"Then they split into different branches?"
"Yes, my aunt felt she couldn't take it anymore, so she separated from the family and moved to town. It's spring planting season now, so she's very busy. Once things calm down, my uncle's grave will be moved as well."
"That's good, it saves us from being dragged down with a bunch of burdens," Old Mrs. Jiang said angrily. "My son who's been separated from us still dares to scheme like this, I won't let him get away with it."
"What are your aunt's plans? And what was Huangjiakou's reaction?"
“After the family was divided, my aunt returned all the property she had received. The old man was so angry that he took back the house overnight, and we moved out overnight. The news didn’t get out, and the people in Huangjiakou probably don’t know yet,” Jiang Chao paused and continued, “My aunt meant that this matter shouldn’t be blown out of proportion, so that the surrounding villages would laugh at us.”
"I originally planned to go home and talk about this a long time ago, but things got rushed and I only came back today."
Jiang Chao felt that he really couldn't be blamed for this.
He tried to come back whenever he had even the slightest chance, but he couldn't get out at all.
By now, the daylily buds are all cold!
"What are your aunt's plans?" Old Master Jiang asked, puzzled. "Besides these, is there anything else?"
Knowing his troublesome grandson as he did, if the old man had only come back to say these things, he would have already made an excuse to slip away.
“You found out about this,” Jiang Chao said seriously. “My aunt bought a farm of more than 200 acres and wants to turn it into a village so that you can all move there together…”
After saying this, Jiang Chao nervously glanced at the two people sitting in the main seats, observing their reactions.
The imagined scene of smashing cups and grabbing stools didn't happen at all. Instead, Jiang Chao saw that the two elders had very complicated expressions.
He seemed to be considering something.
"Don't go yet," Old Man Huang said hurriedly, standing up after a short while. "I'm going to the clan chief's house. We'll talk about this when I get back!"
"Grandma," Jiang Chao said in surprise, "does this matter need to be discussed with the clan leader?"
The old lady didn't answer, but instead asked a question, "Do you know why your aunt's name is recorded in the family genealogy?"
"Is it related to this?"
“Of course there is a connection,” Old Madam Jiang said with an air of pride. “Besides your aunt, the only people recorded in the family genealogy are the clan head and the daughter of your ninth grandfather.”
"Because of the direct line?" Jiang Chao asked tentatively.
He always treated this as a joke, saying that no matter what the direct lineage was, they were all just farmers, and no one could be more noble than anyone else.
“That’s right,” seeing his grandson’s nonchalant expression, Lao Tian couldn’t help but knock on his head, “Jiang Family Village is an outsider, you should know that, right?”
“I know,” Jiang Chao shook his head, “but we’ve been here for over a hundred years, so we’re practically locals now.”
"The ancestors of the Jiang family fled here because of the war. At that time, there were five brothers, two legitimate sons and three illegitimate sons."
"So," Jiang Chao couldn't help but click his tongue, "our family is actually descended from some kind of prominent family?"
“Even if we don’t count the descendants of a prominent family, he was no ordinary person. The great-grandfather of the Jiang family once served as Grand Tutor in the previous dynasty.”
Because of this, when the Great Zhou Dynasty was established, our ancestors had no choice but to keep a low profile and hastily move to Jiangjiazhuang to settle down.
"Grandma," Jiang Chao said, puzzled, "if that's the case, how did the Jiang family fall into such a state today?"
In Jiangjiazhuang, which was founded by the Grand Tutor, half of the people couldn't even fill their stomachs. It was utterly ridiculous!
“Well,” the old lady said awkwardly, “most scholars are not good at farming.”
For the first few decades, life was pretty good, but after they ran out of money, they fell into poverty and eventually became no different from ordinary farmers.
As things have developed to this point, even if you tell the younger generation that they are masters, no one will take it seriously.
"Where are the books? How come the Grand Tutor's descendants don't even have a collection of books?"
Another blow to the soul!
Could she say that they were all sold to raise money to fill their stomachs?
"You brat, no one will think you're mute if you don't speak," the old woman said angrily. "The latrine is full, go and empty it."
Jiang Chao: I strongly suspect it's retaliation, but I dare not say so.
After Jiang Chao left in a huff, the old lady couldn't help but laugh, "That brat needs to be taught a lesson."
Every time I see his nonchalant face, I can't help but want to straighten it.
“Mom,” Aunt Jiang said weakly, trying to reason with her son, “Don’t even mention him, even your daughter-in-law thinks it’s ridiculous.”
The idea of him being a descendant of a Grand Tutor was like hearing a foreign language. The village did have some rules, but it wasn't much different from an ordinary farming family.
Actually, the old lady also thought it was ridiculous, but since it was written in the family genealogy, she had no choice but to believe it despite her doubts.
"Whether it's true or not, it's a fact, and you'll find out later."
“Even if it’s true,” Aunt Jiang said, puzzled, “why do we need to ask the clan chief and the others when we’re moving? We haven’t separated from the clan.”
"Haven't you noticed the conflicts in the village?" Old Mrs. Jiang looked at her daughter-in-law in surprise. "In the last ten years or so, there have been several fights between the village entrance and the village exit."
It almost resulted in a death.
"Not because of an argument?"
“Of course not,” Old Mrs. Jiang said, somewhat doubting her daughter-in-law’s intelligence. “The village entrance and the middle of the village are spacious and sparsely populated. We live there, and although we are poor, no one has ever starved to death. But at the end of the village, people sell their children when there is a famine.”
"Their own lack of diligence has nothing to do with us."
"What do you think?" the old lady said, somewhat speechless. "All the good houses and land have been taken by us, the direct descendants. No matter how hard they try, there's nothing they can do."
"Are the people living at the end of the village collateral branches?"
"There are also servants who have been released from their indentures, who are only given the surname Jiang, and they can only kneel outside during the New Year and cannot enter the ancestral hall."
Aunt Jiang had always thought it was because there were too many people in the village and the ancestral hall couldn't accommodate them all, but today she learned there was another reason.
"Does the clan leader intend to separate from those collateral branches?"
Aunt Jiang's feelings were complicated.
Zhuangzi had too many people, so some bumps and bruises were inevitable. But after all, they had lived together for so many years, and the sudden separation was quite unpleasant.
"We do have this idea, but there are too many things involved, and the clan leader has been considering it for more than ten years without making a decision."
Finding another place to settle down and starting all over again is incredibly difficult.
But if we continue like this, we'll become enemies sooner or later!
"Mother," Aunt Jiang hesitated several times before saying haltingly, "My eldest sister bought that estate herself. She invited us to go there because we're family and don't need to worry about such things. If other people were to come along too..."
"Would I let your sister suffer a loss?" Old Mrs. Jiang rolled her eyes at her daughter-in-law. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
"That's good!"
Aunt Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. She had received so much care and could not repay the favor, but she couldn't very well cause trouble again.
The Huang family had a great time at the manor.
Da Niu frantically pulled the kite around, his excited laughter carrying far and wide.
"Take them out to play more often when you have time," Jiang Nuan said with a smile. "They've been laughing non-stop since they left home."
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