If what Chen Shiren said was true, then that's how things were.
...
Chen Shiren, having been wronged at the police station, took his resentment out on Li Feng. Li Feng needed a place to stay, and Chen Shiren suggested that the police send Li Feng to a welfare home in the neighboring village. This welfare home had a reputation for rough treatment of children.
When Li Feng was about five or six years old, the violent incidents at the welfare home were exposed, and the facility was shut down soon after. Li Feng was sent back to the village, and from then on, he lived a life of receiving handouts. The villagers, seeing his pitiable state, gave him food whenever they could.
Of course, there was also Aunt Qin, who was the main caregiver for Li Feng. However, at that time, Old Liu's family had not yet been wiped out, so Aunt Qin could not formally adopt Li Feng. Life often holds such miracles, where an innocent child grows up alongside a village.
By the age of ten, Li Feng was already heart-wrenchingly sensible. He helped others with their work, earning his keep. He would sneak to the windows of the school to learn,
...
It was at this time that a rumor, dormant for many years, resurfaced: Chen Shiren was Li Feng's father. For this reason, Li Feng sought out Chen Shiren.
Chen Shiren looked at Li Feng with such disgust that he felt goosebumps all over.
"You are not my son."
"I know."
"Then what are you doing here? Don't you know I find you annoying?"
Chen Shiren was right; his life had taken a nosedive, all because of Li Feng. If Li Feng hadn't appeared, his fate would not have been this way; he would have been successful long ago. But the reality was, at almost forty, he was childless and had even been left by his wife.
"Uncle, I know your hospital became like this because of me. I'm here to help you."
Hearing Li Feng say this, Chen Shiren sneered, "You, who do you think you are? Have you had dinner yet? Look at you, and you think you can help me."
"I can't solve the problem of food because I'm young, but Uncle, you should know that my reputation in the village is better than yours."
This statement struck Chen Shiren like a sword to a master martial artist's vital point. It wasn't that he lacked medical skills; the reason women didn't come to him for prenatal checkups was that they believed his poor reputation stemmed from his unethical character.
"You~"
"After Old Liu died, his three sons didn't farm. They lived lavishly and died one after another. Now, the woman they bought has become a widow and is quite pitiful."
"What do you mean?"
"When Old Liu bought Xiao Qin, it was in the seventies. His three sons shared one wife, and the village knew about it but had no proof. Besides, Xiao Qin was so scared she didn't dare to speak. However, that family truly did all sorts of evil deeds, and even heaven looked unfavorably upon them. The youngest son, only twenty-six, also died of illness at the beginning of the year. Now, Aunt Xiao Qin also has no relatives to contact and can only stay here to live. If you married her, the villagers would have a better opinion of you."
This was not the speech of a ten-year-old child; it was old-fashioned and seasoned. Furthermore, suggesting Chen Shiren marry such a woman caused Chen Shiren to throw Li Feng out.
However, a few days later, a patient arrived at the desolate private hospital. This patient was Aunt Qin, who lived on the west side of the village. More than twenty years ago, Aunt Qin was a mature and beautiful woman. When she arrived at the hospital, she had even dressed up deliberately.
Chen Shiren was not only a man but also a lonely bachelor who had been starved for two years. With Aunt Qin's slight seduction, Chen Shiren ended up in bed with her. To be honest, Chen Shiren was quite infatuated with Aunt Qin's body, and he had thought several times about the path Li Feng had designed for him.
However, to his surprise, Li Feng's arrival did not result in what he expected.
In Chen Shiren's eyes, Li Feng's honest, kind smile was a heavy mask.
"Uncle, your hospital currently has a few emergency beds. It's inconvenient to go to the city for treatment here. If your reputation is ruined, your hospital will be completely finished."
Chen Shiren's heart skipped a beat, and he trembled, breaking out in a cold sweat. "You little brat, what are you saying?"
"Aunt Qin came to your hospital for treatment, and you ended up in bed with her. Think about it, if this gets out, which man would dare let his wife come to you for a health check-up?"
Thinking of Aunt Qin's relationship with Li Feng, Chen Shiren's face turned purple with anger. He pointed at Li Feng's nose, "You, what do you want? Such a young age, and you're learning to blackmail people?"
"I am a good child, I don't do blackmail."
"Then what do you want?"
"Everyone in the village says I was born in your hospital."
"Yes."
"Then tell me, who is my mother? And who is my father?"
Frankly, at such a young age, he would surely be accomplished in the future. But Chen Shiren dared not reveal this matter! Thinking of that family's influence, his heart pounded.
"Get out, you little brat. You've grown up, and you're threatening people. Get out, go as far away as you can."
That was the second time Chen Shiren had beaten Li Feng and thrown him out.
Not long after Li Feng was driven away by Chen Shiren, the news of Chen Shiren's affair with Aunt Qin spread. Li Feng's analysis was correct; with such a bad reputation, first issues of morality, and then medical ethics, Chen Shiren's gynecology hospital truly could not continue, and he had to close its doors.
...
"Li Feng just let you go like that."
"If you say that, then you believe what I said."
I had underestimated the intelligence of the villagers. This Chen Shiren was smarter than I had imagined. Sometimes, I felt that schemes were related to money; the more powerful the scheme, the greater the interests involved.
"The emerald ring. When his mother came to me for prenatal care, she gave me this as medical fees."
After hearing Chen Shiren finish, I turned to leave. Chen Shiren shouted, "Hey, don't you want to hear the ending?"
"Li Feng, who received the emerald ring, did not torment you. He even offered you advice, suggesting you open a Chinese medicine hospital on the site of your old one. The villagers distrusted your medical ethics and character, but as long as you sold your medicine a little cheaper, those who sought bargains would still come to you to buy it."
"Ah~"
Chen Shiren's mouth hung open when I finished speaking, looking utterly astonished.
...
I strode away, not looking back. There was no need for me to stay in the village anymore. This trip was not in vain; it allowed me to understand Li Feng and confirm that he was indeed a schemer. He might not know the term, but he absolutely had the ability.
To everyone's eyes, he was a good child, so sensible it hurt. He could utilize Aunt Qin's love and treat her as a tool. In the end, after getting what he wanted from Chen Shiren, he didn't completely destroy him; he provided Chen Shiren with a way out and sealed Chen Shiren's lips. Things passed, year after year, until now. Others still didn't know what kind of person Li Feng was; in their eyes, he was still that well-behaved, sensible, and pitiable child.
If I could understand this, Teacher Wang Ren could also understand it.
Therefore, Li Feng's motive for committing a crime became clear. He would return all the torment that fate had inflicted upon him to the family that abandoned him. Even if Li Feng found his family, seeking revenge would not be simple. From Chen Shiren's description, Li Feng's mother was forced to abandon him, and her family could even control the local police station.
Of course, that was in the past. Even then, such resources and power were terrifying. Those who were so powerful back then, having gone through the reform and opening-up, were now either high officials or wealthy magnates.
Li Feng, to achieve revenge, had to strive with all his might to rise above. Just as Teacher Wang Ren said, my schemes unfolded naturally, not because my schemes were particularly brilliant, but because I had the resources.
Li Feng, without resources, must have tried every means to distinguish himself.
There was a dragon gate before him, and he kept jumping, jumping. As long as he didn't become a dragon, his jumping would never cease. My appearance was the force that was pressing down this dragon gate, slowly making it more difficult for Li Feng to leap over it. Once Li Feng transformed into a dragon, then what Teacher Wang Ren said would not be far off.
Damn it, I had to get back to Beijing quickly.