At dusk, the setting sun slowly sets toward Mingsheng Lake to the west of Jiuyao Mountain. The sunset glows like fire on the horizon, reflecting Liujiawu's red color. Birds chirp and return to the forest, and the smoke from the Wubao built against the mountain curls straight up.
Chen Caozhi jumped off the bullock cart and looked at the Wubao in front of him in surprise. It was very similar to the earth buildings in Yongding, Fujian in later generations. Although not as large as the earth buildings in Yongding, the three-story circular round building made of rammed earth and stone was obviously the later Yongding earth building.
The original style of the earth building, I didn’t expect to see such a castle-style dock wall earth building here.
"Grandma—Grandma—"
"Uncle Ugly—Uncle Ugly—"
Two young children ran out of the gate of Wubao. They both had hair in front of their eyebrows and a shawl at the back. Their eyebrows were like ink paintings and their eyes were like dots of paint. Their two snow-white and tender little faces were extremely cute.
This is a pair of children left by Chen Caozhi's brother Chen Qingzhi who died three years ago. The boy Chen Zongzhi is eight years old, and the girl Chen Run'er is six years old. The mother of Zongzhi and Run'er is a girl from the Ding family of the Qiantang family, whose maiden name is Ding Youwei.
, after Chen Qingzhi's death, Ding Youwei was forcibly brought back to Qiantang by the Ding clan, forcing Ding Youwei to remarry——
"Uncle Chou lied to Run'er. He went out in the morning and said he would be back soon, which made Run'er wait all day. Hum, Run'er doesn't like Uncle Chou anymore!"
Six-year-old Runer has dark eyebrows and bright eyes, and her skin is as white as a porcelain doll. She has a small dimple on her left cheek and her pink face looks a little charming when she smiles.
Eight-year-old Chen Zongzhi helped as if he were a young adult: "Yes, Uncle Chou is a liar, and Uncle Chou does not keep his word."
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, looked at the pair of little beauties and said with a smile: "Your ugly uncle didn't lie to you. He went to buy cakes for you." After saying that, she took out two sweet cakes from the bag, one for Zongzhi and Run'er.
, this is the Buddha birthday cake from Lingyin Temple.
Even if Chen Caozhi has no memory of the fusion of souls in his past and present lives, he will feel happy when he sees such a cute child. He will squat down and pinch the cheeks of his nephew and niece. This is his habit. When he sees a cute child with baby fat, he will think...
He pinched his cheeks and said, "Zongzhi, Run'er, look what's in the little fish bag around my waist."
Zongzhi and Run'er both reached into the small fish bag on Chen Cao's waist, and each took out a Konoha grasshopper. This was made by Chen Caozhi from slender leaves picked on the road. It was lifelike. Chen Cao's previous life
Carrying a suitcase on the road, the journey was lonely, so I learned to make and knit some small things, which are now perfect for entertaining children.
Both children screamed for joy, and Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, smiled and said, "When Chou'er will make up this, I don't know."
Chen Cao said: "My child still has a lot of abilities. Mom will gradually know them."
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, smiled kindly. Although she felt that her son's words and deeds were a little different from the past, every mother liked this difference. She would only think that her son had grown up and had a more active mind. How could he be suspicious of others?
of.
A thin old man walked out of Wubao and saluted Chen's mother, Mrs. Li: "My brother-in-law is back. Brother Yu has something to discuss with his wife. The other two elders of the clan are already waiting at the 'Youxu Hall'."
This old man is Chen Caozhi's cousin Chen Xian. He is currently the eldest man in Chenjiawu. He can also be said to be the patriarch of the Chen family in Qiantang. He served as the chief registrar of Qiantang County in the early years, but since Chen Caozhi's
His father Chen Su and his brother Chen Qingzhi passed away one after another, and Chen Xian was immediately pushed back to his hometown. Currently, the Chen family in Qiantang does not even have a ninth-grade official, and the family is in obvious decline.
Although Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, felt tired, she also knew that something important was going on in the family, so she responded, "Uncle, wait a moment, the old woman will be here soon."
Chen Caozhi took Zongzhi and Runer's hands and walked into the gate of Wubao. He carefully looked at everything in Wubao. This kind of Wubao was built to survive in troubled times. The outer walls made of rammed earth and stone have very strong defensive capabilities.
Look at the door panel. It's half a foot thick and made of hard green wood. The entire dock is about 45 meters in diameter and nine meters high. It has three floors and more than a hundred rooms. The bottom floor is the kitchen.
The second floor is the warehouse, the residence of the maids and tenants, the third floor is the living room of the Chen family, and in the middle of the Wubao is the Chen family's ancestral hall, where ancestor worship, discussions, weddings and funerals are all held.
Chen's mother Li went to the "Youxu Hall" of the ancestral hall to discuss family affairs. Chen Caozhi was stunned for a while in his bedroom on the third floor on the west side of Wubao, and then went to his study next door.
