That afternoon, the Gold Pattern Workshop was in even more chaos than on opening day.
Zhou Fu carried a box of finished goods from the front room to the back. He had barely set it down securely when Ye Heng called him back.
"Don't put this one in. Leave it on the table for people to try."
"You just said to put them all away."
"Store the ones we're selling and leave the ones for display. What am I supposed to show everyone later?"
Zhou Fu hurriedly took two pairs back out.
Ye Zhengchuan stood by the door, watching his son wipe the table one moment and move a lamp the next. His expression was still grim.
Two hours ago, the boy hadn't even been able to collect the ten gold owed to him. Now the shelves were more than half empty, with everything stored in that tiny display window. If they still couldn't sell anything that afternoon, it would be even harder to explain that evening.
Ye Heng saw his worry and looked up. "We can take them back out."
"I know."
Ye Zhengchuan pressed the inventory sheet in his hand onto the table.
"What I'm afraid of is that after we take them out, we'll still have to give Shopkeeper Ge a discount."
Ye Heng stopped joking and set the phone up securely.
He made no effort to hide the shelves behind him, and the table wasn't piled high with gold and silver either. He laid a well-worn old belt across the very front of the camera's view, then set out a leather case with a phone inside.
When the appointed time arrived, he started the livestream.
At first, only a dozen or so people came in.
Ye Heng stared at the names, feeling even more tense than he had been when sending money the night before.
Sending flowers only took a single tap.
But now that he was the one standing here, each person who joined was like another pair of eyes at the door, waiting to see what he could say.
"Everyone, you saw my name last night, and today you get to see me."
Ye Heng picked up the leather case.
"My name is Ye Heng, the young master of the Gold Pattern Workshop. Before we talk about selling anything, let's give away the clasps I promised."
He opened the newly available small-item lucky bag on the livestream page and put in the twenty hanging clasps he had set aside in storage beforehand. He had asked Lu Ye to check the feature before the stream started. It still drew on finished goods deposited in advance: each one claimed meant one fewer in stock, and no goods would appear out of thin air.
Twenty pieces, one per person. Once the list of recipients appeared, Zhou Fu recorded each one on the gift list beside him.
One person immediately posted that it had really arrived.
Another said they had been quick enough to claim one, but hadn't seen clearly how it worked.
Ye Heng immediately picked up the leather case on the table.
"Thread it through here, fasten it, and hang it on your belt. When you bend over, your phone won't go tumbling out headfirst."
Click.
The sound was crisp.
He turned the case upside down and shook it twice. The phone inside didn't budge. Then he pinched the catch open and pulled the case free.
"If you really yank on the case, the leather will probably give out first. Don't try to pit it against a Soul Skill. My father isn't that capable, and I wouldn't dare boast."
Ye Zhengchuan glared at him from outside the camera's view.
Some people in the chat laughed.
"Did your father hear that?"
"He did. He just glared at me."
After answering, Ye Heng couldn't help laughing himself.
With that laugh, the tension in his chest eased.
More people gradually joined. Some had watched Liu Ruyan the night before, while others had come for the twenty hanging clasps. Those who missed out said it was a shame, but they were still willing to stay and see what the young master would do next.
It was then that Han Chi entered the livestream.
Ye Heng spotted him at once and called out, "Master Han, I've got the thinnest strap ready for you."
"Let me see how the teeth grip first."
Han Chi dispensed with the pleasantries.
Ye Heng held the pair of wrist clasps close, showing the outside first, then the inside. He gave everyone a clear view of how the catch and gripping teeth closed together, and where room had been left.
"Don't move it. Hold it still."
So he did.
After looking it over, Han Chi asked about the spring.
Instead of saying it was a secret design that couldn't be shown, Ye Heng picked up an uncovered sample from beside him and let the camera see inside. When pressed down, the spring snapped cleanly back into place without skewing to one side and jamming.
"This is a single piece, not a few scraps cobbled together."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Zhengchuan suddenly reached out and took the sample.
Ye Heng was startled.
His father turned the side toward the camera and pointed.
"This part has been polished. Don't just look at the shiny spots. If the burrs aren't cleared away, they'll wear through the belt over time."
With that, he shoved the sample back and stepped out of the camera's view.
Ye Heng blinked.
The man who had still been doubting that morning how many goods a phone could sell had just jumped in and said a few words himself.
The comments below grew lively too.
"Is that the old master?"
"The young master looks like he knows how to spend money. The old master looks like he knows how to make things."
"Enough teasing. How much for a pair?"
Ye Heng read the last comment clearly and finally gave the price.
"Four silver a pair."
He pointed to a sheet of paper beside him listing the specifications.
