The white smoke cleared.
The water in the bucket was still bubbling away.
Old Buck's brows knit tightly as he watched his daughter acting so protectively toward the boy. His head hurt.
That girl was taking someone else's side way too quickly.
It had only been one night.
If this went on for two more nights, would she sneak the deed to their house out for that boy too?
Old Buck wiped his hands on his apron. He got the black soot off, but the anger in his heart remained.
He pointed at Su Li, his lips moving as he tried to curse him out. But when he looked at that face, the curses died on his lips.
The boy was just too clean-cut.
He felt like a sinner just for cursing him.
"Martha!"
Old Buck turned toward the house and roared. His voice shook dirt loose from the eaves.
"Where the hell are you? Get out here! Your daughter's about to empty the house!"
When it came to the big and little matters of the household, his wife was the one who called the shots.
Old Buck was just a man who swung a sledgehammer. He wasn't much for thinking.
A moment later, slippers scuffed across the floor inside.
Then a plump woman came out.
She wore a floral apron and held a large wooden spoon, looking as if she'd been cooking porridge.
This was Aunt Martha, the real boss of the blacksmith shop.
"What are you hollering for? Did a wolf get you?"
Aunt Martha rolled her eyes at Old Buck, then turned her gaze toward the middle of the yard.
At the sight, she nearly dropped her wooden spoon.
The morning sunlight fell just right on Su Li.
His linen clothes were rumpled, and his hair was as messy as a bird's nest.
But standing there, he looked completely out of place among the heap of scrap metal around him.
Like a piece of pure gold dropped into a pile of coal.
The farthest Aunt Martha had ever traveled was to the market in the neighboring town. The most important person she'd ever seen was the tax collector there.
But compared with the young man in front of her, that tax collector was a country bumpkin.
That nose, those eyes.
That figure.
Aunt Martha drew in a breath, then nudged her useless husband aside.
"Th-this... who is this?"
Her voice was eight degrees gentler than before. Old Buck got goosebumps all over.
Sena hurried over and clung to her mother's arm, pleading with her.
"Mother, this is the... the traveler I told you about last night."
"His name is Su Li."
"He slept in the stable last night. He has nowhere to go, and he hasn't eaten yet."
As she spoke, Sena shot Su Li a look.
Su Li found it amusing.
The girl was honest, all right. She'd let his whole story slip.
He stepped forward and placed a hand over his chest.
"Good morning, ma'am."
"Sorry for the trouble."
The way he called her "ma'am" made Aunt Martha's heart bloom with joy.
The villagers usually called her "Old Buck's wife" or "Fat Martha." No one had ever called her "ma'am."
The title sounded so pleasant.
The fat on Aunt Martha's face relaxed as she smiled, her eyes narrowing to slits.
"Oh, what a sweet-talking boy."
"It's no trouble at all."
She jabbed her elbow into Old Buck, who was still standing there in a daze.
"What are you standing around for? Bring that old chair over for him! Can't you see the poor boy's legs are straight from standing so long?"
Old Buck felt like crying.
What kind of person's legs went straight just from standing for a while?
The boy didn't look that delicate.
But he didn't dare talk back, so he obediently went to the corner and carried over the chair. It had only three legs, but at least it was sturdy.
Su Li didn't refuse. He thanked them and sat down.
Martha sat across from him on a tree stump.
The chair was shabby, but it beat standing.
His body was still weak. The food he'd eaten yesterday had long since been digested, and now even the slightest movement made him feel dizzy.
"Young man."
Aunt Martha wiped her hands on her apron, her eyes full of curiosity.
"From your accent, you don't sound like you're from around here."
Here came the real question.
They were checking his background.
Su Li had already rehearsed his story.
"I'm from the East," Su Li said softly.
"My family used to run a small business, but then... war broke out."
"The artillery was so powerful it blasted our shop to pieces."
"So I fled, running all the way."
"In the end, all I had left were the clothes on my back and my life."
Su Li didn't say much.
The more he said, the more likely he was to slip up.
Leaving things unsaid was an art.
Even the clumsiest lie could become the truth with a face like his and an audience ready to fill in the blanks.
Sure enough.
Aunt Martha and Old Buck exchanged a glance.
The East.
It was a legendary place.
They'd heard people there drank water melted from gold, and even their chamber pots were made of jade.
No wonder the boy was so fair and delicate. He was obviously a young master raised in a wealthy family.
It was a shame he'd fallen on hard times and ended up in this poor, out-of-the-way place.
Old Buck looked at Su Li's hands, prettier than a woman's, and felt some of his hostility fade.
He even felt a little sympathy for him.
A pampered young master like this had probably never even washed a bowl. To have fallen on such hard times must have been rough.
"So... what are you planning to do next?"
Old Buck asked in a gruff voice.
This was the important part.
They could feel sorry for him, but no one had much food to spare these days. They couldn't afford to feed someone who did nothing.
Especially when the boy looked like he could eat quite a lot.
Su Li sighed.
He looked up at the distant sky, where a few clouds drifted lazily by.
"What can I plan?"
"I'll just keep living."
"In times like these, being alive is already something."
"I was thinking that if I could find somewhere to learn a trade, even if it meant doing hard labor, as long as I could earn enough to eat and find a girl who didn't mind me, I'd be content to live out my days in peace."
"I don't want wealth or status, and I'm not thinking about restoring my family's fortune."
"That's too exhausting."
Su Li meant every word.
He really didn't want to put himself through any more trouble.
He'd racked his brains in his previous two lives and still ended up with nothing to show for it.
This time, he just wanted to be a happy good-for-nothing.
At those words, Sena's eyes lit up.
They shone as brightly as freshly molten iron.
A girl who didn't mind him?
A peaceful life together?
Wasn't he saying that for her?
Wasn't this a confession?
Sena blushed from her face down to her neck. She stepped forward, nearly treading on the big black dog's tail.
"You can stay here!"
Sena cried.
"We have room!"
"The stable... we can clean it up and make it livable!"
"I'll take the donkey out!"
Old Buck's face turned green at this.
Aunt Martha glared at Sena too.
That foolish girl had no sense of modesty.
Was that really something she could just say?
The boy was only being polite, and she was taking him seriously?
But...
Aunt Martha glanced at Su Li again.
It would be a shame if he really left.
Where in all the surrounding villages could they find such a handsome young man?
If he stayed and became her son-in-law, she'd have something to brag about whenever she took him out.
He might be poor now, but judging by the way he spoke and carried himself, who knew? He might make a comeback one day.
Even if he didn't, just having him around the house would be a treat for the eyes.
He was still better than marrying that pig farmer.
Aunt Martha's calculations rattled away in her head.
She coughed and cleared her throat.
Before you continue