The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

"My lord, it's only been a year, what happened to you?..." Uncle De and the others knelt beside Shen Hu, choking with sobs, unable to speak.

"Dezi, San'er! You're here!" Shen Hu greeted them, perking up.

"Sir, you are the backbone of our Shen family. Please take good care of yourself!" said Uncle Wei, who had only one arm, wiping away his tears.

"San'er! We're all old and useless now! It's up to the younger generation to take over." Shen Hu waved his hand.

"Sir, if I may be so disrespectful, the young master is far superior to you in his prime! Who in all of Shandong doesn't know his name?" Uncle De said proudly.

"Don't you even know whose child he is! Hahaha, cough cough cough!" Shen Hu laughed loudly twice, then started coughing violently.

Several old men quickly patted his chest and back. A maidservant also hurriedly brought him hot tea. After a couple of sips of tea, Shen Hu felt a little better.

"Sir, this time the young master is training troops. We also sent more than twenty children to join him as soldiers. In addition, there are more than a hundred able-bodied men in the manor who are regularly training. They are ready to serve the Shen family at any time!"

"Good, good!" Shen Hu nodded in satisfaction. In his heart, these were the people the Shen family could truly trust.

After chatting with Shen Hu for a while longer, the group prepared to take their leave!

"Uncle De, Uncle Sanzi, why don't you stay and have a drink with my father? He's in a rare good mood today!"

"No, young master! We're busy with affairs at the manor today, so we won't disturb you. We'll come to pay our respects to you and the master another day!" Uncle De and the others shook their heads.

Alright! Shen Lian really has a lot to do today, so he won't keep them any longer.

Uncle Fu had already prepared two large cartloads of New Year's gifts for them, all of which consisted of grain, dried meat, and cloth. The Shen family certainly wouldn't treat them unfairly; the New Year's gifts they gave were much more generous than those from other estates.

"Uncle De, Uncle Sanzi! You don't need to pay rent anymore, keep it for yourselves!" Shen Lian said before seeing them off.

These families originally owned some land, but with the increase in their population over the years, they didn't have enough to eat. They also rented some of the Shen family's land to cultivate. Originally, Shen Hu didn't want to pay rent, but they insisted, so there was nothing he could do.

"Young Master, we..." Uncle De was about to speak when Shen Lian interrupted him.

“Uncle De, Uncle Sanzi, you’ve fought alongside my father for half your lives. It’s time for you to enjoy your retirement! You know the family’s current situation; we don’t really need this much. This is also my father’s wish.”

"Alright! We thank you, sir and young master!" Uncle De and the others exchanged glances and gritted their teeth in agreement.

"Yes! That's more like it! You all enjoy your retirement while I lead the younger generation to achieve great things!"

The group thanked Shen Lian and slowly drove away in their carriage. Watching their battered yet still upright figures, Shen Lian recalled a modern saying: "Old soldiers never die, they simply fade away."

. . . . . .

The next morning, Shen Lian got up very early. He helped the old man into the ancestral hall to begin the ancestral worship ceremony.

In the empty ancestral hall, there were only the father and son. Shen Lian arranged the offerings, lit incense and candles, and then knelt on the ground with his father.

After listening to his father's long-winded report to the ancestors, the two kowtowed several times and then stood up. Shen Lian helped the old man walk outside.

"Sigh! Everything is fine in our family now, except we have too few people! Zhiyuan, you and Xiaoqian have been married for a while now, haven't you had any news yet?"

"Father, it's only been a few days? It can't be that fast!" Shen Lian shook his head helplessly.

"What about that month? We've slept together quite a bit, haven't we? How come you haven't gotten pregnant yet? Is there something wrong? Why don't you take a few more concubines?"

"Father, this depends on fate. Just wait a little longer, maybe it will happen sometime!" Shen Lian could only comfort the old man. He really didn't have time to look for women right now!

The old man's words made some sense. Yue'er and he had been together for several months. He hadn't used any protection, so why wasn't she pregnant? Could it be that he had lost his fertility because of his time travel?

That would be the end of it! Who would I hand over the empire I've built up?

The Zhang Family Ancestral Hall in Zhangjiaba Village was bustling with activity today, as all the men of the Zhang family prepared offerings, incense, candles, and paper money.

In previous years, Zhang Tieniu could only stand at the very back, but today he was dressed in a neat military uniform and stood at the very front with his younger brother and son. On the offering table were the offerings he had brought: a large piece of meat weighing two or three pounds, a whole chicken, and some fruit.

Aside from the village chief's second uncle, who is also the patriarch of the Zhang family, his family's offerings were the most abundant.

"May our ancestors bless us with favorable weather this year. Two more members have been added to our Zhang family. Moreover, our outstanding son, Zhang Tieniu, has risen to the rank of ninth-grade official, greatly enhancing the prestige of our Zhang family..."

The clan chief proudly gave his report, and then everyone knelt down and kowtowed. Deafening firecrackers rang out outside the ancestral hall.

After the ancestral worship ceremony, the clan head began to preside over the distribution of offerings. Uncles and brothers from all branches of the family came over to greet him, keeping Zhang Tieniu busy.

In the end, Zhang Tieniu's family received a piece of pork about two fingers thick and a chicken leg. Zhang Tieniu knew this was already a special favor from the clan chief, considering there were only so many meats for a couple hundred people.

In previous years, he could only get a small piece of meat, about the size of his little finger, to take home for the children to enjoy.

Zhang Tieniu handed the meat and chicken leg to Erniu, clasped his hands in farewell to his uncles, and led the children home.

Seeing that she had only brought back so little meat, Tie Niu's mother was so heartbroken she almost fainted. She couldn't help but curse those vampires in her heart.

"Mother, we don't lack these things. Let them take a little benefit!" Zhang Tieniu comforted his mother when he saw her unhappy expression.

"Hmph! In previous years when our family was struggling, no one ever brought us anything. Now they know how to take advantage of us?"

“Mother, life wasn’t easy for everyone in previous years either!” Zhang Tieniu argued.

"Hmph, you think you're so kind! You've only had enough to eat for a few days and you're already wasting things?" Tie Niu's mother scolded angrily.

Zhang Tieniu dared not utter a sound, lest he be scolded again!

"Grandma, eat, eat chicken leg!" The calf picked up a chicken leg and handed it to the old lady.

"Okay! Grandma won't eat, but you eat, my dear grandson! You're the most filial grandson." The old lady smiled so much that her wrinkles deepened when she saw her eldest grandson.

Zhang Tieniu took the opportunity to go into the kitchen, where his mother was busy cooking and his younger sister was helping out. Today was the New Year, so the food naturally had to be prepared well.

Especially this year, with Zhang Tieniu joining the army, the family's life has improved significantly. This year's New Year's Eve dinner was naturally much more lavish, featuring pork, ribs, chicken, fish, and shrimp.

"Husband, what are you doing in the kitchen? Get out of here, or you'll get your clothes dirty." The young woman hurriedly shooed her husband out as he entered.

"Let me see what dishes we're having today! Hehe!" Zhang Tieniu scratched his head.

My mom's about to explode, and I'm just avoiding it! Who wants to get yelled at during the New Year?!