Look, there are pens, inks, paper and inkstones, but there are very few books, and they are not the kind of books one by one. Of course, they are not bamboo slips, but scrolls. There are silk books and paper books. They are piled on the bookshelf like scrolls in later generations.
, about a hundred volumes.
Chen Caozhi randomly pulled out a volume and unfolded it, which was about five feet long and two feet wide. Looking at the handwritten calligraphy in Han official script, each character was as big as a thumb, but it was "The Book of Songs, Guofeng,"
Master Chapter》——
"Shuo is a handsome man, and his clothes are rich and beautiful. He is the son of the Marquis of Qi, the wife of the Marquis of Wei, the sister of the East Palace, the aunt of the Marquis of Xing, and the Duke of Tan is private. His hands are like catkins, his skin is like condensed fat, his collar is like a cricket grub, and his teeth are like gourd rhinoceros.
"
Chen Caozhi read several more volumes and found that the nearly hundred scrolls looked like a lot, but in fact there were only two books. One was the "Mao Shi Jian", also known as the "Book of Songs", annotated by Zheng Xuan, a great scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
One is the Analects of Confucius annotated by Zheng Xuan's teacher Ma Rong.
Chen Caozhi was no stranger to "The Book of Songs" and "The Analects of Confucius". He had read them intensively when he was in college, but he had not reached the level of being able to recite them. But at this time, after a brief review in his mind, he found that he could almost recite these two books.
This should be the result of memory fusion. It seems that although this young man is not smart enough, he is very hardworking and has a strong memory.
Suddenly I heard Run'er crying loudly downstairs, crying and shouting: "Uncle Ugly, Uncle Ugly, come quickly, grandma is crying——"
Chen Cao was shocked, put down the scroll and hurried downstairs, thinking: "Why are you crying? Isn't your mother in the ancestral hall discussing something? Could it be that the tribe is bullying me, an orphan and a widowed mother?"
Chen Caozhi, with a hint of frost on his handsome face, came to the Chen family's ancestral hall in the center of Wubao and saw an old man in blue shirt impatiently telling Laifu's wife Zeng Yuhuan: "Take this girl away quickly, ancestors
Why are you bringing children here to discuss matters in the hall? Women are just verbose!"
Run'er cried: "You bullied Run'er's grandmother, you are a wicked person!" When she saw Chen Caozhi, she ran over crying.
Chen Caozhi held Run'er's little hand, looked squarely into the triangular eyes of the old man in blue shirt, and said, "Uncle Six is so majestic, will he only show it to children?"
This old man is also Chen Caozhi's cousin, named Chen Man. I didn't expect that such a minor, always docile nephew would dare to speak to him like this. Just as he was about to have an attack, he saw that Chen Caozhi had already led Run'er into the "Haiyuan".
"Xu Tang", then followed up and said angrily: "Fourth brother, look at this son of Chen Su, he has no elders, how dare he contradict me in person!"
The fourth brother was the clan leader Chen Xian, who was discussing something quietly with Chen Caozhi's mother Li.
Chen Caozhi approached and bowed to his cousin Chen Xian, then knelt down next to his mother. Run'er also knelt down obediently. Zongzhi also ran in at this time, and four people from three generations of grandparents had arrived.
Chen Xian saw that Chen Man was angry and refused to give up, so he asked: "Fuck, why did you contradict your sixth uncle?"
Chen Caozhi said slowly: "My nephew did not contradict Uncle Six, but he admired Uncle Six for his elders' majesty, which scared the six-year-old boy into tears."
"you--"
Chen Manxu was trembling, and he seemed to be showing his teeth and claws, but he was also speechless. He was choked by Chen Caozhi's words and could not speak.
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, said: "Chou'er, why are you here? Take Zongzhi and Run'er back quickly."
Chen Caozhi saw tears on his mother's cheeks and said, "Mom, my child is fifteen years old this year. According to the "Jin Law", he will be an adult next year. My child can share the worries of my family with my mother."
Chen Man finally calmed down and said loudly: "Very good, Chen Caozhi, you also know that next year you will be an adult, right? When you become an adult, you will serve in the military. Do you think you can stay upstairs and recite something?"
Si Gan, Youyou Nanshan'? You have to understand that you are not a descendant of the noble family——"
Chen Caozhi ignored this incomprehensible sixth uncle and asked Chen Xiandao: "Fourth uncle, what's the big deal in the clan? Why is my mother crying?"
Chen Xian looked slightly embarrassed, coughed and said: "It's okay if you know this, you are a man about to come of age in Xilou, you can discuss this matter with your mother -"
The descendants of the Chen family who live in Wubao are divided into four major branches. Chen Caozhi's father is one of them. Because he has always lived on the west side of Wubao, the clan members call him the West Tower. The others include the East Tower and the South Tower.
