Chapter 324: Shocking, this ancestral hall is so awesome!
evening.
Public Security Bureau family compound.
While washing dishes, Mrs. Zhu happily sang a classic song that was created decades ago:
"The East is Red, the Sun is Rising " China has a...
He seeks happiness for the people
He is the people's savior ..."
Seeing Mrs. Zhu's happy look, Old Man Zhu, who was stuffing tobacco into the pipe, also smiled.
Today is indeed a day worth being happy about.
In the morning, their youngest son and daughter-in-law finally went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to register their marriage.
Although they haven't had a wedding yet, it's not considered a real marriage for Bobai people of this era, but the two of them have obtained a marriage certificate and are now legally married recognized by the state, which is very different from before.
Mrs. Zhu washed the bowl, wiped her wet hands on her clothes, and walked over to ask, "Old man, now that Ajie and Azhen have registered, we have to hire someone to decorate the house, especially their wedding room, so that it can be decorated as presentable as possible. What do you think?"
Old Man Zhu nodded and said, "We should renovate it. We can't let them down."
Mrs. Zhu said, "Then go out and ask someone tomorrow how much it will cost to decorate the wedding room."
Old Man Zhu took a few puffs of his water pipe and said, "Okay, I'll go out and ask someone tomorrow."
At this moment, Allen Chu came back and answered, “Dad, what do you want to ask someone?”
Mrs. Zhu smiled and said, "Ajie, we are talking about decorating your wedding room. Ask your father to go out and ask someone tomorrow how much it will cost."
Zhu Junjie understood what he said, and immediately waved his hands and said, "Dad, Mom, there's no need to ask this. There's no need to decorate the wedding room."
Old Mrs. Zhu frowned and said, "That won't work. Although Ah Zhen doesn't mind our poor conditions, we should also take this matter seriously. If we can't build a new house, we should at least decorate the wedding room to be decent."
Old Man Zhu echoed, "Ajie, listen to your mother on this matter. Decorate the wedding room so that the bride's relatives and friends can come and see it, and you will feel more comfortable."
Zhu Junjie knew that his parents had misunderstood, and quickly explained: "Dad, Mom, I told you not to decorate the wedding room because the woman's side is already preparing!"
Mrs. Zhu was stunned for a moment when she heard this and asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhu Junjie said: "Azhen also told me after the registration that her father gave her the house in the Deng's community in Naye as a dowry. The house is currently being renovated. Once the house is renovated, we will determine the date for the wedding."
As soon as these words came out, both Old Man Zhu and Old Lady Zhu were stunned! As I said before, in Bobai County at that time, I only heard of parents preparing houses for their sons when they got married, but I have never heard of parents using houses as dowries for their daughters when they got married. This simply refreshed their cognition.
Moreover, everyone in the county knows about the Naye Dengshi Community. It is recognized as the community with the best living conditions. No one knows whether there will be such a beautiful community in the future, but for now, no house can compare with the Naye Dengshi Community.
Who would believe such a beautiful house as a dowry for my daughter? "Ajie, is everything you said true?"
"Ah Zhen told me this herself, so of course it's true."
Old Mrs. Zhu said in disbelief: "Ah Zhen has five brothers!"
Old Man Zhu also added with a look of shock: "Not only five brothers, she also has nephews!"
Zhu Junjie naturally understood his parents' thoughts. When he first heard Ah Zhen say this, he also couldn't believe it was true. He continued to play his big move and said, "It's not just the house. Ah Zhen's father gave her the Suifeng Hotel as a dowry!"
As soon as these words came out, Old Man Zhu and Old Lady Zhu were completely paralyzed! If they hadn't known that their in-laws had five sons, Old Man Zhu and Old Lady Zhu would have immediately suspected whether their in-laws wanted their youngest son to marry into the family, because the dowry was really too scary.
Because the youngest son and daughter-in-law had been talking for quite some time, they didn't know exactly how much profit the Suifeng Hotel had, but they knew its approximate income. In short, that income was definitely an astronomical figure for them.
It is no exaggeration to say that the money they earn in their entire lives, added together, is probably not as much as a restaurant's monthly income.
