Call Me Daddy

“Fourth!” Su Aobai’s sudden, angry shout interrupted the surrounding conversations.

He pressed his lips together, his eyes red and glistening with tears.

“Second brother knew; second brother knew that you’re a good person.” He seemed deeply moved by Su Youwen’s actions. Throwing aside his cane, he placed both hands heavily on Su Youwen’s shoulders. Years of manual labor had given Su Aobai’s hands immense strength. When he slapped Su Youwen’s shoulders, the impact made Su Youwen’s face turn pale, and his teeth chattered from the pain.

To the onlookers, it appeared as if the two brothers were tearfully gazing at each other with deep affection.

“From childhood to now, our parents always told me that you were the most promising person in our family. As long as we could raise you well, we would have a solid foundation. That’s why I worked hard day and night. I took on all the laborious tasks while you focused on your studies.”

“When Mother said that the sound of me chopping firewood would disturb you, I would chop all the firewood I gathered on the mountain and carry it down in baskets. When you mentioned that your classmates in the town used high-quality writing materials, I worked extra hard during the slack farming season, saving all the copper coins I earned and giving them to Mother so she could buy you the things you wanted…”

Su Aobai spoke with deep gratitude about the years he had dedicated to his younger brother. As he spoke, the expressions of the people around them began to change.

“Indeed, just as Mother said, you’re my best brother. Even when our parents stopped caring for me, you were the only one who still remembered me.”

Saying that, Su Aobai excitedly patted Su Youwen’s shoulder. His large, strong hands felt like bear paws when they landed on Su Youwen, making his face turn even paler.

Su Youwen looked at his foolish older brother, whom he had always looked down upon, with a skeptical expression.

Was this a deliberate attempt to manipulate me?

No, this older brother didn’t have such cunningness.

Su Youwen knew it was a problem as soon as Su Aobai started speaking, but he was powerless to refute his older brother’s words. The hardships Su Aobai had endured at home were well-known to everyone.

Those who had been moved by Su Youwen’s performance were now coming to their senses.

Indeed, if Su Youwen really respected his elder brother as he appeared to, how could he have not noticed the life Su Aobai had lived over the past decades?

Why had he previously taken Su Aobai’s sacrifices for granted and only now realized how hard it had been?

The villagers might not have received formal education, but their acumen in dealing with matters was no less than that of educated individuals. Some quickly saw through Su Youwen’s motivations; Plainly, it was for reputation!

“However, Fourth, second brother still can’t go back with you.”

Su Aobai wiped away his tears and then struggled to squat down to pick up the cane he had dropped.

Su Youwen lagged behind again. The people around him looked at him with strange expressions. If he truly respected his older brother, he should have hurried to pick up the cane for his disabled brother rather than hesitating. He wasn’t putting in enough effort.

“Why?”

Su Youwen still wore a smile on his face, forcing out those words through gritted teeth. He felt that coming to find his older brother today had been a mistake.

“You must have heard from Father and Mother that I could only have one child in this lifetime, and that child is Er Niang. The reason we didn’t divide the family before was because it was better for Er Niang this way. After she got married, she would still have her maternal family to rely on. So no matter how much work Mother made Er Niang do, I always made her listen.”

“The only way she could receive love from her grandparents and gratitude from her siblings was by being a good child. But I felt sorry for her. Every time I saw her being the first one up to make breakfast for everyone, and the last one to go to bed after washing the dishes, scrubbing the pots, and cleaning the stove, I saw how she always rubbed her shoulders and patted her lower back. These were signs of fatigue. It broke my heart, but I could only comfort myself, thinking it would get better in the future…”

Su Aobai spoke with a trembling voice. His words moved everyone there, whether they were male or female. Those who were parents themselves could understand his feelings.

In the village, it was normal for girls to do work from a young age, but it was rare to see children being treated as harshly as Li Shi treated hers. Compared to her other granddaughter, Fu Bao, Er Niang had truly suffered a lot.

“After the family division, Er Niang is much happier. She no longer has to wake up before dawn to cut pig feed, prepare breakfast for the whole family, or wash everyone’s clothes. But she is such a good child. She hasn’t been idle. She has been asking the aunts for vegetable seeds and tidying up the small courtyard. She even hummed a little tune while watering the seedlings. I have never seen her so happy.”

Such a large man was crying again, but this time it was out of emotion.

“I was wrong. What did I make her endure? She suffered so much at her maternal home; how could it change just because she married into another family?”

This was the first time he had openly expressed his grievances about that family.

Su Youwen instinctively sensed that he had found a weak spot in Su Aobai. After all, Su Aobai had always appeared obedient and filial before. However, that recent statement revealed his resentment towards that family and their parents. Before Su Youwen could say anything, Su Aobai continued.

“No matter how my parents treated me, I didn’t resent them because one gave me life and the other raised me for years. But Er Niang doesn’t deserve her fate; she was simply unlucky to be born as my daughter.”

Su Youwen clenched his fists. Now, his older brother had filled in the gaps in his words.

What he meant was that his grievances were all on behalf of Er Niang.

“So, Fourth, now that the family has been divided, I won’t think about going back. Don’t try to persuade me otherwise. Also, no matter what Mother says, she genuinely cares for you. If she does not want to see me, why should you insist on making me return?”

Su Aobai calmed his agitated emotions. He didn’t want to argue further with Su Youwen. He simply left those words behind, bypassed him, and walked toward the small house nearby.

***

The surrounding murmurs started again, and this time, they mostly centered on Su Youwen.

They began to question his true intentions for stopping Su Aobai here today.

Su Youwen’s face alternated between blue and white as he suddenly turned around and looked at Su Aobai’s retreating figure.

Second older brother has changed!

Su Youwen was sure that the old Su Youniu would never have spoken like this.

That last sentence was like putting him on a rack to roast.

Indeed, Li Shi was biased. Both the eldest and the second brothers could criticize her for being unkind, but only Su Youwen couldn’t, because Li Shi had always favored him the most in the family. Many of her schemes were meant for his benefit.

He knew that Li Shi disliked his eldest brother and had tried every way to drive him out of the family. Yet, as Li Shi’s most favored son, Su Youwen had always wanted to bring both of his older brothers back.

To think positively, it showed he was deeply principled, but to think negatively, he was no different from being unfilial to his mother.

Especially with his initial remarks, Su Aobai had directly questioned Li Shi’s character.

Although the villagers sympathized with Su Aobai, it was largely because he had played his part well from the beginning. If he had confronted Su Kuishan and Li Shi head-on and caused chaos in the family from the start, in this conservative and feudal society, Su Kuishan and Li Shi could have used the principle of filial piety to suppress him. Even if he had left that family, most people would still think he was in the wrong.

Parents could be biased, but children shouldn’t be unfilial. This was the most mainstream thought.

Su Aobai had created today’s situation step by step through careful guidance.

The more Su Youwen thought about it, the more apprehensive he became. Reflecting on the series of events that had occurred, he realized that his second brother had never actively taken action. Even the reason for the family division had come about because the village chief’s wife had first defended him.

He was passive, Li Shi was active, and the villagers who stood up for him were also active. In this way, who could say he was unfilial?

Even their recent conversation!

Su Youwen clenched his fists. From the moment his second brother spoke his first sentence, he had been led by the nose!

He stared in shock at the retreating figure of his second brother, realizing that he had never truly understood him.