"These are the sizes. Don't buy the wrong ones for your strap width. They're already stored and listed in the first slot, so have a look for yourselves."
Someone asked, "They're cheap, but if my old clasp is broken, do I have to find someone to fit this one?"
Ye Heng brought the old belt back and first showed everyone the opening where the strap went through.
"If yours threads through the same way, you can replace it yourself. If it's riveted onto your protective gear, you'll have to remove the old rivets. Don't force it open."
He worked as he spoke, but on his first attempt, the end of the strap curled up and failed to come through smoothly.
Zhou Fu quickly reached out to help, but Ye Heng raised an elbow to stop him.
"Don't touch it yet. Let people see clearly."
He pulled the end of the strap back, flattened it, and slowly fed it along the underside of the clasp. This time it went smoothly, and the end emerged from the other side. He fastened the catch and pressed it with his knuckle.
He hadn't used any Soul Power throughout the process.
"Old leather is soft. If it curls up, thread it through again like I just did. Don't just keep jamming it in when it won't move."
The customer who had asked replied that they understood, then asked whether it would rust in the rain.
Ye Heng had been about to tell them not to worry, but Ye Zhengchuan spoke first.
"If it gets soaked, wipe it dry. Don't put it away wrapped in a damp cloth. What we make are clasps, not Soul Tools that can repel water on their own."
Ye Heng glanced at his father and nodded. "Listen to him on that."
Someone in the chat laughed and said the young master was leaving himself plenty of room today instead of making sweeping claims.
Ye Heng held up the belt with the clasp fitted for everyone to see.
"If I make sweeping claims and you bring them to my father, I'll have to take another scolding. Better to explain it clearly now."
This time, the corner of Ye Zhengchuan's mouth twitched too.
Han Chi didn't praise it immediately.
He bought a pair first.
Before long, a message came through on the phone. He had already fitted them to his bracers and told Ye Heng to carry on while he took one apart for a look.
That one sentence did more good than ten assurances.
Several of the people who had still been asking questions immediately placed orders.
When Zhou Fu saw the order count jump, his grip tightened on the inventory sheet.
They'd really sold some!
It wasn't just someone calling out an order. The number of physical items in the display window was dropping one by one, and the payments were appearing on the page as well.
Ye Heng had just tried to get a clear look when the next comment arrived.
"Didn't you used to supply Shopkeeper Ge? I've seen these at his place. The boxes even had your mark on them."
"Yes, they're the same kind."
Ye Heng answered without hesitation.
"I bought a pair. Eight silver!"
"Then he made quite a bit."
As soon as Ye Heng said it, Zhou Fu tugged at his sleeve from beside him.
Young master, leave yourself some room.
But Ye Heng didn't stop. Instead, he brought an old paper box up to the camera and placed it beside the sample on the table.
"You can see for yourselves which part costs more. We don't have a nice box today, just this pair of clasps, for four silver."
Standing to the side, Ye Zhengchuan knitted his brows again after they had finally relaxed.
It wasn't that he thought his son was selling too cheaply.
It was that, with everything laid out so openly, they probably couldn't go on dealing with Shopkeeper Ge as they had before.
But before he could speak, Zhou Fu grew anxious.
"Young master, stop selling!"
Ye Heng froze.
The scrolling comments paused for a moment too.
Zhou Fu handed him the inventory sheet, keeping his voice low, but it still carried into the phone.
"Shopkeeper Ge just sent someone to collect goods, and he asked for this very batch. If you sell so many at once, what will we give him later?"
Ye Heng glanced outside the door.
Sure enough, an assistant was standing in the courtyard, holding a familiar-looking pickup slip. He looked less like he had come to buy something than to carry away goods his own shop had ordered long ago.
Ye Heng put the inventory sheet back on the table, his smile fading a little.
"Didn't he say they were too expensive before?"
"The shopkeeper says you can discuss it further."
The assistant in the courtyard heard them and immediately chimed in.
"Stop the broadcast first and talk it over with your family. Don't let outsiders laugh at you."
Ye Heng lowered his head and looked at the screen.
A new message from Han Chi had just appeared.
"I took one apart. There's nothing wrong with it. Anyone replacing clasps on their protective gear just needs to check the specifications."
Below that, a caravan guard bought ten pairs at once.
Ye Heng suddenly smiled again.
"They've already had their laugh, so we needn't be afraid to let them watch a little longer."
He pushed the price sign closer to the camera.
"Four silver a pair. That won't change. For those who didn't see clearly just now, I'll take one apart again."
The assistant outside turned pale.
But out of the camera's view, Ye Zhengchuan didn't tell his son to stop.