"Just buying some daily necessities. Why are you asking so many questions?"
"Fine, then. The basket's hanging by the door. Oh, and bring back two bulbs of garlic for me. I need them to pickle the ribs."
"Got it, got it."
Elena shot Su Li a look—done. Let's go.
Su Li slipped silently out of the kitchen and changed into a clean coat in the courtyard.
Saina called out from inside.
"Su Li, where are you going?"
"To the woodshed to forge."
"Oh, go on then. Don't forget to come back for dinner tonight. We're stewing rib soup!"
Su Li answered, then he and Elena left the courtyard one after the other.
They turned twice along Ginkgo Alley, and only after confirming that Saina had not followed did they slow down.
"Where's the dwarf's shop?" Su Li asked.
"On the street near the north side of the eastern district. There's a hammer and a gemstone painted on the sign. You can't miss it."
"You know this area pretty well."
"Duh. I come out every day to scout the place out—I'm not just wandering around for nothing." Elena curled her lip. "Unlike someone who spends all day cooped up in the woodshed, making love to scrap iron."
Su Li did not respond.
The dwarf's shop was smaller than he had imagined.
Its storefront was only half a room wide, and the hammer and gemstone on its sign were both crooked. Inside sat a dwarf proprietor with a face full of whiskers, barely reaching Su Li's chest in height, examining something through a magnifying lens.
Su Li bent down as he entered, nearly smashing his head against the doorframe.
"Do you have matching-knot bracelets?"
The dwarf proprietor looked him over, then glanced at Elena behind him. His eyes rolled back and forth