As early as the sixteenth century BC, the lands of Huaxia saw the emergence of the earliest porcelain. Due to its rough craftsmanship both in the body and the glaze, combined with low firing temperatures, it exhibited primitive and transitional characteristics, thus it was called 'primitive porcelain'.
Porcelain evolved from pottery.
The difference between the two lies in: First, porcelain is fired at high temperatures, making its properties more stable; Second, porcelain has a high-temperature-fired glaze; Third, porcelain contains special minerals like porcelain stone and porcelain clay.
During the Three Kingdoms period, porcelain developed further...
The emergence of green, white, and black porcelain marked the perfection of porcelain.
In the flourishing Tang Dynasty, the semblance of 'North whiteness, South green' emerged, as craftsmen improved the clay, glaze, making the existing porcelain increasingly exquisite.
Famous kilns of Song porcelain...
Blue Lotus Kiln.
By the time of the Ming, Huaxia's porcelain dominated the world, ancient books recorded: "Porcelain from all under heaven gathered, its sound shaking the wilderness, with raging fires illuminating the sky, causing sleepless nights."
Renowned kilns and great masters emerged endlessly.
In the early days of the founding of the nation, porcelain technology flowed abroad, internal technology was sealed while external exchange and trade occurred, gradually leading to the decline of Huaxia's porcelain.
Nowadays,
Thanks to the advancement of science and technology, even ordinary people can use relatively exquisite porcelain, with stable chemical properties of the plain body and glaze.
Furthermore, the mass production of timed high-temperature porcelain firing machines has led to the disappearance of famous kilns.
The era of master craftsmen arrives!
"Qu City is known as the porcelain capital, home to four great masters, the Thousand-Hand Xing Family is famous for its painting, the White Porcelain Sun Family's porcelain sells nationwide…"
Under the oil lamp, Fang Zheng set down the thick book in his hand, deep in thought:
"The art of porcelain is vast and profound, involving clay, mud, glaze, engraving, techniques, firing; none of which can be mastered without accumulated experience."
"To become a master, is no simple feat!"
"However, the porcelain of this world is indeed unexpected."
Saying this, he picked up a piece of porcelain besides him, examining it closely in his hand.
The Treasure Porcelain of Zhaonan Prefecture is a unique wonder of the Wei Dynasty, and Gu'an County also engages in porcelain trade, the most renowned being the Wang Family Porcelain, famous across the land for its 'Thunder Walking Red Porcelain'.
The so-called 'Thunder Walking Red Porcelain' refers to the surface of porcelain bearing marks resembling those left by lightning strikes, densely packed like spider webs.
Red porcelain refers to the color of the porcelain.
The color is pure, and the glaze is extraordinary.
In terms of quality, the Wang Family's 'Thunder Walking Red Porcelain' is in no way inferior to the four great masters of Qu City, and even surpasses them in some aspects.
Especially the glaze color, which is considered exquisite.
"It seems this world has its own techniques in porcelain making."
Fang Zheng, resting his chin:
"In the porcelain industry, they say plain bodies are easy to obtain, precious glazes are hard to find; the rarity of Cyan Glaze Porcelain lies in the difficulty of replicating the glaze formula."
In ancient times, limited by technology, the firing temperatures naturally could not reach the levels achieved by modern technology.
And it is said that Cyan Glaze Porcelain was glazed with agate, yet ancient technology could not melt agate, making it theoretically impossible to fire.
However, Cyan Glaze Porcelain does exist in historical records.
So some speculate ancient people used certain catalysts to lower the melting temperature of agate, enabling its firing.
This is merely speculation and difficult to prove.
Fang Zheng was quite curious:
"How do the craftsmen of this world produce such high-quality glaze?"
From early on, he planned to open a porcelain shop in Gu'an County, to explain the source of his wealth.
But due to the need to maintain the Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment Method uninterruptedly and the practice of martial arts, he never had time.
Now with spare time at hand, he unexpectedly had a fortuitous discovery.
"But…"
"I am unafraid!"
In modern society, porcelain has developed over thousands of years, especially with the support of scientific technology, perhaps achieving a certain mediocrity in many aspects.
But,
It is good in every aspect.
