After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 1059: The Current Situation of the Clan
Speaking of the current atmosphere in the Hai family, Ma was full of resentment towards Hai Dongling.

"It's all because of him that the rules of the clan are broken! He has no ability, but he is jealous of the virtuous and excludes those who are different from him! Ever since he forced your grandfather to leave, he has been complacent and thought that he can have the final say in the clan and no one can disobey him!" Ma sneered, "But in fact, he doesn't have that ability at all. The Hai family is also declining day by day. I don't know how much the Jiang family has taken advantage of it. Hai Dongling still said that the head of the Jiang family is a good person! If it weren't for his confusion, the Jiang family wouldn't have been so easy to prosper! He made a fool of himself, and the people in the clan saw it and followed suit. Knowing that he was a fool, they thought that if fools could be in power, they would definitely be able to do better! Those elders of the clan had ambitions because of this, but they didn't have the courage to compete for power with others. When Hai Dongling and his son were there, they didn't dare to show up. When they died and the Jiang family jumped out, they didn't dare to show up. When the Jiang family was defeated, they finally dared to stand up!"

When Fang had just left the Jiang family, the elders of the Hai family spoke harshly to her. At that time, there was no dispute over clan power. They were simply worried that Fang would offend the Jiang family if she divorced Mr. Jiang, and that she would implicate the Hai family. That’s why they showed their ugly faces. Fang was angry and sad at that time, so she took her daughter to Yongping Prefecture City to seek refuge with Hai Baozhu. I don’t know that after the Jiang family fell, the elders’ minds changed again, and this time they thought about the ownership of the clan power.

When the eldest branch of the Hai family was powerful, the elders did not dare to show their heads; when the Jiang family was rampant in the village, they knew they were no match for them and would also be timid; but after the fall of the Jiang family, the Hai family became the only one in Jianghai Village, and Hai Xiya, the second branch of the Hai family, was said to be an official, even if he was only a sixth-rank official, he could still be used as a tiger skin to intimidate others. In addition, the government returned part of the Hai family's property that the Jiang family had embezzled to the Hai family, and the Hai family became rich again. The elders felt that since the eldest branch heir Hai Baozhu was young and studying abroad, the power of the family was destined to fall into the hands of others. If they did not fight for it now, when would they fight for it? If they missed this opportunity, they would never have it again!
Therefore, the elders of the clan came up with the idea of ​​forcing Fang to leave, deceiving Hai Baozhu, and fighting for power in the clan. The so-called reason that they disliked Fang for marrying someone else was just an excuse for them to attack her, because apart from this, they could not find any other reason to stop her from taking charge of the household affairs of the eldest house again.

Ma felt that the elders had no moral principles at all, and they were slandering meritorious people under the banner of high-sounding names, purely for their own interests. And this kind of behavior of pursuing personal interests, disregarding the overall situation, and not knowing how to make profits for the clan members after taking power, was completely learned from Hai Dongling. In the early years, the Hai clan did not behave like this. When the eldest wife, Mrs. Xie, was still in charge of the eldest house, even the younger relatives could get assistance from the Hai clan, not to mention the Hai family members. What's more, Hai's daughters often remarried in their early years. The Hai family was originally a military household of Shanhaiwei. Was there ever a rule that young daughters-in-law were not allowed to remarry after becoming widows? The elders' attacks on Fang were completely unreasonable.

Ma scolded Haidongling and complained about his wife and son. Finally, she said, "This year, the master is going back to his hometown to worship his ancestors. He has too many things to do. He has to give lectures to the clan members, revise the clan rules, and re-establish the clan school, and invite one or two reliable teachers to teach the young children in the clan. He also has to buy land, arrange tenants, and buy some servants to serve him. He is so busy that I don't know if he can finish it before the tenth day of the first lunar month. If he can't finish it, there is no way to delay it. He has to go back to the capital. After the Lantern Festival, the government office will open for business, and he can't delay. Maybe he will have to go back to his hometown again during the Qingming Festival this year."

Haitang frowned when she heard this: "This is too much work. Does Grandpa intend to do all these things by himself? Can't he find a few helpers?"

"What kind of help can we find?" Ma curled her lips. "If there were one or two reliable guys in the Hai family, those useless old men wouldn't have been so arrogant for so long!"

Haitang thought for a moment and said, "Those two old students..."

Ma waved her hand and said, "They are better than others because they have studied for a few more years, are more sensible, and know the benefits of studying, so they have always advised their children and grandchildren to study. But they have not passed the examination to become a scholar at their age, which shows that they are not capable people, let alone smart people. Otherwise, they would not have been fooled by those elders with great principles and become their accomplices, and also followed in making things difficult for your cousin. Although they seem to be better than other elders now, they are not that strong. If we really give them the important task, most of the time, something will go wrong!"

Therefore, Haixiya had always let the two old students assist and speak well of the eldest son and his wife in front of the clan members. They had always been responsible for the enlightenment and learning of the younger generation in the clan, and they had a high reputation among the clan members. If they were willing to come forward to endorse the eldest son, most of the clan members would listen to them.

But they do not have the ability to manage common affairs, and cannot be expected to take charge of the clan's affairs.

Haitang thought of another person: "Grandma, you just said that there is a younger generation in the clan who is good at studying and almost became a minor official in the county government..."

"Oh, that person." Ma sighed, "He is a child from a side branch of a family. He has several brothers, but his parents are so poor that they can't afford to marry off their daughter or marry a wife. This person has been studying with the old students in the family since he was a child. He is quite talented. But so what? The teacher has taken the exam for decades and has not passed the exam to become a scholar. How much ability can we expect from the student?"

Hai Xiya and Ma heard about this nephew from two old students. He studied with his uncle and had some talent, but his family could not afford the tuition. He could only borrow his uncle's paper, pens and books. He took the county exam once and did well, but he could not get the money to take the provincial exam, so he could not take the exam again. The Jiang family was rampant in the village. Any outstanding child in the Hai family would be bullied by the Jiang family. So he went out with his bags to seek a job. It is said that he worked as a clerk in a bookstore. This spring, the Jiang family fell, and he returned to his hometown to reunite with his family. The two old students who taught him tested his knowledge and planned to collect the money to send him to take the provincial exam. If he can pass the exam and become a scholar, he will be the second person in the Hai family to have a reputation in the past twenty years, except Hai Baozhu! This is a good thing for the whole family!
Unfortunately, the teacher collected some money, and just as he was moved, his family poured cold water on him. His family felt that life was too difficult, and instead of continuing to support him to study and betting that he would pass the imperial examination one day, it would be better to let him go out and find a job early, so that he could have a stable income to support the family. His brother heard that the county government was recruiting clerks, so he urged him to give it a try. But if he was really hired, he would never be able to take the imperial examination again.

After much reflection, he decided to return the travel expenses to his uncles and take the county clerk examination. It is said that he ranked first, but was not admitted because the person who was finally admitted was not only a relative of the current clerk, but also had given gifts in advance to arrange the relationship.

However, although this man failed to become a clerk, he did not plan to return to his clan to continue studying. He was currently trying to make a living in the county, and found a job copying books for a bookstore. He earned a little money every month, which slightly improved his family's livelihood. It was said that the owner of the bookstore admired him very much and wanted to recruit him as a son-in-law and pass the shop to him!
Ma said this and spread her hands: "Look, among the descendants of the Hai family are your grandfather and your brother, your father is also a smart man, and the eldest son has Baozhu, so it's not that there are no good seedlings. But the elders above don't know how to cherish, so no matter how many good seedlings there are, they will be wasted. How can your grandfather not be anxious when he sees this?!"