Tiger falls to Pingyang

On the road to and from the market, there is an endless stream of people.There are mule drivers, carriages carrying goods, those who carry goods, and those who sell goods along the street. People of all walks of life shuttle among them.Not far ahead, there is a Wanlai Inn, and the business is booming day by day. More than half of the guest officials are businessmen from all over the world, and the rest are ordinary people or local officials. The grass is a place where dragons and snakes mix.

Whenever Shangguan Xiu went out, he would bring a servant to stay here.

As soon as the shopkeeper saw him, he greeted him warmly. "Brother Shangguan, I haven't seen you for a long time, but I'm thinking about it. Hehe..." Shopkeeper Wang said this to everyone, and the way of business is to make money with harmony.

Shangguan Xiu smiled slightly and nodded.

Shopkeeper Wang hurriedly got out of the counter, turned around and shouted: "Dude—quickly prepare a room!"

"Yes, I see." He shouted not far away.

The servant Ading immediately went to take care of it, and he was very clever.

Shopkeeper Wang turned around, greeted people with a smiling face, and said, "Brother Shangguan, come, please come inside." His memory is so good that every time people come to the door, they must eat first.

Shangguan Xiu smiled back again, and followed shopkeeper Wang to the inside. The two of them stared for a long time, and finally found an empty table.

"What do you want to eat today?"

"Just a few side dishes and two bowls of rice." He kept everything simple and frugal when he was outside.

Even so, shopkeeper Wang still didn't dare to offend, and asked in a good voice, "Would you like a jug of wine?"

"No, just a pot of hot tea."

"Oh... okay, wait a minute, I'll go and ask the guy to deliver it right away." Turning around, shopkeeper Wang went to work on his own.

The inn was full of guests and friends, and shopkeeper Wang's shouts were interspersed, and the waiters were also very busy.After waiting for a while, the waiter put a few dishes, two bowls of rice, and a pot of tea on the table, and said in a friendly voice, "Please take it easy."

"Thank you."

After a while, the servant Ading came over with his bundle in his arms, and as soon as his butt touched the chair, he leaned forward and whispered to his master, "Master, this trip will take at least three months, Madam specially told my little one Be careful. I see that there are quite a lot of people in this inn, so I don’t feel at ease leaving my luggage in the room, so it’s better to just hug me.”

"Well, you can figure it out, let's have dinner." He was born with delicate features and a gentle and scholarly demeanor. From his appearance, it was hard to tell that he was a young master who was going around in a kiln factory.

He is the only son in his hometown, and his parents have worked hard to cultivate him since he was a child, hoping that he will take over the family business and spread the reputation of Longquan kiln far and wide.There are several houses in this family lineage. Uncles, uncles, and nephews are like a big bunch of meat dumplings.His father holds the largest share in the kiln factory, and there are several shops in nearby places.

Because of the convenient location, the ceramic wares fired by the Shangguan family are particularly good, especially the three-foot celadon vases, which have attracted the covetousness of many colleagues in the industry, and open and secret conflicts are common.

Shangguan Xiu has not taken over the business yet, and he is more keen on making pottery and firing porcelain than running a shop. To put it bluntly, he is still very young. Anyway, with his father in charge, his life is worry-free.He has a pure and kind personality, is courteous and respectful, and is very filial to his parents and adults. He has just reached the age of weak crown and has not yet married a wife. Because he spends most of his time in the kiln factory, he has no extra thoughts to think about it. .

He ate slowly, wearing a long coat of coarse cloth, no different from the servant A'Ding, not eye-catching.If ordinary people don't know him, they will just think of him as a Confucian scholar who is going to the capital to take the exam.

Shopkeeper Wang is very close to him, because all the porcelain supplies in the inn are specially purchased from Longquan kiln making factory, so he is lucky to know him.

Suddenly, there was a shout from outside the door: "Rang Rang—"

Shangguanxiu looked up, and saw a few servants stepping into the inn, looking majestic and majestic.

One of them ordered: "Shopkeeper, quickly make room for us gentlemen to sit at a table."

Shopkeeper Wang's face froze, and he smiled in difficulty: "It's not that I don't want to, my lords, but my inn is full, so how can I force people to give up their seats at will, not to mention the money that everyone spends on eating and drinking. It's all the same."

