freenovelworld Chapter 2401 - 2380: Father and Daughter
Chapter 2401 - 2380: Father and Daughter
"Ever since I can remember, Grandpa’s health has been very poor, and life was really tough for us. But back then, Grandpa could still walk around and often went out to find food. I don’t even know how he managed it. Later, when Grandpa fell ill, life at home became even harder. Sometimes, I had to go out to find food, but I was only a few years old then and could hardly find anything the whole day. There were even times when I got into fights with a few beggars just for some leftover food from the hotel..."
Tao Tao’s eyes were already filled with tears at this point. After a brief pause, she continued, "But none of that really matters. What worries me most is Grandpa’s health. But our family is just too poor. We couldn’t afford a doctor, so we could only watch as Grandpa lay in bed. Seeing Grandpa like that, you can’t imagine how heartbroken I was..."
After listening to Tao Tao’s story, Lin Feng felt somewhat moved. He stood up and walked over to Tao Tao, holding her head in his arms, and said to her, "Life won’t be like that anymore. Everything will get better."
Tao Tao tightly embraced Lin Feng then, nodding vigorously, and said, "Mm, Brother Lin, I believe you!"
Tangyuan stood on Lin Feng’s shoulder, her eyes also moist with tears, and said to Tao Tao, "In the future, let the boss take you in, and you won’t have to worry all your life. The boss is great and has plenty of Yuan Stones, so you won’t have to worry about these things anymore."
"Bang!"
Lin Feng suddenly gave Tangyuan a flick on the forehead, then said to Tangyuan, "If you don’t speak, no one will mistake you for a mute. Can’t you talk more appropriately?"
"Why do you keep hitting me? There’s no need to bully a beast like this. I’m just looking out for Tao Tao!" Tangyuan complained to Lin Feng while rubbing her head, looking very aggrieved.
At that moment, Tao Tao’s face was flushed as she hugged Lin Feng, but she did not let go because she felt truly safe by Lin Feng’s side and didn’t want to leave his embrace...
Just then, the waiter knocked on the door and brought in food and drinks. Tao Tao immediately let go of Lin Feng, and then she and Tangyuan started a new round of fighting over the food, making Lin Feng shake his head and smile from the side. He casually picked up a jar of wine, glanced out the window, and drank by himself, feeling quite at ease.
After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, a commotion suddenly came from outside, drawing Lin Feng’s attention. He saw six or seven burly men chasing and attacking a middle-aged man who had a child on his shoulder. Judging by the situation, the child was also injured, which made Lin Feng’s brow furrow.
"Brother Lin, what’s wrong?" Tao Tao noticed Lin Feng’s brow suddenly furrow and immediately asked him.
Tangyuan stopped playing around too and jumped onto Lin Feng’s shoulder, looking into the distance. Suddenly, her small eyes widened as she shouted, "This is too shameless! How can they do this!"
"Let’s go down and take a look." Lin Feng didn’t say much, simply leaving this sentence before taking Tangyuan and Tao Tao down the tavern.
From the first floor of the tavern, they could see the scene outside clearly. Those people were surrounding and beating the middle-aged man, and all the guests on the first floor were frozen in fear, not daring to intervene.
"Please, stop hitting us. If you want to hit someone, hit me. Don’t hit the child..." The middle-aged man was begging the surrounding people.
"Stop talking nonsense! You owe us three hundred Yuan Stones and have delayed it for years. Pay up quickly, or neither of you will leave here alive today!"
"Yeah, stop with the crap, hand over the Yuan Stones!"
"I really don’t have any Yuan Stones left. All I have is this life of mine."
"We don’t want your life, but if you can’t get the Yuan Stones today, don’t blame us for being rude."
...
The thugs surrounding the middle-aged man were speaking arrogantly, not treating the man and his child as humans at all. After a few taunts, they were ready to make a move again, clearly intending to give the father and daughter a beating to vent their anger.
"Stop it!" Tao Tao shouted loudly and rushed over. She really couldn’t bear to see such things; how could they beat people in the street like this!
When the thugs heard the shout, they all turned their eyes toward Tao Tao and Lin Feng. Immediately upon recognizing them, they shouted in dissatisfaction.
"Are you meddling in our business?"
"Alright then, this guy owes us three hundred Yuan Stones. Are you going to pay it for him?"
"Mind your own business, or don’t blame us if things get ugly for you!"
...
The thugs’ tone was unfriendly, obviously having encountered such situations often and not taking Tao Tao and Lin Feng seriously at all. If you want to meddle, fine, but bring the three hundred Yuan Stones. Without the Yuan Stones, even if the Heavenly King came, they wouldn’t care!
Saying this, they were about to lay their hands on Tao Tao. They had finally caught up with this father and daughter, so how could they let them go?
