Chapter 4: The Collapsed Ancestral Hall

During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, it was stipulated that every 50 families should set up a social school, so that the children of good families could study, and the social studies were all government-run, the teaching materials were free, the teachers were selected by the county order, and the expenses were all public funds. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoAll students have to pay is the first apprenticeship. This system reached its peak during the reign of Renxuan, but since the beginning of the Jiajing Dynasty, the decline of private learning and official learning, and the development of social studies in the Ming Dynasty is now far better than the public, and students also have to pay real money.

Dafanzhuang's social science is a private school, and like most social studies in the Ming Dynasty, social studies are built near the ancestral hall. Due to limited financial resources, I can't afford to sit in a famous hall, so I can only use an old boy who has passed the county and government exams but has never passed the Taoist exam as a tutor, and a total of six students from Fanzhuang and Xiaofanzhuang study here. Of course, the teachers are like this, and the disciples are all ordinary people who are not young, and at most they have only passed the county examination.

Unsurprisingly, these six people are all surnamed Fan, and only Fan Jin is from Xiao Fan Zhuang. As an outlier, he is usually blinded and excluded, but fortunately, Fan Jin has never taken this kind of thing to heart before and after the crossing. Before the crossing, Fan Jin only had four books and one scripture in his eyes, but after the crossing, there was only real money and silver, and he didn't care about the brothers of the same clan at all.

Although he is not engaged in labor, he exercises his body according to the scientific methods of later generations, coupled with martial arts exercises, and now Fan Jin's body is far better than that of ordinary farmers, and he is the most powerful one in social science. After several classmates ate him and beat him, the two got along with each other, brothers, friends and brothers.

Because the road is not easy to walk, Fan was already late when he entered the school, and he should be punished according to the regulations, but he usually doesn't recruit teachers very much, and he has been scolded and disciplined a lot of times, which is no longer the same thing. He looked down on this child teacher, just as he looked down on his future self in the world of Confucianism.

A child in his fifties, who is relieved to teach private schools and no longer take the imperial examination, has no future in life. In terms of academics, social studies in this poor and remote country are of little significance, and the teacher's own writing and ink can only be regarded as second-rate, and unlike those scholars who master the essence of the Four Books and the Five Classics, they can't learn anything from him. The biggest role is to bet on the questions during the county exam.

It has been six or seven years since the establishment of social studies in Dafanzhuang, and although none of them have even passed the government examination, among the people who study together, there are two who have passed the county examination. It can be seen that this tutor is still a bit of a Taoist in the county test questions. This is also the reason why he can sit in the museum in Dafanzhuang all the time, otherwise the cost of anointing the fire is not so easy to earn.

As soon as he entered the entrance of the village, someone in the field beside the road looked at him, and then someone shouted, "Uncle Nine!" It's Uncle Nine here! ”

As he spoke, a barefoot middle-aged man pulled out his leg from the field and ran towards Fan Jin with great effort. The visitor was only wearing a short shirt, his trouser legs were lifted to his knees, his calves and bare feet were covered with mud, his face was black and red, and he had a harmless face from humans and animals.

Fan Jin's age is much younger than that, but the seniority in the clan is not calculated by age. A white-bearded old man, it is common to call a three-year-old child an uncle, Fan Jin happens to be very senior in the Fan family, so he accepts the title of Han calmly.

He took two steps back, not letting the mud on the other party's body touch his clothes, "It's Zhigao, you have something to do with me?" Can't wait for me to finish school? ”

"Uncle Nine, it's not the little nephew looking for you, it's the patriarch looking for you. Originally, the patriarch sent the little nephew to Xiaofanzhuang to invite the ninth uncle, but the little nephew thought that the ninth uncle would always come to the social school, and it would save the little nephew some energy, right? Look at it, this year's New Year looks bad, and the ground is really inseparable from people. ”

Fan Jin knows very well that the farmer named Fan Zhigao in front of him is a famous wise man in Dafan Zhuang, relying on his honest appearance, but there are no fewer tricks, if anyone believes that he is an honest man, he must be unlucky in the end. Although the other party was full of smiles, Fan Jin's vigilance did not relax because of this, he nodded and said, "What happened, the patriarch wants to find me?" Is it urgent that you can't wait until the end of school? ”

"What does the patriarch ask you to discuss, how can the little nephew dare to ask? But the ninth uncle of social studies doesn't have to rush to go, this plague rain, social studies have collapsed, I'm afraid it will be difficult to return to school for a while, you can just rest and rest, let those sages get out of the way. Where is the sage older than the patriarch? His old man is waiting at the ancestral hall, you better hurry over, don't let the old man wait too long. ”

The Ming Dynasty is now a typical dualistic society, in the cities, the yamen has absolute authority, and in the countryside, the clan controls everything. The prestige of the patriarch in his clan even exceeds that of his parents, especially in the ancestral hall, he is even more comparable to the emperor of the soil, and when he heard the summons of the ancestral hall, Fan Jin felt that things would not be too simple.

