Zhu Yuanzhang, who commanded the wind and rain, lived a long and arduous life.

Zhu Changye's expression was solemn.

Thinking he had miscalculated, he quickly started calculating again with his right fingers.

This time, he calculated extremely carefully.

Fearing that something might be overlooked.

Can…

It was the same result as the first fortune telling.

He kept calculating, and kept calculating.

No matter how you calculate it, the result is just as unbelievable as the first time.

"Fate is, in the end, fate."

"Madam, I...I'll be right there."

Zhu Changye's eyes became unfocused, then filled with joy, and finally returned to their usual calm.

He finally regained his composure and walked outside.

However, he walked a few steps faster than usual, as if he was eager to meet someone.

soon.

Come outside.

Suddenly, one of the disciples from Tianyun Temple, who was leading a group of children, walked over.

"Master, we have brought the first batch of homeless children who need to be adopted."

The disciple from Tianyun Temple spoke.

This morning, the temple assigned them an important task.

In Yingtian Prefecture, I am responsible for finding homeless children who are willing to accept help from Tianyun Temple and bringing them back to Tianyun Temple. The total number is tentatively set at twenty.

After they were brought back, they temporarily stayed at Tianyun Temple because the nearby shelter was still under construction.

But you don't need to stay for too long, as the nearby shelter will be completed within half a month.

Building houses in ancient times was generally slower than in the 21st century.

Even building a house in modern times in half a month is extremely difficult, so how come the shelter next door was able to be completed in half a month?

This is because…

They gave us an extra item from Tianyun Temple.

money!

They paid ten times the market price for building a house, just to finish it within half a month.

Money can make the world go round.

With these conditions, several foremen were approached, but although they were tempted by the pay, half a month was too rushed, and they weren't confident they could complete the task, so they declined.

However, some highly skilled and daring individuals took on the task, guaranteeing completion within half a month.

Therefore, homeless children can stay at Tianyun Temple for half a month before moving into their new home.

now.

Zhu Changye looked at the group of children; there were exactly twenty of them, six girls and fourteen boys.

Zhu Changye patted the Tianyun Temple disciple on the shoulder and said, "Well done," before walking over to one of the children.

"Child, I'm a little bored and I'm thinking of going out for some fresh air. Would you like to come for a walk with me?"

The child Zhu Changye had chosen was a little boy, dressed in rags, his face covered in soot.

He opened his round little eyes and asked, "Why did you only choose me?"

Zhu Changye put his hands behind his back and laughed, "I need a child to go out with me. Among the twenty of you, I have to choose one, and it just so happens that I chose you."

"How about it, would you like to come out for a walk with me?"

The little boy was somewhat shy, or rather, somewhat wary.

After thinking it over carefully, he nodded and said, "Okay, grandpa, I'll go out with you."

After saying that, the little boy told the boy and girl behind him that he was going out.

The three children were together, and the little boy was the eldest. He was afraid that if he left, his two little followers would be left without a leader, so he said some things to reassure them.

After saying this again, the little boy followed Zhu Changye into the distance, his eyes filled with longing from his two little followers, until he was no longer seen.

On the road.

There were many pedestrians.

Zhu Changye, dressed in a clean Taoist robe, walked alongside a ragged little boy, a peculiar combination that attracted many curious glances.

Should I buy you some clothes first?

Zhu Changye probed.

The little boy shook his head: "No need, I can walk further away so they can't tell that you and I are together, grandpa."

The little boy was very clever; he saw through the problem at a glance.

He also had to be smart. He had been an orphan since childhood and had two little followers to support. Children from poor families mature early. He was both a father and a mother to them and already had the mentality of a little adult.

Zhu Changye did not say anything more.

He simply wanted to buy the little boy some clothes, but since the little boy misunderstood, he didn't bother to explain.

Keep walking.

Zhu Changye asked, "Child, what is your surname?"

The little boy paused for a moment, then replied, "Grandpa, my surname is Chen, and my name is Chen Yuntian."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changye trembled violently, and even his forward steps froze.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?"

Chen Yuntian was surprised.

Zhu Changye chuckled: "No, it's nothing, let's keep going."

"You must be hungry. I'll take you to find something to eat."

Chen Yuntian shook his head: "I'm not hungry, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, a "thump" sound rang out, making Chen Yuntian blush with embarrassment.

Zhu Changye laughed and said, "You still say you're not hungry."

"You're still somewhat wary of me. Since you've chosen to accept our Tianyun Temple's help, this kindness will come to you sooner or later, and you'll have to resist it then?"

Chen Yuntian was speechless.

He was used to looking at others with a wary eye, something he had to do because he was at the very bottom of society.

He and his two little followers were all homeless children.

In Yingtian Prefecture, the lives of homeless children were the least valuable. When officials committed crimes and wanted to escape punishment, they would simply grab a homeless child to take their place as a scapegoat.

Those human traffickers always target homeless children first, simply because homeless children have a "clean" identity and no one will know if they die.

The government wouldn't care about homeless children. In fact, some high-ranking officials who were traveling incognito might see these homeless children and feel annoyed and upset, and might even blame them. They would rather the homeless children die.

