newbobooks Chapter 187: Snow Country, Fire Marrow, Opening a Porcelain Shop
Chapter 187: Snow Country, Fire Marrow, Opening a Porcelain Shop
Fuyao Tianxia is in the shape of an hourglass, wide at the top and bottom and narrow in the middle, so it is divided into four northern domains and four southern domains. The four northern domains are red, green, Ding, and Ji, while the four southern domains are blue, white, Fu, and Xuan.
In the far west of the Green Region, one of the four northern regions, there is a country called "Xue Lai". People pray for snow every year, but have never seen real snow.
It's extremely hot here.
The people regard snow as a totem and take snow as a belief. Over the years, there has never been a shortage of businessmen going out to look for snow, Taoists praying for snow, and scholars making snow.
I don't know when Na Xue came to China and opened a porcelain shop. The shop was not big and was located in a secluded alley. The owner was a young man with not very good craftsmanship and was drunk all day long.
It is said that the owner of the porcelain shop was an outsider who came from a very far place. He came here with a caravan. After the caravan left, the owner stayed. When others asked him why he didn't leave and how long he would stay here, the owner would smile and answer that he would stay for ten years, at least ten years, or maybe more.
Whenever he said this, he would immediately add another sentence:
“But we’ll leave eventually.”
To the people of Xuelai Country, this foreign boss was a complete weirdo, but he had a good temper and was easy-going. At first, everyone called him the Drunken Swordsman because he was drunk all day and had a long sword hanging from his waist. Later, they gradually changed their names and called him more and more, such as the porcelain boss on the west street, the handsome young man, the drunkard with a good appearance, the bachelor, etc.
On the opening day of the porcelain shop, all the neighbors went to show their support. The porcelain made by the owner of the porcelain shop was not exquisite and the craftsmanship was just average, but the advantage was that the price was cheap. Some porcelain plates and bowls were also sold at the lowest price on the market.
This porcelain shop is not big. In addition to selling practical porcelain such as porcelain basins and bowls, the owner often makes some porcelain figures. No matter how poor his craftsmanship is, he can always make a good finished product out of ten pieces.
At that time, he would display the porcelain figures in his shop. Children from nearby streets especially liked to run to his shop to listen to the stories behind each porcelain figure, and they never got tired of listening.
Occasionally, there would be a few little ones who were so engrossed in listening that they would forget to go home after a certain time had passed. Their fathers would then grab them by the ears, hold them with a stick, and chase them back.
The boss was drinking and laughing, and he found the scene very interesting.
Because the boss was handsome, many unmarried girls in the neighborhood were quite fond of him. They often came to the shop on the pretext of buying porcelain to talk to the boss and steal glances at him. The eldest daughter of the Jia family in Xuelai Country, a remarkable woman who managed the Jia family's Chamber of Commerce very well as a daughter, also often came to the shop and was very generous with her money. She even directly declared that she had taken a fancy to the swordsman from other places.
This caused a sensation at the time. Many men came to watch, feeling envious and jealous. However, the porcelain shop owner, for some reason, told Miss Jia calmly that he would leave eventually.
Since then, few women have come to flirt with the owner of the porcelain shop.
Because everyone understands.
The owner of this porcelain shop is not from here.
As he said, he would leave eventually, but for some reason he had to stay here temporarily.
On the contrary, more children around eight or nine years old went to the porcelain shop. They thought that this outsider must be well-informed and had many stories, so they tried their best to pry out some of them.
……
Every November, the Xuelai Kingdom holds a Snow Bathing Festival.
The whole country rejoiced.
Xuelai is actually a very small country, but the current monarch is a rare enlightened monarch who has governed Xuelai in an orderly manner, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. It is much better than other countries of the same period.
The Snow Bath Festival is also the grandest festival in the Snow Country.
The current monarch has a son and a daughter. The son is named Yin Yang, who is kind and generous, friendly and enjoys high prestige among the people. The daughter is named Yin Xue, who is very pretty, young, innocent and romantic.
On the first day of the Snow Bath Festival, eight-year-old Yin Xue dragged her royal brother Yin Yang, who was only two years older than her, to the West Street. The king and the people of Xuelai were united, and when the common people saw the two, they greeted them with a smile and were never reserved.
After passing through several alleys, they arrived in front of a porcelain shop. The owner of the shop smiled when he saw them. Yin Yang saluted with his fists. Upon seeing this, little Yin Xue hurriedly imitated him. However, the same action looked a little more silly when she did it.
As for how Li Changxiao, a humble little porcelain shop, could get to know the prince of the Xuelai Kingdom, it was of course inevitable that the young but exquisite little princess Yin Xue, who was as beautiful as a porcelain doll, played the matchmaker.
It was the Snow Bath Festival two years ago. Although the little princess Yin Xue was young, she was born smart. She actually got rid of her followers and ran around in the west of the city. Her lively nature made her curious about everything, but after the novelty wore off, she burst into tears because she was lost.
It was the crying sound that attracted the owner of the porcelain shop in white. The owner led her into the shop, gave her a small porcelain figurine and told her the story of the porcelain figurine. Unfortunately, before she finished the story, the soldiers surrounded the small porcelain shop.
Yin Yang was worried about his sister's safety, so he followed the troops. After all, he was only a teenager, and was quickly attracted by the porcelain figures and became delighted. Then he looked at the porcelain shop owner, who was handsome and did not seem like a bad guy. His conversation was very interesting, and he told all kinds of strange stories.
Naturally, like my sister, I was deeply attracted by this mysterious porcelain shop in a secluded alley.
After making sure that the owner of the porcelain shop had no ill intentions, he, like other children, developed an indissoluble bond with this small porcelain shop.
In the following two years, whenever the Snow Bath Festival came, Yin Yang and Yin Xue would run to this porcelain shop. Yin Xue was gradually turning eight years old, and she was very cute. Yin Yang specially brought good wine from the palace to drink with the owner of the porcelain shop. Although he said it was drinking, he didn't drink much. He brought it specifically for the owner of the porcelain shop to drink so that he could ask for a porcelain figure to play with when he left and listen to more stories about the outside world.
For some reason, every story told by the porcelain shop owner was extremely vivid. The magnificent scenes constructed in his mind made him deeply immersed in them and unable to extricate himself.
When the conversation got to a tense point, the two siblings would hold each other tightly. Occasionally, Li Changxiao would also tell some scary ghost stories, which would scare the two siblings so much that they would hug each other tightly. When Yin Xue, who was more delicate than a porcelain figure, reacted, she would be so angry that she would point at his nose and scold him for being a bad brother who scared them on purpose.
In the evening, the brother and sister left. There will be a sacrificial ceremony tomorrow, and as direct descendants of the Xuelai Kingdom, they must attend.
Li Changxiao also closed the door and walked into the porcelain kiln to continue honing his porcelain-making skills.
He has been here for three years.
He is waiting.
According to the information, the Fire Marrow, one of the ten divine marrows, is nearby, but it will take some time to wait for it to appear.
Before this.
He planned to make some porcelain to earn some money for drinking, and then read some books and study some techniques when he had time, and live a leisurely life.
That's it.