Chapter 36
“2 yuan received.”
After testing the Barrenlands sand with the shop’s QR code scanner, Ning Zhixia’s expression confirmed his suspicions. These tiny crystals, which he found even more beautiful than Swarovski crystals, weren’t very valuable here.
But he didn’t mind, because the Barrenlands sand came in various shapes and sizes, perfect for creating more intricate nail art designs. Most importantly, their natural, icy facets enhanced the texture, surpassing even Swarovski crystals.
Ning Zhixia wasn’t going to accept such a large box of materials for free, so he immediately did Mohui’s hooves.
With a full range of materials in the shop, Ning Zhixia generously used several bottles of gel polish to create a green gradient on the hoof walls, combined with watercolor outlines and blending, for a jade-like effect.
He had stocked up on sculpting gel before, mixing translucent gray-blue and milky green to create a celadon-like shade. Since the hooves were large, sculpting small flowers would be too laborious, so Ning Zhixia used Qu Banqing’s resin molds to create a cluster of orchids, carefully attaching them to the hoof wall and curing them.
The jade-like hooves, wreathed in soft, green smoke, looked elegant and refined, perfectly matching the centaur’s desired style.
“Phew… all done!” Ning Zhixia wiped his sweat, and the centaurs gathered around to examine the finished product, subtly comparing their own hooves.
Mohui pushed aside his brothers, whose eyes were practically glued to his hooves, and took a few steps, the green smoke from his legs swirling around the orchids.
“It’s really nice.” Hecate chuckled, recalling, “Ah, I seem to remember someone saying they disdained flashy decorations on their hooves…”
Mili snickered: “Yes, yes, who was it? Oh dear, I can’t seem to remember…”
“What can your stupid brain remember?” Mohui kicked Harpas, who was trying to cause trouble, and said sarcastically, his chin raised haughtily.
Mili yelled, “What stupid brain, this is a beautiful brain!”
Amidst the bickering, Ning Zhixia suddenly reminded them, “If you want to change the design in the future… once every twenty days. I won’t repair any damage caused by your own actions.”
Mohui froze, the brewing fight instantly dissipating, and he and his brothers looked at Ning Zhixia in disbelief.
“Twenty days! Twenty days!”
Harpas yelled, didn’t that mean he couldn’t run around and play in lava during this time?
Hecate lowered his eyes and pleaded, “Kind human, can’t you repair them for us in between?”
“No, no, it’s too much work!” Ning Zhixia was firm. If he agreed, these centaurs wouldn’t take care of their hooves, and would probably run off and play the next second.
No matter how much the centaurs begged and pleaded, Ning Zhixia remained resolute.
To prevent them from sabotaging each other, Ning Zhixia even helped them draft a peace treaty for hoof care, each centaur reluctantly dipping their hooves in paint and stamping their hoofprints on the document.
Only after Ning Zhixia agreed to let them visit as long as they didn’t damage the furniture did the centaurs wag their tails happily and trot away.
When the room was quiet again, Ning Zhixia picked up a piece of Barrenlands sand and examined it closely under the light.
Cubic zirconia was sparkly, Swarovski crystals were translucent, but the Barrenlands sand combined the best of both worlds, its facets impeccably brilliant.
Ning Zhixia took one and asked Audrow, “Can I sell these as gems?”
Audrow thought for a moment, then shook his head: “Not recommended, the rules will rationalize their existence, the material will be at most equivalent to artificial crystals here.”
“Okay…” Ning Zhixia abandoned the idea. Besides, it would be more troublesome than he imagined, and it was better to use them as a pro version of Swarovski crystals.
But how to price them became a headache.
Qu Banqing was waiting for him to play games, and seeing him deleting and rewriting the price list, he said, “It’s simple, small beads 150, large beads 200, large solo stones 80, small ones 60, and anything smaller, 20!”
Ning Zhixia gasped: “That’s so expensive!”
Qu Banqing waved his hand casually: “Trust me, people will buy them.”
Just like his one-of-a-kind handmade figurines that had been auctioned off for five figures, you never knew when a rich client would appear.
Ning Zhixia nodded, still a bit dazed. The next day, when he showed the price list to Miss Li, she didn’t even blink and requested the highest quality materials for everything.
“I don’t care about the price, but the result must be beautiful… wait a minute.”
Miss Li pointed at the updated price list and asked, “Barrenlands sand? What’s that, it’s so expensive!”
She understood that prices at popular shops were usually higher, but this material was unheard of, and she suspected he was trying to rip her off.
Ning Zhixia, seeing what she was thinking, presented an exquisite box and opened it in front of her. Instantly, it was like the starry sky had fallen into her eyes, and Miss Li gasped in amazement.
If Ning Zhixia hadn’t repeatedly emphasized that these weren’t real natural gemstones, she would have worried about maxing out her credit card.
Miss Li was mesmerized by the beautiful little stones, but the box was suddenly closed with a snap.
