The Night Grew Deeper

Old Buck walked over to the anvil and picked up the hoe Su Li had just finished forging.

Its surface was smooth and its edge razor-sharp. At a glance, it was clear that it had been tempered countless times into a fine piece of work.

"Not bad." Old Buck nodded, his eyes full of pride, though there was also a hint of reluctant disappointment. "Your work's better than mine was at your age. You've got a real knack for this, kid."

He set the hoe down, pulled out his pipe, and packed it with tobacco.

"Listen, son-in-law."

Old Buck took a couple of puffs and blew out a ring of smoke. "Business is getting better and better. We've got orders from the next town over lined up through next month. Can you keep up with all the work by yourself?"

"I can manage." Su Li put down his hammer and wiped his hands with a towel.

"Don't push yourself." Old Buck frowned. "I was thinking, why not hire a couple of apprentices? We can't let our craft die out, can we? Besides, if someone else could work the bellows and haul the iron, that'd take some of the burden off you."

Su Li shook his head.

"No apprentices."

His answer was firm and final.

"Why not?" Old Buck was taken aback. "It's not like we're short on food money these days. Xiao Chui still has to go to school and learn to read. You can't have him working the bellows for you every day, can you?"

Su Li didn't say anything. He just gazed at the blazing furnace.

Why?

Because it was a hassle.

Another person in the house meant another mouth to feed and another pair of eyes watching.

Especially at night.

He and Saina were already pretty loud. If two apprentices moved in, would they still be able to enjoy their intimate marital activities?

Besides, he had no intention of passing his blacksmithing skills on to outsiders.

A craft was a livelihood. It was life itself.

He'd seen plenty of people in his past life teach their apprentices everything, only to end up starving when the apprentices took over.

"Dad, don't worry about it." Su Li smiled, cutting off the subject. "I'm fine working on my own. It's peaceful. Besides, if we hire someone clumsy, I'll have to waste time teaching him, and that'll just get on my nerves."

"You're just lazy!" Old Buck snorted, knocking his pipe against something with a loud clank. "You just don't want the responsibility. Fine, fine, do whatever you like. I'm not the one who'll work himself to death."

The old man marched into the house with his hands behind his back, still fuming, to ask his daughter for some wine.

Su Li shrugged.

Fine, he was lazy.

He could always take fewer orders.

In this world, being able to live a peaceful, lazy life was a skill in its own right.

Night fell.

Wading Village grew quiet once again.

Su Li and his family of three finished dinner.

Xiao Chui was sensible. Once he'd eaten, he cleared the dishes without being asked, then slipped into his room to pore over the beat-up copy of General History of the Continent he'd bought from a traveling merchant.

At the other end of the courtyard,

there was a small house built two years ago.

Su Li had specifically asked for it.

The original house was simply too small, and its soundproofing was practically nonexistent.

Once Xiao Chui got a little older, Su Li began to feel that life was impossible.

Even in the middle of the night, he had to sneak around like a thief whenever he wanted to get intimate with his wife, afraid of waking the boy.

So he gritted his teeth, took out the savings he'd built up over the past few years, and put up this little house in a corner of the courtyard.

It wasn't big, but the walls were sturdy, with a layer of straw between them. The soundproofing was excellent.

It was his and Saina's private domain.

A dim oil lamp glowed inside.

Su Li leaned against the headboard, fiddling with a pocket watch from the Baris Empire.

Saina sat at the vanity, brushing her hair.

She'd let down her thick brown hair, and it fell over her shoulders.

She wore a slightly worn white nightdress. It had been washed so many times that the fabric had grown thin, clinging to her figure...

"Is Xiao Chui asleep?" Su Li asked.

"He is." Saina set down her brush and stood up.

She turned to look at the man on the bed.

In the lamplight, her face was flushed, and her eyes shimmered with a moisture that seemed to draw him in.

"Dad's asleep too," Saina added, her voice lowered to a whisper, carrying a hint of the sort of meaning only the two of them understood.

She walked to the bed and climbed up without waiting for Su Li to invite her.

The bed gave a dull creak.

Saina weighed a fair bit now.

But Su Li loved her softness.

Like a big cat, she snuggled into his arms with practiced ease, settling into the most comfortable position. Her full arms wrapped around his waist, and she rubbed her face against his chest.

"Brother Su..."

"Call me hubby."

"Hubby." Saina's voice was sweet and syrupy, with a touch of a teasing whine. "You must be exhausted today, huh?"

"I'm all right." Su Li rested a hand on her rounded shoulder and gently stroked its smooth, silky skin. "What, feeling sorry for me?"

"Of course I am."

Saina lifted her head and gazed at him with her big, watery eyes. "You insist on shouldering everything yourself. I noticed the calluses on your hands have gotten thicker."

As she spoke, she took Su Li's large hand and kissed it.

The warmth of her lips against his rough calluses sent a pleasant shiver through him.

"Hiring people's a hassle," Su Li explained. "We haven't had enough time alone together yet. Why bring in a third wheel?"

Saina froze for a moment, then understood what he meant by "third wheel."

She burst out laughing, her whole body shaking, every soft curve jiggling along with her.

"You..."

Saina reached out and tapped his nose with a finger. "We've been married for ages, and you're still so shameless. Aren't you afraid our son will make fun of you?"

"Let him try." Su Li snorted. "I'm doing this to give him a little brother or sister. He should be thanking me."

At that, Saina's face turned even redder.

But she didn't pull away.

Instead, she pressed herself even closer.

Her leg slid over Su Li's, and the hem of her nightdress slipped down, revealing a generous stretch of snow-white skin.

In the dim lamplight, it was almost dazzlingly pale.

"Then..." Saina's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "Then you'll have to keep trying."

"It's been years... and still nothing's happening."

Saina's hand slid down Su Li's chest, tracing circles over his firm abs. "People in the village say... say I've worked you, my poor old bull, to the bone."

Su Li drew in a deep breath.

This woman was provoking him.

She was questioning his pride as a man.

"Worked me to the bone?" Su Li sneered, his fighting spirit roused. "Tonight, I'll show you whether your field is fertile, or this bull's got plenty of stamina."

He suddenly rolled over.

Saina let out a startled cry, but there wasn't a trace of fear in it, only anticipation and delight.

"Be gentle..."

"This house may be new... and soundproof, but we haven't replaced the bed."

"Why replace it?" Su Li leaned down and silenced her chattering mouth with a kiss. "The old one works just fine. It's got memories."

The lamplight flickered.

On the paper window, their two shadows slowly merged.

Before long, the little house filled with sounds that made one's heart race and cheeks flush.

It was the creaking of a wooden bed struggling under the strain.

The night grew deeper.

The wind outside seemed to pick up, rustling the old locust tree in the courtyard as though covering for the sounds inside.