Chapter two hundred and ninety fourth ashamed of Jiangdong's elders
Qilipu is a very typical local rural village.
Throughout the village, all the houses stand side by side.
Most of the houses are very old courtyard houses.
In the yard, the old people take care of the flowers and plants leisurely.
The cats and dogs kept by the elderly were basking in the sun at the entrance of the yard.
Lingpingan walked through these yards holding her pet.
The old people all raised their heads and looked at him with doubts in their eyes.
"Whose child is that?" they were thinking in their hearts, but few of them really cared.
A long time ago, the rural areas in the federal empire had been turned into nursing homes.
When I was young, I went to work in the city. After retirement, I returned to my hometown in the countryside, where I planted flowers and grass. When I had time, I played cards and fished with my old friends, and had a great time.
As for the land?
All of them have long been leased to fruit and vegetable companies.
Therefore, in the traditional sense, rural society like two hundred or three hundred years ago has already collapsed.
Until they watched Lingpingan walk to the door of an old courtyard in the village, and skillfully took out the key to open the door.
Only then did the old people suddenly realize.
"Children of the Ling family..."
They started whispering.
The old people thought of the legends of the past, things they heard when they were children.
At that time, the elders always taught them: "Don't go to that yard to play, you know?"
"The Ling family's courtyard, don't go there if you have nothing to do..."
As for the reason, there are different opinions.
Some people say that the ancestors of the Ling family raised monsters that would eat people.
Some people also say that Ling's family is good at magic. If you offend him, he will fetch a basin of water in his yard at night, then mutter something in his mouth, slap his palm into the basin, and then you will get sick...
Others say that the Ling family themselves are monsters.
Because someone once saw with their own eyes that a woman from the Ling family was dressing up on the window sill, taking a piece of bloody human skin off her face, then placing it on the table, drawing her eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil, and then sticking it back on.
Anyway, the Ling family is a taboo in this village.
Except for a few families who were close to the Ling family, basically no one dared to approach.
The old people looked at the young man wearing glasses and holding a kitten.
I was thinking about the legends I heard when I was a child.
At this time, a child, holding a toy, ran out of the house excitedly: "Grandpa...Grandpa..."
"Look at my invincible speed car..."
"beep……"
The old man immediately turned around and looked at his grandchildren with a smile: "It's really amazing..."
The little guy was very curious. He looked at the place where his grandfather had just looked, and his eyes immediately lit up: "Grandpa... didn't you say that the yard is very dangerous and there are monsters there, and you told us not to play there?"
"How dare he go?"
The old man smiled and touched his grandson's head: "He...is from the Ling family..."
The little guy looked at the stranger who was opening the door with a nervous look on his face.
An extremely cute kitten immediately attracted his attention.
"His cat is so beautiful!"
Only then did the old man notice the kitten squatting at the young man's feet.
Every hair shines brightly in the sunlight, as if there are five colors of light surrounding it.
This little cat is very intelligent.
Those cat eyes, even in the sun, are as beautiful as gems.
The old man was stunned...
Legends from childhood come back to mind one after another.
"The Ling family raises monsters..."
"They know magic..."
"The Ling family themselves are monsters!"
He quickly grabbed his grandson: "My dear grandson, don't look, don't look..."
"Let's go home and watch cartoons with grandpa..."
For this kind of thing, I would rather believe it or not!
No one would risk their own offspring.
…………………………
Lingpingan opened the door to the yard and walked in with his pet.
This is a very typical rural yard.
The lawn in the yard is clean and free of any weeds.
In the middle of the yard, there is a well, a very old one.
Lingpingan walked over, opened the manhole cover, and looked at the well water inside. It was crystal clear and very clean.
Next to the well is a pavilion.
He remembered that every time he came back as a child, he would sit in the pavilion at night and look at the sky and count the stars.
That was one of the few hobbies he had as a child.
As a person who is extremely insensitive to mathematics, he could not even imagine that he could have this hobby.
Sitting on the clean railing of the pavilion, he looked at the door of his ancestral home.
The brass-colored wooden door was tightly locked.
He walked over and opened the door. There were numerous God and Lord cards in the lobby.
