Chapter 184: Guangzong Yaozu, the past forty years (5k)
In the history of Laokeng Village, there are not many genealogies that open to a single page.
After all, there are not many people in Laokeng Village. The population base is small, and the probability of developing talents is also small.
The last genealogy on a single page was the ancestor of the God of War who killed seventeen Japanese in the defense of the county during the Anti-Japanese War.
In fact, the purpose of opening a single page of the genealogy is not to allow Xu Qingshan to become independent.
Instead, there is a separate page behind Xu Xuejun, the second wife of the Xu family in Laokeng Village, Xu Qinghe's family.
This page will include Xu Qingshan's name, trade name, date of birth, place of origin, college entrance examination time, official position, main deeds, family praise, etc.
This stuff needs someone with some culture to write it.
And people with some culture are basically clan elders.
Xu Donglin is already preparing to go back and read and study the compilation of articles about the number one scholar in the past. Before he is buried, he will think more about how to write about Xu Qingshan's future deeds and find a way out for his son Xu Jingang.
"Dear clan members! Dear family members!"
"Today is the big day for my Yunyang Xu clan's Laokeng branch!"
Xu Donglin is responsible for presiding over today's entrance ceremony.
Although Laokeng Village is only a small village, it still has all these things.
Xu Qingshan put on a very elegant Zhongshan suit and a piece of red silk embroidered with "No. 1 Scholar" and stood in the open space in front of the ancestral temple, with his back to the screen wall.
It’s not like he’s dressed like a tall man wearing a red suit and a high hat.
Many tribesmen gathered around the ancestral temple, looking at Xu Qingshan, who was standing with his head held high, and the honor guards around him who had changed their clothes.
The ancestral temple had been cleaned three days ago, the temple door was sealed, and a talisman was posted on the temple door.
"The ancestral house is sealed! The purification ceremony has been completed!"
"The auspicious time has come! Open the ancestral home!"
Xu Donglin brought out the ancestral snake staff and knocked the strip of stone bricks under him vigorously. He wore a high hat and a red silk coat. He was the elder of "Liu Gongquan" at this time and presided over the ceremony.
"Open the door!"
"Get up the sedan!"
"Offer incense!"
The population of Laokeng Village is not large, but according to custom, a few young men were invited to create a scaled-down version of the dragon and lion dance troupe. The gong and drum troupe also played music, and the eight-note south pipe played together.
"Today, my ancestors opened the gate of the ancestral temple~ ah~"
"I~ came to the hall with my parents~ ah~"
The stage had been cleared a long time ago, and several opera actors sang on the stage about the number one scholar returning home.
In an environment with such strong local traditional characteristics.
Xu Qingshan adapted very well. He raised the incense in his hand and stood at the head of the team, followed by Xu Xuejun and Lin Yuehua, followed by Xu Xuewu and other villagers who were supporting his grandma.
These invited dragon and lion dance troupes, gong and drum troupes, music troupes, and opera troupes are all floating outsiders, and they must be booked in advance. At a glance, there are almost thirty or forty people invited.
The middle door of the ancestral temple in front of Xu Qingshan was wide open. When entering the courtyard, there was a large incense burner. Other scattered incense roots were cleared from the incense burner, leaving only three large incense pillars standing in the middle.
"The Number One Scholar offers incense!"
Xu Donglin leaned on his snake staff and shouted loudly.
Although he is not young, he is full of energy and energy.
Xu Qingshan stepped into the ancestral temple and inserted the three red incense sticks into the incense burner.
"Bow down ~ Lord of the Earth!"
"Second worship~God!"
"Three obeisances ~ Emperor Wenchang!"
"Four obeisances ~ Mr. Lin Taishi!"
"Five bows ~ Kai Zhang Holy King!"
"Six obeisances to our ancestors!"
Xu Qingshan took the lead, bowing to Xu Donglin's rhythm and bowing respectfully.
"The Zhuangyuan Duke and his parents entered the hall to pay homage to the ancestor of the Xu family in Yunyang, Zhong Gong. Friends and clan members burned gold and silver to worship heaven and ancestors!"
Xu Donglin finished speaking.
Let others take the gold, silk and silver paper to another incense burner to burn gold and silver, while he led Xu Qingshan's family through the middle gate and entered the ancestral temple.
Xu Qingshan had visited the ancestral temple before.
