Chapter 110
Zhang Fangyuan wanted to unite the clan, so he was willing to mend the conflicts between him and his uncle and sixth uncle. Although he did not always respond to their requests, he would still offer advice and suggestions to solve problems in matters of livelihood.
Although I have never thought about it directly to the clan leader in these years, now that my family has brought it up, it is also a good opportunity.
The two cousins were very happy to see that he agreed. Although the three brothers were drinking and talking about business at the table, the main purpose of this drink was to talk about the clan leader's affairs. Several uncles were listening attentively. The reason for letting brothers of the same generation speak was that it would be easier to start the conversation. If the elders came, it would seem like putting pressure on people.
Seeing this result, everyone smiled and tacitly prepared for tomorrow's wedding banquet.
The next day, the house became lively at daybreak, because it was a son-in-law coming to the house instead of a young man leaving home, so the table was set and there were many people attending the wedding of a girl or a young man. Besides, the Zhang family had quite a few relatives, and they all gathered together, making the place crowded.
It's rare to find a live-in son-in-law in the village, so everyone is happy to come and see the new thing.
By the afternoon, almost everyone had arrived, and when the auspicious time came, a string of firecrackers crackled, and the Zhuang family's wedding procession also came in a mighty manner, but the original bride and groom were replaced by a tall and mighty man.
Zhuang Qi came in wedding clothes with his head held high. He did not show any shame about being a live-in son-in-law. He behaved properly and properly, which made the villagers who were there to watch the show feel embarrassed to make fun of others.
Even two people who were jealous were blocked by the villagers who were watching the fun.
Little Li ran to the table early and sat down. When the newlyweds came, the firecrackers outside were set off even louder, one string after another without interruption. The little guy's ears were buzzing from the vibrations, and he quickly jumped into the arms of his brother beside him.
Ruijin reached out and covered his brother's ears until the firecrackers were finished.
After the firecrackers were set off, the newlyweds were about to enter the house and perform the formalities. The process was similar to that of a bride going to her in-laws' house. Everyone gathered around to watch. Little Li couldn't see because he was sitting, so he climbed up onto a stool to watch. Ruijin was afraid that he would fall, so he quickly grabbed his hand.
Little Li craned his neck to look at his uncle who was wearing a beautiful red wedding gown. His cheeks were red, not sure if he had put on rouge or was just embarrassed. He followed his groom and crossed the fire basin hand in hand.
Seeing everyone clapping and cheering, Xiaoli also clapped his hands and looked at his brother who was holding his hand with great energy: "I want to marry a wife in the future!"
Ruijin rolled his eyes: "Who can you marry?"
"Little Xing brother!" Ruili gestured with his only remaining hand as a matter of course: "His face is so soft, and his hands are so soft too."
Ruijin pulled the tall man back and stuffed a piece of fruit into Xiaoli'er's mouth: "Don't talk nonsense."
Little Li had food in his mouth and said incoherently, "Who is talking nonsense? Daddy said that everyone has to get married when they grow up."
"A little brother can't marry a little brother." Rui Jin tapped his brother's forehead: "Don't say that again in the future."
"Humph!" Little Li was angry. He let go of his brother's hand, ate some fruit, and came close to his brother again: "Then you marry Little Xing instead."
"Dad!" Rui Jin opened his mouth and shouted to the tall man who was watching the ceremony under the eaves, "Hurry up and take Xiaoli away."
Zhang Fangyuan came out after hearing the noise. Seeing Zhang Ruili fidgeting on the stool, he picked the little guy up and asked, "What are you doing? Are you bothering your brother again?"
"I didn't!"
"Alright, alright, Daddy will carry you in to watch the ceremony."
Zhang Fangyuan walked in with the person in his arms. Little Li hurriedly hugged his father's neck and looked at his brother who was sitting quietly at the table. He looked like he was finally at peace. He pouted and snorted a few times: "I'm not going to be with you anymore."
After the ceremony, the banquet began. It was Zhuang Qi who came out to entertain the guests. A group of Zhang's cousins came forward to drink with great enthusiasm. Zhang Fangyuan drank a pot of wine and then ran away. Zhuang Qi was a guy who could knock everyone down when he drank. If he went to join the drinking competition, he would miss out on important things.
