The sacrificial ceremony has been carried out for decades, and there are no major changes in the process. First, the sacrificial text is read, and then the elders of the clan take the lead. All the clan members present offer incense and sacrifices to the ancestors' spiritual tablets.
If there is any difference from before, it is probably that the scale of the ceremony is larger and more people participate.
Not only was the ancestral hall full of people, but the patio outside and the street outside the ancestral hall gate were all full of Ma family members, at least a thousand people.
It is said that the new clan ancestral hall is already in the design stage, and the building scale will be several times larger than the old ancestral hall to adapt to the growing number of Ma family members.
The sacrificial ceremony was over in about a cup of tea, and then someone moved in some chairs for the elders of each clan to sit.
The lower-ranking people and women voluntarily withdrew. They would not be able to participate in the next clan meeting. They could only wait outside and wait for news.
Ma Yuling and her daughter Chen Ping'er also withdrew. Although they were Chen Yixin's family members, women were not allowed to participate in clan meetings, and Chen Yixin had no intention of making changes.
Ma Dongqiang immediately announced the discussion content of the clan meeting.
The first is to report on the operating status of the clan's industry in the past year; the second is to discuss internal affairs of the clan, such as building a new ancestral hall, mediating disputes, reviewing and approving applications for foreign surnames to join the clan, etc.; and finally, adjusting the clan's personnel arrangements, including Ma Dongqiang's resignation and arrangements for his successor.
In the past, it was common for clan meetings to last for three to five days in a row, but since Chen Yixin entered the Zhuma family, he felt that it took too much time to deal with these trivial matters, so he shortened the duration of the clan meeting to one day. Therefore, there is no room for discussion on many matters. We just use this occasion to announce the decisions and results to everyone.
Thanks to Chen Yixin's support, the Ma family has invested in many industries in the name of the clan over the years, and its business scale is still expanding year by year, and it can obtain very considerable economic benefits for the clan every year.
Immediately, a group of accountants came to the ancestral hall, each holding a book in their hands. The Ma family has too much property, and it can no longer be taken care of by two or three accountants. Chen Yixin set up a special accounting agency for this purpose and sent these people to Sanya for training for a year.
The books in their hands are the accounting statistics of an industry. What kind of results have been achieved in this year's operations, whether it is profit or loss, data is the most intuitive criterion.
As the expressionless accounting gentlemen read out numbers one by one, the expressions on the faces of the representatives of each branch present gradually became excited.
Mining industries all over the Shandong Peninsula have achieved excellent revenue, especially the coal mines in Longkou. Five thousand new miners were recruited in the past year, and a large number of new construction machinery were invested, making their output higher than the previous year. More than tripled in a year.
There are two major smelting companies in Dengzhou, Fushan Copper Mine and Zhaoyuan Gold Mine. The increase in coal production capacity has also greatly promoted the production of these two large mines.
In addition, the Anshan Iron Mine invested by the Ma family in Liaodong has also begun to enter the profit stage, and Chen Yixin's trip south this time also applied for a batch of mining machinery and equipment for several mines in Liaodong. In the next two years, the production capacity will be greatly improved. improvement.
The income from mining alone is dozens of times that of traditional agriculture. Although the initial investment is huge, the benefits after entering the profit period are indeed very considerable.
Although the family elders present may not understand what the "industry" advocated by Haihan is, they can understand the number reported by the accountant. The fact that industry can make more profits than the agriculture they used to operate does not need anyone to explain.
A business that can make money is a good business, and as long as Chen Yixin is in office for one day, these businesses will be like a cornucopia, continuously producing wealth for the Ma family. Chen Yixin went south to Hangzhou and was promoted this time, and has become one of the few people at the top of the Haihan Kingdom's power. This undoubtedly means that the Ma family's industry has been further consolidated.
The operating conditions of other industries are similar to those of mining, with a steady upward trend. Although the specific dividend figures will not be calculated for some time, representatives from each branch have begun to mentally calculate how much income they can get from the next dividend.
The subsequent discussion of clan affairs was also very harmonious. Everyone was focused on the amount of income just now and had no interest in discussing these miscellaneous matters within the clan. The decision was left to the elders.
Then finally came the highlight of the day. Ma Dongqiang stood up and said: "Dear fathers and uncles, I, Ma Dongqiang, have been the patriarch of the clan for nearly 30 years. During this period, I have devoted myself to the Ma clan, and I think everyone has seen it. Now that I am old, My body and energy are not as good as before. If I continue to occupy the position of clan leader, it will inevitably delay the development of the clan.”
"So today I have decided to resign as the patriarch, and I sincerely ask for your agreement."
"As for the candidate for successor, I believe that the most suitable person is..."
"Wait a minute!" Someone interrupted Ma Dongqiang's words: "For the position of clan leader, each clan in the past has always recommended candidates, and then everyone will evaluate them together. Why do you plan to appoint them directly?"
The speaker was a thin old man with white beard and hair named Ma Yongqing. In terms of age, he is only a few years older than Ma Dongqiang, but in terms of seniority, he is Ma Dongqiang's uncle, twice the age, and he is also one of the people with the highest seniority present.
Ma Yongqing's question was immediately echoed by others: "When it comes to electing a clan leader, the clan rules are clearly written in black and white. We should follow the rules set by our ancestors!"
"The original intention of the clan meeting is for each clan to discuss together. If the clan leader chooses his successor, then why is there a meeting?"
Although not many people have spoken out, with such a mix-up, if Ma Dongqiang were to forcefully push him to take over, it would seem that his selfishness would be too obvious.
However, this was within Ma Dongqiang's expectation, and he did not panic at all when his rhythm was disrupted. He nodded slightly and said: "You are right, then according to the previous rules, each house recommends candidates, and whoever has the most supporters will be the one." Who wins?”
"I will first express my position on behalf of my house, Ma Cai, come here!"
Hearing this, Ma Cai walked to Ma Dongqiang and stood next to him. Ma Dongqiang continued: "Young son Ma Cai, how well I have handled the clan affairs in the past few years should be seen by everyone. I do not shy away from relatives when I recommend a virtuous man, so I recommended him. Take over the position of clan leader!”
Ma Yongqing, who had questioned him before, did his part and recommended a candidate on behalf of his room, but he was of the same generation as Ma Dongqiang.
Ma Dongqiang wanted to recommend his son to succeed him. This matter did not start today, so most people had no extravagant expectations for this candidate. But after Ma Yongqing stood up and started the competition, everyone came to their senses and realized that this position was completely up for grabs.
Even if the hope of beating Ma Cai is slim, what if? That's a job of managing billions of wealth!