Fan Changwang, the patriarch of Dafan Zhuang, is a member of Fan Jin's father's generation, and when it comes to it, Fan Jin wants to call him an uncle, but the relationship between them is not close. The contradictions between the long house and the other house, the big village and the small village, because of the distribution of interests, lead to the separation of each other. Hearing the summons of the patriarch, Fan Jin couldn't help but think of Sister Hu's reminder, did Da Fan Zhuang really have any ill will towards him?

When I came to the ancestral hall, I realized why I couldn't go to class today, the place where social studies used to be was now in ruins, and more than half of the ancestral hall collapsed. For the aborigines of the Ming Dynasty who were superstitious about the induction of heaven and man, this was obviously not a good omen, because when Fan came in, he saw the patriarch Fan Changwang with a cadre of clansmen, kowtowing to the ancestral tablet placed on a piece of bluestone.

"Jin Zai, you are here, and you will kowtow to your ancestors first. Daxiaofanzhuang is now divided into two villages, but we are one ancestor, we are the same root of the wood, the same source of water. Everyone can live a life because of the blessing of their ancestors. Now that the ancestral hall has become like this, it proves that it is our descendants who are not good and make our ancestors angry. If our ancestors do not bless us, we will no longer be able to grow crops in our fields, and our homes will not be at peace. Kowtow first, make amends to your ancestors, and say something more. ”

Fan Jin didn't believe in this set of things in his bones, but he followed the customs, so he had to pick up the hem of his clothes and kneel in the mud, kowtowing to these wooden signs with the names of the ancestors of the Fan family, but muttering in his heart: If these wooden cards really have any spirituality, I am afraid that I will be the first to not let go of me, the fake Fan family. So it's better for them to be puppets with peace of mind and not meddle in their affairs.

The muddy water soaked his clothes, and even his face was stained with mud, and when he got up, Fan Jin wiped the mud off his head with his sleeve, and thought in his heart: This time it is completely dirty.

Fan Changwang was in front, Fan Jin was behind, and the two walked through the ruins of the ancestral hall. In the current era of focusing on ancestors, for rural people, the ancestral hall is the most important thing, and ancestors are more important than their own lives. Fan Jin had already thought of what Fan Changwang was going to talk about next.

"Jinzai, you have also seen it, the ancestral hall has become like this, and it will not work if it is not rebuilt. The ancestors are the common ancestors of our two villages, and the matter of filial piety is treated equally, regardless of size. The work and efforts should be shared equally between the two villages, and the ancestors will be treated fairly when they are in the spirit of heaven and shelter their descendants. You're a reader, so you should know this. ”

"Uncle, let's not talk about the truth first, but the little nephew doesn't understand, shouldn't this matter be discussed with the village chief of our Xiaofanzhuang, and talk to the little nephew...... The little nephew is afraid that it is difficult to make decisions. ”

Fan Changwang didn't look back, "You don't have to unload your shoulders so cleanly first, since two years ago, the matter of your little Fan Zhuang has the final say on the surface, but behind the scenes, it is you Fan Jin who takes the idea, don't you know about this matter?" In the past, the two villages paid taxes according to the village, and the idea of distributing according to the number of acres of land per person was not your idea? I told Changyou about this, and he must also ask you, so I might as well ask you directly, what is your attitude towards the ancestral hall, and make it clear in front of the old man, and it is better to say it in the clear place than behind it. ”

The people of Dafanzhuang are far more than those of Xiaofanzhuang, and the economic conditions are naturally better than those of Xiaofanzhuang. However, on issues such as poor labor, it has always been distributed evenly according to the village, without considering the specific number of people and economic strength, which is of course a great injustice in Fan Jin's view. The point is that if there is more in the village, the tuition fee will be less, and in order to protect their own interests, they have to fight to the end.

Since his soul pierced, he has been making suggestions to the village chief of Xiaofanzhuang to change the previous apportionment method. Unexpectedly, the village chief actually sold himself. Thinking about it in the past two years, I have always been blinded by the patriarch, and most of them have nothing to do with it.

Since the matter has been clarified, there is no point in denying it, so he had no choice but to nod and say: "What the uncle said is that the little nephew is young and thoughtful, and you have to take care of it as an elder." As for the repair of the ancestral hall, the little nephew naturally has no objections, and it is the responsibility of the descendants to pay for the work and money, but the little nephew only has one question, where is the ancestral hall rebuilt? Do you continue to build in Dafanzhuang or Xiaofanzhuang? ”

Fan Changwang stood up, took out the cigarette pouch on his waist, and filled the cigarette unhurriedly, Fan Jin had already stepped forward without waiting for a greeting, and took the flint to light a cigarette for Fan Changwang.

The white smoke spit out of Fan Changwang's mouth, and he took a few puffs before he said unhurriedly: "Jin Zai, you ask this, do you want to re-establish the social fire?" Is this what you mean, or is that what your village means? ”