After the banquet, the Zhang family members got the news and stayed behind. All the guests who came to the banquet left except those who stayed to help clean up.
The Zhang family lineage is headed by Zhang Fangyuan, whose ancestors include his father, his father and his third uncle, who are no longer with us, and four uncles and aunts. His grandfather was above him, but he has passed away. However, his grandfather was not the only son. He had four brothers in the line, and two of them are still alive today, one is his second uncle and the other is his fourth uncle.
These two uncles each had children, but not as many as Zhang Fangyuan's grandfather. Excluding those who were married out, the two families had only three sons.
The next generation to talk about is Zhang Fangyuan's own generation. The eldest uncle has two sons, the second aunt has only one daughter, the fourth uncle has a little brother, the fifth uncle has an only son, the sixth uncle has a brother and a daughter, and the youngest boy. There are eight in total, including cousins and sisters from the second aunt's family.
The next generation is Rui Jin and Rui Li. Zhang Xiaotian and Xiaoxuan each have two children, two of whom are from their family. The rest either have to get married or have unmarried male children and no offspring.
Counting four generations, there are nearly fifty people alive. If all the old and young were present, six or seven tables could be set up. However, the old are very old and the young are very young, so most of the people who came are young and middle-aged, so there are about thirty people gathered.
"The Zhang family has not had a clan leader for many years. In the time of our ancestors, the population was not as prosperous as it is now, but there was still a clan leader. How can our branch of the Zhang family be what it is today if it wasn't created by the concerted efforts of our ancestors. The Zhang family has been scattered for many years, and now that the population is prosperous, it is time to elect a new clan leader to lead everyone to better development."
"It's a rare opportunity for us to gather together today. Everyone can elect a clan leader. The one with the most votes will be the one who gets elected."
Zhang Shixin presided over the meeting on behalf of the clan leader. Although the matter of the clan leader was discussed at the meeting, the clan members who stayed behind had guessed the whole story when they learned about what was going to be discussed. Zhang Shixin asked everyone to nominate their own candidates, and his words were just polite words, so everyone knew what was going on.
Most of the Zhang family members live in Jijiu Village. There are a few who live in other villages or have moved to the city, but the majority of them still live in the village.
In the past two generations without a patriarch, the descendants have become more and more distant, and their interactions are certainly not as close as when there was a patriarch. For this reason, when talking about the Zhang family, everyone in the village knows that it is a large family with many people, and their life is not like those of those who can barely make ends meet. However, when they mention them, they will not treat them like the masters of the family with respect and fear, because they know that the Zhang family is scattered.
If the scattered people encounter problems, it is difficult to ask the tribe members for help, and the tribe members may not necessarily come to help.
As the saying goes, distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. If relatives do not visit each other often and are not connected by a bond, they are worse than unrelated neighbors. This is because neighbors see each other every day and visit each other often.
Having a clan leader is undoubtedly a good thing for everyone. This benefit is not particularly important in times of peace and prosperity when everyone can have enough food to eat and live, but in years of natural disasters, we all know the benefits of having clans support each other.
Last year, there was a snowstorm after the drought. The Zhang family did not listen to Zhang Fangyuan's advice to stock up on charcoal, and many of them shamelessly went to Zhang Fangyuan's house to borrow charcoal to get through the winter. This spring, when the families had no crops to grow, they again went to Zhang Fangyuan's house for help. For this reason, so many relatives came to Xiaomao's wedding, especially the young people from his uncle's side.
For this purpose, everyone was willing to elect a clan leader. As for the idea of electing one among themselves, everyone knew it was just a polite remark. Apart from Zhang Fangyuan, who else could take on this responsibility?
Everyone was in sync, said some nice things, put aside their past grudges, selectively forgot how everyone disliked Zhang Fangyuan when he was a playboy, and nominated Zhang Fangyuan.
"Since everyone trusts me, I will also accept this solemn undertaking, but I will make it clear in advance."
"Since everyone has recommended me to be the clan leader today, you must obey the clan's arrangements in the future and not create trouble out of nothing. Each household must abide by their duties. If you do something shameful, the clan will certainly not protect you. Naturally, the Zhang clan will be reunited and will definitely support each other so that everyone can have enough food to eat."
