It’s the beginning of winter in a blink of an eye.
From that day on, Zhu Shenzui got up early as usual and practiced boxing and kicking. After practicing and washing up, he changed into the red-woven gold bear uniform that he couldn't wear twice a year.
Mrs. Zhang helped find this outfit yesterday, ironed it carefully and hung it up overnight.
The clothes are very beautiful, with bright red fabric and golden bear embroidery, which makes Zhu Shenzui look very majestic. After putting it on, Mrs. Zhang tied up Zhu Shenzui's hair, and then put on a three-beam crown. The crown was made of silver rhodium flowers and the ribbon was carved in a plate. With this dress, she looked completely different from before.
After Zhu Shenzui had finished putting on his clothes, he lifted up his sleeves and turned around in a circle. Mrs. Zhang looked on in a daze. I remember that when I got married, my husband was also wearing the same outfit. In a blink of an eye, everything changed. My husband had passed away for a long time, but Zhu Shenzui, who was still young at the time, was already as tall as her husband, especially wearing this outfit. It was as if her husband had come alive from his own memory.
"Sister-in-law, is there nothing wrong with your back? Sister-in-law?" Turning around, Zhu Shenzui looked around and asked Zhang casually.
After asking, Ms. Zhang didn't answer. Zhu Shenzui thought she didn't hear clearly, so he asked again.
At this moment, Ms. Zhang came back to her senses. She looked behind Zhu Shenzui, reached out and wiped the slight wrinkles on his back. When she took her hand back, she quietly wiped the corners of her eyes and said with a smile, "It's okay. Uncle looks really good in what he wears."
"Haha, it's just a lookalike, please sister-in-law..." Zhu Shenzui turned around and gave a salute to Ms. Zhang. Ms. Zhang slightly avoided it: "It's getting late, I'm afraid it wouldn't be appropriate to go late. Uncle, it’s better to go there early.”
"Then I'll go first and come back when everything is done." Zhu Shenzui responded, and after saying this to Mrs. Zhang, he walked towards the door.
Looking at Zhu Shenzui's leaving figure, Mrs. Zhang watched silently, her eyes gradually becoming moist again.
After leaving home, Zhu Shenzhui walked slowly towards the general's mansion.
The General's Mansion is not far from my home, and it only takes half an hour to walk there.
Along the way, Zhu Shenzui met several clan members who were also going to the General's Mansion. Although they didn't interact with each other very much on weekdays, they were all relatives after all. In addition, today's day was different, so it was natural for them to greet each other when they met, and then they went together Travel together.
Soon we arrived at the General's Mansion. Today's General's Mansion was much busier than usual. After all, this was a big day for the clan to worship their ancestors.
The old housekeeper of the General's Mansion greeted him at the door with his people. When Zhu Shenzui arrived, the old housekeeper quickly stepped forward to salute, and then introduced the identities of Zhu Shenzui and others to a young man behind him who was wearing royal attire.
This young man is Zhu Minfan's grandson Zhu Shenye. Although he is only a few years younger than Zhu Shenzui, according to genealogy, he is Zhu Shenzui's great-nephew and grandson.
Although Zhu Shenzui's title is not high, his seniority is not low. When he met Zhu Shenzui, Zhu Shenye quickly stepped forward to greet and salute. Zhu Shenzui did not show off and returned the salute according to etiquette. The two parties said a few words at the door. Without saying anything nutritious, he was then invited into the mansion.
After entering the mansion, I first went to see Zhu Minfan, the general of the auxiliary state. Today, Zhu Minfan is also wearing ordinary clothes, but his ordinary clothes are different from Zhu Shenzui's. The ordinary clothes are a scarlet woven gold tiger and leopard, a crown with five beams, and a belt with gold rhodium flowers. , this is the costume of the middle and upper-level clans, and it will be even more different when they reach the level of county king.
Fengguo General Zhu Minfan is nearly fifty years old. He is old enough to be Zhu Shenzui's father, but based on his seniority, he is Zhu Shenzui's nephew.
When he met Zhu Shenzui, the chubby little old man was very polite. He even called Zhu Shenzui his sixth uncle. Zhu Shenzui didn't take it too seriously. He first saluted according to the rules and then exchanged a few words with him. This kind of This is basically the case for everyone in clan situations. They maintain respectability on the surface and act as they should on weekdays. Except for their bloodline with the surname Zhu, it can be said that there is basically no difference between them and outsiders.
Zhu Shenzui went through the process like an ordinary clan member, and was then taken aside to sit down by the servants of the General's Mansion.
Today's seats are arranged according to the rules of the clan. The ranking of seats is nothing more than the title and seniority.
The clan is different from ordinary clans in that the title is in front and the seniority is in the back. Therefore, Zhu Shenzui, a clan with a higher seniority among the same clan, has a middle-level seat because his title is not high and his position is neither near the front nor behind.
