Chapter 24: This lad possesses the makings of a great general.

Yun-ge’er stared wide-eyed at Uncle Li, attempting to discern some trace of guilt on his face for speaking such nonsense. Instead of spotting any guilt, he found that his own squirming made it difficult for Uncle Li to hold him, so the old man simply flipped him over, shifting from a front-facing hold to cradling him from behind.

Yun-ge’er sat on Uncle Li’s lap, struggling and fussing, but despite Uncle Li’s hands appearing thin, dry, and wrinkled, his grip was unexpectedly powerful. No matter how hard Yun-ge’er tried, he could not break free.

Initially, Yun-ge’er hummed and hawed in defiance, but when he looked up, he was startled to see Li Fu gazing at him with an expression that was both incredulous and deeply sorrowful.

What was that look supposed to mean?

While Yun-ge’er was still pondering why Li Fu was sad, the man stepped forward and took him into his arms, speaking with solemn gravity, "Since Yun-ge’er is my child, even if his fate is destined to be fraught with hardship, as long as I draw breath, I will do my utmost to protect him. It will not have been in vain that he came to me to be my son for this lifetime."

It was then that it dawned on Yun-ge’er.

His father’s tone was so tragic, as if he were lamenting someone who was about to die young.

No, not "as if"—this Uncle Li had affirmed that his fortune was mediocre, yet his father had also said he was now excessively clever, which theoretically made such a fate impossible.

There was only one explanation: they both believed he was going to die young!

Yun-ge’er’s small face twisted in protest. *Pah, pah, pah! No such talk for children!* Even if he didn’t live to be a hundred, he at least intended to make it to ninety-nine.

Li Fu, knowing that Yun-ge’er was precocious and likely understood seven or eight parts of their conversation, felt a pang of guilt as he looked at the boy. He didn't want Yun-ge’er to bear the weight of such psychological pressure at such a tender age. If he were truly destined for an early grave, Li Fu only hoped that he would live his short life in happiness.

Fortunately, when he looked down, Yun-ge’er’s expression seemed quite normal, save for the fact that he was glaring indignantly at Uncle Li, seemingly in strong disagreement with his words and ready to argue the point.

Li Fu looked around and quickly handed a small piece of pastry to Yun-ge’er.

Yun-ge’er was usually quite greedy for snacks and pastries; he loved to hold them in his tiny hands and nibble on them with his mere five or six teeth, making soft, rustling sounds. It wasn't that they wouldn't let him eat, but because he was young, he had to limit foods that were difficult to digest. On this point, even Xin-niang, who usually doted on him, was always very careful.

Yun-ge’er took the pastry, feeling a bit annoyed that Li Fu was using food to shut him up, and he didn't forget to grumble internally that he had even broken it in half—only half a piece for him!

Was this reasonable?!

Uncle Li saw the interaction between the father and son and couldn't help but chuckle. Innocent children were always endearing.

Seeing that Yun-ge’er had settled down to eat his pastry slowly, Li Fu simply placed him back into his high chair and handed the other half of the pastry to Yi-ge’er. Yi-ge’er was never neat when eating; he basically played with half of it, leaving food crumbs in a circle all around him.

Li Fu was used to it. He wiped the corner of Yi-ge’er’s mouth and then turned his attention to the older child who was always by Uncle Li’s side, asking, "And who is this?"

When Uncle Li heard Li Fu mention the older boy, a genuine and irrepressible smile appeared on his face.

"Deng Qiang, come and pay your respects to Magistrate Li."

Although Li Fu was a scholar, he had served as a county magistrate for several years and possessed a certain aura of official authority. Ordinary people were usually instinctively nervous when they saw him. This was why, when Li Fu had spent less time with Yi-ge’er initially, the child would wail at the sight of him—he had been frightened.

However, under Uncle Li’s prompting, Deng Qiang stepped forward a few paces, cupped his hands, and bowed to Li Fu. At such a young age, he carried himself with an air of poise, neither humble nor overbearing.

Uncle Li was clearly watching him, nodding with satisfaction at this performance.

"I picked this lad up on the road. His mother had passed away, and his father had taken him out to trade when they ran into ruthless bandits. He was the only one who survived by hiding in a pile of corpses. When I entered Liangzhou this time, I happened to see him scavenging clothes from the bodies. I noticed immediately that the boy’s forehead was broad, with prominent temples reaching toward his hairline. In ancient physiognomy, this is said to be like 'horns entering the border,' signifying someone with boundless energy and a daring spirit, decisive in action yet capable of seizing the right moment. With a little cultivation, he could become a top-tier general. After I saved him, I observed his fortune; it was originally drifting because he had lost both parents. But ever since I took him as my foster son, his fortune has truly flourished. If he can seize the right opportunity to gain experience on the battlefield over the next few years, I fear his destiny will be set."

Uncle Li described Deng Qiang’s experiences in great detail, and anyone could see the pride and satisfaction on his face.

It was clear that Deng Qiang was destined for great military success; even without Uncle Li, he would eventually have been saved by some "Uncle Zhao" or "Uncle Zhang" during his youthful hardships. But it wasn't an Uncle Zhao or Zhang; it was his Uncle Li. Unless Deng Qiang turned out to be an ingrate, he was essentially tied to the Li family for life. For a man like Uncle Li, whose entire existence was dedicated to the Li family, how could he not be proud and happy to have found such a talent to serve them at the end of his days?

Yun-ge’er stopped chewing his pastry and tilted his head, straining to look at the top of Deng Qiang’s head. But after staring for a long time, he saw nothing but air. As for fortune or physiognomy, he truly couldn't see a thing.

