When the steward heard the sound, he was slightly stunned when he got closer, and then quickly apologized to them, and quickly found a servant to serve the snack again.

After waiting, the steward saw Zhu Qiuqi waving at him impatiently, and then went down. When I went down, I still wondered in my heart, this snack was already set up a long time ago, how could it be inexplicably missing? Could it be that he was taken away by the greedy cats in the house?

After the steward left, Zhu Qiuqi slowly reached out and picked up a piece of cake and put it in his mouth, chewed it slowly and nodded slightly, saying that this cake tasted good, looking at Zhu Shencone and the others was useless, he smiled and said that he didn't have breakfast when he came out today, or would his uncle and the two uncles use it together?

Zhu Shencone waved his hand and said that he didn't need it if he came over after breakfast, but let them leave two pieces for himself, and when the meeting was over, he would bring it back to Qiao'er at home to taste.

Zhu Minfeng smiled and took a piece and put it in his mouth, only Zhu Minqi lowered his head and didn't speak, his expression was very embarrassed now, the previous pastries were hidden on his body, just now Zhu Qiuqi suddenly shouted out in that voice, Zhu Minqi's face turned red, and he was even more panicked, today is a clan gathering, if everyone knows that they will take away the pastries as soon as they come, this face will be embarrassed.

was panicking in his heart, and suddenly felt that someone had kicked him under his feet, Zhu Minqi subconsciously raised his head, and saw Zhu Shencone reminding him: "What do you want?" So distracted? Come on, come on, Xiao Eighteen shouted that you use pastries, taste them with a piece? ”

"Oh...... Oh....... Zhu Minqi came back to his senses, reached out and took a piece of pastry under Zhu Shencheng's reminder, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly, and at the same time paid attention to Zhu Qiuqi's reaction, and saw their ordinary expressions, so he relieved his heart.

There are not many pastries, just such a plate, Zhu Qiuqi's throat was a little dry after using two pieces, and he picked up the tea in front of him and took a sip.

"Fifth uncle, I haven't seen you for a few days, how are you doing lately?"

"Huh...... Good...... Good....... Hearing Zhu Qiuqi suddenly ask himself, Zhu Minqi, who was already a little flustered, subconsciously replied.

"What is it? I don't know what's going on at home? Don't slap your face and be fat! Little Eighteen, don't eat this pastry anymore, leave two pieces for your uncle, and let your fifth uncle take some of your younger brothers and sisters back to taste the rest. Zhu Minfeng interjected on the side, he and Zhu Minqi are very close in blood, and the two families are the same grandfather, and they are serious cousins.

He couldn't be clearer about the situation of Zhu Minqi's family, after Zhu Minqi's father, who was his own uncle, left, the old and young in the family, and the life of the family was really not very good, and the current arrears of the clan were very serious, Zhu Minqi would not have been able to survive if he hadn't relied on the sale of his meager family property and the help of several of his cousins.

Just now, Zhu Qiuqi shouted to find the steward, others don't know, doesn't he Zhu Minfeng know? The fifth brother was embarrassed to bury his head in the crotch of his pants just now, needless to say, the pastries that were missing in front of him must have been hidden by Zhu Minqi first.

As for why hiding? Does this need to be explained? It's nothing more than to take home and give to the kids. Thinking of this, Zhu Minfeng couldn't help but sigh in his heart, it was really sad that the dignified clan had fallen to such a point.

Zhu Qiuqi is stunned, but not stupid, and very clever.

When his uncle said this, could he still understand it? immediately nodded in agreement, and helped put away the remaining pastries, divided two pieces to Zhu Shenchong, and gave the rest to Zhu Minqi.

"Keep it, this table is all my own family, nothing to be embarrassed about." Zhu Shencone generously stuffed the paper bag containing two pieces of pastry into his arms, and said to Zhu Minqi, who was a little at a loss, with a smile.

"The sixth uncle is right, the fifth brother is all his own family, so just take it." Zhu Minfeng saw that Zhu Minqi was still stunned, so he simply helped pick it up and put it directly in his hand.

Zhu Minqi came back to his senses at this time, he glanced at a few people gratefully, nodded and hid the things, and after putting them in his arms, a smile appeared on his face at first, but then it was gloomy.

