Chapter 6 The Lost City Chapter 23 The First Kiln
Wanli lay on the bed with his eyes closed, his limbs stretching comfortably, seemingly relaxed and leisurely, but in fact, there is no place on his body that is not nervous, including his heart muscle and brain nerves.
He didn't know whether to admire or hate Sima Nan.
He originally thought that his moves were very effective - didn't Sima Nan send various killers to deal with him? He left himself in the center of the field under the sun. If anyone wanted to move him, he had to stand in front of everyone, because Sima Nan had no conditions to shoot a black gun and was able to shoot behind his back, so this was the best defensive strategy.
However, Sima Nan is worthy of being a slim old man. He actually appeared openly and lived next door to him, making him feel like a thorn on his back. He was very nervous but helpless.
Sima Nan is now a legitimate businessman. He came to Hongqing Town to see if there is any possibility of cooperating with porcelain business. His appearance immediately overshadowed Wanli's halo. After all, real transactions are much better than simple publicity. So now Wanli not only feels that there is a knife hanging above his head and will fall down at any time, but his plan to inquire about the news has also been destroyed. Everyone in the town has sharpened his head and drilled Sima Nan, and no one can accompany him to talk. Not only is he a mob, but he also has a long-sleeved and danceable daughter, his attraction immediately dropped to zero.
Moreover, it would be fine if Sima Nan directly did it, but he didn't move and just stared at him. This made him feel so angry that he felt a little powerful and ineffective. He understood that Sima Nan was to torture him mentally, and felt that Sima Nan's behavior of likes to simplify things and complicate things is a bit psychologically morbid. In addition, he also knew that things were not that simple, and Sima Nan had other reasons for doing this.
Sima Nan wants to make him choose. If he is afraid of all this and secretly leaves because he cannot bear this psychological pressure, Sima Nan will not stop him, but if he insists on helping Ruan Zhan, he will not be polite!
So before the final showdown time, he was not worried about his safety, because he concluded that Sima Nan would not touch him at the moment. The reason was that his death aroused Ruan Zhan's fierceness and forced a person to exert a huge amount of energy. This was not something Sima Nan liked to see. In fact, he felt that Sima Nan was a bit taboo to Ruan Zhan and never wanted to fight Ruan Zhan desperately.
If he leaves, Ruan Zhan will lose an important helper. If he stays, in Sima Nan's eyes, he will be the best bait. Now he will only monitor him. When the fat people are raised and the time is ripe, he will come to sacrifice the flag!
Sima Nan always uses everything that can be used, and needs to use the maximum limit to extract the greatest value! To him, it is like a hunter who surrounds the prey without killing it!
What should he do? Time is tight, he needs to find out the truth of the matter as soon as possible, save his life, and of course he must not let Sima Nan guess what he did!
He has been conducting "social and interviews" activities these two days, and it is not a short achievement. First of all, he found out that something big happened in Hongqing Town, which was in a village under the town. Although the adults in the town are secretive about what kind of village and what happened, and he has not figured it out yet, by calculating the information he obtained, he felt that this incident must have happened ten years ago.
Secondly, based on this time, he checked some public information and learned that the current leaders of the town, including the mayor and the missing officials, had already taken power ten years ago.
Third, among the missing people, except for those officials who are the absolute direct troops of the mayor, the parents of several young people were the leaders of the town back then, even the beautiful reporter Liu Hong in the provincial capital and the camera reporter Zuo De. This is fun, because there is indeed a line that strings all the people who fell in the empty city. Now it is only a matter of finding the thread and leading the whole thing that has been buried for ten years.
Most of the people who came to him for free publicity in the newspaper were middle-aged and upper-class people in Hongqing Town. Maybe he should go to find ordinary people in the lower class to inquire. Although he occasionally did this, he found that the people seemed to be more afraid and did not want to say it, but working in this direction might be the right thing to do.
Finally, the owner of this store is a bit weird. He always observes him and says a lot of strange things. The owner of the store said that he doesn't look like a rich man. It's not cost-effective to live in a hotel for a long time, and the unit may not necessarily reimburse him. It's better to rent a house. According to common sense, no store owner would say this. This person is not very kind, but he doesn't dare to say it clearly.
He tried to inquire, but the boss did not leak any water and could not find out any of the words. He just said that the houses in the west of the town were quite cheap, so he suggested that Wanli go and take a look.
Also, the person who has been hiding behind the incident - the Feng Shui gentleman named Long, has never found out the news. But this person is a god-like existence for the people in the town. Wanli always feels that he has something to do with these vengeful events.
He lay in bed for a long time, taking a nap on the surface, but was thinking about what he would do next. Finally, he decided to use a trick to repair the plank road and secretly cross Chencang.
Didn’t Sima Nan stare at him? He let the old fox stare. He would wander around the town during the day, use the invisibility talisman to throw away those who were staring at him all day long, and then he could act freely. At night, he would still come back to sleep next to the enemy. As far as he knew, Sima Nan was moody, and everyone around and under his subordinates were afraid of him, so as long as he asked the people who followed him to chase him for a while, and then he would find a way to let these lackeys discover him before returning to the hotel at night. Those who believed that they would never take the initiative to report his whereabouts during the middle period were unknown. The lackeys could only make a living, and how could they be as loyal to each other as he and Ruan Zhan?
