Hundred Treasures Silver Building.
Miss Wufu put down the carving knife, rubbed her sore eyes, stretched lazily, and looked at the seal in front of her that she had carved to the right size and shape before exhaling a breath of turbid air.
She caressed the lotus pedestal; due to the cutting, the whole base still had its form, but now there was an extra large piece of rough stone left for carving. Next, she would carve the Pixiu she had envisioned.
Glancing at the sky outside the window, Miss Wufu locked the Chicken Blood Stone in a cupboard, tidied up her belongings, and prepared to head home.
"Leaving already, Miss Wufu?" Jin Xi greeted her with a smile as she emerged.
Miss Wufu smiled, "There’s something at home today, so I’m leaving early."
"Safe travels, miss!" Jin Xi saw her out the door, then turned back to the shop, where he ran into another coworker, Chang Gui, and smiled.
"Hmph. Look at you, fawning like that. That girl’s wet behind the ears, what great things can she do? I refuse to believe she can actually carve something good," Chang Gui said dismissively, curling his lip at him.
Jin Xi smiled lightly, "Who knows? She just might be able to, Shopkeeper Lin and Merchant Liu aren’t fools either. If they didn’t trust her a bit, would they hand top-quality Chicken Blood Stone to her?"
Chang Gui choked on that, but argued, "Who knows what sorcery that girl has cast."
Jin Xi kept smiling and didn’t respond. Whether she used sorcery or not, he didn’t know, but even if she did, it was her skill.
Every day, he saw Miss Wufu with her tranquil demeanor, but she always gave people the feeling that she could carve well from the bottom of their hearts.
Therefore, he too was looking forward to seeing what fine pieces would eventually come from the hands of this girl, whom nobody seemed to think highly of.
Seeing his reaction, Chang Gui just huffed and went off to slack off without further comment.
When Miss Wufu said there was something at home today, it was nothing else but that her uncle, Zhou Xueli’s, wedding was the next day. Today, Madam Zhou was delivering gifts to her natal home.
Although Madam Zhou would be taking Hongyu with her, Miss Wufu still felt anxious; the Zhou family were capable of devouring a person whole. Madam Zhou and Hongyu, one weak and the other young, truly made her worried they might not stand up to the ordeal and end up wronged.
As such, Miss Wufu’s pace on her way home was more than half as fast as usual; she practically ran back, arriving at the village with her face flushed and her head dripping with sweat.
The weather was getting hotter by the day.
Meanwhile, in the small house at the foot of the mountain, Madam Zhou was also making a request of Hongyu.
"Xiao Yu, you mustn’t tell Miss Wufu about what happened today, understand?" Madam Zhou said.
Hongyu frowned, "Madam, they went too far. That hairpin was given to you by Miss Wufu, yet they snatched it away. Even if I don’t tell, Miss Wufu will find out."
Madam Zhou touched her head where the Plum Girl Hairpin she usually wore was now missing, and upon recalling today’s treatment at her maternal home, a bitter smile surfaced on her face.
To add to the joy of her younger brother’s wedding, she had specifically dressed up festively to deliver gifts to her maternal home, hoping to make her mother and the others happy.
However, they did become happy, but her sister-in-law’s eyes locked onto the jade hairpin on her head and turned red with envy. While she was away at the outhouse, her sister-in-law confronted her, saying as the eldest sister-in-law, when a new bride enters the home without any presentable jewelry to show for it, how embarrassing would that be?
After giving her a piece of her mind, her sister-in-law didn’t say another word and took the hairpin from her head, claiming she was just borrowing it to wear for a couple of days. She promised to return it after the new bride had served tea and formally acknowledged the family.
"It’s alright, I’ll just say I kept it safe. Plus, once the bride comes home, she will return it to me," Madam Zhou forced a smile.
Hongyu secretly rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, "As if she’d ever return it, probably like a meat bun thrown to a dog, never to be seen again!"