The man who stepped out from the inner room of Salmon Roe General Store was middle-aged, in his forties or fifties, with graying hair and beard.
He was thin, but he did not look weak. Instead, he gave off the lean, capable impression of a man who had spent years wrestling with wind and waves, all excess fat stripped away. His skin was rough and dull, his cheeks full of creases, especially at the corners of his eyes and mouth—proof of his life as a small merchant, someone who had needed to greet people with a smile for years.
Overall, he was clean and tidy. Over his linen shirt he wore a dark-blue close-fitting wool vest. The gray stubble on his jaw and upper lip was neatly trimmed, and his medium-length hair, threaded with silver, had been combed back with cheap, lightly scented hair oil and fixed atop his head, revealing a clean, sharp hairline.
His keen Perception took effect soundlessly.
Xia Nan's gaze swept over the man without leaving a trace, sorting everything he observed into his mind and forming his first impression of this middle-aged man:
A small merchant who was not wealthy, but cared about respectability, and was not particularly successful.
But only not particularly successful. He was far from down and out.
At the very least, judging from the appearance and spirit the man showed him, his finances were still passable. He had no problem keeping himself fed and clothed.
"Welcome, two guests!"
"I am Paddy, the owner of Salmon Roe General Store. May I ask what you need help with?"
The middle-aged man squeezed out an extremely proper business smile, one long since carved into muscle memory. He stepped forward behind the counter and greeted the two of them.
At the same time, those faintly