After all, Xiang Shiyuan is the prefect of Jiangning and a fourth-rank official of the Mu Shou Fang. Although he wants to curry favor with Wei Chen, he is still quite reserved.
The officials below did not have so many scruples. After seeing Wei Chen and Xiang Shiyuan finish speaking, they all rushed forward and rushed to greet Wei Chen.
Among these people, there are both magistrates from hundreds of miles like the magistrate of Youyang County, and left-hand government officials like Tongzhi of Jiangning. Needless to say, they have great power in the local area.
Even though Wei Chen was already a respected lecturer, he could not neglect them, so he exchanged friendly greetings with them.
Zhang Ming and Zhang Xu followed Wei Chen and were introduced by Wei Chen. They became familiar with the officials from Jiangning Prefecture and Youyang County.
There are certain things that these shrewd and ghostly officials naturally know well without Wei Chen having to say much.
Therefore, the officials treated Zhang Ming and his son with great respect, and did not show any slightness at all because of their status as merchants.
The father and son were so excited that their faces turned red. These are valuable connections that will be of great benefit to them in running local businesses in the future.
After such a set of procedures was completed, it was already getting late, so Wei Chen proposed to go to the mountain to offer sacrifices.
People at that time paid great attention to the importance of life and death. Whether they were powerful officials or wandering wanderers, the first thing they did when they returned home was to visit their ancestors' tombs.
Wei Chen came back to his hometown this time to worship his ancestors. Now that he has made the request to go to the mountain to worship his ancestors, Xiang Shiyuan and others naturally have no reason to refuse.
Xiang Shiyuan and other officials went to the Wei Ancestral Hall for a break, while Wei Chen changed into light clothes and, accompanied by the old clan chief and clan elders, went up the mountain to visit the graves of his father Wei Zhaoming and his mother Song Ying.
The mountain paths in Wei Chen's memory had been widened more than twice as much, and were all paved with stone slabs. Therefore, even though it rained lightly last night, the mountain paths did not appear muddy.
On the way up the mountain, the old patriarch and his neighbors were beside Wei Chen, and they talked a lot about Wei Chen's parents back then, and they were very emotional.
Listening to everyone's words, Wei Chen also had a deeper impression of his parents, whom he had never met before.
The hill behind Xiyin Village is no more than a hundred meters high, and the group quickly reached their destination.
The tombs of Wei Mingzhao and Song Ying have been repaired a long time ago and are surrounded by green pines and cypresses. After Zhang Ming became successful, he specially arranged for people to go to the mountain to pay homage to them.
After burning yellow to pay tribute, Wei Chen dismissed everyone and stood alone in silence in front of his parents' tomb for a long time. He went down the mountain just before noon and went with everyone to the Wei family ancestral hall.
Not long after we came down the mountain, before we reached the ancestral hall, we saw a stone archway with four pillars and eight legs in the distance.
Seeing this archway, the old patriarch and several elders of the Wei clan were full of pride.
Zhang Ming smiled and said to Wei Chen: "Brother Chen, the imperial court established this for you. Go and take a look."
Wei Chen nodded when he heard this, stepped a little faster, and walked to the archway.
However, I saw a stone tablet erected under the archway, which read: "Civil officials dismounted here, and military officers dismounted here."
After seeing this domineering stone tablet, Wei Chen raised his head and looked down, but saw that the top of the plaque in the middle was the four big characters "Liu Yuan Ji Di", and two lines of small characters were written vertically below: "God bless you for six years"
, "Youyang Weichen".
There are six plaques under it, which read in order: "Zhuangyuan and the first place", "Huiyuan and the first place", "Jieyuan and the first place", "Yuan Yuan and the first place", "Yuan Yuan and the first place", "County examination and the first place"
"First".
This tall and magnificent archway is the highest honor in a scholar's life.
Six plaques stand side by side. There are only two such memorial archways in the world.
One is right in front of you, and the other is in Liuyuanfang in Youyang City.
That was Wei Chen's former residence in Youyang City. The former Jieyuandi was officially upgraded to Liuyuanjidifang, or Liuyuanfang for short, three years ago.