I sat down and looked at the busy people in the mansion. There were hundreds of people from the clan who came to the General's mansion today, and they were still not all here.
Sitting in his seat, Zhu Shenzui was drinking tea by himself.
In fact, there are quite a few clan members who are similar to him. Most of the clan members who came today are not living a good life. Although everyone is wearing regular clothes and looking glamorous, in fact, there is no meal at home. There are so many people.
Zhu Shenzui sat at the table with a thirty-year-old clan member. Zhu Shenzui not only knew him but was also close to him. This person was named Zhu Minlu. His title was one level higher than Zhu Shenzui's. Lieutenant, but in terms of seniority, he is Zhu Shenzui's nephew.
He came a little later than Zhu Shenzui, and Zhu Shenzui had already been sitting for a while when he took his seat. Seeing Zhu Shenzui, Zhu Minzhu politely called him "Sixth Uncle". Zhu Shenzui quickly asked him to take a seat. As soon as he sat down, Zhu Minzhu's eyes couldn't help but look at the snacks on the table. All of a sudden I couldn't move anymore.
"There aren't many people around now, so if you want to get it, hurry up." Seeing his look, Zhu Shenzui suddenly understood. He turned slightly towards Zhu Mincuo and said this to him in a low voice.
Zhu Minsu was stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted. He first cast a grateful look at Zhu Shenzui, and then looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he raised his sleeves and flicked them towards the table. In the blink of an eye, Like a magic trick, all the snacks that were placed on the fruit plate just now disappeared.
Later, Zhu Minzhu took the opportunity to adjust his robes and hid the snacks stuffed in his sleeves. After doing this, he breathed a sigh of relief and pretended to take a sip of tea.
Seeing his little action, Zhu Shenzui was secretly amused, and at the same time he couldn't help but feel sad.
The clan's life was difficult, especially for lower-level clans like them. Not to mention Zhu Minchu's actions, even Zhu Shenzui had done the same thing before.
After the death of his father and brother, Zhu Shenzui took on the burden of the family alone. If he had wanted to lose face at that time, his family would have starved to death. Even though Zhu Shenzui now leads Wangjiacun to smuggle salt and earns a good income from this business, which is enough to support his family, Zhu Shenzui will still do similar things on weekdays. After all, the clan's life is not easy for everyone. You know, if others are having a hard time but your family is doing well, it will arouse suspicion.
This is the reason why Zhu Shenzui is now capable of making money, but still only gives Zhang a small amount of money intermittently, and from time to time he goes to the prefect's Yamen to ask for salary, even taking two sesame seed cakes home.
"But I haven't seen Uncle Liu for a few days. How are you doing lately?" Zhu Minxu asked after taking a sip of tea.
"It's just so-so. The court's salary is always hard to come by, and life is getting worse every day. Fortunately, there are only three people in my family here, so I can barely survive. But you, are you afraid that life at home will be difficult?"
Zhu Minsu sighed and shook his head. His life was just not easy, he was almost at the end of his rope.
Compared with Zhu Shenzui's small family, Zhu Minzu's family is a big one.
Mother, wife, children, plus himself, there are seven people in Zhu Minlu's family, and the youngest son is only three years old, and the oldest is only twelve years old.
According to the current clan rules, only those at the age of fifteen are eligible to enjoy the benefits of the clan. In this way, with several children plus myself, my mother, and my wife, only Zhu Minxu is the only one in the family who is eligible to receive salary.
Forget it, the key problem is that in recent years, the clan's salary has not only been withheld, but also often failed to be paid out. The salary that can be obtained all year round cannot support the family at all. If Zhu Minzhen hadn't sold off the things left by his ancestors in these years, the family would have starved to death long ago. How could they be sitting here?
Those snacks just now are just ordinary pastries, but even such things have not been tasted by Zhu Minsu's family for a long time.
He hid quietly, not because of Zhu Min's own greed, but mainly because of his own children, who were pitiful to say the least. Since they were members of a powerful clan, the children had not even had enough to eat, let alone these snacks.
As they were talking, two more clan members came in front, and they were also at the same table as Zhu Shenzui.
One of them is Zhu Shenzui's nephew, Zhu Minfeng, who is slightly older than Zhu Minxu. The other is Zhu Minfeng's nephew Zhu Qiuqi, who is also Zhu Shenzui's grandnephew.
When they met Zhu Shenzui, Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Qiuqi first bowed and greeted him. One called him sixth uncle and the other uncle. They addressed Zhu Minsu as fifth brother and fifth uncle. After saluting, they sat down next to each other with a smile.
As soon as he sat down, Zhu Qiuqi's eyes swept over the empty plate. He was stunned for a moment, then became annoyed. He cursed "Mother" and raised his hand to call over the manager of the General's Mansion who was not far away. He looked unhappy. He pointed at the plate and asked why there were no snacks in it. Where did the snacks go? They finally came here to worship their ancestors today, and this is how the dignified General's Mansion entertains clan members like them?
