The old lady of the Lin family in Honglou

It was snowing in winter, Lin Lin was lazily lying on the bed, flipping through the notes in her hand absently, it was Chinese New Year, although her son had already rested, but it was really hard to see him, Chinese New Year was more difficult than usual Busy, not to mention that today is New Year's Eve, and I started to be busy with sacrifices early in the morning. This place is not as modern as women are not allowed to participate in many procedures. As the son of the head of the family, he is naturally very busy.In modern times, everyone has said that years are tiring, but looking at the striding figures outside, I don’t know who is more tired than the other.

At this time, in a remote valley in Gusu, in the largest blue-brick house in the village, all men from the old to the small are busy with each other. From the kitchen to the large empty space outside the main entrance of the house, people They were all busy with dignified and earnest expressions, there was no loud publicity and conversation, and everything was prepared silently and orderly. Even the one-year-old baby who was just walking in the empty field did not cry mischievously, and obediently moved from older The brothers brought it, and the whole atmosphere was very solemn.

On the tall door lintel of this house is written the thick and restrained Lin family. This is the Lin family ancestral hall. It is the nearby Lin family who are busy now, and more people will come to worship in batches after the next year. Zu, the gate here will remain open until the Lantern Festival, and then it will be closed after the festival.Therefore, many young people in the clan will take advantage of this period of time after the new year to marry, because in this way, they can announce to their ancestors as soon as possible to show the importance they attach to their in-laws. Opportunities are rare.Usually, the gate of the Lin family is not always open, it is only opened when there is a need for ancestor worship and important weddings and funerals.Therefore, many clansmen who moved out would come here to burn incense to their ancestors around the Chinese New Year. Usually, when there is something to open the gate of the ancestral hall, as long as there is no major matter at hand, they will put everything down and rush here.The cohesive power of the clan will be particularly obvious at that moment.It is estimated that modern people seldom realize these things.

With the ringing of a crisp bell, people put down their work and rushed to the main hall. They stood in rows in an orderly manner according to their seniority. Most of the people standing in the hall were elders. Nakai, to the outer hall to the empty field outside the door.People quickly stood up quietly, even the children behind the queue in the empty field also stood up.Before the altar, the patriarch began to announce the speech, mainly talking about the events that happened in the clan in the past year and the relevant year-end summary of the arrangements, as well as appealing to the ancestors and being blessed by the ancestors, etc.

The old man standing in the front row saw the simple altar today, and his heart was very complicated and heavy. Thinking about the words passed down by the predecessors, there is no shadow now. Only in the Zongji can we find some scenes of the past. The hall was filled with long rows of ranking tables, each of which was filled with the rankings of ancestors, but now, the entire altar hall only had one row of "ancestors of the Lin family", and the altar tables were not as full as before. If it is full, there is only one representative altar, and the offerings from each family can only be placed on the ground in an orderly manner.Hey, the Lin family, what should we do in the future.

The old man's thoughts didn't last long. As soon as the patriarch finished speaking, an elder rang the bell, followed by one kneeling, two prostrations and three prostrations. An elder shouted from the side, one prostration, two prostrations, another prostration. The people bowed down again, and after three bows, the patriarch was in front, followed by three elders, for a representative toast and tea. , everyone bowed again, and when it was over, the patriarch bowed again, the elder shouted, and everyone bowed again, and finally the elder who shouted said the concluding remarks, and the whole ceremony was completed.

It seemed simple, but the whole ceremony took about an hour. No matter how tired they were, the youngest person at the end of the line would persevere. It can be seen that the education of the Lin family is extraordinary, and the temperament of the Lin family members is extraordinary.It was not until the elder called out to disperse at last that everyone dispersed to work.

When everyone disperses, they don’t go home right away. The next thing is the family meal. Those who are good at craftsmanship go to work. Only after the meal, people will pack up their tributes and go home, waiting for the next sacrifice. Zu is after the new year, but there is no dinner party that time, it’s fine when you finish your work, because there are many things to be busy after that, such as clan relatives will be very busy.

After the ceremony, the patriarch, two old men, and two relatively young middle-aged men, walked along the corridor together, walked around several walls, passed through several doors, and entered a relatively dark room. There are rows of bookcases inside, and a few low chairs are placed in front of a big desk. A pot of charcoal fire is burning in the middle of the low chairs. Open, it can be seen that all these are prepared by someone.Everyone sat down along the chairs, and the middle-aged man poured tea for the elders and sat down.Everyone gathered around the charcoal fire, and didn't speak for a while. The room was very quiet, only the sizzle of the charcoal fire and the bubbling of the pot of water from time to time, and the noise outside could not be heard here at all.