It's just that the ancestral temple looked dilapidated at that time, but now it seems to have been recently renovated. The wood is shiny, even in color, and quite impressive.
Although this ancestral temple is not big, it still has space and space.
"Zi Chonggong, General Zhaode of the Tang Dynasty, followed the Holy King of Kai Zhang into Longjiang Mansion, led the troops to defeat the bandits, and was granted the title of Yunzhang's hometown."
Xu Donglin doesn’t need to hold a manual in his hands.
Even today, he is just a former teacher who secretly teaches literacy to children during special times. He has no social identity and no serious job. He has been just a self-proclaimed poor scholar all his life.
But when he stood in the ancestral temple, holding a snake staff, he could hold his head high and his chest upright, proudly speaking of the glory of his ancestors.
This is a deep sense of belonging and identity.
Xu Donglin introduced the ancestors of the Xu family and then looked at Xu Qingshan.
"Today, Xu Qingshan, the forty-ninth grandson of Zi Zhonggong and the twenty-fourth grandson of Erfang, has won the top prize. He is the first top scorer in the college entrance examination in China's history. The country has appointed the top scorer to invite the ancestors to see him and enter the ancestral hall. The genealogy is published separately, and the ancestors are honored to show their immortal contributions. "
"Dong Zhuangyuan, bow down twelve times."
Xu Qingshan listened to this somewhat strange tribute with mixed feelings.
But he still obeyed the request and knelt down on the small red square pillow for twelve times.
"It's done!"
After Xu Donglin finished speaking, he breathed a sigh of relief and came forward to gently support Xu Qingshan.
"Qingshan, that's enough. We will continue singing on the stage later in the evening, and there will be a banquet in the evening. If it's too late to finish, you can come and stay at my house, which has air conditioning."
"Thank you, uncle. We will go out after dinner. We have to go to Yunyang Ancestral Hall tomorrow."
Xu Qingshan wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Although this sense of ritual is very important, whether it is him, Xu Donglin, Xu Xuejun, Lin Yuehua, or other villagers who are following Xu Qingshan.
Everyone was sweating.
But on such a big day as today, no one would stop coming because of the heat.
"Let's go out, burn this plate of gold and silver, and then we can go to the theater."
Xu Donglin picked up a plate of gold and silver on the ancestral temple table and handed it to Xu Qingshan.
Go through the process.
Xu Qingshan found it a bit novel.
He had seen several ceremonies before, but he was still a child at the time and could not participate in them. This time, he was the core of the ceremony, and it was the highest-level ceremony in so many years.
Although this is just the inheritance of a small mountain village, Xu Qingshan felt something in his heart.
"Okay, uncle, thank you for your hard work today."
Xu Qingshan's family left the ancestral temple and went to various houses for a walk and chat. Xu Qingshan also roughly understood the current situation of some young people in Laokeng Village who were working outside and farming at home. He left his contact information and had some plans in mind. , just had dinner, watched the first scene, and then went home.
As for the work of those clan members, Xu Qingshan planned to leave it to Hou Cheng to arrange first.
Let them do it first and observe their character. Those who can be used will continue to be selected and used, and those who are not of great use will be placed in positions that do not require ability.
Sometimes it can also fill the head.
The family drove slowly out of Laokeng Village. Xu Xuejun's emotional state was very stable. If things like this happened in the past, Xu Xuejun would definitely lose his temper with a dark face.
But his expression was normal at this time, and he was driving the car.
"dad."
Xu Qingshan opened his mouth to explore.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Xu Xuejun's expression was calm.
"today."
Xu Qingshan was about to speak. Today's events should be quite irritating to his father, but Xu Qingshan also didn't want some people to bite him like maggots attached to their bones.
"fine."
Xu Xuejun shook his head.
He glanced through the rearview mirror at Lin Yuehua, who was curled up and sleeping in the back seat of the car.
"If I go to Longjiang City to work, how will your mother arrange it?"
Xu Qingshan turned his head to look at his father.
He seemed to have completed his transformation quickly today, and he seemed to have become much more stable emotionally.
really.
Some people say that apart from experience, the thing that makes people grow the fastest is pressure.
If no one said it, it was Xu Qingshan who said it.
"The municipal bureau is not far from the city government, but I want to leave the tax department and go to Longjiang New District. Then my mother will go to Ershi Primary School."
"Isn't that just enough to live in our house?"
