Chapter 2: The Young Master of the Li Family

  Li QIN lay on the broken wooden bed, he had regained consciousness two days ago, but could not accept the reality in front of him. He couldn't figure out how he was just taking a nap in the examination room, and when he woke up again, he was lying in this strange environment.

  In two days, he heard the conversation of an old couple who claimed to be his parents. From the information revealed in the conversation, he knew that he had come to the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and that his soul was attached to an 18-year-old young man named Li Qin, who shared the same name and surname as him.

  The young man's father was named Li Tian, a village head of a small village. His mother's surname was He, but she had no name. The villagers all called her Mrs. He, and the older ones addressed her as Mrs. Li, while the younger ones called her Auntie Li.

  The young man was tall and strong, in the words of this era, called eight feet long, with great strength like an ox, and skilled in archery. Seven or eight days ago, the young man went hunting in the forest, hit a wild goat, but unexpectedly was targeted by a group of rascals, who claimed that the wild goat was theirs, and in the dispute even injured the young man's head, if it wasn't for the villagers rescuing him back, I'm afraid the young man would have lost his life in the forest.

  But the young man was beaten, and his parents at home were helpless. The leader of the thugs who beat him was the county magistrate's nephew, a person who couldn't be provoked. Even if Li Tian went to report to the authorities, the county magistrate would certainly protect his nephew and might even turn around and accuse the young man of a crime. The people can't fight against the officials, so the Li family could only swallow their anger.

  The family was poor and couldn't even afford a full meal, let alone hire a doctor to treat the illness. The young man lay in bed for several days and had already died, but unexpectedly, Li Qian's soul possessed his body. Li Qian became the young man and also became the son of Li Tian and He Shi.

  Li Qin slowly raised his hand to his mouth, biting down hard, the pain was unbearable. He wasn't dreaming, he had indeed become a farmer's son in the late Han Dynasty, whether he accepted it or not, it was already a fact.

  As a doctor, Li Qin naturally knew his current physical condition. For some unknown reason, the brain injury that had taken the young man's life healed at an incredible speed in just two days! Not only that, but his muscles and bones became even stronger, his blood was full of energy, and he could be said to be as strong as a bull!

  Perhaps this is a kind of compensation from heaven, thinking of his thin and weak body in his previous life, Li Qian couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile.

  Footsteps came from outside, Li QIN knew it was Mrs. HE, the young man's mother, who had come to feed her son water and food, but she didn't know that her son had been occupied by someone else and was no longer the son she was familiar with.

  Li Qin closed his eyes, He didn't know that his son had changed into another person, but he knew that his mother had changed into another person, which was something he couldn't accept.

  Mrs. He carried a bowl of water into the house, softly saying: "Son, get up and drink some hot water, your father has gone out to borrow rice, he'll be back soon, when he comes back we can cook porridge to eat." She slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, one hand holding the bowl, the other pushing Li Qin.

  Li Qīn opened his eyes, and his stomach had been growling with hunger for a long time. After waking up for two days, he only drank three bowls of thin millet porridge, but he couldn't complain because he knew that Li Tian and He Shi could only drink one bowl of porridge per day, which was made from bran.

  This is an extremely poor family, so poor that they have no food for the next day, so poor that it's hard to imagine as a modern person!

  Seeing her son open his eyes, Mrs. He said with joy: "Son, there are fewer red threads in your eyes, it seems that the condition has improved a lot, as long as you take care of yourself for some more days, you will be a lively and energetic young man again!" While comforting him with her words, she reached out to help her son up and fed him water.

  These two days, He's care for Li Qin was meticulous, but Li Qin still felt at a loss. He had already been able to get out of bed, but because he didn't know how to face Mr. and Mrs. Li, he could only pretend to be ill and continue lying down.

  He picked up the water bowl brought by Mrs. He and drank the hot water in one gulp, then lay down again, closing his eyes.

  He sat on the edge of the bed, looking at his son, and felt unspeakable hardship in his heart. He had a daughter and a son, two siblings. His daughter Li Jia married a poor but kind scholar who escaped from Wuwei, and although they lived a tight life, the scholar was good to her. They were all poor people, and it was considered lucky to have such a husband. However, two years ago, the scholar left home to seek his fortune in the state capital and never returned. Li Jia had no choice but to take care of her frail and sickly parents-in-law alone, relying on sewing and mending for wealthy people to make ends meet, which was even more arduous. If she didn't work for a day, she wouldn't eat for a day, and she couldn't take care of her natal family, nor could her natal family take care of her.

  Our family is poor, and our son is already eighteen years old but still hasn't found a daughter-in-law. Originally, we thought that after this autumn's harvest, no matter how difficult it was, we would have to settle our son's marriage. If all else fails, we'll just marry him off to a Qiang girl; marrying a Qiang girl doesn't require giving betrothal gifts. Nowadays, poor families all marry their sons off in the same way - nobody can laugh at anyone else.

