531 Worship at the Grave

Magistrate Hu personally escorted them back with his men.

Ping An certainly wouldn't refuse his kindness.

He and his biological father both held much higher positions than the county magistrate, and even his stepfather's seventh-rank official position was on the same level as the county magistrate. However, the people here were submissive to the county magistrate but not necessarily to them.

Because in their subconscious, they are the people of Changjia Village and Wanjia Village.

Along the way, as they got closer to their hometown village, Chang Chunfeng and Wan Changsheng became excited, but Wei Pingan was calm.

For him, there is really nothing worth remembering here.

If there is one thing he really wants to say, it is that he still wants to meet the He family.

Halfway through the journey, we saw Village Chief Chang and Village Chief Wan, with two mule carts, each carrying a few people from the village.

When a few people saw the yamen runners leading the way, they knew that the county magistrate had arrived with others.

Needless to say, they stopped the mule cart immediately and knelt on the road in unison.

Ping'an and the others got out of the car immediately. Wan Changsheng, Chang Chunfeng and Ping'an walked forward to help them up.

There was another round of greetings, and even tears.

Ping An was really not used to this kind of occasion, but he had no choice.

Half an hour later, at the intersection of the village and the town entrance, several people finally chose the location of the No. 1 Scholar Archway.

This position left the two village chiefs speechless, not to mention that the county magistrate had also been praising it.

On the spot, the two village heads said that the two villages would handle this matter together, discuss it with each other, and ensure that it would be done in a grand manner.

Seeing that the matter had been settled, Magistrate Hu felt there was no need for him to interfere in other people's ancestor worship affairs any longer, and he repeatedly stated that he would definitely come when the No. 1 Scholar Archway was completed.

During the days of building the archway, he would also send two yamen runners to supervise the work every day.

After seeing off Magistrate Hu, Ping An did not delay any further as his stepfather insisted that they go to Changjia Village first for the ancestor worship and then go to Wanjia Village the next day.

Village Chief Wan certainly had no objection. To be honest, Ping An was indeed a member of the Wan family who came halfway. Lord Chang was very magnanimous not to force him back then. It would be stupid to argue about who came first in this matter, as they were only one day apart.

Of course, Wan Changsheng followed the village chief Wan back to discuss tomorrow's worship, and then went to visit his eldest brother's house. In the afternoon, he had to go back to his father-in-law's house to discuss the date of the wedding of the three strong men.

The location of the archway is closest to Hejia Village, and his father-in-law's house is big now, so he plans to live in his house these days.

Ping'an and his father rushed to Changjia Village. The old patriarch had aged a lot in the past few years. He led the whole village to greet them at the entrance of the village. When they saw a vehicle coming from afar, they immediately started beating drums and gongs.

The sound of gongs and drums also eliminated Chang Chunfeng's last bit of dissatisfaction.

Never mind, it’s all over.

"The head of Changjia Village led all the villagers to kowtow to the adults and to the God of Literature."

The old man was trembling and was about to kneel down, and Ping An quickly stepped forward and lifted him up.

"Grandpa, clan leader, no."

Chang Chunfeng hurriedly said loudly: "Everyone stand up, we are going home, other identities should be put aside for now, no need to be polite."

He bowed slightly again: "Old Patriarch, Chunfeng and his eldest son Ping'an are here to pay their respects to you."

The old patriarch's eyes were filled with tears. "Chunfeng, there is no need to bow. You and your son have given honor to the village chief of Chang's family. You have grown up to be proud. Woo woo woo."

The village chief also held his father and started crying.

The top scholar came from his village.

A fifth-rank official emerged from his village.

Woo woo woo.

From now on, as long as they do not break the law, no matter where they are in the county, they can walk with their heads held high and do not have to be humble. Boys will find it easy to get married and girls will be in high demand and will not be easily bullied by their in-laws.

"Old patriarch, let's go to the ancestral hall. We have brought offerings." Chang Chunfeng said softly.