"Let's buy another set then. That set is a bit too small for you two."
Xu Qingshan and Xu Xuejun chatted softly.
"Green Mountain."
Xu Xuejun suddenly called out.
"Um?"
"Would you like to hear my story?"
Xu Xuejun stared at the front of the car, with the car lights illuminating the road ahead. Xu Xuejun's voice seemed a little melancholy.
Xu Qingshan felt that this seemed to be an opportunity for Xu Xuejun to open his heart to his own son, and nodded.
"good."
"Actually, my family used to be quite poor. Especially when I was born, there was fighting in the city and famine in the mountains."
Xu Xuejun said slowly and calmly. "At that time, let alone eating meat, even food and rice were hard to come by."
"In the beginning, the family couldn't afford to send five people to study, so after your aunt studied for two years, she started to help your grandparents with farm work. When she was twelve, she went to help sew clothes for others, and then she married you when she was sixteen. Uncle."
"Your eldest uncle was a worker in a cigarette factory. After he got married, his conditions became much better. Your aunt also followed him to work in the factory on a piece-rate basis. At that time, the Yunzhang Cigarette Factory was still a state-owned enterprise, and the price of piece-rate work was not high. Packaging A box of cigarettes costs 1 cent, and your aunt can pack six or seven boxes a day.”
"Later, your sister-in-law also followed, and your second uncle went to find a master mason to learn the craft. In the end, only your uncle and I continued to study."
When Xu Xuejun spoke, his eyes were full of memories.
It's just that his expression was just reminiscing, as if he was thinking about the difference between the past days and the present days. Instead, he had a smile on his face as he spoke.
Xu Qingshan originally thought that his father would start to exaggerate with him how much his eldest and second aunts had donated to let him go to school, in order to influence himself.
But Xu Xuejun said nothing.
This made Xu Qingshan realize that he seemed to know his father in the past and present life, and only understood his character, but he did not understand his past or the first forty years of his life.
"In the 1980s, I was in high school. It was around 1981. I was a freshman in high school when I was 16."
Xu Xuejun smiled, remembering his youth.
"Then in 1982, your second uncle married your second aunt."
Xu Qingshan was a little curious.
"Did the second uncle marry his wife first?"
"Yes, your uncle was still in college at the time. He was 22 years old. How could he find a wife?"
Xu Xuejun smiled.
"That's true. I guess when girls come to the house to see it, they will shake their heads and leave."
The conversation between father and son was much more relaxed.
Xu Qingshan also made a joke.
"Haha, how can I get home? There were no roads like today at that time. If you want to get into Laokeng Village, you have to walk for two hours on the mountain road. I went to No. 1 Middle School to study, and I would go home to do farm work every week during the holidays. I would walk to school with a can of preserved vegetables and a few cents for food, and then go home on Friday.”
Xu Xuejun shook his head and said.
It seems that he was also a little emotional about the hardships he endured at that time.
"It was not easy for you at that time."
Xu Qingshan said.
"It's not easy, but I'm lucky. I can study well and do well in the exam."
The straight road was flat, and they had already left the mountain road of Laokeng Village and entered the main road that merged into the county town. Only then did Xu Xuejun dare to turn his head slightly to look at his son and joked.
"But of course not as powerful as you are now."
"But when I was a senior in high school, in 1983, your second aunt couldn't stand your grandparents and didn't want to support me and your uncle in studying anymore, so she made a fuss about dividing the family."
"Is there still this matter?"
Xu Qingshan was a little surprised.
In his previous life, Xu Xuejun never mentioned this matter.
After all, although the second uncle's family didn't have much contact with his family, they had always had a good relationship. Just like in today's big drama, the second uncle could be considered to be on Xu Qingshan's side.
"Yes, I didn't understand it at the time, but now that I think about it, it's quite normal."
Xu Xuejun laughed much more tonight than he usually does in a month.
Xu Qingshan didn't know if it was his illusion or something. He always felt that his father seemed to have an open-minded and bright temperament.
This was completely different from the irritability and gloominess he sometimes had before.
"After all, your second aunt was pregnant at the time and was about to give birth to a child. Your second uncle's salary was not much. She didn't work, and your grandma didn't work either. Only your grandpa was farming. There were two people in the family who were studying. Even if there were you two, It’s not enough for an aunt to work to support the family, so they can only continue their small family by dividing the family.”
