Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 318 The First Ancestor Worship

It’s New Year’s Eve in the ninth year of Xifeng.

All the government offices were on holiday, and Jia Cong had half a day to rest at home.

These days, in addition to practicing martial arts during the day, I also have to deal with official duties.

Nansi was back in power for the first time, and everything was waiting for improvement. He didn't want to delegate too much power, and he would be fooled by the people below him. He would have to investigate and understand many things, which would tire him out.

Fortunately, having Fan Ming as his secretary relieved him of the burden of paperwork.

These days, I finally figured out the operating mechanism of Jinyiwei.

"Sir, the old lady just sent someone to invite you over to discuss the matter of ancestor worship." Qingwen sent Jia Cong to change into his practice clothes, and looked at them carefully again, everything was appropriate.

According to the rules of the Jia family, ancestors are worshiped and then have a family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve.

Jia Cong didn't care about these things. He said impatiently: "We hold sacrifices every year. What do you want me to do? Can you just do it as in previous years?"

Qingwen pursed her lips and smiled and said: "In previous years, I didn't get this first-class Dang Koubo. This is my first year of knighthood, so it will naturally be much grander."

"It's all nonsense and red tape. How can our ancestors care about this? Stop doing such bastard things, and your ancestors' graves will be filled with smoke." Jia Cong muttered.

"Having said that, I still want to go. The old lady also has good intentions." Qian Xue came over and put on the crane cloak for him.

"Well, I'll just go."

As soon as Jia Cong entered the Rongqing Hall, he felt a gust of fragrant wind blowing against his face. The hall was filled with orioles and jade rings, which made people dazzled.

In addition to the old lady and the two ladies, there are also Sister Feng, Li Wan, Youshi, Sanchun, Baochai, Daiyu, Baoyu, etc., all dressed up in rich, luxurious and joyful clothes.

Scanning his eyes, he saw a young woman standing next to the old lady. She had a beautiful face, a graceful figure, a look like the bright moon, and eyes like autumn water. It was Qin Keqing. When her eyes met Jia Cong, she hurriedly lowered her head like a frightened deer. go.

"Third brother."

"Third brother."

"Brother Cong."

"Uncle Cong."

Seeing him come in, everyone stood up to greet him.

"Nephew, I would like to say hello to my third uncle." Jia Rong was also there and hurriedly stepped forward to say hello.

Jia Cong nodded, cupped his hands and said, "Greetings to the old ladies and ladies."

Jia Mu smiled and said, "Okay. I've asked you to come here today to discuss the matter of ancestor worship. You have been knighted this year and haven't made any sacrifices to your ancestors yet, so we'll do it together."

Jia Cong said: "Cong doesn't understand these things either, but I just follow the old lady's orders."

Mother Jia was quite satisfied with his attitude and said with a smile: "Brother Cairong, just now, the ancestral hall and the upper room of Dongfu have been cleaned, and the offerings, gods, and images of the deceased have been properly placed. This year's spring festival I also received the reward."

"Well, Brother Rong is quite capable," Jia Cong said.

Jia Rong hurriedly bowed and said: "My nephew has a lot of things to do, and the old ladies and ladies take care of them. This is the reward I received at Guanglu Temple today. Please ask Uncle Cong to take a look." He took out a small The yellow cloth bag was presented to Jia Cong.

Jia Cong took it and looked at the yellow cloth bag. There was a seal on it, which was the four characters "Huang En Yong Xi"; on the other side there was the mark of the priest of the Ministry of Rites, and there was a line of small characters written on it.

The Tao goes like this: "Ning Guo Gong Jia Yan, Rong Guo Gong Jia Yuan, and Dang Kou Bo Jia Cong were gifted a total of three eternal spring sacrifices, with a net discount of several taels of silver. On a certain year, month and day, the third-class general Jia Rong received them in the hall, and the value was "Nian Si Cheng someone", below is a red monogram.

According to the dynasty system, every Spyker house will be rewarded with sacrificial silver at the end of the year. There are several Spykers who will be rewarded with several portions as a sign of honor.

Jia Cong opened his pocket and looked at it. There were only a dozen ingots of red gold in it, which together probably amounted to less than a hundred taels. He put it on the table casually and said, "What else can I do?"

Sister Feng ordered her maid to bring a tea tray to celebrate the New Year, and said with a smile: "My eldest sister-in-law brought a bag of broken gold, a total of one hundred and fifty-three two-six cents and seven cents. The fineness of the contents varied, and the total amount was poured." Two hundred and twenty gold coins, and several hundred silver gold coins. Do you think it’s too much or too little?”

