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Chapter 173 Difficulties in the Ancestral Hall
The renovation of the ancestral hall and the revision of the family tree are considered major events in my hometown in recent years.

Tribesmen from all over the place came back to greet relatives and friends whom they had not seen for many years, and the originally desolate village became more prosperous.

Although they are all relatives, they are of varying wealth. There are ragged tenants and landlords with protruding bellies.

Old Man Zhou works in the city. The three of them are respectable and well-off, and are considered promising and respectable people.

After Third Uncle came back from the city, he told everyone that Third Boy was doing well.

In addition, during this period, Old Man Zhou visited relatives everywhere and gave them the most substantial gifts, such as food, cloth and sesame oil.

It's just that the people in the village are uneducated, otherwise they would have given him a reputation for being kind and charitable.

The biggest change brought about by his lavish spending was that Zhou You suddenly found himself becoming Master Zhou.

Originally, according to the seniority system in the village, he was considered a junior. Even the naked, snotty-nosed kids were three generations older than him.

Nowadays, no one calls him "grandson of the clan" anymore, but instead politely calls him "Mr. Zhou".

It’s great to have money. My relatives have become much more welcoming.

Zhou You also used the excuse of experiencing the wild scenery to often stay out alone for most of the day.

My parents were quite worried at first, but later they gradually got used to it. After all, it was their hometown and there were familiar people around, so they wouldn’t get lost.

The countryside environment is good and is very beneficial to physical recovery. It is also good for letting children take a walk.

I guess in a few days, I can disappear for a while.

Zhou You would occasionally take out a tree knot, carefully examine the texture on it, and try to copy it with paper and ink.

The surface of the tree tumor is irregular, different from the stone tablet and bronze bell, and it is very difficult to carve.

After failing dozens of times and wasting hundreds of good sheets of paper, I finally succeeded.

The marks on the votive tree knot should be the result of a collision with a hard object with an arc shape and a rounded edge around it.

There are 6 intact seal characters in the center, and 8 characters around the edge are mostly incomplete, with a total of 14 seal characters.

Zhou Yougang had just heard the legend of the Nine Cauldrons of Heaven, but he did not have any wild ideas that the seal characters on the tree knot came from the legendary treasure.

He thought that the source of these seal characters should be gold objects such as the bronze bell found in the temple.

It is worth mentioning that these seal characters are relatively ancient and obscure, and have not yet been deciphered.

Zhou You used up all he had learned and came to understand a little bit that the one with the fewest strokes should be describing a party scene.

Ancient writing is concise and to the point. The information content of a word is equivalent to today's phrases or even complete sentences. The slightest deviation can lead to a huge misunderstanding in meaning.

Zhou You was unable to confirm it either, so he could only hide the tree tumor and the rubbings and study them slowly over time.

This is a gift from my godmother, there must be some purpose behind it.

The day of the clan gathering finally arrived.

Members of each branch of the clan gathered in the ancestral hall, young and old.

Zhou You followed his father into the gate of the ancestral hall and found that the wood of the threshold was rotten and the bricks and tiles were corroded and had pits and holes.

The stone tablet erected at the entrance of the ancestral hall has long been blurred, recording the investors, process and date of the construction of the ancestral hall.

Zhou You curled his lips. The materials, brushwork and seal carving techniques were not worth mentioning.

The main body of the ancestral hall exudes an air of vicissitudes and is becoming increasingly old due to the erosion of time. It is indeed in need of renovation and reconstruction.

From ancient times to the present, infrastructure projects have always been a major source of money and grain consumption, and can only be accomplished with the efforts of the entire family.

"Everyone is here, be quiet, let's discuss business."

The oldest person in the clan is Taigong, who is seven generations older than Zhou You, and one cannot count the number of their relationship with one's fingers. He has snow-white beard and eyebrows, and his skin is loose and covered with age spots. He was helped to sit down, and he began to doze off as soon as his buttocks touched the seat.

"Huluhulu, huluhulu!"

Several middle-aged people nearby were quite embarrassed and waited for a while before waking up Taigong.

"Oh, so many people are here, let's talk about business, what is the business?"

Taigong muttered for a long time, "Oh, I remember now, let's discuss how to build the ancestral hall?"

"Of course we need to rebuild it and make it more magnificent. Every family with money can contribute money and every family with strength can contribute strength."

"I have asked Master Wu, the most learned man in the area, to write the inscription and copy the family tree for us."

A wealthy middle-aged man spoke eloquently in front of everyone, and his aura alone showed that he was not an ordinary farmer.

"Who is this?"

Father Zhou replied in a low voice, "According to seniority, you should call him Uncle Wu. His family owns 100 acres of fertile land, 3 wells, 7 oxen, and 5 or 6 strong sons to help."

I see. He is a typical landlord with land, fields and young men. No wonder the clansmen all listen to him respectfully.

The fifth uncle, named Zhou Laixi, is the person in charge of this infrastructure project. He briefly reported on the general progress of the project.

With his status, he didn't need to explain to other members of the main clan. This time he spoke in public and reported to Taigong.

Taigong dozed off while listening, and could not hold on any longer. At the end, he waved his hand and said, "I'll leave it to you."

This sentence is tantamount to an imperial decree to the tribe members.

Zhou Lai Xi asked someone to invite Taigong to the back hall to rest and began to distribute the funds.

The tribesmen are rich and poor, and their family situations are different. There is no requirement for anyone to give a certain amount, it all depends on their heart.

Some gave 50 copper coins, some gave a few taels of silver, some donated gold teeth and silver hairpins, and some even brought their own hens and piglets.

I searched around and found that the total amount was less than 20 taels of silver.

Old Man Zhou was confident. When it was his turn, he raised his palm and gestured to the front and back, "I'll pay 100 taels."

There was a burst of exclamations from all around, 100 taels, Sanwazi made a fortune outside.

Relatives praised Old Man Zhou endlessly...

Uncle Wu Zhou Laixi added this number and said with emotion, "Brother Sanwa, you are really capable!"

He paused, then said, "It's just that there is something I didn't have time to tell you in detail."

"You say!" Old Man Zhou was in a good mood and didn't care.

Zhou Laixi said with a smile, "I have measured the size of the monument in the ancestral hall and found that the space is limited. It is not enough to write all the names."

Hearing this, Zhou You narrowed his eyes. What does that mean?
Old Man Zhou also noticed that the atmosphere was not right. The big men around Zhou Lai Xi had unfriendly expressions on their faces. They were his sons.

"I'm not targeting you, Sanwazi. You haven't been back to your hometown for a long time, and you haven't been out during the holidays. The tribesmen all think that even though you paid, you are not qualified to be on the list. You should give your place to others!"

"There will be opportunities in the future, such as moving the ancestral graves. As long as you continue to pay, everything will be fine."

Zhou Laixi spoke in a sincere tone, but his words made people furious.

What does it mean? Father Zhou paid a huge sum of 100 taels of silver, accounting for the bulk of the cost of repairing the ancestral hall, but he couldn’t even leave his name on it.

Zhou You glanced around and found that all the relatives and clansmen were pretending to be deaf and dumb and were no longer as enthusiastic as before.

Met a local tyrant bully!
Fifth uncle Zhou Laixi came with bad intentions. Not only did he swallow up the 100 taels, he also wanted to use clan rules and family affection to PUA my father.

This time I gave you 100 taels to build a clan temple, but next time you move the ancestral grave you dare ask for 200 taels. That’s a huge ask!
(End of this chapter)