After the candidates for Beijing were decided, Lin Ruxian continued: "Uncles, I still have one more thing that I need to ask for the consent of my elders. ”

Lin Shao's grandfather took the lead in saying, "Patriarch, please speak!" ”

Lin Ruxian said: "As you know, after I entered Beijing, I was separated from Jiangzhou by thousands of rivers and mountains, and I was busy with official business, so I would no longer be able to concentrate on family affairs. ”

"Besides, I am alone in many things. Therefore, I intend to resign from the post of patriarch after the year, and I now ask you elders to first find a virtuous person from the clan and begin to take over the family affairs, so that they can succeed me after I am gone, so that there will be no delay in handling the family affairs. It also allows me to go to work with peace of mind without being burdened by family affairs. ”

All the clan elders were not prepared, and they were taken aback when they heard this, and their faces became solemn.

Lin Shao's grandfather's eyes kept flashing, thinking about it again and again, and he still didn't understand what the patriarch was going to do for a while.

But seeing that the situation was a little cold, after all, he had just received the benefit of others, so he stood up and stepped forward to persuade: "The patriarch has worked hard for my Lin family, and is the pillar of the entire family, and he is in the prime of life, how can he step down?" If it spreads, wouldn't it make people laugh at us for destroying the Great Wall, and the patriarch still shouldn't mention this matter again. ”

The rest of the clan elders were also thinking about the purpose of the patriarch's words, and they were all a little surprised in their hearts. Hearing the words of this clan elder, they all had to nod their heads first.

Lin Ruxian shook his head and said, "Uncles, it's not that I want to be stubborn and deliberately shirk. It's really a long way to go, and I can't reach it. Several elders can choose one of the best cousins from each lineage to succeed to the position of patriarch. ”

Suddenly, I heard a "pop": "Cough, cough, nonsense!" ”

Seeing this, a clan elder from the main lineage turned red with anxiety. Holding his crumbling body, he slapped the table and roared: "What nonsense, all along, the patriarch of my Lin clan can only be served by the elder room." Ahem, in your generation, you are the only one in the long house, who are you going to give it to? Yes! Are you going to give this patriarch the position to the people of the side branches? Ruxian, what are you doing here? Cough... Ahem! ”

The patriarch insisted on saying these words, holding his hands on his chest with difficulty, and coughing with difficulty. Due to the lack of breath, he looked a little hideous, and his blood vessels were about to burst out, and his whole body trembled up and down.

The rest of the clan elders of the side line were pale-faced when they heard this, and the unhappiness in their hearts overflowed.

They looked at the patriarch who was almost coughing out his lungs with great dissatisfaction, but although this person's words were not good, what he said was also true.

The patriarchal law of the Lin clan in Jiangzhou is extremely strict, and there is no precedent for another branch to succeed the patriarch when the bloodline of the eldest family is not broken.

Even if the heir of the eldest lineage is young, the prestige of the clan will act as the agent of the clan affairs. But it's just an agent, and when the successor of the eldest lineage comes of age, he still has to obediently give up his seat, otherwise the spittle of the clansmen can drown people.

And this rule is also one of the important reasons why the Jiangzhou Lin clan can maintain the stability of the clan as much as possible and pass it on to this day.

Therefore, although everyone is dissatisfied with this clan, there is no way to refute it. And when everyone saw that he might be about to breathe at any time, it was even more difficult to say anything.

These clan elders of the side branches had no choice but to pinch their noses and admit it, and they couldn't help but echo unhappily: "What Elder Shan said makes sense, and I hope the patriarch will be cautious!"