Such a restaurant that lays golden eggs was actually used as a dowry for the daughter. Even if this kind of statement was placed in other places, few people would dare to believe it, let alone in Bobai where the idea of favoring boys over girls is serious. This completely subverted their three views.
Next, Old Man Zhu and Old Lady Zhu asked again and again, until their youngest son confirmed it again and again, they had to accept this fact.
It took Mrs. Zhu more than ten minutes to digest this great news. Then she looked at her youngest son and said seriously, "Ajie, you must treat your wife well in this life and never let her suffer any grievances!"
Old Man Zhu had already accepted this great thing, and said with emotion: "Not only Ajie, but also us, we must treat Azhen well, otherwise we really can't face our in-laws."
Allen Chu nodded and said, “Dad, Mom, don’t worry, I will definitely treat Azhen well.”
…
The mountains are green and the rivers are white; the rain sounds like smoke in the cuckoo's calls.
There are few idle people in the countryside in April. After finishing sericulture, they start planting in the fields.
From the poem "April in the Countryside", we can see that people in rural areas are quite busy in April of the lunar calendar.
Bobai County starts harvesting winter potatoes and planting rice in late March, and the process basically ends in early April.
At the same time, villagers also have to harvest winter tobacco in April.
Bobai is a veritable large tobacco-growing county. From 1966 to 1983, it produced a total of 125 million kilograms of tobacco (dry), with an average annual production of 6.922 million kilograms, accounting for more than one-third of Guangxi's tobacco production.
Therefore, at this time, nine out of ten Bobai people all smoke hookah, which has a lot to do with the large scale of tobacco cultivation.
Although the scale of tobacco cultivation has decreased since 1984 due to changes in the tobacco market, the output is still the highest in Guangxi.
Bobai Xintian Township has always been mainly engaged in agricultural planting, especially flue-cured tobacco, with large planting area, high yield and good quality. Last year, nearly 300,000 kilograms of flue-cured tobacco were produced. Among them, Deng Changli from Nahua Village contributed more than 30,000 kilograms of output alone, making him a veritable flue-cured tobacco king.
Deng Changli started contracting land to grow flue-cured tobacco in 1983. In the past two or three years, relying on tobacco cultivation, he has become the richest man in Nahua Village and enjoys considerable prestige in the village.
At this time, Deng Changli was sitting at the door of his house, smoking a water pipe. The tobacco was naturally produced by his own family.
After smoking a few cigarettes, a half-grown boy ran over and said, "Uncle 15, my dad wants you to come to my house. He wants to discuss something with you."
Deng Changli put down the pipe, stood up and asked, "Did your father say anything?"
The boy replied, "No, but there's a guest at my house. It should be related to that guest. I don't know what it is. I still need to go and call for help. Uncle 15, you go first!"
"Okay, I'll be right there."
…
The Deng family of Xintian separated from Naye and settled here in the 101st generation. It has been hundreds of years since they settled here, and the population has grown to more than 2,000 people. It is a branch of the Naye Deng family with a relatively strong development momentum.
The current head of the Xintian Deng family is named Deng Changfa, who is already in his early fifties.
At this time, Deng Changfa was making tea at home to entertain his brother Deng Changjue (Di Lei) who came from Naye. The two chatted while drinking tea.
Deng Changfa took a sip of tea and said, "Brother, you are really amazing. I heard that your entire clan raised funds to build a Naye Deng's community in the county. Brothers from our village who went to the county came back and praised the community to the sky, saying that it was the most beautiful house they had ever seen."
Deng Changjue said with a smile on his face: "It's OK. This was all initiated by our clan leader. Before it was completed, we didn't expect this community to be so beautiful. After we built the houses and took care of the landscaping, the final effect amazed us."
Deng Changfa asked: "I heard that a house can be raised for 5,000 yuan. Is that true?"
Deng Changjue nodded and said, "Not bad, a house costs 5,000 yuan and is 160 square meters."
“Brother, you guys are really this!”
Deng Changfa gave a thumbs up and then exclaimed: "That's 5,000 yuan. It wouldn't be surprising if eight or ten households could come up with it. Our village can do it, but it's simply unbelievable that every one of the hundreds of households in the clan can come up with that much money."
