Hearing the villager say they had dug something up, the neighboring villagers, naturally assuming it was just a shard of pottery or something similar, came over to take a look out of curiosity. But upon seeing a dense row of bricks, a moment of confusion gave way to sudden realization.

"A kiln site, we've hit a kiln site."

At the cries of a few men, not only Wang Guan and Yu Feibai looked over, but even those nearby diligently digging paused their efforts to crane their necks and verify the news.

"Did we really find it?"

Yu Feibai immediately jumped into the large pit, his expression a mix of delight and disbelief. However, once he saw the clearly stacked bricks in the pit, his face lit up with overwhelming joy: "Fantastic! Everyone keep digging, double the hourly wage..."

Double the wages meant two hundred per hour.

Hearing this, the seven or eight villagers suddenly became very motivated, working together to shovel away the soil along the line of bricks. Before long, everyone could make out a clearer outline.

"It really is a kiln site."

Seeing this, all suspicion vanished. At this point, those who had rented the land lost all interest in digging and instead gathered around to watch the excitement, their gazes inevitably filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment.

"Young man..."

Just then, a portly middle-aged man in the crowd called out loudly, "How about you sublease this plot to me? I can offer a twenty-thousand rental fee."

Huh? A resourceful fellow. Can it even be done that way?

In an instant, prompted by that man's suggestion, many others caught on. Right, the ownership of this land temporarily belonged to Yu Feibai, so he had the right to sublease.

"Twenty thousand is nothing, I offer twenty-five thousand!"

"Thirty thousand!"

Among those present were certainly some who were quite wealthy. Now that the kiln site was right before their eyes, it was natural to compete for it. Even if the chances were slim, how could one know without fighting for it?

"Young man, although your luck is good in finding a kiln site immediately—worthy of celebration—the kiln might not necessarily hold any porcelain. It could be empty," someone advised earnestly at the right moment. "At this stage, if you just sublease the kiln site to me, it’s a sure bet. Guaranteed profit, no risk involved..."

There was some truth to that statement, after all, empty kilns were not unheard of; in fact, they were quite common. Kilns only fell into disuse and eventually became buried in the mountains when they were no longer operational. In the process of abandonment, the contents might very well have been cleared out. Therefore, whether anything remained inside the kiln was indeed an unknown.

"Exactly, young man, just take the profit and run. We'll bear the remaining risk..."

Hearing these murmurs from all sides, Wang Guan couldn't help but smile, thinking of the scene at the rough stone market—it was exactly like the situation after a successful stone gamble.

However, while these people spoke sweetly, they were actually hoping to get a bargain. After all, the risk of digging out a kiln wasn't as great as gambling on stones. While there were certainly empty interiors, the possibility of finding ceramics was much higher. If the kiln contained even a few intact pieces of decent quality porcelain, the tens of thousands spent on rent could be recouped instantly upon resale.

Yet, Wang Guan also knew that these people's wishful thinking was likely misplaced. Knowing Yu Feibai as he did, he certainly wouldn't stop here under these circumstances. Even if the kiln turned out to be completely empty after they dug it open, Yu Feibai wouldn't have any regrets.

And indeed, Yu Feibai completely ignored the clamor from the crowd and only urged the villagers to dig faster.

In fact, he didn't even need to urge them much. Once they confirmed they had hit a kiln site, the seven or eight villagers were greatly excited and dug with even more vigor than before. But Yu Feibai still felt it was too slow, so he promptly threw more money around to recruit a few more people to help. With more than ten people working together, progress was naturally fast.

About half an hour later, when a villager brought his heavy hammer down, shattering a few bricks and revealing a dark, gaping entrance, it immediately caused a stir among the crowd.

"Young man, it's not too late to change your mind," someone persisted, unable to give up. "I can offer sixty thousand, sixty thousand for the lease..."

The reason for raising the price so high was mainly because the darkness visible through the opening suggested a relatively large interior space, possibly containing many ceramics. But to the bidder's disappointment, Yu Feibai was completely unmoved by the high offer and showed no inclination to respond.

By this time, the gases inside the kiln had mostly dispersed. Yu Feibai squatted down, observing carefully for a moment, looking as if he intended to crawl inside immediately.

"Wait..." Wang Guan quickly stopped him, then smiled, "Don't rush, let me go back and ask Uncle De to send a few people over to help."

"Hmm?"

Yu Feibai started, then realized, glancing back at the "fierce-eyed" crowd, and immediately agreed with Wang Guan's suggestion. While one should not harbor malicious intent toward others, one must also guard against it. If they found anything valuable inside the kiln, there was no guarantee that some people could resist temptation and cause unpleasant incidents for everyone.

