Chapter 173: Difficulties in the Ancestral Hall

This time, repairing the Ancestral Hall and revising the genealogy can be considered a major event for the old hometown in recent years.

Clansmen from all over the ten miles and eight villages returned one after another, greeting relatives and friends they hadn't seen in years, and the village, which had been slightly desolate, became quite impressive.

Although they were all relatives, their wealth varied; there were tenants in rags, and landlords with bulging bellies.

Zhou Laodie worked in the city, and his family of three looked decent and polished, so they were also listed among the promising and respectable figures.

After San Shugong returned from the city, he told everyone he met that Sanwazi was doing quite well.

Added to this, during this period, Zhou Laodie visited relatives everywhere, and the gifts he brought were the most practical grain, cloth, and sesame oil.

It was just that the villagers were uneducated; otherwise, they would have long ago given him the title of "charitable and generous."

The biggest change brought about by his lavish spending was that Zhou You suddenly discovered he had become "Young Master Zhou."

Originally, according to the seniority in the village, he was a junior; even children with bare bottoms and snotty noses were three generations his senior.

Now, no one called him "clan grandson" anymore; instead, they addressed him politely as "Young Master Zhou."

It is truly good to have money; relatives have all become much more enthusiastic.

Zhou You also used the excuse of experiencing the wilderness scenery to often stay out alone for the better part of a day.

At first, his parents were quite worried, but later they gradually got used to it; it was his hometown anyway, surrounded by acquaintances, so he wouldn't get lost.

The countryside environment was good, which was very beneficial for physical recovery, so it was fine to let the child walk around.

He estimated that in a few more days, he could logically disappear for a period of time.

Zhou You occasionally took out the tree burl, examined the patterns on it closely, and tried to make rubbings of them with paper and ink.

The surface of the tree burl was irregular, unlike a stone tablet or a Bronze Bell, so the difficulty was very high.

He failed dozens of times and wasted hundreds of sheets of good paper before he succeeded.

The imprints on the wish-granting tree burl should have been caused by the impact of some hard object with an arc, as the surroundings had circular edges.

In the center, there were 6 intact Seal Script characters, and the 8 characters on the edge were mostly incomplete, totaling 14 Seal Script characters.

Zhou You had just heard the legend of the Nine Tripods of Heaven and Man, but he did not have wild fantasies, thinking the Seal Script imprints on the tree burl came from that legendary treasure.

In his view, the source of these Seal Script characters should be metal objects similar to the Bronze Bell obtained from the temple.

It is worth mentioning that these Seal Script characters were all quite ancient and obscure, and they had not been deciphered to this day.

Zhou You used all he had learned and slightly understood the one with the fewest strokes, which should describe a gathering scene.

Ancient writing was concise and comprehensive; the information content of one character was equivalent to a phrase or even a complete sentence today, and a slight deviation would lead to a thousand-mile error in meaning.

Zhou You could not be sure either, so he could only Zang the tree burl and the rubbings well, leaving them to be studied slowly over time.

This was a gift from his godmother, and there must be some intention behind it in the dark.

Finally, the day of the clan gathering arrived.

Clansmen from various branches gathered together in the Ancestral Hall, both old and young.

Zhou You followed his father into the gate of the Ancestral Hall and found that the wood of the threshold had rotted, and the bricks and tiles were eroded and pitted.

The stone tablet standing at the entrance of the Ancestral Hall had long been blurred, recording the financiers, the process, and the date of building this Ancestral Hall back then.

Zhou You curled his lips; the materials, the craftsmanship, and the engraving technique were all not worth mentioning.

The main body of the Ancestral Hall exuded an air of vicissitudes, becoming more aged under the erosion of time, and it indeed needed to be renovated and rebuilt.

From ancient times to the present, infrastructure projects have always been the biggest drain on money and grain, and only by the strength of the whole clan could they be accomplished.

"Everyone is here, be quiet, let's discuss serious matters."

The person with the most seniority in the clan was the Great-Grandfather, who was seven generations higher than Zhou You; one couldn't even count the relationship between the two on their fingers. His beard and eyebrows were snow-white, his skin was loose and covered with age spots, and he was helped to his seat; as soon as his buttocks touched the chair, he began to doze off.

