Qilipu is a very typical local village.

The whole village, with all the houses, is lined up side by side.

Most of the houses are very old courtyard houses.

In the yard, the old people leisurely take care of the flowers and plants.

The cats and dogs raised by the old people are at the gate of the yard, basking in the sun.

Ling Ping'an walked in front of these courtyards with his pet in his arms.

The old people all looked up at him with doubts in their eyes.

"Whose child is that?" They thought about it in their hearts, but few of them really cared.

A long time ago, the countryside of the Union Empire itself was turned into a nursing home.

When he was young, he went to the city to work, and after retirement, he returned to his hometown in the countryside, planted flowers and grass, and played cards and fished with old friends when he had time.

As for the land?

It has long been leased to fruit and vegetable companies.

Therefore, in the traditional sense, rural societies like 200 or 300 years ago have long since collapsed.

Until, they watched Ling Ping'an walk to the door of an old courtyard in the village, and skillfully took out the key to open the door.

The old people suddenly realized.

"O ...... of the children of the Ling family"

They whispered.

The old people remembered the legends of the past, and they all heard about them when they were children.

At that time, the elders always taught them: "Don't go to that yard to play, you know?" ”

"The courtyard of the Ling family, don't go if you have nothing to do......"

As for the reason, there are different opinions.

Some people say that the ancestors of the Ling family raised monsters and would eat people.

Some people also say that the spirit family knows how to do magic, that is, the kind that offends him, and then he fetches a basin of water in his yard at night, and then he recites words in his mouth, and slaps a palm in the basin, and then you get sick......

Some people also say that the Ling family itself is a monster.

Because someone once saw with their own eyes that the woman of the Ling family was grooming on the windowsill, taking a bloody human skin off her face, and then placing it on the desk, holding an eyebrow pencil to thrush, and then gluing it back.

Anyway, the Ling family is a taboo in this village.

Except for a few families who were close to the Ling family, basically no one dared to approach.

The old people looked at the young man with glasses and a kitten in his arms.

I thought about the legends I had heard when I was a child.

At this time, a little child, holding a toy, ran out of the house excitedly: "Grandpa...... Grandpa......"

"Look at my invincible speeder......"

"Toot ......"

The old man immediately turned around and looked at his grandchildren with a smile: "It's amazing......

The little guy was very curious, he looked at the place where his grandfather had just looked, and his eyes immediately lit up: "Grandpa...... Didn't you say that the yard was dangerous, and there were monsters that told us not to play? ”

"How dare he go?"

The old man smiled and touched his grandson's head: "He...... It's the people of the Spirit Family......"

The little guy looked at the stranger who was opening the door.

A cute kitten that immediately caught his attention.

"His cat is so pretty!"

Only then did the old man notice the kitten squatting at the young man's feet.

Every hair shines brightly in the sun, as if it is surrounded by colorful brilliance.

A little cat is very spiritual.

Those cat's eyes, even in the sun, are as beautiful as gems.

The old man was stunned......

The legends of my childhood, one after another, hit my heart again and again.

"The Spirit Family Breeds Monsters......"

"They can spell ......"

"The Ling family itself is a monster!"

He hurriedly grabbed his grandson: "Good grandson, don't look, don't look at ......"

"Let's go home with grandpa and watch cartoons......

This kind of thing, it's better to believe it than not to believe it!

No one is going to risk their offspring.

………………………………

Ling Ping'an opened the gate of the courtyard and walked in with his pet.

It's a typical rural yard.

The lawn in the yard is clean and free of any weeds.

In the middle of the yard, there is a well, very old kind.

Ling Ping'an walked over, opened the manhole cover, and looked at the well water inside, which was crystal clear and very clean.

Next to the well, there is a gazebo.

He remembers that every time he came back as a child, he would sit in that gazebo at night and watch the sky and count the stars.

It was one of the few hobbies he had as a child.

As a person who is extremely insensitive to mathematics, he could have this hobby, even he couldn't imagine it.

Sitting on the railing of the clean gazebo, he looked at the door of the ancestral house.

The brass-colored wooden door was tightly locked.

He walked over and opened the door, and the hall was densely packed with god signs.

This is also the purpose of most rural ancestral houses now – to worship ancestors!

Spiritual peace though an atheist.

