Assassin Farmer - Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Chapter 68: First Class Goods

Lin Si Yao enjoyed his tea in silence, occasionally taking a glance at Su Shuilian, who was merrily chatting just right by . She met his gaze, and they slipped smiles at each other . She must’ve been worried that she was ignoring him . Lin Si Yao’s mouth curved upward, and sipped his tea .

What Jiang Yangrui started as a polite business deal became a full-fledged conversation and gossip . She was secretly impressed by Su Shuilian’s extensive knowledge, and assumed that she was definitely not someone who was raised in a common household .

Judging from the natural atmosphere she created, Jiang Yangrui couldn’t help but suspect her real identity .

Of course, she didn’t dare ask with a mere shopkeeper-seamstress relationship . After all, she had the right to her own privacy .

If her hunches were right, Su Shuilian must be a daughter from an aristocrat family running off with Lin Si Yao . But her flawless embroidery skills dissipated Jiang Yangrui’s doubts .

“First Shopkeeper, the verification is finished . Here’s the verdict . ” The craftsman returned from the back, and passed up an envelope for her to read .

Jiang Yangrui skimmed through the content in a flash, a smile slowly formed on her lips, as she looked up from the envelope and met Su Shuilian’s curious stare . And spoke: “Shuilian, congratulations, <Drunken Beauty> has been determined as First Class Goods . ”
The country of Dahui had a uniform system of measuring quality . Each embroidery floor had a validating craftsman, in order to determine the value and legitimacy .

Embroidery is judged through size, difficulty, art, and materials, and divided into three quality levels- first, second, and third classes, then split into upper, mid, and lower subcategories . Any goods below Third Lower Class was considered crude, something that even a normal housewife could embroider and unsuitable for the market . So even if a business were to take those in stock, the goods would be repressed and unsellable .

The <Paired Phoenixes> that Su Shuilian completed along with Xi Cui was determined as “First Lower” Class, mostly because Xi Cui was too reserved about her part of the embroidery .

However, having <Drunken Beauty> validated as the highest grade was quite a leap from Jiang Yangrui’s expectations .

She had considered the possibility of Su Shuilian’s work being graded as First Upper before, but it never ventured beyond the corner of her mind . It was a shock to see it with her own eyes and listen with her ears .

In the eleven years of managing the embroidery floor, they had never once received an First Upper Class work . They’ve only had three pieces of First Mid Class works before, with one of them still under the hands of Su Shuilian .

Across the entire Fanluo City, how many embroidery floors have produced a First Upper Class embroidery? None! But with just one of these talents, any embroidery floor would have long since risen as a top floor in the metropolis .

The woman in front of her, who didn’t even remotely resemble a seamstress, had broken Yueyun’s eleven-year standing record in merely half a month, rewriting Fanluo City’s history of embroidery .

Jiang Yangrui felt incredible joy that she had signed her into a contract . With Su Shuilian’s morals and personality, there was no worry at all about her being poached by the other floors in a year . In a year, she’ll still be able to say that Su Shuilian was under her Yueyun Floor . As for salary, Jiang Yangrui was willing to pay any price as long as it was reasonable .

“A’Yao, let’s go eat something good at the Wu Qin Restaurant . ” Su Shuilian happily took Lin Si Yao’s hand, and led him to the Wu Qin Restaurant on the west side of main street .

The validation of <Drunken Beauty> had earned her twenty fat pieces of silver . This was her first paycheck upon entering Dahui’s Fanluo City . How could she not be happy?

“Sure . ” Lin Si Yao grinned as he touched her joyful face . He felt a little surprised: She can be satisfied with just these twenty pieces of silver?

He thought about the glittering treasure and jewelry stored under the dresser . Any of them was well worth ten silver, and there was one piece that was worth well over a hundred . Even when they first met, he was carrying close to fifty silver . Back then, she didn’t care too much about money anyway . They spent only what they needed, and sometimes he had to suspect, did she even know their true market value?

Though those twenty silver were the result of half a month of labor, so it naturally wasn’t the same .

When the two arrived at Wu Qin Restaurant at noon, it was a long wait since it was full of customers . They managed to find a table at the very corner .

They ordered some house and regional specialties: Beggar’s Chicken, Pinenut Fish, Sautéed Wormwood, and Five Color Stew . The dishes quickly filled up the tabletop .

“Waiter, please prepare two crispy-skin ducks to go, we’ll pick it up after the bill . ” Su Shuilian beckoned . She wanted Dabao, Xiao Chun, and Xiao Xue to have a taste at home .

“Sure thing! Don’t worry, madam, I’ll take the order to the chef now . You just need to tell them your table number when you come pick up . ” He smiled kindly at them . The waiter was the same one back then, when the pair came to eat here for the first time . It was a rare sight to see such a handsome young man and elegant lady coupled together in Fanluo City . They were quite hard to forget .

The other customers occasionally glanced at Su Shuilian’s table, too . Their eyes were filled with amusement, with a hint of envy .

… .

Lin Si Yao furrowed his brows unhappily, and gave a quick exhale . His iciness and pressure immediately negated the entertained gazes of the nearby .

“A’Yao? What’s wrong?” Su Shuilian heard his grunt, and stopped eating . Seeing his darkened expression, she worriedly asked: “Are you feeling alright?”

“It’s fine . Just a little stuffy in here . ” Lin Si Yao looked away, and threw an excuse .

“Stuffy?” Su Shuilian looked around in confusion . With the howling winter outside, the warmth of the indoors should be comforting . Though maybe he was the same as her, and was not used to large dining halls .

“Then let’s finish quickly, and go shopping for some New Year’s goods . ” Su Shuilian beamed, and pinched a piece of fried fish to his bowl .

“Sure, you should eat more yourself . ” Lin Si Yao’s unhappiness disappeared in an instant with Su Shuilian’s act . He filled her a bowl with the mixed stew of chicken, mackerel, soy beans, bamboo shoots, and carrots, and started eating . She was already his wife, and that was enough . What did others’ envy involve him for?

But, Lin Si Yao hadn’t realized that a gaze from nearby wasn’t for Su Shuilian, but specifically for him… . Lu Wan’er, sitting under the window on the west side .