Chen Ping'an's hands weren't particularly skilled, but the work he did was quite good.
"That's good."
He inserted the newly made wooden stick into the door bolt; it fit perfectly, neither too much nor too little.
"Wow, Gege is amazing!"
Chen Er'ya clapped beside him, showering him with praise.
"Alright, Gege is going to practice martial arts now. Nannan, if you get sleepy later, you don't have to wait for Gege, just go to sleep."
"Okay," Chen Er'ya replied.
Chen Ping'an took out his undergarments from inside the house.
These undergarments had now become auxiliary tools for his Iron Cloth practice. They weren't really wearable anymore, but they were quite good for this purpose.
When he had more money later, he definitely had to buy suitable soft cloth to practice Iron Cloth.
The conditions for practicing martial arts were truly too rudimentary.
If he didn't have the Golden Finger panel, Chen Ping'an wouldn't even be confident that he could succeed.
After folding the undergarments neatly and wrapping them several times around his chest and back, Chen Ping'an began to practice Iron Cloth.
With the two previous successful experiences, he was quite familiar with the routine this time.
He vigorously rubbed various parts of his body, then flexed and extended his elbows and arms, making his chest expand and contract, repeating this action.
Again and again, again and again.
As he rubbed vigorously, Chen Ping'an felt his body gradually heat up. Then, as it heated up, his body began to feel a slight ache.
And as the rubbing continued, his pain intensified, becoming more and more obvious.
However, this pain was still within his tolerable range.
Chen Ping'an gritted his teeth and persevered.
Then, the next moment.
A "+1" character symbol flashed across Chen Ping'an's vision.
Name: Chen Ping'an
Realm: None
Martial Arts: Iron Cloth Not Initiated (3/5)
......
"Excellent!"
The few lines of text that appeared before him, especially the strikingly prominent '3', filled Xu Chang'an with joy and excitement.
"Two points, just two more experience points, and I'll meet the requirements for initiating Iron Cloth."
Chen Ping'an mused, then unfastened the clothes wrapped around his chest and back. What met his eyes was a flush of red. At this moment, his entire body felt numb. It was a complex sensation of numbness mixed with pain, and pain mixed with itchiness.
"Gege ~"
Chen Er'ya, who was beside him, very obediently handed him a bowl of water.
"Good Mei Mei!"
Chen Ping'an praised her, then took the bowl with one hand and gulped down the water.
After drinking the water, he didn't sit on the wooden stool. He walked a few steps and simply sat on the threshold of the courtyard gate.
The two had eaten dinner early, and the time spent cleaning up, plus his half-hour practice, meant that overall, it wasn't too late.
Chen Ping'an wanted to try and see if he could complete two Iron Cloth practices tonight.
Sitting on the threshold, Chen Ping'an felt a tingling sensation all over his body, as if tiny insects were crawling everywhere. Compared to earlier, the pain had lessened considerably.
He rested on the threshold for nearly half an hour before slowly getting up. After getting up, he didn't immediately try to practice Iron Cloth, but instead subtly adjusted his posture and relaxed his muscles.
"Nannan, you go wash up first. When you're done, just go straight to bed and sleep, you don't have to wait for Gege."
Chen Ping'an looked at Chen Er'ya, who was waiting for him with her head drooping, and instructed her.
"Mm, okay," Chen Er'ya responded.
"Continue!"
Chen Ping'an picked up his undergarments, wrapped them several times around his chest and back, and began to practice Iron Cloth with practiced ease.
His hands vigorously rubbed various parts of his body. At first, it was fine, and he could bear it. But after only a short while, he felt his body aching unbearably.
Chen Ping'an gritted his teeth, wanting to persevere, but the subsequent pain became increasingly obvious. And it wasn't just a matter of pain; he felt as though his skin was about to completely crack open.
"I can't try anymore!"
Chen Ping'an made a decisive decision to give up this practice. It wasn't that he couldn't endure this level of pain, but he was worried that if his skin broke, it would affect his Iron Cloth practice for the next few days.
It seemed that with his current Physique and level, it was unlikely he could practice Iron Cloth twice in a short period.
The reason he practiced twice yesterday was that he practiced once in the morning, then rested well all afternoon, and only began the second practice in the evening.
If he woke up earlier in the morning, practiced once before work, and then practiced a second time in the evening, he should be able to practice Iron Cloth twice a day.
"Mm, I'll rest early today and try again first thing tomorrow morning!"
Having made up his mind, Chen Ping'an took off the wrapped undergarments. He fetched a basin of water and carefully wiped various parts of his body with a cloth.
Speaking of water, his family's courtyard didn't have a well. If he walked about a li east from his door, there was a small stream with a well beside it. On normal days, if they needed water, they would draw it from there and store it in the water vat in the kitchen.
"There's still half a vat of water, so there's no hurry to fetch more."
Chen Ping'an thought to himself.
Although Chen Er'ya was precocious, she was ultimately young, and physical tasks like fetching water were still strenuous for her. Chen Ping'an could fill the water vat by making ten round trips. For Chen Er'ya, it would probably take more than twenty trips.
After washing his body, Chen Ping'an washed up and then went to bed.
When he entered the room, Chen Er'ya was not yet asleep.
"Gege, are you done now ~"
"Yes."
Chen Ping'an replied.
Before sleeping, the siblings chatted for a while as usual.
Chen Er'ya largely shared the family's situation regarding food, clothing, and daily expenses with Chen Ping'an.
For instance, although they lit few candles on normal days, they were almost out and needed to buy one to keep in reserve. The salt at home was running low, so they needed to buy some tomorrow. There was still plenty of rice and oil, but they also needed to organize it tomorrow to prevent rats from stealing it. Also, she had heard some interesting street gossip when she went out to buy vegetables today.
All in all, it was mostly about daily life.
Most of the time, Chen Ping'an just listened and didn't interrupt. In between, he would also briefly share his daily routine at work.
The siblings slept together, like every night, and likely felt at ease in their hearts.
......
"Huff ~ Puff ~ Huff ~"
Early in the morning, Chen Ping'an began to practice in the small courtyard.
Compared to last night, his body felt undoubtedly much better. His hands continuously rubbed and moved around. His elbows and arms constantly flexed and extended, making his chest expand and contract.
Today, Chen Ping'an woke up more than half an hour earlier than usual. He had already started practicing Iron Cloth before dawn.
Chen Er'ya was still asleep, but she was eventually woken up by the sounds of Chen Ping'an practicing.
Seeing her Gege working so hard early in the morning, she felt a little heartache.
However, no matter how much heartache she felt, the only thing she could do to help her Gege was to prepare a hot bowl of porridge for him.