Lin Ruxian said slightly reproachfully to the clan elder who was still coughing: "Uncle Shan, don't say that. Regardless of the main lineage, we are all a family, so why distinguish between you and me? ”

After saying this, he said to everyone: "Since all the elders do not agree with me stepping down as the patriarch, when the time comes, after I leave, who should take care of the affairs of this clan?" ”

The mountain elder who finally breathed a sigh of relief stroked his chest with his hand, and said angrily: "That's not easy, you are going far, but Lin Fan's kid is always close, right?" That kid is smart and tight, no worse than when you were young, and we can rest assured that many things will be handed over to him. Besides, he is your only son, and in your absence, he will be the acting patriarch of course. ”

The rest of the people watched the two sing and harmonize, and were a little stunned for a while. These people are all in charge of various places, and they have lived for so many years and are well-informed, seeing the current scene, how can they not understand what Lin Ruxian means.

Everyone suddenly realized that the main event was here. No wonder this Lin Ruxian suddenly wanted to take someone from his side to Beijing, originally thinking that he was a high-spirited and bright festival, for the sake of the family, to promote the juniors.

Now it seems that he wants to use this more in exchange for everyone's support for his son. Now it's fake to resign as patriarch, and it's true to pave the way for your son.

Regardless of whether Lin Ruxian is really selfless or seeking personal gain, everyone understands people, and no one will be so stupid as to thanklessly offend Lin Ruxian, the backbone of the entire Lin family.

Moreover, the position of patriarch was originally the son of someone in the future, and no one could take it away. All he wanted now was to settle the title in advance.

Everyone immediately understood, and they all said: "It should be so, what Shan Lao said is reasonable!"

Lin Ruxian shirked and said: "This is not good! After all, Fan'er is too young and lacks experience. Nowadays, there is still a lack of stability, and it is really difficult to take on a big responsibility. Besides, Fan'er is also going to Huainan Province to take up his post, so please choose from among your cousins! ”

Now that you have figured out Lin Ruxian's thoughts, the next thing will be easy to do.

In order to please Lin Ruxian, a clan elder stepped forward and said: "The patriarch's words are wrong, the young master is smart by nature, and he is both civil and military, he is really the most suitable candidate." ”

"Where the young master is less than twenty years old, he is rare, and he can be described as a young hero. With so many young children in the clan, who can compare? ”

"And the young master is chivalrous, helping the victims, and the name of benevolence and righteousness is spread far and wide, who doesn't know the entire Jiangyuan Town? His fame is not as good as that of the juniors, even among us old guys. Therefore, the position of the young master acting as the patriarch is really expected, and we are a hundred in favor! ”

Seeing Lin Ruxian's expressionless face, this person couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

After a while, he saw Lin Ruxian's face soften, and he knew that he had made the right bet. After all, there is no one who doesn't like others to praise their children, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and returned to his seat.

The rest of the people are not low in their ability to steer the rudder when they see the wind, but when they see that they are being preempted, a lot of them are not good enough to step forward with their old faces shy. I could only scold a few times in my heart: "Phew, the old guy is not ashamed, in order to pat himself on the back, he really doesn't even want his face!" ”

Then everyone looked at Lin Ruxian with a sincere face, and echoed the man: "What Elder Feng said is extremely true! ”

Lin Ruxian knew that today was just for a name, and now that he had obtained it, it was not appropriate to get another inch. We should also give some sweetness to these clan elders to appease everyone.

So he nodded and said, "Since all the elders said so, let's decide like this first!" In the future, when I am not there, Fan'er will temporarily take the position of patriarch and prime minister all affairs in the clan. ”

"But Fan'er is young and inexperienced after all. He has to go out as an official again, and it is inconvenient for him to communicate, so many things cannot be handled in time. Therefore, if the clan does not encounter a major matter that is difficult to decide, it is still discussed and dealt with by several clan elders, and the results only need to be reported to Fan'er. What do the elders think, do they have objections? ”

The clan elders knew that the little young master who was about to go out to become an official would not participate in the family affairs, but only got the name of a young patriarch. And I have received tangible benefits, so naturally I will not object.

The crowd unanimously said, "The patriarch is wise."

