TTLJDFL Chapter 35

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Seeing the little one’s bright smile, Li Jin suppressed his urge to kiss him again and carried him into the study.

After all, newborns shouldn’t be kissed too much—adults carry too many bacteria, which could affect the baby.

An occasional kiss was fine, though.

In the study, Li Jin held the baby in his left arm while picking up a brush with his right hand to dip in ink.

He wanted to capture this moment by drawing Baozi’s expression.

But Li Jin had never really dabbled in Chinese painting before.

The closest he had come was in his early university days when he had joined a few art clubs and learned to draw still-life subjects like grapes and lotus flowers.

Still, he was in high spirits and didn’t care whether he could paint well or not. Even if the drawing turned out poorly, it was just for fun.

Perhaps because he had been practicing calligraphy a lot lately, even though he wasn’t familiar with fine brush painting, he was able to sketch a rough yet vivid image of a baby with just a few strokes.

If one didn’t scrutinize the brushwork, the drawing was actually quite impressive in one regard—it captured the baby’s expression perfectly.

The child’s smile in the painting was nearly identical to Baozi’s real one, making it unmistakably clear who the subject was.

After wiping down the stove, Qin Muwen entered the house, only to find that Li Jin and Baozi were nowhere in sight.

In the past, if this had happened, he would have been in a panic.

But now, he simply walked outside, stood in the courtyard, and could see their silhouettes through the oil-paper window of the study.

Since the study door was open, Qin Muwen, worried that Baozi might disturb Li Jin’s calligraphy practice, decided to go in and carry the baby back to rest.

By the time he stepped inside, Li Jin had already finished his painting and set down his brush.

Li Jin had kept the composition simple—his goal was to capture the essence, not to create an oil painting-level masterpiece.

Hearing footsteps, he straightened up, his starry eyes turning to Qin Muwen.

“Wenwen, come here.”

Qin Muwen’s heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t sure how he had walked over—it was as if his body had moved on its own, tingling all over.

By the desk, Li Jin, even in his coarse linen clothes, exuded a scholarly elegance. Holding the baby in one arm, his starry eyes reflected Qin Muwen’s figure.

What he didn’t realize was that Qin Muwen’s eyes were also entirely filled with Li Jin and their child.

Even the cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye seemed more vibrant than usual.

Only after reaching the desk did Qin Muwen snap out of his daze. He let out a soft “Ah.”

“This is Baozi!”

Li Jin had initially been pleased with his drawing, but upon closer inspection, he saw numerous flaws—he hadn’t considered things like layout or composition.

It was, quite literally, a crude attempt.

Yet the young man’s joy was unmistakable. Holding the painting, he couldn’t put it down.

“Ah Jin, can I hang this in our room?”

Li Jin rubbed his nose. Seeing how happy the young man was, he couldn’t bear to disappoint him.

He nodded. "Alright."

The young man eagerly used starch paste to secure the four corners of the painting, sticking it onto the wall.

By the time he finished, Baozi had already fallen asleep again. Li Jin carefully laid him on the bed.

Looking at the young man’s back, he said, "Next time, I’ll paint you."

The young man turned around quickly, a bit shy but naturally cheerful—not reserved like a maiden.

Without hesitation, he replied, "Okay.

After watering the fields and practicing calligraphy, Li Jin did thirty push-ups in the courtyard. However, this time, he didn’t stop to rest immediately after finishing but instead assessed his stamina and continued.

Thirty-one, thirty-two… The summer night breeze was stiflingly warm, and sweat dripped from his chin and chest, yet he persisted.

Li Jin realized that with his current physical condition, he could now do forty-two push-ups before reaching the point of exhaustion.

He rested for half a minute before continuing.

One set of forty-two, three sets in total.

Afterward, he took a cold shower and noticed that the contours of his biceps were becoming more defined.

With his recent abstinence from alcohol, regular eating and sleeping habits, and a diet that included less meat and more whole grains, his chest and abdominal muscles were beginning to take shape as well.

But Li Jin knew that if he wanted to regain the physique he had in his previous life, he would need at least another two years.

After all, there was hardly any tender beef available here. If he wanted to supplement his protein intake, he would have to rely mostly on eggs and fish.

After his bath, his hair was still damp. If he put on an undershirt now, it would soon get wet.

So Li Jin simply went bare-chested, using a cloth towel to wring the moisture from his hair before heading inside.

He hadn’t expected the young man to still be awake.

Moonlight streamed through the window, making the young man's eyes glisten, bright and watery.

"Why aren’t you asleep yet?" Li Jin asked.

The young man replied, "I’m not good-looking. If you paint me, won’t you find me displeasing?"

Li Jin was startled. Although he didn’t know much about the entertainment industry, he was certain that with this young man’s looks in modern times, he would easily capture the hearts of countless "mom fans" and "auntie fans."

And yet, this person lacked confidence in his own appearance?

Said he wasn’t good-looking?!

Moreover, he had only mentioned painting him that afternoon—was the young man so troubled by this that he couldn’t sleep?

Li Jin found it both amusing and exasperating. Rarely indulging in humor, he said, "I just realized our house doesn’t have a mirror. Tomorrow, I’ll buy one and place it on the storage cabinet at the foot of the bed.

That way, every morning when you wake up, you’ll see the most beautiful person in the entire area."

It took a moment for the young man to process the meaning behind these words.

Was Ah Jin saying… he was good-looking?

When he was a child, his father had praised his appearance, but as he grew older, his father stopped saying such things.

Then his father was gone, his home was gone, and he became Li Jin’s husband.

