Urban Martial Saint

Zhao Chengshuang looked at Li Lianshan’s protruding belly and said, ”If you could get rid of that belly of yours, you wouldn’t even need to study; just the belly alone would be impressive enough to show off.”

Li Lianshan was greatly embarrassed, took a deep breath, sucked in his stomach and said, ”There’s no helping it, after all the socializing I’ve had to do, my belly just started growing by the day. Ah, you guys had better not follow my lead, once it grows, it’s terribly hard to slim back down!”

The crowd burst out laughing, and just as they were chatting leisurely, two more people entered the ward: an old lady, pushing a wheelchair. On the wheelchair sat a boy, bandaged up like a mummy, missing an arm, looking extremely pitiful.

This boy was none other than the one who had shined Ye Qing’s shoes in the square last time, and the old lady was his grandmother.

Seeing these two newcomers, Li Lianshan paused momentarily. Ye Qing quickly stood up to greet them and said, ”Aunt Zhou, what brings you here? Xiao Mao’s wounds aren’t healed yet, how could you bring him out?”

”Ah, I just heard from the doctors that because of what happened to Xiao Mao, you guys were badly injured too. I’ve been feeling uneasy about it, so I brought Xiao Mao to express our thanks,” she replied.

As she spoke, Aunt Zhou stumbled and attempted to kneel down, with tears in her voice, she said, ”You are all good people...”

Ye Qing, as if struck by lightning, hurriedly helped Aunt Zhou up and urgently said, ”Aunt Zhou, please don’t say such things. We are the younger generation; if you kneel before us, it’ll shorten our lifespans!”

”I don’t have much to thank you with, other than doing just this,” Aunt Zhou said, tears streaming down her face. Looking at her pitiful grandson, she said, ”Xiao Mao, didn’t you want to thank the gentlemen?”

”Uncle, thank you,” Xiao Mao said, eyes without a trace of falsehood as he looked at Ye Qing.

Seeing the state of Xiao Mao’s arm, Ye Qing too felt a surge of sorrow. He reached out to touch Xiao Mao’s face and said, ”Xiao Mao, in the future, you must study hard, be filial to your grandma, understand?”

”Xiao Mao won’t go to school!” Xiao Mao shook his head and said, ”School costs a lot of money; I won’t go to school. Once I’m better, I’ll go out and work, earn money for grandma to spend. Even though I only have one hand now and will work slowly in the future, I won’t be able to earn much to buy grandma clothes.”

Toward the end, Xiao Mao’s eyes became red. The child wasn’t pessimistic about losing an arm; instead, he was saddened by the prospect of not being able to earn money to buy clothes for his grandma. His innocent words, though simple, deeply pierced the hearts of everyone in the room. Seeing Xiao Mao’s empty right sleeve, the only girl in the room, Huo Pingping, couldn’t help but sob.

”Xiao Mao, you must go to school, you absolutely must go to school!” Zhao Chengshuang leaned over and said, ”No matter how much it costs to send you to school, I’ll pay for it. Only if you study hard and become successful in the future will you be able to earn more money for your grandma!”

”Really?” Xiao Mao asked excitedly, but then he lowered his head and spoke softly, ”They say it takes a long time to study, I... I’m afraid grandma won’t be around to see me become successful...”

Aunt Zhou couldn’t hold back her tears and, stroking Xiao Mao’s head, she said with a sob, ”Silly child, grandma doesn’t want anything but for you to be successful, no matter what happens to me!”

”Damn it!” Just then, amid the somber atmosphere, Li Lianshan suddenly cursed out loud, standing up and startling everyone.

Without paying any attention to the others, Li Lianshan looked at Xiao Mao and said, ”I, Li Lianshan, haven’t done a good deed in my life, not contributed a single penny to charity, and now that I think about it, my life has really been a bastard’s life. Good kid, you’ve moved me. Well then, I don’t have any children either, would you like to be my foster son?

From now on, I’ll take care of everything you need – food, housing, and expenses!”

Everyone in the room looked at Li Lianshan, Zhao Chengshuang opened his mouth as if to speak but nothing came out. After all, Li Lianshan was the wealthiest person in the room. If he really wanted to help Xiao Mao, the boy’s future was assured to be good.

Aunt Zhou was stunned, and it took a while before she nudged Xiao Mao and said, ”Answer uncle, do you... do you want to?”

Then turning towards Li Lianshan, she said in a trembling voice, ”Kind sir, thank you, thank you...”

Xiao Mao stared at Li Lianshan for a while before quietly saying, ”What about grandma? Will you... take care of her too?”

Only then did Li Lianshan realize why Xiao Mao had hesitated to answer, and his heart softened even more. He laughed heartily and said, ”Don’t worry, from now on, your grandma is my godmother, and I will definitely take good care of both of you!”

Only then did Xiao Mao’s expression turn to joy, and he said, ”Thank you, uncle.”

”At this time, don’t call him uncle, call him godfather,” Zhao Chengshuang suggested.

”Right, right, right, call him godfather, godfather,” urged Aunt Zhou.

”Godfather,” Xiao Mao called out crisply.

Li Lianshan felt a sense of relief and went over to pat Xiao Mao’s head and said, ”From now on, you’re my son, remember, your godfather’s name is Li Lianshan!”

After saying this, Li Lianshan turned towards the door and said, ”You guys come in.”

As soon as he said it, four men walked into the room. Li Lianshan pointed at Xiao Mao and said, ”Starting from today, he is my son and also your young master. Understand?”

