Once his crew had gathered, Jie sat them all down to a shared breakfast that Ai had prepared for them all. While they were eating, Jie pulled a large draft out of his gown and held it up for them to look at. It was the layout for his home, which would have 3 rooms, a main den, kitchen and to the side a stable for the horses he wished to breed.
Nodding that they understood, and excited that they still had work that they would be paid for, Jie held up his hand. Then calling Ai to his side, he informed them that she was joining the crew.
Suddenly the beginning of their excitement died completely as they all looked towards her in shock. No one said a word, but it was obvious to Ai, who was trying to keep her small smile on her face, that they were not happy with Jies decision.
"If you are unhappy with the decision, you are welcome to leave." he said firmly, pulling her closer to him, while she sadly lowered her head. She did not mean to cause friction between Jie and his crew, and nor would she allow it. Pulling away from him, prepared to retract her assistance, Jie merely pulled her even closer, as he continued to stare his crew down.
One by one, their eyes dropped. In the end, wages were more important than a woman working alongside them. Standing they all gave her a bow. And that was that, she was accepted, then returning to their boisterous rowdy babble, they continued with breakfast, as Jie gave her the softest of looks.
No sooner had breakfast finished than the preparation of the land began. It was back breaking work, but with an extra pair of hands, albeit tiny ones, the land was stripped of its top layer and the foundation prepared.
The preparation for the foundation was the hardest physical labor Ai had ever experienced in her life. Breaking down the stone and gravel into a thin powder hurt every muscle in her body, and though everyone could see her body was unused to such painful torturous work, not once did she complain. She merely put on a stoic grin, gritted her teeth and matched her male crew in every back breaking pound of the stone they struck, once done, instead of falling into a tired heap as they had done, she rose and went and prepared their lunch.
And as the days wore on, she slowly began to earn the respect of her crew members, who began to see her as just another one of the team, also including her in their ribald story telling and jokes, though only when Jie was out of hearing range and taming their words so as not to offend her or Jie if he was to learn of it. But she did manage to make friends with them and they with her, each of them teaching her the different techniques which she quickly mastered so as not to slow them down.
Day after day, Ai returned to the construction site, and day after day, she continued to work just as hard as they did, until finally after 2 months of torturing her body, Jie pulled her aside and insisted she leave. The callouses on her hands had begun to break and seeing her torturing herself for his sake to the point of bleeding, made him very angry, though he was more angry at himself for not noticing sooner.
Initially he was impressed with her determination to work just as hard as they did in order to win his crew over, which he knew she was trying to do, but seeing her limping home from exhaustion, then to see physical wounds on her body, made him lose all reason.
Having forced her to the side to apply a balm to her hand and dress it in a clean bandage much to her embarrassment, he turned her to face him. "Ai, you cannot continue when you are hurting yourself. I will not allow it." he told her sharply before leading his horse to her side.
Seeing her stubborn look of refusal, he took her arm, and ordered her onto it's back. "Get on, and go home. I do not want to see you here again until the house is finished." he said with so much force, his eyes had narrowed to thin slits at her stubborn look.
Suddenly something in her snapped. Jie never thought she had it in her, but when her own eyes narrowed and her lips thinned up at him, his widened. but he stood his ground, as she tore into him. Suddenly their very first fight erupted and neither of them cared for their audience who had stopped everything to watch on in growing interest.
Refusing to go anywhere and with her small hands bunched up into tight fists at her side, she yelled up at him. "How dare you. I'm not some weak woman who cannot handle a little discomfort." she cried, the tears beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes. Then tearing the bandages from her blistered hand and she threw it at him. "I don't take orders from anyone Jie." she stormed before kicking him in the ankle with her small foot. Then for a solid 5 minutes she railed at him.
Suddenly his temper also flared as he glared down at her in anger. "Whether you are a woman or a man, I will not allow any of my crew to continue to work injured. Now get on on the horse Ai!" he yelled back down at her, his eyes also flaring at her, as she continued to stand her ground.
With her little hands still bunched up at her side, her shoulders raised and her lower lip bursting out stubbornly, she moved closer to him. Her whole body was shaking as she glared up at him. "NO!" she screamed as hard as could, like an impetulant child. "If you don't like it, then you get on the horse and leave." she added, no longer caring that she was sounding irrational and childish as her tears began to rain down her cheeks in frustration. Then wiping the tears away with her her injured hand, her tears turned to painful sobs as the balm stung her eyes.
"Damn it Ai." he cursed as he grabbed her arm and led her back to the bucket of water to rinse her eyes clear of the balm.
Pushing him away, she continued to refuse to listen as she yelled every curse word she knew up at him,before turning her back to return to her crew who did not dare move to intervene, all of them instinctively knowing, that to do so, would have them thrown out with her. Jie may have a kind heart and their best interests in mind, but facing his temper when he did lose it, was not worth losing precious wages, not even for Ai.
