Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn

Chapter 781: Chapter 106: Shining Debut

Indeed, it didn’t take long for Yila to squat down, huffing and puffing heavily, before standing up and calling over two security guards to help.

"Didn’t expect that fake to have some real skills; he must have learned silver making, the chain came out looking decent," Xiao Xian hadn’t gotten the chance to see Anna’s pocket watch, but she saw Yila proudly showing off the chain he made, displaying it before attaching it to the pocket watch.

"It’s all show and no substance, that Yila made a big mistake. The pocket watch is exquisitely made, and in an attempt to match it with the chain, he carved a lot of patterns into it. The soft nature of the silver jewelry and the dense patterns are likely to weaken the durability of the chain. A little force, and the watch will break," Yezi had just finished speaking when Anna, only minutes later, lifted the pocket watch and swung it in the air a few times, and the chain broke.

Then, there was Anna’s mockery and humiliation towards Yila and Li Quqi, while Yezi listened on the side, a haze of color crossing his forehead.

As Yezi hesitated whether to step forward, Xiao Xian had already spoken up for him.

"Another high disciple of Li Quqi? They say a person only has two legs, one fails, and yet another pops up. I don’t have so many silver coins and pocket watches to be toyed with," Anna snorted, clearly not believing these two young men who had just stepped out from the crowd of onlookers.

"You don’t believe it? Naturally, I have a way to make you believe. Look, this bracelet on my hand was made by this young man who has inherited the true craft of Master Li Quqi," Xiao Xian took off the bracelet and showed it to everyone.

The plum blossom bracelet had been in Xiao Xian’s possession for several years, and silver jewelry needs people to nourish it. Xiao Xian’s body was healthy, and with the moisture of Spiritual Energy, the bracelet wore on her became shinier the longer she wore it.

The plum blossoms on the bells at the opening of the bracelet, improved by Yezi, was as lifelike as ever, each petal thin as paper.

"Anna, I’ve seen this style of silver engraving craftsmanship before. At the last Geneva International Jewelry Fair, Li Quqi won the Creative Gold Award of that year with silver jewelry in this style," Paul took the bracelet with great care and examined it in his hand.

Compared to Xiao Xian’s bracelet, the other pieces of silver jewelry looked like dusty pearls, all grimy and dull.

Anna glanced at Xiao Xian and saw her calm and composed, staring back at herself. Then she looked at the new Li Family disciple standing beside, not saying much, "Since you claim to be Li Quqi’s leading disciple, I’ll give you another chance. If you fail again, I will personally smash your silver furnace, and moreover, wherever Yabao Company is present, the words ’China Miao Silver’ are not to be seen."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Chinese onlookers around her realized that this woman was not here for a custom order but to cause trouble.

"Miao Silver is our cultural essence, and all fifty-six ethnicities of our nation are one. Why should we listen to this woman’s provocation? Young man, accept her challenge," the high-pitched voice belonged to the Beijing lady who had been outside hall D4 watching a pop star sing, wildly waving her shopping basket.

Yezi was also angered, he snatched the pocket watch and walked over to the bellows, taking off his coat in the process.

After washing his hands in the bowl filled with Clean Water, Yila watched his actions, inwardly screaming. Could it be that this kid is really Li Quqi’s personal disciple? Yesterday, when Li Quqi saw the bowl, he paused unexpectedly, muttering to himself: "Could it be that someone in Beijing knows my old habit."

Yila had always thought that the bowl of water was for cleaning the silver. He didn’t expect it to be for purifying hands.

Wrong, the Li Family craft is only passed down within the family, from male to male. Could it be that this kid is Li Quqi’s own son who had gone out into the world? It’s indeed a small world.

After Yezi washed his hands, he kneeled on one knee, with his left hand on the bellows, he added a few pieces of charcoal to the furnace. (To maintain cleanliness in the venue, only smokeless charcoal could be used in the silver workshop burner.)

Li Quqi’s silver-making tools were unlike those of ordinary craftsmen; he did not favor modern tools such as electric diamond engraving knives or electric blowers. In his silver workshop, none of these could be seen.

Taking the windbox that Yezi had been "attending to" since the age of five as an example, it was a cumbersome, primitive wooden-colored old-style windbox.

Several thick wooden planks, coupled with two sturdy pieces of cowhide, had an iron handle for pulling. To insulate from heat, the handle was wrapped with several layers of coarse cloth. When pulling the windbox, one had to channel strength from the waist straight to the arms.

The wrist had to exert force flexibly and with vigor. The speed and frequency of pulling the windbox had to be fast and dense, all in one go.

The more you pushed and pulled the windbox, the greater the volume of air produced, and the faster the stove’s fire would grow. Due to years of pulling the windbox, the men of the Li Family typically had a left arm thicker than the right, unlike most adult men.

"Begin!" Yezi shouted loudly, with a powerful voice that resonated clearly throughout the entire D4 pavilion.

An expert’s touch would reveal whether they have real skill or not.

Xiao Xian puffed out his chest, a sense of pride naturally emerged; just from seeing Yezi’s posture, he knew that he came from a prestigious background.

Yila, standing by, didn’t dare to make a sound.

Anna also put away her mocking gaze, coldly watching from the sidelines. The fire from the windbox entered the stove, and the furnace quickly turned red.

Seeing that the fire was about right, Yezi stopped pulling the windbox.

He walked over to the Silver Melting Pot and threw the broken necklace back into the pot.

"Bring me a few pieces of scrap silver material; that pocket watch alone weighs over 300 grams. This bit of a silver chain is hardly enough," Yezi roughly gauged the weight of the pocket watch with a few touches, without needing a scale.

"Use scrap silver material? My pocket watch chain must be made of the finest silver," Anna, upon hearing this, was furious, as if she was being treated like a beggar, casually trying to be tricked with some rubbish silver.

"Shut your mouth, if you don’t want me to melt down your pocket watch right here, then stop nagging, incessant chatter is so annoying," Yezi, once he started working on the silver, seemed to become a different person, the coy manner he had among the crowd had all disappeared.

Xiao Xian watched from the side, snickering to himself; this was the true Yezi, the little overlord of the past.

Anna really did shut up, not because she heeded Yezi’s words, but rather because she saw what Yezi did after he took the silver material.

Yezi picked out a few cylindrical pieces of silver from the scraps Yila had brought over. These were remnants from Li Quqi’s previous silver-making sessions, varying in shape and weight. "Since you’re going to melt them, why be picky, just use the largest piece," Yila wanted Yezi to quickly make a chain and urged him as she saw him being choosy.

"Who said I was going to melt these silver materials?" Yezi chuckled, picked up a scalpel-like sharp engraving knife, and tossed it skillfully between his fingers, eliciting gasps from the onlookers.

Yezi selected a piece of cylindrical silver about as thick as a thumb and ten centimeters long, clutched it between his thumb and index finger, and with a couple of flicks of the blade, made two cuts in the center of the silver piece.

He thought to himself, he had shown off enough in front of Xiao Xian, it would be better to finish the work quickly before his father returned. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian () to cast your recommendation ticket, monthly ticket, your support is my greatest motivation.)