In chapter 6, a royal emissary comes to Ch'ulp'o. Villagers speculate that, because there is rumor of two destinations that the emissary is going to visit (Ch'ulp'o and Kangjin), the royal emissary is going to assign a pottery commission for the palace. On the day the emissary is expected to visit the village, Min gives Tree-ear instructions that he is to set up two planks on which the emissary can view the sea as they view Min's pottery (p. 65). It is Min's hope that the emissary will compare the shades of his pottery to the green, blue, and gray hues in the waves of the ocean. On the top shelf, Min displays a duck-shaped water dropper, a lotus-bud–shaped water dropper, and three burners. A lion, a fierce dragon, and a wise tortoise surmount the basins of the three separate burners (p. 67). Min also displays a set of floral-patterned nesting boxes in the center of his collection of work. On the bottom shelf, Min sets two prunus vases and a matching melon-shaped jug and water pot. Min also displays Tree-ear's favorite piece, a bowl which showcases Min's ability to create petals that overlap each other.