Jia Cong looked at it and saw that there were also plum blossom styles, begonia styles, "pen ingots for good luck", and "eight treasures couplets". He smiled and said: "That's good, but this thing is too small. If you drop it on the ground, you won't be able to find it carefully."

Jia Mu smiled and said, "It's just a lucky draw. Why do you want it to be so big?"

Jia Cong asked: "Are these thorns reserved for rewards?"

"The gold coins are New Year's money for the masters, grandmothers, aunts, and girls in the two houses, and the silver coins are given to the stewards and servants below," Sister Feng said.

"How many people are there in our family now?" Jia Cong asked. Since he cleaned it up last time, he didn't care about the rest.

Sister Feng said with a smile: "I know that your uncle is busy with everything, killing and not burying. Since the last time we punished those bastards who had no masters in their eyes, we also cleaned up a lot of servants who were related to each other. Our family alone has a lot of troubles." There are more than two hundred vacancies.

Fortunately, our family has accumulated a lot of children in our lifetime, and they all live on the back porch and in the village. When I heard that there was someone in the house, they all swooped on me like flies that smelled blood. Lin Zhixiao and I were busy for many days. , finally the population was replenished, and the rules had to be taught again, and they were so busy all day long that they never touched the ground. "

Jia Cong smiled and said: "Why are you talking about this long piece of gossip? I know you have worked hard and achieved great results, so I'll just leave it at that."

Everyone laughed.

Sister Feng snorted proudly, "It's good that you know. There are 462 servants in the mansion now. How many are there in Dongfu? Sister-in-law."

Youshi said hurriedly: "Dongfu is smaller, with 396 people."

Jia Cong nodded: "Seven or eight hundred people, this little money is too shabby. Since the two mansions were cleaned up, the servants have become much more behaved and work harder. I think I can get another two thousand." Let the money come out to reward people. In addition, in previous years, I remember that they were all distributed in equal amounts. The first-class girls and the second-class girls were different. This method is not good. "

"What's wrong?" Sister Feng said, "Let me tell you first, I can't give you two thousand silver."

Youshi smiled and scolded: "I know that the wind can blow in the silver in your hand, Feng girl, but the ox can't pull it out. You can tell it in front of the old ladies and ladies, and you are not afraid of embarrassment. So these two thousand silver came from the east." The government will support it."

Everyone covered their mouths and chuckled.

Jia Rong smiled hurriedly and said, "I'll order someone to deliver it later."

The Lai family fell, the two houses were full, and now Jia Rong also became rich. Sister Feng said with a smile: "I can't compare to you. There are so many things going on at home now, inside and outside. In the past two years, there have been many new things that cost money. I can't be extravagant, so I have to ask my sister-in-law for more support." "

"Bah, now you are in charge of your third brother's earldom salary, and Qian'er has copied a lot of stolen money for you to use, and you still call yourself poor. You have a miser-like temperament." Youshi scolded with a smile.

Everyone laughed.

Sister Feng smiled proudly and said, "This is called preparing for a rainy day and managing the household well. Brother Cong, what did you say just now that there's nothing wrong with receiving the reward on time?"

Jia Cong said: "It is good to receive rewards according to the order, but it will inevitably make people feel lazy. I feel that I am already a first-class girl or the wife in charge. Why should I work hard when I receive so much money? Therefore, I am ranked second. In addition, rewards must be given based on hard work to encourage subordinates to make progress. Sister-in-law Feng can discuss this matter with the stewards."

Sister Feng rolled her eyes. This was a huge authority. Who did well and who did poorly was not up to her. He said hurriedly: "Brother Cong is still very clever. Old lady, two madams, what do you think?"

Jia Mu smiled and said, "I think this is a good idea. As a noble family, we should naturally have clear rewards and punishments."

Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang could only nod.

"Okay. Then I will do what the old lady and ladies want." Sister Feng said with a smile.

"Is there anything else?" Jia Cong asked.

"Also. The day before yesterday, Tian Yongfeng, the steward of Baishui Village in Liaodong, brought a New Year gift and wanted to kowtow to you." Sister Feng said, handing over a notice and gift list.

Jia Cong took a casual look and saw fifty big deer, eighty deer, eighty deer, fifty Siamese pigs, fifty soup pigs... five thousand taels of silver.

