Call Me Daddy

“How did you get so badly injured?!”

When Su Youtian had left in the daytime, he thought that his second brother had merely caught a cold from the rain. Farm men were sturdy, and with some endurance, they usually recover. However, he didn’t realize that the fever wasn’t solely due to the cold. Looking at the swollen, bruised leg, it seemed likely that it was ruined.

At this moment, he no longer remembered his previous dissatisfaction with this younger brother; all that remained in his mind was worry.

Su Youtian knew that the only use of the second brother in this family was for labor. If his leg was ruined, that old woman would definitely try to find ways to drive him out. And their father, now having a scholar son, would not care about the lives of his two sons from the previous wives, especially the second brother, who had little presence and only one daughter. If Li Shi was firm, their father would not go against her for this son.

“You didn’t say anything even though you’re in such a state. Second brother, oh second brother!”

Su Youtian’s face was ashen, and he was frustrated with his timid and honest younger brother.

“Wait here; I’ll go get Father.”

He still held a shred of hope, after all, it was his biological father. Could he really watch his own son become crippled?

Saying that, Su Youtian glanced reluctantly at the injured leg of his second brother, clenched his fists, and stormed out of the second family’s room.

Since Su Youtian had entered the room, Su Aobai had been observing all his subtle expressions and actions. This elder brother seemed different from the impression left in the original owner’s memories.

***

“Father!”

Suppressing his anger, Su Youtian ran to the courtyard, shouting for his father, who was drinking the hot soup given by the old woman. His tone was filled with restraint.

“Come with me to check on second brother. Yesterday, while repairing the roof, he injured his leg, and it doesn’t look good now.”

As he spoke, Su Youtian couldn’t help but cast a sidelong glance at his stepmother.

Does she even know about second brother’s injury?

Years of resentment made Su Youtian unable to stop himself from speculating darkly about Li Shi’s actions. When they had gone to work in the fields that morning, only a few maidservants and Li Shi were left at home. When they left, Li Shi had said she was going to gather some herbs to make medicine for second brother. Didn’t Li Shi see the injured leg?

Su Youtian thought that if the treatment had been timely, his second brother’s leg wouldn’t be in such a bad state now. Could it be that the old woman, seeing her son had become a scholar, thought the family no longer needed second brother, who was just a laborer, and wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of him?

Did this mean that the eldest family might soon be pushed out as well?

Many thoughts flashed through Su Youtian’s mind. He needed to make plans for his own family branch as soon as possible. If he waited for the old woman to act, it would be too passive.

“His leg is injured?”

Su Kuishan looked at his wife in surprise.

“Second son’s leg is injured? I didn’t know. He was delirious with fever. I worked hard to gather herbs from the mountains to make medicine for him, but he vomited it all up. I saw he had woken up and thought he had recovered from the fever, so I hurried to prepare lunch for you all. What injury on his leg? The second brother didn’t say anything. As his stepmother, I didn’t feel it was right to examine his body.”

Li Shi frowned, looking at the eldest son’s expression. The injury on the second brother seemed quite serious, especially since it was on his leg. Would he become a cripple in the future?

The elderly couple, along with others in the courtyard, rushed to the second room.

Upon entering the room, Su Kuishan and Li Shi were startled by the black-and-purple injured leg exposed to the air. The injury was far worse than they had imagined.

“Eldest, go fetch Doctor Li!”

This time, Su Kuishan’s attitude was much firmer.

Without waiting for his stepmother to intervene, Su Youtian quickly agreed and ran out of the courtyard.

Li Shi opened her mouth, but seeing the old husband’s tense expression, she ultimately refrained from stopping him.

The second son’s injury was indeed quite severe. If she stubbornly prevented them from calling the doctor, it might create a rift between her and her husband. After all, the half-dead man on the bed was the old husband’s biological son.

***

“Second son, why didn’t you mention your leg injury last night?”

Li Shi decided to take the initiative. It wasn’t that she, as the stepmother, was being harsh and causing his injury to worsen by not allowing him to see a doctor. It was the second son himself, who kept silent despite such a serious injury.

“I…”

Su Aobai’s face turned pale instantly. His eyes darted around nervously, and his lips quivered slightly, presenting a picture of someone who had suffered in silence.

“When I was sick before… Mother… I didn’t dare to say anything.”

He spoke hesitantly, not clearly explaining anything, yet conveying a lot.

Whenever he or Er Niang fell ill, the old woman’s response was always the same; Endure it. Country people always got through it this way. Calling a doctor? Ha, as if they were some kind of noble.

If it became unbearable, he had to wait until the work was done, then gather some herbs from the mountains to make medicine, and drink a bowl to sweat it out. That would cure the illness.

He hadn’t always known how to farm. Since he started working in the fields, he had also injured himself with the unfamiliar tools. Back then, Li Shi had only given him a handful of plant ash as treatment. So when he injured his leg last night, he hadn’t thought of telling his parents, planning instead to endure it and hope the wound would heal by the next morning.

The people in the room exchanged glances.

Su Youtian’s wife, Zhang Meihua, stood at the back of the crowd, gloating and watching the old woman’s expression. She was eager to see how the old woman would react.

As she had guessed, the old woman’s face was now twisted with anger.

Is this second son subtly blaming me?

But on second thought, the second son was always so honest and wouldn’t have such thoughts.

Still, Li Shi was very angry, feeling that her authority had been challenged.

“Second son, you misunderstood Mother’s intentions. In the past, your injuries were minor. The family’s money was tight because we had to save for fourth son’s education. We’re all tightening our belts to make ends meet. We tried to save money wherever we could. But now, your injury isn’t a minor one. Even if the fourth son needs more money for his studies, it doesn’t mean we should skimp on your treatment.”

The speaker was the third brother, Su Youliang, who was also the biological father of Su Fubao.

As Fu Bao’s biological father, Su Youliang didn’t look particularly pleasant. His skin was a bit fairer compared to other villagers, and his eyes carried the same shrewdness as Li Shi.

Su Aobai had never underestimated this third brother, whom the original owner had thought of as lazy and gluttonous. As expected, when Su Youliang spoke, it visibly eased the expression of the head of the family, Su Kuishan.

Indeed, while his wife might not care for the eldest and second sons as much as for her own children, what woman wouldn’t be concerned for her own flesh and blood? Li Shi was shrewd but wouldn’t be so callous as to watch his second son become disabled.

Perhaps Su Kuishan, being inclined towards his second wife, readily accepted the justifications provided by Su Youliang.

“It’s my fault. I thought Mother would make me endure it like before, so I didn’t dare to mention the leg injury… I was timid, afraid that Mother would scold me for being clumsy, for injuring my leg while repairing the roof in the rain…”

Su Aobai’s ears perked up. Hearing the approaching footsteps, he immediately contorted his face into a pained expression and admitted his fault with a voice full of self-reproach.

At that moment, Doctor Li and Su Youtian happened to reach the doorway and overheard Su Aobai’s self-deprecation.

***

The elderly doctor, nearing 60, looked at the second son of the Su family, who was half-crouched on the bed and surrounded by Li Shi and others. This grown man, who was now a father, appeared like a child, with an expression on the verge of tears.

Despite being the tallest man in the room, in this situation, Su Aobai seemed as pitiable and helpless as a small rabbit under the watch of vultures and wolves.

Doctor Li’s heart immediately went out to Su Aobai.