He could not shrink the Blood Wood Sword, but it was inconvenient to carry it on his body, and he was worried about hiding it. So he simply used Xiaoxia's method to buy a fishing rod, put the sword in the fishing rod box, and put the talisman left by Ruan Zhan in, and carry it with him every day. In addition, he also prepared some ordinary self-defense weapons for himself, so that no matter whether a person or a ghost attacked him, as long as Sima Nan did not send a boss-level figure, he would not be afraid.
After planning this, Wanli started to act in the afternoon. He first entered the most lively shopping mall in the town, and then hid in the toilet, allowing those who followed him to wait there stupidly. He himself ran to the town to inquire about the situation. Of course, those "poor" people would see the toilet door open, but no one came out.
He felt that the store owner had any hints to him, so he went directly to the west of Zhenxi.
The development of a place will not be very balanced in big cities, towns and villages. Some places are richer, and some places are poorer. Although Hongqing Town is the richest man in the province, most of the people living in the west of the town are ordinary people, not very rich, and have no money or power. Because most people do not have their own business or have little business, the houses are relatively dilapidated. Originally, because the town’s financial resources have all supported the construction of new towns, the infrastructure construction of the old town has been relatively backward, and the west of the town has to add a new word. The dirt roads are narrow and bumpy, and the houses on both sides are also low bungalows.
After several conversations, Wanli found that the people here yearned for the new town more than those in other places. Because the quality of life there would be significantly improved, they were more grateful to the leaders in the town. In order to be afraid of alarming the enemy, Wanli did not dare to ask openly, so it would be even more difficult to inquire about the situation.
At a loss, Wanli suddenly remembered that on the first day he came to the town, the old man Feng Niang, who had lost his son, lived here. He promised to help her treat her, but he couldn't find time to visit her. Since he was here, he decided to visit her. Based on his judgment, the people around Feng Niang were very kind. It would be even better if he could meet the middle-aged woman who spoke straightforwardly and did not hide it. Maybe he could have been unintentionally planted willows.
He took out the notepad he had on his body, looked at the address, and made sure that no one was following him, so he found Feng Niang's house.
Although the houses here are dilapidated, they are all small houses with unique courtyards, not as crowded as in the city. Feng Niang's home is at the end of an alley, very narrow, and only two people can pass by side by side. Moreover, because there are no street lights, it is estimated that it will be very dark after dark.
Fortunately, the middle-aged woman I met last time was the middle-aged woman I took the turn to take care of Feng Niang.
"I am really destined to be with this gentleman from another province!" She was very happy and hurriedly brought Wanli to the yard.
As soon as she entered the yard, Wanli saw Feng Niang sitting on a small stool in the shade in the yard. She was not as excited as she met on the street that day, but was calm and calm, even with a little peace, and her clothes and hair were neat, as if she was a mother waiting for her child to come home from get off work. She did the work in her hands and looked up at the yard gate.
As soon as Wanli came in, she saw a gentle and timid smile on her face, and she obviously remembered Wanli. This proved that her thinking was not very confusing, her memory was still good, and the possibility of healing was greater. He judged it from a doctor's perspective, then walked closer, trying to see clearly what the old man had been rubbing his hands.
It's porcelain.
Under that clean large towel, the old man carefully and gentlely wiped a piece of porcelain, and there was a wooden box with a lid beside him. Every time the old man finished wiping one, he carefully placed them in the box, took out another one, and then carefully covered the lid.
Is it an antique?
Wanli squatted down as he thought about it, letting the old man's eyes stay on his face, "Feng Niang, can I see your baby?" he asked.
The old man looked up at Wanli, but did not speak, but showed a tacit smile.
Wanli gently opened the lid of the box and saw that although the box was large, there were only four pieces of porcelain inside, a pair of vases and a pair of bowls and plates. These porcelains shocked Wanli a little. Although he knew that Hong Qingzhen's porcelain was very famous and the price of ** porcelain was quite high, these four pieces were still so beautiful that he was a little surprised.
There are no fancy colors and patterns, but snow-like white, with some smooth ripples on the outside, which feels rhythmic to the touch. The material of the porcelain is very thin, and light red flowers bloom in the white, as if they are soaked out from it, making the whole thing look extremely exquisite. Although Wanli doesn't understand porcelain, he also understands that these things are fine products.
"These things are Feng Niang's treasures. They are never allowed to be touched. They can't be close to them at all. Today, they are willing to pick them up and see. It can be seen that you are a good person. Feng Niang understands them in his heart!" said the middle-aged woman in surprise.
"These porcelains are so beautiful, are they antiques?" Wanli looked at Feng Niang, but was asking the middle-aged woman.
"No, it was from the first kiln."
"The first kiln?" Wanli was a little confused.
"Oh, you're from another province, don't know."
