Call Me Daddy

The news of the Su family’s separation had already spread throughout the village. Everyone knew about the harsh conditions of the split and sympathized with Su Youtian and Su Youniu, while cursing Li Shi as a cruel stepmother.

Of course, as sensational as the Su family’s division was, it was matched by the news that Second Su admitted he was infertile. What was the difference between an infertile man and a eunuch?

It was said that Second Su even claimed he wanted to establish a female household for his only daughter. But given his situation, even if he did establish such a household, how many men would be willing to marry into the family for just 3 acres of poor land?

Those who established female households were usually wealthy, with some family assets they didn’t want to distribute to collateral branches. Because of the money involved, many men were willing to marry into such families.

But Second Su had nothing and was now limping on one leg. What man would be willing to sacrifice his dignity for such burdens?

Everyone felt that Second Su’s decision might end up harming his daughter.

Er Niang already had a poor reputation in the village. Losing her mother and being a grown daughter were taboo in marriage arrangements. Over the years, Li Shi had also spread rumors about Er Niang’s unfavorable fate. Anyone with a bit of pride would be unwilling to consider such a daughter-in-law for their son, let alone marry into the family.

Second Su’s decision might result in his daughter becoming an old maid for life. This would ensure that he had someone to take care of him in his old age, but it would clearly ruin Er Niang’s life.

Unless Second Su suddenly became wealthy, but was that likely?

To many villagers who had not witnessed the scene earlier in the day, Second Su was still the same honest and easily bullied man.

When Su Aobai arrived at Doctor Li’s house, Doctor Li’s wife was discussing the events of the day.

“Second Su can’t have children?”

Doctor Li frowned. He hadn’t noticed this when he took Second Su’s pulse earlier. Could it be that he had been so focused on diagnosing the toxins in Second Su’s body that he overlooked other underlying ailments?

That shouldn’t be the case.

Doctor Li was still doubting his medical skills when Su Aobai appeared outside the Li family’s courtyard.

He seemed unsure how to approach the situation, pacing back and forth at the entrance with his cane for a long time. It was the sharp-eyed Li family’s daughter-in-law who spotted him and then went inside to call her father-in-law.

The young daughter-in-law’s expression was a bit strange. Was Second Su coming to ask for credit for medicine after the separation?

“You Niu, why are you here?”

Doctor Li hurriedly came out of the house and invited Su Aobai inside. At this point, Doctor Li’s suspicions were similar to those of his daughter-in-law.

He had previously prescribed several expensive medicines. Now that Second Su had divided his property, he surely couldn’t afford these costs. Credit was possible, but with such high prices, Second Su wouldn’t be able to pay. Although Doctor Li had some compassion, he wasn’t running a charity and couldn’t give away medicine for free just because someone was pitiable.

Doctor Li was considering whether there were any cheaper alternatives with similar medicinal effects.

In his view, Second Su’s leg was beyond repair; it would be better to take some tonics to strengthen his body.

“Doctor Li, I came here… oh… I really don’t know how to start…”

Su Aobai’s dark face flushed red, indicating that what he was about to say was quite difficult for him to express.

“Second Brother Su, have some tea.”

Doctor Li’s daughter-in-law came in, bringing a pot of hot water and serving tea to her father-in-law and Su Aobai.

She thought to herself that she needed to keep a close watch. She couldn’t let her father-in-law be swayed by pity and make a hasty decision to give money for charity.

“Please don’t be so polite.” Su Aobai was a bit at a loss due to the Li family’s thoughtful hospitality.

“Well… I don’t know how to put this… the medicine you prescribed before is almost used up. You should have heard about my family’s situation. My leg still isn’t healed, but I don’t have the money for the next batch of medicine. So, I was thinking…”

“Achoo—”

The daughter-in-law of the Li family interrupted Su Aobai’s words with a sneeze.

“Father, let me check if I caught a cold. Oh, medicines are getting more expensive these days. If the problem isn’t serious, I’ll manage. The medicinal herbs at home were bought with real money, so let’s not waste them.”

She felt her attitude was already quite clear. If Second Su had any dignity left, he wouldn’t make unreasonable demands.

Doctor Li frowned and glanced at his daughter-in-law’s deliberately affected expression. He understood her little game but hesitated before finally deciding not to reprimand her.

Setting this precedent wasn’t ideal.

However, Su Aobai seemed to be completely unaware of the young daughter-in-law’s thoughts and continued speaking to Doctor Li.

“So, I wanted to ask if there are any herbs from the mountain that could be used from my prescription. I could gather them myself and brew some medicine. It might be of some use.”

Su Aobai’s eyes showed anxiety, as if he thought his request might be too much. After finishing, he nervously scratched his head.

Doctor Li and his daughter-in-law had never expected that after such a long hesitation, Second Su would make such a request.

Instead of asking for a loan or credit for medicine, he was inquiring whether there were any herbs in the mountains that he could use, which he would collect and brew himself.

Doctor Li’s young daughter-in-law felt especially embarrassed, with her cheeks and neck flushing red. She had just suspected that Second Su’s character was questionable, but it turned out that even in such a difficult situation, he had never tried to take advantage of them.

