Chapter 182 New Ancestral Hall, New Rules!
(Thanks to kurara for casting a monthly vote.)
When Li Shiyue drove his family and Jiang Huai, who had been invited back to teach, back to Liujiatun, Li Shiyang had already returned to Sanshan County to take up his post.
Just as they stopped the carriage in front of their own house, Li Wangshui, Zhou Lanhua's family, and Erdan's mother, who was leading Erdan, were on their way to Li Shiyue's house.
Li's mother first arranged to help Jiang Huai move his luggage. "Mr. Jiang, you can make do with my Shi Tou for a few days. Later, I'll take you to the village to look at houses. Once you've found a house you like, you can move in."
"My aunt calls me Wenzhi, it's really embarrassing to call me Mr. Jiang."
Li's mother smiled and said to Jiang Huai, "Okay, we'll listen to Mr. Jiang."
"No, wait, I'll listen to what Wenzhi says."
The family was busy unloading their belongings from the carriage, and Li Shiyue was busy comforting the two horses that had been following them all the way and were quite tired, when Li Wangshui, Zhou Lanhua, and Erdan's mother arrived.
Upon entering, they immediately noticed Jiang Huai, a completely unfamiliar man.
When Li Shiyue told them that this was a nephew of the wife of General Liu Tan, and a scholar who had been specially invited by Li Shiyue to teach at the school, they all quickly bowed and paid their respects.
Zhou Lanhua pressed down on Dazhuang and Xiaozhuang, while Erdan's mother talked to Erdan, making the three children properly greet Jiang Huai.
Of course, they didn't arrive empty-handed. Erdan's mother's basket contained chickens, and Zhou Lanhua's basket contained not only cabbage but also a pound of meat.
"The market outside Qingsong Town, I had my husband go there early in the morning to buy it, it's very fresh."
After everyone finished cleaning up the food and eating, Zhou Lanhua winked at Li's mother and Li Shiyue, indicating that she had something to say to them in private.
Jiang Huai was a very perceptive person, especially since he was at Li Shiyue's house, he became even more cautious.
At this point, he simply asked Stone to take him around the village to see the school.
"Let me go and see what we're missing. I'll tell Madam Li as soon as possible so we can start classes sooner once we've got everything ready."
Li's mother gave Shi Tou some instructions, and Shi Tou nodded obediently before leading the way out the door. Jiang Huai bowed to everyone and then followed Shi Tou out the door as well.
Once Jiang Huai leaves, this room will be full of our own people.
Zhou Lanhua then spoke, spilling the beans like beans from a bamboo tube, telling Li Shiyue everything that Li Shiyang had said to Li Wangshui when he returned to the village and came to her house two days ago.
"...In October, after the scholar left my house, he went to the third brother's house. I don't know what he said to the third brother."
"Or, why don't you have your uncle go and call the third son over to ask him?"
“Auntie, there’s probably no need. I guess Brother Shiyang just wants to ask about the day I had the conflict with them.”
But as soon as Li Shiyue finished speaking, she heard shouts coming from the doorway.
When Li Xiatian opened the door, it was Dog Lao San who walked in!
Goodness, we've got it all.
As soon as Dog Lao San entered the house, he thanked Li's mother for bringing him a seat. Once seated, he launched into a long explanation of Li Shiyang's visit to his home.
“In October, I think my nephew Shiyang will be able to persuade Uncle Youfu to bow down to you.”
Li Shiyue wasn't surprised by what Zhou Lanhua and Gou Laosan said. After all, she had already considered several possible scenarios when she chopped off her Eighth Uncle's finger.
The fact that Li Shiyang intervened to mediate the conflict between her and Li Youfu was already one of the better scenarios she had anticipated.
Therefore, she was neither surprised nor astonished.
However, when faced with the group of people staring at her intently, she smiled and said to them, "It's alright. If the clan leader can take me seriously and treat all the families in the village equally, and stop trying to suppress me, I am still surnamed Li, so I will not necessarily go against them."