The three branches of the North Tower and the North Tower are all blood clans within the five servers. Chen Xian is from the South Tower and Chen Man is from the North Tower. As for the East Tower, because there are no males in this generation, it can be said to be discontinued. Chen Xian is from the South Tower.
So he adopted a son to be his heir, so that the Donglou branch could continue.
The Chen family in Qiantang is not prosperous, and many men die young. It has been nearly 150 years since they moved here from Yingchuan, but up to now, including the minors on the east, south, west, and north floors, there are only twenty
One man, there are only Chen Caozhi and Chen Zongzhi's uncle and nephew in the west building. Chen Xian's three generations of ancestors and grandsons in the south building have a total of six men. Chen Man has the most descendants in the north building, with four sons and five grandchildren.
Just listen to the patriarch Chen Xian say: "By the way, the county's annual registration inspection and household property assessment will begin in July. I am no longer the county's chief registrar, and since the death of your brother Qingzhi, I
The Chen family in Qiantang no longer has any officials in office. The "Jin Code" stipulates that ninth-level officials can occupy ten hectares of land. Your father and brother left a total of twenty hectares of thin land. Twenty hectares is two thousand acres. Why do you and your clan need so much land?
Land? Moreover, Qingzhi has passed away, and you and Zongzhi can no longer enjoy the right to be exempted from handymen and servants. In other words, when you turn sixteen next year, you will be registered as a member of the party and Ding, and you will have to serve the government for at least two years every year.
On the 10th, when the government has other matters, additional labor will be required. How can you withstand such heavy labor because of your skinny body? So I discussed with your mother that when it is your turn to serve in the future, your sixth uncle's son will bear the responsibility for you.
And you can continue to study. Of course, serving is very hard, and there must be corresponding rewards. You allocate ten hectares of land in the west building to the north building, so that you and your clan will still have no worries about food and clothing, and you will have a clan brother to take care of it on your behalf.
Wouldn’t it be good to serve?”
Chen Caozhi said in his heart: "How cruel. If you help my family for twenty days a year, you will share half of my family property. This is obviously bullying me. There is no adult man in Xilou. You are scaring me with service. I have traveled through thousands of years to come here."
Could it be that he is doing hard labor for the government?" He said calmly: "Cao Cao is weak. If my sixth uncle takes pity on me and allows my brother to serve on my behalf, then I would be very grateful. This is what we should do if we have the same clan and ancestors to support each other.
Righteousness, as for allocating half of the land to Beilou, this is absolutely unacceptable——"
When Chen Man heard this, he became anxious and blurted out: "What you said is funny. Who would be willing to serve on your behalf if there is no benefit? You think I am a fool!"
Chen Caozhi asked with a smile: "If I don't allocate the land, my sixth uncle really won't help me?"
Chen Man said angrily: "You are dreaming!"
Chen Caozhi asked Chen Xian: "My fourth uncle also refuses to help me?"
Chen Xian said: "Of course, since you want to open a business and set up a household, you have to bear the taxes and chores yourself. My uncle can help you for one year, two years, but he can't help you for a lifetime."
Chen Caozhi nodded and said calmly: "Fourth uncle is right, you have to rely on yourself. Cao Zhi still has one and a half years to turn sixteen. When Xilou has to do some errands, he will be responsible for Cao Zhi."
Chen Man sneered on the side and said: "It's easy to say, don't cry for your father and mother if you don't have to endure the hardship!"
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, said with tears in her eyes: "Chou, you have been sick since you were a child, how can you endure hardships and hardships? I will allocate ten hectares of land to your sixth uncle, and you will have someone to take care of you."
Chen's mother, Mrs. Li, felt that she was old and frail, and her biggest worry was that if she left, her weak children and grandchildren would be left behind to be bullied, so she tried her best to build a good relationship with her clan members.
Chen Cao said: "Mom, how can the land left by father and brother be lost in my hands? Don't worry, mother. I can handle it. I have grown up."
Chen Man had a look of resentment on his face and said coldly: "Don't be harsh. Don't blame me for ignoring you when you ask me for help."
Chen Caozhi helped his mother out of the "Youxu Hall". When he heard Chen Man's words, he turned around and said: "My father is the eighth-rank county magistrate, and my brother is the eighth-rank county magistrate. Why can't I conquer Shao Jiqiu and become the chief of the county?"
A high-ranking official with the privilege of being exempted from taxes and servitude?"
Chen Man was speechless again and was stunned on the spot.
The patriarch, Chen Xian, was secretly surprised and thought: "This son has always been shy and dull, but today he suddenly talks and talks. If God helps me, and he has a handsome appearance and a good demeanor - could it be that God will not give up and give birth to the Chen family of Qiantang?
Is it because of Chen Cao?"
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