Chapter 721 - 372: Mr. Zhou’s Departure

Chapter 721: Chapter 372: Mr. Zhou’s Departure

Zhang Yang smiled. "We must have just missed them. We passed Fuxi Grocery Store but didn’t see Laixi or Sister Mei. We’d been cooped up on the boat for days, and Shi Tou said walking back would be a good way to stretch our legs, so that’s what we did."

He began to ramble joyfully about the long road, the heavy snow, the cold weather, how he must be frozen, and so on. Zhang Dashuan cut her off impatiently. "He’s a grown man, how could he get frozen? Are you going to keep nagging and stop me from talking to my son? If you have time to ramble, you’d be better off getting him something to eat. Even some hot soup for our son to have a sip of would be good."

As if waking from a dream, He hurried toward the kitchen.

Juhua and Huai Zi couldn’t help but laugh. Juhua said, "Mother, I’ve already asked Aunt Liu to prepare something. You should just sit and talk with your younger son. Yangzi, you really put Father and Mother through the wringer. You didn’t even send a definite message. You said you’d be back on the fifteenth, then delayed until the sixteenth, so your brother made a trip for nothing yesterday when he went to pick you up. Mother and Father didn’t sleep a wink last night, worried something might have happened to you. Today, they’ve been watching for you from morning till night. Look, they still have dark circles under their eyes."

Zhang Yang looked ashamed as he explained to Zhang Dashuan and He that some matters had delayed him, causing him to miss his planned return date.

The old couple were overjoyed to see him back and wouldn’t dream of bringing the matter up again. They just kept asking him how he was doing away from home—questions about what he was eating and wearing, whether his studies were tiring, and so on. Zhang Yang answered them in detail. Even though there were parts they only half-understood, they listened with great interest.

After Aunt Liu brought out two dishes and a soup and Zhang Yang had eaten, he saw that his little nephew and niece had just woken up. He rushed over, casually scooped one of them up, and chuckled, "This one is... Banli! Good boy, smiling at your Second Uncle! Your Second Uncle went through a lot of books to pick a good name for you, so you have to use it."

When Juhua saw him pull aside the baby’s little swaddling blanket and peek underneath to confirm it was Banli, her brow twitched, but the rest of the Zhang family burst out laughing.

Hearing his brother had chosen a name for his son, Huai Zi spoke up. "What’s the name?" he asked. "But let’s be clear—if it’s no good, we’re not using it. Your sister-in-law Juhua and I have found quite a few ourselves. We’ll pick the best one."

At fifteen, Zhang Yang had grown much taller. The young man, who usually had a scholarly air about him, was now a bit lively, clearly overjoyed at being reunited with his family after so long.

Hearing his brother’s words, he raised an eyebrow and said, "In the Qian Trigram of *The Book of Changes*, it is said: ’The superior man is active and vigilant all day, and in the evening is still careful and apprehensive. The position is dangerous, but there will be no mistake.’ The character ’Qian’ is perfect! Zhang Qian. ’Active and vigilant all day, he keeps pace with the times; in a high position, he is not proud; in a low position, he is not anxious...’"

Zhang Huai quickly exclaimed, "Alright, stop showing off your learning. The character is good, but it’s too conspicuous. ’Qian’ also represents Heaven, and the sovereign..." When he was a student, his teacher had also given a rough overview of *The Book of Changes*, so he knew this as well.

Zhang Yang said, "That’s not a problem. It has many meanings. Qian represents the sovereign, the father, jade, gold, cold, ice... We’ll just take its meaning of striving and self-improvement."

Zhang Dashuan listened to the brothers’ discussion with his mouth agape for a long time without understanding a word. But he did catch the two words "Zhang Qian," so he offered his opinion, "Let’s go with what his Second Uncle said. Call him Zhang Qian! His Second Uncle is a Scholar, after all. How could a name he came up with be wrong?"

Zhang Dashuan looked at his younger son with adoration. ’Just for that one character, he gave a whole speech. That character must be something special.’ And so, he happily made the final decision: Banli’s formal name would be Zhang Qian!

Huai Zi and Juhua could only watch helplessly as their son’s formal name was claimed by a character plucked from the foremost of the ancient classics.

Seeing Zhang Yang’s eyes drift toward the other baby on the little bed, Juhua quickly called out, "Your brother and I have already picked a name for Cong. You chose a profound name for Banli, hoping he’ll have great achievements in the future. But Cong is a girl. As her Second Uncle, you don’t need to throw the classics at her. A girl’s name should stay far away from those vast, ocean-like scriptures. Don’t get all pedantic and pull out a bunch of obscure words. Simple and natural is best. Why try to be pretentiously elegant?"

Seeing Juhua block him, Yangzi knew he wouldn’t get a say in his niece’s name. He said resentfully, "Sister Juhua, you haven’t even heard what I was going to say. How do you know it won’t be good?"

Juhua said, "I don’t care. I’ve already decided. Cong will be called Zhang Ling’er. The name is simple and ethereal, and it’s pleasant to say. It also fits the delicate, fragrant little scallion she is. You should save your good names for your future nieces."

Zhang Yang gave a dry laugh. "That’s a pretty good name. It fits Sister Juhua’s style. Zhang Ling’er it is, then."