When Li Jin was drunk, he called him ugly, saying he wasn’t as beautiful as the courtesan from the town’s "Top Courtesan"…

On top of that, he had been doing manual labor daily, and his palms and fingertips were covered in calluses—completely different from how he had been when he was waiting to be married.

He was really getting uglier and uglier.

Just as his thoughts were spiraling, a cool hand reached out from under the covers and grasped his.

"I’ll buy a mirror tomorrow," Li Jin said.

The young man's palm was warm. He instinctively returned the grip, and before he could dwell further on whether he was truly ugly or not, sleep quickly overtook him.

—

Early the next morning, Li Jin packed his belongings, carrying sixty copper pennies on him.

The one tael of silver was left at home, given to the young man for safekeeping under the bed.

Before leaving, Li Jin said, "I’ll be back a little late today. Remember to eat properly."

The young man nodded obediently and placed a boiled egg in Li Jin’s basket.

Li Jin waved goodbye to him and Baozi before heading toward town.

As usual, Li Jin arrived at the study hall a quarter-hour before Chen Xiran. He began copying the assignments the teacher had given them the day before.

Yesterday was a rest day, so there had been no classes.

When Chen Xiran arrived, the first thing he said upon seeing Li Jin was, "Li Xian-di, the wild vegetables were delicious!"

Li Jin: "…"

Currently, their teacher, Mr. Song, was close to finishing his lectures on the "Five Classics" for them. Chen Xiran had studied them before, but since he disliked writing, Mr. Song made him memorize and review more frequently.

Only through extensive reading and memorization could one develop a broad and retentive knowledge.

Additionally, Mr. Song was mindful of Li Jin’s learning pace, so he taught at a slower speed.

After all, he was well aware of Li Jin’s previous academic foundation.

Unlike some scholars who believed in the saying, "Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will reveal itself," Mr. Song encouraged his students to ask questions whenever they didn’t understand.

He would resolve their doubts himself, ensuring that uncertainties from one lesson were not carried over to the next.

After class, Mr. Song asked Li Jin to stay behind.

Frowning slightly, he spoke in a somewhat serious tone, "I heard that you are going to sit in at Xinglintang as a physician?"

Li Jin did not dare to conceal the truth. He answered, "Yes."

This information likely hadn’t come from Chen Xiran. Li Jin guessed that Mr. Song might have heard it from the owner of Xinglintang.

Mr. Song said, "Do you realize that the exam is in February next year? You have no family members to rely on, and the farm work already takes up much of your time. That alone is delaying your studies.

Now you plan to take on a physician’s role for the sake of a few taels of silver—how will you focus entirely on preparing for the exam?"

Li Jin replied, "It is not entirely for the money. Though our household is struggling financially, another reason is that Xinglintang’s physician will be away in August, and the clinic cannot be without a doctor for an entire month.

Since I happen to know a little about medicine, I have no choice but to step in."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Song not only furrowed his brows further but also began pacing around the study.

His original intention was to have Li Jin concentrate fully on preparing for the exam. If Li Jin’s household was truly struggling, he had some savings he could lend him for the time being.

But unexpectedly, the doctor from Xinglintang had to leave for some matters.

The town was small, and there weren’t many people who knew medicine.

With one doctor gone, some patients wouldn’t be able to receive treatment, and that was a matter of life and death.

Li Jin was right—Xinglintang couldn’t go without a doctor for a whole month.

Mr. Song asked, "You’ll only be stationed there in July and August?"

Li Jin replied, "Yes. After that, I will decline all other matters and focus entirely on preparing for the county examination."

In the end, Mr. Song could only wave his hand and agree, but he reminded Li Jin not to neglect his studies and to keep his priorities straight.

As Li Jin was about to leave, Mr. Song subtly hinted that if his family was truly struggling, he could always come to him for help.

Li Jin bowed deeply. "Student thanks you, Teacher."

—

When Li Jin arrived at the clinic, it was just in time for a meal—today was his first day of "internship."

The butcher, Boss Song, had delivered several pounds of pork ribs. The young apprentice, Zhou Gui, couldn’t refuse, so he made braised pork ribs.

Boss Song shamelessly stayed to eat with them.

He said, "Doctor Li, I’ve found a source for fish and meat. Two catties of grass carp cost eight pennies, and crucian carp is ten pennies each.

Considering that fish and meat don’t keep well in this weather, I only ordered one of each."

He had good connections and had asked a friend to bring the fish over the next time they came to town.

Li Jin quickly thanked him. Boss Song said, "It’s the least I can do. Also, here are three taels of silver as consultation fees, please be sure to accept them."

Li Jin thought—three taels of silver was quite a lot.

Although Boss Song was well-off, he wasn’t so rich that he could just hand out three taels of silver casually.

Seeing that Li Jin was reluctant to accept, Boss Song hurriedly explained, "Doctor Wu and you both charged three taels. My wife had a difficult labor, and the other two clinics in town refused to take her in, saying it was bad luck.

Only you and Doctor Wu stepped in to help. You must take this money."

Li Jin thought—was "stepping in to help" really used this way?

Doctor Wu also twitched at those words.

However, since Boss Song was a butcher and needed knives for his trade, in his eyes, "stepping in to help" probably did mean a great deal of help.

Since the matter had come to this, Li Jin no longer refused and accepted the money.

Li Jin had initially thought that his role today would just be diagnosing patients, prescribing medicine, and having Doctor Wu review it.

After Doctor Wu confirmed everything, Zhou Gui would then prepare and decoct the medicine.

Because Li Jin had saved someone from the brink of death before, his reputation had spread, and patients felt reassured seeing him.

While treating his fifth patient, a sudden commotion broke out among those waiting in line.

"Isn't that someone from Piaoxiang Tower? Why are they coming out?"

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