Chapter 1646

He couldn't help but think back to what had happened a few days ago.

Gu Qing: 【Oh, so that woman Shangguan Ting was the one who… helped you release here?】

Zhao Chi: 【Don't mention her.】

Gu Qing: 【Heh, she's quite bold, truly shameless.】

Zhao Chi: 【Mm…】

Although Gu Qing had spoken very well about it before.

Saying Shangguan Ting was powerful and could bring help to Zhao Chi.

But now Zhao Chi could clearly sense a trace of displeasure in Gu Qing's heart.

After all, reason is reason, and feeling is feeling.

Gu Qing was rational enough to know that if she took in Shangguan Ting, the help to Zhao Chi would certainly be great.

But she was still emotional, unhappy about what Shangguan Ting had done to Zhao Chi.

For her to manage this was already not easy.

Shopkeeper Wanyan entered the office.

She closed the door.

In the enclosed space, Zhao Chi was not nervous in the slightest.

Although this time Zhao Chi and Gu Qing had come out together, Gu Qing was the town head, and her tribe-summoning ability could connect two tribes.

One connected to Zhao Chi, the other connected to Qi Yue.

With Qi Yue in the territory, should anything happen, she could be contacted to urgently pull Gu Qing back.

With the three abilities and items — "Tribe Summoning," "Nuwa Stone Fragment," and "Fuxi Qin Fragment" — Zhao Chi's courage had indeed grown considerably.

They all say money is a man's courage.

Safety is everyone's courage.

"Ms. Zhao Si, Ms. Zhao Si, is it really you?"

Shopkeeper Wanyan's tone carried excitement.

Zhao Chi smiled and said, "It's been a long time, Wanyan. How have you been?"

Shopkeeper Wanyan's smile bloomed like a flower.

Her professional smile was a bit like Li Ruanyu's, but Shopkeeper Wanyan's smile carried an extra trace of flattery.

More fitting for her profession and position.

"I'm very well. I'm so happy to see you again. Please, have a seat."

"No need to sit. Take a look at these garments and give me a price."

After saying that, he took out the stockings and handed them over.

"Oh, alright."

Shopkeeper Wanyan immediately rubbed her hands on her uniform, and only after cleaning them did she carefully take them with both hands.

"Ms. Zhao Si, your craftsmanship is getting stronger and stronger. These stockings feel smoother and softer than the last pair, and… and… huh??"

Shopkeeper Wanyan started with praise right away.

But it certainly wasn't forced praise — it was praise tailored to the product's characteristics.

Shopkeeper Wanyan's performance was very natural; after all, she was a professional, and ordinary people couldn't tell whether it was sincere or feigned.

Zhao Chi couldn't tell either, but felt that Shopkeeper Wanyan was genuinely praising.

But halfway through the praise, she saw the stockings' attributes.

The praise that had reached its midpoint came to an abrupt halt.

Shopkeeper Wanyan tilted her head, brought the stockings very close to her eyes, stared intently, her eyes almost crossing.

If she were five years younger, one could say she looked very cute like this.

But now, one could only say she was very professional.

But Shopkeeper Wanyan paid no heed to such things.

Her full attention was on the stockings.

Soon, she spread the stockings out and examined them carefully again.

Zhao Chi couldn't even hear her breathing.

When Shopkeeper Wanyan looked up again, the professional smile was gone.

Her mature, beautiful cheeks were trembling.

It seemed the professional smile and the shocked emotion were fighting for control of her facial muscles.

"Ms. Zhao Si… your skill level… has it improved a great deal? Did you make these, or… or… or did some other master make them?"

If these stockings were still the kind from before with deliberately reduced quality and durability, Shopkeeper Wanyan wouldn't have asked this.

The previous stockings, though also extremely strong, were still within an understandable range.

Saying they were made by "Zhao Si," Shopkeeper Wanyan would have believed it.

But this kind…

Shopkeeper Wanyan found it hard to believe they were made by Zhao Si, and naturally thought Zhao Si was merely a middleman, with someone else the true maker of these garments.

After all, judging by the voice, Zhao Si was too young.

Some things truly cannot come about without the passage of time.

Except for hanging.

Zhao Chi naturally would not answer this question.

"That doesn't matter. Just give me an estimate."

"Alright, let me calm down first and try to give you the most accurate price."

Zhao Chi nodded.

Shopkeeper Wanyan rubbed her eyes hard. She hadn't expected to hear an answer, and the moment the question left her mouth she felt it was improper—rather presumptuous, how could she just ask it outright? Fortunately, the other party didn't take offense.

Shopkeeper Wanyan sat at her desk and turned on the spirit-energy lamp.

The soft lamplight fell on the stockings, reflecting an extraordinarily lustrous sheen.

Without even touching them, just from the reflection one could tell they were extremely smooth.

Shopkeeper Wanyan spread the stockings out on the desk, then carefully calculated something.

"Ms. Zhao Si… how many pairs are you selling this time? Also, I notice these stockings have a slight loss in durability—was it from trying them on?"

Zhao Chi said, "There's a batch, and yes, they've been worn. These have been washed—does that affect anything?"

"Of course it doesn't matter. With attributes this high, even worn they're still very valuable. The batch you mentioned is all the same style, correct? This standard-quality type of stocking?"

"Correct."

"Is the durability the same as this pair?"

"Not necessarily, it varies, but certainly none of them have durability below 90%."

"Understood, please wait a moment."

Another moment passed.

Shopkeeper Wanyan stood up and said seriously, "Taking all factors into consideration, I can now offer you 15 gold coins per pair. Even if there's some durability loss, it doesn't matter—as long as it's not too low, we'll purchase all of them at the new-item price of 15 gold coins. Does that work for you?"

Not bad at all.

This price was considerably higher than Zhao Chi had expected.

After all, it was an older style—he'd originally thought 12 gold coins would be about right, never expected to get 3 more.

However, Zhao Chi didn't agree immediately.

Merchants are profit-driven, after all.

This Yin Wanyan looked harmless, giving off a guileless impression.

She made people feel she was very trustworthy.

But Shangguan Ting, when not frowning, looked even more innocent than Wanyan.

Yet in reality, Shangguan Ting was a complete madwoman.

Wanyan had always given Zhao Chi a good impression.

But after all, he hadn't been in contact with her for very long.

Moreover, Wanyan was a mid-level leader of the Ruby Merchant Guild, and with her beautiful appearance, plus being in the service industry, she certainly wasn't as simple as she appeared on the surface.

On top of that, her age spoke for itself.

She might have had all kinds of experiences, even richer than Li Ruanyu's.