Chapter 061

Xiao Zhen had agreed so readily, showing no sign of reluctance. When he approached her before dawn, Tong Sui half-slept and half-awoke to accommodate him.

The bed had been heated for several days and nights, and the faint scent of smoke lingered near the walls. Yet, on this early summer morning, it felt damp and warm.

Tong Sui's wisps of hair at her temples gradually became damp with sweat, clinging to her cheeks.

Xiao Zhen brushed away those strands, gazing at her tear-streaked flushed face under the dim light from the window.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, "I always try to be gentle."

Tong Sui knew how close he was, her moist lashes tightly closed, her lips forced open by his finger.

She didn't want to speak, only hoping he would finish quickly.

Xiao Zhen, mindful of his in-laws who would surely rise early in the eastern courtyard, obliged her wish.

—

The Tongs were diligent, and the villagers eager to earn their wages were equally hardworking. While the Tongs were still having breakfast, several families had already arrived, greeting them and heading straight to the backyard to start sawing wood.

Zhou Qing glanced over and whispered to her son-in-law, "The Suns did indeed share half the labor costs, right?"

If it were all on her son-in-law, she would feel sorry for him.

Xiao Zhen nodded. Sun Xinghai sometimes had his own interests, but he wasn't stingy, especially when it came to matters concerning the village's safety. He had offered to cover half the labor costs himself.

After breakfast, Xiao Zhen worked in the backyard for a while. Zhou Qing, worried about the sun scorching her son-in-law, pulled him to the front yard and urged him to leave early for Lingshui Village while it was still cool.

Tong Youyu and his nephew were busy sawing wood, and Tong Shan had gone to the private school. Only Tong Sui and her mother came to see Xiao Zhen off.

Xiao Zhen led two mules out of the Tong family courtyard, pausing to look at Tong Sui as he turned around.

This was the first time the couple would be separated since their marriage.

They had just been intimate that morning, and now he looked at her again, causing Tong Sui to instinctively hide behind her mother.

Zhou Qing suddenly said, "Oh, I remember something I haven't done yet. I'll go take care of it. Son-in-law, be careful on your way."

With that, she went inside, leaving only the young couple outside the gate.

Tong Sui lowered her head slightly, urging him, "Go ahead. Tell my sister-in-law hello for me."

Xiao Zhen: "Third Sister-in-Law should help with the fire, so don't worry."

Tong Sui nodded.

Xiao Zhen: "I'll come back on the twentieth to check on the progress."

Tong Sui: "No need to hurry. Come back around the twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth. There are enough people here, and Master Wang is supervising, so we don't need your labor."

Xiao Zhen: "The backyard doesn't need me, but I'm afraid you might miss me."

Tong Sui bit her lip, blushing as she looked aside, "I won't miss you."

What was there to miss? She had many things to do during the day, and without him, she could sleep more soundly at night.

Xiao Zhen took a step forward.

Tong Sui feared he would act rashly here, so she turned and ran inside, hiding in the West Court.

Xiao Zhen stood alone until he noticed a villager peeking from the backyard. He gave one last glance at the West Court, mounted one mule, and led the other, then left.

When he returned home, Liu Chu and Lin Ningfang were jogging in the backyard, while Xiao Yuchan sat on the threshold watching.

Seeing Xiao Zhen, Liu Chu and Lin Ningfang stopped simultaneously.

Xiao Yuchan called out, echoing the question on all three women's minds, "Second Brother, why are you back alone? Where's Second Sister-in-Law?"

Xiao Zhen: "My father-in-law injured his leg in the mountains. She stayed behind to take care of him for a while."

The news was common knowledge in Taohuagou but remained a secret to most in Lingshui Village and even within the Xiao family.

The three women indeed had no suspicions, asking if his father-in-law was seriously hurt.

Xiao Zhen tied the mules to a post and explained briefly before leaving quickly.

The three women exchanged glances, and Xiao Yuchan expressed her disappointment, "Without her, it's not as fun."

Her eldest sister-in-law was too gentle, and her third sister-in-law too cold; they couldn't even exchange playful banter. Her second sister-in-law, however, could at least engage in some teasing.

Lin Ningfang, thinking of the upcoming kitchen duties, told Liu Chu, "When it's the eastern courtyard's turn to cook, I'll come early to help."

Liu Chu, fearing gossip from He Shi and her daughter, hesitated since Lin Ningfang was the wife of the West Court.

Xiao Yuchan, seeing the two insist and refuse, huffed, "If you want to come, come. We never counted on you anyway."

—

On the twentieth, Xiao Zhen indeed arrived in Taohuagou early in the morning.

The backyard of the Tong residence was bustling with activity. The two hundred logs had all been cut into four curved strips and stacked in the shed. The villagers, divided by Master Wang, were working on different tasks. Some were responsible for further cutting the curved strips to remove unnecessary edges, leaving only long strips. Others used planing knives to shape the strips into gun barrel-sized round sticks.

Once the round sticks were ready, the next step was quenching.

Master Wang personally controlled this step, ensuring the heat was neither too high—risking brittleness at the spearhead—nor too low—failing to achieve the desired effect.

After quenching, the round sticks were handed to another group of villagers to sharpen into sharp spear tips.

The meticulous task of removing burrs from the gun shafts and carving grooves for grip was entrusted to the nimble-handed women selected for the job.

Villagers engaged in similar tasks gathered together, making the small backyard bustling yet orderly.

Xiao Zhen tied up his donkey and came to the backyard, where he first saw Tong Sui sitting by the fire pit with Master Wang, tempering wood.

Master Wang held a long cylindrical rod, while Tong Sui held thin wooden sticks.