The four men hesitated slightly but soon came around and nodded together at Xiao Mao, saying, ”Young Master!”

Xiao Mao timidly looked at the four men, thought for a long while, and in a low voice said, ”Hello, four uncles. My name is Xiao Mao.”

The men were also touched by Xiao Mao’s childish speech. One of them looked at Li Lianshan and said, ”Big brother, the young master is very sensible.”

”Of course, he is!” Li Lianshan said with pride. He then pointed at Aunt Zhou beside him and continued, ”This is my godmother. My parents died early, and I haven’t been able to show much filial piety in this life. Listen well, she is my real mother, got it?”

”Yes, big brother!” The four men nodded and bowed to Aunt Zhou, saying, ”Aunt Zhou.”

”Oh, no need to be like this, don’t be so formal...” Aunt Zhou was flustered with the unexpected respect; before, when she sold shoe pads, no one had ever taken her seriously. Now, these people dressed in suits and polished shoes were offering her such reverence that she couldn’t quite adapt to it straight away.

”Mom, don’t be polite. From now on, they will be like your own sons. Just give them orders if you need anything.” Li Lianshan helped Aunt Zhou sit down and then told his men, ”Alright, you all go out first and buy some new clothes for the young master and my mother.”

The four turned and exited, while Aunt Zhou still murmured, ”No need to spend so much, I’m already old, what do I need new clothes for? Save the money for Xiao Mao’s schooling...”

Zhao Chengshuang laughed to the side and said, ”Aunt Zhou, rest assured. Boss Li’s money, not to mention buying clothes or attending school, even if you wanted to buy a school for Xiao Mao to go on his own, it would not be a problem at all!”

”What?” Aunt Zhou lifted her head in astonishment and after a long while, she finally said with a tremble, ”How... how much money would that be?”

Li Lianshan laughed heartily, supporting Aunt Zhou, and said, ”No matter how much it is, it definitely won’t be a shortage for you!”

Aunt Zhou was extremely moved, unable to hold back her tears. Xiao Mao, sitting beside her, stretched out his small hand to hold Aunt Zhou’s and said, ”Grandma, don’t cry. I’ve got a godfather now, we should be happy!”

”Yes, yes, you’re right, happy, we should be happy!” Aunt Zhou changed her tears to joy, hugging Xiao Mao, and said, ”Xiao Mao, when you grow up, you must repay your godfather well, understand?”

Xiao Mao nodded and said, ”Mm, I definitely will!”

”This child.” Li Lianshan was also moved, looking at Xiao Mao’s empty arms, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

At noon, Aunt Zhou also ate here with Xiao Mao. After lunch, she pushed Xiao Mao back to the ward, as he still needed rest.

Li Lianshan had arranged for a bed for Aunt Zhou as well and hired a top nurse to take care of Xiao Mao. Though the hospital hadn’t charged Aunt Zhou these few days, they hadn’t provided a bed either. When she was tired, she would just nap curled up on a chair. For someone her age, this was truly a torment.

After making sure Aunt Zhou and Xiao Mao were settled, Li Lianshan was finally ready to visit the other ward. Just as he stepped out, he saw Ye Qing waiting for him in the corridor.

Li Lianshan approached and asked, ”What’s up?”

Ye Qing glanced at the overjoyed Aunt Zhou in the ward and said, ”Why the sudden decision to take on a godson?”

”Why can’t I take a godson?” Li Lianshan retorted, looking at Ye Qing and said, ”I think the kid is sensible and obedient. To be honest, I really like him now. If you really want to know why, I can’t really pinpoint a reason. Maybe I’ve done too many bad things and by a sudden stroke of conscience, I wanted to do something good.”

Ye Qing nodded and said, ”There are many ways to do good deeds. What you’re doing now is the hardest. You should understand that adopting a child is not just about giving him money and not letting him lack anything; it’s about the responsibility, the commitment. If you can’t follow through to the end, it would be better if you hadn’t given him hope in the first place.

The boy is too young, gaining hope all of a sudden and then having it dashed… he might not be able to withstand the blow!”

Li Lianshan finally understood what Ye Qing was trying to say. He looked towards Xiao Mao in the ward and said, ”Although I’m Li Lianshan and not a good person, I keep my word. Since I’ve taken him as my godson, I will follow through to the very end without giving up halfway. If I cannot hold out to the end, may the heavens strike me with lightning!”

Ye Qing patted Li Lianshan on the shoulder and said, ”I believe you can hold out until the end, but still, you must consider the child. The things you’re involved with now, best to keep him out of it.”

Li Lianshan said, ”Don’t worry, I may be a bastard, but I haven’t sunk so low as to drag my own people down.”

”What I mean is…” Ye Qing paused, then continued, ”Or perhaps, you could try, give up what you’re currently doing. You’re not lacking money anymore, so why continue doing these things that skirt on the edges of legality? You should know that if you walk the night road long enough, eventually you’re bound to bump into ghosts!”

Li Lianshan sighed and said, ”Do you think I want to be doing these things? But if I don’t, then I can’t stand firm in Shenchuan City. Ye, I admire the way you conduct yourself, but when it comes to understanding this society, you still fall short compared to me. In this age, chivalry is worthless. To stand firm in this society, you can only count on two things: money and power.

For someone like us, without money or power, if we don’t want to be trampled underfoot, then we have to use our fists, and step on others!”