“The water seems to be getting a bit cold. I’ll go boil another pot.” Saying this, she quickly lowered her head and left the room.

***

“There are indeed many useful herbs on the mountain, but some of them are hard to find without experience.”

Compared to his previous guesses, Su Aobai’s current request was hardly a big deal.

“And you don’t know what those herbs look like either.”

Doctor Li’s expression was somewhat hesitant. “Here’s the thing. Come with me.”

Doctor Li said this as he led Su Aobai to his pharmacy. The room was filled with various medicinal herbs, including some fresh ones that hadn’t undergone special processing.

In his youth, Doctor Li would gather these herbs himself from the mountains. However, now that he was older and his sons hadn’t inherited this skill, he had turned to several dedicated herbalists for his supplies.

This increased the cost of his medicines, which was why he had hesitated about whether to offer credit to Su Aobai.

“I have a book on medicinal herbs here,” Doctor Li said, handing the book to Su Aobai. “It contains illustrations of various herbs. You should try to find the herbs that match those pictures. When you find them, bring them to me. Some herbs need to be processed before they can be used for medicine. If you can find the herbs depicted in this book, I’ll buy them from you at the normal price. You can choose to exchange them for money or for the herbs you need.”

Doctor Li’s hopes weren’t very high. If collecting medicinal herbs were so easy, everyone would become herbalists, which paid much better than farming.

Moreover, given Second Su’s current condition, he could only move around the foot of the mountain. Doctor Li himself often wandered around there and would have already collected any high-quality herbs over the years.

Yet, Doctor Li didn’t want to crush Second Su’s hopes. As long as there was life, there was hope. If Second Su had the confidence to heal his leg, miracles could still happen.

Su Aobai gratefully accepted the book and began flipping through its pages.

“Doctor Li, I really don’t know how to thank you. I’ve remember all these herbs and bring them to you once I’ve gathered them.”

He handed the book back and turned to leave.

“Wait!”

This time, Doctor Li was stunned. He had only glanced at the book, and now he was saying he had remembered everything?

Doctor Li felt a bit displeased, thinking that the man who was supposed to be honest was not being very sincere.

“Are you sure you remember everything?” Doctor Li was worried that Su Aobai might have only superficially remembered the book’s contents, so he feared that Su Aobai would be unable to accurately recall or bring the book back intact.

“Have you remembered it?”

Seeing Doctor Li’s serious expression, Su Aobai was momentarily stunned but quickly nodded in response.

Doctor Li’s expression grew even more displeased. He had a strong aversion to liars.

“Since you remember it, recite it to me. What does the book say?”

He couldn’t understand why Second Su would tell such a flimsy lie, which would not only fail to help him in finding the herbs but would also cast doubt on his character.

As expected, Second Su didn’t answer immediately after this demand.

Doctor Li sighed, realizing that his suspicion was correct. Just as he was about to speak again, he saw Su Aobai’s confused expression.

“I remember the pictures and the words, but I don’t know how to read them. How about I write it out again?” Su Aobai asked cautiously.

Since the original owner couldn’t read, he had remembered the shapes but couldn’t actually recite them fluently.

Doctor Li was taken aback by this response and was momentarily at a loss for words.

In the pharmacy, there were pens, ink, paper, and ink stones that Doctor Li used for writing prescriptions. He quickly prepared some ink and insisted that Su Aobai learn how to write the word ‘honesty’ today.

Su Aobai struggled with the pen, dipping it in the ink and then attempting to draw and write according to his memory.

“This brush feels so soft. I can’t control it. Oh, it’s going crooked. Oh no, the ink is smudging into a mess.”

While trying to write, Su Aobai scratched his head with one hand and held his ear with the other, clearly feeling lost and overwhelmed by the task at hand.

He wanted to explain to Doctor Li that what he remembered in his mind wasn’t like this, but the brush was uncooperative and not following his intentions.

At that moment, however, Doctor Li was too engrossed in the crooked and poorly written characters on the paper to notice Su Aobai’s frustration. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

The characters and drawings were terribly ugly, revealing the owner’s unfamiliarity with controlling the brush. Yet, despite this, every stroke and detail perfectly matched those in the book.

This meant that Second Su had indeed remembered them, and remembered them precisely!

Doctor Li found himself at a loss for words to describe his shock.

An extraordinary memory!

An extraordinary memory indeed!

In his lifetime, he had witnessed what he thought was only recorded in books; a true genius!

It was not Second Su who was lying; it was Doctor Li himself who lacked insight.

He had used his own mediocre brain to judge a genius’s mind. Was it so strange that a genius could remember what they saw in a glance?

Doctor Li felt a deep regret at that moment. A child with such an exceptional memory had been languishing in farm labor for over a decade. Su Kuishan had committed a great sin, Li Shi had committed a great sin, and the Su family had committed a great sin.

How laughable that Li Shi was still proud of her son passing the scholar’s exam. If Second Su had had the chance to study, he might have become an official scholar by now.

A surge of passionate emotion rose within Doctor Li.

Could I be considered Second Su’s patron?

The people at the old Su family home would regret their actions today sooner or later.