The middle-aged woman patiently explained, "In the past, almost no one in our town could fire porcelain. Even those who could fire kilns would burn bricks or some rough porcelain and tiles, and sell them to people in their own towns. But later, Mayor Yuan, who was just the deputy mayor, spent a lot of money to hire an old man with his ancestral skills to teach this treasure technique, and changed the previous brick-fired kiln to today's porcelain factory."
"How long ago was that?"
"It's only ten years - no, it's eleven years." said the middle-aged woman, "In the past, our town was so poor. Many people had to go to other counties to find errands if they wanted to support their families. Later, with this porcelain factory, they recruited a large number of workers, and then used the money to open the factory to run several other factories. Only then did everyone have a way out and no longer have to leave their hometowns. If this porcelain factory was opened earlier, Feng Yongzi wouldn't have to leave me and become a son-in-law for others, he wouldn't have - Alas, human life is destined!"
"After talking for a long time, is this first kiln the first kiln to be opened?"
"No, there is a kiln in our town, and the rest are all the business of the "capable people" in the town." The middle-aged woman hummed with her nostrils, looking a little contempt. "Those small kilns can't produce good products from porcelain factories at all, but they don't know how to cheat people who are famous only. Real experts will not buy their things. I heard that a reporter from a big city came to the town a few days ago. All of these people went to curry favor with them, just to go to newspapers and promote them for free. My family is honest and refuses to open a private kiln to deceive people, otherwise they can have a little more. But if I live like this, I can live a down-to-earth life and don't make that money, and I feel comfortable-"
Wanli didn't dare to say that the so-called "reporter" was himself, but he just smiled in cooperation. This woman was kind-hearted and upright, but she just spoke endlessly. She could lead her to a car of words and could speak farther and farther away. She answered questions that were not right, so he had to wait for her to breathe and interrupt her.
"That means the 'first kiln' means the only kiln?" He patiently told the topic and asked again.
The middle-aged woman was stunned for a moment, obviously forgot the initial problem, "No. Sir, you haven't understood yet. The first kiln is the first batch of porcelain produced after the kiln was opened."
"So that's how it is, it's so exquisite!" Wan Li exclaimed and went to see the white porcelain again.
"In fact, most of the first kiln came out were bricks." The middle-aged woman said proudly, as if this was a secret. "Master Yuan, since he knew that the kiln-fired secret table had been taking his subordinates to experiment in the kiln, and it had not been out for two weeks. For insurance, most of the first kiln came out with bricks, and there were only a few porcelains. However, I heard that these porcelains had some quality problems, and the mayor said that they were all smashed to maintain good reputation. But this is something we said in private-" She suddenly approached a little and lowered her voice, "Later she didn't know who it was. Maybe she thought it was ruining things like this, so she poured out a few pieces from it and sold it."
"Who did you sell it to?" Wanli asked hurriedly, feeling a flash of inspiration in his mind, and he felt that he had grasped something uncertain.
"I don't know that, I heard of it too." The middle-aged woman was stunned for a moment, "I don't understand how the crazy mother had this treasure. She had four pieces at once. Now this is valuable. If she wants to sell it, Feng Niang can hire a servant to serve her. My family is the first batch of workers in the porcelain factory. He has studied it seriously before, and he said that this is indeed the first kiln thing. Alas, Feng Niang is so old that if she hadn't met us kind-hearted people, she might have been cheated of these four pieces of porcelain."
"You just said that your husband was the first batch of workers in the kiln. So when the first batch of things were released in the kiln, was he present?" Wanli continued to go deeper.
"Didn't I just say it? When the first kiln was released, it was made by the mayor himself. Although most of the bricks were released and only a little porcelain was smashed, it was considered a success. The workers I recruited since then, and the work at my family did. I heard that this was also for the sake of confidentiality. Although only we produced that kind of clay, if the skills were leaked, it would not be able to keep the business in this business. The workers in the factory also did their own things, and no one in the secret side could fully know it!"
Wanli didn't have the heart to listen to her in the factory. He only cared about the situation in the first kiln, so he continued to ask, "Who were the ones who locked up in the kiln with the mayor to do experiments?"
"Who are there?" The middle-aged woman looked at Wanli, feeling that he looked smart, but his brain was indeed a little unsophisticated. "Of course they are all the masters. Will we ordinary people know that secret? The mayor led his men to experiment with him, and they didn't come out for two weeks!"
"So responsible." Wanli changed his mind, "Who is there? Sister-in-law doesn't know?"
"Everyone in the town knows this. They are the God of Wealth who brings benefits to everyone!" The middle-aged woman shouted, not knowing whether to praise or curse, and then counted the names of those people.
She said that a person's name was like Wanli's heart was caught, because those people were locked up in the new town, or their father's generation. There was also an official named Sun who died not long after he came out of the kiln, but he remembered that the store owner was named Sun.
Coincidence? Or is there any problem?
"Maybe it was because we made too much contribution to finding wealth for our town. These people were promoted later!" The middle-aged woman made a summary.
"Where are those bricks? Could it be smashed too, right?"
"No, it's said it's monumental. At that time, it was piled in the dirt pit on the edge of the kiln, and later it was used to build a new town."
Chapter completed!