  Who would have thought that disaster would strike from the sky, offending the county magistrate's relatives and beating his son to near death. If he falls ill, what will happen? What if he spends the rest of his life in bed? Even a Qiang girl wouldn't marry him then. Taking a step back, even if she did marry him, looking at his son's condition, he can't even move, how can he carry on the family line?

  He raised his sleeve and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, thinking: "What glory did our ancestors have? Even historical records had to write separate biographies for them. Could it be that in our generation, we would actually become extinct?"

  Li Qin heard the sobbing sound, opened his eyes a crack, and saw He Shi crying. He wanted to get up and say that his injury was healed, but he didn't know what to do next, so he endured it without moving. His heart was very sad, and he could feel He Shi's sorrow, but what could he do? He really couldn't think of what to do, the situation in front of him exceeded his acceptance ability.

  Just then, the gate creaked open and footsteps were heard, presumably Li Tian had returned with the borrowed grain.

  Mrs. He lightly sighed, wiped away her tears, stood up, and looked at her son again before quickly walking out. As soon as she reached the outside of the house, she asked, "Has the master borrowed any grain?"

  The person outside was Li Tian, he hummed and said: "I borrowed from the whole village, only Zhao Ba Jin gave us two catties of bran, now it's the spring famine season, no one's life is easy." He held a basket in his hand, inside which were the two catties of bran he had borrowed.

  Li Tian was well-off in his youth, not only had he read books and knew literature, but also practiced the martial arts passed down from his ancestors. His marksmanship and archery skills were quite good. After marrying He Shi, they lived a very fulfilling life. However, unexpectedly, a flood inundated their hometown, forcing Li Tian to flee with his wife. On the way, they encountered a group of bandits, and after a fierce battle, although Li Tian managed to drive them away, he was also hacked off one arm, leaving him with only his left arm from then on.

  After arriving in Fuping, he saw that many of the county's people had moved away, leaving behind a large amount of unowned land. He then settled down with Madame He, but due to a lack of grain for planting and the government being unable to lend any, he was only able to use one arm, resulting in him being unable to expand production, and his days were always difficult. Thinking that when his son grew up, their lives would be more comfortable, but unexpectedly disaster struck, adding insult to injury to a family already impoverished.

  Li Tian and He Shi were both over fifty, but they looked much older. He Shi appeared to be in his sixties, while Li Tian looked like a man in his seventies, with hair that was almost completely white and falling out, leaving him looking like a candle in the wind.

  Li Tian handed the basket to Mrs. He, he entered the house, came to Li Qian's bedside, looked at his son and stretched out his hand to touch his forehead, seeing that Li Qian was fine, then went out of the house again.

  "Old lady, our son's illness is getting better, it seems like nothing serious now, I think with some more rest he'll be able to get out of bed soon."

  He put the basket on the stove and said in a low voice: "I'm afraid of falling ill, if there's an internal injury, it would be terrible."

  Li Tian sighed and said, "Speak softly, don't let the child hear. These grains should be saved for a while, I estimate they can last three to five days. At home, we'll make do first. I heard that the county is recruiting craftsmen to make weapons, I know how to make bows, maybe I can get selected, if I can get some food, this spring famine can also be endured."

  "What about it? If you're really selected, you can stay in the city and live with my daughter. It's also convenient for my daughter to find a job. With so many craftsmen, someone has to cook for them, right? My daughter can do that."

  Li Tian sighed, shook his head slightly and said: "If I were to be selected, it would be easy to say anything, but what if my age is a problem, and with only one arm, others might look down on me!"

  Li QIN in the house heard a sigh, after which Li and his wife outside the house did not speak again. After a moment, the sound of He's crying came over, followed by Li Tian's low voice, seemingly telling He to keep her voice down so as not to let their son hear!

  Li QIN could no longer bear it, seeing the people who cared about him crying, seeing them working hard for his sake, if he still remained unmoved, that would be a sin!

  He slowly sat up from the couch, pressing his hand on the wound at the back of his head, and found that the wound had miraculously healed, without even leaving a scar, and there was no headache or discomfort in his body, just like he had just woken up from a good sleep, full of energy!

  Li Qin lifted the quilt to examine his body, and saw that although he was a bit thin, his muscles were solid. With this physique, if placed in modern times, he could participate in an Ironman triathlon and might even win a prize!

  He saw a pair of thick grass shoes on the ground, so he put them on. He didn't wear socks and wore the grass shoes with bare feet, but he didn't feel uncomfortable or cold. After standing up, he coughed and slowly walked towards the outer room.

  The sobbing outside the house stopped immediately, and Li Tian and He Shi rushed to the door together. They saw Li Qin getting up from the ground, and both of them were surprised and delighted! He Shi said: "Son, is your injury healed?"

  Li Tian walked over, reached out to touch Li Qin's occipital bone, and said: "My son, let me take a look at your wound!" He made a sound, then turned around to Li Qin's back, carefully examined it, and even combed his hair to see. He Shuo saw this, both hands together supported her son's shoulders, also leaned over, and looked at the wound with Li Tian.

  Li Qin stood up straight and followed them to take a look. The two old men looked at him for quite a while before saying in unison, "Where's the wound? Why can't we see it?"

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