But like most people, there is still a lot of respect for ancestors.

So, he stepped forward, picked up a lighter that was placed on the offering table, and then took out the incense candles from under the offering table, inserted them into the incense burner, and lit them one by one.

Then, he looked up at the Divine Cards on them.

These god cards are all his direct ancestors.

From the first generation to his parents, it has been more than 200 years and almost nine generations of the Quang Nam Ling family.

The plaque of the first generation of ancestors is enshrined in the very center.

Then the generations of descendants, in a special way, are sorted down from generation to generation.

The father is on the left, and the son is on the right.

This is Zhao Mu sorted!

When I was a child, Ling Ping'an didn't understand, I just thought this sort was very interesting.

But when he grew up, he knew that this was a very old Zhaomu system.

In this way, the father and son are always in different columns, and the grandchildren are always in the same column.

In the past, it was only used by the emperor's house.

But now......

Whoever likes to use it......

Looking at these god cards that had been wiped clean, Ling Ping'an bowed lightly, and then said, "The ancestors shouldn't blame me for not coming back to worship for a long time......

He poured glasses of wine over the cups on the table.

Then he continued: "It's not that I don't want to come back to see my ancestors...... But...... Lazy ......"

In front of his ancestors, he was very honest.

Although he knows that death is a bad thing.

But the influence of tradition is still very strong.

Materialists, who only oppose feudal superstition, still respect traditional morals and values.

He took this glass of wine and poured it to the ground, which was regarded as an apology to his ancestors.

Suddenly, his eyes saw what seemed to be something under the offering table.

He crouched down, tilted his head sideways, and looked over to see a card taped to the offering table.

and the card he found last time in the family tree in the cupboard, it seems to be the same material.

Ling Ping'an stretched out his hand curiously, and with a light lift, the card fell into his hand.

He picked it up and blew the dust off the card.

Then he saw lines of writing with an ink pen.

Looking at these words, Ling Ping'an scratched his head: "Is this what my parents left behind?" ”

"But why is it so weird?"

Because, on this card is still an article of the Tao Te Ching.

Chapter 14 of the Tao Te Ching.

"If you don't see it, it's called Yi; Hearing but not hearing, his name is Xi; Bo Zhi can't be called, the name is micro ......"

Compared with the last time, the article copied on this card this time is even more mysterious.

As a liberal arts student, Ling Ping'an certainly knows that the fourteenth chapter of the Tao Te Ching is a thorough philosophical article.

To put it simply, this is a philosophical article that guides people to understand the universe and nature, so as to get closer to the universe and nature.

The general meaning is that the universe is indescribable and unknowable. So what to do? Follow its laws, adapt according to its operation.

It's just that......

Ling Ping'an did not understand why his parents or the ancestor would put such a card under the offering table and in the family tree.

"There must be something I want to tell future generations...... Ling Ping'an thought as he held the card in his hand.

But......

What do they want to say?

Let future generations take a good look at the Tao Te Ching?

Or do you want to use the Tao Te Ching to express some metaphors?

Ling Ping'an scratched his head, not quite understanding.

He played with the card in his hand, thought about it, and put it back.

Turning around, he looked at the well-behaved pet that had been behind him.

This little guy has become very well-behaved since he entered the ancestral house.

Ling Ping'an picked it up, rubbed its head, and said, "Let's go, let's go pick strawberries and ......."

When he came to the countryside, Ling Ping'an liked to pick strawberries very much.

Not only because it's cheap, but also because it can be eaten for free!

The rule in the countryside is that you can eat strawberries when you pick them.

How much you can eat, it's all a matter of ability!

Especially for local farmers like Ling Ping'an, even the price is very cost-effective.

Others pick it, and a pound may cost thirty, forty, or even fifty.

But if the spirit is safe, a few dollars a pound.

This is the welfare of farmers.

Because, the land of those orchards is the ancestral land of the local villagers.

Among them, many of them are the ancestral properties of the Ling family!

Now it's just leased to a fruit company to grow.

But the property rights are still in the name of Ling Ping'an.

There can be tens of thousands of yuan in rent every year!

But this money, the Ling family has ancestral teachings, and they have to donate it all.

Holding the kitten, Ling Ping'an walked out of the door and covered it up.

Before I walked through the gate of the yard, I met an old man in his fifties.