"Don't be so wordy! I told you to clear the table, so hurry up and do it for me!" He ordered, and slapped the table with his big palm, "Bang!" Domineering honestly.

Shopkeeper Wang shrank his neck, and walked out of the counter stiffly, looking around the room full of people, how to make room for him.

As for the diners at other tables, when they heard the words, they all looked back and guessed in their hearts that these officials came to the inn again to eat the overlord's meal.It seemed that they had already seen the strangeness, and everyone continued to eat, continued the topic that was halfway through the conversation just now, and did not want to intervene in a troublesome matter.

"Fuck! You are waiting patiently for me, why are you in a daze!" The official pushed the shopkeeper Wang, causing the man to stagger and almost fall on the customer.

Seeing this, Shangguanxiu immediately stood up and waved, "Shopkeeper Wang, I'll give up my seat."

"Ah... how embarrassing..." Shopkeeper Wang was taken aback, he would rather offend the servants than lose his friend, little brother Shangguan.

"It's okay, it's the same if I go out to eat." After that, he winked at A Ding, signaling to pack up the food quickly.

A'Ding understood, put the burden under his arm, held the food in both hands, and quickly got up to give up his seat.

"Go away!" The official kicked him aside, still muttering: "The guy blocking the way..."

A-Ding kept silent, he knew at a glance that these officials and uncles were not easy to mess with.

Shangguan Xiu was also pushed aside by two officials who passed by, his defiant attitude was clearly reckless.

Shopkeeper Wang immediately called his staff to wait on those uncles, while he hurriedly walked in front of Shangguan Xiu, and said, "Shangguan brother, I'm really sorry...don't go out to eat, I'll tell you later." The clerk brings tea and food to your room, it’s not considered money, it’s considered an apology.”

"No, I don't mind this." After saying that, he went upstairs with A-Ding to find the room where he stayed.

A Ding swiftly put everything in his hands on the table, turned around and quickly locked the door. "Master, those people are not easy to mess with..." A-Ding was afraid that if the young master made a mistake, how would he explain to the master and wife when he returned home.

Shangguan shaved his face without changing his expression, sat on the bench and ate.

A Ding looked worried, and leaned against the door panel nervously.After a while, he turned his head and couldn't help rolling his eyes, "Master! Can you still eat?"

He responded, "Of course, it cannot be wasted."

"Sigh..." A-Ding was not in such a good mood as the young master.He and the young master had the experience of going out not once or twice, but also encountered robbers who robbed them halfway. Fortunately, the young master kept the silver taels in the ticket office, so that it was convenient to pick up emergency when he was out of town, so he didn't have much silver on him. Grab it, but the young master offered it with generous hands, the most important thing is to save his life.

However, he was afraid of encountering troublemakers. No matter where he was, there were such people who would neither steal nor rob, bully the weak, cause trouble, and roam the streets.

"Young master, those servants are very domineering. I'm afraid they'll pretend to be crazy and smash the store with alcohol later! If it's affected, we'll have to find another place to live tonight. How troublesome."

"A Ding, let's figure it out." After eating, he opened the bag, took out a scroll and pen and ink, and wrote down the kiln making experience, controlling the fire, glazing and other details, ignoring A Ding.

"Hey! Master, what time is it? What are you writing?" A-Ding hopped on the spot, waited for a long while without responding, and simply leaned against the door again, listening carefully to the movement outside the room.

——Noisy, punching, yelling, foul language in the room...

Shangguan Xiuwen remained calm and focused on recording his experience. He occasionally looked up from the window or drank a cup of tea, and before he knew it, it was almost evening.

"Ah Ding, open the window to let some air in."

"Okay..." He still pressed against the door panel for a while, and muttered, "It's quiet downstairs, those old men seem to have left..."

"Oh," said Shangguan Xiu without raising his head, "Since it's all right, don't be so nervous."

A-Ding rolled his eyes, "I'm being cautious, not like the young master... I don't know whether to say that you are too careless or too optimistic. Except for the master ordering you to patrol the shops and study along the way, you spend the rest of your time in the kiln factory... You're not hot, I'm almost burning up with you..."

He began to complain that he had been playing with the young master to play with soil and knead pottery since he was a child, and he got dirty all over his body. Doing, moving firewood, carrying sand, which kind of rough work has never been done... It's like a kiln worker in a kiln factory!He thought about it for a long time...

