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

Chapter 537 Eagle's Beak Probes for the Soul of Stone

Before dawn, Gu Fanxing had just stepped out of the tent when she saw Craftsman Chen holding a pottery shard, examining it repeatedly in the faint morning light.

Gu Fanxing walked over and found that the pottery shard was coated with the glaze that had been mixed the night before, which shimmered with a pale blue luster in the morning light.

Craftsman Chen looked up, his eyes filled with excitement: "The glaze is even more lustrous than last night! Look, there are no cracks, and no color difference. The test firing today will definitely be a success!"

Pei Luonan walked over, followed by Uncle Li: "Uncle Li said he would take us to Eagle Beak Cliff. He knows the way and can help us find the best feldspar."

After breakfast, the group set off for Eagle's Beak Cliff.

The mountain road was more difficult to walk than expected. The road surface was slippery and muddy after the rain. Pei Luonan walked beside Gu Fanxing the whole time, helping her from time to time. He also specially asked Du Fei to bring non-slip shoe covers.

Gu Fanxing looked at Pei Luonan beside her, feeling a warmth in her heart.

From discovering the kiln site to finding the feldspar mine, he always considered every detail to ensure she didn't suffer any injustice.

After walking about three miles, a cave suddenly appeared ahead.

"We're here! This is the cave at Eagle's Beak Cliff!" Uncle Li pointed to the cave, his voice filled with excitement. "Look, these stones are 'talc,' and when broken, they're as fine as flour."

The craftsman squatted down beside the stone, touched it with his hand, chipped off a small piece, and tasted it (Note: a simple, safe, and harmless method for identifying feldspar from ancient times): "It's feldspar! That's right! It tastes a bit astringent and has a high sodium content, which is exactly the potassium-sodium feldspar we're looking for!"

Gu Fanxing took out a geological hammer: "Let's collect more samples and do composition analysis to ensure that the composition of each batch of feldspar is consistent, so that the glaze we make will be stable."

The team members immediately began collecting samples, while craftsman Chen provided guidance from the side.

Uncle Li sat on a rock by the cave, watching everyone busy at work.

Gu Fanxing walked over and sat down next to Uncle Li: "Uncle Li, once we restore the porcelain-making process of 'Qingning Kiln,' we will protect the feldspar mine here, and put up a sign at the entrance of the cave to tell the story of it and 'Qingning Kiln,' so that more people can know about this history."

Uncle Li nodded, his eyes full of anticipation: "Great, great! My father would be so happy if he knew."

It was already noon when the samples were collected.

As the group walked back, they were suddenly caught in a rain shower.

The mountain path became even more slippery. Gu Fanxing accidentally slipped and was about to fall when Pei Luonan immediately reached out to catch her, but he himself scraped against a stone by the roadside, tearing his trouser leg.

"Are you alright?" Gu Fanxing looked at Pei Luonan's trouser leg, her eyes full of worry.

Pei Luonan smiled and helped her tidy her rain-soaked hair: "I'm fine, just a scrape, it's nothing. It's good that you didn't fall."

When we got back to Qinglongpo, everyone was soaked to the bone.

Gu Fanxing quickly told Pei Luonan to go into the tent to change his clothes, while she took the feldspar sample and ran to the testing station to find Xiao Zhang.

"Xiao Zhang, quickly help me analyze the composition of these feldspars." Gu Fanxing handed the samples to Xiao Zhang, her tone urgent.

Not long after, the results came out: "Sister Gu, the composition of these feldspars is exactly the same as before, but the sodium content is even higher, so the glaze will be more translucent!"

Gu Fanxing jumped up with joy.

Craftsman Chen also came over, holding the prepared glaze in his hand: "I've added the feldspar, and the glaze is even more lustrous than yesterday. Let's go to the old kiln now and prepare for a trial firing!"

When the villagers heard that they were going to try firing pottery shards with the glaze of "Qingning Kiln", they all went to the old pottery kiln.

Craftsman Chen first carefully inspected the structure of the pottery kiln, then directed the team members to clean the kiln chamber and taught them how to stack firewood...

Gu Fanxing and Pei Luonan also helped out. Seeing Pei Luonan's serious expression, Gu Fanxing felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

She knew that these seemingly trivial things all contained his love for her.

