Chapter 629
Chapter 629
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 629
>Chapter Title: Ni'er
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“Ni'er, come, sit on the kang, drink some rock sugar water and eat these persimmon cakes. You loved sweet things the most when you were little. I've been saving them all for you.”
“Want some meat? Don't you love eating meat? I'll go cut some for you right now! Have your mom stew it up fresh!”
The old man who did the tree flower show, along with the old woman beside him, fawned over Li Sui nonstop, their smiles never fading from their faces.
“Right, Ni'er, how'd you get back? I heard that beast sold you off to—” The old woman had just started speaking when the old man stepped on her foot.
“It's the holidays—why bring up inauspicious talk? We'll discuss it after today passes!”
Li Sui, stirred up by all this, started looking impatient. He couldn't make heads or tails of what these two were saying. “Weren't you going to teach me how to beat tree flowers? I want to learn beating tree flowers.”
“Teach you, teach you, of course! We'll start right now!” The old man's head bobbed up and down eagerly.
With that, the old man led Li Sui to the back of the house. Lifting a cloth curtain riddled with scorch marks from fire, Li Sui was surprised to discover that the other half of the house was actually a blacksmith shop—the whole place split between living quarters and a forge.
“Ni'er, beating tree flowers? That's blacksmith work. Know why? 'Cause only we can get our hands on enough molten iron.”
As he spoke, the old man tossed a few coal briquettes into the furnace glowing dark red. He grabbed the wooden handles of the bellows nearby and pumped vigorously.
As air blasted into the forge, the coals gradually reddened, the flames roaring to life. He kept working the bellows while chattering away. “Ni'er, we can't cheap out on a tree flower show—charge at least two hundred cash coins minimum. And that doesn't include the molten iron fee. Remember that price: never less, only more.”
When the temperature felt right, he set a thick-rimmed pot into the bed of glowing coals and piled it with scrapped horseshoes, rusted cleavers, and the like.
“This molten iron fee? There's a trick to it. We charge for good iron, then melt down scrap and waste iron into the mix. One in, one out—profit on the side.”
Li Sui paid no attention to these words, eyes glued intently to the furnace blasting waves of heat.
Seeing her like this, the old man shed his fur jacket and laughed heartily. His daughter was back to her childhood self, loving to watch him smith just like old times—squatting there all day, same as now.
But at that moment, the old woman who'd followed along noticed something off. She sidled up to the old man and whispered, “Hubby, what's going on? She seems... different. Like a whole other person.”
The old man shot her a glare while pumping the bellows, glanced cautiously at Li Sui, and hissed back, “Different how? She's back in one piece— that's enough to thank the ancestors for. What more do you want? Hush up!”
With that, he grabbed some premium coal from a rack nearby, crushed it, and tossed it into the now-glowing pot. Turning to Li Sui, he continued, “Ni'er, remember this: add good coal here. That's how the molten iron flows fast.”
“Got it.” Li Sui learned with focus.
As the coal went in, the metal in the pot slowly reddened, melting bit by bit into molten iron just like before for the tree flowers.
“Come on, step back. I'll pour this into the bucket. Don't underestimate it—just one bucket's heavy as hell.” The old man gritted his teeth, hands shaking as he hoisted the bucket with effort and hurried toward the city wall.
“Ni'er, remember: when beating tree flowers, throw it upward with real force. Too weak, and the molten iron splashes back down on your head.”
Splash~~
As the fire tree and golden flowers burst anew against the wall, Li Sui's eyes lit up. “So beautiful.”
Seeing the delighted smile on Li Sui's face, the old man got even more pumped, ladling and splashing the iron water onto the wall one scoop after another.
When the tree flower show wrapped up, the old man—gasping for breath—walked over to Li Sui. “Ni'er? How about it? You get the hang of it? If not, Dad'll teach you again!”
“Yeah! Yeah!” Li Sui nodded eagerly. He could never get enough of this.
“Alright then, let's head back! Fire up another pot!” The old man grabbed the iron bucket and led the beaming Li Sui home.
But they'd barely taken two steps when a thug—bare-armed in the dead of winter—sauntered up with a sleazy grin, blocking their path. “Well, well, father-in-law. Spotted you beating tree flowers from way over there. Happy holidays, happy holidays.”
The moment the old man recognized him, he shoved himself in front of Li Sui, brandishing the iron bucket and bellowing, “You conscienceless dog! Get lost! Wasn't selling off Ni'er once enough for you?!”
The old man's outburst jogged the thug's memory—there was something familiar about the woman.
Spotting who Li Sui was, the thug's eyes gleamed. “Made it all the way back from there, huh? Not bad, Ni'er. Been gone so long—miss your hubby yet?”
“Scram!”
Thud!
The bucket hurtling toward him startled the thug; he stumbled back several steps, barely dodging it.
“Hey, you old fart! You dare mess with me?!” The thug rolled up his sleeves and charged, pummeling the old man with fists and kicks.
“Listen up! Ni'er's my wife now! She's family— I sell her if I want, pawn her if I want! Even if you drag me to the yamen, I'm in the right!”
“Ni'er! Run! Get home quick!!” The old man shouted at Li Sui while trying to fend him off.
Li Sui didn't run. She stood there watching it all, trying to puzzle out the tangled meaning.
Dad had never taught her about this stuff. She didn't quite get it.
When she saw the old man hit the ground, Li Sui stepped forward and said, “Why are you hitting him? He taught me how to beat tree flowers. You can't hit him.”
The thug paused, eyeing Li Sui with surprise. “Oh ho, been out in the world and think you're something now, huh? Used to not say a peep after three whacks—now you've got the guts to talk back?”
As Li Sui studied his expression closely, the thug raised his left hand and slapped her hard across the face. “What're you staring at? Asking for it?”
Li Sui glanced at the old man on the ground, bruised and swollen-faced, then back at the thug. Suddenly, a strange emotion welled up inside her—something utterly new.
Slap. Another one. “Damn it, now get your ass home! Wash all my clothes! Scrub the inside and outside spotless!!”