Chapter 99: While Life Endures, the Battle Never Ceases

Si Zhan had returned to the research institute before his body had fully recovered, making it impossible for him to come and see them off.

When Qi Min spoke of this, her face was filled with helplessness, and she repeatedly apologized to Xu Lin and the other two.

Si Zhan was purely a research-minded man, entirely ignorant of the ways of the world, and it had simply never crossed his mind to see his aunt off.

Grandma Zheng, however, did not mind in the slightest. Instead, she felt quite proud. The sooner Si Zhan succeeded in his research, the sooner the country would benefit.

Compared to that, what did a simple send-off matter?

Sitting beside Xu Lin, Si Han said in a low voice, "If you ever need help while you're in the countryside, be sure to write to me or call. No matter how difficult it is, I will do everything in my power to help."

"Oh, thanks," Xu Lin replied casually. Qi Min watched their interaction secretly, feeling quite pleased.

However, thinking of Xu Lin's abilities, she felt her son might not be worthy of her.

Alas, it was quite a headache.

Si Han scratched his head, wanting to say more but not knowing what to talk about, breaking into a sweat from anxiety.

Looking at this shy young man, Xu Lin, who possessed the soul of an ancient being, had no intention of teasing him.

He was clearly a naive boy; what if she enticed him and couldn't shake him off?

Xu Lin did not want to bring trouble upon herself, so she immediately shifted the topic.

"Aunt Qi, I think Uncle Si's circumstances might make it hard for him to nourish his body properly. I have some Nourishing Pills. Would you like some?"

"Nourishing Pills? Are they for conditioning the body?" Qi Min's eyes lit up, remembering what Aunt Zheng had mentioned earlier.

Her aunt's rapid recovery was partly due to these Nourishing Pills. She had not expected her own husband could benefit from them too.

That would be wonderful. It would save time, effort, and worry, and most importantly, it was perfect for someone like Old Si, who never ate on time and locked himself in the laboratory all day.

Xu Lin nodded. "I prepared these for myself, so there aren't many—just about a half-month's supply. Let Uncle Si try them first. If you think they work well, I can mail you some more later."

"Yes, yes, that would be wonderful!"

Qi Min agreed without hesitation, thanking Xu Lin repeatedly, filled with immense gratitude.

Si Han also thanked her quietly from the side, with heartfelt gratitude. He knew very well that if not for Xu Lin, his father would never have woken up.

If his father had not woken up, those black sheep would not have been exposed and ousted. And if they had not been removed, there was no telling how much harm they would have done to the country in the future.

The Nourishing Pills Xu Lin made were exceptionally effective and by all rights should have been very expensive. However, out of respect for Si Zhan's character and his spirit of self-sacrifice, she only charged them the cost of the ingredients.

Si Zhan had spent years bedridden, costing no small amount in medical fees, so Qi Min had a fair understanding of medicine prices.

As soon as she heard the price, she knew Xu Lin was doing them a massive favor. Moved to tears, she grasped Xu Lin's hand.

She held Xu Lin's hand and said, "I appreciate your kindness, dear, but I cannot be so thick-skinned as to take advantage of you."

Qi Min could not guess the exact value of the medicine, but she knew for sure that Xu Lin was not making any profit.

Whether she was losing money on it was also hard to say.

After much consideration, Qi Min said, "I will pay triple the price. Don't refuse me. I know even this price is incredibly low. I believe that even if the price of such excellent medicine were multiplied by ten, people would still clamor to buy it, and most wouldn't even have the chance. In truth, I am still the one getting the better end of the deal."

Qi Min glanced at her eldest son, wishing she could offer him up to repay the debt of gratitude, but fearing Xu Lin would look down on him, she could only say, "Our Si family owes you a great debt of gratitude for this. If you ever need anything in the future, just let us know, and the Si family will spare no effort to help you."

This promise carried far more weight than Si Han's individual promise; it pledged the strength of the entire Si family.

Understanding this, Xu Lin stopped refusing.

Keeping a debt of gratitude forever would only make them feel uneasy; it was better to give them a chance to repay it in the future.

Watching their back-and-forth conversation, Grandma Zheng nodded in approval. She was very pleased with Qi Min's conduct.

She did not take endless advantage of Xu Lin's kindness and knew how to show gratitude. Such people were comfortable to associate with.

Even if one suffered a small loss for them, one would still feel at ease.

Unlike those ungrateful wolves who, no matter how much you sacrificed for them, would secretly harbor resentment and play underhanded tricks if they were not fully satisfied.

At ten o'clock in the evening, Qi Min and Si Han saw Xu Lin and the other two onto the train. Only after making sure they were settled did they reluctantly get off.

Watching the train pull away, Qi Min wiped her tears and said, "Your socially inept father is just lucky to have such a good-tempered aunt who understands him. In any other family, they would have been thoroughly disappointed. In the future, you must show great filial piety to your grand-aunt. Without her, your father..."

Qi Min wanted to say "your father might never have woken up," but feeling it was bad luck, she held her tongue.

Supporting Qi Min, Si Han nodded repeatedly and comforted her, "Grand-aunt knows that Father has a quiet nature, is honest and reserved, and is entirely devoted to his research. She won't blame him; she only feels sympathy for him."

Qi Min nodded. That was true, but the elderly woman had pushed through the recovery of her recent surgery just to visit her husband, and yet!

Thinking about how her husband had not rested for even a single day before diving into the research institute and refusing to come out, she, as a bystander, felt rather uncomfortable.

"When your grandmother named your father 'Zhan' back then, she wanted him to take up a gun and charge onto the battlefield. Who could have thought... sigh."

Qi Min shook her head. Who could have known her husband was a scholar through and through, completely incapable of charging into battle?

He had failed to fulfill his mother's dying wish.

"Mother, I want to join the army," Si Han said softly.

"You?" Qi Min looked at her eldest son. If not for her husband's accident, her eldest son would have enlisted two years ago.

Alas, it was they, as parents, who had held the child back.

"Mother, now that Father has woken up and my younger siblings are older and can take care of themselves, I..."

Si Han's eyes were resolute. "I want to fulfill Grandmother's wish to defend our country. I want to shed my blood for our motherland, fighting as long as I draw breath."

Looking at her eldest son, who stood a head taller than her, Qi Min's eyes welled with tears. She knew he had kept training diligently, never once giving up on his dream.

In that case, she would grant his wish. Let her eldest son inherit his grandmother's dream.

Qi Min took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Go ahead and sign up during this recruitment drive. Later, go to your grandmother's house to bring your younger brother and sister back. Spend some good time together to bond. I don't want you to leave for years only for the sibling bond to grow cold."

"Yes, I understand," Si Han nodded firmly, his gaze resolute.

Unaware of the mother and son's conversation on the platform, Xu Lin was sitting on the lower bunk, chatting with Grandma Zheng.

Yu Tong had not slept well over the past couple of days and was now resting on the opposite lower bunk.

Seeing that Yu Tong was sleepy, Xu Lin helped Grandma Zheng lie down comfortably before climbing up to the middle bunk to rest.

Amidst the rhythmic clacking of the train, Xu Lin soon drifted off to sleep. In the middle of the night, she was startled awake by a rustling sound.