Zhang Fangyuan had thought of an arrangement yesterday: "Each branch should take this opportunity to nominate a branch leader. One is to assist the clan leader in his work, and the other is to report any trivial matters to the branch leader first."
The two great uncles learned that a clan leader was to be chosen, and although they knew who the designated candidate was, they still came here today. It didn't matter if the younger generation wasn't present, as everyone would understand and follow the example of their superiors. However, in order to appoint a clan leader, the approval of the elders must be obtained.
All the members of the Zhang family can see Zhang Fangyuan's legacy. Although the two uncles have retired at home and have never often dealt with Zhang Fangyuan, they have heard the younger generations in the family talk about how capable Zhang Fangyuan is. Now they see that Xuan's power is not inferior to those of them who have lived for decades, and they are even more satisfied with it.
"Fang Yuan is right. Managing clan affairs is not the job of one person. Each clan must select a good clan leader to work with the clan leader."
Now that the elders have spoken, everyone is more convinced of Zhang Fangyuan.
The family was divided into three branches based on the great-uncle's generation. Zhang Shixin was the oldest in their branch, so he was chosen. The oldest was also chosen from the other two branches.
After the election, everyone made a speech.
After the selection was completed and the people were confirmed, everyone dispersed while discussing today's election.
After the matter was settled, Zhang Fangyuan became busy again.
The two children had to go to school, so Zhang Fangyuan sent the children and Xu He back to the city first. Several family heads were also invited to go to the houses in the city to discuss the formulation of clan rules and the construction of the ancestral hall.
The clan rules that were formulated when there was a clan leader in the past could no longer be found, so they had to be formulated all over again. Fortunately, the Zhang family had a clan leader when their great-uncle and great-uncle were young, and they still remembered some of the clan rules, so they recorded them one by one. Zhang Fangyuan and the three heads of the family sorted out, added to, and deleted some of the rules, and it took more than half a month to finally formulate them.
The head of the family read it out to the clan members, and Zhang Fangyuan also engraved it on a huge plaque, preparing to hang it up after the ancestral hall was built to warn the clan members.
The ancestral hall must be built, and sacrifices are particularly important. The clan members recognize their ancestors and have a sense of belonging, which is mostly awakened by sacrifices.
The house in the village is very big, but there was no ancestral hall before. At present, a separate room is not big enough, so Zhang Fangyuan decided to build a special hall to serve as the ancestral hall.
Xu He suggested that the money should be paid by the people in the clan. Of course, their family could afford it, but the ancestors worshipped in the ancestral hall were not their family's ancestors, but the ancestors of the entire clan. In the future, worship would be a joint thing for everyone. Now that everyone contributed money together, it could be regarded as contributing to the clan's cause.
Zhang Fangyuan thought this was a good idea.
He returned to the village and gathered everyone to raise money and mobilize strong men to build the ancestral hall.
They worked quickly and completed it in less than half a month.
He was busy with clan affairs. Zhuang Qi and Xiao Mao stayed at home for about ten days, and then hurried to move to the martial arts hall, where they were busy recruiting martial artists.
Xu He takes care of the business and supervises his two children's schooling at home. He also goes to the martial arts gym from time to time to help out. They have been busy without rest in the first half of the year.
At the beginning of July, the clan affairs were settled, and Ji'an Martial Arts School also recruited more than 30 men to start training and prepare for a living.
…
"Hah, ha, sss!"
The martial arts hall is most lively in the morning. The weather is cool these days, the sun has not yet come out, and the wind is blowing. Dozens of men line up in the yard and practice boxing shirtless, which is very spectacular.
Zhuang Qi was a strict person, and all the men under his command were trained to be very well-behaved. He had also been involved in the martial arts examination before and knew the test, so he used the test content to train the men in the martial arts gym.
Merchants and common people passing by who heard the sonorous and powerful training sounds occasionally liked to go in and take a look at the training. Seeing that they were well-trained, and there was only one martial arts school in West City, so before the school even opened, nearby merchants went to order people to help them.
