast! It was successfully fired in just three months.
Lin Xi immediately squatted down beside it, admiring it from all angles.
Praise poured out of his mouth like water: "Village Chief, you're amazing! You've fired authentic bone china so quickly!"
The village chief of Tutao waved his hand, the smile on his lips so wide it could hardly be contained by the two baskets of Buddha's hand melons he carried. "Not at all, it's all thanks to Madam Lin who gave us some pointers in our village before, which gave us a direction to fire them!"
Who would have thought that adding bone to clay could produce such pure white bone ware! Madam Lin, your contribution is truly remarkable!
Gao Mengli shook her head slightly and humbly cupped her hands to the village chief: "Village chief, I was just mentioning it casually. The achievements are all thanks to your hard work and research."
Making bone china is no easy task; from selecting the materials to controlling the firing temperature, it must have taken a lot of effort from everyone involved.
An elderly villager with a beaming smile chimed in: "Madam Lin, you may not know this, but ever since you told us about that method, our village has been bewitched. Every household is trying it out."
They failed countless times, but none of them lost heart.
The men stayed by the kiln day and night, while the women helped select bones and grind clay. Even the children helped gather firewood.
Finally, our hard work paid off, and we managed to produce these. Although the production volume is still low, the quality is definitely not bad!
The village chief smiled and nodded, then took out a small package from the corner of the oxcart. He opened it and found some simple yet exquisite bone ceramic ornaments inside.
There are lively little rabbits and honest little pigs.
He handed it to Gao Mengli: "Madam Lin, this is a little trinket we specially made for you. It's not worth much money, but it's all thanks to everyone's good intentions."
Thank you for bringing hope and change to our village. Life in the village is getting better and better, and everyone wants to repay you both.
We've decided that you'll receive 40% of the profits from making bone china. Don't refuse!
Gao Mengli: ? ? ? ?
Huh? A windfall?
After the village chief finished speaking, he handed Gao Mengli the deed that was to be divided among her.
This is the county government seal that I went to Dou Weiyi to get stamped yesterday; it's fresh off the press!
Moreover, with this bone ceramic, the profits are more than ten times that of selling clay plates!
Even if they only make 60% of what they used to, they can still earn several times more money than before.
Gao Mengli looked at the contract in her hand, and her face showed a rare hint of embarrassment.
She was just offering an idea.
She didn't participate in the research or the pottery making; the villagers of Tuyao Village figured it out on their own.
If you asked her to fire it, I doubt she could do it.
Gao Mengli looked up and stared into the village chief's eyes. If they regretted it, it wasn't too late.
"Village chief, you're giving me so much of the profits, aren't you losing out?"
The village chief waved his hand, "It's no loss, no loss. We should never forget the well-digger when we drink the water!"
Your kindness has enabled every household in our pottery village to earn several times more money than before. Please accept it without worry!
If Mrs. Lin comes up with other ideas in the future, their village will be the first place she'll think of!
On their way here, they saw that the roads in Wangyue Village were covered with trellises planted with unknown melons!
Upon inquiry, the villagers said that each melon vine yielded a thousand catties, and the seeds were obtained from the Lin family!
He was extremely grateful that he had brought the villagers here!
Moreover, there were also windmills promoted by the county magistrate, non-powered water pumps, and even water-powered "washing tubs".
It's said that it was Mrs. Lin who made this; she absolutely loves it!
These tools saved them more manpower, allowing them to free up more people to fire more ceramics!
Make big money!
Seeing the village chief's response, Gao Mengli accepted the gift with peace of mind.
Looking up, I saw the village chief of Tutao staring intently at the shelf by the roadside, without even blinking.
Gao Mengli tentatively asked, "Village Chief, do you want to grow chayote?"
Upon hearing Gao Mengli's words, the village chief seemed to have been struck by lightning.
She turned her head abruptly, her eyes sparkling, and nodded repeatedly: "Oh dear, Mrs. Lin, to be honest, seeing all these melon trellises along the way has been like my heart is being scratched by cat claws."
The yield of these chayote melons is astonishingly high. If our village could grow them, that would be wonderful!
"Look, could we plant it next year too?!"
Lin Xi stood up from beside the basket and moved closer to the two of them. "What's so difficult about that, village chief? We'll save seeds for you next year. Just come and get them."
As she spoke, Lin Xi turned to A Li beside her and instructed, "A Li, go and pick all the melons from the trellis so that Village Chief Tu Tao can have a taste!"
There were still quite a few melons on the trellis.
He left this generation for his eldest son, and there are still dozens more to come!
Ah Li turned around and went into the yard. A little while later, he came out carrying a basket full of chayote and placed it in front of the village chief, Tu Tao.
"Oh, how could I possibly accept this?!" The village chief rubbed his hands together excitedly.
Despite saying that, the movement of carrying the basket onto the oxcart was not slow!
Gao Mengli chuckled, "This chayote tastes good whether you peel it and stir-fry or stew it. Eat it without worry, and come back next year to get some seeds to plant there."
"Yes, yes! Okay!" The village chief agreed repeatedly, his mouth practically stretched to the back of his head in a grin.
After all, their village is good at pottery making, but they are still just ordinary farmers.
Who wouldn't be curious about a high-yield melon!
Just as everyone was chatting enthusiastically, Zhao Hua, the village chief of Wangyue Village, arrived with his men.