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

Uncle Wu stroked his few white beards and thought for a long time before he spoke.

"I have to discuss this matter with the ancestors. If they don't agree, there's nothing I can do."

"Also, take the things you left here last time with you when you leave this time. I looked at that thing and studied it for half a year. I finally found out that it was a tripod used by the Zhou emperor to offer sacrifices to the heavens during the Spring and Autumn Period. The inscription on it is interpreted to mean that."

"Go back, there are still a lot of things to do tomorrow."

"By the way, how many days can you stay this time?"

The old man said, "I can't stay for a few days. I will have to go back after Qingming Festival for two days at most. Xiaohang still has to go to school, and there are a lot of things to do in Beijing. I am a little worried if I don't go back to take charge."

Uncle Wu: "Your generation has no hope, it's up to your grandchildren. Train your little grandson well. Now go back and have a rest." ~

Time flies without a trace, and in the blink of an eye, it is Qingming Festival.

On that day, the sky was hazy and fog filled the entire Gusu.

Li Zihang was called up early in the morning to have breakfast.

Those who returned to the village to worship their ancestors had already prepared everything they needed.

Yellow paper, gold ingots, firecrackers, candles, pig heads, sacrificial geese, whole chickens, fruits, cakes, incense sticks. A wide variety of offerings have been prepared.

In the countryside, at the Li family's ancestral tomb, all the young and old members of the Li family were arranged according to their seniority on both sides of the tombstone.

The elders of the clan burn incense to worship heaven and earth, read sacrificial texts, present memorials to ancestors, and tell their descendants about their achievements in the past year.

The men in the clan, young and old, began to worship their ancestors in order, burning incense and kowtowing.

The whole ceremony was solemn and dignified.

Finally, it was Li Zihang's turn. Under the guidance of the clan elders, he symbolically added a handful of yellow soil to the ancestral grave.

He burns incense, bows three times and kneels nine times. Then the elders of the clan burn yellow paper with his name on it as a sacrifice to the ancestors.

The elders of the clan bowed to their ancestors loudly and said, "Now there are descendants of the Li family who have been left behind. We are here to recognize our ancestors and return to our clan. We pray that our ancestors will bless our descendants for the future generations."

After the ceremony, Li Zihang bowed three times and knelt nine times in return.

The descendants of the Li family then took turns to burn incense and pay homage.

There was also a baby in confinement, held in his arms. The father held incense and burned incense on behalf of his son.

After thousands of people finished their worship, the elders led the way and led everyone back.

The Li family ancestral hall in the village. After returning, Li Zihang was brought by his grandfather to the ancestral tablet, where he kowtowed and burned incense.

Then a Taoist priest cut off a lock of his hair, wrapped it in yellow talisman paper, folded it into a peace charm, and hung it on the longevity tower in the ancestral hall.

Afterwards, the elders of the clan officially recorded his name in the family tree.

Only then did he realize that his generation was the 23rd generation. His name was also changed to Li Dehang.

After all the processes were completed, the celebration began.

The square of the ancestral hall was filled with banquets, no less than 50 tables in total.

At first, Li Zihang was thinking about how the banquet would be enough for so many people. But then he thought too much. It was a buffet.

As soon as one table of people finished eating, they cleaned up the food immediately and then served the next table.

The scene was very lively, with people drinking, playing finger-guessing games, bragging, and toasting. Children were running around. The older children gathered together, playing with toys that were unique to this time of year. It was more festive than the Chinese New Year, and the atmosphere was very harmonious and lively.

After eating and drinking, the women of the tribe also gathered in groups of three or four to chat about family matters. Some of them took the initiative to help serve the dishes and clean up the table.

After being forced to drink a glass of white wine by a 40-year-old brother of the same generation, Li Zihang fell asleep again in a daze.

The village leaders and town officials still had some objections to the Li family's grand worship. However, the Li family was a prominent family in the area, and there were several high-ranking officials among the family members. In addition, the elders of the family were involved in the ups and downs of the clan. That's why today's grand scene was possible.

In addition, 90% of the villagers in the village are descendants of the Li family, so they turned a blind eye to it.

This return to his ancestral roots had a great impact on Li Zihang's future. It was not an exaggeration to say that it changed the trajectory of his life.

The night began to get dark, and Li Zihang, who had sobered up, was called by the old man.

When he was still confused, he was picked up by the old man and then taken to the backyard of the ancestral hall.

The Li's Ancestral Hall is a typical Jiangnan architectural style. Li Zihang was taken to the backyard and found that there were dozens of people of his age standing in the dim yard.

In the courtyard of Sishuiguitang, five white-haired old men with sage-like demeanor sat side by side on armchairs, looking around at the younger generations of the Li family.