Yun-ge’er looked at Yi-ge’er—weren't they saying Yi-ge’er would also be a general? Comparing Deng Qiang to Yi-ge’er, Yun-ge’er still saw nothing. It was absurd.

Uncle Li’s words were so elaborate that Yun-ge’er began to doubt his own reality. But then he thought, fortune-tellers were all very good at talking; their main tactic was to hoodwink you without question. He was a child who had attended university; he wouldn't be fooled.

Yun-ge’er regained his resolve, but just then, he heard Li Fu call for a maid to come in. He seemed to have matters to discuss privately with Uncle Li. It wasn't convenient for Yun-ge’er, Yi-ge’er, or Deng Qiang to listen, so the maid was told to take them out.

As they reached the door, Yun-ge’er waved to greet Deng Qiang. Unexpectedly, Deng Qiang gave him a contemptuous look, ignored him entirely, and went to a corner by the door to squat, presumably waiting for Uncle Li.

Yun-ge’er huffed and pulled his hand back. *Fine, be that way.* Uncle Li praised him to the heavens—he’d better not find out later that his fortune-telling was wrong!

Yun-ge’er called out to Yi-ge’er, who immediately came twisting toward him like a little cannonball, clearly eager to play.

For the next two days, Yun-ge’er didn't see Li Fu. The literacy lessons they had agreed upon were delayed because Li Fu was too busy. Yun-ge’er didn't mind; he hadn't learned any new characters, so he couldn't teach the others either. After thinking it over, he decided to teach them basic addition and subtraction within ten.

Yun-ge’er didn't know why he knew these things; they were just there in his mind. He had already learned that he shouldn't try to think too hard; if he tried too hard, he couldn't remember anything at all. If he didn't overthink it, those strange memories would just surface on their own.

A few more days passed, and suddenly, a massive blizzard hit Long County.

It was a colossal snowfall. Often, by the time Yun-ge’er woke up, the snow in the courtyard was deep enough to bury him completely.

The snow was so heavy that it usually only stopped for a while during the day, only to resume incessantly at night. The old gardener and Auntie Zhang were fretting that all the flowers and plants in the small garden had been crushed. Yun-ge’er was worried about his two pots of chrysanthemums, but fortunately, Xin-niang had moved them under the eaves, and they didn't seem to have frozen to death.

Seeing Yun-ge’er so concerned about the chrysanthemums, Lady Bu held the round, chubby Yi-ge’er and smiled, "Next year, when Yi-ge’er’s uncle comes, I’ll ask him to bring you some even better ones."

Yun-ge’er smiled at Lady Bu and said softly, "Thank you, Second Mother."

Because neither Lady Bu nor Xin-niang were Li Fu’s legally wedded wives, they didn't stand on ceremony with each other, and there were no rigid rules in the household. Yun-ge’er called Lady Bu "Second Mother," and Yi-ge’er called Xin-niang "Second Mother."

Lady Bu rubbed Yun-ge’er’s head and chatted with Xin-niang, though her tone was laced with worry. "My younger brother went out to trade last month. Calculating the time, he must have been caught in these blizzards. I hope nothing happens on the road."

Xin-niang offered a few words of comfort.

Lady Bu remained uneasy. "Auntie Guo went out to purchase supplies two days ago and said that the heavy snow had caused many houses to collapse, leaving many people homeless. Fortunately, the Master recruited refugees to repair houses in Long County immediately, and now everyone is praising the Master for loving the people as his own children. But the two towns and seventeen villages outside Long County are in a dire state. Many have died, and I hear that because Long County is taking in refugees, more and more keep arriving every day, and food prices outside have risen significantly. Auntie Guo says it’s very chaotic out there, and there are many strangers on the streets now. She has to call Auntie Zhang to go with her whenever she buys vegetables."

Liangzhou was remote and naturally very poor. But among the poor, Li Fu had done his best over the years to help the people recover, which was why life in Long County was slightly better than in other places.

But now that even Long County was filled with anxiety, it went without saying what things were like elsewhere. Lady Bu was deeply worried about Bu Zhao; if she had known there would be such heavy snow this year, she would never have let him leave last month.

Yun-ge’er listened in silence, feeling a growing sense of worry.

This couldn't go on. If the entire Liangzhou region suffered such a disaster, it could lead to a wave of refugees. Once a wave of refugees formed, they might be exploited by those with ill intentions and become a group of "bandits," potentially leading to widespread burning and looting. Like a snowball rolling downhill, all of Liangzhou could fall into chaos.

Not to mention the long term, even now, news that Long County was taking in refugees had spread. The refugees wouldn't care if Long County’s population capacity was full; they would only know that they could survive there. If too many gathered, and Li Fu took them all in without refusal, Long County would become a disaster zone itself. If he refused, the refugees might storm the gates.

Yun-ge’er’s brows were furrowed tightly.

His father hadn't been home for days. Yun-ge’er decided he had to catch him and have a good talk. If the nest were overturned, no egg would remain intact. He was a person destined to live to ninety-nine; he couldn't let Uncle Li’s prediction come true and die young. With his mind made up, Yun-ge’er pestered Xin-niang about Li Fu, waiting for three days until Li Fu finally had a day off.

The Liang Kingdom had only two true national holidays: the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Winter Solstice.

That morning, Yun-ge’er was bundled up by Xin-niang in even more red clothing, and the hat on his head was embroidered with red floral patterns.

After changing, Xin-niang fed him a spoonful of malt sugar water and placed a coin under his pillow to ward off bad luck and grant him peace.