The owner stopped Lily since he could not miss such a money-making opportunity. “Ma’am, hold on!
Thank you for appreciating and taking a liking to his work. That’s a great affirmation to him. I’m in
charge here, so he has no right to choose his tasks. He’ll take your order, and I promise he’ll create the
perfect craft for you. You won’t be disappointed!”
“Boss, I…”
“Shut up! Get out forever if you don’t want to do this!” After Lily paid the deposit and took her receipt,
she walked over to the block of wood that the young man was still carving. She lowered hier gaze to
look at it before bending down to pick up a scrap of wood. “Sir, can I take this with me?”
“Of course!” the owner said casually because it was just a tiny scrap of wood.
Lily heard footsteps behind her a short while after she left the shop. She stopped without turning back
and noticed that the person behind her had stopped too.
She smiled and continued walking, then turned into an alley quickly. Her back was pressed to the wall
as she waited for her prey. Sure enough, she saw the person behind her looking around for her.
“Are you looking for me?” Lily walked out of the alley and asked, a faint smile on her face, Since he
was discovered, he chose to be honest. Staring at Lily, he asked, “Why do you want me to be your
craftsman?” “I think that you have great craftsmanship!” Lily smiled.
“You’ve seen nothing I made. How would you know that?” He was not convinced. “Are you trying to
make things difficult for me?”
“What would I get out of that?” Lily took out the piece of scrap wood from earlier. “Also, I’ve seen the
things you crafted. Weren’t you just crafting one earlier?”
“I’m not done with that yet.” His rebellious aura diminished a little when talking about his carvings. “I
know that, but it already looks great even when it’s just an unfinished product. Plus…” she paused for a
moment before continuing, “You carved most of the items in the shop, didn’t you? Including the ones I
bought today.”
The young man was surprised upon hearing her words. “How did you know that?”
“I can see the similarities through the techniques, strength, and the flow of its lines.”
Hence, the owner was bluffing about the professional artisans he had to handle the private orders. He
only did that to attract his customers’ attention. After all, most of them probably were not experts in
craftsinanship, and they cared little about which craftsman crafted their product.
The young man’s eyes lit up. “You’re a craftsman too?” She shook her head. “No, I’m not. There’s
something I want to ask you, though. Did your boss purchase the wood in bulk? Or…”
“Why are you asking this?” the young man questioned. “I’m just curious. That’s all.” Looking at him, she
asked, “You can’t tell me that?” After thinking, he said, “The boss purchased them in bulk. You need to
ask him if you want to know his sources.”
“Everything?” she asked again as she waved the scrap wood in her hand, “Including this?”
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