Chapter One: Perplexity

  Gao Hua Yuan was blowing on one side, while constantly heating and shaping, and at the same time explaining to the three kiln workers how to blow these things. In fact, he himself was also half-baked, because his father's factory in the past was mechanized, only a small workshop inside would use this manual blowing method to make some special decorations. He just learned it a few times out of curiosity and thought it was fun, but the things he blew out were naturally unimpressive and were directly placed in his bedroom as abstract art exhibits.

  But with his skills, he became a teacher here, busy for half a day, and finally completed two things that looked like vases, put them in the annealing room for annealing, so as not to burst when cooling down, otherwise it would be a waste of effort.

  As for the others who followed, they were also busy for half a day, and the result was that they only came up with some surrealist works, which were so terrible that they made everyone feel depressed to death.

  "This thing can't be rushed, anyway the glass has already been fired, with these materials, if it's not blown well, just smash it and melt it again in the furnace, anyway, it won't be wasted, just a bit of coal, after practicing for a while, you'll naturally blow out good stuff! Take your time! From now on, don't rush!" Gaohaiyuan said with a master craftsman's expression to the three kiln workers, looking quite amusing and giving off an air of pretentiousness.

  But the kiln workers didn't dare to underestimate Gao Huaiyuan anymore. This glaze, they had all heard of it, was something that ancient people had long possessed, but only imperial craftsmen knew how to make it, and it was impossible to find in the folk. But their young master had actually used some materials that were completely unrelated to crystal to burn out the glaze, which was almost like a divine feat! At this moment, they didn't just stop at not underestimating Gao Huaiyuan, but instead worshipped him with extreme reverence!

  It's no wonder they were so shocked, Gao Huaiyuan casually said that this thing was glass, which was an unintentional move, but he forgot that glass had existed in ancient China for a long time. However, the ancient glass was not the same as the glass of later generations, but was made by adding glass stone to the glass mother and firing it. The glass stone is a colored crystal material, its main component should be silicon dioxide, and the glass mother is a natural and artificially refined ancient formula that can change the structure and physical properties of the crystal, with obvious differences in modeling, color and transparency.

  The true cloisonné is a craftsmanship that only royal craftsmen grasp, and cloisonné is lead oxide, while glass is silicon dioxide. Both are fired at high temperatures, but cloisonné is non-recoverable, whereas glass can be recycled and remelted for reuse, and their values cannot be compared.

  It was precisely because of the preciousness of glass that it could only be found in the imperial court, and it was impossible to see it on the market. Although during the Song Dynasty, foreign merchants had already transported glass products to China, at this time the quantity was still very small, and those who had seen them were limited to extremely high-ranking people. The price was also quite expensive. It was really surprising that Gao Huaiyuan could produce such a thing.

  So after Gao Huaiyuan burned out the glass, he immediately settled these people down thoroughly. Xue Yan no longer thought that Gao Huaiyuan's brain had a problem again. Only then did he understand what he had been doing with so much effort all these days! No wonder earlier when Gao Huaiyuan saw this pot of glass liquid come out, he would smile strangely and say that they had struck it rich. Whoever sees such a thing will be overjoyed. Now he is even more unable to see through Gao Huaiyuan, how many secrets does this guy still have on him!

  Now that the glass has been fired, it won't be a difficult task to apply it. The first batch of glass liquid may have impurities, slightly presenting a pale green color, and its transparency is far from being as good as later white glass, let alone crystal glass. In later times, it could only be used for making ink bottles or pesticide bottles. However, even so, in this era, it's still an extraordinary thing. After the two flower vases similar to ink bottles made by Gao Huaiyan himself were annealed and cooled, they were taken out of the annealing room, immediately causing a burst of exclamations from the crowd.

  Gao Huaiyuan held the two objects that resembled large, swollen ink bottles and looked at them from left to right, but he was not satisfied. However, for now, this was all he could achieve, and the craftsmanship still needed to be improved step by step - it wasn't something that could be accomplished overnight. His dissatisfaction didn't mean others wouldn't be satisfied; after all, these objects were ahead of their time. Several kiln workers gathered in front of the "ink bottles", marveling at them with wide eyes that shone like green lights. To them, these two objects were truly too beautiful - they were priceless treasures.

  Three kiln workers, as well as the two sons of Lu Laoshi who had just been recruited, became Gao Huaiyuan's first batch of glassworkers. For them, Gao Huaiyuan was strict and did not allow a single word to be leaked out, but he promised that if they produced good things, he would give them extremely generous rewards. The few people naturally nodded repeatedly, thinking that they had found a good job. From now on, as long as they did well in this matter, they would no longer have to worry about food and drink. Who knows, maybe after working for one or two years, they might even be able to find wives!