The business scope of the martial arts school is actually quite broad. One can be a bodyguard or a guard at home, or run errands or work as a temporary worker. Those who are good at manual labor will naturally take on jobs that pay higher commissions and are more difficult, but there are also those who are not so skilled. These people will not sit idle for nothing and will run errands for others, guard warehouses, serve as temporary staff, etc. In short, as long as you are not too ambitious and lack the skills, you can get a job.
Most of the martial arts schools in the city are run by merchants who come to the school and specify what they want people to do. The director then arranges and selects the people, and the salary of the staff is based on a man's ability and level of martial arts. The amount is fixed every month. If the employer gives extra money as a reward, that is extra income.
Zhang Fangyuan and Zhuang Qi have seen this way of paying wages. Although it is fixed every month, which makes it convenient for the employer to pay wages, some people just slack off because the wages are fixed. They are lazy in training and shy away from tasks. It is extremely difficult to get any reward money, and only a few can get it. It all depends on whether the employer is generous or not.
For this reason, as long as they know that the employer is generous and likes to give rewards, the people in the museum will scramble to take the task. If they know that the employer is difficult and stingy, the boss will just send someone over, and the people in the museum will also refuse to take the task.
After discussing it, the two felt that this was too unmotivated, which would affect the atmosphere in the museum and also affect the revenue.
As a result, the two of them formulated a new salary method, based on the principle of more work, more pay.
The fixed monthly salary is half of the market price of the warriors in the city. The number of jobs taken each month is divided into different levels, and rewards are given according to the number of tasks taken that month. For example, the reward for ten orders in a month is 100 coins, the reward for fifteen orders is 150 coins, and so on. In addition, if you attract business outside on your own during this month, it can be counted as two tasks or three or four tasks according to the amount of business commission.
When recruiting warriors, Zhuang Qi informed them of the rules for paying wages. Many men came to apply, and this way of paying wages was very rare in the city. Some thought it was novel and were willing to give it a try, but many others were conservative and did not like this new way of recruiting. When they heard that the wages were only half of those of ordinary warriors on the market, they did not care about the reward at the end, and thought that it was a way for the rich families to exploit them, so they turned to join other martial arts schools.
We recruited people at that time because of the unusual salary payment method, and we missed a lot of veterans. Although it was a pity, those who could not accept the rules of the martial arts school had to be abandoned.
Those who stayed agreed verbally, but in their hearts they still felt that it was a new kind of exploitation. Most of these warriors were strong but had never been to school and had simple brains. They felt that there was no way they could attract business. If they could do it themselves, then why would they still be warriors? They might as well just become the director and do business themselves.
We have to make a living. After the disaster, all industries are in recession this year. Many businesses have closed down, and there are even fewer opportunities to recruit workers. If we can get a job opportunity, even if the conditions are harsh, we have to bite the bullet and take it.
Before the martial arts school was established, business was slow. When a new store opens, it is not like selling food or cloth, which can easily attract people to come in and buy something. What a martial arts school sells is physical labor and a storefront. Unless there is a need to invite someone, people will not come and go as they please.
Their martial arts school had no connections before, so business was inevitably slow when it first opened. There were not many tasks for the boss and director, and even fewer tasks for the martial artists.
Under such conditions, even if no one wants to be lazy, everyone is willing to actively take on the tasks assigned by the director, but there are not many tasks in total, and it is difficult to get one no matter how enthusiastic one is.
Since they have already entered the gym, they will leave after training for a while and will not get the monthly salary, which is a waste of time. This group of warriors then focused their attention on this level, which they had no confidence in and felt was a way to exploit people, so they went out to solicit business on their own.
After the daily training time was over, the warriors who had not been assigned any tasks had nothing to do so they left the martial arts hall together and went along the streets and docks to look for business.
In the first few days, everyone went out empty-handed and came back empty-handed. Zhang Fangyuan and Zhuang Qi did not blame the men who returned empty-handed for going out to be lazy. After a long time, some people were too embarrassed to go out again, but some insisted on going out when the time came.
"Director, Director!"
That day, Zhang Fangyuan took a tour of the martial arts hall. As the two boys would have a day off tomorrow, Xu He went to the meat market and bought a piece of venison. He planned to cook two delicious dishes in the evening, so he sent Zhang Fangyuan over and asked Zhuang Qi and Xiao Mao to come over for dinner.
