From then on, Lian Hua's third brother was named Lian Bao, and perhaps influenced by the name, he had been delicate from a young age, somewhat willful, sensitive and thoughtful, with a nuanced mind, and clever to the point of being almost otherworldly.
Year after year, year after year!
Another three years passed, and Lian Hua's father had almost given up hope, lamenting that his wife just couldn't conceive again—seeing the three boys every day made his meals tasteless, his sleep restless, dreaming only of having a daughter.
Just when Lian Hua's father thought he wasn't fated to have a daughter and was about to give up, Lian Hua's mother became pregnant once more.
This time, Lian Hua's father remembered a neighbor's comment during his third son's birth, suggesting that naming a child too early might scare away a daughter.
Heeding the lesson, he restrained himself from naming the child and kept the news quiet.