“This is Barrenlands sand. If you think the price is too high, we can use other materials.” Ning Zhixia was about to take the box away.
“No, no, no!” Miss Li quickly grabbed the box. “I want this for all my nails!”
Ning Zhixia hesitated: “Are you sure?”
“Yes!” Miss Li emphasized, “My wallet is ready, go wild!”
Seeing her determination, Ning Zhixia grinned and agreed. He had already come up with a design and couldn’t wait to see the finished product.
Ordinary designs wouldn’t satisfy this big client. Ning Zhixia, after finishing the extensions, took out a rarely used moon-white textured gel for the base coat.
This gel was good for both solid colors and patterns. He used a dotting tool to create swirling patterns, quickly achieving a silky, satin effect.
“It’s a bit plain… not quite my and my mother’s style…” Since she had told Ning Zhixia to do as he pleased, Miss Li, looking at the base color, couldn’t help but comment.
Ning Zhixia explained, “I’ll be using a lot of crystals later, a flashy base wouldn’t look good.”
A lot? How many?
Miss Li was puzzled, then saw him grab a handful of stones from the box like he was grabbing sunflower seeds and pour them into a small dish.
Swarovski crystals, because of their coating, would look cheap and ugly once scratched. To improve their texture and clarity, there were various methods to remove the coating, but they were time-consuming and could damage the crystals, making them difficult to reuse.
The Barrenlands sand was different. Without the coating, it was naturally shiny and translucent, sparkling brilliantly in the sunlight without any cloudiness, no different from jewels displayed on velvet.
Ning Zhixia didn’t rush to pick the large, eye-catching stones. Instead, he selected some irregular chips and carefully arranged them along a diagonal “Y” shape of glue on the nail.
Miss Li couldn’t tell what he was doing, and seeing his focused expression, she didn’t dare to interrupt. Used to the fast-paced, rough manicures abroad, she felt pampered by this meticulous service.
Since it was taking so long, Qu Banqing brought over some snacks and sparkling juice, placing a tablet playing a comedy show in front of her.
Miss Li was stunned by the pampering treatment, and a fluffy calico cat was placed in her lap.
“Don’t worry, this is our most well-behaved kitty.” Qu Banqing presented their star employee, shooing away Fatty Toast, who was eyeing the snacks longingly.
“O-okay…”
Miss Li looked down, and the calico cat had already rolled onto its back, purring contentedly as it licked its paws. Seeing her looking, it extended its other paw towards her.
A warm, soft touch, and the pink paw pads gently patted her cheek.
Miss Li smiled, thinking that it truly lived up to its reputation as the star employee.
While she was enjoying the VIP treatment, Ning Zhixia had mixed some sculpting gel and applied it to the nail.
He leaned closer to the lamp and carefully shaped the gel with a pointed silicone tool, then, taking tiny amounts of gel, created layered feather-like patterns along the curve.
A comedy show was playing on the tablet, but Miss Li kept glancing at Ning Zhixia, and soon, her gaze was fixed on her fingertips.
In no time, a lifelike green peacock, perched on a branch of sparkling gems, appeared on her nail, its proud and lively demeanor as if disdainful of all other birds.
“Gasp… gasp…”
Miss Li’s eyes widened in amazement, her lips trembling, but Ning Zhixia was still rummaging through the pile of gems with his tweezers.
He meticulously selected the smallest, diamond-shaped gems and carefully placed them among the peacock’s drooping feathers, creating the eye-like spots, then used pearlescent watercolor to paint the feather details, finally adding the finishing touches to the crest.
Miss Li had initially thought the peacock looked a bit dull against the gem-studded branch, but now, it was perfect.
Since the theme was a flourishing garden, with a strolling peacock, how could there not be a fairyland garden for it to inhabit?
Soon, a square emerald was placed in the center of her middle fingernail, surrounded by tiny gems arranged into flower shapes, like a jeweled ring embedded in the nail.
This intricate work wasn’t easy, but Ning Zhixia hadn’t planned the design beforehand, simply picking and placing the gems as he saw fit, his hand as steady as a rock, each placement precise and swift, like a perfectly timed video.
The other nails couldn’t be too complex. He didn’t use large gems, instead creating vines and leaves with olive and emerald green chips, and small five-petaled flowers with pink and orange chips.
He did the same for the other hand, only changing the ring finger to a peacock preening its feathers, and the middle finger to a flower wreath with a light champagne oval gem as the centerpiece.
Miss Li was almost blinded by the sparkle. After curing the nails under the lamp, she thought it was almost over, but Ning Zhixia took out another small box.
However, the box didn’t contain the small crystals she had expected for filling the gaps, but tiny seed pearls.
Ning Zhixia carefully placed them between the gems, their luster not diminished but enhanced by the soft, gentle pearlescence.
Miss Li had never seen such dazzling sparkle. She stared at the finished product, mesmerized, wondering how she could ever bear to remove them!
