Chapter 795: Longevity Lock
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "More than that, this longevity lock is not only about engraving the silver pattern, but also about the craftsmanship. There are many crafts involved. The longevity lock in your hand is of the highest quality. Starting with the selection of the best silver."
Silver is also divided into grades, and silver locks made from different silvers are naturally different.
Compared with the selected silver and the craftsmanship of silver making, the silver pattern on the longevity lock is only ranked last, but even the craftsmanship at the last place is also top-notch among silversmiths.
There are only a few people in the whole Jin who have such skills.
Outsiders may not know who it is, but those who work in this business can tell at a glance that this is the work of Master Xia from Shangzhou.
Laymen only look at the silver patterns on the longevity lock when they are watching the fun, but experts look at the craftsmanship of making the silver lock, which is the foundation. Only when the silver lock is well made, the silver patterns will not get stuck when being engraved on it, and the silver lock will not be damaged.
Manbao asked, "Master Xia is so powerful, the longevity lock he made must be very expensive, right?"
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "That depends on how you buy it. If it's already made in the store and displayed, it won't be that expensive. But for something like this, made to order, not to mention the fact that it won't cost at least a hundred or eighty taels, I'm afraid it would be difficult to ask Master Xia for favors."
Manbao asked curiously, "How can you tell this was custom-made?"
The shopkeeper looked at Manbao suspiciously. He recognized Manbao. After all, Jishiditang was just across the street, and the incident involving Young Master Ji had caused quite a stir. As the shopkeeper of a wealthy and powerful family in Yizhou City, it would be hard for him not to know Manbao.
That's why he explained it to her in such detail now. But seeing that she knew nothing, the shopkeeper couldn't help but hesitate. Could it be that this longevity lock was not hers?
That’s right, which young lady from a rich and powerful family would come out to learn medicine and treat patients?
I usually walk up and down the street every day.
Although he had his doubts, the shopkeeper said, "There are two words engraved inside this lock."
He had seen it when he looked carefully just now. Now he turned the lock over and held it to the sunlight for Manbao to see inside. "Look, there are two small characters engraved on the inside of the lock, one above and one below. One is 'Zhou' and the other is 'Xia'. Are these the surnames of the young lady's parents?"
Manbao was stunned. She squinted her eyes and looked through the small hole. Her eyes were almost cross-eyed, but she still couldn't make out what words were inside.
Seeing Manbao rubbing his eyes, the shopkeeper smiled and said, "The words are a little small, and the hole is also a little small. It's normal that the young lady can't see it."
Manbao blinked his sore eyes, gave up, accepted the longevity lock and thanked the shopkeeper, then said goodbye and left.
When Manbao returned home, Mr. Zhuang was waiting for her in the study. "Why are you back so late today?"
"I talked to someone on the way." Manbao had something on his mind, but he didn't tell the teacher. Instead, he sat obediently on the chair and took out his textbook.
Mr. Zhuang glanced at her and opened his textbook. "Then let's go to class."
Manbao attended two classes in the afternoon and then left school. She put away her notes, stood up and respectfully saluted her teacher.
Mr. Zhuang sat on the chair, looked at her, nodded and said, "Go ahead."
Manbao stepped out of the study. She stood in front of the door and thought for a moment before saying to Daji, who was waiting for her outside, "I'm not going to the library today. You can let Shanbao go by himself."
After saying that, Manbao turned around and went back to his room and took out the longevity lock.
She looked at it again against the light and found that she still could not see anything, but through the small hole, she could indeed see that there was something engraved inside, but it was all hazy and she could not make out anything.
Manbao turned her aching neck, sighed, and stared at the longevity lock in her hand in a daze. After a while, she couldn't help but ask for help from Keke, "Keke, can you let me see the words inside?"
Keke: "Yes, the host can buy a magnifying glass in the mall, or you can pay points and let me scan it for you to view."
"Then scan it."
This was the first time that Manbao placed an order directly with Keke without asking about the points.
Koko silently scanned her and then projected the image in front of her, and Manbao saw the structure inside the longevity lock.
Only then did I discover that the upper and lower pieces of the lock were not only symmetrically engraved with the words "Zhou" and "Xia", but also had two symmetrical chrysanthemums. If it weren't for Koko, no one would have noticed that these things were engraved inside.
Manbao rubbed the longevity lock in a daze, and put it back on her neck after a long time. She suddenly felt a little sad, and before she could do anything, tears came out one after another.
Manbao sat by the window and wiped her tears silently. She didn't know why she was sad, but she was very sad.
She had a vague guess in her mind that maybe other things County Magistrate Tang said were wrong, but one thing he said was very right: her family didn't have enough money to make her such a longevity lock.
Even if their family was not short of money before Fourth Brother started gambling, they definitely could not afford such a longevity lock.
Bai Shan couldn't wait for Manbao in the academy, so he ran out of the gate and saw Daji waiting outside. He ran over with a basket of books and asked, "Where is Manbao?"
Daji said, "Miss Man didn't look well, so she didn't come. She asked the young master to read by himself."
Bai Shan put the book basket on the car and jumped into the driveway. "No, let's go home. Is she sick?"
Daji said: "It doesn't look like that, it looks more like he's in a bad mood."
Bai Shan looked around and asked, "Where's Bai Er?"
"Young Master Tang said he and his classmates went to Qixia Mountain to play, and he would go back later."
Bai Shan said, "The provincial school exams are coming up in three months. How can he still be in the mood to play?"
"Do you want me to go find him and bring him back?"
"Forget it," Bai Shan was anxious to go home and decided to let him go today. He said, "Let's go home first."
Bai Shan jumped off the carriage and ran to the study to pay his respects to Mr. Zhuang before running to find Manbao. He ran past the window in a flash, then backed up and came to the window which had been opened a crack at some point.
He opened the window and looked inside, just in time to see Manbao wiping away tears with his head down.
Bai Shan was stunned for a moment before asking, "Manbao, what's wrong with you?"
Manbao was crying intently, but was startled by his voice and raised his head immediately.
Bai Shan saw that her eyes were red and swollen, and even her nose was swollen, so he hurried to the front, and without knocking, he pushed the door open and ran in.
He asked angrily, "Who bullied you?"
Manbao wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand and said in a hoarse voice, "No one bullied me."
"Then why are you crying?" Bai Shan bent down and looked at her face, tapping a teardrop on it and said, "Look, your eyes are swollen. Is it possible that the patient you treated is not well? Or is it that you can't do the homework assigned by the teacher?"
Manbao said, "I won't cry about schoolwork."
She turned around, with her back to Bai Shan, and saw that her window was wide open, facing the yard. Daji was standing in the yard, looking at her curiously.
She stood up and slammed the window shut.
Next update at 6:00 PM
(End of this chapter)
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