Who should the final gift be given to? There’s no need to say, really; whoever receives it is one of the juniors, and that respected person had already taken a liking to this Chicken Blood Stone.
Yet, when such words came from a young girl, Merchant Liu’s gaze towards Miss Wufu grew deeper, suggesting that the girl was more insightful than he had imagined, even grasping the significance behind gift-giving.
Shopkeeper Lin shared the same thought, recalling what the Fourth Young Master had said, his look towards Miss Wufu becoming even more eager.
"Pixiu ward off evil, and whether one is old or young, it is cherished by all. If the lady possesses the skill, I think Pixiu wouldn’t be a bad choice," Merchant Liu said without concealing his thoughts.
Miss Wufu nodded, having already guessed as much.
"Miss Wufu, with the base as it is, how will you carve a Pixiu?" Shopkeeper Lin couldn’t help but ask.
Miss Wufu glanced at him, almost smiling, and said in a deliberately mysterious tone, "This is when the artisan’s skills are put to the test!"
Shopkeeper Lin’s face warmed slightly. Of course, any craftsman with a semblance of ability would have their secret techniques. If they were spoken aloud for others to learn, how could they remain secret?
In truth, Miss Wufu did not share his concerns; she now had two mouths to feed and was in desperate need of silver, so earning money was vital.
She could explain the design to the craftsmen at the Hundred Treasures Silver Building, and for silver, she could share as well, but she needed more to establish her reputation, so her path forward would be smoother.
"Then please proceed, Miss," Shopkeeper Lin quickly regained his composure. "What about the price?"
"I’ll give you a friends’ discount, a craft fee of one hundred taels of silver," Miss Wufu declared. "I can deliver within one month, and I’ll take away any leftover scraps."
One hundred taels, once more, one hundred taels of silver!
Shopkeeper Lin’s mouth twitched several times. She really dared to ask for it, and always the same amount—did she have a fondness for the figure one hundred?
As if seeing through Shopkeeper Lin’s thoughts, Miss Wufu said, "Shopkeeper Lin, this is a Chicken Blood Stone worth ten thousand taels. One hundred taels is not excessive, is it? This is a friends’ price. Were Merchant Liu to approach me personally, I wouldn’t accept the order for less than five hundred taels!"
What a friends’ price indeed, and what bold words from the young lady! Could she really turn this Chicken Blood Stone into something divine?
"Furthermore, given the flaw, just repairing this one piece will take me several days. One hundred taels, truly, is the cheapest price!" Miss Wufu pointed at the abruptly damaged lotus petal.
At this pointing, Shopkeeper Lin felt somewhat in the wrong. He cursed that craftsman half to death; his master couldn’t discern the value, which meant he too could not do good work. What a mess this was!
The Fourth Young Master was still staying in the city. If he knew that the shop under his jurisdiction kept having problems, would Shopkeeper Lin even want to continue?
"What does Merchant Liu think?" Shopkeeper Lin turned to look at Merchant Liu, who seemed aloof as he looked towards the ceiling beams, and Lin felt frustrated, suspecting that he and the Hundred Treasures Silver Building were about to bear the brunt of this mistake.
Sure enough, as soon as Merchant Liu heard, he stroked his beard and said, "Since I’ve entrusted the Chicken Blood Stone to your shop, it’s naturally up to your shop to handle it." There had to be compensation for his loss, after all.
"Then, about the craft fee..." Shopkeeper Lin tentatively began; originally, when taking on this job, the fee had been agreed upon. Now that the craftsmanship had failed and damage had been done, reparation was expected, but not to this extent.
Seeing Shopkeeper Lin’s calculative demeanor, Merchant Liu considered how, though inadvertently, Lin had allowed him to avoid a greater disaster, and Liu snorted lightly, "If I’m satisfied when the work is done, I’ll add fifty taels."
To eke out even a little more from Zhou Bapi felt like some achievement. Eager for more, Shopkeeper Lin pressed on, "Then, Merchant Liu, you should be especially thankful to Miss Wufu, for it was she who pointed out that the Blood Guanyin could not be carved!"
Miss Wufu smiled; Shopkeeper Lin was indeed good to deal with, always following the script so well.