Zhang Heng was sitting in the car with his suitcase at hand.
The cart was pulled by a middle-aged man with a bare back and a pair of straw sandals on his feet.
"Mr. Zhang, you are really lucky to have met me today. Otherwise, if you were to leave the city in the afternoon, most people would not dare to drag you along."
"Why, doesn't my money taste good?"
Zhang Heng was very strange.
"It's not about money, it's about the recent zombie apocalypse. If I don't make it back late one day, my life will have to be left outside." The coachman replied.
"Zombies?"
Zhang Heng was stunned for a moment.
No, he came to the Republic of China to make money. Why is the Republic of China here so scary and there are zombies infested? Maybe he came to the wrong place.
"Real or false, have you seen it?"
Zhang Heng frowned.
"Then how could you have seen it and still be alive after seeing it?" The driver pulled the rickshaw and gasped: "But some people have seen it. The smell can be smelled from more than ten meters away. It's scary to death."
"Yeah?"
Zhang Heng was doubtful.
Because he had heard someone say that during the Republic of China, some people used superstition to pretend to be corpse hunters to transport opium.
Those corpse chasers and so-called zombies are all pretending to be living people, and even the smell of corpses on their bodies is from dead rats prepared in advance.
Therefore, Zhang Heng listened to three points and believed two points to what the coachman said. He didn't dare to say he didn't believe it, and he didn't dare to say he believed it all.
"Mr. Zhang, Dagou Town has arrived."
Along the way, a small town came into view.
This is Dagou Town during the Republic of China, the birthplace of the Zhang family in Yangjiang.
Zhang Heng had already inquired about it when he was in the county seat. Although this was the Republic of China period in a parallel world, many places still fit the bill.
For example, there is Dagou Town, and there is the Zhang family in Dagou Town. The patriarch of the Zhang family is named Zhang Dahai.
As for Zhang Heng, he is a direct descendant of Zhang Dahai, so he should be called his ancestor.
With this pairing, everything is easy to explain.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Zhang Heng got off the foreign car and pressed a big Yuan coin on the car: "This is the money for the car, and the rest is for you. Later, go to the tea shed at the entrance of the town to have a sip of tea and have a rest."
Normally speaking, even if you take a rickshaw for more than ten miles, ten copper coins "copper yuan" is enough.
A piece of ocean, that's 100 copper plates, can buy 100 kilograms of millet, which is not a small amount of money.
"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."
The coachman thanked him profusely and left happily.
With this Yuan Datou, he can treat shopkeeper Liu of Cuiyunju to a drink when he returns home, and send his eldest son to be an apprentice.
Although the apprentices did not receive wages, the restaurant took care of food and housing, and they could also pack up some leftovers and bring them back every now and then. In this era of war and chaos, that was very demanding.
“Dagou Town during the Republic of China was even poorer than I thought!”
Entered the town.
Zhang Heng carried the box and walked around the town twice.
Dagou Town has a large population. There are more than 20,000 people in the town alone, and there are 40,000 to 50,000 people including the villages below.
It's just not that wealthy. There is only one main street in the whole town that is relatively prosperous, supported by some shops and the like.
The deeper you go, the poorer you get.
Old people with sallow complexions, naked children, women with slutty faces, and men who look like pussies can be seen everywhere.
It's obvious that people here don't even have enough to eat.
But it's not surprising, as the warlords are now in a period of melee. Yuan Datou proclaimed himself emperor and Puyi was restored only two years ago.
It's even more noisy now, and even the government has two people.
There is the Beiyang government in the north and the Republic of China government in the south.
A large group of warlords united under these two signs. Today you beat me, tomorrow I will beat you. It is normal for the king's flag to be changed at the top of the city.
Under such circumstances, some places can change county magistrates three or four times a year. One day a warlord comes to power, and tomorrow there will be a large number of county magistrates gone.
When a general falls the day after tomorrow, the officials he appointed will no longer be counted.
Being an official is like a revolving door. It would be strange if all kinds of exorbitant levies and miscellaneous taxes can be reduced.
"Is this the Zhang family ancestral hall?"
After turning left and right, Zhang Heng finally came to a decent place.
This is the Zhang family ancestral hall.
The ancestral hall represents the face of the clan.
No matter how poor a place is, the ancestral hall will be built in a decent way. If even the ancestral hall is in ruins, it means that the tribe is not far away from falling apart.
"Young man, who are you looking for?"
There is an old tree at the entrance of the ancestral hall, and several old people are sitting under the tree enjoying the cool air.
"Several elders."
Zhang Heng bowed first, and then said: "Junior Zhang Heng, my father is Zhang Daxian who went to Nanyang. Several of them should be the elders of the Zhang family. Please inform the clan that Zhang Daxian's descendants are back."
, I want to recognize my ancestors and return to my clan."
"Zhang Daxian?"
"Oh, he left for decades without any news. We thought he died outside."
"What's wrong with death? It's so unlucky to be alive."
"Yes, Daxian's descendants are back. Don't say such things, but Daxian should be over sixty this year. Why does his son only look in his twenties?"