It didn't take long for Wang Guan to return, followed by seven or eight sturdy young men. Seeing this display, some people’s resolve visibly wavered.

"You all stand guard here; we'll go down and check the situation."

At this, Yu Feibai eagerly leaped into the kiln, switched on his flashlight, and began to examine the interior closely.

Wang Guan naturally followed him in, taking in the surroundings. He found the kiln opening to be quite spacious, though somewhat dim, obscuring a clear view of the actual conditions. However, one thing was certain: the area was indeed empty. Generally, kilns are very large, about twenty meters in total length, with a capacity of around two hundred cubic meters, capable of firing ten tons of daily-use porcelain at once.

This space included not only the area for stacking porcelain but also the kiln mouth, the firebox area, the loading chute, the flue, the kiln floor, and other sections; these various functional zones combined to form a complete kiln structure. Thus, after entering, the two felt the space was immense and were unsure which functional zone they were currently in.

"Maybe this is the flue area."

After walking a few steps, Yu Feibai found several pieces of half-charred firewood and immediately made a guess. He had to thank Gao Dequan for taking him and Wang Guan on a tour of a kiln site a few days prior; otherwise, he would have no idea what the flue area was.

Of course, Yu Feibai only knew the name "flue area"; whether this was actually the flue, he could only vaguely speculate, claiming no responsibility for accuracy.

"The flue area usually holds firing saggers or rough porcelain," Wang Guan said, looking around, then shrugged, "Doesn't seem like it here."

"It doesn't matter." Yu Feibai swept his flashlight around and quickly laughed, "I found the doorway; let's go check the next part."

"Oh."

Wang Guan also noticed the arched doorway ahead and quickly followed Yu Feibai as they stepped into another space, where they immediately saw something.

"Heh heh, I knew there had to be something here," Yu Feibai said happily upon seeing it, quickly walking over to look, only to find several wooden chests carelessly stacked in a corner.

The wooden chests were unlocked and without lids, naturally covered in a layer of dust. Yu Feibai leaned in for a closer look and saw that the boxes contained miscellaneous clutter—some scattered tools and a number of jars and pots.

"You're quite lucky," Wang Guan observed with a light smile. "The jars and pots don't seem broken; they might be worth something."

The environment was dim, and visibility was poor, making it difficult to determine the age of these items, but judging by the feel, Wang Guan was certain the jars and pots were quite good and likely antiques.

In contrast, Yu Feibai wasn't very pleased. Although they had found something, it clearly fell short of what he had imagined, naturally failing to satisfy him.

"There should be another entrance."

Yu Feibai searched and, as expected, found another arched doorway. However, his luck seemed to have run out. After entering the doorway, the space inside was completely empty, containing nothing at all.

Furthermore, this space seemed to be the end; there were no more archways inside. This meant Yu Feibai's only haul was the few boxes from before. Whether that counted as a profit or a loss would only be determined after moving the boxes out and assessing the specific value of their contents.

It might not be a loss, possibly even a gain, but Yu Feibai was still rather unhappy. "What a waste of effort."

"Having a harvest is already good; what more do you want?" Wang Guan smiled lightly. "Did you think this place was piled high with porcelain? Stop dreaming. This is a ceramic firing kiln, not a warehouse for finished goods."

"That's true."

Yu Feibai thought about it, then turned and exited with a sigh of resignation.

"How was it?"

"Did you find anything?"

Upon seeing the two emerge, the surrounding crowd bombarded them with questions. Yu Feibai gave no indication of answering, merely waving for a few people to go in and carry out the wooden chests.

"There really was something," the others, unlike the greedy Yu Feibai, were thrilled when they saw several people struggling to carry the boxes out, as if the finds belonged to them.

Soon, a few boxes were brought out. Then, unwilling to give up, Yu Feibai ordered the men to search every corner of the kiln thoroughly, ensuring nothing was missed, before finally shaking his head and leaving with a sigh.

Of course, the several boxes were all taken away together. After Wang Guan, Yu Feibai, and their group departed, the remaining crowd exchanged glances and then, with a silent, shared understanding, jumped into the kiln to continue searching, hoping to find any overlooked treasures...

This was an aside and need not be detailed. However, Gao Dequan was indeed surprised when he saw Yu Feibai actually bringing back several boxes: "Did you really dig up something?"

"Just a pile of junk," Yu Feibai frowned. "How is it that people at ancient kiln sites always dig up so much, but I only find a few broken boxes?"

"That's because you haven't dug deep enough," Gao Dequan chuckled. "If you dig in the fields near the kiln site, you’re sure to find plenty of shards..."