Chapter 329

Li Linshan fell silent after hearing his grandfather's words. Was he thinking ill of his father? If a similar situation had occurred in the imperial court, Li Linshan would never have suspected his father of acting with ulterior motives; yet, when it came to family affairs, he could not help but overthink. He could not explain why such thoughts arose, and though he nodded helplessly, he felt an indescribable sensation in his heart.

In the presence of his elders, Wang Xiujin found it inappropriate to say or do too much. Only after they had left did he reach out to take Li Linshan’s hand, gripping it tightly. Unable to offer comforting words, he could only provide silent support. Li Linshan sensed Wang Xiujin’s intent; he turned to look at Wang Xiujin’s expression, gazing at him in a silence that seemed to serve as a response.

Upon returning to the courtyard, Ya Chang stood anxiously beneath the great tree, watching the two of them. Wang Xiujin pulled on Li Linshan’s sleeve, gesturing toward their son. After meeting his son’s gaze, Li Linshan released Wang Xiujin’s hand, walked over to the boy, and patted his shoulder. Wang Xiujin expected Li Linshan to say something to put the boy at ease, but to his surprise, Li Linshan simply said, "You may practice martial arts today."

Wang Xiujin rolled his eyes at this. He knew better than to hold high hopes for people of this era; they would never express their true feelings to their children, nor would they offer praise to the offspring they valued most. He felt this style of parenting was fundamentally flawed, yet family traditions passed down for centuries could not be changed overnight. He looked at his son with sympathy—to have such a father, one could only say that being born required a certain kind of "skill." On second thought, that didn't feel right; the boy wasn't actually born to him, so the child was arguably lucky. Had they not brought him home, who knew what his fate might have been? This raised the question: was his son’s "rebirth skill" good or bad?

Watching the boy run off, Wang Xiujin cast a sidelong glance at Li Linshan. "Our son is obedient and well-behaved enough to be called a good child. Don't demand too much of him; it will make him feel like he’s never good enough, and he’ll slowly start to constantly deny his own worth." Wang Xiujin couldn't help but speak up for him. "And even if you don't show it on your face, don't be so stern with him. I feel like he’s becoming more and more like you—always keeping a straight face. He’s only a child, yet he acts like a grown-up."

Li Linshan turned to look at Wang Xiujin, his eyes filled with helplessness. Having never experienced a father's affection himself, he did not know how to teach a child. All he could do was give his son as much as he could, but he found himself unable to offer praise or compliments. Simply put, he did not know how to be a father. As for Wang Xiujin, he felt the man was merely speaking in empty principles. He had heard a little about how Master Wang used to treat Wang Xiujin, and while Master Wang treated him well now, Li Linshan knew he could never be like Wang Xiujin, who seemed to harbor no resentment toward his father at all. "Have you never had any complaints about your father?"

"Complaints?" Wang Xiujin searched his memory. He certainly had them, though not as deeply as Li Linshan. "On the way back to the village years ago, I had some dissatisfaction with my father, but after we returned, it vanished. Because I no longer held any expectations, there was no disappointment, and therefore no room for complaints." His situation was different from Li Linshan's. There was a time when he had been frustrated by his father’s failings, but eventually, he simply chose to ignore them. It was only because he had lived through another life that he possessed such detachment; had he lived only this one, he would likely have been just as resentful as Li Linshan.

Li Linshan looked at Wang Xiujin, thinking he had asked the wrong question. Wang Xiujin had suffered much in his childhood, but Master Wang had never truly abandoned his son; their circumstances were different after all.

The two stood in the courtyard staring at each other. Wang Xiujin rubbed his sleeves. "It’s getting a bit chilly. Is it really necessary to stand in the courtyard discussing these things?"

"You haven't moved much lately. Do you want to take a walk?" Li Linshan felt that Wang Xiujin had grown thinner recently.

"Ugh, do I really have to walk just because it's cold? It’s much warmer staying inside!" Wang Xiujin didn't want to go out and freeze, so he headed toward the room. Li Linshan frowned slightly; he didn't feel the cold, and he began to wonder if Wang Xiujin was ill. With that thought, he quickly followed him inside, fussing over him and asking if he was feeling unwell.

Wang Xiujin had thought for a long time about sending someone to Fengcheng, but he hadn't decided on a candidate. Ideally, if he couldn't go, he should send Shopkeeper Wang, but he was worried about the bandits—remnants of the Kou Kingdom—and feared for the shopkeeper’s safety. If they truly encountered those desperate men, the shopkeeper wouldn't be able to outrun them. Not knowing when the bandits would be cleared out, Wang Xiujin decided to write a letter to his elder brother instead. He would let his brother-in-law handle the harvest, as he wouldn't be going there this year. In the letter, Wang Xiujin mentioned the bandits; if there were no bandits in Fengcheng yet, they could take precautions, and if there were, they should contact the city garrison to apprehend them as soon as possible, preventing them from roaming freely and harming more people.