  As for the craftsmanship, Gao Huaiyuan let them think for themselves, whether it's blowing or pouring, as long as they can make something practical and beautiful, even if it's just a flat piece of glass, he will give them a generous reward. Moreover, there is no need to be afraid of making mistakes, bold experimentation is also acceptable, as long as they can produce something that can be sold.

  This greatly mobilized their enthusiasm, anyway, they were not afraid of messing it up, so they just did it! A few people started drilling into the workshop day and night, regardless of whether it was hot inside, and began to work after wiping their sweat.

  Gao Huaiyuan took Xue Yan with him, found a carpenter to make two exquisite sandalwood boxes, lined them with brocade and velvet, put the two large "ink bottles" inside, making them look extremely valuable, rushed onto the carriage, and swayed towards Daye County.

  Before firing the glass, Gao Huaiyuan had already thought about the sales route and sales channel when he was wandering around Daye County. He wouldn't open a store to sell it himself, he needed to find a partner, hide behind the scenes, only provide products, and not manage the business at all. This way, he could get rich without drawing attention to himself, which would make things much more convenient for him in the future.

  Moreover, he had already thought of the goal of cooperation. After entering Daye County, he let Xue Yan drive the car straight to an antique shop called Jibao Zhai in Daye County. At that time, glass was still a fresh plaything, and the output was too low. To get rich, one could only take a high-end route. Only by putting it in an antique shop can its value be displayed.

  Jubaozhai was not the largest antique shop in Daye County, and there were two other shops that were much larger than it. However, Gao Huaiyuan chose it specifically, bringing Xue Yan along with him, carrying two exquisite sandalwood boxes, and entering Jubaozhai together.

  "Ah, welcome, sir! You've arrived! I don't know if you're here to buy or sell something?" A young shop assistant hurriedly walked up to Gao Huaiyuan as soon as he entered, greeting him with a smile all over his face. It's no wonder he was so polite, as Gao Huaiyuan had specially dressed up today, wearing his best clothes, and Xue Yan behind him was also neatly dressed, looking like a young master from a wealthy family. Moreover, Xue Yan was holding two exquisite boxes, which is why the assistant asked this question.

  Gao Huaiyuan looked around the store and found that it was all copperware, woodenware, lacquerware, and some jade articles that were not too old. There was nothing particularly impressive, no wonder it couldn't compare to the other two antique shops. At the invitation of the shop assistant, he sat down in a chair inside the store with an air of importance.

  "This young fellow, to be honest with you, I'm here to sell something. However, the thing I have might be beyond your budget, so it's better if the owner of this store comes out and takes a look personally." Gao Huaiyan said politely to the shop assistant.

  The fellow listened, and his heart was slightly unhappy. He thought to himself: "You're just a young man, what kind of insight could you possibly have? You actually dare to say that I've looked at it but can't give a price for it. Could it be that these two boxes of yours really contain some treasure?" However, he only thought this way, and didn't dare to say it out loud. After all, although Gao Huaiyuan was not very old, his temperament was extraordinary, giving people a sense of maturity and stability that belied his age, making others not dare to underestimate him.

  The fellow hesitated for a moment before answering, "Since this young master has said so, I'll go invite our shopkeeper over. But you have to tell me roughly what it's about, so I can give our shopkeeper an answer."

  Gao Huaiyuan smiled slightly and said, "You just go and invite your boss. If my things are not satisfactory to your boss, I'll compensate you with a string of cash. Moreover, I'm a man of my word! You'd better hurry up and invite your boss!"

  This fellow listened and felt that Gao Huaiyuan was not joking with him, maybe these two things were really something good, so he nodded: "Alright! We don't ask for your reward, as long as we don't get scolded it's fine! Sir, please wait a moment, I'll go to the back and come right back!"

  Gao Huaiyuan was sitting with his legs crossed, leisurely sipping tea, when he heard footsteps coming from behind. The door curtain leading to the back hall was lifted, and a middle-aged man with a pale complexion and a slightly plump build walked out. He appeared to be around 30 or 40 years old, with a few inches of beard on his chin that made him look very neat and tidy. As soon as he came out, he fixed his gaze on Gao Huaiyuan, then glanced at Xue Yan beside him, who was tightly holding two boxes. He quickly revealed a smile, cupped his hands together in greeting, and said: "Guest officer, I've kept you waiting for too long! Ma Mou has been remiss in welcoming you from afar, please forgive me!"

  Gao Huaiyuan put down his teacup and also stood up to return the courtesy, saying: "How dare I! Gao Mou came here uninvited, but instead made Manager Ma come out, it's actually me who was a bit impolite!"