Several old people gathered together and muttered.
As for whether Zhang Heng is a descendant of Zhang Daxian, no one doubts this.
Because Zhang Heng was wearing a white suit and a gold watch on his chest, he looked like a wealthy young man from a wealthy family.
Whose child in the whole Dagou Town could be dressed like this? If it weren't for the descendants of Zhang Daxian who went to Nanyang to make a fortune and came back, he couldn't be some young man from the county town who went to the countryside to make fun of these old men.
The saying "recognizing one's ancestors and returning to one's clan" was not a joke in the age of clans.
"Where are Zhang Daxian's descendants?"
Half an hour later.
Many people came to watch the excitement, and the real owner finally appeared.
A clan elder was afraid that Zhang Heng would not recognize him, so he helped introduce him: "This is Zhang Dahai, the head of the Zhang family. Speaking of which, you should call him cousin. He is your father's cousin. Before going to Nanyang, you
My father is the closest to him in town."
"Hello, cousin, my junior Zhang Heng is the son of Zhang Daxian. I am an old man. I just came back from Nanyang today and I am going to recognize my ancestor."
Zhang Heng is certainly no stranger to Zhang Dahai.
From a modern perspective, Zhang Dahai is his ancestor, his grandfather’s grandfather’s father.
Zhang Heng got to know the middle-aged man who was supporting Zhang Dahai better.
This is his old man, his grandfather Zhang Zhentian, Zhang Heng has seen photos of him at home.
Of course, recognition means recognition.
Zhang Heng, however, couldn't show any unnecessary expressions, because the matter of time travel could not be revealed.
Although it is a bit awkward to call his ancestor uncle, he will gradually adapt to it. In the world of the Republic of China from now on, he can only be Zhang Heng, a descendant of Zhang Daxian who returned from Nanyang, and he will not be able to do anything to cause trouble for himself.
"Zhang Heng..."
The old patriarch nodded repeatedly: "Okay, great. The year when Daxian left was the Guangxu period. He was very poor at that time. In addition, there were natural disasters and many people starved to death. Daxian was full of energy and went as soon as he gritted his teeth.
I went to Nanyang, and if I think about it carefully, forty years have passed in a flash, and I still miss him very much."
The old patriarch seemed to be talking to others, but also seemed to be talking to himself.
After finishing speaking, he held Zhang Heng's hand tightly and asked, "How is your father? Is he in good health?"
According to the real historical situation, Zhang Daxian died of illness soon after going to Nanyang, let alone a wealthy businessman.
However, due to the current conditions, the people of Dagou Town never received news of Zhang Daxian's death. It was not until after the millennium that the Zhang family organized an overseas family search event, and they learned about this past event in Malay.
But that was eighty years later. Now Zhang Heng says that he is a descendant of Zhang Daxian who returned from Nanyang. No one can object at all: "Uncle, there is a plague in Nanyang, and I am the only one left in the family."
Already."
"When my father was leaving, he held my hand and told me to come back and reconnect with my family tree. We don't have our roots overseas."
Zhang Heng wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve and soon burst into tears.
Seeing Zhang Heng's eyes were red, Zhang Dahai choked up and said: "It's good to come back, it's good to come back, this will always be your home."
If the old patriarch nods, the rest will be easy to handle.
The first is the place to live. Before Zhang Daxian went overseas, he gave the property to the clan.
The old house is still there, but it is in disrepair and has some leaks.
Zhang Heng didn't mind it either. He could find someone to repair it and he could live in it temporarily. He could then build a new house if needed.
When the house was being repaired in the afternoon, it was Zhang Zhentian, the son of the old patriarch, who took care of it.
Zhang Zhentian is middle-aged, in his early thirties, and speaks with confidence and in a loud voice.
Zhang Heng had a very good impression of this elder.
Because according to the genealogy records, the old patriarch will resign his position as the patriarch in a few years. In the future, Zhang Zhentian will become the patriarch of the Zhang family and lead the clan through this era of war and chaos.
Among the people of the clan, Zhang Zhentian, the clan leader, is a very good person. He is upright and prudent in his work. The most rare thing is that he can hold a bowl of water level and has a chivalrous style.
"Brother Heng, you are new here, so you probably don't know much about things at home."
"Our Dagou town is very big and has a large population, but everyone is so united that we can't write two pages in one sentence."
"As for the clan, your cousin is now in charge, and the senior clan elders are in charge."
"Further down, there is the Zhenzi generation, and then the Xingzi generation."
"Looking at your name, it seems that it is not sorted according to the genealogy, otherwise your name should be Zhang Zhenheng."
"But this is the Republic of China, so it's not that particular anymore."
"The sky is high and the sky is high. There are many people in the clan who don't use Zhenhua Hua's name. After all, it's not easy to name it."
While repairing the roof, Zhang Zhentian was talking to his little cousin Zhang Heng.
He didn't know why, but the more he looked at Zhang Heng, the more he liked him, and he liked this little cousin from the bottom of his heart.