After writing a long, sprawling letter and sealing it, Wang Xiujin explained the situation at the coast to Shopkeeper Wang. The shopkeeper was deeply moved by his employer’s concern for his safety and praised him for his benevolence. Wang Xiujin felt embarrassed by the praise, while simultaneously reflecting that most people in this era were not so dark-hearted as to view his intentions as a calculated ploy to win hearts. Besides, he wouldn't employ anyone who was that cynical anyway.

Once the coastal matters were settled, Wang Xiujin brought up the idea of building a medical clinic and asked Shopkeeper Wang for his thoughts. The shopkeeper was taken aback; he didn't understand why his employer suddenly wanted to get involved in the medical field. He began to advise against it, noting that clinics were difficult to run. If things went wrong and a patient died, the clinic’s reputation would be ruined, and with no one daring to visit, it would inevitably be forced to shut down.

"You may not know this, sir, but there was once a doctor in the capital known for his miraculous hands. He was a kind man who never used expensive herbs in his prescriptions, which offended some people. They conspired to frame him by sending a dying man to his clinic. However, the dying man, having heard of the doctor’s reputation, felt guilty and confessed the plot. The doctor cursed those men for having consciences eaten by dogs, but there was nothing he could do. He escaped that time, but knowing it would happen again, he grew frustrated, closed his clinic, and went wandering."

Wang Xiujin knew that every industry had its dark side. In his previous life, he had seen many cases of people struggling to afford or access medical care. Large, reputable hospitals often seemed like private clinics for the privileged, who never worried about appointments or wait times. He tapped his forehead; thinking about his past life was useless. The task at hand was the clinic.

"Our clinic is intended for those who work for me, and others will come second. Every year, we will conduct two check-ups for our workers, and new hires must undergo a check-up before starting work. These exams will be free. If they have health issues, we will carefully consider their workload. It’s not just for our workers; if this clinic succeeds, those coming to the capital for the imperial examinations will also need to be checked. Serving the imperial court requires a sound body; if someone drags a half-dead frame into office and, in their excitement upon passing the exam, drops dead, the loss to the court would be immense."

The person hiding on the roof eavesdropping nearly laughed out loud; he would definitely have to report this to his master—his master would certainly find it amusing.

Shopkeeper Wang was stunned. Was it really necessary to be so troublesome when hiring workers? And as for the exams, he had never heard of a top scholar dying from excitement in hundreds of years.

"Besides the exams, if the workers have minor ailments, they can come in to be seen. They will pay thirty percent of the medical costs, and we will cover seventy percent—consider it a benefit for working here. To qualify, they must have worked for at least a year; for those with less than a year of service, we will do a seventy-thirty split where they pay seventy percent and we pay thirty."

Shopkeeper Wang’s eyes widened. Medical care and medicine in the capital were not cheap; his employer was clearly competing with other clinics! However, if the clinic were truly established and bore a special name, those people wouldn't be able to do anything about it, especially since it was only for the workers and not the general public. Still, Shopkeeper Wang managed a bitter smile. "Sir, in the capital, the only people who don't owe money to clinics are the high-ranking officials. The people working for you receive their wages on time every month, so they won't have to wait for free clinics to get medicine. While the clinic won't make a profit from them, at least you won't have to worry about unpaid bills."

"I am providing benefits for my own people; why should I care about the others? I didn't even say I wouldn't charge the public," Wang Xiujin rolled his eyes. "If anyone has crooked intentions, they wouldn't dare do anything, especially since our clinic will bear the 'Imperial' seal. By the way, can you find that 'miraculous' doctor you mentioned? If you can, once the clinic is built, invite him to be the resident physician. I’ll also ask the palace to send a few imperial doctors to rotate for two hours of duty each day." With the Emperor backing him, Wang Xiujin had no fear of those who might try to pull strings from the shadows.

Shopkeeper Wang understood his employer’s implication perfectly—this was his way of saying the Emperor had approved the construction of the clinic. The shopkeeper was happy to take on the task of finding the doctor and suggested locations where the clinic would be most accessible to the workers.

Hearing him talk about the workers over and over, Wang Xiujin frowned. "How about we set aside a plot of land and build housing? Three-story buildings. Those who have worked for five years or more get priority to buy these homes at prices lower than the market rate, but we must make it clear that these houses cannot be resold to outsiders."