The worship must be done in the morning. After the worship in the ancestral hall, he has to take his son to the grave of his parents.

"Okay, okay, okay."

The ancestral hall had already been cleaned thoroughly, and was just waiting for Chunfeng and his son to return.

I didn’t expect that I would worship in Changjia Village first this time.

Whenever the old village chief thought about how he had personally moved Wenquxing's household registration, he would feel extremely heartbroken.

This was the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life.

When the bailiff came to inform him yesterday, he cried at home for half a day.

Then he discussed with his son that in the future, all descendants should protect the Chang family’s ancestral tomb well, so that both father and son could become Jinshi. The Chang family’s ancestral tomb is extremely good.

Today all the villagers are here. The men bring their sons into the ancestral hall, while the women bring their daughters to kneel in the courtyard of the ancestral hall, showing unprecedented piety.

Chang Chunfeng knelt down with his son. The tablets of his father, mother and ancestors were all there.

The old patriarch's voice choked with sobs, "Ancestors of the Chang family, today Chang's spring breeze and his eldest son are here to worship the ancestors safely. Thank you for your blessing. Father and son, one is a fifth-rank official, and the other is a top scholar with six first place in the imperial examination. What an honor this is.

Ancestors of the Chang family, I, Chang Maoshan, and all the young and old in the village kowtow to you and pay my respects to you. "

Ping An followed with three kneelings and nine kowtows.

It took a quarter of an hour to finish one set.

Ping An helped the old patriarch to stand up.

The old patriarch looked at him with tears in his eyes and trembling lips.

Chang Chunfeng looked at the dark crowd behind him and took the backpack that contained the offerings.

Ping'an bent down and took out a wooden box from his backpack and handed it to his father.

The silver ingots in the wooden box were exchanged from the silver bank before. Both fathers thought that silver ingots were better than silver notes.

Chang Chunfeng opened the wooden box, and everyone held their breath. There were so many silver ingots.

"Old clan leader, village leader, here are three hundred taels of silver, a token of my father and I's love. Please use it to buy some clan land for Changjia Village. Silver will be gone once it's spent, but good land can be kept forever."

The village chief took it with both hands.

Chang Chunfeng took out two more silver bills from his arms.

"Old Patriarch, Village Chief, this is one hundred taels, fifty of which are the silver for the memorial archway issued by the court. I would like to ask the Village Chief to discuss the construction of the memorial archway with the head of Wanjia Village. The memorial archway is related to the glory of our two villages. The county magistrate will also come when it is completed.

The other fifty taels are also a small token of appreciation from my father and me. Please ask the village chief to bring some people to buy some meat and vegetables so that the whole village can have some fun."

The village chief stuttered a little: "No need to pay silver to hold the banquet, just hold it in the village. Besides, we don't need so much silver, ten taels is enough."

"Village chief, take it. The extra ones can be used by the clan. I'll trouble you to take good care of my parents' graves."

The old patriarch let out a long breath, "Chunshan, go on."

"Old Patriarch, I will take Ping An to pay respects to my parents' graves, and I will leave first."

The village chief put the banknotes into a box, stuffed it into his father's arms, and trotted out.

A quarter of an hour later.

Ping An placed the offerings in front of his grandparents' graves with his own hands.

Then light the incense and candles.

His father was crying so hard that he couldn't speak.

His nose suddenly felt sore and his eyes turned red.

How desperate this old couple was before they died, their only beloved son was never seen alive or dead.

If they were still alive, they would be old men and women enjoying their lives.

Everything is fate.

After a while, Chang Chunfeng barely stopped crying: "Dad and Mom, your eldest grandson Dashun won the first place in the imperial examination this time, which made you proud. We have also prepared money for the clan to buy clan land, ..."

…

Under the warm sunshine, Chang Chunfeng talked to his parents in a soft voice about family matters, crying at times.

Ping'an did not disturb his father. He took Lin Feng, Xiao Wu and others to stand ten feet away. The village chief and a few others were waiting silently on a path in the distance.