Li Xuedong worked non-stop and was busy until the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, when he finally had half a day free.
Just after breakfast, Li Shikuan sent his grandson Azhuang to call Li Xuedong to the ancestral hall to discuss matters.
Li Xiaonan looked at Li Jinzhu, and Li Yuzhu also looked at Li Jinzhu.
Li Jinzhu pursed his lips tightly, looked at Li Yuzhu, then at Li Xiaonan, lowered his eyes, and for a moment, stood up with a sigh.
"I'm with the eldest sister." Li Xiaonan stepped forward and stood right behind the eldest sister.
Li Yinzhu and Li Xuedong looked at the three of them inexplicably.
"I'll go listen with you." Li Jinzhu looked at Li Xuedong.
"Okay!" Li Xuedong replied subconsciously.
Li Jinzhu followed Li Xuedong, and Li Xiaonan followed Li Jinzhu to the ancestral hall.
"Something happened?" Li Yinzhu approached the second sister and asked with concern.
"Nothing happened, Xuedong is the clan leader, and the eldest sister is afraid that he will be pushed out to be a gunman." Li Yuzhu answered in a low voice.
Li Yinzhu stayed for a moment and let out a slow ooh.
Since the second sister said that, something must have happened. What happened?
Well, let's wait until Grandma comes back and ask.
Li Shikuan and several clan elders had already arrived. They were stunned when they saw Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan coming in one after another, following Li Xuedong.
"It's really up to his eldest sister to decide whether the scholar will have a kiss or a ceremony." Li Shikuan was the quickest to respond.
There are several things to be discussed today, and the most important one is their scholar's engagement. We really need to invite this elder sister to come over to discuss it, but he neglected to do so.
Li Xiaonan was very discerning and dragged two small bamboo chairs over.
Li Jinzhu sat a little further away, and Li Xiaonan sat beside Li Jinzhu, holding her chin and listening.
Several clan elders looked at Li Xiaonan, then again, and again.
As the head of the Xiu Cai Gong family, Li Jinzhu should come here to hear about the Xiu Cai Gong's engagement. What is this little girl doing here?
Li Xiaonan held her chin, turning a blind eye to the clan elders' dissatisfaction one after another.
Li Shikuan didn't squint his eyes, as if he didn't see Li Xiaonan or the dissatisfaction of several clan elders.
Li Wenliang, who participated in the clan elders' discussions as a handyman, moved a small coffee table over, placed it between Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan, poured two more cups of tea and put it on it.
Li Shikuan watched Li Wenliang pour the tea, looked at Li Xuedong and said with a smile: "Let's discuss the engagement with the Gao family first?"
"Okay." Li Xuedong nodded.
He was in a state of confusion.
He felt something unusual about the eldest sister coming here. On the way here, he asked, and the eldest sister just said yes.
"Tell me about it." Li Shikuan motioned to his eldest son Li Wenliang.
All marriage affairs between Li Xuedong and the Gao family were handled by Li Wenliang.
Li Wenliang first said that the combination of the horoscopes would bring good fortune, then he said that Huang County Zun was the matchmaker, and then the dowry of the girl from the Gao family, and Li Jinzhu's plan to buy a house. He finished speaking in one breath, looked at the elders of the clans and said with a smile: "...
...What we need to discuss now is the manpower for our scholar's engagement, and the manpower for Yinzhu's wedding. Especially Yinzhu's wedding, which coincides with the busy farming season, requires a lot of manpower.
Do you want to subsidize some copper coins? How much should one person subsidize and how should they subsidize?"
"The betrothal gift for Duke Xiu Cai's engagement, as well as the dowry of silver beads, can Xiu Cai Gong's family handle it?" An elder looked at Li Xuedong and said.
"The preserved egg shop in Xiu Cai Gong's family is doing very well. Yin Zhu's betrothal gift and dowry have been agreed with the Hong family. It's still early for Xiu Cai Gong to get married. It would be best to wait until next year to discuss the betrothal gift." Li Wenliang bowed slightly, but was vague.
He answered the clan elder’s question clearly.
"There are many young people in the clan, and there are precedents for subsidies. Just follow the rules." Another clan elder said with a smile.
"Then it's agreed?" Li Shikuan looked from Li Xuedong to Li Jinzhu.
Li Xuedong looked at Li Jinzhu, saw Li Jinzhu nodding, and nodded accordingly.
"Then it's settled." Li Shikuan looked at Li Jinzhu again.
Li Jinzhu sat firmly and did not move. Li Xiaonan held her chin and looked at Li Shikuan at leisure.
Li Shikuan's heart moved slightly, and he continued without pausing: "Let's discuss the second thing. Let's discuss the family study of our Li family, how to cultivate it, and how to invite teachers."
"What other affairs does your sister have?" A clan elder looked at Li Xuedong and asked politely.
Li Xuedong looked at Li Jinzhu.
"Xuedong is young. He has devoted himself to studying since he was a child. He only started to learn how to deal with people after he was admitted as a scholar. His second sister and I were afraid that he was ignorant, so we came to listen to him to prevent him from missing important events in the clan."
Li Jinzhu straightened his back and spoke clearly.
Several clan elders raised their eyebrows together and looked at Li Shikuan.
The smile on Li Shikuan's face was extremely kind, "It's the same reason. Sister Xiu Cai Gong is thoughtful. Let's continue the discussion.
"Our clan school can either be established by our own family, or we can jointly organize it with neighboring clans. Let's discuss first whether to run it alone or jointly."
"We have a lot of children in our clan, and there are also talented men. It would be a big loss to join someone else's family!" A clan elder frowned.
"That's what I mean too. To take a long-term view, it's better for us to build something new ourselves." Another clan elder agreed.
"That's what I mean too." Another clan elder immediately agreed.
Some of the other clan elders had dry smiles on their faces, some turned their heads and looked away, and some lowered their heads without saying anything.
"What do you think?" Li Shikuan's smile remained unchanged, "How many of you? Well, since you all agree, then..."
"Wait a minute, how many children are there in our clan? How does the new cultivation work? How much does it cost? How do you get the money?" Li Jinzhu's throat tightened slightly and he asked a series of questions very fast.
All the clan elders frowned and stared at Li Jinzhu.
"The eldest sister is right. I also want to ask, how many children are there in our clan? How do we practice new cultivation?" Li Xuedong subconsciously blocked the eldest sister.
"This!" An old clan member pointed at Li Xuedong and stared at Li Shikuan.
"What you are asking is very true. Go and get that booklet." Li Shikuan bit the word "Xiu Caigong" and motioned to Li Wenliang to bring over the roster.
Li Wenliang took the clan roster, opened it, and directly reported the number of children in the clan who should go to school in the past few years.
"These people are not that many. If we jointly run it with another family, how many copper coins will one person share? We are building a new home, how many copper coins will one person share? We need to calculate the account. Our Li family is not a big family, but there are many poor families.
There are few rich families, so..."
"What is she going to do?"
Li Jinzhu's words were interrupted by a clan elder.
"This is an ancestral hall, how can she, a woman, speak!" Another clan elder said angrily.
"Master Xiucai, you have to take the lead and abide by the rules. Look, look, look!" Another clan elder patted Li Xuedong sadly.
"First, the eldest sister is speaking for my brother. Can't he speak? Secondly, what sentence the eldest sister said is wrong?" Li Xiaonan stood up and put her hands on her hips and asked.
"Look at this little girl!"
"How could this little girl be so spoiled!"
……
Several clan elders stared at Li Xiaonan, their faces red and throats thick with anger.
