Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Liu Guangfu's grades were barely above the passing mark, let alone for a vocational school or even the most ordinary high school.

Liu Haizhong stood in the center of the room, his chest heaving violently, his old face turning a deep purplish-red.

He stared intently at his youngest son, his eyes blazing with fury that could practically set the roof on fire.

"Useless! How could I have given birth to such a useless child!"

Liu Haizhong was so angry that he trembled all over. He suddenly unbuckled his belt and lashed it hard across Liu Guangfu's back.

"Snapped!"

The crisp sound, accompanied by Liu Guangfu's pig-like screams, echoed throughout the entire courtyard.

The traditional program of the Liu family has begun again.

"Dad! Stop hitting me! It hurts!"

"I'll beat you to death, you worthless wretch! You've completely disgraced me!"

Liu Haizhong looked like a madman, wielding a leather belt that lashed out repeatedly, causing Liu Guangfu to run wildly around the yard, crying and screaming for his parents.

He only stopped, panting, after the belt had broken off—of course, many times he would just slam it against the wall or hit it on the ground, because Liu Guangfu was running around everywhere.

When Lao Liu is furious, staying still is tantamount to courting death; the strength of a blacksmith is not something an ordinary person can withstand.

From this perspective, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu can be considered to have extraordinary talents.

"Dad! Stop hitting him! You'll hurt Guangfu if you keep hitting him!"

Hearing the commotion, Liu Guangqi quickly ran out of the west wing and hugged his furious father.

"It's no use hitting him now! You can't change anything no matter how angry you are!" Liu Guangqi advised. "Otherwise, let Guangfu learn something else, learn a skill to support himself, so he won't go hungry in the future."

Learn a trade?

His eyes lit up in his bangs.

He suddenly thought of Zhang Dabiao in the east courtyard.

That's right! Didn't Zhang Dabiao become a cadre in some department and gain both fame and fortune by drawing comic books and doing industrial product design?

That's a great idea!

That evening, Liu Haizhong, who had been violent during the day, smiled and carried two bottles of his treasured Moutai liquor as he knocked on Zhang Dabiao's door.

After hearing Liu Haizhong's purpose, Zhang Dabiao looked at his fawning face and found it amusing, but shook his head directly.

"Master Liu, it's not that I'm being presumptuous or trying to disrespect you," Zhang Dabiao said while pouring tea for Liu Haizhong. "Look at me, every day I'm either teaching at school, attending meetings at the ministry, procuring things, and figuring out new product designs. Where would I find the time to teach my child to draw?"

"Besides," Zhang Dabiao glanced at Liu Guangfu, who was hiding behind Liu Haizhong with a timid look on his face, "Guangfu is almost sixteen. If he starts learning to draw from scratch now, what kind of reputation can he possibly have? Drawing is something that you have to practice from a young age, and it also depends on talent."

"In my opinion, you should let him focus on high school. After finishing high school, he can go to university, which is a good way out."

Zhang Dabiao's words were polite, but his refusal was quite clear.

His face, framed by bangs, instantly turned green.

He didn't expect Zhang Dabiao to refuse so decisively, without giving him any face at all.

But looking at Zhang Dabiao's young yet undeniable face, he dared not lash out.

Zhang Dabiao is someone he can't afford to offend these days.

"Well... okay then, sorry to bother you."

Liu Hai forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, picked up the two bottles of Moutai he hadn't given away, and slunk away.

As soon as he got home, the anger in his heart suddenly flared up again.

He dared not vent the anger he suffered at Zhang Dabiao's hands, so he could only take it out on the unfortunate Liu Guangfu.

And so, Liu Guangfu’s agonizing screams echoed once again in the Intermediate Court.

Liu Guangtian, the second son of the Liu family, had long anticipated this turn of events.

He hasn't gone home at all these past few days, hiding in the factory dormitory under the guise of "working overtime," thus successfully escaping a disaster.

------------

Before the controversy surrounding Liu Guangfu's failure to pass the exam had subsided, the Liu family was greeted with another joyous occasion.

On August 12th, Liu Guangqi accompanied his wife, You Hongjuan, to the hospital for a prenatal checkup.

Ultrasound equipment in those days was very rudimentary, and the images were too blurry to clearly determine the sex. However, the experienced doctor still managed to deduce it from some clues and then quietly hinted to Liu Guangqi, "It looks like it's a small teapot."

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangqi was overjoyed.

As soon as he got home, he immediately told Liu Haizhong the good news.

The gloom that had gripped Liu Haizhong a few days ago vanished instantly, and he was overjoyed. He slammed his fist on the table and shouted that he wanted to hold a grand banquet and announce it to the entire hospital.

"Dad! Please don't!" Liu Guangqi was startled and desperately stopped him. "The baby hasn't been born yet! What if... what if it's not allowed? We'll have a feast and celebrate after the baby is safely delivered!"

"Besides," Liu Guangqi lowered his voice, glancing meaningfully in the direction of the Jia family, "you're making such a big fuss, you have to be careful. Some people can't stand to see us doing well, and if they try to sabotage us behind our backs and give my wife a hard time, the consequences would be unimaginable!"

Liu Haizhong followed his son's gaze and instantly understood.

He thought of the time when Lou Xiao'e was pushed down by a stick and went into premature labor, and he couldn't help but shudder.

"Yes, yes, you're right, safety first, safety first." Liu Haizhong pouted and fell silent.

Qin Huairu and Banggeng vaguely heard the commotion outside, but they were like rats in the yard, not daring to utter a sound, and could only lower their heads and pretend they hadn't heard anything.

The storm has passed, but new worries have arisen in Liu Hai's heart.

Zhang Dabiao named his grandson "Liu Dehua".

As a grandfather, he always felt a lack of participation and felt uneasy.

So, once again, he shamelessly approached Zhang Dabiao in private.

"Da Biao, look... my eldest grandson, is he still called Andy Lau? Could we perhaps change that name?"

Zhang Dabiao was watering the vegetable garden in the yard at the time. Without even looking up, he casually said, "If you don't like that, you can call me Liu Xuande. It sounds more grand."

Liu Bei?

Liu Haizhong's eyes lit up when he heard that.

That's a great name! It sounds like someone with a lot of knowledge!

He was overjoyed, forgetting even to say thank you. He turned and ran into the yard, shouting at the top of his lungs, "My grandson has a great name! He's called Liu Xuande!"

The people in the courtyard were completely confused, not knowing what was wrong with him.

Finally, it was Uncle Yan Bugui, the third uncle, who couldn't stand it anymore and came over to advise him: "Second Uncle, are you trying to make your grandson discuss heroes with the Prime Minister over wine in the future?"

Liu Haizhong: "What do you mean?"

Yan Bugui then slowly explained, "It's Liu Bei, the Imperial Uncle!"

Liu Haizhong looked completely bewildered: "What do you mean, 'lewd material'? Old Yan, what are you talking about? Why would you keep that stuff? Aren't you afraid someone will report you?"

Yan Bugui stood there stunned for a long time, then let out a heavy sigh: "Why the hell am I going to explain this to an idiot like you?"

Then he turned around and left.

Liu Guangqi looked exasperated and quickly pulled his bangs back: "Dad, it's from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Zhuge Liang's lord is Liu Bei. He is the imperial uncle of the Han Dynasty, the emperor's uncle, also known as Liu Xuande."

Liu Haizhong then realized what had happened, his face turning bright red.

"Old Yan, you should have said so earlier! If you had mentioned Zhuge Liang, I would have known! He's very famous!"

"You should have said so earlier!"

Why didn't you say so sooner!

That bastard Zhang Dabiao! He messed with me!