"Zhang Heng, Zhang Daxian's son who came back from Nanyang?"
"Hey, I heard he is very rich."
"Yes, if tens of thousands of people can eat on the flowing water table for three days, it will eat up thousands of oceans."
"Not only that, I heard that he also asked Xiao Huzi to buy guns. He wants to form a vigilante group with hundreds of guns."
"With hundreds of guns, no wonder the old patriarch wanted to choose him. In this era of war and chaos, if you have guns, you will have everything."
Everyone was talking a lot.
Everyone can calculate an account.
Zhang Heng can spend thousands of dollars just to treat everyone to a meal. He is obviously not short of money. If he becomes the patriarch of the Zhang family, wouldn't everyone have a good life?
Not to mention eating meat every day, just a few more millet meals, and when there is a famine, it would be fine if there are fewer people selling their sons and daughters.
The reality is that everyone is poor, life is difficult, and in times of famine there is no place to borrow money to survive.
Borrowing, borrowing, you also have to have a place to borrow, right?
"This decision is a bit sudden, but I hope everyone can understand it."
"I'm getting old, and it's only a matter of time before I make room for young people."
The old patriarch waved his hand and called Zhang Heng over: "There's another war in the north. The world is not going well, so we need someone who can control the situation."
After saying that, he looked at Zhang Zhentian who was standing aside and sighed: "Zhentian is my son, I know him, he has a good heart, but it's a pity that he is just a man of integrity."
Hearing the words of the old patriarch, a clan elder choked up and said: "Old patriarch, Zhentian is already very good. It is difficult to make progress, but it is also difficult to maintain success."
The old patriarch shook his head: "It's not enough. If it were a normal year, everyone would tighten their belts and come here. What year is it now? There are wars outside every day. Today there is Marshal Chen, and tomorrow there is Marshal Zhang. They can't fight against each other."
They can only lead you to endure the hardships. I have lived for more than sixty years and I understand that sometimes it is not just you who can bear it, but it depends on whether others can tolerate you!"
Speaking of this, the old patriarch looked at Zhang Heng: "The autumn harvest will be in half a month. The county's grain tax is 10% more than last year. There is also a gap in the filial clan on the mountain. I am prepared to take over the position of clan leader in the face of danger.
I leave it to you, do you have the confidence that no one in the Zhang family will starve to death this year?"
After a short pause, he added: "If you have one, don't reject this clan leader. Zhentian told me what you have done these days. You are capable and have many ideas. I will definitely leave the Zhang family in your hands."
Better than in my hands."
Zhang Heng has always wanted to gain control of the Zhang family.
But he really didn't think much about the position of clan leader, because in his memory, the old clan leader could still work for six or seven years.
If he wants to be the patriarch, he has to wait until the old patriarch dies.
Who would have thought that the old patriarch would make a surprise attack on him, and he would just talk about it in the ancestral hall without a word of discussion.
It seems that a piece of jade was sold for 80,000 yuan, and he bought hundreds of guns in one go. These things had a great impact on the old patriarch.
Fortunately, Zhang Heng had also been trained in society, and he was still able to accept the surprise: "Old patriarch, I dare not boast to you about Haikou. I can only say that as long as I, Zhang Heng, are here, the Zhang family will never starve to death.
"
"enough."
The old patriarch patted the back of Zhang Heng's hand: "Whenever a few people in this town don't starve to death, I'll feel relieved if you say this."
"Clan leader!"
Suddenly someone in the crowd shouted.
Zhang Heng looked back and found that the person raising his arms and shouting was Zhang Zhenhu.
It is worthy of being a person who will become the king of the mountain and the leader of the group in the future. This consciousness is higher than others.
"Clan leader!!"
More people shouted the second time.
Zhang Zhentian, Zhang Dadan, the big and small Kui brothers, several masons who drank with Zhang Heng, and the young and old men of the 20s and 30s who followed them into the city.
"Clan leader!!"
At the third sound, there was a huge crowd of people, and hundreds of people could not hear it at once.
The fourth tone, the fifth tone, the sixth tone.
The shouts came one after another, and even the people with foreign surnames joining in the fun started shouting, and their voices soared into the sky.
"You have the surname Li, and you are not from our Zhang family. Why are you shouting after me?"