Lin Ruxian looked around at the clan elders, and said in a slow voice: "It's so late, and there are all the elders who accompany me to stay up all night here to discuss matters, Ruxian is really sorry for the clan uncles." Now that everything has to be said, let's all go back to rest! ”

There was a hint of tiredness in his voice, and after saying this, he rubbed his forehead, turned around and waved his hand back gently, and left first.

I don't know if it's because of the uneven ground, although Lin Ruxian's figure still looks upright, but his steps seem to be a little stumbling.

On this night, the Chinese New Year's Eve of the ninth year of Chongping, at the time of the alternation of the old and the new, the Lin clan of Jiangzhou passed the clan meeting, and Lin Fan officially became the young patriarch of the Lin clan.

After the ancestor worship ceremony is over, the people of each vein clan also have their own things to do and cannot stay in Jiangzhou for a long time.

Except for Lin Shao and Lin Qingyang, the two juniors who were going to follow Lin Ruxian into Beijing, from the second day of the Lunar New Year, all the people of the clan said goodbye one after another and rushed back to their respective places.

This time, the Lin family's once-in-a-decade clan meeting has finally come to an end.

After sending everyone away, Lin Ruxian and Lin Fan could finally take a break from the affairs of the clan and spend a New Year with their family and friends.

Chongping ten years, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year!

Early in the morning, Lin Ruxian took Lin Fan to visit Lu Zhai, and Lu Wenzhao and his wife also waited in front of the door early.

Lu Wenzhao saw the figure of the father and son from a distance, so he walked quickly down the stone steps in front of the door to greet him.

He laughed loudly: "Ruxian, you are finally done, just waiting for you to come!" Let's go and go home! ”

Lin Ruxian asked Steward An to bring the gifts brought in, looked at Lu Wenzhao again, and said apologetically: "I've seen the eldest brother, sister-in-law!"

"I should have come over a long time ago, but I've been too busy these days, so I just came here today, I hope the eldest brother won't blame me!"

Lu Wenzhao smiled and blamed: "I know everything, why are you talking about this?" I'm really going to be angry if you say that again!! ”

Mrs. Lu should also be in harmony: "Yes! Ruxian, don't you know your eldest brother yet! Let's go, let's not blow the cold wind here, you're not cold, you're still cold! Let's talk about it when we get home! ”

Lin Fan touched his head embarrassedly, and said obediently: "Uncle Lu is good, aunt is good, Fan'er is here to pay New Year's greetings to his uncle and aunt!"

Mrs. Lu stepped forward to help Lin Fan up, took Lin Fan's hand, and said with a smile: "Fan'er, get up quickly, don't learn from your father, read too much, and there is a lot of red tape!" You, where did you get so many common courtesies from your uncle and aunt? ”

After speaking, he didn't care about Lu Wenzhao and Lin Ruxian, so he pulled Lin Fan straight inside.

Several people came to the living room and sat down.

After all, Mrs. Lu is a female dependent, so it is not convenient to stay outside for a long time, so she just said a few words of greeting and returned to the back hall.

Lu Wenzhao asked Lin Ruxian, "Ruxian, when are you going to leave for the capital?"

"Big brother, I plan to leave after the crown ceremony for Fan'er next month! Alas, this time we will say goodbye, and our brothers will not know when we will be able to meet again! Lin Ruxian was a little sad.

"Haha, Ruxian! What are you doing here? It's not a bad thing for you to take up a post in Beijing! ”

"I know that for so many years, although you have been idle at home and seem to be indifferent to the outside world, I know that you are actually distressed by the current officialdom. Now that you are an official in Beijing, isn't it just an opportunity for you to display your ambitions? So let's not make this kind of twisting little daughter posture here! Lu Wenzhao comforted him.

Lin Ruxian sighed, "I hope so!" ”

Then he adjusted his mentality and smiled heartily: "What the big brother taught me is that I am stubborn, and I will be punished three cups for a while!"

"It's good to know. Okay, for the New Year, let's not talk about that! Come, Fan'er, come and let my uncle take a good look! ”