After the kiln chamber was cleaned, Pei Luonan shouted, "Light the fire!" and lit the pine needles at the kiln opening.

The villagers gathered around the kiln opening, watching the flames grow bigger and bigger, their eyes filled with anticipation.

Uncle Li, leaning on his cane, stood at the very front, muttering, "The fire must be steady, the fire must be steady..."

Craftsman Chen stayed at the kiln entrance, adjusting the size of the ventilation openings from time to time.

Gu Fanxing took out her camera and filmed the process of igniting the fire and adjusting the ventilation vents. She even started a live stream. On the official website of the special exhibition, many people were already waiting to watch the trial firing process. The barrage was full of comments like "Go for it!", "Looking forward to success!", "So this is how meticulous the ancient method of firing porcelain is!", and "Hopefully it will be successful and bring back the glaze of 'Qingning Kiln'!"

As time passed, the flames at the kiln changed from orange to bright white.

Craftsman Chen leaned closer and looked at the temperature measuring cone—the tip of the cone had already begun to melt.

"Almost there! In another half hour, we can open the kiln!" Craftsman Chen's voice was full of excitement, and the villagers began to cheer.

Pei Luonan handed Gu Fanxing a bottle of water: "Have some water. You must be thirsty after talking to the camera for so long."

He looked at the flames at the kiln entrance, his eyes filled with tenderness.

Gu Fanxing took a sip of water, her heart filled with anticipation. She recalled the day she first discovered the porcelain bowl in the excavation pit, the day she found the kiln site, and every detail of collecting feldspar and testing pottery shards today—all the efforts were waiting for the moment the kiln would be opened.

Finally, the temperature measuring cone melted completely.

Craftsman Chen shouted, "Stop the fire! Prepare to open the kiln!"

The team members immediately covered the kiln opening with a damp cloth to allow the kiln temperature to slowly decrease.

The villagers held their breath, crowding around the kiln opening, waiting to see what the pottery shards would look like.

About an hour later, the kiln temperature finally dropped.

Craftsman Chen put on gloves and carefully opened the kiln door—a burst of heat rushed out, and the pottery shards inside gleamed with a pale blue luster, as if they had just been fired in a Song Dynasty kiln.

"We succeeded! We succeeded!" Craftsman Chen carefully took out the pottery shard and held it up for everyone to see. "Look, the glaze, the luster, it's exactly the same as the porcelain bowl from the 'Qingning Kiln'!"

The villagers cheered immediately. Uncle Li wiped away tears of emotion, muttering, "If my father knew, he would be so happy..."

Gu Fanxing's eyes reddened as she looked at the pottery shard in her hand.

The live stream was flooded with comments: "It's so beautiful! The glaze is amazing!" "Thumbs up for all those who protect our culture!"

Professor Wang also arrived. Looking at the pottery shards, he smiled and said, "Great! This shows that our glaze formula is completely correct! Next, we can start firing complete celadon pieces. We will also make a documentary about this process and put it in a special exhibition so that more people can understand the craftsmanship and heritage of 'Qingning Kiln'."

Pei Luonan walked over, took a small box out of his pocket, and handed it to Gu Fanxing: "Open it and take a look."

Gu Fanxing opened the box, inside was a small plaque made of a mixture of feldspar and kaolin, engraved with the five characters "Qingning Kiln · Heritage", and attached with a red string.

“This is made of feldspar and kaolin.” Pei Luonan helped Gu Fanxing put the tag around her neck. “I hope you can wear it all the time and continue to protect the heritage of ‘Qingning Kiln’.”

Gu Fanxing touched the name tag around her neck, her heart filled with emotion.

Looking at the cheering villagers, the busy team members, and the excited craftsman Chen, she suddenly realized: the inheritance of "Qingning Kiln" is never just one person's business, but everyone's business—it is the rigor of experts, the perseverance of craftsmen, the protection of villagers, and the expectation of everyone who loves history.

The setting sun cast long shadows on the old pottery kiln.

Gu Fanxing leaned against Pei Luonan, holding the fired pottery shards in her hand, her heart filled with hope.

She knew that next, they would fire more celadon, hold more spectacular special exhibitions, and spread the story of "Qingning Kiln" to more distant places—because this heritage deserves to be seen by everyone and to be remembered forever.