Chapter 290: If You Like It, You Can Keep It (5^th Update)

Ye Wenxin’s face remained calm, not showing any signs of exhaustion. After the warm-up earlier, she looked at the precious materials in front of her and decided to attempt making an eighth-grade pill.

This time, it took even longer—a full two hours before a single pill appeared.

“What a pity; it’s an average eighth-grade Vitality Pill, but it’s still quite valuable,” the person sighed, not realizing that this was Ye Wenxin’s first time making an eighth-grade pill.

Ye Wenxin was full of confidence. She seemed to have grasped the key to success and quickly made other eighth-grade pills.

“Superb eighth-grade Vitality Pill!”

“Superb eighth-grade Spirit Gathering Pill!”

In just one day, Ye Wenxin had produced the top-grade pills that an ordinary person couldn’t make even with a month, leaving everyone in awe. Her busy work continued as she looked at the female merchant in the distance and asked for the materials to make the Beauty-Preserving Pill.

“Alright, I’ll give them to you.” The female merchant, fully convinced of Ye Wenxin’s abilities, took out the materials for the Beauty-Preserving Pill from her storage ring.

Ye Wenxin focused on the pristine white lotus and the glowing, beautifying herbs, estimating how many pills she could make from them.

If she added some water, Ye Wenxin was confident she could make ten pills. However, if she gave them all to the female merchant without earning any labor fee, it would be a considerable loss for her.

“What’s wrong? Are the materials not enough?” The female merchant’s expression was tense. Sensing an opportunity, Ye Wenxin nodded. The female merchant immediately took out another lotus, her reluctance evident on her face.

“Alright, now I can make twenty pills.” Ye Wenxin sighed with relief. Those who heard her words were startled, finding it hard to believe what she had just said.

To be able to make twenty Beauty-Preserving Pills with such a small amount of materials—if word of this were to spread, it would surely infuriate the Alchemists.

“What? Don’t believe me?” Ye Wenxin grinned. She wiped sweat from her forehead, and then noticed a handkerchief being handed to her. Turning her head in surprise, she saw that it was Madam Yu who had offered the handkerchief.

As for Qiao Ni, since it was already nearing midnight, she had long gone off to play. Ye Wenxin thanked Madam Yu and accepted the handkerchief to wipe her sweat.

Upon closer inspection, she realized that this handkerchief was the very one Madam Yu had been recently embroidering. She couldn’t help but unfold it, and saw vivid red flowers quietly standing out on the handkerchief, looking as beautiful as a dream.

Madam Yu, seeing Ye Wenxin staring at the handkerchief, asked, “Do you like it?”

“Mm, it’s very beautiful.” Ye Wenxin didn’t hide her fondness for the handkerchief. Just as she was about to return it to Madam Yu, she remembered that she had used it to wipe her sweat and hesitated.

Seeing Ye Wenxin’s reaction, Madam Yu continued, “If you like it, you can keep it.” With that, Madam Yu turned and left, not giving Ye Wenxin a chance to refuse.

Ye Wenxin was unsure of how to interpret Madam Yu’s indirect and awkward way of giving a gift. If she didn’t know that Madam Yu had someone in her heart, she might have thought the handkerchief was a token of affection.

But on second thought, it was probably because Madam Yu didn’t want a sweaty handkerchief back, so she simply decided to leave it with Ye Wenxin. With that, Ye Wenxin didn’t dwell on the matter any further.

The sky had long darkened, yet no one felt the slightest bit sleepy; they all wanted to witness Ye Wenxin’s more impressive skills. Ye Wenxin took a sip of tea and instinctively used the handkerchief she had just received to wipe her forehead, catching a familiar scent. It smelled like Madam Yu.

However, Ye Wenxin didn’t dare sniff it too much, fearing Madam Yu might misunderstand her as having a peculiar hobby. She quickly put the handkerchief into her bag of holding, wondering if she should buy something for Madam Yu before she left.

While harboring these thoughts, Ye Wenxin proceeded to her biggest challenge yet: the task of making twenty Beauty-Preserving Pills. Everyone watched nervously, especially the female merchant, who was worried that her materials might go to waste.

Ye Wenxin was the only one pondering how to give a gift to another’s wife.

She thought about Madam Yu and then Qiao Ni, but quickly dismissed the idea of gifting something to Qiao Ni. Although Qiao Ni was dear to Madam Yu, giving her a small gift might make the girl cling to her even more.

With these thoughts in mind, Ye Wenxin worked from night until dawn. Three hours passed in the blink of an eye, and a loud bang jolted everyone awake from their drowsiness.

Looking again, everyone saw that Ye Wenxin had really produced twenty high-quality Beauty-Preserving Pills. The crowd, witnessing this miracle, erupted in excitement.

The female merchant, in particular, was immensely grateful and asked Ye Wenxin how much she needed to pay for the Alchemy service.

Ye Wenxin, wiping her sweat with the handkerchief again, felt a bit weak. Seeing the crowd’s enthusiasm, she suddenly figured out what she should gift Madam Yu.

“Then just give me one Beauty Preserving Pill.”

The female merchant was momentarily stunned. Ye Wenxin thought she had been too presumptuous, but the merchant, without hesitation, gave her ten Beauty-Preserving Pills. This generosity made Ye Wenxin feel that the merchant was indeed straightforward and genuine.

“Here are ten pills, as an apology for my sister’s earlier rudeness,” she said, casting a meaningful glance at the other female merchant not far away.

Ye Wenxin had almost forgotten about the earlier incident, but seeing the female merchant bring it up, she smiled and accepted the pills, saying it was no big deal. After everything was settled, she turned around to walk up to Madam Yu, and couldn’t help showing some pride.

“Congratulations,” said Madam Yu, her face showing genuine blessings and even some relief. Ye Wenxin smiled and handed the ten Beauty-Preserving Pills she had just received from the female merchant to Madam Yu.

“What’s this for?” Madam Yu asked with a puzzled look. Ye Wenxin continued, “The merchant said it’s an apology gift.”

“I’ve already put it behind me, so there’s no need,” Madam Yu replied, unwilling to accept such an overly extravagant apology gift. Ye Wenxin’s hand paused mid-air, and she waved the handkerchief, saying, “It’s also my thank-you gift, for giving me such a beautiful handkerchief.”

Ye Wenxin didn’t expect to be rejected so directly, and felt even more awkward. Madam Yu, upon seeing her embarrassed expression, took the bottle of pills from her.

Just when Ye Wenxin thought Madam Yu would accept the entire bottle, she carefully took out only one pill and handed the bottle back to Ye Wenxin.

“One is enough,” Madam Yu said, casually taking the pill and leaving. It seemed by her manner and the direction she was heading, she intended to give the pill to Qiao Ni as a treat.

Ye Wenxin was speechless. She went to block Madam Yu’s path. “You can’t always think about Qiao Ni, you need to consider yourself too.”