Chapter 736
As Chen Degui and his son left with profuse gratitude, the sound of the three-wheeled motorcycle's engine could be heard far away in the valley.
In the ancestral hall, my second uncle was carefully wiping the dust off the plaque with cotton paper.
The sunlight shone through the window lattice and flowed on the two characters "世嘟忠贞". The mottled gold paint seemed to have suddenly become shiny.
Seventh Uncle's old fingers gently stroked the large characters "世杜忠贞" on the plaque, and his fingertips felt the gilded carvings that had been worn down by time, as if he was touching the vicissitudes of the Su family's history of hundreds of years.
"Wait until spring and find the best carpenter to repair it. The seams must be patched, and the gilded lacquer must be the best. And this entwined lotus..."
Su Miao looked at the light in the old man's eyes, and suddenly felt that this broken plaque was like the days of the Su family. Even though there were cracks, they could always be slowly healed over time, revealing a warmer luster.
On the distant mountain road, the shadow of the three-wheeled motorcycle became smaller and smaller, carrying heavy hope and heading towards the rising sun.
While everyone was present, Uncle Seven touched the plaque and said:
"Now that the young people have grown up, I'm afraid they don't know the origin of this plaque in our Su family. Since we are all here today, I will tell you about it."
Su Yu brought stools and asked his seventh uncle and grandmother to sit down and let them talk slowly.
Seventh Uncle's voice suddenly became louder, and a strange light flashed in his cloudy eyes:
"You may have heard from your elders that our Su family migrated from Shandong hundreds of years ago. During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, one of our ancestors was appointed to serve in Guangdong and Guangxi.
Speaking of our ancestor, he was quite a remarkable figure. He traveled all the way south from Qingzhou, Shandong, and it took him more than half a year just to get there.
The third wife took over the conversation, her wrinkles radiating with pride:
"My father-in-law told me that when our ancestors led the entire family south, they had more than 20 carriages just to carry their belongings.
The most precious item is the family tree, which is wrapped in three layers of oil paper and placed in a sandalwood box, which is carried by the ancestor himself.
"Grandpa, why did it take so long back then?" A little girl with pigtails asked, looking up, tugging at the corner of her seventh uncle's clothes with her little hands.
The seventh uncle touched the child's head lovingly:
"Because there were no roads or cars like we have today. We had to cross mountains and rivers, and when it rained we had to stop and wait. Sometimes we would encounter bandits... But we didn't come here at the time, we went to Wuzhou."
"What happened next? How did we get here from Wuzhou?" The children asked questions one after another.
Grandma San smiled and said, "It's still a long way from when we came here. This is just the first connection between our family and the Gui District.
Because our ancestor had made great contributions to local governance! With a transfer order from the court, he was about to go to the capital to take up a higher position. I heard that when he left, the people were so reluctant to see him go that they even gave him an umbrella!
There were exclamations in the ancestral hall. Su Miao couldn't help but smile. Third Granny always told stories so vividly.
The seventh uncle nodded and added, "In fact, it's not just our Su family. There are also some people with the surname Huang and Wang who migrated from Shandong. Many family genealogies record their ancestral home as 'Shandong Baima County' or 'Shandong Qingzhou Yidu County' and so on.
The reasons vary. One of them is exile. Guangdong and Guangxi were not developed regions in ancient times. They were far away from the capital and were often used as places of exile.
Many people from the Central Plains (the ancient "Shandong" area) were exiled here. It was basically difficult for them to go back, so they took root and reproduced in the local area.
The second type is the garrison troops stationed in the south during the Song Dynasty. Some soldiers were rewarded for their meritorious service in the expedition and settled down in the ethnic minority areas in the western part of Guangxi, becoming local native official families.
Then there was another reason for coming here during the Song Dynasty, which was to avoid disaster. At that time, ethnic minorities in the north attacked, there were too many wars, and the Yellow River was always bursting its banks. Many Shandong people fled all the way south, and some people fled here.
The last type is to settle and guard the border, which has existed in different dynasties. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, due to wars, the population here was severely damaged, and the court encouraged people from other provinces to move here to reclaim wasteland.
In addition to civilians, there were also soldiers. Shandong was an important source of soldiers, and many people came.
The most recent instance of this was after the founding of the People's Republic of China. After the liberation of Guangxi, many of these troops remained here due to the need for bandit suppression and garrison operations. Later, many were reorganized into "Agricultural Reclamation Divisions," "Agricultural Reclamation Bureaus," "X/X Farms," and so on. Many of these troops were originally from Shandong.
Uncle Seven spoke slowly for a long time, and a child asked anxiously:
"Grandfather, when did we get here? Didn't the old ancestor already go back?"
The seventh uncle chuckled and said, "That's right! Our ancestor went to the capital to become an official, and his descendants continued to grow, and the family became larger and larger. One of them became a military general, and during the Wanli period, he was ordered to settle and guard the border in the Guangxi region.
"The emperor has orders, and the ministers must obey. To commend our family, the Wanli Emperor personally inscribed these words: 'Shidu Zhongzhen' and ordered the best craftsmen in the palace to create this plaque and bestow it upon our family. Do you know what these words mean?"
"What does it mean? Zuzu, tell me!"
"Grandpa, tell me quickly~"
The children jumped around with curiosity, which made the adults feel a lot better.
The seventh uncle turned to Su Miao and asked, "Miao Miao, you are a college student, can you tell me what this word 'xi' means?"
Su Miao thought for a moment and replied, "The word 'di' comes from the Book of Documents, Jun Ya. Jun Ya was an important official during the reign of King Mu of Zhou. The original sentence seems to be 'Only your ancestors and fathers, for generations, were loyal and devoted, and served the royal family diligently.'"
King Mu of Zhou praised Jun Ya's grandfather and father as loyal and steadfast ministers who had served the royal family for a long time and had made remarkable achievements. King Mu of Zhou used this sentence to encourage Jun Ya to inherit the fine traditions of his ancestors and continue to contribute to the country.
The Wanli Emperor bestowed this plaque upon our family for the same reason, praising our Su family for their loyalty and integrity over the generations.
Seventh Uncle laughed with relief and said, "Hahahaha!!! Right, right, right! Miaomiao is right! Alas, although dynasties have changed again and again, and there is no emperor now, but this quality passed down in our family cannot be lost.
The plaque can be broken, but the spirit of the Su family cannot be broken.
'Ten generations of loyalty' is not only a commendation from the emperor, but also the foundation of our Su family!
Children, you must inherit the legacy of your ancestors, be useful and loyal people, firmly support the Party, stand on the side of the people, and contribute to the country."
The old man's words were so powerful that they echoed in the ancestral hall for a long time.
Even the most mischievous child quieted down at this moment, nodding as if he understood.
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