The pottery firing succeeded
News of the successful pottery firing swept through the entire Fire Tribe like a gust of wind.
At first, everyone could hardly believe it. Could lumps of mud really turn into hard things that would not soften in water? Only when Wang Yan, Gubang, and the others personally carried that reddish-brown, rather ugly large clay pot down to the creek, filled it to the brim with water, carried it steadily back, and set it over the fire to boil, without the pot showing the slightest sign of softening or cracking, did everyone erupt with excitement!
The tribespeople gathered around the few successfully fired pieces of pottery-one large pot, three small bowls, and a jar-touching them over and over, looking at them again and again. Their Fire Tribe had made these things themselves! From now on, they would no longer have to wait longingly for their one and only large clay pot whenever they wanted to cook!
When Chief Jianshi and Qingye returned to their hut that evening, the couple looked at the pieces of pottery on the ground, too excited to speak for a long while. "Qingye, pinch me," Jianshi said, his voice trembling slightly. "I'm not dreaming, am I? We... we can really make pottery now?"
Qingye smiled, but tears glimmered in her eyes. She squeezed her husband's rough hand firmly. "It's not a dream. It's real! Our son Yan made them!"
Once they calmed down, the two began to reckon things up. The more they reckoned, the harder their hearts pounded.
"These things don't cost much to make!" Jianshi counted on his fingers. "Clay is everywhere along the river. There's plenty of firewood in the woods. Our tribe isn't short of hands now. But what they're worth..." He picked up the little clay bowl. "Just one little bowl like this, taken to the Fish Tribe's autumn market, could fetch at least... at least a piece of dried meat this big!" He gestured with his hands to indicate an exaggerated size.
Qingye nodded vigorously. Having come from the Fish Tribe, she knew even better what pottery was worth. "More than that! If we can fire large pots like the one I brought from my family, or finer jars, we could trade for even more! Fine hides, even the dried fish and fishing nets the Fish Tribe specializes in! We never dared dream of those before!"
"Exactly! These things are hard currency! From now on, our Fire Tribe won't have to dance to other people's tune, trading game we worked so hard to hunt for that tiny bit of salt! We can trade pottery for it!"
He grew more excited as he spoke. "With enough salt and food, we can feed more people! The tribe's children can grow stronger, and the hunting teams can travel farther! We won't have to fear winter anymore!"
"All of this is because of Yan..." Qingye gazed outside the hut, toward where Wang Yan and his younger brothers rested, her voice filled with pride and lingering fear. "When he fell back then, I really thought... Who would have imagined that after waking up, he'd be like someone blessed by the ancestors? Finding food, making pottery... He really is our Fire Tribe's lucky star. He's here to lead us into a good life!"
"From today onward, aside from making sure we have food, the most important thing in the tribe will be firing pottery! Didn't Yan say he could make it even better? We'll give him our full support!"
The next day, Jianshi called Wang Yan and the three aunts responsible for making pottery together for a simple family meeting. Jianya, their adviser, was there too.
"Yan, the pottery you made was a success! This is wonderful news!" Jianshi got straight to the point, unable to suppress the joy on his face. "Your mother, your Uncle Jianya, and I have discussed it. From now on, firing pottery will be the tribe's top priority!"
He looked at Wang Yan with burning eyes. "How many people do you need? What sort of place do you need? Just say the word! You can pick anyone from the hunting and gathering teams!"
Wang Yan already had a plan in mind. He answered steadily, "Father, we're only just starting, so we shouldn't make it too large yet. I'd like Aunt Baiya, Aunt Niucao, and Aunt Luye to focus on this work first. They're good with their hands and already familiar with it. Then we can find five or six careful women or older children in the tribe who are willing to learn, and have them learn from the aunts. Gubang, Daya, and Shouchai will keep helping me too."
"As for the place..." He pointed to the clearing where they had fired pottery yesterday. "That spot is good. It's close to both water and clay, and there's plenty of room. We need to put up a shelter to keep out the wind and rain, and build more, better kilns."
"Good! We'll do everything your way!" Jianshi waved his broad hand. "For the shelter and the new kilns, have your Uncles Dali and Dazhuang lead the hunters who are taking a rest to do the work!"
Their adviser Jianya added, "Yan, your father is right. Pottery is the foundation of our strength. My thinking is that we should keep quiet for now and put our heads down to make more. The first batch should go to the tribe's own needs. Let's make sure every household has all the cookware it needs, so everyone can easily have hot meals."
He paused, lowering his voice a little. "For the rest, we'll pick the well-made pieces with proper shapes and stockpile more of them. The autumn market is only two months away. When the time comes, we'll take this pottery to the Fish Tribe to trade! We'll surely be able to bring back enough food to see us through winter! We might even get some other things we need."
Wang Yan immediately understood the deeper meaning behind Uncle Jianya's words-make a fortune in silence, then astonish everyone with a single cry. He nodded. "Uncle Jianya is right. The pottery we're making now is still rather ugly, and its thickness is uneven. We need to keep experimenting. How to make the clay blanks thinner and smoother, how to control the heat so the color comes out more evenly, how to make different shapes... All of that takes time and practice. Let's meet our own needs first, then think about trading."
From that day on, the clearing at the edge of the Fire Tribe became the tribe's "forbidden ground" and "treasure land" in earnest. Wang Yan's pottery workshop was officially established.
Aunt Baiya and the others led the newly selected women and older girls, spending each day mixing and kneading clay and practicing shaping clay blanks into various forms. Wang Yan devoted more of his energy to improving the kilns and studying the proportions of the clay mixture. He tried adding fine sand or ground shell powder to the clay to see whether it would make the pottery stronger and less prone to cracking. Gubang and Daya became full-time "fuel supply captains," leading a band of boys in chopping firewood and making charcoal.