I saw the middle man standing under the eaves, on both sides of the five ancestors, saying, "Kneel down and worship the ancestors."

The children in the yard kowtowed and knelt down before the five ancestors.

Then Li Zihang was inexplicably taken to the back room.

There were 6 large bathtubs in the room, filled with steaming hot bath water.

The air is filled with a strong scent of Chinese herbal medicine.

He didn't recognize any of the adults around him at this time. They all stood silently around the bathtub.

The person who had just shouted to kneel down and worship the ancestors also came in.

Then he started shouting loudly.

"Strip and take a bath."

At this time, the group of children were all at a loss. You looked at me, I looked at you.

Finally, under the urging of adults, I embarrassedly dragged myself naked.

A group of children, with their heads down and naked bodies covering their penises, stood in a row.

"What are you waiting for? Get in the tub in groups of five. You are a bunch of fools."

The five ancestors of the Li family who were sitting outside were also sipping tea and chatting.

"Fifteen, do you think there will be a little tiger this year?"

"Brother Eleven, I don't think it's going to happen. It's almost been a generation. They haven't appeared yet. I don't think it's going to happen with these guys. I think there might be another generational gap."

"Alas, now that the dynasty has just changed, most of the tribe members are missing, which has caused great damage to the vitality."

"By the way, the kid from the Qi generation told me a few days ago that he wanted to open another incense shop in Hong Kong to leave hope for the younger generation there. What do you think about this?"

“How many tribesmen are there?”

"I heard from Hong that there was a wave of people who went there during the Republic of China, another wave in 49, and another wave in the past two years. Add in the newborns, and there are almost a thousand people."

The ancestor called Uncle Jiu thought for a moment and said, "It's quite a lot. It's a blessing for one or two little tigers to appear in each generation. Maybe there are really one or two among those people."

"If there is no one to teach us, and something is missed, the loss will be huge."

"Okay! I agree to this. Have you discussed the arrangements?"

"The current head of the Sijiu City branch is in the village. The guy said that as long as we agree, he will arrange everything. We just need to cooperate."

"That kid brought his grandson back this time just because of this?"

"There is this aspect, and I also want to see if his grandson has inherited the bloodline of his ancestors. The rest are matters of the court. I don't understand, so I let them discuss it themselves."

"Okay! We old folks are out of touch with the times and don't know anything. Just be a decoration and be a protector for our descendants!"

In the other room, a group of boys, naked, were taking a medicinal bath in the bathtub.

There are exactly 30 people in a group of five.

When Li Zihang first took a bath, he felt comfortable all over. But the more he soaked, the more uncomfortable he felt.

At first, he felt itchy and uncomfortable, so he kept rubbing against the edge of the wooden barrel. Later, his whole body felt numb and tingling.

Finally, my back felt itchy as if ants were crawling inside my body.

At first he didn't dare to say anything, because none of his friends around him were abnormal. They were all comfortable and enjoying it with their eyes closed.

But the abnormality in her body was becoming more and more uncomfortable. Until she couldn't help it and started to wail softly. Coupled with his constantly twisting body, this scene had already attracted the attention of a group of people.

At first, the other four children were concerned about him and asked him what was wrong. Later, his abnormal behavior attracted the adults standing nearby.

The two middle-aged men standing around the wooden barrel looked at each other after seeing Li Zihang's reaction. They both saw the surprise in each other's eyes.

Then one of them ran out and called the five ancestors outside the house.

One of them asked the other four children to take a bath in another bucket.

Li Zihang in the bucket was now as red as a prawn that was about to be cooked.

He kept scratching his back. The men next to him were afraid that he would scratch himself, so they grabbed one of his arms and held down his shoulders, making Li Zihang unable to move.

Li Zihang was seen twisting his body in the tub, rubbing against the tub like a wild boar rubbing against a tree, in order to make himself feel more comfortable.

When the five ancestors came in and saw Li Zihang's appearance, they were instantly overjoyed.

"Catch this guy for me. Don't hurt him."

"Come and add some water and herbs."

Then he looked at the children around him and found that they were all curiously watching the fun in the bathtub.

"Let these guys go out. There has been no response so far. There is no hope."

Li Zihang had lost his mind, and was in extreme pain all over his body. He felt itchy and painful from the inside out, and he wanted to tear his skin and flesh apart.

Now Li Zihang was the only child left in the room, still struggling in the bathtub and wailing loudly.

Li Zihang struggled and wailed in the bathtub for half an hour until he had no strength left and his voice became hoarse.

Then he was lifted up and put into a large barrel filled with green potion nearby.

He was half dead, but after being thrown into the green potion, he instantly felt cool and his body was not so itchy anymore.