New Apprentice in the Blacksmith Shop

The white smoke dissipated.

The water in the bucket was still bubbling away.

Old Buck furrowed his brows, watching his daughter's protective stance, and felt a dull ache in his head.

This girl was turning against her own family far too quickly.

It had only been one night.

If two more nights passed, would she even steal the house deed for this kid?

Old Buck wiped his hands on his apron; the soot was cleaned off, but the fire in his heart remained.

He pointed at Su Li, his lips moving as he wanted to spit out a few curses, but looking at that face, the words died in his throat.

This kid looked too clean.

He felt like a sinner just for wanting to curse him.

"Martha!"

Old Buck turned and roared toward the house, his voice shaking dust from the eaves.

"Where the hell are you? Get out here! Your daughter is about to empty out the house!"

When it came to the big and small matters of this household, his wife had to be the one to decide.

Old Buck was just a man who swung a heavy hammer; his brain didn't know how to turn corners.

A sound of slippers shuffling came from inside the house.

Immediately after, a plump woman walked out.

She wore a floral apron and held a large wooden spoon, looking as if she had been in the middle of making porridge.

This was the true manager of the blacksmith shop, Aunt Martha.

"What are you howling for? Did a wolf bite you?"

Aunt Martha first rolled her eyes at Old Buck, then shifted her gaze to the middle of the yard.

At that sight, the wooden spoon nearly dropped from her hand.

The morning sun shone perfectly on Su Li.

Even though he wore wrinkled linen clothes and his hair was as messy as a bird's nest, the way he stood there made him look completely out of place among the pile of scrap metal.

It was like a piece of refined gold dropped into a heap of coal ash.

The furthest place Aunt Martha had ever been in her life was the market in the next town, and the most important person she had ever seen was the tax collector there.

But compared to the young man before her, that tax collector was nothing but a bumpkin.

This nose, these eyes.

This build.

Aunt Martha drew a breath and shoved her useless husband to the side.

"Who... who is this?"

Her voice was eight octaves softer than before, giving Old Buck goosebumps.

Sena hurried over, hugging her mother's arm and acting spoiled.

"Mom, this is the... the traveler I told you about last night."

"His name is Su Li."

"He slept in the stable all night, has nowhere to go, and hasn't eaten yet."

Sena winked at Su Li as she spoke.

Su Li found it amusing.

This girl was truly honest, spilling all his background details like that.

He stepped forward and placed a hand over his chest.

"Greetings, Madam."

"I apologize for the trouble."

That "Madam" made Aunt Martha's heart bloom with joy.

Usually, the villagers called her "Old Buck's wife" or "Fat Martha"; who had ever called her "Madam"?

The title sounded incredibly comfortable.

The flesh on Aunt Martha's face smoothed out, and she smiled until her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Oh my, this child has such a sweet mouth."

"It's no trouble, no trouble at all."

She nudged the still-dazed Old Buck with her elbow.

"What are you standing around for? Bring that broken chair over for him to sit on! Can't you see the kid's legs are already straight from standing?"

Old Buck felt so wronged he wanted to cry.

Who stands for a while and their legs get straight?

This kid didn't look that delicate.

But he didn't dare talk back, so he obediently went to the corner to fetch the chair, which only had three legs but was still relatively stable.

Su Li didn't stand on ceremony, thanked him, and sat down.

Martha also sat down on a tree stump opposite him.

Although the chair was broken, it was better than standing.

His body was still weak, and the food from yesterday had long since been digested. Now, even a slight movement made him dizzy.

"Young man."

Aunt Martha wiped her hands on her apron, her eyes full of scrutiny.

"Judging by your accent, you're not from around here, are you?"

This was the main point.

Checking his background.

Su Li had already prepared his story.

"I'm from the East,"

Su Li said softly.

"My family used to run a small business, but then... the war came."

"The war's cannons were too powerful, and they destroyed our shop."

"So I fled, running all the way."

"In the end, all I had left was this set of clothes and my life."

Su Li didn't say too much.

The more you say, the more mistakes you make.

Leaving blanks was an art.

Even the most clumsy lie, paired with this face and the listener's own imagination, would become the truth.

As expected.

Aunt Martha and Old Buck exchanged a glance.

The East.

That was a legendary place.

They said people there drank water melted from gold, and their chamber pots were made of jade.

No wonder this kid looked so fair-skinned and tender, clearly raised as a young master from a wealthy family.

To fall on hard times and end up in this poor, remote place, he was indeed a pitiable person.

Old Buck looked at Su Li's hands, which were more beautiful than any woman's, and the hostility in his heart dissipated considerably.

He even felt a bit of sympathy.

This kind of pampered young master probably never even washed a bowl before, and now he'd ended up like this, it was truly not easy.

"So... what are your plans now?"

Old Buck asked in a deep voice.

This was the crucial part.

Sympathy was sympathy, but no one had much surplus grain these days, and they couldn't afford to support an idle person.

Especially since this kid looked like he could eat a lot.

Su Li sighed.

He looked up at the sky in the distance, where a few clouds drifted leisurely.

"What plans could I have?"

"To survive."

"In this world, just being alive is good enough."

"I was thinking, if I could find a place, learn a trade, even if it's manual labor, as long as I can earn enough to eat, find a girl who doesn't dislike me, and live a peaceful life, I'd be content."

"Great wealth, or restoring my family's business, I don't think about those anymore."

"It's too tiring."

Su Li spoke these words with sincerity.

He truly didn't want to go through any more trouble.

He had wrung his brains dry in his past two lives, only to end up with a miserable fate in the end.

In this life, he just wanted to be a happy piece of trash.

As soon as those words left his lips, Sena's eyes beside him lit up in a flash.

The brightness was comparable to molten iron fresh from the furnace.

Find a girl who wouldn't mind?

Live a peaceful, stable life?

Wasn't this meant for her ears?

Wasn't this a confession?

Sena was so excited her face and neck turned red. She took a step forward, nearly stepping on the big black dog's tail.

"You can stay here!"

Sena shouted.

"I have space at my place!"

"The stable... the stable can be tidied up for someone to live in!"

"I'll move that donkey out!"

Old Buck's face turned green the moment he heard that.

Aunt Martha also glared at Sena.

This silly girl, she had no restraint at all.

Was that something you could just say casually?

He was just being polite, and you actually took it seriously?

However...

Aunt Martha took another look at Su Li.

It would indeed be a pity if this lad really left.

In these ten miles and eight villages, where else could you find such a handsome boy?

If he could really stay and become her daughter's husband, how much face would she have when taking him out?

Although he was a bit poor now, judging by his speech and temperament, he might turn his life around in the future.

Even if he couldn't, just having him around to look at was pleasing to the eye.

It was still better than marrying that pig farmer.

Aunt Martha's mental abacus clicked and clacked loudly.

She coughed, clearing her throat.