Chapter 195: The Big Shot Arrives

After dealing with her two useless daughters, Yang Shuzhen decided to stay outside the kiln. The next day, as the harsh sound of boiling water "sizzled" through the air, cheers erupted near the kiln.

A batch of sixteen vases, after being splashed with water in various ways under high temperatures, was mostly ruined. However, the small portion that remained intact all exhibited the exhilarating peacock feather patterns in dark green or dark blue!

Moreover, after cooling and charcoal treatment, the hardness of the black pottery products had improved significantly.

Zhu Juan, who was bedridden and unable to get up, was unaware that her inadvertent mistake had led to the revival of a century-old craft.

Black pottery is one of the earliest pottery techniques, with many of its techniques lost to history. As the inheritor of black pottery craftsmanship, Yang Shuzhen was moved to tears upon witnessing the reappearance of the peacock feather black pottery.

In fact, even Li Xian, an outsider who had just recently gotten involved, couldn't help but admire the black pottery with subtle ink-colored patterns.

Especially among the small batch of finished products, one vase, with its surface blooming with vibrant spots like peacock feathers after being splashed with water, was irresistible.

The beauty of black pottery lies in its ancient simplicity, but peacock feather black pottery adds a touch of brilliance to that simplicity. Its beauty is not overt, but once discovered, it captivates completely.

Li Xian had originally approached black pottery as a hobby, intending to use it to promote the Bangye Cultural brand and enhance the value of Bangye Liquor. Now, with the appearance of peacock feather black pottery, he had higher expectations for this ancient craft.

Amidst the excitement of those around him, Li Xian clicked his tongue and addressed the crowd, "Now that everyone's here, we need to synchronize our statements. First, I want to make it clear that the discovery of peacock feather black pottery is not a coincidence."

As the honest artisans mulled over his words, Li Xian smirked, "What I mean is, although the association was just established, you craftsmen who have inherited and upheld the spirit of craftsmanship have long been working silently to bring back the peacock feather black pottery. After years of painstaking research and repeated trials, you have successfully revived this lost technique in Bangye."

Hearing Li Xian's tall tales, the crowd was even more puzzled.

Seeing their confused expressions, Li Xian sighed, "Come on, let's get moving. If we produce another batch of peacock feather black pottery, everyone's monthly salary will increase by a hundred. If you want a comfortable life for the rest of your days, just follow my instructions."

Everyone understood the implication immediately.

Watching the association become bustling with activity, Li Xian stroked his chin.

"This won't do; it looks like we need to invest more in black pottery!"

He pondered for a moment and directly called Liu Weihan.

"Liu County Head, there's a big business opportunity. You need to have the publicity department coordinate with us!"

...

In just a few days, news of the Bangye Black Pottery Association's revival of the long-lost peacock feather black pottery technique spread rapidly. Although black pottery was not yet widely recognized, the news was significant for professionals in the field.

For any traditional craft, continuing the legacy and recovering lost techniques are monumental events.

With the help of the Bangye County Publicity Department, the provincial museum soon learned of the reappearance of peacock feather black pottery in Bangye.

The provincial museum was familiar with black pottery and had a large collection of such artifacts. However, when they heard it was peacock feather black pottery, the museum staff initially thought it was an excavation from a historical site. After the publicity department clarified that the county's black pottery association had recreated the lost technique, the museum's ceramic experts were stunned.

Among all black pottery categories, peacock feather black pottery is not the rarest— that distinction belongs to the ancestor of black pottery, gray pottery. However, peacock feather black pottery is the most unique of all black pottery types, without a doubt.

Why?

Because of its scarcity!

This unique black pottery was only recorded during the Ming Dynasty, with very few pieces found in Ming tombs, most of which were broken, and few complete peacock feather pots were seen.

Therefore, upon learning that a group of artisans had spent years reviving this lost technique, the museum took it very seriously and immediately sent experts to Bangye for investigation.

As a result, the previously inconspicuous Bangye Black Pottery Association became lively.

However, the real instigator, Li Xian, directly passed all the credit to the county publicity department and the association's president, Yang Shuzhen.

He himself, however, was engaged in other matters in his own residence.

"Hey, why aren't you talking to me?"

In recent days, Yang Shuzhen had been busy. The association needed to provide meals for the trainees and host experts from the province. Li Xian's residence was partially occupied by the county publicity department, including the kitchen.

Naturally, the two daughters of the Zhu family were also assigned to help cook at the residence.

Watching the stubborn Zhu Jing, who seemed ready to eat him alive, Li Xian couldn't help but laugh.

The girl was interesting, really interesting, and her temper was quite stubborn.

After his trick, for a full five days, no matter how much he tried to chat, she would respond with a glare.

"Hey, hey," holding a handful of sunflower seeds, Li Xian stood at the door, smiling at Zhu Jing, who was scrubbing vegetables, and tossed a small handful over, "I'm talking to you."

After being harassed repeatedly, Zhu Jing finally snapped and threw a bunch of vegetable leaves at him in retaliation, "I don't talk to people who are irritating!"

Wiping the vegetable leaves off his face, Li Xian laughed even more. Confirming that familiar look in her eyes, he felt he hadn't misjudged.

"Yang Auntie! Yang Auntie, look at your third daughter!"

In the midst of Zhu Jing's fearful gaze, Li Xian stuck his face out of the kitchen and shouted.

Zhu Jing, whose thighs were still bruised, became anxious, immediately putting down the vegetables and stepping forward to stand in front of Li Xian.

Not losing her composure, she clenched her teeth and asked in a low voice, "What do you want? I don't remember doing anything to offend you!"

Girl, you haven't offended me right now.

Li Xian chuckled and wanted to say something, but realized it sounded absurd. After a lot of words, he could only sum it up with, "Nothing much. I just have a younger brother. Maybe one day I'll introduce him to you."

Zhu Jing's mouth fell open in surprise, "What for?"

"Nothing. I just think you're a good girl. It might be nice if you were my sister-in-law," Li Xian said honestly.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Jing's eyes widened, interpreting his words as flirtation. With immense disdain, she glared at Li Xian, "Pah! Who would want to be stuck with someone like you? What kind of bad karma did I accrue in my past life to end up with someone like you? And look at you— your brother must be just as bad!"

Seeing how much Zhu Jing genuinely hated him, Li Xian was both amused and helpless.

It seemed the welcome gift he had given was a bit too grand…

Just as he was feeling troubled, a group of people walked into the residence.

"Excuse me, is the Bangye Black Pottery Association here?"

Li Xian craned his neck and was stunned.

This group of people was different from the experts and scholars who had visited recently. They looked like business people, dusty from travel, and appeared to have come from out of town.

The leader of the group seemed somewhat familiar to Li Xian, but he couldn't recall exactly.

He quickly approached and pulled Zheng Weishi, who was in charge of reception, aside and extended his hand to the leader, "Hello, is there something I can help you with?"

Seeing Li Xian, the man shook hands and then took out a business card from his pocket, handing it over with both hands.

"Hello, I am Chen Dongsheng, General Manager of Jiade Auction House. May I ask your name?"

Upon hearing this name, Li Xian's eyes widened in surprise.

Ah, so that's why there were magpies chirping when I woke up today?

A big shot has arrived!