Lu Baichuan just smiled and didn't say anything.
He's at home now, with no one else around. It's fine if his wife complains, since she's right. Those people are idiots. If they can't be good rulers, they shouldn't be occupying the position without doing anything. Wouldn't it be better to give the position to the more capable Prince Chen?
However, such words cannot be spoken carelessly. If they were to be spread by others, they would certainly damage Prince Chen's reputation.
The higher their status, the more they care about their reputation; they cannot afford to ruin Prince Chen's image in the hearts of the people.
He reached out and pulled his wife into his arms, saying, "Go to sleep, it's getting late, we'll be busy opening the ancestral hall tomorrow."
Actually, the opening of the restaurant and the opening of the ancestral hall shouldn't have been done at the same time. After all, the restaurant had just opened and things weren't settled yet, so it was a bit rushed to worry about the ancestral hall. But there was no other way. Lu Baichuan had a lot of things to do, and it was already difficult for him to come back for a few days. Such an important matter as opening the ancestral hall had to be done while he was still there.
Even so, the Lu family did not require everyone to be present. In particular, since Madam Yu was busy with the restaurant business, she definitely couldn't leave. So they didn't force her and let her take Lu Guilan and Madam Shen with her to do her own things. If there was anything that Madam Yu needed to do, then Ting'er would take her place. After all, they were all family, and there weren't so many rules.
The next morning, the Lu family got up early as usual. For today's ceremony, they had to slaughter a pig and a rooster to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.
The men were busy with these things early in the morning, while the women were busy preparing food.
Opening the ancestral hall is a big event. We will invite a Taoist priest to perform a ritual, and then the filial sons and grandsons will kowtow.
This isn't just about Old Man Lu's family; it also includes Lu Fugui and his clansmen, all of whom must be present. The ancestral hall enshrines their ancestors, as well as those who perished on the journey of fleeing famine.
In many families, women are not allowed to enter the ancestral hall, but the Lu family does not have such a rule. Both men and women are enshrined inside, which makes it more convenient for worship.
Because there were many people, everyone ate at the Lu family's house all day. Cui'er and the other women also came to help early in the morning.
Everything used this time was bought with money pooled together by everyone, but the Lu family contributed the majority of the money, while the others contributed less. The pork for dinner was divided according to how much money each person contributed.
This is fair to everyone, and no one feels it's inappropriate.
Nowadays, these clansmen either work in the Lu family's workshops, help out in the shops, or help drive carts. They also cultivate a small plot of land they have reclaimed and plant medicinal herbs with the Lu family. So far, every household is better off than when they were in their old home, so they are willing to spend money on their ancestors.
The only drawback is that, apart from Old Lu's family, the other families are not all complete. When they get together and see how complete Old Lu's family is, they feel both envious and heartbroken.
On days like these, He Jiuniang, who never liked cooking, would help out, sitting in the courtyard with a group of young wives washing vegetables, chatting about everyday things and things in Jingzhou.
These young wives still longed for Jingzhou. Although He Jiuniang felt there was nothing much to say, she couldn't resist their eager gazes, so she patiently talked to them about it, which made them even more excited.
Seeing their expressions, He Jiuniang said, "If you want to develop your careers in the prefectural city, you need to work hard and strive to get a job there. After that, I will arrange for you to go to the prefectural city for training once every three months, so that you can get a feel for what's happening outside."
Although the female workers in the workshop all use sewing machines and there's not much to learn in this area, they shouldn't be confined here forever. They need to be allowed to go out and broaden their horizons, broaden their thinking, and keep up with the times. This would be good for the development of the workshop.
Most importantly, the business is growing bigger and bigger, and the workshops here are already in short supply. She wants to set up a few more in the capital city, but this involves sewing machines, so she can't just do it casually. She has to make sure this secret is kept.
There are many things I want to do, but I'll take it slow.
The others, however, had no idea that she had thought about many things in such a short time. When they heard that she could send them to study outside, their eyes lit up.
"Really? Jiu Niang, you're so kind!"
Actually, everyone knew that it wasn't really necessary, since sending them to the prefectural city to study would be quite an expense. But even so, He Jiuniang was still willing to do it, and they were so moved that they didn't know what to say.
He Jiuniang chuckled and accepted the flattery.
Of course, she wasn't doing this solely for their benefit; it was also for the good of her own business.
In life, one must constantly learn to enrich oneself in order to create more wealth.
Just then, Old Man Lu came in and called out, "The priests are here! Take the prepared offerings and let's go to the ancestral hall together!"
The monks invited this time are from the temple. They've come to perform a ceremony, chant some sutras, and offer some prayers for the deceased.
He Jiuniang didn't believe in these things before, but now that she was here, she had to believe some things. So she handed over her work to her maid and followed along very enthusiastically.
The descendants placed the previously carved memorial tablets inside, then laid out the offerings. The priests began chanting sutras, and a line of Lu family members knelt down, praying with their hands clasped together that their ancestors could adapt to the new environment and rest in peace.
The kneeling lasted all morning, and the children were somewhat unable to bear it, quietly rubbing their sore knees, wondering when the ritual would end.
Even some adults couldn't hold on, and their backs slowly bent down.
There was no way around it; maintaining one posture for so long was really uncomfortable. My legs were numb and my back ached, but this ritual was very important, so I couldn't just leave. I had no choice but to endure it.
Only Lu Xiaoyang stood up straight from the very beginning and didn't move an inch.
The memorial tablet above contains the names of his parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters—all of whom died because of him.
He knew he was wrong from the beginning, but he refused to admit it or face it before. But now he does.
Although the dead cannot be brought back to life, he still has the opportunity to make amends to the living, which is already very good for him.
When it was lunchtime, the gathering came to an end, and the monks were all surrounded by people to have their vegetarian meal, but Lu Xiaoyang remained unmoved.
"Little lamb, time to eat!"
He Jiuniang sensed that the child had something on his mind, so she called out loudly.
The dog even ran over to help him up, asking, "Little Lamb Brother, are your legs numb and you can't get up?"
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