The Heart of a Smith

Chapter 4: Alcohol Intoxication

The next day, Li Sui didn’t make go to the company. Lu Shang left before the sky lit up and he didn’t wake Li Sui up either. When Li Sui got up, he asked sister Lu and that was when he knew Lu Shang had an important opening ceremony in the countryside.

“Have some breakfast first, this is fresh milk that arrived this morning. Lu Lao Ban said your legs cramped last night, so he wanted you to drink more milk.”

“My legs cramped?” Li Sui had no idea.

Sister Lu laughed obscurely, “Boys who are getting taller always get cramps at night. If you don’t take the chance and eat more, you’d regret it later.”

Li Sui remembered in the midst of his slumber, there was a point when he felt a bit of pain in his legs. He wasn’t very sensitive to pain, so that little bit of it didn’t affect his sleep. He didn’t wake up, but his legs probably moved around a lot, waking Lu Shang up from his shallow sleep.

“Thank you, sister Lu.” Li Sui felt guilty. Lu Shang’s state of health was bad already, yet he interrupted his sleep. If it was someone less kind, Li Sui would have been kicked off the bed long ago, let’s not even talk about warm milk in the morning to treat him.

“You should call me Aunt Lu, I’m this old already. I could barely accept Lu Lao Ban calling me sister. You are so young that you can literally be my son, don’t call me sister.”

“Have you known Lu Lao Ban for a long time already?”

“Hum, about ten years or so.”

Li Sui thought for a bit and asked, “So you’ve taken care of the ones Lu Lao Ban had prior to me too?”

“Prior to you?” Aunt Lu paused but immediately caught on to what Li Sui was insinuating. She laughed, “What prior to you? What kind of person do you think Lu Lao Ban is?”

It was Li Sui’s turn to freeze up. He tried pushing for more answers. “There’s no way that he only has me, right? Like maybe not here but living elsewhere?” As he was asking, Li Yan came across his mind. Li Yan was a traditional rich playboy, having more ladies around him than the clouds. He had so many mistresses that they could fill up an ancient Chinese palace. Everyday he had to roll dice to decide where he would sleep. When Lu Shang first mentioned being his benefactor, he just thought he was one of many. Someone to be thrown away after Mr. Lao Ban got his laugh and had enough. Yet seeing Aunt Lu’s reaction, that didn’t seem to be the case. This made Li Sui feel uneasy.

Aunt Lu was humored up by Li Sui. “What is in that little head of yours? Lu Lao Ban is a serious person, unlike those rich and wasteful men out there. I’ve served the Lu family for so long and Lu Lao Ban has never gotten close to anyone. Not even bringing someone back home.” Even after saying that, Li Sui was still in doubt, so she added, “Don’t tell anyone, okay? I’ve never been through anything dramatic, but there is this one thing that I can’t get out of my heart. I had a husband once, he happened to be one of those unfaithful men. So, we divorced and I brought my son to live with me here. If Lu Lao Ban is someone like that too, I certainly wouldn’t serve him for so long.”

Li Sui was confused. He knew Lu Shang was different from others he had met before. Lu Shang didn’t like lively places with huge crowds and he didn’t hold any interest in going to the red-light districts either. Most of his time was spent on work. However, Li Sui never knew Lu Shang’s private life was so scarce.

“Just live here happily, okay?” Aunt Lu gave Li Sui two pieces of turnip cake, then she comforted Li Sui. “The only problem is his health and he really does need someone close to take care of him. I suggested maybe he should find a lady, but Lu Shang said ladies have never fit him from the day he was born. And then I saw him bring you home… Ha, I remember old man Yuen talking about it when he was drunk last year. Who knew that it was true. But then again, a lady really might not be able to take care of Lu Shang. You seem nice though.”