Chapter 2: The Origin of Lou Miao Miao

  "Master Dao said that the five elements of my son are lacking in water, so when you name him, put a water character in it, and make up for what's missing!" Because I need to register my household soon, my mother also put this matter on the agenda. Of course, this requirement seems to be somewhat difficult for my father.

  In that era, being able to read at a second-grade level or above was considered half of being an intellectual. If one could manage to graduate from high school, it would be a remarkable achievement. In the countryside, such a person's status would be comparable to that of a scholar-official in ancient times, and might even surpass that of students from top universities like Peking University or Tsinghua University today. Unfortunately, my father's level of education was almost zero. Why "almost"? Because he had attended literacy classes at his workplace and could now write his own name and home address. However, that was about it. Asking him to come up with a name that sounded good and included a water radical would be quite a challenge!

  "What about 'Lou Shui'? 'Lou Da Shui'? 'Lou Da Hai'? 'Lou Chang Jiang'?" At that moment, Old Dad came up with four names he thought were pretty good and let Old Mom choose one that was pleasing to the eye and ear. As for himself, he was more inclined towards "Lou Da Hai". The name "Da Hai" sounded majestic after all. Of course, second best would be "Chang Jiang", since our house is right next to the Yangtze River anyway.

  "Get out! ~" The old mother said a word to the complacent old father with great momentum.

  "Four of you are not satisfied? Don't they all have the word 'water' in them? The boy's name, just pick one casually. You see, I'm called Lou Jindragon, my second brother is called Lou Jinbiao, third brother is called Lou Jintiger..." Before old dad could finish speaking, old mom raised her hand and stopped him.

  "The names of your brothers are indeed impressive, but unfortunately, none of them have achieved anything remarkable. I don't want my son to end up like them, relying on others for a living. So, this name cannot be taken lightly." The old mother paused here and saw the old father hanging his head in shame, listening to her lecture. Only then did she nod in satisfaction and continue speaking.

  "The old generation says that naming is a matter of great importance. If you give your child a name that's too domineering, heaven will think you're living a life above others and will bestow the blessings on someone else instead. This name should have a connection to water but can't be too flashy. Anyway, I'm leaving this matter to you to handle. Let me tell you, after Sunday, when the police station is open for business, I'll take my son to register his household. Don't think you can fool me and delay my son's registration; you'll have to answer to me if that happens!" The old mother scolded her husband, who was somewhat cowed by her words. The old father had few good qualities, but besides having a strong physique and being diligent at work, he also had one other redeeming quality: he was afraid of his wife.

  "If you really can't think of anything, go ask Daozhang! You're eating our food and drinking our wine. The other day, he even used our fabric ration to make himself a new set of clothes. Can't he at least try to come up with some ideas?!" Mom probably saw that Dad was at his wit's end, so she finally came up with an idea and showed him the way.

  "Yes! That cow nose has been living in our house for quite a few days, doing nothing but idling around every day. It's time for him to put out some effort and help our son come up with a name." Old Dad skillfully shifted the heavy responsibility of naming onto my master's shoulders.

  Got it, and Dad can also bask in the glory. After all, he was the one who went to find my master's idea. In case of dissatisfaction again, Mom won't scold him, she will definitely go to Cow Nose to settle accounts. This is what Dad really thought in his heart back then, he didn't say it, but that doesn't mean I don't understand. To put it in a popular phrase nowadays, it's "Die together, not die poor!"

  He made up his mind, and Dad went to the supply and marketing association on the street to exchange two bottles of white wine without even a brand logo. Then he bought some dried tofu and peanuts, and brought them back together. Under the guise of inviting Daozhang to drink wine in the evening, he actually wanted to get my master drunk before opening his mouth to ask for help. Although Dad's culture is not high, but this face, it's thin and transparent. Asking people for things, he usually won't do that. Whatever happens, he's used to solving it quietly by himself.

  If it weren't for this time, my mother urged me tightly, I think he would not have gone to ask someone to help his son name him. And I, guessing that in the future it's either the ocean or the Yangtze River.

  "Little brother, how did you manage to buy wine today? And there's also five-spice dried tofu and peanuts. Don't just eat with me, go call your wife and my apprentice too!" The old man downed the small cup of liquor in front of him, reached out to grab a few fried peanuts and threw them into his mouth.

  It's no wonder that my master thought it was strange. At that time, who would dare to use grain coupons to buy wine to drink unless it was the Chinese New Year or a happy event at home? Moreover, even these five-spice dried tofu and fried peanuts were not commonly seen in ordinary people's homes on a daily basis. Who would dare to waste their limited oil on such things? What most people ate more of were boiled pumpkin, boiled cabbage, boiled sweet potatoes, and the like. As for boiled meat slices or boiled fish, they belonged to the category of being out of reach.

  "There's nothing much, just want to have a couple of drinks with you, Daozhang. On the way back, I brought some buns for them, and they should be done eating by now. Don't mind them, let's drink our own." Old Dad poured a small wine cup full in front of Lao Dao, enduring his heartache as he spoke.