Shangguan Xiu turned a deaf ear and didn't know when A-Ding calmed down.

Suddenly, A Ding shouted: "Master!"

"What's the matter?" Shangguan Xiu turned his face away, seeing his head retracted from the window, his expression was not right again.

"Then...those old men are bullying people!"

"Oh." Shangguan Xiu put down his pen, got up and walked to the window, just looking down, he saw that the officials were bullying a very tall and strong man.

He hesitated for a moment, "That's... a handyman working in the stables."

The person was beaten and lying on the mud floor, and several uncles yelled and slipped under the crotch... Sigh, his eyebrows frowned, and there was a hint of disgust in his eyes. "Why do you bully people like this..."

A Ding pulled the young master away, "Don't look, if anyone sees us, it would be a bad idea to go upstairs and make trouble." He immediately closed the window and locked it, as if facing an enemy.

The young master can't lift his hands or shoulders, but his skillful hands must not be hurt, it is equivalent to his life!

Shangguan Xiu stepped forward again, opened the window, and continued to wait and see with a serious face.

"Master..."

"Don't make noise!" He put up his airs, showing majesty.

Adding was silent for a moment.After a long while, I couldn't help muttering: "Young master, what are you looking at... The man who cleans the stables is not Han... We have been here a few times, and everyone calls him a bastard... What's so interesting..."

Outside the stables—

"Tsk, my uncle told you to crawl, but if you don't crawl... well, you have to be beaten to move, this uncle will make you a livestock!" He whipped his horsewhip, and slapped the bastard hard on the back!

Snapped!

Pop, pop!

pop - pop - pop -

Shopkeeper Wang rushed out of the house, begging for mercy with both hands: "Masters, please do me a favor...don't hit him...he will be killed."

"Get out of the way!" Another official waved his hand, ignoring Shopkeeper Wang and fell to the ground.

The officer of the accomplice laughed and said, "We are teaching an animal, what's your business!"

His face turned pale, his lips trembled and he replied: "He... I hired him."

"Ha! I don't care who hired you, shopkeeper Wang, the dog you raised is a bastard. I didn't ask you to blame, but you came to help!"

"I..." I shut my mouth, no doubt I am a dumb person who eats Coptis chinensis, unable to tell the pain.These bullies have no law in their eyes, and they are more abominable than the bandits who haunt the mountains and forests!

"Climb!" shouted again, the uncle spread his feet, waiting for a beast to slip through his crotch!

On the side of the street, people watched from afar, no one extended a helping hand, and they didn't dare to provoke those officials at all.

The person lying on the ground was covered in dirt, his hair was disheveled, his clothes were stained with horse manure, and the corner of his mouth was stained with blood. He slowly crawled under the uncle's crotch...

Really have no self-esteem at all!Passers-by nearby began to point and point.

I don't know where he came from, he is dumb, tall and big, with brown eyes like knives, his facial features are sharp and angular, and he grows a mustache from under his ears, which makes people know that he is a barbarian bastard from outside. Very down and out.

People help shopkeeper Wang clean the stables, just eat and eat, but they are beaten, scolded or stared at from time to time... Then there are everyone in the Wanlai Inn. If you meet good people, you don’t make trouble; In such a situation, it is common to be humiliated and bullied by others.

Although the people who live nearby are not surprised, they still can't see the humiliation of those officials, which is too much.

"Gentlemen, it's enough, it's enough... let him be spared." Shopkeeper Wang bowed and bowed, begging again and again, "forgive him... people can't speak, they are dumb, they are here for me, but help me Take care of the stables and beg for food... If you offend the gentry, I will apologize for him, all lords don't remember the faults of villains... Do me a favor..."

"Hahaha——" the official ignored the shopkeeper Wang's wordy nonsense, and watched a dog-like animal crawl across his crotch.At this moment, the humiliation was enough, and the addiction was enough, he turned around and kicked, and a mongrel dog lay on the mud again.

The accomplice laughed.

"Master, it's cool, let's go!" The leader grinned, and led a few servants to leave without saying a word.

Shopkeeper Wang was pushed aside again and bumped into the wooden pillars supporting the stable. He grinned his teeth and stroked his aching back. After finally waiting for everyone to walk far away, he breathed a sigh of relief.I don't know how the mute man's injury is... Shopkeeper Wang turned his head and saw bloodstains on the shirt of the mute man walking towards the stable.

