As one door closes, another door opens.
In the southern part of the ancient country, in Shanhai Village, it was dusk.
After walking for twenty hours, Su Chen, who had just been released from prison, arrived at the village entrance.
The village, shrouded by mountains, was pitch dark at night. The villagers went to bed early, and some stayed up guarding the fish ponds behind the village. There weren't many lights in the village.
Su Chen wanted to get home quickly to see his parents and check on his sister's school progress.
Suddenly, a surprised voice called out.
"Xiao Chen? You're back?"
Su Chen looked closely and saw it was his neighbor, Brother Su Dali, who was eight years older than him. However, he was surprised to see Su Dali in a wheelchair with his legs missing.
"Brother Dali, I'm back. What happened to you?"
"Good kid! It really is you!"
Su Dali was so excited he almost jumped, but unfortunately, he had no legs. He used to love playing with Su Chen when they were kids.
"Didn't you get sentenced to three years? I later heard that woman wanted you to stay in prison even longer."
Hearing this made Su Chen furious. He couldn't believe Liu Xiao was so malicious!
Two years ago, after finishing his college entrance exams, Su Chen went on a date with his girlfriend Liu Xiao. During the date, Jia Zhengjing, the son of a wealthy county businessman, harassed Liu Xiao. Su Chen got angry and fought back, only to be beaten by Jia Zhengjing's gang. In the struggle, Su Chen stabbed one of them.
In court, Liu Xiao, as a witness, not only refused to defend him but also cozied up to Jia Zhengjing. She disgusted Su Chen by accusing him of deliberately causing trouble, leading to a three-year sentence!
Due to good behavior, he was released early.
During his two years in prison, an eccentric old man in his cell taught him martial arts and acupuncture. Initially, Su Chen thought the old man was crazy, but as he practiced, he found his health improving, and the acupuncture skills proved to be real.
Su Chen's grandfather was a traditional healer, so he had been exposed to these practices since childhood. His college application was for the ancient country's medical school, but everything was disrupted by Liu Xiao and Jia Zhengjing!
Thinking of his parents' hard work in the fields to support his education through high school, Su Chen felt a pang of sorrow.
"Xiao Chen, now that you're out, don't think too much about it. Jia Zhengjing is the son of a famous wealthy man in the county. We can't afford to provoke him. Just try to avoid him in the future."
Seeing Su Chen's anger, Su Dali advised him with the wisdom of experience.
"Yes, I know what to do."
Su Chen silently vowed to himself that he would not let those two scumbags off easily!
"Xiao Chen, come and push me back home. You're back just in time; I need your help with something."
"Okay!"
As they chatted on the way, Su Chen learned about Su Dali's situation.
Two years ago, Su Dali had gone to the county to buy wedding supplies and was in a car accident, resulting in his legs being amputated. The driver fled, and they still hadn't found the culprit.
At that time, Su Chen was already in prison, so he didn't know about this.
Pushing Su Dali into the yard, a beautiful woman with a graceful figure came out of the house.
"Sister-in-law."
This woman was stunning. Su Dali had brought her to the village once before, and Su Chen couldn't forget her after seeing her a few times.
"Hmm? Isn't this Xiao Chen? You're back?"
Fan Tiantian was also surprised to see Su Chen. The whole village knew he had been sentenced to three years.
"I behaved well inside, so my sentence was reduced by a year."
Feeling embarrassed under Fan Tiantian's intense gaze, Su Chen scratched his head.
Her gaze seemed to have a magical power that was hard to resist.
"You go inside. I have something to discuss with Xiao Chen."
"Oh."
Fan Tiantian reluctantly went inside but stayed near the door to eavesdrop.
"Xiao Chen, in my current state, I won't be able to recover. With my parents gone, if it weren't for your sister-in-law cooking for me, I would have died long ago."
Su Dali sighed helplessly.
"Don't think like that. There's always a way. Things will get better."
Su Chen didn't know how to comfort him. If Su Dali's legs were just disabled, he could have healed them, but with amputations, there was nothing he could do.
"Xiao Chen, do you still consider me your brother?"
"Of course. You took care of me when I was a kid. We often got into trouble together."
"Good! That's all I need to hear!"
Su Dali continued, "Xiao Chen, I lost that part of my body in the accident too."
"Can you help me? I want you to help my wife get pregnant. If there's a child, she won't leave. Without someone to take care of me, I won't last long..."
Su Chen felt like he was struck by lightning, his mind going blank.
Inside, Fan Tiantian was also shocked. But seeing Su Chen's handsome face and strong build through the c***k in the door, she couldn't help but swallow hard.
"Brother Dali, you must be joking. How can that be possible?"
Su Chen had never heard of such a thing, asking another man to take care of one's wife?
"Xiao Chen, I have no other choice!"
Su Dali said tearfully, "Xiao Chen, let me be honest with you. Tiantian is still a virgin. We didn't have time to consummate our marriage before the accident. I assure you she's very clean."
"Brother Dali, that's not what I meant. But for us to..."
"Xiao Chen, do you want me to die in front of you?"
Su Dali got emotional and almost fell out of his wheelchair.
"Brother Dali, calm down. We'll think of a solution together."
Su Chen quickly held him down to stop his antics. A fall would surely injure him.
"Xiao Chen, promise me! You can't go back on your word! Or I'll kill myself right now!"
"Brother Dali, we can't decide this on our own. Have you asked Sister-in-law's opinion?"
Su Chen said helplessly.
"Don't worry, I've got it covered. You stay here tonight."
"But I need to go home to see my parents..."
"No need. Your parents are at the fish pond behind the mountain, probably asleep by now. Your room hasn't been tidied up in ages. Stay here tonight and go see them tomorrow."
Su Dali said excitedly.
"Well, alright then."
Su Chen knew about the fish pond, a natural spring pool over five hundred acres in size. Each household in the village had a section to raise fish and shrimp.
Su Dali asked Fan Tiantian to cook some noodles for Su Chen and then told her to go to bed.
When the time was right, Su Dali pointed to the inner room and said, "Xiao Chen, whether I live or die depends on you."
"Brother Dali... sigh..."
Seeing Su Dali's pitiful look, Su Chen couldn't refuse. He lifted the curtain and walked into the room.
Inside, he smelled a unique fragrance and saw a silhouette through the mosquito net. Su Chen stood up straight.