Chapter 82

Looking at his father, who insisted on twisting every word he said, Li Xuewu’s mind erupted in searing pain, and a flood of memories surged awake with a buzz.

Some had been beaten by Li Shun; some had jumped over the wall and run away; some had brought trouble upon themselves.

More often, Li Shun had taken him to apologize;

Once, after jumping over the wall to avoid going home and sleeping at Shen Guodong’s, Li Shun had carried him back on his back at night;

After beating him, Li Shun would sneak into his room while he slept and smear this black ointment onto his bruised buttocks.

These memories resurfaced, mingling with his past-life recollections.

Which one was truly him, Li Xuewu could no longer say clearly.

As he recalled the past, he found himself weeping uncontrollably.

Li Shun slapped the side of Li Xuewu’s face that wasn’t injured and scolded, “Stop crying. Look at you—such a coward. Where’s your nerve to defy me now? Finally feel the pain? Don’t cry—tears hinder wound healing.” Then he gently wiped Li Xuewu’s tears with gauze.

Seeing Li Xuewu had stopped crying, he wrapped thick layers of gauze around the swollen parts of his face.

“Wear a mask when you go out. No alcohol, no smoking, no spicy food. Don’t let cold air touch you, and don’t strain your nerves—you’ll leave yourself with lifelong damage.”

After speaking, he tidied up and went to the southern room to place the medicine dish.

When he returned with washed hands, Li Shun sat on the edge of the kang, wearily glancing at the child in his mother’s arms.

My own son is still a child, and now he’s brought home another one—what am I supposed to do?

It was hard for Li Shun to suddenly accept this child, but he would never dream of throwing the child out now.

Back when the family ran the pharmacy, they never turned away a single patient; even after losing the pharmacy and becoming a physician, they never withheld medicine just because someone couldn’t pay.

The family’s old pharmacy sign still hangs behind the house.

May the world be free of suffering—what do I care if the medicine on the shelves gathers dust?

He wanted to curse that bastard, but couldn’t bear to hurt his son’s kindness—he could only swallow his bitterness.

The whole family fell silent, affected by Li Shun’s mood.

The old lady, seeing her eldest son frowning at them, wasn’t afraid of dropping the child—she gently lifted him with both hands and placed him into Li Shun’s arms.

Li Shun hastily extended his arms to take the child from his mother, then held him upright on his lap.

The baby girl looked at the man frowning at her, thinking he was making a funny face to amuse her—she giggled, reached out with her tiny hands to grab Li Shun’s nose, and kicked her little legs.

The child’s laughter was like sunlight piercing through dark clouds, and Li Shun’s face softened into a smile.

Li Xuewen stared in shock as his father, grinning broadly, played with the baby girl, his hand resting on her neck to feel her pulse, then cradled her close.

Li Xuecai and Li Shu were even more astonished—Li Shu, at least, could recall Li Shun holding her as a child.

But ever since she was old enough to understand, Li Shu had lived with the old lady, and Li Shun had never held her again.

Though Li Shun spoke more gently to his daughter than to his sons, after the children grew up, he had never treated his daughter with such tenderness again.

Li Xuewen and his two brothers, let alone Li Shu, had never experienced such treatment.

In Li Xuewu’s memory, he had never seen his father act like this—today, for the first time, his father no longer scolded him.

Today, all the siblings had witnessed their father in a way they’d never seen before.

“Have you named my granddaughter yet?”

Though he didn’t look at Li Xuewu, everyone knew Li Shun was asking him.

When Li Xuewu first returned, he’d felt the family was too large, and that “himself” had a history of mischief and was disliked by his parents and relatives—he’d naturally kept his distance, observing them warily.

But now, with this incident, his sharp-witted sister-in-law had stepped forward to defend him; the old lady, who’d always favored Li Shu, had picked up the baby herself; his mother-in-law, who wanted to make a cradle for the child, had offered to raise it; his mother had openly accepted the child; Li Shun had acknowledged the granddaughter; his kind elder brother and his younger siblings, who’d never shown any disdain and even joined in playing with the child—all had shown their support and acceptance of him and the child.

The Li family had the usual friction and selfishness found in large families of this era, but like all such families, they deeply valued kinship and, when trouble came, united their hearts in kindness.

Li Xuewu could see his father had acknowledged the child only to accommodate him, to spare him distress, and had taken the burden upon himself by openly recognizing the granddaughter.