Abstinence Pei, don't be too sweet when chasing your wife

The news of the official excavation of the "Qingning Kiln" site spread like wildfire throughout Yang County.

On the day the excavation team arrived in Qinglongpo, almost half the village turned out. Even the owner of the grocery store at the town entrance brought a basket of chilled watermelons and smiled as she stuffed them into the team members' hands, saying, "Digging the old kiln is hard work, have some watermelon to quench your thirst!"

In the crowd, Craftsman Chen stood out. He was clutching a worn blue cloth bag and walked briskly through the crowd toward Gu Fanxing and Pei Luonan. Sweat dripped down his forehead and wrinkles, but he smiled brightly.

"Xingxing, President Pei!"

Craftsman Chen waved from afar, his voice full of urgency.

“Yesterday, I heard from Xiao Zhou at the museum that you’re going to officially start the excavation, so I dug out all the old tools and glaze samples I had at home overnight—these were made according to the methods my father passed down, and they might be of some help!”

Gu Fanxing went to meet him, wanting to help him carry the cloth bag, but the craftsman Chen dodged her: "It's not heavy, it's all small items inside, I'll carry it myself without worry."

She smiled and said, "Master Chen, it's so hot today. Why don't you go to the rest shed, enjoy the fan, and have a drink of water before you get busy?"

Craftsman Chen opened the cloth bag, inside which were neatly stacked more than a dozen tools.

The brush handle is made of smooth jujube wood, so it's comfortable to hold.

The bristles are made from the finest fibers of the innermost layer of old bamboo branches, soaked in tung oil, giving them the perfect balance of softness and firmness.

The blade of the shovel is thin and translucent, yet it is resilient.

“These are all made according to the style of Song Dynasty potters,” he said, picking up a brush and handing it over. “Use this when cleaning porcelain shards so it won’t scratch the glaze; I’ve sharpened the blade of the shovel for three days so it can stay close to the soil when digging and avoid damaging the shards.”

As he spoke, he pulled out an oil paper package from the bottom of the bag. Inside was a small bag of brown powder. "This is the ash I made last winter from burning pine needles. I mixed it with some kaolin and mixed it with glaze samples. I wanted to compare it with the glazes dug out from the kiln site to see if I could recreate the original formula."

Gu Fanxing picked up the brush and tried it out. It fit perfectly in her palm. She nodded and said, "Thank you, Master Chen. These tools are even better than the ones we bought from the equipment store! With you here, we can clean up the debris with more peace of mind."

Pei Luonan brought over a bottle of warm mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to him: "Please have some water first. There are fans in the rest area. If you're tired, go and rest for a while."

Craftsman Chen took the water, drank a couple of sips, and shook his head with a smile.

“Not tired at all! I’ve loved working with porcelain all my life. Being able to see the ‘Qingning Kiln’ come back to life makes me happier than anything else. My father was a celadon craftsman back then. Before liberation, he ran a small porcelain workshop in town, specializing in firing glazes similar to those of the ‘Qingning Kiln.’ If he were still here, he would definitely be pulling me over today to hand him the tools and explain the ins and outs.”

As Gu Fanxing squatted down beside the kiln site, Craftsman Chen kept his eyes on the team members' movements, reminding them from time to time: "Be gentle, that piece of glaze is thin, don't brush it and crack it."

When he saw half of a porcelain mold protruding from the soil, he rushed over, gently touched the edge of the mold with his finger, and his eyes lit up.

“This curve! It’s exactly the same as the ‘Qingning Kiln’ bowl mold that my father hand-painted back then!” He pointed to the small notch on the edge of the mold. “Look at this notch, it was specially made to make it easier to remove the porcelain blank. When my father made the mold, he would use fine sandpaper to smooth the notch every night by the light of an oil lamp, so as not to snag the porcelain blank. The edge of the notch on this mold also has polishing marks, and it doesn’t feel rough to the touch. It must have been made by an old craftsman!”

"Master Chen, was this mold made entirely by hand?" Gu Fanxing took out her notebook and quickly took notes.

"Of course!"

Craftsman Chen shook his head firmly, his fingertips brushing across the surface of the mold, where he could feel the fine scratches.

"The porcelain molds of the Song Dynasty were all made by hand by craftsmen. You can see that the grinding marks are all in the same direction. They were made little by little by using the wrist to grind them."

My father would sit in the yard for three whole days grinding a mold like this, getting up before dawn, eating a steamed bun at noon, and then continuing to grind, all to ensure the shape and thickness of the porcelain blank were consistent.

With the guidance of craftsman Chen, the team's cleanup work progressed exceptionally smoothly.