The entire city of Yingtian, and indeed the world, is filled with malice towards homeless children.

Therefore, Chen Yuntian developed a habit of viewing everyone with suspicion.

"This... I'm really going to trouble you, Grandpa. I'm quite hungry."

Chen Yuntian scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled.

He remained wary of Zhu Changye, but he also realized that since he and his two henchmen had chosen to accept the help from Tianyun Temple, why should they resist their kindness?

If you resisted it, why did you accept the help in the first place?

"Okay, there's a noodle stall over there, let's go there."

Zhu Changye led the way.

Chen Yuntian followed closely.

After the two sat down, Zhu Changye ordered two bowls of oil-splashed noodles.

He remained silent.

When the oil-splashed noodles were served, Chen Yuntian's eyes lit up. He thanked Zhu Changye and began to eat heartily.

He hasn't eaten for about a day!

I ate the noodles almost wolfing them down.

Zhu Changye looked at him and smiled, "It's alright, no rush. If you're not satisfied after you finish eating, there will be more."

Chen Yuntian nodded, then couldn't help but ask, "Grandpa, please tell me directly, what do you want to see me about?"

Although Chen Yuntian was just a child, he had spent so much time at the bottom of society. He hadn't learned any other skills, but he was still very good at reading people.

He could sense that Zhu Changye's gaze towards him was quite unusual.

Very...gentle.

It's like treating a family member.

But how is it possible?

He had never met Zhu Changye before, and his surname was Chen while Zhu Changye's surname was Zhu; they were completely unrelated.

Seeing that he had been exposed, Zhu Changye didn't care, or rather, he never intended to hide it.

Zhu Changye asked with a smile, "Child, who are your ancestors?"

"Ancestors?" Chen Yuntian was confused. After thinking for a moment, he said, "My father is Chen Tian, ​​and my grandfather is Chen Yang, but they are both dead."

"Grandpa said that the Chen family had once been glorious, but due to the looting by the Yuan court, all of their property was looted, and many people died."

"My grandfather only managed to escape back then by sheer luck."

Zhu Changye's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes turned melancholy: "Then... do you know what your great-grandfather's name was?"

"Great-grandfather?" Chen Yang was confused. This was a matter of three generations, and he had never met his great-grandfather before. He had almost forgotten his great-grandfather's name.

The reason he said he was almost forgetting it was because his grandfather had mentioned his great-grandfather to him before.

It's just that it's been so long, he can't remember some of it.

"Great-grandfather... Great-grandfather..."

Chen Yuntian frowned, deep in thought.

Zhu Changye laughed and asked, "Is his name Chen Tianqiu?"

Chen Tianqiu?

Chen Tianqiu!

Chen Yuntian's eyes brightened: "Yes! I remember now, his name is Chen Tianqiu. Grandpa, how did you know? Do you know my great-grandfather?"

Zhu Changye looked at Chen Yuntian, at the contours of his face, as if he were seeing an old friend from the past.

The voice was melancholy.

"Yes, I've seen it, much more than just seen it."

"Back then, I also had a past with your great-grandfather, but that past... wasn't pleasant."

Zhu Changye shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Chen Tianqiu, Chen Tianqiu…

When he was young, he recited this name every day and thought about how to get this person to accept his existence.

Chen Tianqiu, Chen Tianqiu.

That was Madam Chang Le's father, who was also Zhu Chang Ye's father-in-law.

However, from the time his wife married him until the two of them were killed by Yuan soldiers, his father-in-law never acknowledged his existence.

But he remembered, he always remembered.

Sometimes, when the family was in dire need of money and faced immense hardship, the wife would always run back to the Chen family to borrow money, and her father, Chen Tianqiu, would always lend it to her.

They might even give her more, but she would only take what she needed and never take more. And once she earned the money back, she would return it to her.

Zhu Changye remembers clearly that he borrowed the money three times in total.

Even the expenses for the third son, Zhu Xingzu, to study away from home were borrowed from the Chen family, but he eventually paid them back.

The reason why the father and daughter were so separated was because they had broken off all ties.

Moreover, as long as the head of the Chen family does not acknowledge him as his son-in-law, his wife will not bow her head for a single day.

As time went by, the head of the Chen family gradually began to accept his presence, though he didn't say it outright. And seeing that he didn't say it outright, the madam continued to act as before.

Both father and daughter are the same type; they are both very stubborn and neither is willing to back down.

Both women were stubborn, very stubborn.

In the end, the head of the Chen family died because of his stubbornness, and his wife only found out a month later.

Until his death, the head of the Chen family never heard his wife call him "father" again; it had been thirty years since she last did.

And Zhu Changye, even in death, never managed to get his father-in-law to acknowledge him.

These are the regrets of three people, and also of a generation.

Now, decades have passed,

The once powerful Chen family has fallen into decline, leaving only Chen Yuntian, their direct descendant.

Furthermore, Chen Yuntian has fallen so low that he has to beg for food.

This inevitably made Zhu Changye sigh, realizing that time is truly ruthless and unpredictable.

"What, grandpa, you really know my great-grandfather?"