Xu Xuejun put it very clearly.
But Xu Qingshan suddenly realized the point where his father had figured it out.
But he didn't speak now.
"Um."
"The second uncle is having a family separation. Your uncle is preparing to graduate and find a job. Looking for a job in the county also requires money and connections. I actually thought about quitting my senior year of high school."
"But my family objected and asked me to continue reading."
Xu Xuejun said.
Xu Qingshan understood somewhat.
"So later when your mother and I got married, I would always want to repay the family as much as possible and make up for what I had owed for so many years."
Xu Qingshan waited for his father's next words.
But Xu Xuejun's words made Xu Qingshan look at him sideways.
"You young people are now more courageous than our generation in handling some relationships, and your minds are more flexible than your dad and me."
"At your age, I would not be able to reach your level and achievements."
Xu Xuejun sighed with a smile.
"Even if I work until I retire, I still can't do it."
"I actually thought a lot in the room today and figured out a lot."
Xu Xuejun said seriously.
Xu Qingshan has never seen his father with such a serious expression, such a cautious tone, but also such a harmonious and harmonious atmosphere.
Not even in two lifetimes combined.
"I was born in a small mountain village like Laokeng. I stepped on their shoulders and relied on my own efforts to get where I am today. I am lucky enough."
"It's my duty to repay them. It's just that over the years, I've lost some of my bottom line and neglected you and your mother."
Xu Qingshan did not speak, but nodded slightly.
"If outsiders say it, they may think this place is like a bottomless hole and a bottomless pit."
Xu Xuejun was talking about Laokeng and his family of origin.
"But I climbed out of here, and I have an unbroken connection with this place."
"But I also can't use your future and your mother's hard work to fill this hole, because if I do that."
Xu Xuejun stopped the car.
Unknowingly, while the father and son were talking, they had already driven home.
"What was the point of me coming out of the mountains in the first place?"
"Let you live a better life, let you have no worries, and give you a higher platform. Instead of having to walk two hours on a mountain road to study like me, I have to work hard to get into a junior college."
"This is what it means for me to come out of the mountains."
The car lights go out.
The car was dark, and the father and son were sitting in the front seat. There was even and steady light snoring coming from the back seat.
“I did a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong before.”
"But I'm grateful."
Xu Xuejun turned his head.
"You're even more awesome than I thought."
"I'm also very proud to have a son like you."
Xu Qingshan's heart trembled.
But he just reached out and unbuckled his seat belt, turned away and looked out the window.
A tough-talking and stubborn father.
This was the first time he said such words face to face.
"But what I am proud of is not your achievements, but your other aspects."
Xu Xuejun continued.
"I have been harsh on you a lot in the past. Even when you didn't want to fail in your studies, I thought I would just ignore you from now on. Anyway, I can afford to support you with my pension as a civil servant."
"But I will always be proud of what you did."
Xu Xuejun lowered his head and rubbed his cigarette case in the darkness.
"Don't worry."
"With your uncle and two aunts, if there is a chance, I will sit down and have a serious talk with them. It can also be regarded as a farewell before going to Longjiang."
"I try my best to handle the relationship as well as possible. If I handle it well, they will live a good life in the future. If I don't handle it well, we will not have frequent contact with them and have less contact with them."
"It's only right for everyone to be well and live their own lives."
Xu Xuejun said.
"You and your mother deserve to be vented for the anger you and your mother suffered before."
"I will do my best to take care of your grandma."
“Before, I always thought that as long as I saved as much money as possible, I could solve many things, but today I discovered that some things cannot be solved with money.”
"When people are afraid of poverty, they tend to be selfish. Because of this, I made your mother suffer too much."
"It was also because of my low self-esteem and arrogance that I failed to handle everything well, leading to today's situation."
Xu Xuejun's voice was slow and a little heavy.
"I am also a father for the first time."
“There are many things I don’t understand and many things I did wrong.”
"Qingshan, right?"
Xu Xuejun wanted to speak sincerely.
"Dad, eat this."
In the darkness, Xu Qingshan held Xu Xuejun's hand that was fumbling for the cigarette case and stuffed him with a stick of chewing gum.
"Quit smoking and take good care of your health. You will be busy in the future."
Xu Qingshan reached out and wiped the sweat from the corner of his eyes.
It's quite hot today.
It makes people want to sweat.
(End of chapter)