Chapter 1727 Ancestor Worship

Zhou Xiaozhe was shocked. "No wonder many members of the Zhao family have risen rapidly in the officialdom. It turns out that there is such a relationship. As early as the early days of the founding of the country, they had established inextricable ties with Yanjing. In this case, the Zhao family must have a very deep foundation to develop to this day, right? No wonder the secretary came to Jiyang City specifically to talk to Secretary Zhao."

Liu Fusheng said: "This is only part of the reason. There is a deeper reason, which is the family rules set by the ancestors of the Zhao family."

Zhou Xiaozhe really wanted to ask what the Zhao family's house rules were, but he felt it was inappropriate. A secretary's duty was to help the leader with work, not to seek answers to the leader's questions. He kept this matter in mind for the time being and planned to go back and find someone who knew about it.

……

Soon, their vehicle stopped at the entrance of Song Village.

There are no roadblocks here like in Hongcun, refusing passing vehicles to pass freely. Liu Fusheng stopped the car on his own initiative to show his respect.

He and Zhou Xiaozhe walked into Song Village and saw the huge archway at the entrance of the village which was particularly eye-catching. Next to the archway, there was a stone tablet with many words written on it.

Liu Fusheng stopped in front of the words, and Zhou Xiaozhe also looked up.

"The dragon and phoenix live in Phoenix Mountain, and they are happy without caring about worldly affairs. They live a carefree life with their three surnames and four relatives, and they have been in harmony with nature for thousands of years."

Zhou Xiaozhe laughed and said, "This is a doggerel."

Liu Fusheng said: "This is a folk song popular in Chaojiang, and its name is "Song Zhong"."

Zhou Xiaozhe was surprised and said, "The secretary even knows about this?"

Liu Fusheng said: "Since I have been transferred to Chaojiang, I must learn about the local customs and practices. After all, we must work hard here and achieve some results."

After saying that, the two of them walked towards Song Village.

Along the way, they saw many residents of Song Village. The elderly were sitting on the roadside drinking tea and chatting, while most of the young people were taking care of the tea in their own yards.

Liu Fusheng took Zhou Xiaozhe for a leisurely stroll, just like an ordinary tourist.

Ten minutes later, they arrived in front of a magnificent building.

Zhou Xiaozhe looked up at the flying eaves and brackets and couldn't help but exclaimed: "This is the Zhao family's ancestral hall, right? It is so magnificent and spectacular. The specifications of their family are two levels higher than those of other ancestral halls!"

Liu Fusheng smiled and said, "According to the custom in Chaojiang, earning money to build an ancestral hall is considered to be a good deed, expressing one's respect and contribution to one's ancestors. Whether one is a high-ranking official, a wealthy businessman, or even an ordinary civilian, they all have an indescribable reverence for their own ancestral hall."

"The Zhao family had a number of high-ranking officials among their ancestors, so naturally the ancestral hall they built is more magnificent than that of other clans."

Zhou Xiaozhe said repeatedly: "Great, great."

He is from the north and does not have deep-rooted clan concepts. Even though he has seen some natural villages linked by surnames and blood ties, he has never experienced such a strong sense of clan identity as in the Chaojiang area.

Liu Fusheng arrived at the entrance of the ancestral hall and immediately attracted the attention of several men nearby.

A man stood up and said, "This is not a tourist attraction. No entry for outsiders."

Liu Fusheng smiled and said, "Has Patriarch Zhao Qiuwei returned?"

The man was stunned when he heard this: "Do you know Uncle Qiu?"

Liu Fusheng said, "I have an appointment with Uncle Qiu. Please let him know. My last name is Liu."

The man nodded and said, "Okay, wait."

Then he turned and walked into the ancestral hall.

Zhou Xiaozhe said softly: "Zhao Qiuwei is the secretary of the Jiyang Municipal Party Committee. They don't call him by his position, but call him Uncle Qiu?"

Liu Fusheng said: "In the clan, the clan leader is respected, so the rest of the younger generations should naturally call him uncle."

