Shopkeeper Ge's assistant had never expected to be left standing outside because of a phone.
In the past, when he came to the Gold Pattern Workshop, he never had to bring cash. He only had to name a quantity, and someone would deliver the goods to his cart. If anything fell short, he had the final say, and when the remaining payment would be settled was up to the shopkeeper back home.
Today, he had already shown them the pickup slip.
Yet the young master inside was still talking to the screen.
"Old Master."
The assistant addressed someone else instead.
"The shopkeeper sent me here personally today. Surely you wouldn't really do this over a few individual customers..."
Ye Zhengchuan looked up.
"How much is he willing to pay?"
"Two silver and six copper."
Ye Zhengchuan glanced at the slip in his hand.
"We haven't settled on a price, but you've already written up a pickup slip. When did I ever agree to that price?"
The assistant's expression stiffened.
The room fell quiet for a moment.
Ye Heng heard them, and the clasp in his hand turned more slowly. Zhou Fu, meanwhile, couldn't help looking at the phone.
Another order had just appeared on it.
Four silver.
The buyer hadn't haggled, much less told them to deliver the goods first and wait until next month for an answer.
Ye Zhengchuan pushed the pickup slip back.
"Settle the old outstanding balance first."
"The shopkeeper has to check it over..."
"Then come back when he has."
With that, the old master turned and went back inside.
The assistant stood there without moving for a long while. Only then did he realize that the threshold was still the same threshold, but the people inside were no longer prepared to receive him by the old rules.
In the livestream, some viewers had heard the exchange at the door and were busy asking what had happened.
Ye Heng didn't follow the assistant with the camera. He simply set the sample in his hand down securely.
"Old business. We won't talk about people today. Everyone, look closely. Four silver buys this pair, and the dimensions and workmanship are all here."
He fastened the wrist clasp onto a leather strap and asked Zhou Fu to hold the other end. The two of them pulled in opposite directions right in front of the viewers.
The strap went taut.
The clasp didn't budge.
Zhou Fu pulled harder, his face turning red. Ye Heng had only meant to demonstrate it, but seeing him pull with increasing determination, he hurriedly said, "That's enough. If you really tear the strap, you'll have to pay me for another one."
People immediately laughed in the comments, saying the young master hadn't been nearly so reluctant to spend money last night.
The remark hit home. Ye Heng's face warmed slightly, and he didn't even try to deny it.
"The money I spent last night was money. This strap is my dad's own belt. He can't bear to part with it."
Ye Zhengchuan was just about to take a drink beside them when his cup stopped short.
Zhou Fu looked down at the belt in his hands.
No wonder it was so old.
He had even used it to wipe dust off the edge of the table just now!
Ye Zhengchuan reached out and took the belt back. He glanced at the end and, after a long moment, squeezed out, "Have you brought everything in the house over here to test?"
Ye Heng hurriedly handed him the sample.
"We were afraid people wouldn't believe us, so we had to use something that's really been worn."
"Wouldn't a new one work too?"
"A new one hasn't been worn down. You can't test these things with it."
That actually made a certain amount of sense.
Ye Zhengchuan couldn't continue his scolding for the moment, but the onlookers below laughed even harder. Someone even said not to let the old master leave; whenever he appeared, the goods looked more reliable than before.
Seeing that, Ye Heng deliberately stepped aside.
"Did you hear that? They all want to see you."
Ye Zhengchuan had meant to move away, but when he saw the page of specifications his son hadn't finished explaining, he finally stayed where he was.
"Use this one for thin straps. For thick ones, you need the other model. Don't buy it and try to force it in."
As he spoke, he took two different leather straps and threaded them through one by one.
Ye Heng stood beside him, passing him samples, while Zhou Fu watched the orders.
The young master who had been talking nonstop just moments ago was now reduced to finding things for his father.
Yet the stock was disappearing even faster.
Of the three hundred pairs of locking strap clasps, some people bought just one pair, while others bought a dozen or more for an entire guard squad. When only the last few dozen pairs remained, Ye Heng hadn't even finished reading out the number before the sold-out notice popped up beside it.
Zhou Fu abruptly straightened up.
"The wrist clasps are gone!"
Ye Zhengchuan's hand stopped in midair.
He had touched that crate of goods that morning. It had been so heavy that it took two assistants to carry it. Though the pieces were all small, packed together they were enough to make the shelf beneath them bow.
Now, there really wasn't a single pair left.
Ye Heng first tightened his grip on the sample, afraid his father might put it away too, then looked at the camera.
"This batch of wrist clasps is gone, but there are still hanging clasps. The promised price hasn't changed: two silver coins, for the kind used on phone cases."
