At noon, the people from Qingshi Village who had been working for Ye Ming were stunned by the sight of pickled mustard greens and fragrant chicken soup.
They knelt before Ye Ming until they were sure they were indeed being given the food, declaring they would follow him even if it meant rebellion.
Another day passed, and finally, the day arrived for the first batch of kilns to be opened.
"Uncle Wang Cheng, is it ready?"
Wang Cheng extended his palm to feel the temperature, confirming it wasn't scalding, before placing his hand on the earthen kiln.
"Yes, the temperature has dropped, and we can start the kiln!"
Wang Cheng handed Ye Ming a hoe.
"Brother Ming, you're the boss, you'll start the first batch of kilns."
"When you start, make a small opening first. Once you're sure there's no heat inside, then smash it all open."
Ye Ming gripped the hoe tightly and nodded solemnly.
"Okay, Wang Cheng, I got it."
Ye Ming was a little nervous about whether this first batch of kilns would be successful.
"Never mind, let's start it first. We still have some trial and error."
Ye Ming then followed Wang Cheng's instructions, chiseling a small opening with the hoe and confirming the insides were completely cool before smashing them open.
"Ergou, use the dustpan to get some snow and dump it in."
"Okay, Grandpa."
Wang Ergou was Wang Cheng's youngest grandson, about the same age as Zhang Suisui and her sister.
He had also been roped in by Wang Cheng to help Ye Ming, and he refused to take any wages.
With that, the others helped Wang Ergou pour snow into the kiln.
Once the snow had melted more slowly, they went in and took out the fired bricks and ceramic bowls.
"Oh my god, this brick is actually red, and this ceramic bowl is so white, it looks just like snow!"
"Uncle Wang Cheng, this isn't a ceramic bowl, it's a porcelain bowl." Ye Ming had originally just been trying it out, but he hadn't expected it to actually work.
It seemed the clay from the back hill was specifically used to make white porcelain.
"Oh my god, it's a porcelain bowl! We really fired a porcelain bowl!"
Porcelain was far more valuable than pottery, let alone something this pure.
Even a bowl this small would fetch at least five or six taels of silver in Qingshui County.
"Now, Brother Ming can recoup his investment. It's a shame he didn't make blue bricks."
"This red brick is better than blue bricks. Uncle Wang Cheng, if you don't believe me, try smashing two bricks against each other."
"Brother Ming, stop trying to comfort us. Even though we all live in thatched huts, we all know which bricks are good."
"That's right, Brother Ming. This red brick doesn't look strong."
"It didn't work, so it didn't work. Being able to make these porcelain bowls as white as snow is unique in these counties."
Everyone agreed with Liu Qiang's statement.
Even if he couldn't make blue bricks, Ye Ming could still make a lot of money from the white porcelain.
"It's true. If you don't believe me, I'll try it for you."
Ye Ming picked up two bricks and smashed them together. A thud made a sound, but the bricks only chipped into two small pieces.
"See, this red brick is incredibly strong, much better than blue bricks,"
Wang Cheng excitedly accepted the red brick from Ye Ming's hand.
"Ming'er, this is much better! This blue brick pales in comparison to the red brick!"
"This is the best brick in the world! Ming'er, you're going to be rich!"
"That's right, Ming'er, good people will be rewarded!"
"Auntie Huang is right, Ming'er, good people will be rewarded."
Seeing everyone's enthusiasm, he opened a few more molds. Eventually, he fired six porcelain pieces, all of which were successful.
Even the red bricks had a success rate of over 90%.
"Everyone, opening the kiln today is a good omen for us. Let's strike while the iron is hot and use these red bricks to build several more large kilns."
"Once the bricks in the earthen kilns over there are finished, they'll no longer be needed."
"Let's build all of them into kilns to make ceramics!"
"In a few days, we can officially start selling them and making money! When that happens, I'll give you a raise so everyone in your family can come work for me!"
Hearing that they could make money, everyone became even more excited and motivated.
"Did you hear that? Everyone, work hard! Don't waste Brother Ming's food."
"Uncle Wang Cheng is right. We weren't sure if Brother Ming could succeed before."
"Now that it can, if not for Brother Ming, then for ourselves, we have to fire up this kiln!"
With hope now in their eyes, everyone worked even harder.
Ye Ming looked at the porcelain bowls in his hands, thinking that it would be even better if they could be glazed.
It was a pity he couldn't get the necessary items right now.
Spending life points on them from the system mall wasn't worth it.
"But it's enough for now. I wasn't expecting to make much money from firing the kiln anyway. These bowls are in decent condition, though. I'll keep two for myself."
"When the kiln opens tomorrow morning, we'll take some to the county town to test the waters."
Ye Ming had been placing blanks in the kilns recently, figuring that if they didn't work the first time, there was always a chance that a few would succeed.
To his surprise, they did .
As they neared their doorstep, Ye Ming hid the white porcelain bowls under his clothes.
"Xiaorong, I'm back."
Su Xiaorong, who was cooking with Aunt Huang and others in the room, immediately put down the work in her hands when she heard Ye Ming's voice.
"Husband, you're back. How was the kiln opening today?"
Ye Ming pretended to be mysterious and said, "Guess?"
"Husband, how can I guess that? Just tell me."
"Put your hand in my arms and you'll know."
"Ah, husband, it's not good to do this in broad daylight, right?"
The husband was like this, thinking about that in broad daylight.
Several aunts and two children were still there.
"What are you thinking about, am I that hungry for you, wife?"
Su Xiaorong just looked at Ye Ming straight in the eye. She didn't say anything but said everything out of kindness.
"You!"
"Forget it, I won't keep you in suspense."
Ye Ming took out the white porcelain bowl from his arms and placed it in Su Xiaorong's arms.
An excited smile appeared on his face. "Xiaorong, our kiln was a success!"
"We even made a white porcelain bowl! Our family is going to be rich!"
Su Xiaorong stared at the white porcelain bowl in her arms, stunned for a moment.
She thought it was just a dream until she pinched her thigh hard.
"Husband, this is real! We really succeeded!"
"Hahaha, of course with your husband, it will definitely succeed!"
"Now we have our own kiln, it won't be long before I can take you to live in a tiled house!"
An excited Su Xiaorong, seeing that no one was around, gently tiptoed and kissed Ye Ming.
"Yes, my husband is the best."
"Yes, your husband is the best, otherwise he wouldn't be able to lead everyone in the village to a good life."
Hearing the voice behind her, Su Xiaorong froze. "Aunt Huang, why did you come out?"
"You two were talking so loudly, I thought I'd come out to take a look."
"Congratulations, Ming'er, you've got an industry to support your life."
"Aunt Huang, you're wrong. This is the industry that supports our entire Qingshi Village."
"With these kilns, we can all live in brick and tile houses and live a good life in the future."