This is also the purpose of most rural ancestral houses today - to worship ancestors!
Although Lingpingan is an atheist.
But like most people, I still have great respect for my ancestors.
So, he walked forward, picked up a lighter placed on the altar table, and then took out the incense candles from under the altar table, inserted them into the incense burner, and lit them one by one.
Then, he raised his head and looked at the pieces of God's Lord cards placed on it.
These divine master cards are all his direct ancestors.
From the first generation to his parents, the Guangnan Ling family lasted for more than two hundred years, almost nine generations.
The plaque of the first ancestor is enshrined in the center.
Then the descendants of each generation are sorted from generation to generation in a special way.
The father is on the left and the son is on the right.
This is Zhaomu sorting!
When I was a child, Lingpingan didn't understand, I just thought this sort of order was very interesting.
But when he grew up, he knew that this was a very ancient Zhaomu system.
In this way of sorting, father and son are always in different columns, while grandparents and grandchildren are always in the same column.
In the past, it could only be used by the emperor's family.
But now...
Whoever likes to use it can use it...
Looking at these clean God's cards, Lingpingan bowed lightly and said: "The ancestors probably won't blame me for not coming back to worship for a long time..."
He poured wine into the glasses on the altar table.
Then he continued: "It's not that I don't want to come back and see my ancestors... but... I'm lazy..."
He was very honest in front of his ancestors.
Although he knows that everything disappears after death.
But the influence of tradition is still very strong.
Materialists only oppose feudal superstition, but still respect traditional morals and values.
He took the glasses of wine and poured them on the ground as an apology to his ancestors.
Suddenly, his eyes saw something underneath the altar table.
He knelt down, turned his head, looked over, and found a card stuck on the altar table.
It seems to be the same material as the card he found in the family tree in the cupboard last time.
Lingpingan reached out curiously, opened it gently, and the card fell into his hand.
He picked it up and blew the dust off the card.
Then, he saw lines of words written in ink.
Looking at these words, Lingpingan scratched his head: "Is this what my parents left behind?"
"But why is it so weird?"
Because, this card is still an article from the Tao Te Ching.
Chapter 14 of the Tao Te Ching.
"To turn a blind eye is called Yi; to listen but not hear is called Xi; to ignore something is called Wei..."
Compared to last time, the article copied on this card this time is even more mysterious.
As a liberal arts student, Lingpingan certainly knows that Chapter 14 of the Tao Te Ching is a thorough philosophical article.
Simply put, this is a philosophical article that guides people to understand the universe and nature, so as to get closer to the universe and nature.
Its general meaning is that the universe is indescribable and incomprehensible. So what should we do? Follow its laws and adapt according to its operation.
only……
Lingpingan didn't understand why his parents or ancestors would put such a card under the altar table and in the family tree.
"There must be something I want to tell future generations..." Lingpingan thought while holding the card in his hand.
but……
What do they want to say?
Tell future generations to read the Tao Te Ching carefully?
Or do you want to use the Tao Te Ching to express some metaphor?
Lingpingan scratched his head and didn't quite understand.
He played with the card in his hand, thought about it, and put it back.
Turning back, he looked at the well-behaved pet who had been behind him.
This little guy has become very well-behaved since he entered his ancestral home.
Lingpingan picked it up, rubbed its head, and said, "Let's go pick strawberries..."
When she comes to the countryside, Lingpingan likes to pick strawberries.
Not only because it’s cheap, but also because you can eat it for free!
The rule in the countryside is that you can taste the strawberries you picked.
How much you can eat is all a matter of skill!
Especially for local farmers like Lingpingan, even the prices are very cost-effective.
For others, a pound may cost thirty, forty, or even fifty.
But if Lingpingan is safe, it will cost a few yuan per pound.
This is the welfare of farmers.
Because the land in those orchards is the ancestral land of local villagers.
Among them, many are the ancestral properties of the Ling family!
Now it is just rented to fruit companies for planting.
But the property rights are still in the name of Lingpingan.
There are still tens of thousands of yuan in rent every year!
However, the Ling family has an ancestral motto to donate all this money.
Holding the kitten in his arms, Lingpingan walked out of the door and covered it up.
