Chapter 39: Seeking a Livelihood

"Take good care of my teacher."

After sharing drinks and conversation with Zhuge Wolong, Shen Shi took his leave. He left about twenty strings of coins with the jailers, instructing them to look after Zhuge Wolong well.

"Of course, young master, don't worry. The old gentleman tells such wonderful stories—we all like him very much."

The jailers' eyes crinkled with joy. Every time Shen Shi visited, he brought money; to them, he was a veritable god of wealth.

Having handed over the money and given his instructions, Shen Shi departed.

When he returned home, he found the house empty.

Alas! Who knows when they will return. Even if he wanted to call, there was no way.

Well, since no one is here, I'll celebrate alone.

Shen Shi bought wine and meat, and after some thought, he prepared an extra portion of wine and meat for each of the military households repairing his house.

"Thank you, young master! We'll be sure to restore the house as good as new."

With wine and meat to reward them, their efforts became even more diligent.

The headman came over. "Young master, there's no need to give them wine and meat. That would cost a fortune! They're all rough men, they don't need such fine fare."

He was advising Shen Shi not to be so extravagant.

"Yes, I understand. Thank you! It's just that I passed the scholar exam, and in my excitement, I wanted to celebrate."

"Yes, yes, passing the scholar exam is cause for joy."

He had come to persuade Shen Shi not to spend so freely, but after a few drinks himself, he ended up consuming several more cups than usual.

With the wine loosening his tongue, he spoke freely: "Young master, we've lived hard lives as convict soldiers. Our faces are branded, and we can do nothing but menial work..."

The old headman poured out his grievances, and Shen Shi listened.

"It's not like the old days. Back then, there were wars to fight and life was somewhat better."

"Indeed! Our family still has some businesses, you could help out there."

The Shen family did have some enterprises, or so Shen Shi believed.

"Ah, no, they're gone. Since the days of the great-grandfather, every generation has sold off more and more property. It's all gone."

"It's gone, long gone!"

As he spoke, tears welled up and he wept, even more sorrowful than for his family's lost property.

It was only natural; not just soldiers, but even servants in this era shared their masters' fortunes and misfortunes. Under the Song Dynasty's policies, military families fared poorly, and convict soldiers like them suffered even more.

"Uncle, you know I've been firing porcelain. At first, no one was buying; I wasn't planning to mention it. But by chance, a noble from Bianjing took a liking to my porcelain. If the villagers don't mind, they can come and work."

"Young master, are you serious?" The old headman stopped drinking, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"Old headman, I'm not one to deceive," Shen Shi replied, feigning annoyance.

"No, no, young master, that's not what I meant. It's just, we're all rough men—can we really make porcelain?"

"No need to worry. I know how to build kilns and make porcelain. Choose a few clever and honest men, I'll teach them."

"Thank you, young master!"

The old headman no longer drank, but knelt abruptly.

"Uncle Chen, please rise. Once a comrade, always a comrade. As long as the Shen family stands, we will never abandon you," Shen Shi promised.

...

After Shen Shi agreed, the next morning, seven or eight men appeared at his home. One looked older, perhaps in his fifties or sixties.

Shen Shi turned to the old headman. "Uncle Chen, who are these?"

"These are craftsmen for the young master. Sun Da is a carpenter. This one is a tiler, this one a mason..."

One by one, he introduced them; all skilled workers.

"Xiang He is even more impressive—he's been firing porcelain for twenty years," the headman said, introducing the elder last.

"What? Twenty years? He's a veteran porcelain worker. They let him go?"

Before the headman could answer, Xiang He interjected, "What veteran? Whenever the old master fired porcelain, he'd drive everyone out, afraid we'd learn the craft."

At this, Xiang He nearly wept. The old headman reached out and patted his shoulder.

"It's alright, it's alright. Now it's the young master's business—you can fire porcelain to your heart's content."

"Yes, yes."

Through the old headman's introductions, Shen Shi learned that Xiang He was the first in their village to step out into the world. He worked hard, but his experience had been bitter. After twenty years firing porcelain for the master, he was still not trusted.

In truth, firing porcelain was not difficult. With Xiang He's twenty years of experience, he quickly got to work. As for the kiln, they used the pit Shen Shi and the little fox had dug.

Of course, since this was now formal porcelain production, a proper refurbishment was necessary.

Shen Shi laid out the requirements, and the men threw themselves into the work.

The elders and young men of the village organized themselves as if into a patrol, dropping by the kiln whenever they had time. Watching the kiln take shape day by day, their smiles grew brighter, as if happiness was beckoning to them.

Shen Shi did not keep his knowledge to himself, but earnestly taught Xiang He the wet method for firing porcelain. As an old retainer of the Shen family, and after twenty years of rejection outside, he cherished this opportunity more than anyone.

Besides teaching him, the most important thing was to sell the wares.

Producing porcelain was not the goal—it had to be sold. That was the key.

But before they had anything to show, Shen Shi could not seek buyers. Last time, the porcelain toilets were all taken away by Cao You. Without products in hand, even if Shen Shi wanted to tout his skills and large wares, he needed porcelain first.

The technique had been passed on; what they could produce remained to be seen.

Firing porcelain was a craft that depended on both skill and time. Without skill, nothing could be fired. If the drying time was insufficient, the porcelain would crack in the kiln, and again, nothing would be produced.

Fortunately, Shen Shi had several thousand strings of coins, enough to support the porcelain workers.

If luck held, within a month they could have finished wares.

As Shen Shi began teaching the craft, Little Gulu and Big Black found a new haunt—the kiln site.

At first, villagers requested that Big Black help guard the site. But after one visit, Big Black seemed to take a liking to the place and settled there, only returning occasionally.

Big Black was Little Gulu's mount; with Big Black settled there, Little Gulu spent most of his time at the kiln too.

Later, Shen Shi learned that Little Gulu was so adorable, he was a favorite among the village's women and girls. These two mischievous dogs hardly remembered to return home.

When the villagers learned that Big Black had helped win the money to build the kiln, they treated him almost as a deity, tending to his every need. If not for Shen Shi's grilling skills and modern spices, these two would never come home at all.

Of course, seeing the villagers full of hope again, Shen Shi was happy and did not insist they return. But after the house was renovated, with no one living there, only himself remained, and in the quiet of night, he sometimes felt a pang of loneliness...