Not long after, footsteps were heard in the ancestral hall.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Qiuwei, secretary of the Jiyang Municipal Party Committee, walked out in casual clothes with a smile on his face.

"Secretary Liu, I don't know when you will arrive, so I'll just rest in the ancestral hall for a while. Excuse me, please come in!"

Liu Fusheng smiled and said, "Uncle Qiu is too polite. There is no secretary in the Zhao Family Ancestral Hall. You can just call me Xiao Liu."

Zhao Qiuwei was a little surprised. He looked at Liu Fusheng deeply and said, "That's not right. The ancestral hall belongs to the Zhao family, and Secretary Liu is still Secretary Liu."

There is something meaningful in this sentence. Firstly, Zhao Qiuwei did not regard Liu Fusheng as his own family member. Secondly, he also said it to the clan members around him.

Liu Fusheng didn't care: "Okay, the guest should follow the host's wishes, but it's more intimate to call him Uncle Qiu, do you have any objection?"

Zhao Qiuwei thought for a moment and said, "Indeed, compared to the municipal party secretary, I prefer to be called Uncle Qiu. Secretary Liu is willing to call me that, and I am more than happy to do so."

As they were talking, everyone had already passed through the hall and the courtyard.

The exterior of the Zhao Family Ancestral Hall is very magnificently decorated, and the interior area is also astonishingly large.

The place where Zhao Qiuwei received Liu Fusheng was located behind the hall. Further inside there were deeper courtyards and even gardens, but Liu Fusheng and Zhou Xiaozhe could not explore such places.

Liu Fusheng sat on an antique chair, drinking the tea served by the Zhao family and said, "I've always heard that the Phoenix Dancong tea from Song Village is the best in eastern Guangdong, so why did Uncle Qiu give me Longjing tea?"

Zhao Qiuwei smiled and said, "Only local people like us can get used to drinking Dancong tea. Many outsiders are still used to drinking those world-famous teas, so the clan has set a rule that local guests are served local tea, and outsiders are served good tea from other places. This West Lake Longjing is picked from Shifeng Mountain. Although it is not one of the 18 trees in front of the emperor, it is of excellent quality. Secretary Liu will know after trying it."

Liu Fusheng nodded, looked around and said, "The Zhao Family Ancestral Hall is so magnificent, it really opened my eyes."

Zhao Qiuwei said: "Chaojiang people believe that their success in business or as an official abroad is all due to the blessing of their ancestors, so the first thing they do when they make money is to come back and build ancestral halls for their ancestors. This is also a way to express their yearning for a better life."

Liu Fusheng smiled and said, "From this point, we can see that the Zhao family has been prosperous and talented for hundreds of years."

Zhao Qiuwei waved his hand and said, "Secretary Liu, thank you for your compliment. I wonder why you came to Song Village today?"

Liu Fusheng said: "I went to see Uncle Qiu because I wanted to learn about the rules of the Chaojiang clan. Now I understand a little bit."

Zhao Qiuwei did not respond, but waited quietly for Liu Fusheng's next words.

Liu Fusheng smiled and said: "Through Hongcun and Songcun, I got a glimpse of the whole picture and found that the Chaojiang clan is not only about blood, genealogy, and surname, but also a kind of ancestor worship. This is an unshakable belief."

Zhao Qiuwei frowned and said, "What Secretary Liu said seems a bit one-sided, doesn't it?"

Liu Fusheng said: "I think clan mutual assistance is more cohesive than other social groups. The belief in ancestor worship is also one of the characteristics of Chinese civilization. If it is one-sided, please add a few words to it, Uncle Qiu."

As the secretary of the Jiyang Municipal Party Committee, Zhao Qiuwei is well-informed.

He heard the hidden meaning in Liu Fusheng's words. The secretary of the Chaojiang Municipal Party Committee mixed up clans and social groups, which seemed a bit heartbreaking.

Overtly and covertly, people are saying that the Chaojiang clan has formed its own country and its own party and does not obey the management of the state. This must never be allowed.