"I'm very excited and excited. I just like to shout, can't I?"
Everyone blushed with excitement as the word "Clan Leader" was heard.
Zhang Heng stood next to the old patriarch, nodded to the elders in the ancestral hall, then walked to the door and shouted to everyone: "I now order you as the head of the Zhang family to unfasten your belts and eat hard."
!”
"It's time to eat!"
The sky is big and the earth is big, and eating is the biggest thing.
Five hundred tables of running tables were lined up, and basins of rice and potato stew were served.
Pour a spoonful of broth on the millet, add a few pieces of fat meat and potatoes, and everyone wolfed it down in a hurry.
Even so, two-thirds of the people are still not on the table.
There are really too many people. Zhang Heng estimated that there were 20,000 to 30,000 people here today. Some of them even came from the countryside more than ten miles away because they heard that there was a flowing water table to eat here.
The open space around the ancestral hall cannot accommodate so many tables.
Others can only find a place by themselves with their rice bowls in hand. At a glance, with the ancestral hall as the center, there are heads everywhere.
"Elders, let's get started."
Ordinary villagers eat rice and potato stew.
Clan elders, as well as older people, are more particular about their food.
Beef, mutton, pork, chicken, duck and fish.
There are eight people per table, the portion is large and affordable, and white rice, noodles, and steamed buns are also provided.
Seeing that his table was eating better, the clan elders and elders sitting in a circle around the ancestral hall all had red faces, knowing that Zhang Heng was complimenting them.
When ordinary villagers see him, they are only envious and dare not feel jealous.
After all, the people sitting there are all elders. Respecting the elderly has been a virtue in China since ancient times. During the Republic of China, many rules were still in place, and the heads of the house were all the elders of the family.
"Clan leader."
"Hello, patriarch."
After Zhang Heng toasted a few glasses of wine, he started to mill around in the crowd.
Everyone who saw him greeted him one after another, and even the little kid was full of words and imitated the adults and called him the clan leader.
With a smile on his face, Zhang Heng strolled over to Zhang Zhenhu’s table.
Among the crowd, Zhang Zhenhu was the first to call him clan leader. Zhang Heng still remembered this sentiment, so he asked: "Huzi, how does the potato stew taste? Is it okay?"
"Clan leader, that's great."
Zhang Zhenhu's mouth was full of oil after eating, and he said with a little regret: "It's just meat but no wine. It would be better if there is wine."
Zhang Heng said with a smile: "I planned to prepare wine for you, but the clan elders did not agree. There are too many people. If someone gets drunk and causes trouble, how can it be done in front of the ancestors' memorial tablets?"
Zhang Zhenhu made sense when he heard it. After all, not everyone has alcohol, so there are not many people who drink and cause trouble.
"What did the foreign company say?"
After chatting for a while, Zhang Heng asked about serious matters.
Zhang Zhenhu wiped his mouth and whispered: "It has been ordered. The foreigners said that the goods will arrive within three days and will be delivered by truck."
"truck!"
Zhang Heng nodded.
He had been in the Republic of China for a few days and had never seen a car.
However, foreigners definitely have cars. This is also an important means for a foreign company to spread channels throughout a province.
"Grandpa, I still want to eat."
"Chunwazi, you can't eat any more, it will strangle you to death."
"Grandpa, I'm still hungry."
As he was talking, the sound of conversation came to his ears.
Zhang Heng looked back and saw a pair of grandsons. The youngest granddaughter was about seven or eight years old. Her eyes were full of desire for food.
"Huzi, go and say hello to the stove. Anyone who is adding food should show their stomachs, but don't overstuff them to death."
Only when Zhang Heng saw this scene did he remember that in these days, people were often starved of food. If he just laid out the flowing water table and let everyone eat, it might be possible for people to die from exhaustion.
After all, when we are hungry for a long time, our brain will give us the illusion that we feel hungry even though we are full.
If you continue to eat under such circumstances, you will starve yourself to death. Throughout the ages, when you talk about eating to death, it usually refers to the situation where you are not full for a long time and then eat a big meal.
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Zhang Zhenhu also realized that something was wrong, put down his bowls and chopsticks and walked away.
Suddenly, shouts were heard from everywhere: "Everyone, take care of your children. They are greedy and don't let them die."