However, according to his own instructions, the amount increased by 30% compared to previous years.

"Let them go back, I don't have time to see them. Tell them, don't think that because I'm not in Liaodong, I can hide the truth. If you are tired of living, just give it a try." Jia Cong said lightly.

Sister Feng said with envy: "Brother Cong is so majestic. I think Tian Yongfeng and the others are afraid of you, just like they are afraid of the King of Hell, I will not dare to fuck a ghost."

Jia Cong said: "If I can't even control a few servants, how dare I run errands for the Holy Master?"

"When I said you were fat, you started to breathe." Sister Feng said.

Everyone chuckled.

Jia Cong didn't feel dissatisfied. He turned to look at Jia Rong and said, "Is there anything else?"

Jia Rong hurriedly bowed and said: "Everything is ready. Please invite the old lady, the master and his wife, as well as Uncle Cong, Second Uncle Lian, Second Uncle Bao and Third Uncle Huan to the Dongfu to worship their ancestors."

"Then let's go." Jia Mu nodded, and Qin Keqing hurriedly helped her up.

"Sister Bao, Li'er, if you have nothing to do, go and watch the excitement." Jia Cong said with a smile.

"Go to them all, it's rare to have such a complete set." Jia Mu said with a smile.

Qin Keqing was the most favored person among Jia Mu's great-grandchildren. He was well-educated, handsome, articulate, and had always been very popular with the old lady.

Mother Jia patted her hand and said with a smile: "Brother Rong, daughter-in-law, I heard that you were not feeling well a few days ago. Are you feeling better now?"

Qin Keqing smiled and said, "Thanks to the old lady, I'm fine now."

"Well, there are few people over there. If you have nothing to do, come over and chat with your aunts and aunts, and your health will naturally get better. Look at me, I just joke with them all day long when I have nothing to do at home, but I seldom seek medical advice." Jia Mu smiled.

Qin Keqing secretly glanced at Jia Cong in front of her and said with a smile: "Wish the old lady long life and long life, no ordinary person can compare with her. Now that she is better, she will naturally come to serve the old lady more often, so as to gain some blessings and longevity."

"Okay, now that you are here, we will be more lively." Jia Mu said with a smile.

"Brother Rong, daughter-in-law, why don't you join our poetry club?" Baoyu said with a smile.

Qin Keqing said with a smile: "Thank you, Uncle Bao, for your kindness. How can my nephew and daughter-in-law sing harmoniously with all the aunts? There is no need to be embarrassed."

Li Wan smiled and said, "You're here at the right time. Even if you don't write poetry, it's good to be a censor of the society like Er Yatou and Fourth Yatou."

Baoyu smiled and said: "Now our poetry club is prosperous. In addition to our first group of people, we have also added Xiangyun, Xiangling, Qingwen, and Qianxue. It is really lively."

Jia Cong turned back and glared at him, saying, "When did you drag my people in? Why didn't I know?"

Tan Chun said with a smile: "I asked Sister Bao and Sister Lin to come to my door and invite Qingwen and Qianxue in person a while ago. They are both interested and said they would ask you. Wouldn't you refute it?"

Jia Cong smiled and said: "They are idle when they are idle. If they want to have fun with you, just go."

"Third brother, it would be great if you took the time to join our poetry club sometime." Tanchun said.

"I don't have time, so go ahead and do it yourself." Jia Cong knew very well that their poetry club had rules for writing poems, including limited topics, limited rhymes, and limited styles. How could he do it?

Baochai smiled and said, "It's okay if Brother Cong doesn't come. If he writes poems, what else should we write?"

Daiyu rolled her eyes at Jia Cong and said angrily: "It's so unfair for God to allow a person who doesn't read poetry to have such a poetic talent."

Everyone smiled and nodded. Jia Cong's poetic talents are really beyond words.

Jia Cong chuckled and said, "Brother, I have many talents. I will naturally find out in the future."

Seeing his sneaky look, Daiyu knew that there was nothing good to say, so she hurriedly spat.

After a while, we arrived at Dongfu.

I saw that everything was in place. In both houses, the door gods, couplets, and signs were replaced, and the peach charms were newly painted, giving them a completely new look.

From the main gate, the ceremonial gate, the hall, the warm pavilion, the inner hall, the inner three gates, the inner ceremonial gate and the inner gate to the main hall, the main entrance is wide open, and under the steps on both sides, there are two large high-rise lamps of the same color. Like a golden dragon.

(End of this chapter)