After Wei Chen won six yuan in a row, Liuyuanfang became the place where the legendary Emperor Wenchang visited, with excellent Feng Shui.
Officials and celebrities from Youyang and even Jiangning rushed to buy properties in Liuyuanfang. Now, Liuyuanfang has gradually become a gathering place for celebrities, and real estate prices have soared to several times what they were before.
After passing the archway, you will find the Wei Ancestral Hall.
After returning to his hometown, Wei Chen wanted to have a feast in the village and give back to his people, so he held a banquet in the ancestral hall for the people of the whole village.
Under Wei Ruyi's management, the ancestral hall was bustling inside and outside. The restaurant chefs invited from Jiangning and the village women who came to help were arranged in an orderly manner and were busy in full swing.
Next to the steamer stacked taller than a person, the chef flipped the pot and spoon, and flames rose from the top of the stove. After the squeaky boiling oil was put into the pot, there was a burst of human fireworks.
After Wei Chen settled Xiang Shiyuan and other officials, he sat in the ancestral hall and chatted with the elders of the clan about family affairs, field harvests and other gossips. It didn't feel boring at all.
The old patriarch took the two young men to greet Wei Chen, and then introduced them: "These are the children of our Xiyin Wei family. They all passed the government examination last year. This time, Brother Chen, you are back, and I will call them to see you."
See the world."
When they met, the two of them were only thirteen or fourteen years old, and they were already children. Wei Chen couldn't help but admire them greatly. He immediately nodded and praised a few words, and then taught them some of his own methods of studying and seeking career.
Outside the ancestral hall, a dozen children wearing crotchless pants did not dare to enter. They just lay quietly by the window and listened, listening with great interest.
When the old clan leader saw this scene, he couldn't help but look at each other with the clan elders around him, his eyes filled with relief.
At noon, Wei Ruyi gave an order, and the deft village women rolled up their sleeves and started serving food.
Home-raised local chickens and ducks, fresh river aquatic products caught in Jingxi River, and steaming hot dishes were put on the table one after another.
As for the wine, it’s naturally amber wine.
The somewhat faded red lacquered wooden table in the ancestral hall was filled with dishes. People of the Wei family, regardless of age, were serving the dishes. For a while, the ancestral hall was full of people and extremely lively.
After three rounds of drinking, Wei Chen toasted table after table. Everyone smiled and praised him. Brother Chen has become such a big official, but he is not arrogant at all, and he still takes us fellow villagers in his heart. p>
When the banquet was almost finished, the folks were busy packing up the remaining food and wine on the table and taking them home.
The villagers are frugal, and the food and wine at the banquet are taken home, stewed, and eaten. Sometimes the family can eat for several days.
While the villagers were busy, Wei Chen and Xiang Shiyuan, the prefect of Jiangning, went to the house to drink tea and play chess.
The two talked for half an hour. What exactly they said was unknown to outsiders. They just saw the two of them coming out of the house together, chatting happily.
Then Xiang Shiyuan said goodbye to Wei Chen. Xu Ning, the magistrate of Youyang County, stayed for a while, but seeing that it was getting dark, he had to say goodbye and leave.
At night, Wei Chen slept in his ancestral house. He slept soundly until he woke up naturally.
Early the next morning, Wei Chen returned to Sheng's Free School to visit teachers Shi Kai and Lin Yan.
These two people, one is Wei Chen's disciple, and the other is Wei Chen's Confucian teacher. They are very kind to Wei Chen. Wei Chen holds the disciple ceremony and bows to each of them.
By the way, Shi Kai is now a student member and was hired by Sheng Wei as a private school teacher, specializing in teaching Mongolian children under the age of ten. He is a well-known Mongolian teacher in Jiangning Prefecture.
There was even a prince's family in Jiangning City who sent his children to free schools and asked Shi Kai to enlighten them by name.
After revisiting his old place, visiting his teachers, meeting his classmates and old friends, and socializing in official circles, after staying in Youyang for five days, Wei Chen finally took the ancestral tablet he had taken from the Wei ancestral hall and set off back to Bianjing. It is now mid-March.