Uncle, Can You Please Not Talk?

Tran Mac returned home. Seeing the house pitch black, he opened the door. The room was clean; he knew no one had come by, and sister-in-law was still in the cellar.

Truong Ha was very considerate. He had work to do but quickly lit the lamp in the room, then went to the rice vat to scoop rice and start cooking.

Tran Mac placed the sack in his parents' room, went to the brick bed-platform, lifted the mud slab on top, and while pulling the inner latch, called out, "Sister-in-law!"

"Is that uncle? I'm here!"

In the cellar, Han An Nuong held a chopping knife, warily looking upwards. Only when she saw Tran Mac's face did she sigh in relief. She climbed the ladder and was pulled out of the cellar by Tran Mac.

"Uncle!"

Han An Nuong, like a young swallow returning to the nest, threw herself into Tran Mac's embrace, hugging him tightly, and said softly, "Uncle, you're finally back! I was worried to death about you. If anything happened to you, uncle, I... I wouldn't want to live either."

It was truly because Tran Mac's tone the night before he left sounded so much like a farewell that Han An Nuong had spent the entire day in the cellar, frightened and uneasy.

Although the cellar had been expanded and had ventilation holes, compared to the outside, it still felt cramped.

Cramped, lonely, and dim, it made the already worried Han An Nuong feel extremely scared.

With soft jade filling his embrace, Tran Mac could feel the emotion in Han An Nuong's heart.

Han An Nuong was originally a gentle and weak woman. The successive deaths of her husband and mother-in-law had shrouded her, who already lacked a sense of security, with anxiety.

The original Tran Mac's neglect could only push her to become stronger, to prop up this nearly broken home. However, a strong personality was not cultivated. His arrival, instead, provided her with an umbrella. She came to rely on him as her primary support. Under his protection, she felt secure but gradually lost her own initiative and independence.

Therefore, it also led to a situation where if Tran Mac was not by her side for a period, if she couldn't see him, she would feel panicked, worried, and helpless.

To solve this problem, it actually wasn't difficult.

Find her a companion, so she has someone to talk to.

During this period of living together, Tran Mac found Han An Nuong's personality to be too introverted. She hardly talked to the villagers, basically just staying at home, unlike those aunties in the village who would go next door to chat.

As for finding a companion, it definitely had to be a female.

...

During dinner, Tran Mac said to Truong Ha, "Brother Thuy, in the future, when I'm not at home, have your wife come over to keep my sister-in-law company and chat."

"Right away, Brother Mac."

This wasn't any troublesome matter, so Truong Ha agreed without a second thought.

"Starting tomorrow, after you finish digging, set aside one watch-hour each day to practice the dao with me."

Through his observations during this period, Tran Mac felt Truong Ha's performance was quite good. Coincidentally, his own realm had just broken through to the eighth rank, so he could have his underling practice some dao techniques and enhance his own strength a bit.

In the future, if he wasn't in the village and something unexpected happened, Truong Ha could also help.

Hearing this, Truong Ha first paused, then his eyes lit up, and he thanked Tran Mac profusely, "Thank you, Brother Mac, thank you, Brother Mac..."

He had witnessed Brother Mac's dao techniques.

Now, hearing Brother Mac wanted to teach him, Truong Ha was incredibly excited, almost to the point of kneeling.

"Today when I went to town, I bought some grain. Take some with you when you go back later." Since he had accepted Truong Ha as an underling, appropriate favors were still necessary.

Truong Ha was moved to tears. When he left, he even washed the bowls and chopsticks.

"Sister-in-law, in the future, if I'm not in the village and something happens, you can just call on Truong Ha and his wife. They wouldn't dare not listen to you," Tran Mac said to Han An Nuong.

Since favors were given, they naturally had to be used.

Tran Mac had thought about buying a few maids.

In this current era, human lives were already worthless.

To put it bluntly, with a little food, he could exchange for a young, unmarried maiden.

However, after careful consideration, he temporarily dismissed this idea. At this current juncture, it wasn't quite suitable; the disadvantages outweighed the advantages.

Moreover, buying maids in a rural village was truly a bit too conspicuous.

...

Under the endless dark canopy, the crescent moon was dim, and the snow had also lessened.

Tran family home. The flame on the oil lamp leaped and flickered, enveloping the entire room.

On the bed, the woman with a ripe figure, after applying rouge and powder, held a bronze mirror in a kneeling position, examining herself from left to right.

A woman adorns herself for the one who pleases her.

Han An Nuong was no exception.

It was just that before, she didn't have the living conditions for it, so Han An Nuong naturally didn't dare to extravagantly hope for these things, but her heart still yearned for and liked them.

Looking at the exquisite face in the mirror, Han An Nuong's eyes held unconcealable joy. She then asked how much this powder cost.

Tran Mac had bought high-grade rouge and powder. According to the shopkeeper, it contained pearl powder and cost over a tael of silver.

"Not much, just about a hundred wen," Tran Mac didn't tell the truth, afraid Han An Nuong would feel heartbroken about the money and not dare to use it.

But even so, Han An Nuong still felt it was too expensive. She looked at Tran Mac with deep affection and said, "Uncle, don't buy me these things in the future. They're too expensive. Money should be used on the 'blade's edge.' I don't care for these things..."

Han An Nuong's face, already nurtured, appeared even more exquisite and charming after applying rouge and powder. Her smooth skin seemed to glow under the dim lamplight, sleek and lustrous.

Tran Mac took her soft hand, placed the bronze mirror on the windowsill, and said in a warm voice, "Silly girl, to me, sister-in-law, you are the blade's edge."

"Uncle..." Han An Nuong's voice seemed to melt. At this moment, she was wearing a close-fitting undergarment. Her pair of long, smooth thighs were bent beneath her hips, forming soft and symmetrical curves.

Her figure was full, like a ripe honey peach, extremely delicious and alluring. Her external curves were full of mature feminine beauty, making one's heart involuntarily dry and hot with unbearable desire.

Tran Mac patted Han An Nuong's beautiful thigh, asking her to turn her back to him.

Tran Mac embraced her from behind. After some rustling sounds, he took a light breath and said, "Sister-in-law, with me here, don't feel bad about the silver. When the rouge and powder run out, I'll buy you more, lots and lots more."

Han An Nuong vaguely murmured an "mm."

"Also, I bought glutinous rice and fermentation starter. Tomorrow, sister-in-law can make sweet fermented rice wine," Tran Mac said.

"Mm, tomorrow... I'll make it."

"Sister-in-law, open your eyes and look at the mirror. You, right now, are so beautiful."

Hearing this, Han An Nuong opened her eyes to look.

She saw herself in the bronze mirror, hair disheveled, face flushed, a strand of hair bitten between her lips.

"Uncle, you... don't look." Han An Nuong reached out and took the bronze mirror from the windowsill.

It was too embarrassing; that wasn't her at all.

"Sister-in-law, you're shy," Tran Mac blew a breath of air beside Han An Nuong's ear. She bit her lip, not speaking.

"Sister-in-law, starting tomorrow, no, in a little while, how about I teach you to read?"

The passage grew tight; for safety, Tran Mac had to steer with intense focus.

"Uncle, you... can you please... not talk..."