Deng Changjue took a sip of tea and said with pride, "This is all thanks to our clan leader. Since the old clan leader abdicated three years ago and our new clan leader took over, he has led our entire clan to become wealthy. Our lives are indeed different now than they were three years ago."
Deng Changfa was also the head of the clan, and he knew better than anyone how difficult it was to lead the clan to prosperity. He could not help but ask humbly, "Brother, I wonder how your clan leader has made such a big change in just over three years?"
Deng Changjue said casually: "In fact, it's not complicated. Our clan leader first led us to grow lychees and watermelons, and then raised funds to open a passenger transport company in the county town. Since then, our lives have been getting better and better!"
Deng Changfa was stunned for a moment. Is it that simple? Just when he was about to ask for details, the people he asked his son to call began to come over one after another.
When it comes to major events within this tribe, they naturally won't invite ordinary members of the tribe to come, but instead invite the elders and prominent figures of the tribe.
Soon, all the people invited by Deng Changfa arrived, including Deng Changli, the richest man in Nahua Village.
Deng Changfa introduced the two parties, and after they had greeted each other, he said to the clansmen: "The Naye brothers came here today to tell us something important. The Naye Deng family is preparing to raise funds to rebuild the ancestral hall."
Deng Changli understood what he said and continued, "We are also descendants of the Naye Deng family. Now that the Naye Deng family wants to rebuild the ancestral hall, we must also contribute. I wonder how the ancestral hall is going to be built? Will it be rebuilt on the original site, or will it be rebuilt at another site?"
Deng Changjue took a sip of tea and replied, "We are going to choose another site for the reconstruction, which is the grain drying field in Naye Village. I wonder if you have any impression of that place?"
Deng Changfa shook his head and said, "I haven't been back to the ancestral land of Naye for more than ten years. I only remember the location of the ancestral hall, and I don't have any impression of anything else."
Deng Changli also shook his head and said, "I haven't been back to the ancestral land of Naye for more than ten years!"
Other elders also shook their heads. Although they were all descendants of the Naye Deng family and had not had any contact for hundreds of years, the two places were still relatively far apart. When there was nothing going on, the two sides certainly did not have much contact.
In the past, when they had contact, it was basically only when there were major events like building ancestral halls and worshipping ancestors, then the Deng family would send someone to notify them.
Over the past decade, because of the reasons in the previous ten years, the Deng family of Naye has not held ancestral worship ceremonies, and the contact between the two sides has been temporarily interrupted.
Almost everyone present had been back to the ancestral land of Naye, but it was normal that they couldn't remember what the ancestral land looked like after so many years.
Deng Changjue said with a smile: "This time the ancestral hall is rebuilt, you will have a good impression of it once you go back."
Deng Changfa nodded and asked, "Brother, how do you plan to build this new ancestral hall? What's the budget?"
Deng Changjue said: "Our clan leader wanted to build the ancestral hall, either not at all, or one that ranks among the best in the country, so he invited a professional architect to design it. We have seen the design renderings. If the ancestral hall is really built like that, it will be very beautiful.
As for the budget, the architect gave 1.18 million.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire audience fell silent. Everyone was stunned.
The Deng family wanted to build an ancestral hall that would rank among the best in the country? This was too crazy!
After all, the Naye Deng family is just an inconspicuous branch among the many branches of the Nanyang Deng family. If Nanyang wants to build such an ancestral hall, there is nothing strange about it. After all, it is the ancestral land respected by millions of Deng clan members across the country.
But Naye Deng, a small branch of the Deng family, now has to spend 1.18 million to build an ancestral hall. It's really horrifying!
Deng Changli calmed down his shock and praised from the bottom of his heart: "Brother, I have to say that your clan leader is really courageous!"
Deng Changfa took a deep breath and asked, "Brother, I want to ask, how much do you charge for building the ancestral hall?"
Seeing the extremely shocked expressions of these clan brothers, Deng Changjue was secretly delighted and smiled, "The per capita fee is not much, only 10 yuan per person. Our clan leader said that the per capita fee cannot be too high, so as not to burden everyone. The money for building the ancestral hall mainly depends on donations from clan members with good economic conditions."
An elder of the clan asked: "How much donation is needed to be included in the monument of merit in the ancestral hall?"
