It was no wonder Wang Guan suspected tomb raiding; the area being excavated was right on the hillside, and moreover, nearby hilltops were dotted with grave mounds, naturally leading him to that impression.

However, after observing more closely, Wang Guan felt it probably wasn't tomb raiding after all.

After all, tomb raiding wouldn't generate such a large commotion, especially with a crowd gathered nearby to watch. That scenario suggested archaeology.

Wang Guan felt a flicker of curiosity and couldn't resist walking over to see what was happening.

It was only a two or three-minute walk, and Wang Guan quickly arrived, but upon getting closer, he realized all his prior assumptions were wrong.

These people were neither raiding tombs nor conducting archaeological work.

As for what they were actually doing, he was momentarily bewildered. Several individuals were digging enthusiastically with hoes, occasionally unearthing ceramic shards which brought broad smiles to their faces, the very picture of having struck gold.

“What is going on here?” When in doubt, ask. Wang Guan quietly found someone and inquired.

The person had no intention of concealing anything and quickly recounted the entire story in clear detail.

Only then did Wang Guan finally understand, coupled with a sense of astonishment; he never imagined there was such a peculiar pastime.

While others were busy with stone gambling, these people had advanced a step further and were directly gambling on the land.

Uh, "land gambling" was a term Wang Guan coined himself, mainly because the actions of these people were precisely that—gambling on the ground beneath them. More specifically, they were gambling on the contents buried within the earth, namely, ceramic shards.

As previously mentioned, this place, known as the Porcelain Capital, was essentially a city built atop ancient ceramic kilns, meaning countless kiln ruins were buried beneath the soil. In earlier years, one might unearth a piece of pottery just by casually turning over the ground with a spade. Now, it might not be that exaggerated, but the fact remained that many ceramic fragments lay buried deep down.

However, the government had regulations prohibiting casual digging.

But then, there is always a countermeasure for every policy.

The government could stop people from digging randomly everywhere, but they certainly couldn't stop people from digging up the soil on their own private farmland.

So, through the idea of some ingenious mind, they began renting out their own fields for others to dig up ceramic shards. The rent was fixed: if you unearthed something valuable, it was your luck. If you lost out, you simply accepted the misfortune.

This activity inherently carried risk and was highly speculative, so calling it "land gambling" wasn't entirely outlandish.

Knowing the situation now, Wang Guan was utterly speechless. He felt that the schemes in this day and age were endlessly proliferating, and if he hadn't encountered this firsthand and understood the circumstances, he might have fallen behind the times.

“How about it, brother? Are you interested in taking a gamble?” At that moment, the man encouraged him, “A couple of days ago, someone dug up a piece of Rouge Red porcelain from the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty; they flipped it for twenty thousand instantly, not only recouping their cost but making a tidy profit.”

Wang Guan smiled.

He politely declined, then turned and left under the disappointed gaze of the questioner. To be honest, although he had started his career with ceramic shards, his perspective had broadened now. It wasn't that he looked down on shards, but rather he didn't wish to expend the effort collecting them. After all, during the process of collecting shards, he had ample opportunity to snag several major finds (great leaks). His mindset and outlook had changed, and naturally, his methods of operation had shifted accordingly. This was perfectly normal.

After leaving, Wang Guan continued deeper along the narrow country path. After bypassing a village, he suddenly spotted a large gathering of people on another hilltop.

“What’s this about now?” Wang Guan looked over, and after a brief appraisal, he spotted Yu Feibai amidst the crowd. He walked over in surprise and tapped him on the shoulder.

“You’re here too.”

Yu Feibai turned around, smiled, and said, “I never knew digging up pottery shards could be played like this.”

“What, are they land gambling here too?” Wang was somewhat surprised.

“Land gambling?” Yu Feibai blinked, immediately grasping the meaning, then laughed, “Not land gambling, it’s kiln site gambling.”

“What?” Wang Guan was astonished. It was only after Yu Feibai explained that he finally understood.

It turned out the paths on both sides connected, and by taking a detour near the village, he had also noticed a crowd gathering. He had curiously approached to inquire and learned that there was indeed a form of land gambling happening here too. However, it differed slightly from the field gambling. Here, people were betting on ancient kiln workshop sites.

It’s worth mentioning here that everyone should know that the Porcelain Capital only became a major center for ceramics during a specific period. During the Yuan Dynasty, the court established the Fuliang Porcelain Bureau here to oversee the firing of court-required porcelain, which is how it gained worldwide fame and became the center of global ceramics.

“I know that,” Wang Guan replied casually. “That was in the Yuan Dynasty, when the court established the Fuliang Porcelain Bureau, responsible for firing court porcelain, which made this place famous across the land, becoming the world’s porcelain center.”

“Good that you know,” Yu Feibai smiled. “Then you should also know that before the Yuan Dynasty's Fuliang Porcelain Bureau, the Porcelain Capital also had workshops producing tribute items for the Imperial Palace. Although these workshops also served the royalty, their nature was different from the Fuliang Porcelain Bureau and the Imperial Kiln.”

Yu Feibai’s words were not spoken without foundation. During the Jingde era of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhenzong once sent officials to the Porcelain Capital to commission porcelain. Because the porcelain bore the inscription 'Made in the Jingde Era,' the place gradually acquired its current name, the Porcelain Capital, nearly forgetting its original name, Changnan.

“I understand that. The Porcelain Bureau and the Imperial Kiln were not just responsible for production but were also management agencies. But the workshops serving the royalty were purely factories.” Wang Guan pondered, “Are you suggesting that there are such royalty-serving kilns located in this area?”

(To be continued...) RT