Chapter 121: Nephew And Maternal Uncle
Li Xiao had just returned from Wuya Village and, passing by Hedong Fort around noon.
He decided to rest at Hedong Fort for a while and set off for Hexi Fort in the afternoon.
Luo Ping wanted to prepare well to entertain Li Xiao.
But Li Xiao directly refused.
“Uncle Luo, we’re all family, no need to be so formal.”
“It’s the busy farming season now, and everyone’s workload is tight.”
“We can’t delay the autumn harvest because of us.”
“Everyone should just continue with their work as if we don’t exist.”
“We’re just here to see Big Sister, and we’ll be returning to Hexi Fort later.”
After Li Xiao finished speaking, he chatted and laughed with some other men from Hedong Fort who had arrived.
Then, led by Luo Meng, they returned to Hedong Fort to rest.
“Dalong, you guys wait a moment, I’ll make you something to eat.”
Upon returning home, Li Dafeng started to get busy, but Li Xiao stopped her.
“Big Sister, no need to trouble yourself, we brought our own dry rations.”
“After we eat, we’ll leave soon,” Li Xiao said, shaking his head.
All those who returned with Li Xiao were youths from the four forts.
Excluding the youths from Hedong Fort, there were nearly ninety youths from the other three forts combined.
The women of Hedong Fort were all still busy in the fields, so Li Dafeng alone could not possibly cook for so many people.
Fortunately, everyone had dried meat and grain with them on their horses.
“How can that be? Since you’re here at our home, how can you eat those dry things?” Li Dafeng said unwillingly.
After all, they were her maternal relatives, and she couldn’t be too stingy.
However, Li Xiao smiled slightly and insisted, “Sister, you really don’t need to go to so much trouble, we’re used to eating this.”
“Just heat up some hot water, and don’t worry about anything else,” Li Xiao instructed.
He then looked at Da Hu and Er Hu and said, “You two go help out.”
Li Xiao’s army had two main staples.
One was dried meat, for continuous energy replenishment.
The other was fried noodles, where flour was stir-fried and then packed into bags, to be eaten by mixing with boiling water when needed.
They were simple to make and convenient to carry.
During the Korean War in later generations, fried noodles were the staple food for our army, providing great energy to soldiers in the freezing snow.
Before the war with the Naiman people began, Li Xiao had people stir-fry a large quantity of fried noodles.
Each soldier was given a bag, which proved to be very useful.
Afterward, Li Dafeng, along with Da Hu and Er Hu, heated several large pots of water, finally satisfying the needs of these youths.
Li Xiao also held a bowl filled with fried noodle flour, resembling a bowl of mud, with a few hard pieces of dried meat floating in it.
But Li Xiao ate with great satisfaction.
“I never get tired of eating this.”
Luo Meng, standing beside him, nodded and said, “Eating this reminds me of when we were in Golden Mountain.”
“At that time, all we wanted was a sip of hot water and a bowl of warm fried noodles.”
“Unfortunately~”
He said, shaking his head with a slight smile, as if amused by his own dissatisfaction.
To avoid being discovered by the Naiman people, they dared not light any fires.
They endured those days by eating dry jerky and raw fried noodles.
“Thinking about it now, it really feels like a lifetime ago,” Li Xiao said, shaking his head.
It was from the battle of crossing A Lai Ridge that Li Xiao truly began to shine.
He opened a path to the upper echelons of power in the Northern Frontier.
This battle was very important to Li Xiao.
“When we’re old, we’ll definitely recall that scene and might even miss it,” Luo Meng said with a smile.
Li Xiao chuckled and shook his head, “How old are you?”
“There are many more battles to fight, and more events to remember. Crossing A Lai Ridge might not even be worth mentioning in your eyes,” Li Xiao smiled.
As they talked about past battles, they quickly finished their bowls of fried noodles.
At this moment, Luo Meng suddenly said, “By the way, Dalong.”
“Dafeng’s baby is due in a few months.”
“Could you help us pick a name when the time comes?”
Li Xiao was stunned for a moment upon hearing this and turned to look at the inner room.
After Li Dafeng finished heating the water, Li Xiao had sent her away to attend to her own matters.
She was currently in the inner room, busy with something, and only the sound of creaking could be heard.
So, Li Xiao said to Luo Meng, “Big Sister still has at least five months before giving birth, what’s the hurry now?”
“Besides, the child’s name should be chosen by you, the father.”
Luo Meng stood up, placed his rice bowl aside, shook his head, and said without reservation, “There’s a saying, ‘The Thunder God in heaven, the maternal uncle on earth.'”
“You are the child’s maternal uncle, and besides me, you have the most authority over the child.”
“It’s fine if you choose the name.”
“Moreover, I’m not as cultured as you,” Luo Meng chuckled.
Li Xiao’s name was chosen by himself, and it had already replaced the name Li Dalong, becoming Li Xiao’s official name.
Luo Meng also wanted Li Xiao to help choose a name like his.
Of course, there was another most important reason.
Li Xiao was now the Deputy Governor of Jin Prefecture, and he might become even more powerful in the future.