Deng Changjue replied: "Donations of 20 yuan can be included in the memorial text; donations of more than 200 yuan can be included in the merit tablet. As for the ranking of the merit tablets, they must be ranked from high to low according to the donation amount; as for the merit wall where the family information is recorded, there are three different levels of tablets. The basic level is 1,000 yuan to 4,999 yuan, the advanced level is 5,000 yuan to 9,999 yuan, and the top level is more than 10,000 yuan."
"hiss……"
Several people present gasped when they heard this. This price shocked them again.
You have to donate 20 yuan to submit an obituary, which is a really high threshold.
It is also outrageous that it costs more than 200 yuan to put up a monument of merit, but after all, it is a monument of merit, so it is understandable.
The most terrifying thing is the wall of merit. They are naturally familiar with it. It is just one or several walls with merit tablets built on them, on which the life of the owner of the merit tablet and his family is recorded. The higher the grade, the bigger the tablet, the more detailed the recorded content, and the closer the position is.
In this era, one would be eligible to be included in such a wall of merit by donating a few hundred yuan. But now, the starting price for the newly built ancestral hall of the Deng family in Naye is 1,000 yuan, and some even exceed 10,000 yuan. It is indeed a bit scary.
But considering that their total investment is as high as 1.18 million, it is normal to raise the threshold as high as possible.
After being shocked, Deng Changfa, Deng Changli and the others began to think in their hearts, if they had no money, it would be fine, but if they had money, which member of the clan would not want to put a monument on the wall of merit in the ancestral hall, recording the life stories of the whole family for future generations to admire?
From ancient times to the present, there have always been only a very small number of people who are indifferent to fame and fortune. Most people spend their entire lives pursuing fame and fortune.
If they could put a stele on the wall of merit in the newly built ancestral hall, recording the life story of their family, they would become famous in the entire Naye Deng family. Few people would be able to refuse such fame.
Deng Changfa then asked, "Brother, when will the groundbreaking ceremony for the ancestral hall begin?"
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Deng Changjue said: "The groundbreaking ceremony for the ancestral hall will be held on the 16th day of the fourth lunar month. All the brothers and sisters are invited to attend."
Deng Changfa nodded and said, "We will definitely attend this."
Having said that, Deng Changjue finished the tea in his cup, put it down and said, "Brothers, I will leave first. I still need to go somewhere else to inform other clan members!"
Deng Changli immediately tried to persuade him to stay, "Brother, you came all the way here, you must have a meal before you leave!"
Deng Changfa replied, "Yes, brother, it's a rare visit for you. I'll have someone kill a chicken and cook. You have to stay for a meal."
Other elders also spoke out to persuade him to stay. The other party represented the Naye Deng family, and he would definitely tell the clan members how he was treated when he returned. So of course they had to treat him well, so as not to leave a bad impression on the Naye clan members.
Deng Changjue said with a smile: "Don't be polite, brothers. It's already late. If you stay for dinner, it will be difficult to take a bus to other places!"
Deng Changfa immediately responded, "Brother, this is not a problem. I will send a car to take you there after dinner."
Deng Changli agreed and said, "That's right, brother, don't worry, we still have small trucks in our village."
Seeing that it was hard to refuse such a kind offer, Deng Changjue could only agree: "Okay, I'm sorry to trouble you brothers!"
…
When Deng Changjue rushed over to inform the Deng clan members in Xintian about the reconstruction of the ancestral hall, clan members from Baisha, Najiang, Shankou, Gongguan, Changle, Dadun, Lingshan, Zhangmugen, Zhutoujiao, Shanling, Qutian, Shahe, Lingjiao, Jiangning, Nalin, Baisha Dengwu, Beiliulicao and other places in Hepu went to inform them.
So many Deng clan members have had more or less contact in Bobai for hundreds of years. However, outside Bobai, there are fewer contacts in more distant places. For a place like Beiliu, which is more than 100 kilometers away, it is normal to lose contact in this era of inconvenient transportation.
However, it is not difficult to reconnect as long as we send someone over there.
After all, they moved away, so they definitely knew where their ancestors were from.
Those who don’t know where their ancestors came from basically did so because of turmoil or various accidents.
