Chapter 430 Things Hidden in the Ancestral House
Inside the house, the village chief was smoking a cigarette and wanted to give one to He Xu, but He Xu refused because he didn't know how to smoke.
"The government has not touched your ancestral home. I heard you say on the phone that you want to repair it, but it will cost a lot of money. The wood of the house is old and precious, so rebuilding it will be cheaper."
He Xu: "Grandpa means to repair it as much as possible. After all, it was built bit by bit by our ancestors. In the future, our descendants can come back to live when they are old. Uncle, can you help me find a few craftsmen who can repair it and see which parts need to be worked on? I don't have much vacation time. After the repairs are completed this time, grandpa said he would come back to worship his ancestors during the Chinese New Year."
Village Chief He's eyes widened, and he asked in surprise, "Old, old leader is coming back?"
He Xu nodded: "Yes, the policy has changed now. Grandpa finally came back from the brink of death, so he must pay homage to his ancestors."
The village chief thought for a moment and said, "Our county has a good economy and there are several craftsmen in the county, but they haven't done this for many years. If you are in a hurry to repair it, I will take you to ask them tomorrow."
The cost of repair is not small, especially for some precious wood. Although it can be replaced with cheaper wood, it will take tens of thousands of dollars to restore it to its new look.
The ancestral home was built a long time ago by an ancestor who passed the imperial examination and was a Jinshi. Later, his descendants gradually expanded and renovated it. By the time of Grandpa He's generation, the ancestral home consisted of more than fifty large courtyards and hundreds of rooms.
When the village chief led the two outside, Chen Tang was shocked to see such a majestic Chinese courtyard, even the words on the plaque were magnificent and majestic.
"How long will it take to repair such a big house?"
The key was in the hands of the village chief. He opened the door and found that the room was not overgrown with weeds but was instead well-maintained.
Although the house was a bit old and it was obvious that no one had lived in it for many years, some places seemed to have been renovated. Not only was it covered with blue bricks, but the solid wood such as the table was also brand new with only a layer of dust on it.
He Xu saw the house had been repaired on the east side and asked: "Did Grandpa have it repaired?"
Village chief: “Yes, when the old chief was young, he often had people come to repair the house. Later, due to the war, he had no time, so Auntie Tian took care of it.
Afterwards, they played Landlord again, and the leader used some connections to save the ancestral home. Everything inside was looted, leaving only the ancestral hall untouched. After Aunt Tian was taken away, the old leader hadn't hired anyone to repair it for more than ten years.
I thought the leader didn't plan to continue repairing it, but I didn't expect that he would suddenly repair it again this year."
"Uncle, did you hoe the grass on the ground?"
If it hadn't been repaired in the past ten years or so, this house shouldn't have just a thin layer of soil. I'm afraid the slate tiles on the ground have been covered by weeds.
The village chief scratched his head and smiled innocently: "Actually, the chief gives me some money every year to help manage it. I usually come here to take a look and manage it when I have free time. The land is too big, so I can only manage it slowly. Occasionally, I will ask people to come and help."
"Thank you, Uncle He."
After He Xu finished speaking, he took Chen Tang's hand and walked inside. There were no weeds on the ground along the way, but the soil was mottled and not very clean due to the rain. However, it was obvious that the village chief had taken good care of the house.
The house is tall and big, but it doesn't look oppressive under the scorching sun.
Chen Tang didn't let He Zhi come over, fearing that the little boy would get sick from breathing the dust.
He Xu had the same idea, and the two of them came to the ancestral hall under the leadership of the village chief.
The ancestral hall is covered with plaques bestowed by the emperor. The village chief takes the most careful care of it. The spirit tablets are clean and there is cigarette smoke on the incense burner, which shows that the village chief often comes here to burn incense on weekdays.
Chen Tang and He Xu also lit two incense sticks.
The house was too big for the two of them to finish visiting it, so they went to the library on the top floor. The wood creaked when they stepped on it, as if no one had stepped on it for years. There were many footprints on the stairs.
He Xu pulled Chen Tang: "Be careful, the wood of this staircase should be rotten."
Chen Tang said coquettishly: "You should be careful, I'm being gentle."
The village chief looked at the loving look of the two and smiled: "Then you guys watch first and come back for lunch later."
He Xu: "Okay, thank you, Uncle He."
The library has a great view and you can see the entire village.
It's a pity that all the books here have been moved away, leaving only some wooden shelves.
Chen Tang took out the map from his clothes: "So, the old man hid something in these places?"
"Do you want to go down and take a look?" He Xu raised an eyebrow at her and took out a few keys.
Chen Tang: "Let's go."
The two of them happily went to the nearest treasure hiding place.
After searching for a long time, Shen Tang felt through the walls but still couldn't find anything: "Could it be underground?"
He did what he said. Chen Tang found a shovel nearby and threw it to He Xu, asking him to dig under the lawn according to the direction of the map.
Although He Xu was very strong, it took him almost half an hour to dig before he saw what was hidden on the ground.
"Is there really something?"
Chen Tang used his hands to dig up the soil and took out a box. After trying for a while, he still couldn't lift it, so two people had to carry it out.
When I opened it, I saw a box of silver ingots!
"Wow! So they are all silver ingots, no gold ingots?"
Chen Tang washed his hands with water and weighed it: "It's quite heavy. Are there any corrupt officials in your family?"
He Xu rolled his eyes at her and said, "Your family has corrupt officials. My ancestors have officials and businessmen. By the time of my grandfather, our ancestors had accumulated a lot of valuable things. Moreover, after our ancestors became officials, they were afraid of accidents, so they have always had the habit of hiding things, so that the descendants would not end up with a bloodline cut off.
Look at what is engraved on the box. It is the silver ingots hidden by my thirteenth generation ancestor. The family was in decline at the time, so he started a business again and later achieved some success. That is why he hid five hundred taels of silver here. "
Chen Tang: "Then let's put it back?"
Things like silver ingots are of no use to them.
He Xu: "...I dug for half a day."
“But it’s no use.”
He Xu felt wronged: "But I'm tired."
Chen Tang leaned over and kissed him: "It's not tiring, just fill it in."
This thing is not worth much now. It may be considered an antique in the future, but it is only worth tens of thousands of dollars.
"What I'm curious about now is, what is Grandpa hiding?"
According to the timeline written on the map, the last time the treasure was hidden was forty years ago. At that time, the old man was only in his twenties, and he hid the things in two batches.
The first time was when the house was being renovated. The things were hidden in the cellar under the ancestral hall. Because he was afraid of being discovered, the old man directly sealed the entrance to the cellar. If someone wanted to open it, they had to use external force to destroy it.
The second time, a room was rebuilt very close to the ancestral hall, and the things were hidden between two pillars of the house.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
