Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn

Chapter 780: Chapter 106: Shining Debut

"Miss Anna, take a look, this chain is surely worthy of your pocket watch now, isn’t it?" After fastening the pocket watch, Yila eagerly presented the chain and watch to Anna.

Anna smiled slightly, didn’t express her opinion immediately, but lifted the necklace and gently shook it a few times in her hand, causing the somewhat hefty pocket watch to hang straight down.

The pocket watch swayed in Anna’s hand and with a "clink," it fell off, the delicate silver chain having broken into two separate pieces.

Anna was prepared; with an empty hand, she deftly caught the falling pocket watch.

"What is this?" Yila was stunned; how could the chain be so fragile?

"So this is the skill of a Chinese master silver craftsman worthy of national treasure? The chain is only for show; it breaks with just a little tug?" Without concern for Yila’s crestfallen face, Anna twirled the broken chain around her finger and flung it out, almost sending it into the still-glowing furnace.

A pair of slender hands blocked the mouth of the furnace, catching the fine silver chain.

"Who says that the skill of Li Quqi is limited to this? Lady, you’ve found the wrong person. The one you are looking for is the apprentice just taken in by Master Li Quqi. The truly skilled apprentice who has inherited Master Li Quqi’s legacy is here," the owner of the hands spoke, pinching the broken half of the chain and winking her vibrant eyes at Anna and the surrounding audience.

With a flick of her arm, she pulled a tall young man out from the crowd, "The genuine successor of the Li family, he alone is the one."

Hundreds of eyes refocused, staring at the face of the young man who had no idea what was going on.

Who did he anger or provoke to deserve this?

Yezi truly regretted listening to Xiao Xian’s words and coming to join the onlookers. He originally intended to blend into the crowd, hoping to sneak a few glances while his father was busy.

Who knew that upon his arrival this morning, he would be caught red-handed by Xiao Xian, who persuaded and begged him to join her at the booth.

Fortunately, when he had arrived at the Miao Silver exhibition, he had not seen his father; otherwise, he would have run away immediately.

When he and Xiao Xian arrived, they happened to encounter Yila and a group of people from Yabao Company surrounded by crowds of onlookers.

"With so many people, I didn’t join the excitement. I’ll accompany you to look at halls D1 and D2, I heard there are beautiful chains and rings over there," Yezi was afraid his father would suddenly appear out of some corner, grab him by the ear, and scold him, "You rascal." Just thinking about it made Yezi feel extremely embarrassed.

"How could you start fawning over foreigners like others do? I don’t need to see any jewelry; having you and Uncle Li make bracelets for me is enough," Yezi noticed that Xiao Xian was wearing the familiar engraved plum bracelet on her wrist today. Hearing her serious and instructive tone, just as it was back in Ge Village, stirred his heart.

"Do whatever you want. If father catches me, you better plead on my behalf," Yezi softened his tone, shouldering his way through the crowd, and built a human wall for Xiao Xian.

"Shh, don’t interrupt; I can barely hear the voices inside. Yezi, when did Uncle Li take on an apprentice? That person says he’s Uncle Li’s closed-door disciple," conversation and commentary from the surroundings mixed with the dialogue from Yila, Anna, and others, creating a bustling atmosphere akin to a market fair.

Fortunately, Xiao Xian had excellent hearing and could clearly make out the conversations inside despite the barrier of people.

"Impossible, the Li family’s skills are not taught to outsiders. Besides, even if they were, it may only happen after I’m dead or..." Yezi was cut short by a glare from Xiao Xian, "or when I refuse to inherit the family business. Only then would father look for someone else to take over."

"With an unfilial son like you, Uncle Li and Aunt Miao might have been better off childless. But let’s set that aside for now; that person is rolling up his sleeves, getting ready to start making silver. Wow, I didn’t expect such a complete set of silver making tools here; they look very familiar, almost identical to those in your family’s silver workshop in Dongnan Miao Village," Xiao Xian, familiar with the Li family and liked by the elder Lis, viewed their usually-off-limits silver workshop as familiar as her own backyard.

As a child, she often played in the silver workshop and remembered a few occasions when Uncle Li was testing Yezi’s carving and painting skills, and she had caused a bit of trouble.

"Father also has a small workshop in Beijing, for convenience during various exhibitions to work on the displays. The setup there is similar to what we have at home. That bellows, it weighs about the same as the one we have at home; that skinny guy definitely won’t be able to handle it," Yezi wasn’t looking down on Yila; he was simply stating the facts.