When these branch clan members of the Naye Deng clan received information from someone sent by the Naye Deng clan about rebuilding the ancestral hall, and heard that the budget for rebuilding the ancestral hall was 1.18 million, they were naturally stunned.
This number would be normal in later generations, but in this era, its power is like that of an atomic bomb explosion, and no one who hears it would not be shocked.
After the shock, the attitudes of all the clan members were very positive.
Originally, everyone was a descendant of the Naye Deng family. Now that the Naye Deng family is going to build such an awesome ancestral hall, all the clan members with good economic conditions want to participate and donate money, because this is the fastest and most effective way to increase prestige.
As for whether it is useful to gain this kind of prestige, that depends on one's own opinion.
If you just live on your own land, then this kind of prestige is really not very useful. At most, it can only make you famous and let the members of the Ye Deng family know you. But if you want to go out and make a big career, then this kind of prestige is very useful.
Maybe one day, when you need help, you can find someone who can help you through your clan connections.
Therefore, after receiving the notice from Naye Deng, these wealthy relatives scattered across the country were all ready to put up a merit stele on the merit wall of the ancestral hall to record the life stories of the entire family and to make a name for themselves in their ancestral land.
…
In a blink of an eye, it was already the 15th day of the fourth lunar month.
At the gate of the Deng family's ancestral hall in Naye, clan members began slaughtering pigs and sheep early in the morning to entertain the Deng clan members who came from all over the place.
Although the groundbreaking ceremony for the ancestral hall will not be held until tomorrow, relatives from all over the country will arrive a day in advance. If they arrive on the same day, they will definitely be too late. After all, transportation nowadays is not as developed as it will be in later generations.
Therefore, after two o'clock in the afternoon, relatives began to arrive one after another.
When relatives from all over the country arrived, they all went to the ancestral hall to sign in under the leadership of the Naye Deng clan members.
After the clan members finished signing in, the clan member who was in charge of guiding them introduced them: "Dear clan members, this is Deng Shirong, the current clan leader of our Naye Deng clan."
"Hello, Uncle Shirong!"
"Hello, Lord Shi Rong!"
Relatives from all over the place came out to greet each other. These relatives were all those who moved out from Naye Deng clan. They had always had contact with their ancestral land, so naturally they all used the same generation name when arranging their names.
These clan members are elders of relatively high generations in their respective branches, but in front of Deng Shirong, they are all nephews and grandchildren, without even a peer.
Deng Shirong smiled and said, "Welcome all clan members back to our ancestral land. Due to the turmoil in the country over the past hundred years, many of our Naye Deng clan members have lost contact with each other. The last contact with clan members from all over the country dates back to more than ten years ago.
Fortunately, our family tree records the situations of our relatives from different places, so we can reconnect them.
Now, we are not familiar with each other yet, please introduce yourselves first."
Immediately, a clan member stood up and said, "Hello, clan members. I am Deng Changli from Xintian, Bobai. I have contracted a lot of land in the village to grow flue-cured tobacco. I hope you can take care of me."
Deng Changfa also stepped forward to introduce himself, "Hello, everyone. I am Deng Changfa, the head of the Deng family in Xintian, Bobai. I have opened a brick factory in Xintian. Please take care of it."
With them taking the lead, clan members from all over the country basically introduced themselves in this way.
"Hello, everyone. I am Deng Changqiang from Hepu Pass. I have opened a bowl factory in the village. Please take care of me."
"Hello, everyone. I am Deng Yunguo from Hepu Mansion. I have opened a pig farm and raised hundreds of pigs. Please take care of me."
"Hello, everyone. I am Deng Changxing from Beiliucao. I have contracted several hundred acres of mountain ridges in the village to plant fruit trees. Please take care of me."
“…”
As relatives from all over the country introduced themselves, Deng Shirong realized that these relatives were no ordinary people. Almost every one of them had their own industry and certain financial resources.
What attracted Deng Shirong's attention the most was a relative named Deng Changsheng from Shahe, Bobai, who ran a tile factory.
Laying tiles when decorating a building will be a popular trend in the next ten to twenty years. No matter in the city or in the countryside, as long as a new building is to be decorated, tiles will basically be used. This is a very promising industry.