Patting Zhu Minfeng on the shoulder, Zhu Minfeng sighed and didn't say anything. Zhu Minqi's family is not having a good time, although his family is slightly better than Zhu Minqi's family, but to be honest, it is not much better.

The living standards of the entire clan are polarized, and the high-level clans are not bad, but few of them, the middle and low-pole clans, have a good life, and most of them are not very good, and they are even very difficult. Not to mention that Zhu Minqi's family didn't eat the last meal, some clans were worse than his family, and even some starved to death.

Speaking of which, the middle and lower level clans, especially the bottom level clans, have resentment towards the imperial court. The key is that the imperial court's control over the clan is too strict, and the clan can't do it or not, not to mention for the time being, and the current Yulu often withholds and owes money, which makes the clan even more angry.

These clans look glamorous on the surface, but in fact, most of them are not as good as ordinary people, because of the difficult life, there are many people who scold their mothers in private, not to mention scolding the court and officials, even the current emperor Wanli did not give them a few words of scolding.

However, today's occasion is different, with so many clans here, some things still have to be cautious. Their table is fine, at least they are relatively close, but the other tables are different, plus today is in the General's Mansion, there are many stewards and servants in the General's Mansion, this wall has ears, in case the wrong thing is heard, it is difficult to guarantee that it will not cause trouble.

So, although there were a lot of things in the stomach that I wanted to talk about, a few people still didn't talk much. Everyone sat firmly, chatting about ordinary topics, drinking tea, and patiently waiting for the arrival of the ancestor worship ceremony.

More than half an hour later, the ancestor worship ceremony is about to begin.

Zhu Minfan, the general of the auxiliary state, is the main priest today, because today is the big day of the clan, not only the Taiyuan Jin Mansion sent a steward to attend, but even the Pingyang prefect also came.

However, the rules of the imperial court, whether it is the Jin Wangfu or the Pingyang Prefect, just sent the people below to show their faces, and the people with identities on both sides did not come, which is also a common practice. After all, the jurisdiction of the vassal king is very strict, not to mention the king of Jin, even the prince of Jin and the eunuchs in the palace are not allowed to leave Taiyuan Mansion.

On the side of the prefect of Pingyang, he only sent the following master to go once according to the usual practice, and he did not show up. After all, it is not a good thing for officials to get involved in the clan, and it is necessary to avoid suspicion in this regard.

The ancestor worship ceremony began like this, and with the arrival of the auspicious time, the clans who came today got up one after another, walked out of the flower hall in turn, and followed Zhu Minfan to the front.

Everyone lined up according to their seniority and title, and began to worship their ancestors under the leadership of Zhu Minfan.

The whole process is very cumbersome, so I won't describe it one by one, and it took a long time to complete it. After the toss was over, everyone got up from the ground, rubbed their kneeling knees, and their hearts were relieved, and at the same time, they were extremely expectant.

When Zhu Minfan announced that the ancestor worship was completed, the general's mansion had prepared a wine banquet, and after inviting all the clans to sit down for the banquet together, everyone suddenly had a smile in their mouths and their eyes lit up. Especially a few low-level clans who haven't eaten since last night are even more looking forward to it, tossing for so long, kowtowing so much, isn't it just for this feast now? What are you waiting for? Without further ado, it's only right to start the table quickly!

The grade of the wine banquet in the General's Mansion is not bad, Zhu Minfan is not bad for money, there is wine and meat on this table, and the amount is not small.

Everyone sat down in turn, and as soon as Zhu Minfan's words to invite everyone to use the table fell, everyone instantly couldn't wait to pick up the chopsticks, which were like raindrops towards the meat and vegetables on the table.

Looking at this group of wolf-like clansmen with bulging mouths, and the chopsticks in their hands still stretching and contracting, Zhu Minfan of the master's family felt very uncomfortable when he saw it.

He sat at the main table, just drank a glass of wine, tasted a chopstick dish, and then withdrew first on the grounds of physical discomfort.

He knew that the clan was having a hard time, but the clans were devouring the victims one by one, which made him feel uncomfortable, when did the dignified clan actually fall to this point? Thinking about his age, and then pondering his children and grandchildren, maybe in another hundred years, his general's mansion may also decline, thinking of this Zhu Minfan felt uncomfortable, and he simply couldn't see it.