Just as he was about to leave after he had finished his business, he saw a young warrior with an immature face running in from outside, shouting "Zhuangqi".
Fearing that something might have happened, he turned back.
"Mr. Zhang from the south city has a son in his old age. The young master's full-month banquet is coming up soon. He said he wants to hold a big banquet for the guests. He plans to borrow bowls, plates, pots and stoves from relatives and friends to prepare the banquet. There are not enough strong men in the house. He needs a few people to help carry the bowls and plates. Is this job acceptable?"
It's not a big job. Few people would take this kind of odd jobs, and many martial arts schools look down on it, so the martial artist came back specifically to ask for instructions.
Zhuang Qi only replied with one word: "Take it!"
The warrior was young and impetuous, and he immediately jumped up to show his joy.
"The commission is not high, maybe increase the workload?"
Zhang Fangyuan heard this at the door and couldn't help laughing: "But is it the business you attracted?"
Wu Fu knew that Zhang Fangyuan was the master of the tavern, so he treated him politely: "Yes."
"Then count you two."
The man was even happier, and immediately waved his fist towards the sky a few times: "Thank you, Boss."
He was about to run out, but Zhang Fangyuan stopped him, "Wait."
"I can count four missions for you this time, but I have a request."
The man's eyes lit up when he heard that, and he hurriedly moved closer to Zhang Fangyuan.
Every day there are people going out of the martial arts school to solicit business. Even if you don't count the days carefully with your fingers, you can tell from a quick recollection that it has been almost ten days. Today, someone finally set a precedent, and everyone is very curious.
Zhang Fangyuan satisfied everyone's curiosity.
"Go wherever there's excitement. Of course, you have to go to good places. If there's a fight going on, don't go and watch. Although it's easier to attract business when there's excitement, and people who are fighting are willing to pay for help in a hurry, such business violates the rules of the martial arts school and is not advisable. For example, those who work for big restaurants are often short of manpower."
"Generally, it's not easy for people to ask if they need help. If they are kind, they will talk to you, but if they are hot-tempered, they will be scolded. That's why I always bring this good thing with me when I go out."
The warriors gathered in the yard. The young warrior who had just attracted the business was eloquently introducing his tricks for attracting business on the martial arts demonstration platform. He took out a wooden sign, and people who could read could recognize at a glance that it said: Warrior, take the job!
Everyone laughed when they saw it.
Seeing this, the man flicked the sign and said, "Don't laugh, everyone. I have been out for a long time and gained experience. I made this sign and attracted business in just two days. Isn't it much better than going out empty-handed and following a mute?"
He originally didn't want to tell everyone this trick, but couldn't bear the boss's request for four tasks, so he went on stage to share his successful experience.
Zhang Fangyuan stood nearby and helped out: "You've done a great job. We need to pool our wisdom and show our talents. Xiao Ba is a living signboard."
A group of warriors were smiling shyly in the audience, but the next day everyone held a declaration sign in his hand.
The contents written on the cards were varied. Some were written in the same way as Xiao Ba's, while others were slightly creative and changed to: If you are looking for a martial artist, find someone from Ji'an Martial Arts School...
Zhang Fangyuan didn't find it funny when he saw the signs on the street. Although some people were illiterate, they would inevitably ask after seeing them so many times. It was more effective than posting notices in busy streets.
Upon seeing this, Zhuang Qi specially asked everyone to add a line of small words under their signs to indicate the location of Ji'an Martial Arts School.
After all the hard work, several people received the second-class reward in the first month. Their salaries suddenly jumped to higher levels than those of other warriors in the market. This made the warriors who failed to receive the reward later jealous, and they worked even harder to attract business.
Zhang Fangyuan saw that everyone was as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood. The business of the martial arts school was visibly increasing. He felt relieved and stopped going to the martial arts school every day. He properly handed over all the matters to Zhuang Qi.
He said to Xu He: "It seems that the day of waiting to collect the money is not far away."
"We are just getting started, so let's wait and see."
Xu He saw that Zhang Fangyuan was in a good mood. After being busy for a while, he finally had a moment of leisure. He took out a few pieces of paper and said, "Come and see. Master Luo taught the two children to write. This is what he wrote in today's class."
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