As long as he can seize the opportunity, Deng Changsheng should be able to make a fortune.
After the clan members from all over the country finished their self-introductions, Deng Yungui, Deng Changbao, Deng Changxiong and other prominent figures of the Naye Deng family naturally could not lag behind and also introduced themselves according to this pattern.
When Naye Deng started to introduce himself, Deng Shirong, who was in a hurry to pee, went to urinate.
After the members of the Naye Deng clan who were present had introduced themselves, Deng Changfa asked, "Brothers, I would like to ask what business Lord Shirong is in?"
He asked this not to embarrass the other party. The member of the Naye Deng clan who came to inform them that day had already told them that the Naye Deng clan could be what it is today because of the leadership of their clan leader.
Therefore, he was very curious about what kind of business the head of the Deng family in Naye owned. Deng Changbao, who was doing the same business as Deng Changfa, asked with a smile: "Brother Changfa, have you been to the county town in the past two years?"
Deng Changfa was a little confused when he heard this, but he still replied, "I've been there, what's the matter?"
Deng Changbao said: "If you have been to the county town, you should know the name of Suifeng Hotel, right?"
Deng Changfa reacted as soon as he heard this and asked in surprise, "The largest Suifeng Hotel in the county is open to the public by Shirong?"
Deng Changbao nodded and smiled, "Yes, the Suifeng Hotel was opened by our clan leader, and there is also the Tenglong Passenger Transport Company. I wonder if you, Brother Changfa, have heard of it?"
Deng Changfa said, "I heard from the brother who informed us that this is a passenger transport company funded by your entire clan, with more than 30 large buses."
Deng Changbao said: "This passenger transport company was also started by our clan leader. The Yongjia Supermarket that opened on National Day last year was also opened by our clan leader."
These words made Deng Changfa's scalp numb.
Because he happened to know all the three industries mentioned by Deng Changbao.
Among these three industries, the passenger transport company is naturally the most profitable, but this is a company owned by the entire family, and he does not know how much shares Shi Ronggong, the leader, holds in the company.
However, he knew about the other two. Picking the worst one at random would probably earn more than his brick factory. With these two industries plus the shares in the passenger transport company, he couldn't imagine how high the total income would be.
As for other relatives who were not clear about these three major industries, other members of the Ye Deng clan also explained them to them.
In short, when Deng Shirong came back from peeing, relatives from all over the place looked at him differently.
Next, Deng Shirong invited these relatives to his home for tea, and Deng Yungui, Deng Changbao and others naturally came along to join them.
Because these relatives had heard about Deng Shirong's awesomeness from Deng Changbao and others, they thought the layout of Deng Shirong's house was normal.
After all the clan members were seated and drinking tea, Deng Shirong took out the renderings designed by the architect in Nanning and said, "Dear clan members, this is the rendering of the ancestral hall designed by the professional architect. Please take a look!"
Before coming, these clan members were extremely curious about the ancestral hall that cost 1.18 million yuan to build. Now that Deng Shirong has taken out the renderings, they of course want to take a look.
Although they were mentally prepared, these clan members were still stunned with shock after seeing the renderings of the ancestral hall.
Beautiful, so beautiful!
Moreover, the layout of the entire ancestral hall is magnificent. Once such an ancestral hall is built, it will really cause a huge sensation! The following is a partial picture of the ancestral hall: No wonder it cost 1.18 million to build this ancestral hall, and no wonder the head of the Ye Deng family is confident that he will build an ancestral hall that ranks among the best in the country and ensure that it will be passed down for a hundred years without damage.
After seeing the rendering of the ancestral hall, all the clan members understood and their hearts were boiling with excitement.
They must participate in such an awesome ancestral hall and leave their names on the monument of merit. And they don’t want to leave their names at the tail end, but they want to leave their names in front of the monument and the wall of merit.
Unless something unexpected happens, such an ancestral hall is destined to be remembered forever. It may even be passed down for hundreds of years like those ancient buildings.
It is indeed a big burden for them to take out several tens of thousands of dollars now, and they may not be able to earn it back in one or two years.
But such an opportunity, once missed, will never come back. Compared to making the whole family famous, they think it is very worthwhile to invest all their income for one or two years into it.
(End of this chapter)