"Very well!" he said so softly, his crew instantly moved out of the way, as he stormed towards her. Grabbing her shoulder, he swung her around, and in once swift move, he hoisted her up over his shoulder and stormed her back towards her horse.
"Jie!" she screamed, as her little hands and feet flailed helplessly against him. "You put me down right now!" she cried, as her tears once more began to well anger and embarrassment.
Throwing her unceremoniously onto the back of his horse, he flung himself up behind her, and set his horse in motion towards her home, leaving strict orders for his crew to continue without him.
Pushing his hands away, she tried to jump off, but he forcefully grabbed her and pulled her tightly against him. "How dare you Jie. You let me down right now, or I swear I will..... I will... "
"You'll what?" he asked as she continued to stammer and stutter in indignation.
Looking down suddenly amused at her lack of control, she saw red. Taking his hand into her own, she lifted it to her face and bit him. Hard.
Yanking his hand back, pain flickered through his eyes briefly as he pulled the horse to an immediate standstill. Still within sight of his crew, he no longer cared as she once again continued to rail against him with every bad word his crew had taught her and her little fists began to beat against his chest as hard as she could.
Breathing heavily as he tried to bring his temper under control, he quickly took both of her flailing fists into his hands and forced her to look at him. "Now you listen to me Ai. I will only say this once. I will not allow you to hurt yourself for my sake, and if you continue to fight me, you will leave me no choice." he said sternly down at her widening eyes.
But not ready to give in, Ai stubbornly refused to listen or obey. "NO! she cried as she continued to try and free her hands from his tight grip.
Sighing heavily, Jie once again lost his temper. "Very well." he said once more. He had said it so softly, she wasn't sure if she had heard him, but she did not miss what came after it. Quick as lightening, he flipped her onto her stomach, across the back of his horse in front of him and walloped her backside in three successive sharp smacks.
Gasping in utter shock Ais mind went completely blank. Then the tears started and she could not stop them, as she sobbed against the horse. The humiliation had rendered her speechless and immobile. No feelings at all passed through her mind, only the numb sensation that Jie had managed to stop her in her tracks with no dignified way out, and that had her feeling the weakest she had ever felt.
Then turning the horse towards the narrow pathway, Jie slowly began the ride back to town with her flopped awkwardly across the horses back sobbing uncontrollably. Having only gone a short distance, and unable to bear her heartbreaking cries any longer, Jie brought the horse to standstill once more, and gently lifted her back onto the horse and pulled her up into his arms, where he held her against him as she continued to cry.
Burying her head into his chest as he soothed her hair, he whispered down at her softly. "Ai. I'm sorry. I should not have lost my temper with you. I'm so sorry" he said gently as he continued to stroke her hair. Then lifting her hands and opening them up so the raw blisters came into view, he continued to talk to her as his thumbs gently rolled across her bleeding wounds. "You are more precious to me than my crew or my home. You mean more to me than my own life Ai. These small hands have already given so much. Please, listen. To hurt yourself like this, hurts me." he said, the pain in his voice suddenly brought her tears to an immediate halt, as she too looked down at her hands. Suddenly she realized how badly her hands had been injured and why he was forcing her to stop. They looked terrible and painful, the blisters had spread across her palms and had split under the strain. If she didn't stop, they would get infected.
That he had spanked her, was no longer an issue, because she realized he had only done it stop her from her hurting herself more, because he loved her. But she had to know why she had continued to work even though it physically hurt. "I only wanted to be with you Jie." she whimpered softly against him. "I just want to help you make a nice home, so I can be with you." she said as she looked up at him.
The sight of her large tear stained eyes that looked up at him, broke his heart. Without a single rational thought, he answered her. "Then marry me Ai." he said, stunning even himself, as he watched her eyes grow even wider.
"What?" she asked stunned, knowing she had heard him the first time, but needing desperately to hear it again.
Raising her head gently so he could see every inch of her face, he repeated himself. "Marry me Ai." he said.
And as her tears once again started, she nodded her head slowly. "Yes." she answered him softly, before ducking her head back down into his chest shyly.
Laughing, Jie pulled her head back up to kiss her. It was a beautiful tender kiss, which they kept up all the way back to her little home.
Lifting her down off the horse, he carried her inside and lay her down on her bed as he once again tended to her hands between kisses and her giggles. It was a precious moment for them both, but when he had finished bandaging her wounds, he sat her up to face him.
"In three days, I will return for you. In the meantime, stay here, and heal. In three days we will marry." he told her smiling. That would give him enough time, to prepare what he was planning in his mind at that moment.
With the softest of smiles, she nodded her head, then ducked it down against him shyly as he once more erupted into laughter.