After adding more woodblocks to the fire and making sure it was enough, Ming Rusheng got one round flat clay pot kept at one corner of the workshop.
Sitting on the couch, wrapped in a warm blanket, Lu Lian observed what he was doing so seriously.
Ming Rusheng got one tong and put the half-burned blocks of wood in that clay pot. Once he filled the clay pot, he carried it towards the couch and put it on the floor, in front of Lu Lian, as he kneeled with his one knee resting on the floor while the other folded up.
She was puzzled by what he was doing. Even before she could understand, Ming Rusheng held her feet.
"What are you doing?" Lu Lian asked.
She tried to retreat her feet, but Ming Rusheng held it tighter as he glared at her.
"If you don't want to burn your feet, then stay still."
His warning worked on her, and she kept quiet but still embarrassed that he was holding her feet.