Startled, he ran forward and grabbed the dumb man's arm, and said anxiously, "Are you alright?"

The person who turned his head was silent, showing no expression of aggrieved or angry, only a trace of coldness in his deep brown eyes.

Shopkeeper Wang was inexplicably frightened, quickly withdrew his hand, and faltered: "If you... are fine... I will go to the inn... to do my work." I couldn't help shivering, and stepped into the inn. I can't figure out what Shicai is afraid of...

Outside the inn, a tall, down-and-out man picked up a brush with his head down, and continued with the unfinished rough work, as if nothing had happened just now.Brushing the steed in front of him from head to toe, he got up together, and when he raised his head, his cold eyes fixed on the window on the second floor. Someone witnessed... without any trace, he lowered his head, with a trace of cruelty from the bottom of his heart.

In the dark night, a mournful wail came from the sparsely populated forest——

It didn't last long, the wailing person's eyes widened, his mouth opened and closed, and the sound gradually disappeared.

The body below the neck fell into the hands of another person, as if slaughtering a pig or a sheep. The skill beyond ordinary people was very neat, disembowelled, dismembered the limbs and bones, one piece, two pieces, three pieces... countless pieces; each piece The person who was chopped neatly, cut into bones, and dismembered will never have a chance to tell who the perpetrator was...

After burying the body on the spot, he stood up, his body was blood-stained and red, and the kitchen knife in his hand was dripping with blood, like tears falling on the grass.

Having lost his humanity, the current him is just a butcher, so worthy of his name.

After sleeping in the inn for the whole night, Shangguan Xiu and his servants hurriedly packed their bags, paid the bill to shopkeeper Wang, and walked out of the inn.

A Ding went to the stables, found his own mule cart, packed his load, got on the cart and drove the donkey to the main road. "Huh... where's the young master?" His expression panicked, and he only lasted for a while, then he saw the young master walking into the stable, what did he do?

Shangguan Xiu looked around and called, "Mute—"

The man cleaning up the horse manure turned a deaf ear and did not lift his head.

Shangguan Xiu stepped forward, held his wrist, and stopped him from raking horse manure.

The man raised his head, waiting blankly for him to say something.

"Don't be too busy, I want to give you some medicine, is that okay?" He heard shopkeeper Wang say that the dumb man can't speak, but he can understand what people are saying.With a very sincere expression, he handed out the medicine jar and continued, "If you don't want me to help you with the medicine, then accept it."

The dumb man straightened up, looked over the top of the opponent's head, and made no expression at all, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Shangguanxiu waited for a while but there was still no movement, he simply stuffed the medicine jar and a pouch into his open skirt, and at the same time warned: "Don't refuse my kindness, I don't look down on you, I just don't like how some officials treat you It’s not dignified. My ability is limited, and I can’t afford to offend those people, so I can only give medicine to express my humble concern. I’m leaving.”

He turned around and walked to the main road, got into the mule cart, and staggered all the way out of the inn.

The mute stared at the direction where he disappeared for a long time, and then reached out and took out the gift from the other party. Besides a jar of plaster, there was also a small bag of broken silver.Putting the gift back into his pocket with no expression on his face, he lowered his head and continued to work, working like a bull and a horse in a lowly manner, never uttering a single complaint.

Three months later, Shangguanxiu returned to his hometown. First, he greeted his mother, served tea, and told the story of studying with the big shopkeeper outside for a period of time.

A-Ding complained that the young master was so weak that he actually gave all the silver taels to others. They were so tired that they had to drive at night in a place with no village in front of them or a shop in the back. For flowers.

After hearing this, Mrs. Shangguan praised: "It's a good thing that Xiu'er is kind and generous, and it's also good that A-Ding protects the master and is vigilant." She praised both of them, not only knowing that her son is honest and honest, but also appeasing the dissatisfaction of the servants.

"You are all tired, go and rest."

"Mother, I'm going to the kiln factory." As soon as the words came out, A-Ding screamed.

"No way...Young master, can you spare me!" He was almost exhausted from the journey, and the young master could sleep soundly in the car, but he must never fall asleep.

"Let's go, I'm going to find my father." He made up his mind, and pulled A Ding, even if he dragged him, he had to drag him.