After a while, a middle-aged man broke the silence in the room, "Patriarch, is it true that no news can be passed on to uncle?" The two middle-aged men looked at the patriarch and the elder expectantly.

The patriarch and the old man remained silent, and only by moving their hands slightly could one see their entanglement.

Another middle-aged man said, "No matter what you think now, besides, it has been so many years, patriarch, if uncle knows this, can he be more vigilant?"

The patriarch didn't make a sound, and an old man sighed softly, "It's hard to say about this matter. The clan owed them back then, and they can only rely on themselves to save the clan's life. Otherwise, the clan It has to be spread out."

Another old man also said solemnly, "In the end, the affairs of the clan depend on you young people. We are all old, and I don't know if we can see the hope of the Lin family in this life."

The middle-aged man saw the helpless and hopeful eyes of the elder, "How could it be? In a few years, the clansmen will be able to go to the scientific examination. There are many seedlings that are good. As long as they work hard in the past few years, there is great hope." Those who win the exam will not be so difficult in the clan at that time."

The elders all shook their heads, and the patriarch looked at them, "We are all old, and you should know some things. Our Lin family started from the previous dynasty, and it has only been more than 300 years since the current dynasty. It will be 100 years since the founding of the country. Do you know why the previous dynasty changed in just 10 years during its heyday? At that time, there were many capable people in the court.”

The middle-aged man looked at the elder without saying a word.

"That's because the previous dynasty was clearing out those super families, and the royal family was not allowed to have existences with more background than them. Although it was very secretive at the beginning, when the fifth super family was exposed, all the families with background Everyone is alert, only those small families are rushing forward, but those powers are no match for those super families. When the flag was raised towards the emperor's ancestors, they immediately got the support of those families. Fight back, and the dynasty will change soon." The old man stopped at this point.

Another old man said slowly, "Do you know how many aristocratic families survived the war intact? Not a single one, all of them were severely damaged. At that time, the Hou Lin family and the Li family were relatively close, and the Li family was a big family. There is also a lot of news. When he was hit hard, he received news that the current emperor's raising the flag was just a game, a game that consumed the power of the family. Time is also the best time for development, and it is a medium-sized family. When the ancestors received the news, the battlefield had already shifted to this side. Attention is drawn to the fact that the ones left behind are all direct descendants. When the battle is fought, lots are drawn to decide who will come forward. When the battlefield is transferred, the Lin family has already declined, but the ancestors still made the decision to hide from the world, so that only the The one that was picked up is going out to the world."

At this time, the patriarch continued, "At that time, for the sake of secrecy, only the patriarch knew about many things, and then let the elders in the clan know. Now I tell you because you are going to take over as the elders. It's not that you are not allowed to pass it on. The news, but it can’t be passed on at all. We are all guessing that there are people from today over there. When your uncle was still there, you passed the news, but something happened within a few days. Fortunately, the housekeeper was alert at that time I made a cover up, otherwise that branch would be extinct. At that time, your uncle was still young, orphans and widows, but the clan could only decide not to help, so as not to be suspected. The relationship between the present and the previous dynasty is still close. Some of them are the same, but they are more hidden. It has only been a few years since the current emperor ascended the throne, so we still need to see more. It’s just that the Zhang family has been expelled, and it’s useless if you send the news. We can only watch now Looking at the current attitude towards your uncle, if something happens to your uncle, you can only choose a few to go to the scientific examination, and before you can see the current situation clearly, the whole family cannot let it go."

The two middle-aged men were a little out of breath. After taking a sip of hot tea, they still couldn't suppress the constriction of their hearts. Unexpectedly, there was such a shocking secret in it. They looked at the patriarch with pale faces, a little helpless.

"Okay, look at how unpromising you are. From now on, you will come here every day to read the classics inside. These books were preserved by the ancestors with a lot of effort. Some things are only known to the patriarch, etc. After the new patriarch comes up, let's see what he means." The patriarch looked at them with a bit of hatred.

A few people sat quietly in the room for a while, and they went out when they had almost recovered. The banquet outside was almost ready, and the clansmen were still very fast.