Having Li Xiao choose the name would bring significant benefits to his son in the future.
“Yes, Dalong, if you have time, please help us think of one.”
Li Dafeng, who had been listening to their conversation from the inner room, couldn’t help but chime in.
“Your brother-in-law and the others are uncultured people, how could they name a child? It would be something like Gou Sheng or Niu Dan.”
“The name you chose for yourself is quite nice.”
What mother wouldn’t want her son to have a good name?
At least, they shouldn’t be named Gou Sheng or Yangfengdan.
Because these two names were Luo Meng and Luo Ping’s childhood names.
Later, they specifically hired someone to change Luo Meng and Luo Ping’s names.
“This… uh, hehe~”
Li Xiao shook his head and smiled.
He had merely changed his name to Li Xiao, and it had already made him appear cultured in the eyes of others.
However, choosing a name wasn’t a big deal.
Li Xiao thought for a moment and then said, “If it’s a boy, let’s call him Luo Wenzhong.”
“He’ll be cultured, refined, loyal, upright, and a great talent.”
Upon hearing Li Xiao’s words, Luo Meng pondered them carefully, and his eyes immediately lit up.
“Good~”
He clapped his hands together forcefully and shouted, “If it’s a son, let him be named Luo Wenzhong.”
Although he didn’t fully grasp the meaning, hearing Li Xiao speak so elegantly and profoundly, he knew this name was extraordinary.
It had more depth and meaning than names like Luo Meng or Luo Ping.
Li Dafeng from the inner room also nodded quickly, a smile on her face.
She kept saying, “This name is good, this name is great.”
Finally, they could avoid names like Gou Dan.
“If you have other sons in the future, you can continue this pattern of naming.”
“Luo Wenyi, Luo Wenxin, Luo Wenyong,” Li Xiao said with a soft smile.
These would be his nephews, and the most steadfast supporters of his hegemony, so Li Xiao would certainly put great effort into them.
Furthermore, he discovered another issue.
The cultural literacy of the young people from Jin Prefecture, like Luo Meng and Er Hu, was truly lacking.
Many of them couldn’t even recognize characters, let alone write their own names.
This caused Li Xiao deep concern.
He planned to open a literacy class in Hexi Fort after some time.
The Four Books and Five Classics were useless, merely shackles that confined thought.
Li Xiao himself hadn’t read them, so he would certainly not teach them.
Li Xiao’s first-stage goal was simply to enable these young people to read and write.
At the very least, they should be able to read and write, so that in future battles, if Li Xiao wrote a military order, they wouldn’t be illiterate and need someone else to read it for them.
That would be too dangerous.
“Good, good, this is excellent, hehehe, now I have a name for my son,” Luo Meng said with a chuckle, hearing Li Xiao even pick a name for his future son.
After finishing the fried noodles in his bowl, Li Xiao slowly stood up and walked towards the inner room.
The layout of Luo Meng’s house was similar to Li Xiao’s.
There were five main rooms, and Li Xiao and the others had eaten in the central guest room.
Li Dafeng had been busy in the east wing, and the constant creaking sound made Li Xiao very curious about what she was doing.
However, when he entered the inner room, he was taken aback.
“Is she… spinning yarn?” Li Xiao exclaimed in surprise.
At this moment, Li Dafeng was sitting on a small stool, and in front of her was a spinning wheel of that era.
It was very primitive, mainly consisting of three parts: a frame, a spindle wheel, and a spindle.
By manually turning the crank, the spindle wheel rotated, which in turn drove the smaller diameter spindle. Using acceleration, the wool was gathered and twisted, eventually becoming finished yarn.
The subsequent processing of yarn was called weaving.
However, what Li Dafeng was doing was purely the process of spinning yarn.
“Big Sister, when did you learn to spin yarn?”
Li Xiao looked at the spinning wheel before him and asked with slight confusion.
In his memory, Li Dafeng was capable of doing chores like washing clothes, cooking, mending clothes, and herding sheep and horses.
But she definitely hadn’t known how to spin yarn before.
After all, Qin Dani and the old lady didn’t know how to do this.
Where did Li Dafeng learn this?
Hearing Li Xiao’s question, Li Dafeng said with surprise, “Oh, you, a grown man, actually recognize this as a spinning wheel?”
Li Xiao chuckled, “How could I not recognize it? Although we don’t have them in Hexi Fort, I’ve seen them elsewhere.”
Li Dafeng nodded slightly and explained, “Is it strange to know how to spin yarn? I only learned recently.”
“After having the child, my parents didn’t let me do any chores, so I was bored at home and asked neighbor Aunt Huang to teach me how to spin yarn. It can also earn some money,” Li Dafeng explained, picking up a handful of wool from the ground and slowly twisting it into the spindle wheel, which, through the rotation of the wheel, turned it into a long, thin thread.
Watching this scene, Li Xiao suddenly slapped his forehead.
“I was so foolish.”
“Although Jin Prefecture doesn’t have cotton, it has plenty of wool.”
“We don’t need to rely entirely on the Great Desert for raw materials.”
“Ah, a mental block!”
“Ah, a thinking trap!”
