Call Me Daddy

Now that Er Niang’s father asked if she wanted those things, of course, she did.

What did candied hawthorns taste like? She had tasted wild hawthorns from the mountain, which were so sour they made her mouth water. Candy was sweet, so did mixing that sourness with sweetness really taste that good? The children of the village who had a piece of candied hawthorns were reluctant to finish them all at once. Just one could make them happy all day.

“That’s all too expensive.”

She looked down at the pile of silver in her arms. She wanted it, but the silver at home needed to be used for more important things.

“There is enough. We now have a lot of silver.”

Su Aobai was just that kind of person. In his previous lives, he often felt irritated by the mischievous boys and would sometimes tease them even while treating them well. But with this daughter being so obedient, he wanted to do everything he could for her.

“A lot?” Er Niang looked up, her eyes sparkling.

“Yes, we can buy candied hawthorns and meat buns. We can buy beautiful clothes and hair ribbons. We can also repair the house and buy a cow. We can do many, many things.”

Actually, with just these 18 taels of silver, they couldn’t do all that much. But with him around, there would always be more silver. Whatever his daughter wanted, he would make sure to provide.

“Then, can I have a candied hawthorn and two meat buns?”

Er Niang’s face turned even redder, her excitement barely restrained. She counted on her fingers, politely asking her father.

There were many pieces of candied hawthorn, and she could share them with her father. Two meat buns would be just right, one for each of them.

“Alright, when the market day comes in the middle of the month, we’ll go to town together. I’ll buy you everything you want.”

Su Aobai made a grand gesture. Did his daughter really need to ask for each piece of candied hawthorn individually? He would buy the whole staff covered in candied hawthorns and carry it home.

(T/N: candied hawthorns vendors would usually carry around a whole staff covered with sticks of candied hawthorns stuck to it like a festive bonsai tree.)

“Mm!”

The little girl’s voice was crisp and bright.

She had never left Shili village. What would the town be like? The market must be very lively!

In the middle of the month still felt far away. The little girl counted the days on her fingers, already feeling impatient.

“If I had known that life after splitting up would be so joyful, Dad should have suggested it earlier.”

It wasn’t that Su Aobai didn’t want to fulfill his daughter’s wishes sooner. The market day in the middle of the month was just right. The 7 or 8 days in between gave him enough time to slowly “heal” his leg injury and find some valuable herbs.

“Er Niang, don’t you think that after the split, our luck seems to have improved? Look, just the day after we split up, Dad found a large ginseng root. People outside still say we have bad luck; can people with bad luck find ginseng?”

Er Niang was known in the village for being a ‘mother-killer,’ and the original owner was also criticized for it. His mother had died shortly after giving birth to him, which led to Li Shi’s entry into their lives.

And when people said Er Niang was a ‘mother-killer,’ didn’t they also think the original owner was a ‘wife-killer’? Strictly speaking, the original owner’s fate was much harsher than his daughter’s. However, because he had always been inconspicuous in the village and men were generally treated more leniently than women in that era, few people talked about him.

The notion of having bad luck and being a ‘mother-killer’ was a deeply hidden source of inferiority for Er Niang.

Hearing her father’s words now, she suddenly felt a bit lighter.

Life after the split wasn’t as difficult as she had imagined. Instead, every moment was filled with joy, and even the air seemed to taste sweet.

“It will definitely keep getting better.” Su Aobai said with conviction.

“Mm!”

Er Niang nodded vigorously. If her father always stayed as he was now, their future life would surely continue to improve.

The father and daughter sat on their simple kang bed, their faces glowing with bright smiles full of hope for the future, which made the shabby room seem to shine.

***

In the days that followed, the people from the old household never came to find them again. However, outside the small courtyard where Su Aobai and his daughter lived, wild fruits and a pile of herbs often appeared.

Er Niang had once accidentally discovered the person secretly leaving these items. She didn’t tell her father but instead dug a hole by herself and buried everything.

She didn’t want to accept the person’s kindness. She didn’t want her father to think that the person was understanding and kind. Her father was so good to her now that she didn’t want to share any of it with others.

Although she didn’t have the good fortune to easily find wild fruits and vegetables that had been searched countless times by villagers, she made an effort to look for them. This home belonged to her and her father; she wanted neither the good nor the ill will from the other party.

Perhaps the other person realized she was unwilling to accept their kindness. After a few times, those items no longer appeared outside the courtyard.

Seeing that, Er Niang sighed in relief. However, even if the person came back with good intentions, she would no longer care, because she had more important things to do now, like cooking medicine for her father.

It was truly remarkable. While living in the old house, her father had taken dozens of expensive prescriptions costing 20 taels in total, but his leg injury showed no improvement. Yet, after moving to the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain and using a cheaper prescription made from freshly gathered herbs, her father’s leg injury began to show noticeable improvement.

