Chapter 113: Agreement Reached

Feng Kiln.

This private folk kiln was located in the most remote corner of the village, right next to the mountains.

As the mother and daughter stepped inside, someone immediately approached them.

“You two don’t look familiar, not from this village. Are you here to buy something?”

Li Taohua glanced around and saw a group of tall men with bare chests, their eyes darting keenly.

Qin Huiyin: “...”

She had come to realize that her mother’s multiple remarriages were not only about finding a man to rely on for a better life but also because she had a fondness for handsome men.

“I’m here to see Zheng Hua.”

“Zheng Hua, someone’s here to see you!” The man called out loudly inside upon hearing she was looking for someone. “It’s a beautiful daughter-in-law! Where on earth did you find this charm that’s chasing after you again?”

Qin Huiyin frowned.

Could this man be untrustworthy? Judging by his manner, he didn’t seem quite reliable.

Another tall, bare-chested man came out. Seeing Li Taohua, he shouted at the first man, “You scoundrel, don’t talk nonsense. This is my sister-in-law.”

Then he scratched his head with a simple, honest look, “Sister-in-law, these are rough fellows who always speak crudely. Don’t take it to heart. What brings you here today?”

“Zheng Hua, it’s like this. We want to buy a batch of pottery jars, just for storing things—not too large. Could you give us a discount?” Li Taohua said.

Zheng Hua smiled and said, “Come on, I’ll take you to pick. This is your daughter, right? She was always outside playing whenever you came looking for my brother before; I never saw her.”

“Hello, Uncle Zheng.”

“The little girl is quite polite. Let’s go. There’s a big pile inside that no one wants—you can pick whatever you like.”

“No one wants them because...”

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that they are poorly made, but these were originally promised to customers who then backed out at the last moment. We want to find someone else to sell them to, but in a small place like this, demand is limited. Even if people need vessels, their tastes differ from the original customers'. So these just sit here, gathering dust.”

Zheng Hua pushed open the warehouse door, revealing a room filled with all kinds of pottery jars. They were piled together without proper care, like a heap of trash ready to be discarded.

“Pick whatever you want, free of charge. If you like it, just take it,” Zheng Hua said.

---

“Uncle Zheng, is this your kiln?”

“No, not really,” Zheng Hua replied shyly. “I’m just the manager here.”

“I see many jars here that I want. How about selling them to us at two wen each? If you help deliver them, we’ll add twenty wen for transport and carting.”

Zheng Hua looked at Li Taohua. “Sister-in-law, do you need this many jars?”

He had thought she might only want a few to store salt or sugar, but when Qin Huiyin mentioned renting an ox cart, he realized the quantity wouldn’t be small.

“My daughter is in charge at home. If she says she needs them, then she needs them. You should just listen to her,” Li Taohua said proudly.

Zheng Hua looked curiously at Qin Huiyin. “Little girl, how many do you need?”

“Let’s start with two hundred,” Qin Huiyin said. “If we need more later, we’ll come to you, Uncle Zheng.”

Looking at the piles of “junk” before him, Zheng Hua thought for a moment and agreed to Qin Huiyin’s plan.

Rather than letting them rot here, it was better to earn some money and give the brothers a bonus. After all, the boss had told them to clear out this pile of “junk” last time, but they’d been busy with an order and hadn’t had time to deal with these unimportant things.

Fortunately, they were too busy; otherwise, there wouldn’t have been this little profit today.

Zheng Hua went out to gather some men to pick two hundred jars of similar size as requested by Qin Huiyin.

Actually, it wasn’t hard to find. The customer who backed out had wanted small jars with limited capacity, and almost all the jars looked nearly identical.

But since they were piled together without care, some were damaged. They had to carefully select intact ones with decent quality from the uneven heap.

“Little miss, move aside a bit. There are shards here; be careful not to cut yourself,” a middle-aged man said kindly with a simple smile.

After half an hour, two hundred jars were loaded onto the cart.

Qin Huiyin handed four hundred wen to Zheng Hua and secretly slipped another fifty wen when no one was looking.

Zheng Hua’s grin was wide and genuine. “Thank you, little boss. If you need more next time, just come to Uncle Zheng. I’ll pick the best for you.”

While saying this, he casually grabbed a porcelain vase from nearby. “This one’s made by me. Take it home as a keepsake.”

Such a delicate vase was worth well over fifty wen—this man was truly generous.

Qin Huiyin and Li Taohua left the village on the ox cart. The driver was the same man who had joked earlier. He was shy the whole ride and only apologized awkwardly when they got off.

---

“Sister-in-law, I’m really sorry earlier. We’re rough men and used to speaking crudely among ourselves. I’ll be more careful and won’t say such things again.”

“It’s nothing. You fretted the whole way over such a trivial matter? Don’t worry, I’m not that petty. By the way, come in for some tea before you go!”

“No need. I’ll unload the goods and head back immediately.” The man worked efficiently, carrying the two hundred jars into the main hall.

The hall was small and couldn’t hold all the jars, so some were placed in other rooms.

The yard was spacious, so the jars weren’t exposed to the elements, but a few puppies ran around there, and since the jars were fragile, they dared not put them out in the yard.

Qin Huiyin poured the man a cup of tea.

“Thanks, little boss,” Zheng Hua called her, and the man followed suit.

Qin Huiyin handed over twenty copper coins for the transport and carting fees. “Uncle, thanks for your hard work. We might need your help again next time.”

“Just say the word. The more trouble, the better. I’ll head off now; come find us whenever you need,” the man said as he drove the ox cart away.

Just as he left, Master Tang San also returned with an ox cart.

Qin Huiyin prepared to help unload, but Tang Dafu waved her off.

“You’re just a young girl—no strength for this. Don’t get in our way.”

Tang Luwu and Tang Yi smiled and tried to help but were also sent away by Tang Dafu.

They had bought a large quantity of soybeans, each bag weighing dozens of pounds; a few children couldn’t handle that.

Tang Yi and Tang Luwu experienced their father’s strength for the first time. Even with his lame leg, he was now more imposing and sturdier than before.

“Dad, you’re so strong!” Tang Luwu praised. “You’re amazing, really powerful.”

Tang Dafu straightened his back and worked with even more vigor.

Li Taohua leaned against the doorway, smiling warmly as she watched Tang Dafu grow more like a man under his daughter’s praise—yes, like a true father.