Seeing this, Lin Feng was immediately a bit angry. He looked at these people, shook his head, gave Tao Tao a meaningful glance, and then directly counted out three hundred Yuan Stones into a bag, threw it to them, and said, "Take it and scram."
Without paying attention to these people, he directly walked towards the father and daughter, wanting to see their current situation.
Li Changsong and Li Guoguo were stunned by what was happening in front of them. They never expected anyone would rescue them. Watching Tao Tao and Lin Feng approach and even pay off their debt left them bewildered, unable to understand what was going on.
The thugs also didn’t expect Lin Feng to be so generous, taking out three hundred Yuan Stones for a stranger. After receiving the bag with the Yuan Stones, they immediately counted it on the street, doing it twice to make sure it was accurate before preparing to leave.
"Wait, the IOU!" Seeing the men about to leave, Lin Feng suddenly spoke up.
Upon hearing Lin Feng, the thugs didn’t waste any words, just threw out a piece of paper. Lin Feng took it without further concern, continuing to Li Changsong’s side, while Tao Tao had already embraced Li Guoguo, looking angrily at the bruised face.
"Benefactor!"
At this moment, Li Changsong finally came to his senses, immediately kneeling before Lin Feng and about to bow his head, but Lin Feng wouldn’t allow it, lifting Li Changsong up with one arm.
"This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go upstairs."
After saying this, Lin Feng headed upstairs directly, with Tao Tao holding the still dazed Li Guoguo following him. Seeing his daughter being carried away, Li Changsong naturally followed.
Once in the private room, Lin Feng called over the waiter for a new table of dishes, glanced at Li Changsong, and gestured for him to sit down.
"What’s going on with you two?" Lin Feng asked casually, though he was a bit puzzled. Li Changsong, at the early Divine Origin Realm, should have been strong enough to protect himself. Why was he getting chased for debt by those thugs, who were only at the Opening Epoch Realm? Why didn’t he fight back?
"Sigh, young master, you don’t know!" Hearing Lin Feng’s question, Li Changsong sighed heavily and began to explain, "I was originally a loose cultivator, life was extremely tough. Some time ago, my partner went mad due to cultivation problems. To save her, I borrowed Yuan Stones from the Zhang Family in the city for her treatment. However, the Yuan Stones were spent, but I couldn’t save my child’s mother. Now they are chasing the debt, and I have no means to repay. If it weren’t for meeting you, my daughter and I would have been finished today..."
"You are initially at the Divine Origin Realm; why didn’t you resist? It seems those thugs were just at the Opening Epoch Realm?" Tao Tao, holding Guoguo, added on the side. She felt Li Changsong lived too cowardly and should have just run rather than get humiliated by Opening Epoch men.
"Miss, you don’t understand. Those thugs belong to the Zhang Family. If I had retaliated, they would hunt us down and we would have no more road to escape. If I died, what would happen to my daughter in the future? I don’t dare think about it..." Li Changsong explained helplessly.
Hearing Li Changsong’s words, Lin Feng and Tao Tao finally understood the situation, nodding in agreement. The man’s explanation made sense, and just then, the waiter brought the wine and dishes.
Seeing the fresh food, Li Guoguo couldn’t help it anymore, and her mouth watered as she looked at Li Changsong. But Li Changsong was too embarrassed to let his daughter eat Lin Feng’s food, and immediately signaled her to endure it.
Tao Tao saw this and her brows furrowed. Ignoring Li Changsong, she immediately hugged Li Guoguo and started eating with her...
Seeing this, Li Changsong could only smile wryly. Lin Feng handed Li Changsong a jar of wine, and they drank together.
"How are you and your daughter going to live from now on?"
"I don’t know... There’s nothing left at home..."
"Still going to hunt demon beasts? Aren’t you thinking of your daughter?"
"I have no choice, apart from hunting demon beasts, I don’t know what else I can do."
"How about working at my shop as a waiter?"
"Young master, you have a shop?"
"Yes, it’s the Holy Pill Pavilion."
...
Lin Feng and Li Changsong chatted intermittently, with Li Changsong truly lost about the future. So after some thought, Lin Feng decided to let Li Changsong work at the Holy Pill Pavilion, providing a relatively stable life for the father and daughter.
Upon hearing this, Li Changsong was completely shocked. He didn’t expect his rescuer to be the owner of the Holy Pill Pavilion, a place with such a great reputation in Xucheng. He felt like he was dreaming, staying still in his seat.
Tao Tao saw Lin Feng’s arrangement and grinned warmly. She really liked Li Guoguo, seeing a bit of herself as a child in her. So Lin Feng’s arrangement made her very happy, and she happily dined with Guoguo.
Little Guoguo usually couldn’t enjoy such good things, so she forgot about everything and ate happily. Seeing her delight, Li Changsong felt a deep bitterness, knowing if he were more capable, Guoguo wouldn’t be in this situation...