"Here you are."

Seeing Xiao Zhen, Master Wang greeted him with a smile. It was true; working together with so many people on one task was quite enjoyable for him.

The yard was littered with discarded pieces of wood. Xiao Zhen picked one up and sat down next to Tong Sui, first inquiring about the recent progress from Master Wang.

Master Wang: "If it doesn't rain, you can come directly on the twenty-eighth to load the goods. If it rains, we'll extend the deadline by a few days, but we'll definitely finish before the wheat harvest."

Xiao Zhen: "Grandfather has always said that if this task is entrusted to you, he needn't worry about anything."

Master Wang modestly replied: "We only need to put in the effort; it's still up to Sir Xiao to set the rules."

Without Sir Xiao's involvement, the people of Taohuagou might not have been as united. He would only come here when truly threatened.

After discussing business, Xiao Zhen looked at Tong Sui's feet. On her left lay a pile of untempered thin sticks, and on her right were seven or eight tempered ones.

He picked one up, felt the end that had been scorched by fire, and asked Master Wang: "How do you think Aman did with the tempering?"

Tong Sui smiled; this man called her Xiaoman in front of his family, but in Taohuagou, he followed her parents and villagers in calling her Aman.

Master Wang praised Tong Sui: "If Second Lady were a man, I'd want to take her as my apprentice. See those arrows? She made them all from scrap wood. She's only learned for a few days, but her workmanship is almost as good as my son's."

Tong Sui quickly responded: "I'm working on small pieces, which are naturally simpler than your large ones."

Master Wang shook his head; both large and small pieces required basic skills. This girl from the Tong family was clever and adept, making any craft easy for her.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Xiao Zhen sat there for a while before moving away to relieve his father-in-law of the saw.

As the sun set, the villagers gradually left, and the Tong household returned to its usual quietness.

After a busy day, the whole family was tired and went to bed after dinner and washing up.

Xiao Zhen came to hold his wife, his heavy breathing making Tong Sui nervous. She pushed against his chest, embarrassed: "I forgot to tell you last time, but I'm having my period these days."

Xiao Zhen had also forgotten about it.

After a moment of awkwardness, he still leaned in for a kiss. As they kissed, he grabbed her hand and felt a noticeable layer of calluses.

She already had a thin layer of calluses on her palm, but now they were thicker.

Xiao Zhen momentarily forgot about the matter and pulled her hand out of the blanket, examining it under the moonlight through the window.

Tong Sui was actually pleased: "I've collected over a hundred thin pieces of wood with Little Shan. Once they're tempered, we can start shaping them into arrows."

Xiao Zhen: "Where did you get the tools?"

Tong Sui: "I brought the usable scraps to the empty room next to Second Brother's place. When they eat, I use their knives for a bit, then return them once they're done resting."

And at night, if she weren't staying with Xiao Zhen tonight, she wouldn't be sleeping so early.

Xiao Zhen squeezed her hand: "You really don't mind getting tired. Making a few dozen arrows would be enough; why bother with over a hundred?"

Tong Sui: "They're all good wood. Burning them would be a waste. Didn't you say that even if these spears aren't used, we could sell them to the government later, who could replace the wooden tips with iron ones, and we'd recover some of the labor costs?"

Xiao Zhen rubbed her head, inadvertently letting go of his earlier thoughts: "Sleep. Tomorrow, after all the wood is tempered, I'll take them back and shape them into arrows. We have a set of tools at home for this. You should focus more on helping your mother-in-law and father-in-law."

Tong Sui indeed needed to help her mother cook and wash clothes by the river. She agreed and asked about the tree of winged spindle.

Xiao Zhen: "Now that Master Wang needs to concentrate on making the spears, he'll take the winged spindle wood to town later and focus solely on making two bows for us. Oh, and your mother-in-law's bracelet too."

Tong Sui smiled.

The next day, Xiao Zhen waited until Tong Sui had finished tempering all the arrow-making wood before wrapping them in coarse cloth and taking them back to Lingshui Village.

Xiao Mu, upon hearing this, came to the east wing room and found over a hundred rough arrows on the southern bed.

Xiao Zhen: "From sorting the scraps to tempering, Xiaoman did everything herself."

Xiao Mu smiled, then sighed with regret: "It's my fault for not thinking of this earlier. Otherwise, I should have taught your aunt and Yuchan martial arts from a young age. If I had, they would have a better chance of defending themselves now."

Xiao Zhen: "Aunt might be able to handle it, but Yuchan's temperament... even if you taught her, she might not endure the hardship."

Xiao Mu didn't mention his lazy granddaughter again and asked: "Have you given those accessories to Xiaoman yet?"

That child had been married for nearly two months, showing more self-reliance than he expected. She blossomed like a flower bud, and her character was impeccable.

Xiao Zhen: "I wanted to give them, but haven't found the right opportunity yet."

Xiao Mu: "You know what's best. In marriage, how you treat her will determine how she treats you. Some girls might be willing to endure a difficult husband, but I don't think Xiaoman is like that."

Xiao Zhen laughed: "Does Grandfather think I'm that kind of difficult man?"

Xiao Mu gave his grandson a light tap on the head: "In my eyes, you're a good grandson. Whether you're difficult or not in Xiaoman's eyes is something she must decide."

Despite often criticizing his younger grandchildren, the one he criticized the most was still a good grandson in his eyes. But was he a good husband?

Certainly not.

One person treats blood relatives one way, a spouse another, and outsiders yet another. How can one expect all three to feel the same?

As the saying goes, "Only the drinker knows whether the water is warm or cold."