Siheyuan: I am a big capitalist after the founding of the People's Republic of China

Old man: "Anything else you want to ask?"

Then someone raised his hand again. The old man said, "Skinny monkey, what's your problem?"

Skinny Monkey: "Chief, I want to ask what is the matter with planting fruit trees in the back mountain."

The old man said, "Planting fruit trees, as I said before. The government will provide the land, the clan will provide the money, and I will invest in it. The village will provide the manpower, and if there is not enough manpower, we will hire outsiders. I will also find experts to guide you on how to plant."

"If someone wants to invest in the farm, just like I mentioned earlier, they can go to the elders to sign up. If you want to invest in an orchard, there will definitely be no income in the first few years after the fruit trees are planted, but the workers' wages still need to be paid. So you should think about it carefully."

"As for the orchard, when the fruits are produced, how will they be sold? First, the canning factory will buy them first, and then they will sell them on the market. Finally, we will consider building a juice factory in the future. I won't talk about the juice factory in the future."

"Are there any more questions? If not, then the next one."

"Chief, please tell me more about school."

Now everyone else started talking and asking about school.

Old man: "Be quiet. I will tell you about this school."

"For building a school, it's the same old process. The government will provide the land, the tribe will provide part of the money, and I will provide the rest. You can also contribute money or labor. The government will also find teachers. If the government has difficulties, I will find a way then."

"The more money we have, the better schools we can build. The higher the salaries we can pay teachers. With high salaries, we can naturally hire better-educated teachers to teach students."

"I am planning to build an integrated primary and secondary school. After we have discussed it, we will let the village come forward to negotiate with the government, and then combine with several neighboring villages. The teacher and student resources will be completely solved. Of course, as long as the children are from the tribe, there will be no charge for tuition, textbooks, and meals. Other villages will charge whatever they should.

"The teacher's salary and textbooks are also paid for by the clan."

"If you have any questions, please raise your hands and speak up. After we have discussed these matters, the village will formally come forward to negotiate with the government after the New Year. Once the negotiation is completed, the matter will be settled. If you cause trouble again at that time, you will be punished according to the clan rules."

Dozens of people discussed in the conference room for an entire afternoon and finally came to an agreement.

After leaving the meeting room, everyone went to the ancestral hall and burned incense to their ancestors and clan elders before leaving.

Li Zihang stood in the conference room for an entire afternoon, and listened for an entire afternoon. He was not tired, but he was not relaxed either. When he returned to his home in the village, his grandmother, who had anticipated what was going to happen, massaged his calves while he sat on the bed.

Grandma: "Grandson, you must be exhausted after standing here for the whole afternoon. You have to bear this hardship alone. No one else has the right to do it. When you grow up, you will have a seat in the ancestral hall."

Li Zihang: "Grandma! I'm fine. I just stood there all afternoon. By the way, I heard them always say during meetings that the clan would pay for it. Is the clan so rich?"

Grandma: "Do you know where the money of the clan comes from?"

Li Zihang shook his head.

Grandma: "When the Li family's ancestor was the chief steward of the master's family, he opened a shop for the master's family, and did business. He brought out some of the brothers from the ancestral family who were doing poorly and down and out. Later, those ancestors became rich and didn't want to live under someone else's roof. So they encouraged your ancestor to set up a new family."

"But your ancestor knew in his heart that it was nice to be under the big tree to enjoy the shade. In addition, the host family was very kind to your ancestor at that time. So he did not agree with their idea."

"After a while, some tribesmen went out to work on their own. Some succeeded, while others failed. Later, those who failed came to your ancestor and sought his help. So, your ancestor invested money in their businesses and helped them."

"Later, we arrived at the Ming Kingdom. The world changed drastically, and your great-grandfather was in charge. Those who had done well before also fell into poverty due to various things. Some even lost their lives."

"Your great-grandfather relied on the power of the master family at that time to make a good living. Those who continued to follow your great-grandfather and the clansmen who went out to work on their own before clapped their hands. They broke away from the master family and secretly established a separate business. They also used your great-grandfather's name to do business. But they also left a secret share for your great-grandfather."

"Later, the master family found out about this. They started to be suspicious of our family and gradually began to be wary of us. When your great-grandfather found out about this, he immediately explained it to the master family. But the nails were nailed into the wood, and even if the nails were pulled out, there would still be holes in the wood."

"However, that secret business also turned from secret to open. Later, the clan members who came out of it branched out and the number of people increased. In order to take care of them, your great-grandfather and his family discussed and bought a manor outside the city to settle the clan members."

"That is now Lijiazhuang. Your great-grandfather built an ancestral hall and a memorial archway for the village. He also built roads. Others built houses for the clan members. Finally, after a discussion, they decided to keep a portion of the profits from the business in the clan as development funds to support clan members who wanted to do business.

"Anyone who uses the clan's funds to start a business must leave a portion of their shares to the clan, regardless of success or failure. If they fail, nothing will be said. But for those who succeed, the annual dividends will be left in the clan. This cycle has continued until now."

"Several of the elders were among those who established the business back then."

"Later, your grandfather took over our family business. He kept this rule and established clan rules with those people. Lijiazhuang became what it is today."

"This is nearly a hundred years of accumulation by dozens of large and small businesses. Do you think the clan has money?"

Li Zihang was stunned when he heard what his grandmother said and asked, "Grandma, who is managing the family's money?"

Grandma: "When you went to the meeting today, did you see how many chairs there were in the central hall of the ancestral hall meeting room?"

Li Zihang was a little confused but still answered his grandmother's question: "There are two main seats, and five chairs under each main seat, a total of 12 chairs."

Grandma: "Yes, there are 12 families in total who jointly manage the clan's funds."

Li Zihang: "That's not right. I don't know about others. How can Uncle Seven also sit in a position of power?"

Grandma smiled and said, "Your seventh uncle's ancestor was one of the people who established the business back then."

Li Zihang: "That's not right. Uncle Seven has brothers and sisters. He is not the eldest son or grandson of their family. It is not Uncle Seven's turn to take that position!"

Grandma smiled and massaged Li Zihang's legs while explaining: "That's because your seventh uncle's father and several uncles are not up to standard. The brothers are good at eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, and smoking. Later, your seventh uncle's grandfather saw that none of his sons were up to standard, so he deprived them of their inheritance rights and trained the next generation. The brothers of your seventh uncle's generation are all good at making trouble. They don't have great abilities, but they have big hearts. They almost squandered all the wealth of your seventh uncle's family. But your seventh uncle is a man with brains and means."

"But unfortunately, your seventh uncle was too young to win against his brothers."

"Your seventh uncle's grandfather was so angry at his children and grandchildren that he vomited blood. Before he died, he entrusted your seventh uncle to your grandfather. He also left a will, leaving the remaining family assets and the right to supervise the family funds to your seventh uncle."

"Now you know why your seventh uncle can sit in that position, right?"

In the evening, at the Li Laomo Restaurant at the village entrance, five banquets were set up in the lobby. The old man held his grandson's hand and walked around the restaurant, taking him to recognize everyone one by one.

All the clan members at the banquet knew Li Zihang. But he didn't know many people. After calling them "fifth uncle", "sixth uncle", "ninth brother", "thirteenth brother", Li Zihang finally called everyone.

There were no female relatives at this banquet. All the guests were the heads of the various families who were in the meeting room at noon.

Li Zihang followed the old man like a mascot amidst the praises of his clan members...