"October, what do you think we should do if Uncle Fu insists on taking advantage of us?"
Dog Lao San really didn't want to use the money to build an ancestral hall for the clan. In his opinion, what would be the use of building an ancestral hall?
It's something you can't eat or drink.
If this happens again, who knows what other reasons the returning tribe might find to get them to pay again, or perhaps they've taken a liking to their paper mill or the houses they're currently building.
He knew what kind of people they were from a young age.
"That won't do!"
The paper mill, the school, and all the buildings that will be used as shops in the future all belong to us, and the land deeds have all been officially signed in red at the government office.
Third brother, don't worry, they can't take it away.
As for the matter of building the ancestral hall?
If the ancestral hall is not just the Li clan's ancestral hall, but the village's ancestral hall, and not only for people with the surname Li or other minor surnames, but also for women and girls, then we should pay for it.
This is our ancestral hall, so we can afford to pay for it.
But if they don't agree to these new rules, why should we pay for the construction of the ancestral hall?
With Li Shiyue's words, Gou Laosan felt reassured and stopped asking questions.
In the days that followed, Li Shiyue was very busy, as he had to go to the paper mill to experiment with the method of making high-quality paper.
We still need to find someone to renovate the school and find a carpenter to make tables and chairs, just as Jiang Huai said.
Jiang Huai also said that the methods for teaching young children to read are different from those for adults, and the books used are also different, so they all need to be prepared anew.
These things kept Li Shiyue busy enough. People from the village and the riverbank would also come to her for advice on buying land and building houses.
Not to mention, the road to the border trade, which is the road from the riverbank to the grassland, also needs to be repaired properly, and the bridge needs to be built.
These tasks kept Li Shiyue extremely busy.
During these busy days, Li Shiyang returned to the village once again.
The next day, Li Shiyang visited Li Shiyue's home and spoke with her alone inside for more than an hour.
Then, on the third day after Li Shiyang returned to the village, he personally invited Li Shiyue and the others to Li Youfu's house again to discuss the construction of the ancestral hall.
Because Li Shiyang had communicated with them in advance, the atmosphere at Li Youfu's house this time was not as tense as the last time.
Li Shiyue only said a few words to them, giving them ample time to think.
She addressed Li Youfu, who was sitting opposite her, and the other members of the Li clan standing behind him, saying each word clearly: "How old am I? How old is the clan leader?"
How old will I be? How old will the clan chief be?
What will the world be like in the future? And what does the future hold for your Li family?
Listen to me? Or not?
You decide for yourselves.
Li Shiyue's words were quite blunt; one could even say that this was a blatant power grab, a takeover of Li Youfu's power as the head of the Li clan!
Li Youfu was so angry he was practically fuming, but Li Shiyang sat to the side without saying a word.
Li Youfu wanted to slam his fist on the table, get angry, and yell at people, but then he remembered what Li Shiyang had said that day, so he had to back down.
In conclusion, the discussion can be summarized into three points:
First, the new ancestral hall is no longer just the Li family ancestral hall.
Among them, minor surnames in Fengcun, including the original Liu family of Liujiatun, and the Wang family who came with the Li clan, can all be enshrined in the ancestral hall.
However, at the same time, those of lesser surnames also have to contribute money and effort to the construction of ancestral halls.
And when trouble comes, they all present themselves as people from Liujiatun to the outside world!
Second, new ancestral hall, new rules!
Not only men can enter the ancestral hall to worship, but women can too!
Furthermore, ancestral graves are no longer exclusively for men; women, even married women, can also go up the mountain to worship their ancestors!
Third, although Li Shiyue is no longer the Li of Li's father, but the Li of Li's mother, she still has the surname Li.
They wanted Li Shiyue to share the profits in their hands with the Li family, led by Li Youfu and Eighth Uncle.
So, Li Youfu and his men have to obey!
Listen to Li Shiyue!
This last point can be summed up in just six words: Listen to Li Shiyue!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