Her butt hadn’t suffered as much as she had anticipated, and she had the company of a beautiful calico cat purring sweetly beside her, watching the sparkling gems on her fingertips, and she didn’t even feel like time had passed slowly.
Ning Zhixia, engrossed in his work, had lost track of how many Barrenlands sand pieces he had used. After finishing, he spent quite some time counting and calculating the price.
“1980 yuan in total, just give me 1900.” Ning Zhixia packed the balm and hand mask and handed her the bag.
“No, no.” Miss Li smiled and paid, not finding it expensive at all, and was about to leave, clearly eager to show off her new nails to her friends.
Ning Zhixia hadn’t expected the transaction to be so smooth and uploaded the updated price list to his account.
The new Barrenlands sand wasn’t cheap, and the netizens who saw it were stunned—
“How much??? Why don’t you just rob me?!”
“These businesses are so greedy these days, just because you removed the coating from Swarovski crystals and renamed them ‘Barrenlands sand,’ you can double the price?”
“Even the highest quality cubic zirconia isn’t worth this price, are you crazy, boss?”
Many people thought the popular nail salon was getting arrogant, until the next day, when Miss Li posted a photo of herself, the center of attention at her birthday party, and tagged the nail salon, thanking them.
Her dress, her tiara, everything was exquisite, but it was her fingertips, placed beside her diamond necklace, that truly caught the eye.
The netizens were excited.
Who was Miss Li? The rich lady who was willing to pay 5000 yuan for an appointment slot!
Many people had followed her, waiting for her manicure reveal, and now, seeing the photo and caption, they realized that the dazzling gems on her nails were the new Barrenlands sand.
With this effect, she could have said they were natural gemstones and people would have believed her!
“Expensive is expensive, but without the coating, they should be reusable, right? Then I can accept this price!”
“Looking at the close-up photos on the nail salon’s account, they don’t look like uncoated Swarovski crystals, the shine and sparkle are much better, and they don’t look cheap at all!”
“1900 yuan, all Barrenlands sand, reusable, plus free balm and hand mask, and a cute cat to cuddle during the process… I’m so jealous!”
“Help, first the baroque pearls, now the Barrenlands sand, where does Boss Ning get his supplies? Every choice is amazing!”
Although there were some sour comments, most of the attention was on the exquisite nail art.
Jewelry was too expensive, but nail art recommendations were always welcome!
Ning Zhixia smiled, holding his tablet, the appointment notifications popping up non-stop, seemingly all for the Barrenlands sand. Judging by the reactions, he could release a few more press-on nail designs.
But before he could even start sketching, Su Qiushui heard about it from Yin Fuliu and rushed over that evening with the fox cubs to get their nails done.
The little foxes crowded around Ning Zhixia, yelling, “Ning gege, we want big, pretty stones too!”
“Your nails are so small…” Ning Zhixia chuckled and gestured. “Come back when you’re older!”
Baizhu clung to his chest, rubbing his face against his: “Just one, just one…”
Ning Zhixia, unable to resist, made them rhinestone brooches to wear on their chests.
All evening, the proud fox cubs strutted around the living room in front of the TV, their chests puffed out.
Audrow, whose view was blocked, glanced at them and smiled, revealing his fangs.
The fox cubs’ tails instantly puffed up, and they scurried away.
Thanks to the popularity of the Barrenlands sand, the shop’s revenue hit a new high in the past few days.
He had originally thought his target customers were influencers or wealthy ladies, but unexpectedly, the female Yokai and the sirens also loved them, bringing gold leaves, pearls, and other valuables to exchange with Ning Zhixia.
Fortunately, Popokula was there to help, otherwise these ladies from different planes would have started a bidding war over the appointment slots.
It made sense, besides those wasteful bears, no one could resist the charm of these sparkling little stones.
After seeing off the customers, who had almost turned the shop into a nail art party, Ning Zhixia scanned a gold leaf and chuckled.
“Oh, they’re so pretty…” He touched the box of Barrenlands sand, picked one up, and held it under the light, admiring its perfect facets and sparkle.
In the living room, the sound of SpongeBob suddenly stopped. A silver-gray head peeked out from behind the screen, staring at the young man for a while, then called softly, “Ning Zhixia.”
Ning Zhixia looked up in confusion: “Huh?”
Audrow casually rested his hand on the back of the sofa, his chin on his arm, his gaze fixed on him, his light-colored eyes like a thin layer of ice, casually glancing at the object in the young man’s hand: “Whose is prettier?”
Ning Zhixia opened his mouth, then quickly reacted, taking the scale from his pocket and waving it: “Yours is prettier! I carry it with me every day as a good luck charm!”
Audrow nodded with satisfaction, turned back to watch SpongeBob, and after a few seconds, patted the empty space on the sofa, winking at the young man.
Qu Banqing was sitting on the stairs, mending the ear of a fox cub’s bunny doll. He looked up and saw Ning Zhixia trotting towards the sofa.
He watched for a while, thinking about how easily swayed this guy was, and sighed—
Silly Meow Meow, have some self-respect!