Initially, the black and purple areas of the injury started to gradually return to a normal flesh color. The apparently necrotic skin began to regain elasticity, and the wound looked far less horrifying than before.

Even Doctor Li, who treated Su Aobai, was astonished. No one understood the severity of Second Su’s leg injury better than him.

When he initially said there was basically no hope for treatment, it was a polite way of putting it. In his true opinion, even if Hua Tuo himself were to return, the leg would still be beyond saving. But strangely, the necrotic flesh was showing signs of revival, and the accumulated toxins began to seep out as toxic blood. It seemed that the remaining toxins were gradually resolving.

(T/N: Hua Tuo = a Chinese physician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. The legendary surgeon was a master of acupuncture and anesthesia.)

If Doctor Li hadn’t confirmed that the prescription he later provided was just a standard recipe for clearing heat and detoxifying, he might have suspected that his medical skills had suddenly improved to an extraordinary level.

But reality was what it was. Second Su’s leg was indeed recovering at an unimaginable speed.

Moreover, at this rate of recovery, the leg would soon be fully healed, completely restored to normal health.

Uncertain of the exact cause, he dared not recklessly change the prescription and continued with the current one. After a few more days, the wound began to scab over, and the areas where blood and fluid seeped out became smaller.

Now, Second Su could manage to walk a few steps without the crutch.

Upon hearing this news, Er Niang was the happiest.

Every day, she was extremely meticulous when making the medicine, fearing that either too long or too short a boiling time or incorrect heat could affect the medicinal properties. She watched over the stove from the start and carefully held the bowl while her father drank the medicine, making sure he consumed every drop.

To be honest, traditional Chinese medicine was really unpleasant, especially when it contained something as bitter as Huang Lian herb.

But there was a little housekeeper overseeing the process, so Su Aobai had no choice but to pinch his nose and drink the entire bowl of medicine in one gulp.

Even after finishing, it wasn’t over. The little girl hated to waste even a single drop. After he had finished the bowl, she would add a bit of water to it, swish it around, and then lift the bowl high, bringing the diluted, light brown liquid to his face.

“Daddy, you have to be good.”

Only by drinking the medicine obediently could he be considered a good father.

In the past few days, the little girl had gained some weight, and her skin seemed to have become a bit fairer. Su Aobai noticed the changes in his daughter and thought they were quite significant. He hadn’t yet connected this to the spiritual energy he had accumulated being reflected back to her; he just felt his daughter was becoming increasingly adorable.

Of course, except for when she was making him drink medicine. But seeing the hopeful expression on his daughter’s face, he could only tearfully drink the second bowl.

***

Soon, news that Second Su’s leg, which was once believed to be permanently crippled, might be recovering spread through the village. Many people came to check on his injury.

Before, his leg injury had been horrifying. Many villagers had seen the dark, purple skin and the swollen, oozing wounds. But now, the injured leg had returned to a normal color and looked like an ordinary severe leg injury, not one that had damaged the bones.

Everyone praised Doctor Li’s remarkable medical skills. However, Doctor Li was reluctant to accept such praise, fearing that if a similarly severe case came to him in the future and he was unable to treat it, it would be a serious problem.

Doctor Li attributed all this to a miracle.

If it weren’t a miracle, how could a leg that was surely destined to be ruined return to normal?

Everyone recognized Doctor Li’s integrity. Since he adamantly claimed that Second Su’s leg injury wasn’t healed by him, it could only mean that the recovery was entirely due to Second Su himself.

Many people recalled the saying that had circulated in the village.

The old Taoist who once appeared at the Su family’s door had hinted that the big shot the Su family would produce wasn’t referring to the unborn child still in Li Shi’s womb at the time, but rather one of the other sons of the Su family.

Doctor Li had mentioned that Second Su had an exceptional memory. If he were indeed the great figure the old Taoist had predicted, then the miracle occurring with his leg could be explained.

After all, to become such a prominent figure, one must not have significant physical impairments. Therefore, Second Su’s leg injury had experienced a miracle, recovering from what was thought to be an irreparable severe injury in just a few days.

Indeed, the first 20 years of his life had been mediocre, but that was because Su Kuishan and Li Shi had been unfair, holding him back. After the split, with those two no longer suppressing him, he immediately began to rise.

There were many late bloomers in the world; who could guarantee that Second Su wasn’t the next one?

The “miracle” involving Su Aobai led more and more people to believe that the great figure the old Taoist had mentioned was indeed him.

Gossip swirled through the village, and soon the old residence heard some news as well.

Li Shi was so enraged that she fell ill that very day.

The old Taoist had clearly spoken of my own son. How could that fool, Second Su, ever be considered a great figure?