At dawn, as the sun rises, the lotus flowers welcome a new day. The lotus flowers are covered with dewdrops, and under the sunlight, each water droplet looks like a transparent pearl embedded in the petals, glistening and ready to drip.

The fiery red sunrise brings a new day, the colorful morning glow holds new hope, and the trees and mountains are full of new vitality.

Early in the morning, the village was buzzing with discussion about what had happened the day before.

Er Ya's family left without saying goodbye. Old Mrs. Shen cursed in the village for a full hour, saying that her second son was unfilial and had secretly run away with his whole family because he didn't want to support the two of them.

The villagers knew perfectly well that the family had already separated, and given how they treated Lin Jianguo and his family, what did it matter to them if the family really left?

A few people were cracking sunflower seeds and chatting under the big tree. They were all saying that Old Mrs. Shen was in a good situation now. Just a few days ago, she was showing off how successful her second son was, and that she had even gained weight because of the money her second son usually gave her. But now, just a few days later, he had left and was ignoring her.

A car drove by in the distance, and the people who were eating sunflower seeds stopped and craned their necks to see where it was going this time.

Logically speaking, only Lin Jianguo's family in the whole village might know the person driving the car, but they've all moved away!

Just as they were wondering who they were looking for, the car stopped in front of them, and a refined-looking man in a suit got out, looking completely out of place among the people in their village.

"Hello, could you tell me which way to Lin Xiao's house?"

"You're looking for Lin Xiao? I know. Come on, I'll take you."

Regardless of what the person was there for, they led him directly to Lin Xiao's house and even opened the courtyard gate for him.

The man took out a ten-yuan bill from his pocket, gave it to the person who had led the way, and was so happy that he quickly ran off to show it off to others.

Lin Xiao was drying medicinal herbs in the yard. The sun was shining brightly today, so he wanted to quickly dry this batch of herbs so he could sell them.

With a creak, the courtyard gate was pushed open. Lin Xiao looked at the person who came in with suspicion and asked warily, "Who are you? What are you doing in my house?"

The man took off his glasses. If the person who had led the way hadn't left, he would have been quite surprised. It turned out that this person looked seven or eight parts like Lin Xiao. The only difference was that he had an air of nobility about him.

"Your name is Lin Xiao, right? I am your father, Lin Hai."

"Are you kidding me? My dad is Lin Shitou."

Lin Hai shook his head and said, "He's not. I'm your father. Don't you have a longevity lock with your name engraved on it?"

Lin Xiao touched the longevity lock around his neck in surprise and asked, "How did you know?"

"Of course I know, I personally had someone carve it for you and then put it on you."

Lin Xiao was completely stunned, as if he had lost his voice or become numb, unable to speak or exert any strength.

Lin Hai continued, explaining that his family was a wealthy family in the city. Lin Xiao's mother died in childbirth, leaving behind the newborn Lin Xiao.

As a new father, Lin Hai had to deal with his wife's funeral arrangements while also taking care of his young son, Lin Xiao.

After losing his beloved wife, he spent his days in a daze, only showing some energy when taking care of Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao's grandmother couldn't bear to see her son working so hard every day, so she arranged for a woman to take care of him, ostensibly to help look after Lin Xiao.

This woman, Jiang Mei, has always been in love with Lin Hai. After his wife died, Lin Hai's mother asked her to take care of him. Isn't this tacitly acknowledging that she is the next matriarch of the Lin family?

At first, Lin Hai was not comfortable with her taking care of Lin Xiao, but he couldn't resist his mother's pleas, and Lin Xiao seemed to really like Jiang Mei, smiling every time he saw her, so he finally agreed to let her stay and take care of him.

He lived peacefully for a few months, until one night, after getting drunk, he mistook Jiang Mei for his wife, and the two had sex.

Jiang Mei's family was a good match for his family, and his family had always tried to bring them together. This idea only stopped after he got married.

As soon as the old lady heard that the two of them were related, she immediately called a meeting with both families and set a wedding date for them.

His wife died, and his heart went with her. He hadn't planned to get married, but since it had already happened, and Lin Xiao had always gotten along well with her, and she was a young woman, he had taken advantage of her. Out of a sense of responsibility, the two of them got married.

A few days after their marriage, he received a call from Jiang Mei while he was at work. It turned out that she had been kidnapped while she was shopping with Lin Xiao in her arms.

He rushed to the scene of the incident and found Jiang Mei crying loudly.

Having lost his wife and then his son, he was heartbroken. He searched everywhere and even reported the case to the police, but he couldn't find Lin Xiao's whereabouts.

So many years have passed, and he had given up hope of finding Lin Xiao. It was by chance that he mentioned that someone else was visiting.

His friend's son looked at him curiously and said he knew a little boy who looked just like him. After pressing him for details, he learned that the boy was about the same age as Lin Xiao, so he rushed over.

“I was hoping for the best, but as soon as I saw your face, I knew for sure that you are my son, Lin Xiao.”

Lin Xiao listened with tears streaming down his face. He wondered why Lin Shitou had been so heartless to him, and it turned out that he wasn't his son at all.

No wonder Grandpa told him to keep this longevity lock safe; it seems Grandpa knew about it too.

Lin Hai looked around at his surroundings, his feelings quite complicated. His son should have grown up like a young master, but by some twist of fate, he had lived in this small village for so many years.

“Lin Xiao, child, you have suffered. Come with your father. I will support your schooling and make up for all the suffering you have endured in the past few years.”

Lin Xiao cried out, "Dad!"

Lin Hai, tears streaming down his face, wiped them away and choked out a sob. The father and son then embraced.

“Let’s leave now. Dad doesn’t want you to stay in this place any longer.”

Lin Xiao shook his head and said, "Dad, wait a moment. I still have some questions I want to ask."

"Okay, wherever you want to go, Dad will go with you."

The two went to Lin Shitou's house. Lin Shitou was coaxing his son while being scolded by Li Cuihua. He was so anxious that he was sweating profusely.

"My dear child, don't cry."

To be continued!