The two walked out of the hall all the way, and Ading was still howling...

The Longquan kiln is built against the mountain. The kiln body is long and inclined. The roof is closed. The lowest end is the fire chamber, and the highest end has a smoke outlet. It looks like a long dragon swooping down. It is called "Longquan Kiln ".

The mountains are rich in resources, and the water source is also nearby. Lord Shangguan has raised thousands of kiln workers, including bricklayers, bricklayers, potters, fire-color craftsmen, sticky craftsmen, bird and animal craftsmen, green craftsmen, and medicine craftsmen, etc. Equal division of work, more than 170 rows can be placed each time, each row can hold more than 300 pieces, and more than 5000 to [-] pieces of kiln wares can be fired at one time.

Since the middle part of the kiln is arc-shaped, the flame velocity can be reduced, the fire moves from front to back, the heat can be fully utilized, and the glaze color of the finished product is consistent with little difference.

Under the kiln wall on one side of the kiln, there are nine firewood feeding holes at equal distances. The kiln bed has been flattened and sand is spread on it to prevent the bottom from sliding.

The most famous porcelain produced by Shangguan family is celadon, whether it is bowls, plates, cups, ear cups, bowls and other daily necessities or ornamental, the market is particularly good, especially the high-priced ornamental three-foot celadon vase, because of the glaze layer Uniform, light and elegant glaze color, vitreous glaze is applied to the whole body, and the body glaze is tightly bonded, making the glaze layer more difficult to peel off.

Outsiders don't know that this technology is the brainchild of Shangguan Xiu. He studied kiln making since he was a child, and made some achievements because of his interest.

Master Shangguan was very happy when he saw his son come back.When it was time for dinner, the father and son chatted beside the grass on the hillside.

"Xiu'er, have you learned something since you returned to the shop?"

"Father, my child's aptitude is dull, and he has a lot to learn about doing business."

"It's okay, take your time." Mr. Shangguan is in his fifties, and his sword is still young, so he is not forced to do anything in a short period of time. "You have to know, the big shopkeepers in Dad's shops have been with Dad for more than 20 years. In terms of loyalty, they are better than your uncle and those uncles and nephews."

He adopts the system of dividends and shareholding to retain people's hearts, employing people without suspicion, and even though the business has been successful for so many years, the only son is more interested in making ceramics than in business management.Master Shangguan couldn't help sighing: people are not perfect, and I am worried that my son's too honest temperament will be bullied in the future.

"Your uncle and those uncles and nephews are all smarter than you, what trouble, dad..."

"What's bothering you, Dad..." Shangguanxiu said absent-mindedly as he ate and played with the clay.

"Two days ago, your uncle told me that the imperial court will set up an official kiln in our place, recruiting good craftsmen, your uncle intends to cooperate, eh..."

Shangguan Xiu didn't understand, he raised his head and asked his father, "Is this a bad thing?"

"Of course." Ever since Longquan Kiln's business was flourishing and its reputation was established, he gradually realized that his elder brother, one of the shareholders, was greedy for profit, and secretly offered money to the court to buy an official to do it.

He warned: "Xiu'er, you have to keep in mind that it is not easy for dad to start from scratch, and it is even more difficult to maintain it. Dad must keep the secret recipe of celadon that you developed. It is your greatest asset, which is better than the shop under your father's banner. Do you understand?" ?”

"Oh..." He didn't quite understand. He thought to himself that all the secret recipes for making pottery were in his mind, and he also wrote down a copy in private so as not to forget. There is a layer of black glaze on it, and there is a hidden worry in the gloss, maybe Dad has something to hide and refuses to tell...

He who has always been carefree noticed that his father was unusual, discarded the mud in his palm, and finished his lunch sullenly.After that, he accompanied his father to inspect the kiln, throwing firewood to light the fire, and monitoring the temperature of the fire chamber.

The Longquan kiln is next to the natural tiger cave, which is rich in purple gold soil. He remembered that his father once mentioned that a geographer had seen the geomantic omen of this mountain and told him that if dragons and tigers live together, they will fight against each other.

He didn't understand this, and he was concentrating on making ceramics until the sky was getting darker. He looked into the distance, and the whole red cloud covered the sky and the Longquan kiln braving the high temperature reflected each other, as if he predicted that a disaster was about to happen——