Before I even walked through the door of the courtyard, I met an old man in his fifties.
Lingpingan looked at him and immediately greeted him with a smile: "Uncle Wang..."
The other party raised his head and saw Lingpingan. He immediately started laughing and couldn't help but bend down: "The young master is back..."
Lingpingan immediately waved his hand: "Uncle Wang...I can't do it..."
With that said, he helped the old man up.
This old man is a distant relative who helps Lingpingan look after and manage this ancestral home.
Although they are said to be distant relatives, they are actually not very related.
According to Lingping's parents, Uncle Wang's family once had a daughter who was a concubine for the ancestors of the Ling family about two hundred years ago.
At that time, it was still the period of Emperor Gaozong.
There is no liberation for women, and there is no equality between men and women.
Concubinage was legal at that time.
In the later period of Gaozong's reign, with the implementation of the Women and Children's Rights and Interests Protection Act, the dregs of the old era were swept into the garbage heap of history.
It's just that a garbage pile is a garbage pile.
Some things can still survive even if they fall into a manure pit.
Just like now, the law clearly prohibits bigamy.
But many girls still like to be the wives of rich men.
No way, the money is so delicious!
In the old days, the wretchedness of masters and servants was left behind.
Uncle Wang's family was a servant of the Ling family a long time ago. It was for this reason that he gave a daughter to the ancestor of the Ling family as a concubine (at that time, this was a very honorable thing!).
Two hundred years later, his family still adheres to the traditions of the past.
He always looks like a young master, young master...
This is also the reason why Lingpingan doesn't want to go back to Qilipu.
Here, in addition to Uncle Wang's family, there are several other families, all of whom are former servants or former subordinates of the Ling family.
He is a young man of the new era.
The concept of equality is very important!
I really don’t like being called ‘young master’ or ‘young master’.
Especially when the other party is an elder!
But the old man said with a smile: "Young Master, it's so... it's so..."
The Ling family is very special, especially the young master.
This is the secret.
A secret that cannot be told!
"Little Master, are you coming back to stay this time?" the old man asked.
"I can't live here anymore..." Lingpingan quickly waved his hand. If he really wanted to spend the night here, Lingpingan knew that it would be very lively at night.
A lot of people will come to see you.
Except for the Wang family and Zhang family in this village.
The Hu family and the Lu family from the mountain next door will also come.
"By the way..." Lingpingan asked, "Uncle Wang, where is Uncle Zhang?"
"Lao Zhang went to the vineyard early this morning to pick grapes for you..." the old man said with a smile.
When Lingpingan heard this, he could only sigh.
"I told you, there's no need to go to such trouble..." Lingpingan shook his head.
This feeling of fellow villagers really moved him.
It's a pity that he has nothing to repay these simple folks.
Reading made me feel lonely.
Opening a bookstore was a disaster!
Even writing a book is not satisfactory...
That’s the level of the game, okay!
But he doesn’t want to pursue a career…
So, I am very ashamed! Every time I come back, I feel ashamed of myself!
This is why he always dreams of becoming a federal book giant or the sixth white man in the Central Plains.
He just used those two excuses that he didn't even believe to lie to himself and comfort himself.
Therefore, Lingpingan felt a little on pins and needles in front of the old man.
He quickly made an excuse: "Uncle Wang, I won't chat with you anymore..."
"I have to go to the field to pick some strawberries to eat..."
After saying that, he hugged his cat and left in a hurry.
The old man was behind him, always bowing slightly, watching Lingpingan go away.
"Little master..." The old man looked at Lingpingan's figure and said softly: "When... can you lead us back to our ancestral land?"
It's been two hundred years.
When can I go back to my ancestral homeland?
The fox died on the first hill, and the horse followed the wind.
For two hundred years, the souls of him and his ancestors have been dreaming of returning to their hometown.
However, all these hopes fall on this little master.
Because he is the only one who can lead his people back to their hometown.
Turning around, the old man saw a figure not far away.
The man came over.
She is an old woman with gray hair.
"The little master just left..." the old man said.
The old woman nodded, she knew it, she would feel it as soon as the little master came back.
"The cat that the little master brought back..." the old woman said, "is very unusual!"