"Snore, snore, snore!"

Several middle-aged men beside him were quite embarrassed and waited for a while before waking the Great-Grandfather up.

"Oh, so many people have come, let's talk about serious matters; what is the serious matter?"

The Great-Grandfather mumbled for a long time, "Oh, I remember now, repairing the Ancestral Hall, everyone discuss it, how should we repair it?"

"Naturally, it should be rebuilt to be more impressive; every family should contribute money if they have money, and labor if they have labor."

"I have already invited Wu Fuzi, the most learned person nearby, to write the inscription for the tablet and copy the genealogy for us."

A wealthy-looking middle-aged man spoke eloquently amidst the gazes of the crowd; just this aura alone was not that of an ordinary farmer.

"Who is this?"

Zhou Laodie replied in a low voice, "According to seniority, you should call him Fifth Uncle; he has 100 mu of fertile land, 3 water wells, 7 plow oxen, and 5 or 6 strong sons to help."

Understood, a typical landlord and local tycoon, with land, fields, and strong men; no wonder the clansmen all listened to him respectfully.

Fifth Uncle was named Zhou Laixi, and he was the person in charge of this infrastructure project, briefly reporting the general progress of the project.

With his status, he did not need to account to other main clansmen; speaking publicly this time, the object of his report was the Great-Grandfather.

The Great-Grandfather dozed off while listening and really couldn't hold on anymore; hearing the end, he waved his hand, "Leave it all to you to handle."

To the clansmen, this sentence was no different from an imperial decree.

Zhou Laixi asked someone to invite the Great-Grandfather to the back hall to rest and began to apportion the funds for this time.

The clansmen were poor and rich, and their family situations were different, so it was not forced how much they must contribute; it all depended on their sincerity.

There were those with 50 copper coins, those with a few taels of broken silver, those who offered gold teeth and silver hairpins, and some even brought their own hens and piglets.

Everyone around had contributed a round, and the total added up to less than 20 taels of silver.

Zhou Laodie was confident; when it was his turn, he held up his palm and gestured with both sides, "I will contribute 100 taels."

A gasp sounded all around; 100 taels, Sanwazi had made a fortune outside.

The relatives complimented Zhou Laodie one after another...

Fifth Uncle Zhou Laixi added this number and sighed, "Brother Sanwazi, you really have the means!"

He paused and said again, "It's just that there is one thing I didn't have time to discuss with you in detail."

"Speak!" Zhou Laodie was in a good mood and didn't pay much attention.

Zhou Laixi said with a smile, "I've measured the dimensions for the commemorative stele at the Ancestral Hall and found the surface area is limited; there isn't enough space to write everyone's name on it."

Hearing this, Zhou You narrowed his eyes—what did that mean? Zhou Laodie also sensed that the atmosphere was wrong; the several burly men beside Zhou Laixi, who were his sons, wore unkind expressions.

"It's not directed at you, Sanwazi. You haven't returned to your hometown in such a long time, and you haven't visited during the holidays either. The clansmen all believe that although you contributed money, you aren't qualified to have your name listed, so it's better to leave the spot for others!"

"There will be opportunities in the future, such as moving the ancestral graves or something similar; as long as you continue to contribute money, everything is negotiable."

Zhou Laixi's tone was sincere, but the words he spoke were enough to make one's blood boil.

What did that mean? Zhou Laodie had provided a massive sum of 100 taels, covering the bulk of the Ancestral Hall repairs, yet he couldn't even leave his name behind.

Zhou You's gaze swept across the surroundings; those relatives and clansmen were all playing deaf and dumb, no longer showing their usual enthusiasm.

They had encountered a local tyrant and bully! Fifth Uncle Zhou Laixi had come with ill intent; not only did he want to swallow the 100 taels, but he also wanted to use clan rules and family ties to gaslight his father.

This time he gave 100 taels to repair the Ancestral Hall, and next time they would dare to ask for 200 taels to move the ancestral graves—a lion's share indeed! (End of chapter)