Ling Ping'an looked at him and immediately greeted him with a smile: "Uncle Wang......"

The other party raised his head, and when he saw Ling Ping'an, he immediately laughed, and couldn't help bending down: "The little boy is back......"

Ling Ping'an immediately waved his hand: "Uncle Wang...... I can't help it......"

As he spoke, he lifted the old man up.

This old man is a distant relative who helps Ling Ping take care of and take care of this ancestral house.

said that it was a distant relative, but in fact, it was not very close.

According to Ling Ping'an's parents, Uncle Wang's family once had a daughter who was a concubine for the ancestors of the Ling family about two hundred years ago.

At that time, it was still the Gojong period.

There is no emancipation of women, and there is no equality between men and women.

At that time, concubinage was legal.

In the later period of Gaozong's reign, with the implementation of the law on the protection of women's and children's rights, the dregs of the old era were swept into the garbage heap of history.

It's just that the garbage heap is the garbage heap.

Some things, even if they fall into a dung pit, can still survive.

Just like now, bigamy is clearly prohibited by law.

But many girls still like to be an outroom for the rich.

No way, money, it's so fragrant!

In the old era, there was still such a dregs as master and servant.

Uncle Wang's family, a long time ago, was a descendant of the Ling family, and it was for this reason that he dedicated a daughter to the ancestor of the Ling family as a concubine (at that time, this was a very glorious thing!). ）。

Two hundred years later, his family still keeps the traditions of the past.

What kind of little boy is he at every turn, young master......

This is also the reason why Ling Ping'an doesn't want to go back to Qilipu.

Here, in addition to Uncle Wang's family, there are several other families, all of which are former servants or old departments of the Ling family.

He is a young man of the new era.

The concept of equality is very important!

I really don't like it, and I am called 'little boy' and 'young master'.

Especially if the other party is an elder!

But the old man smiled and said, "Little boy, make ...... Make the ......"

The Ling family is very special, especially the little son.

It's a secret.

A secret that can't be told!

"Little boy, are you coming back to live this time?" The old man asked.

"If you can't stay......" Ling Ping'an hurriedly waved his hand, if he really wanted to spend the night here, Ling Ping'an knew that it would be very lively at night.

A whole bunch of people will come to visit.

In addition to the Wang family and the Zhang family in this village.

and the Hu family and the Lu family in the next mountain, they will also come.

"By the way...... Ling Ping'an asked, "Uncle Wang, what about Uncle Zhang?" ”

"Lao Zhang went to the vineyard early this morning to pick grapes for you......" the old man said with a smile.

When Ling Ping'an heard this, he could only sigh.

"I've said it all, you don't have to be so troublesome......" Ling Ping'an shook his head.

This hometown affection really moved him.

It's a pity that he has nothing to repay these simple folks.

Reading, reading a lonely one.

I opened a bookstore and opened a bleak one!

It's not even good to write a book......

That is, the level of the game, okay!

But he didn't go professional......

So, I'm ashamed! Every time I come back, I am ashamed of Jiangdong's father!

That's why he always dreamed of becoming a federal book giant or becoming the sixth white in the Central Plains.

It's just using those two excuses that he doesn't even believe in himself to deceive himself and comfort himself.

Therefore, in front of the old man, Ling Ping is quite like sitting on pins and needles.

He hurriedly made an excuse: "Uncle Wang, I won't talk to you......"

"I have to go to the field and pick some strawberries to eat......"

As he spoke, he hugged his cat and left in a hurry.

The old man was behind him, and he kept bowing slightly, watching Ling go away safely.

"Little master......" The old man looked at Ling Ping'an's figure and said softly: "When...... Can it lead us back to our ancestral land? ”

It's been two hundred years.

When can I go back to the ancestral homeland?

The fox died on the first hill, and the horse was in the wind.

For two hundred years, he and the souls of his ancestors dreamed of returning to their homeland.

And, all this hope falls on this little master.

Because he is the only one who can lead his people back to their homeland.

Turning around, the old man saw a figure not far away.

The man walked over.

It's an old woman with gray hair.

"The little master has just left...... old man said.

The old woman nodded, she knew, as soon as the little master came back, she sensed it.

"The cat brought back by the little master ......," said the old woman, "very unusual!" ”

The old man nodded: "I know ......"