Chapter 137

Xingqiu bid farewell and left.

Xia Zhi reflected on their conversation, feeling a bit surprised.

He hadn't expected Liyue to have already incorporated copyright into its laws at this time.

As expected of the City of Commerce.

It was time to open for business.

The little girl was the first to run to the door, her sweet voice ringing out: "Customers! Please come in with Yaoyao!"

Xia Zhi couldn't help but smile hearing this.

Around 4 PM, Zhongli arrived punctually again.

As expected of a god, his sense of timing was impeccable.

Xia Zhi prepared rainbow fruit juice for him but didn't serve the "Rain Coat Cucumbers." After all, that was a cold dish, not a dessert, and didn't pair well with juice. It was fine to eat casually at home, but not suitable for serving guests.

"Use [Skill Steal] on target?"

"Yes."

"[Skill Steal] successful, learned skill [Art Appreciation] from target."

"[Skill Steal] has entered cooldown, usable again in 24 hours."

"[Art Appreciation]: Automatically master proficiency in appreciating art works, become an Appreciation Master."

This time Xia Zhi didn't have the feeling of new knowledge suddenly appearing in his head like before.

He only felt that the world in his detection vision suddenly changed.

The concepts of beauty and ugliness became clearer.

The style and arrangement of tables and chairs, the design and color of customers' clothes, the makeup on girls' faces...

Things he previously only vaguely felt were good-looking or not, he could now instantly see the issues.

The tables on the left were placed too close together, that customer committed the cardinal sin of wearing red with green, that girl's lips were too vibrant...

Is this the perspective of an Appreciation Master?

Xia Zhi was stunned and couldn't help but "look" at the calligraphy he had written on the wall.

...This writing... looks so ugly...

Xia Zhi silently withdrew his gaze. What does it matter if the writing is ugly? Come on, I'm blind! It's already amazing that others can read what I've written!

But speaking of which, Liyue had all kinds of legends related to Rex Lapis.

The delicious snacks Rex Lapis discovered when he got lost, the signboards with Rex Lapis's personal inscription, the famous opera where Rex Lapis once performed a minor role...

Especially in the antique street shops, almost every store had some good items that Rex Lapis had touched. As for whether those items were real or not, probably only Mr. Zhongli himself knew.

Rex Lapis had wandered around Liyue for thousands of years, seeing all kinds of worldly sights. It was quite reasonable for him to become an Appreciation Master.

But none of this mattered. What mattered was that with this skill, he could finally understand what Mr. Yun was singing when watching operas in the future. He no longer had to worry about not being able to say anything when Zhu Zi asked him about it. His image as an all-knowing, all-capable boss in her heart could be preserved.

After dinner in the evening, the three of them went to the harbor area to find Yanfei. This time she was in her law consultation office, smiling as she invited everyone to sit down and even brewed hot tea.

"What brings you here, Mr. Xia?"

"I have a business deal with the Feiyun Commerce Guild and would like to ask Miss Yanfei to help handle the contract."

"What are the specifics?"

"It's about copyright revenue sharing..."

Yanfei listened carefully and nodded with a smile: "I see, I'm familiar with this type of business..."

"Oh? Has Miss Yanfei handled many similar cases before?"

"No, I was the one who proposed this law to the Qixing."

!?

Sorry, we didn't recognize the expert.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Miss Yanfei."

"It's a small matter."

"When you have time, come to the shop and I'll make magical mapo tofu for you."

"Never mind the mapo tofu! Don't worry, Mr. Xia! As a friend, I'll definitely negotiate the best revenue share for you!"

After having a cup of tea and chatting for a while, the three said goodbye and left. Xia Zhi had wanted to visit the beautiful owner of the neighboring craft shop, but they had already closed, so he had to give up.

On the way, they saw a kitchenware store, and Zhu Zi quickly reminded him.

"Boss, that store sells pickling jars. I don't think we have any in our kitchen. Should we buy a few to take back?"

"No need, I happen to have one in my room."

"Oh."

Zhu Zi nodded, suddenly feeling an indescribable curiosity about the boss's room.

How does the boss's room have everything... I really want to take a look... But employees can't enter the boss's room casually... Sigh...

After bathing at night, Xia Zhi returned to his room and suddenly felt compelled by his obsessive-compulsive disorder.

He felt the room's arrangement looked off: this table shouldn't be placed here, the bed should be moved a bit closer to the window...

After bustling about for a while, he finally arranged the room to his satisfaction, then contentedly began his daily tasks.

At night, Chi yu phased through the wall from next door, and was startled by the suddenly changed appearance of the room.

Did I enter the wrong room?

No, this familiar incense scent, and the familiar person on the bed, this is definitely the right place!

Chi yu curiously surveyed the room.

Although the furnishings were the same as before, just slightly rearranged, it gave her a pleasing feeling.

It was as if... this wasn't just an ordinary room, but a carefully arranged work of art.

Did an expert come by during the day?

Chi yu silently memorized the scene before her, deciding to rearrange her own room in the same way when she returned.

The next morning, after Xia Zhi got up, he opened the [Shop] and bought a pickling jar.

[Dragon-Turning Pot]

Quality: Silver

Type: Set Kitchenware

Property: None

Effect: When processing ordinary ingredients with this pot, it can greatly shorten the time for brewing and fermentation processes.

Hidden Effect: Activate set bonus when all eight set kitchenware pieces are collected.

Price: 20 points

Generally, pickles take 6-10 days to be ready, but that's too long to wait. Might as well spend some points to speed it up.

This was the second piece of set kitchenware.

Xia Zhi carried the [Dragon-Turning Pot] downstairs and placed it in the corner of the kitchen.

When Zhu Zi and Shenhe returned from grocery shopping, they started making pickles, cutting up cabbage, radish, cucumber, and such, throwing them all in and soaking them in salt water.

By the time the egg and shredded pork noodles for breakfast were ready, Xia Zhi opened the [Dragon-Turning Pot] and tasted a piece of radish.

The taste was sour and crisp; it was already pickled.

"Boss, is it ready already?"

"Mm, want to try?"

"It really is! So crispy! Delicious!"

Shenhe took a bite, her eyes brightening a bit.

Xia Zhi felt she really liked sour flavors.

"Boss, is it because of this jar?"

"Yes, this is a family heirloom treasure. Remember not to tell anyone outside, I'm afraid someone might try to steal it."

Zhu Zi quickly shook her head, indicating she would keep it secret.

Shenhe slightly narrowed her eyes, a hint of killing intent seeming to leak out for an instant.

If anyone dared to come steal this pickling jar, she would probably make them understand the wrath of an adeptus.

Xia Zhi was certain.

This girl really does love sour foods.

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