Zhao Xiu smiled and called Zhao Yuan again: "You go and get a stack of white paper, and then take a set of pen and ink, and a paper cutting knife." ”

Zhao Yuan was suspicious, but he still did it honestly and obediently, Zhao Xiu is his aunt, she spoke, of course he only had to listen, and among the people present, he was the only grandson, following his grandfather and father, it was convenient to get in and out or do anything, and he was also familiar with the structure of the ancestral hall and knew where things were placed.

The clansmen looked at Zhao Xiu and were a little curious, what did she plan to do with white paper and pen and ink? Some smart people guessed that she probably wanted people to write down their thoughts on paper?

Zhao Yuan quickly took pen and ink, knife and paper, but this paper is a little different from ordinary white paper, this is the paper produced by the local papermaking workshop in Fengxian, far less white than Zhao Xiu's own words used to write and paint, but it is better than the paper is fine and soft, used to wrap porcelain, gold and silverware and the like. Zhao Yuan was a little embarrassed, this was the best white paper he could find in the ancestral hall, but it might not meet the requirements of his little aunt, so he sent the pen and paper to Zhao Xiu.

But I didn't know that this was in Zhao Xiu's arms, and what she needed was best paper with certain characteristics.

After getting the paper, Zhao Xiu once again supported Zhao Yuan to cut the stack of paper into small sheets of the same size, as long as it was enough to write a one-inch word, and the number was according to the number of households in the whole clan.

Zhao Yuan is the grandson of the clan, and he usually listens to his father Zhao Jing and his mother Shen talk about the affairs of the clan, and soon remembers the relevant number jù: "There are three rooms in the whole clan and nine rooms outside." There are a total of 12 rooms and 57 households, except for the 2-bedroom small long house, the remaining 56 households. Today, everyone is here, and it is cut into fifty-six sheets. He took it upon himself and cut seven sheets of paper with a paper cutter, one into eight parts, and cut out fifty-six sheets.

Zhao Xiu took the fifty-six pieces of paper and personally picked up a pen and wrote Arabic numerals in the upper right corner of each paper in words the size of rice grains. Write from 1 to 56 without missing a single piece, and then stomp the paper neatly again. A few strokes are made diagonally on the cross-section, although it is only an irregular line, but when the paper is separated, it can guarantee the edge of each paper. Have the same ink dots in the same location. When the paper is folded in numerical order, the ink dots form several flat diagonal lines, eliminating the possibility of counterfeiting.

After doing this, Zhao Xiu personally messed up all these small papers, and asked Zhao Yuan for a big bamboo basket, containing the paper, and asked him to give it to every family in the ancestral hall. She said: "One household, one vote, please write down your thoughts." Is it to chase, or to stay. If you don't want to participate in the referendum, you can draw a circle to express abstention, as long as the number of abstentions does not exceed one-third, that is, eighteen people, then the result of the referendum can be passed, but if the number of abstentions exceeds eighteen, then it must be postponed and then discussed......"

When she said this, the eighth old lady quickly added: "Among the people who did not abstain, whichever side is in favor of the most, it will be done according to the will of the party, but if there are three votes in the inner three rooms, and there are more than two against, the matter cannot be discussed, and it needs to be postponed." ”

Zhao Xiu paused, in fact, she originally wanted to say that the number of people in favor should account for more than two-thirds of all people, so that the topic can be understood, but more people are better than fewer people, this is people's usual thinking, even if there are only one or two more, it is too much, and there is nothing wrong with the words of the eighth old lady, so he will go with him.

The clansmen whispered in private, they all thought that this method was good, it was fair, and they were not afraid of offending people, and no one knew what they were writing. Although there are also those who feel that if there are exactly the same number of people in favor and against, how can the conclusion be made? Even if one of them happens to have one or two more votes than the other, it means that there are many people who oppose it, is that really convincing? Also, is it too unfair that two votes in three rooms can be completely vetoed? If the people in the inner three rooms make a mistake and harm the people in the outer nine rooms, and the whole clan votes on whether to expel from the clan, and the inner three rooms unite to protect the culprit, how can the victims seek justice?

But no matter what everyone thinks, the referendum method of one vote for this household is still unanimously recognized by the clansmen, so Zhao Yuan used the bamboo basket to hold the paper votes, and turned around the hall, so that the people in charge of each house each took a vote from the basket.