In less than half a day, more than a dozen porcelain blank molds, a pile of kiln tool fragments, and three relatively intact porcelain bowls were cleared from the kiln bed.

"Look at this bowl!"

Xiaolin carefully carried a porcelain bowl over, the bottom of which was still covered in dirt.

"The porcelain patterns are so fine, the glaze is even, and the 'Qingning Kiln' mark on the bottom of the bowl still has the yellowish hue of kiln fire, it must have been a masterpiece from that time!"

Craftsman Chen took the porcelain bowl and examined it closely in the sunlight.

“That’s right! This glaze contains pine ash—pine needles in winter have more oil, and the ash from firing them is finer, which makes the glaze color more warm and lustrous. I brought the pine ash with me, and I’ll try to mix it with kaolin from the kiln site to restore the glaze color.”

Gu Fanxing immediately asked Xiaolin to find a clean porcelain dish, carefully took some kaolin from the soil, and poured in some pine ash: "If it works, add a 'glaze experience area' to the special exhibition, so that visitors can mix the glaze themselves and feel the wisdom of Song Dynasty craftsmen."

At this moment, Uncle Zhang, the village chief, came over carrying a bamboo basket filled with scattered porcelain shards.

"We found this; we don't know if it's usable."

Gu Fanxing lifted the cloth covering the basket. Although the porcelain shards inside were broken, most of them had a light blue glaze.

"Look at this piece, the texture is so fine, was it drawn by a master?" She handed over the fragment.

“Definitely!” Craftsman Chen nodded. “It takes more than ten years of experience to paint such fine details. Back then, when painting blanks, you had to practice ‘suspending your wrist,’ making your wrist as steady as if it were fixed.” The village chief smiled and said, “Old Wang’s family in our village has a porcelain jar with a similar glaze. I’ll bring it over for you to see later.”

In the evening, Gu Fanxing marked photos of porcelain shards in her tent. "I spoke with Professor Wang on the phone. He'll bring experts next week and also build a temporary protective shed to keep out the rain during the rainy season, otherwise the kiln bricks will crumble," Gu Fanxing said. "Du Fei has already contacted the construction team, and they'll be delivering the materials tomorrow."

Pei Luonan helped her fix her hair. "Master Chen will be teaching Xiaolin how to distinguish glaze colors tonight. Do you want to go listen?"

Gu Fanxing immediately stood up: "Of course I'll go, you can't find this in the experience book."

Outside the tent, craftsman Chen held up two pieces of porcelain and explained their work.

"The bluish-gray color on the left means the temperature is not high enough, and the light yellow color on the right means the fire is too strong. The craftsmen of 'Qingning Kiln' control the temperature by observing the kiln fire, and they seal the kiln when it turns orange-yellow." He handed over a piece of porcelain, "Feel it, if it feels like touching a pebble, then the temperature is just right."

Gu Fanxing took careful notes, and her phone was full of comparison photos.

As the moonlight rose, the team members' laughter mingled with the distant barking of dogs, creating a particularly warm atmosphere.

Gu Fanxing suddenly understood that the inheritance of "Qingning Kiln" has never been interrupted - Song Dynasty kiln workers guarded the kiln fire, Chen craftsmen and his son guarded the craft, they dug for protection, villagers donated porcelain shards, and every generation has been protecting this memory.

The next morning, the construction team delivered the materials for the protective shed.

Gu Fanxing and Pei Luonan repeatedly confirmed the location of the pillar. Pei Luonan also had workers dig shallow ditches to prevent water accumulation and organized a "kiln site protection team" with the village chief. More than 20 villagers volunteered to sign up.

He distributed comic book-style protection manuals: "Please take turns keeping watch, and contact us immediately if you find anything unusual."

The village chief patted his chest and declared, "This is our treasure; we'll definitely protect it!"

Gu Fanxing received a message from Professor Wang saying that the expert team would arrive the next afternoon, bringing with them advanced equipment that could measure the age of porcelain shards, the composition of glazes, and reconstruct the firing temperature curve.

"Great!"

Craftsman Chen was so excited that his hands trembled.

"Knowing the exact temperature and ratio will give me more confidence in reducing the glaze. Once it's done, I'll build a small kiln next to the kiln site and fire a batch of porcelain using the ancient methods, so that the 'Qingning Kiln' can burn brightly once again!"

Gu Fanxing nodded with a smile: "We'll invite the villagers to come and see it, so that the old kiln can 'come alive' in everyone's eyes."

Looking at the busy crowd, Gu Fanxing felt at ease—the story of "Qingning Kiln" would not only remain in the excavation report, but would also be passed down through generations as it is protected and inherited, continuing to be warm and enduring over time.