Those who hadn't managed to buy any clamored for him to restock.
Seeing those comments, Ye Heng was naturally itching to do so, but just as he was about to move the crate beside him, Ye Zhengchuan planted a hand on it.
"Not that crate."
"Dad, we haven't finished putting everything up yet."
"That crate hasn't been inspected."
His voice grew stern, and Zhou Fu hurriedly grabbed a corner of the crate as well. On the screen, all anyone could see was father and son refusing to give way over a crate of goods. Even the people buying hanging clasps paused for a moment.
Ye Heng looked at his father and suddenly blinked.
His father really had stopped him just now.
But the people below had plainly heard only that he wouldn't allow them to sell.
So he turned around and lowered his voice toward the camera.
"My dad can't stand watching anymore. The remaining batch of hanging clasps has already been inspected. If you need them, go ahead and buy them. I'll rescue this crate first."
Ye Zhengchuan watched him, his brow twitching.
What did he mean, rescue?
Before he could ask, Ye Heng said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Let me sell the inspected ones first. Don't really move the table."
Ye Zhengchuan glanced at the orders, then at the comments urging them to stop arguing, and finally understood what his son wanted to do.
He didn't join in with any reckless scolding. He simply lifted the crate of uninspected goods and carried it away.
"That's enough for today. You're not adding any more."
Ye Heng quickly waved at the camera.
"You heard him. This really is all for today. If you missed out, don't worry. Come back once they're made and inspected. We won't fob you off with unfinished goods."
After he said that, the remaining hanging clasps didn't last long either.
Not counting the twenty giveaways set aside separately, all two hundred copper hanging clasps listed for sale sold out completely.
Ye Heng watched the quantity drop to zero, his hand tightening slightly around the phone.
"Thank you, everyone."
He no longer pretended to be at ease. He cupped his hands earnestly.
"If there's a problem with the goods, come to the Gold Pattern Workshop. Next time, we'll settle the price and prepare the stock before inviting everyone back."
With that, he ended the livestream.
Ye Zhengchuan was still standing by the door with the crate in his arms, seemingly wondering whether he should scold him a little more to make his earlier attempt to stop him more convincing.
Ye Heng quickly raised a hand toward him.
"Dad, it's already off."
The old man froze.
"Off?"
"It's off. You can put the crate down now. Aren't your arms tired from holding it so long?"
Ye Zhengchuan set the wooden crate down heavily beside the table and looked first at his son, then at the phone.
"How much did we sell?"
Ye Heng turned the page toward him.
Three hundred pairs of locking strap clasps: one hundred and twenty gold.
Two hundred copper hanging clasps: forty gold.
The gifts and samples weren't counted, and the twenty giveaways were recorded separately on paper.
Altogether, one hundred and sixty gold in sales.
Ye Zhengchuan opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Only after the fees listed on the page had been deducted and the money from the settlement had actually landed on the table did he reach out and pick up one of the coins.
It was a gold coin.
He had felt that weight for decades. He couldn't have mistaken it.
Zhou Fu stood beside him, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. He asked quietly, "The ten gold for tonight..."
"Pay it first."
Ye Zhengchuan finally came back to his senses and divided the money.
"Settle what we owe others first, and pay the craftsmen too. Send word to your father and tell him he doesn't need to wait for me to come borrow money tonight."
Zhou Fu jerked his head up.
That morning, the old master had actually been planning to borrow from his family!
He looked at the money on the table, his eyes growing warm. He hurriedly answered and went out.
Ye Heng stayed where he was, waiting for a word of praise from his father, but Ye Zhengchuan pushed the account book back toward him.
"The ten gold you took is your own debt. And today's hundred and sixty gold isn't all yours either. The cost of materials and labor comes out of it."
"I know."
Ye Heng's answer was steadier this time than it had been that morning.
Ye Zhengchuan looked at him for a while, then finally gave his shoulder a light pat.
"This time, you actually look like you're getting things done."
Half a street away, Shopkeeper Ge looked at the empty display window, his face dark.
The assistant who had just been sent back stood by the table. After hesitating for a moment, he fished a pair of wrist clasps from his sleeve.
"Shopkeeper, I bought them to check."
Shopkeeper Ge slowly raised his head.
The assistant hurriedly added, "They really are from his workshop, just like the goods they used to send us."
Shopkeeper Ge stared at the pair for a long time without speaking.
In the past, without him, the Gold Pattern Workshop could only have let those goods continue to lie there.
Today, his man had stood outside the door, while the goods that had sat piled up inside for so long went around him, one piece at a time, and were sold into other people's hands.
Worse still, his own assistant had paid four silver for the pair in front of him.
He hadn't left him even half a copper coin's worth of their old relationship.