  "Hey, little brother, you're a straightforward person. You've got something on your mind, don't you? Even when drinking, you look so worried and unhappy. Just say it straight out." The old Daoist was indeed an old hand at dealing with people from the jianghu world. One glance at Old Master's deeply troubled face told him that he had something weighing on his mind. He pushed the wine cup forward and asked what was wrong.

  "This is nothing, nothing. Let's just drink!" The old man hesitated for a while and finally didn't have the nerve to ask Lao Dao to help me come up with a name. All his life, he had believed in "A person who doesn't ask others is generally superior!" Now if he were to ask Lao Dao, he felt that from then on, he would be inferior to this Taoist priest by half a head.

  "My disciple, it's time to register the household account, right? To register the household account, you need a big name, don't you?" The old Taoist raised an eyebrow and picked up the wine glass in front of him, taking a sip before asking. He picked up his chopsticks and took a few bites of the dried tofu, chewing while asking the old master. Although the master had no children, it didn't mean he wasn't worldly-wise. Seeing that I was almost two months old, he estimated that it was also time to register the household account.

  "What a godly person!" Father's face turned red as he forced out this sentence. This sentence was still something he had heard from the iron horn hanging on the electric pole at the door. At that time, there weren't as many programs to watch as there are now, and after dinner, people would bring their families to the alley to listen to the storytelling from the iron horn to pass the time. As they came and went, Father learned this sentence. It wasn't that people particularly liked listening to storytelling; fundamentally, it was because at that time, households didn't have televisions yet.

  "Hey! I got a great name for my disciple many days ago. You take it and discuss with your wife, see if you like it." The old Taoist stretched out his hand that had just grasped the fried peanuts, rummaged around in his bosom for half a day, and finally pulled out a palm-sized piece of paper to hand over to Old Dad.

  "What's 'People's Daily'?" Lao Die looked at the four big characters on top and asked Lao Dao. He didn't understand, could it be that his son would be called Lou People from now on? Or Lou Daily? These two names had nothing to do with water.

  "Ah! Look at the back!" The old Dao's face turned slightly red as he said to Lao Die. This newspaper was something he had swiped from the "People's Home" at the entrance of the alley. Half of it had been used to wipe his butt, and half of it had my name written on it.

  Of course, he would never dare to reveal the fact that he used People's Daily to wipe his butt. At that time, People's Daily was considered very sacred in people's minds. Moreover, counter-revolutionary crimes still existed at that time. If people knew that he dared to use People's Daily to wipe his butt, even if you were a real god descending from heaven, the vast laboring masses would overthrow you and trample on you with one foot, making it impossible for you to turn over forever.

  What's more, if Old Man knew that he was using the leftover half of a toilet paper to write my name. I reckon it wouldn't be the turn of the broad masses of laboring people to take action, Old Man would have him hanged under his own fist.

  "What's the building?" The three vermilion characters in front of him, except for the word "building", Old Dad didn't recognize the other two. He swallowed his saliva and asked somewhat awkwardly.

  "Hao means vast and powerful water. My disciple is lacking in the element of water, so I've taken it upon myself to name him HaoHao. Now, that's what I call a mighty wave!" The old man said with great satisfaction, twirling his mustache as he waited silently for my father's praise.

  "What's with the 'Miao Miao'?" The old man really didn't understand why the powerful water flow was related to "Miao Miao". However, although he truly didn't know why the old Daoist would choose such a strange name for me, in his heart, he still thought it sounded very impressive!

  After drinking, Father came to Mother's face with a half newspaper and handed it over. Compared to Father, Mother was a person who had read elementary school for three years. For the two words "Meng Meng", she naturally understood their meaning. At that time, she nodded and agreed on this name. From then on, the three words "Lou Mengmeng" became my lifelong name. Of course, there were also female classmates who called me "Lou Miāomiāo".

  Many years later, I asked my mother how she agreed to let the master take me as an apprentice. Wasn't she afraid that I would be kidnapped? My mother gave a clever response: "Have you ever seen human traffickers use a jade pendant worth over 10,000 yuan?" I finally understood that it was the jade pendant given by the master that made my mother agree to this matter. At the same time, I admired my mother for resisting the temptation of money and not taking the jade pendant from my neck to exchange for cash. After all, in those years, the value of 10,000 yuan far exceeded the value of tens or even hundreds of thousands of yuan later on! As for how my mother knew the value of this jade pendant, well, fish have their own paths and shrimp have their own paths!

  If someone had 10,000 yuan in their hands at that time, they would have been unmatched in people's minds. A ten-thousand-yuan household was the standard for measuring a person's success back then. Fortunately, my mother didn't fall into the trap of money, if she really sold that jade pendant, I would have lost a treasure that could save my life. In the end, everyone wouldn't be able to see this book either. Because it's very likely that I've been dead for many years.