In this room, Zhao Xiu asked the eighth old lady what he meant, and asked Zhao Jing to take someone to move a table to a small room next door where sundries were stacked, place pen and ink on the table, and then put a thin-necked vase that usually serves flowers to the ancestors on the side. Then, in order, starting from the inner three rooms, one person enters the compartment one by one to write his opinion, and then holds the paper into a ball and throws it into a vase, and after walking out of the compartment, the next person can enter.

The first to vote was Master Yu of the Zongfang, and then there was the second room, but there was only one Zhao Xiu in the second room. The eighth old lady always felt that although she was precocious since she was a child, she had a good idea and a clear thinking, which was not comparable to ordinary children, but such a young child was still a girl, and it was still too ridiculous to participate in the clan referendum.

Zhao Xiu sensed his thoughts, smiled, and said to him: "Eighth Uncle Ancestor, don't worry, I came to the ancestral hall today just to occupy a seat for my grandmother and brother." You elders can listen to the words of one of my children and do this thing of voting and referendum, it is already my third life's fortunate, how dare I get an inch? ”

She went into the cubicle, picked up her pen and drew a circle on her little ticket, and when she lit it up to the eighth old lady, she smiled and threw it into a small ball, and threw it into a vase.

The eighth old lady's expression softened, and she began to feel that she was too harsh on this child, the child was very sensible, and she obviously had a good idea, and all the clansmen agreed, she did not follow the trend, and the more she died, she took the initiative to abstain, which not only conformed to the rules just set, but also showed that she had no selfishness, and no one could do better than her. He should still be lenient with this child in the future, he has no parents at a young age, and it is not easy for the three grandparents to depend on each other.

By the time everyone had finished voting, an hour had passed. Zhao Jing took out the vase. Pour out the paper ball inside and count it, it is exactly fifty-six votes, and then in front of all the clansmen. One by one, Zhao Xiu taught Zhao Yuan on the side, using the word "Zheng" to record the number of people who agreed, opposed and abstained on the paper, and the final results were counted out, there were forty-eight votes in favor of expelling the eldest son of the eight chambers from the clan, three votes against, and five abstentions. The opinions of the clansmen are clear at a glance. After hearing the result, everyone looked at each other and felt very satisfied.

To ensure fairness and justice. Zhao Jing asked the eighth old lady to check all the tickets again to confirm that they were correct, and then took out the family tree in the hall and erased the name of the eldest son of the eighth house on it. The heir of the Eight Chambers. From this moment on, he became the second son.

The expelled youth collapsed weakly to the ground, looking at his people with resentful eyes. Now he hates not only the clan, there are forty-eight people in favor of expelling him from the clan, Zhao Jing only has one vote, if he wants to hate, he has to hate the entire clan, even his own father.

The eight-room master looked at his appearance and shook his head sadly. Be confident that you have made the right decision. This son is definitely not a suitable heir. Keeping him at home will only bring misfortune to the whole family and even the whole clan. He planned to take his eldest son home in a while, give him some belongings from his private house, and then send the housekeeper to a farther place to set up a house, a few acres of thin fields, and let the son fend for himself. In the future, no matter whether this son is rich or poor, expensive or cheap, successful or a traitor, he will have nothing to do with the Zhao family.

This was the end of the clan assembly. After the clansmen went home, they talked about the situation at the conference in private, and they all felt that Sister Xiu in the second room was really amazing, she was smart, she could be a person, and she had a good heart, at such an old age, in front of the uncles and elders of the whole clan, she did not show any timidity, and the etiquette was not bad at all, and she never lost the prestige of the granddaughter of the county mansion, and she did not lose to her brother at all. Her brother is four years older than her! No wonder some people have praised her as a prodigy since she was a child, but the duchess of the county has repeatedly denied it, and Zhao Xiu lives in a simple house on weekdays, and she doesn't see much with the daughters of relatives and friends, and rarely has any smart expressions leaked, so in the past two or three years, the name of the prodigy has gradually been rarely mentioned. Some people think that she is a waste of fame, but others deliberately exaggerated it in order to please the county duchess. Now that I think about it, it's not fake at all, it's just that people are upright, humble, and don't like to show off.

How did the duchess teach her children? This pair of grandchildren is so outstanding.

It is no secret that Zhao Wei met with his brothers and nephews before going to school, talked, read and played together, and when he mentioned how diligent he was and how hard he studied, the clansmen praised him again.