Although the Wang Family's Thunder Walking Red Porcelain is excellent, its plain body is poor, and the engraving under the glaze is quite ordinary.
The porcelain Fang Zheng brought back has high-quality plain body, machine engraving, and the complex patterns alone would amaze the people here.
Even the glazing is extremely stable.
"Taking advantage of modern technology, it's not a problem to establish a foundation in the Otherworld, one can even export in reverse, becoming a businessman between two worlds."
*
*
*
West Market.
With hands behind his back, Fang Zheng strolled through the bustling crowd.
He walked leisurely, with a relaxed demeanor that seemed different from others, occasionally stopping at a stall to inquire about items of interest.
In the latter stage of the Hundred Days Foundation Establishment, time became more abundant, and with rare leisure, of course, he would take a good tour.
"Hmm…"
A figure not far away made him smile, raising a hand to call out:
"Brother Wu, long time no see!"
Wu Hai turned his head upon hearing:
"It's Brother Fang, it's been some time."
The discrepancy in time between the two worlds meant it had been nearly three months since they last met, with many occurrences in between.
"Brother Wu." Approaching, Fang Zheng sized him up, asking in surprise:
"Are you… looking for work?"
"Yes." Wu Hai replied awkwardly, eyes evading:
"With nothing to do, I've come out to find some work to help with household expenses."
"Weren't you at Sun's Cloth Shop, Brother Wu?" Fang Zheng frowned, asking:
"Have your misfortunes truly come to pass?"
"Ah!" Wu Hai sighed lightly:
"Not to hide from Brother Fang, Sun Family has high requirements for a Nurse, and I only lasted there a month before… being let go."
High requirements?
Wu Hai should be a Martial Artist with Qi Blood First Transformation; no matter how high Sun Family's requirements for a Nurse are, they couldn't be that high?
As for character, Wu Hai is widely acknowledged, having accompanied so many without abandonment, his moral conduct could not be questioned.
Then it must be…
His background might have issues, making the Sun Family hesitant.
Fang Zheng contemplated, saying with a semblance of displeasure:
"Brother Wu, you've treated me as a stranger. We agreed before that if things didn't work out at Sun Family, you would come find me. Why didn't you? Even leaving me a message would've been nice, had I known I would surely help."
"This…" Wu Hai rubbing his hands:
"It wasn't convenient."
He indeed considered seeking Fang Zheng, but since they weren't familiar, and Fang Zheng seemed to have no dealings, he refrained from bothering.
In Wu Hai's view, Fang Zheng seemed similarly without achievements, and even if he had some wealth, it couldn't be shared so casually.
"Brother Wu…"
Seeing his demeanor, Fang Zheng guessed the situation closely, shaking his head.
Wu Hai was just too honest, preferring hardship rather than burdening others. This character sometimes made him susceptible to losing.
Then he asked:
"During this period, what have you been working on, Brother Wu?"
"Poleman, rope man, messenger." Wu Hai responded:
"Each month I manage to earn one or two pieces of silver."
One or two pieces of silver!
Those wages aren't low, comparable to young shopkeepers, earning this much doing hard labor must mean he's putting in triple the effort.
Fang Zheng showed perplexity:
"Are you in urgent need of money, Brother Wu?"
"Not too bad." Wu Hai lowered his voice:
"I need to support a brother's child, it'll be fine after some time."
This man…
Fang Zheng was speechless.
He himself is living so difficultly, yet still helps others?
"Brother Wu's generosity."
Giving a respectful nod, he spoke slowly:
"Coincidentally, I'm planning to open a shop to sell porcelain, though I don't have much time to oversee it. Would Brother Wu be willing to help?"
"One piece and five coins of silver a month, with additional rewards at the year's end."
"Ah!" Wu Hai was taken aback, then displayed delight:
"Brother Fang, are you serious?"
"Of course."
"I would love to, love to!" Wu Hai trembled slightly, eagerly clasping his hands:
"Wu Hai, at your service!"
"No need." Fang Zheng gestured in refusal:
"Just call me Boss Fang."
"By the way, give me a hand first. I've been practicing some martial arts recently, and I'm just seeking advice on some tricky points."
"Sure." Wu Hai nodded firmly:
"I'll speak freely."