Someone heard from Sister Yuan, the daughter of Zhao Qixuan in the sixth room, that she learned from Sister Qing that after the Zhang family and Zhao Wei left home, Zhao Xiu took care of the middle feed in the house, and Lu Changxiu and his wife were just assisting. Zhao Xiu himself also reads hard every day, not only writes well, but also paints well. Zhao Qixuan's son Brother Huai has been studying hard recently, and the books he borrowed from Xiao Erfang were all picked by Zhao Xiu at his fingertips.

The clansmen are full of praise for the brothers and sisters in the second room, some people think that Zhao Wei is eleven years old, and he has a knighthood, is it time to say kiss in a year or two? Such a good candidate, does he have a suitable niece or nephew daughter or goddaughter...... Wait, wait, try to sell to the duchess?

For a while, the female relatives of the clan were in a commotion, although Zhang and Zhao Wei had not come back yet, they couldn't wait to start visiting their parents' house, and when they came back, they took the little girl to the door. Fortunately, Zhao Xiu is still young, and no one has hit her with ideas for the time being, so that she can enjoy a period of tranquility.

However, this quiet time is not too long, probably because she brushed a strong sense of storage at the clan conference, and created an image of "smart", "kind-hearted", "a little prestige" and "holding the power in the middle" in the clan.

A cousin and nephew of the word "water" in the outer five rooms is a concubine in the family, and his father is an old boy, but he is only short of the college examination to become an official showman, and the most recent college test will be held next month, and his father is very sure. In addition, his eldest brother is also studying, and his talent is very good, and it is said that he is more hopeful than his father, and his family has great expectations for him. Now the power of the family is in the hands of his mother-in-law, his own mother died early, and he is not as favored as other brothers, so he can only help his mother-in-law and brother run errands at home and do some chores, just like a steward. He had felt that he might never come out on top.

Recently, because Liufang planned to expand his business and recruit children from the clan as apprentices, he also knew a few words and could settle accounts, so he signed up and was successfully selected. His grandmother has always had a good reputation for kindness and generosity, and she did not stop him, but persuaded his father to divide him with a piece of the family property, let him be independent, and save him from becoming a businessman in the future, which will affect the reputation of his father and brother, and if he makes a lot of money in business in the future, it will not affect him to supplement the family in the name of honoring his father.

Although his mother-in-law made wishful thinking, he was still very grateful to his mother-in-law, because she gave him a small amount of money, and the family land and the other land purchased by the family did not lack his share, although it was not much, but it was always a family business.

It's just that he didn't have the manpower to cultivate the allotted land, so he planned to give the ten acres of clan land to his biological mother's siblings to cultivate, and then sell all the remaining thirty acres of private land, save the money, and prepare it for the future store to be used as capital. The reason why Zhao Xiu was chosen as the buyer is entirely because she now has a good image in the clan, which is trustworthy, and she has a reputation for generously using her private house to help the clansmen.

The reason why I say half of the 30 acres of land is that there is a wild fruit grove in that field, and the long fruit can still be eaten, and when it is ripe, it can be picked and sold on the market, and it can also earn some money, and the miscellaneous trees in the forest are cut down and sold for firewood, which is also worth some silver.

The eight-room family field, which was priced at five taels of silver per mu on the same day, was a medium field, and cotton was also planted, and this price was already sold cheaply. The cousin of the "water" generation in the outer five rooms did not dare to compare his wild fruit forest with other people's cotton fields, so he only paid the price of three taels of silver per mu. Thirty acres of land is ninety taels, which is the amount that Zhao Xiu can take from the account room.

Zhao Xiu felt a lack of interest at first, but as soon as he heard the location of his land, his expression changed slightly: "You mean...... Is your plot of land west of Qingxi Town, near the river? ”

Seeing that the other party gave an affirmative answer, Zhao Xiu's eyes lit up. If she remembers correctly, before the crossing, she had accompanied her parents to the paradise of Shanghai Qingcun, which happened to be in the west of Qingcun Town, and I heard the tour guide say that the ancient name of Qingcun Town was Qingxi. Although the cousin's land may not be the paradise she has been to, but the paradise covers an area of thousands of acres, can it be inferred that his land is also suitable for growing peaches?

Shanghai peaches are still delicious.

Zhao Xiu's heart was moved. (To be continued......)