Future library

Since Cheng Jinzhou's grandfather was still serving in another place, the chief priest was an elder of the clan, the ceremony attendants and the lead sacrificers also came from the other two branches, and the main ceremony for the accompanying sacrifices was performed by Cheng Yun'an, the magistrate of Cheng. .

Just looking at the smile on Cheng's mother's face and the envious expressions on others' faces, one can tell that this is a quite honorable duty.

It is not that there is no clan member present who has a higher position than Cheng Yun'an, but according to his status in the clan, Cheng Yun'an has the upper hand.

The area around the ancestral hall is lush and lush. If it weren't for the row in the middle, it would be an exaggeration to describe it as elegant.

Cheng Jinzhou silently followed everyone doing various actions and listening to the Eight Immortals. Except for the gentlemen who had their own duties, there was not much that others had to do.

From a child's perspective, Cheng Jinzhou did quite well.

The whole morning ended with long speeches and walking and kneeling.

When the memorial service was being sung, Cheng Jinzhou had the opportunity to secretly look at the guests who came to congratulate him, just to comfort his sore neck.

The most eye-catching among the guests should be the three star warlocks. The old gentleman in front of them was wearing a dark black floor-length robe, with cloth boots turned up on the toes that looked like costumes. There were no extra accessories on his body, which was very consistent with today's atmosphere. .

The other two wore only gray knee-length short robes, which looked like short evening gowns from later generations. The whole body was wrapped tightly, facing Cheng Jinzhou sideways, and his face could not be seen clearly. However, their cold and arrogant expressions, as well as the Jiugong abacus and the calculation bag that they always carry with them, all reveal their identities.

Among the three, the old gentleman is the more eye-catching, not only because of his simple and luxurious clothes, but also because of the tattoo exposed from the top of his neck. Normal wealthy families, if they want to use a little bit of astrology for convenience, they will often get tattoos on hidden places on the body. Only astrology magicians who pay attention to efficiency and ability will choose the most appropriate rather than the best-looking place to tattoo.

Cheng Jinzhou stuck out his tongue slightly and then looked at the others. The gifts from the star warlocks would definitely be collected by the public. Especially those gifts that they did not recognize and were not familiar with would not be placed in the palace. When giving the children a choice during the ceremony, what he most hoped to get was something that could be exchanged for a lot of money.

Comrade Marx said that money represents social labor - avoiding labor and allowing others to labor more is naturally the simplest need of Cheng Jinzhou, a non-party member.

On the left side of the crowd, stood the officials who came to watch the ceremony. Except for two or three middle- and high-level officials from Hexi, as well as retired officials who had retired long ago, there were no local senior officials—among the 27th-level civil servants, Those who have reached level 12 are the only ones in Shaonan who belong to the Cheng family. The latter are all standing in the middle.

On the right side of the ancestral hall are visiting noble families and even members of the Holy See. Compared with the officials on the left, these people appear to be more noble and less powerful. Even the Holy See, which is popular in the far west, exerts influence in the Great Xia Dynasty only in the cultivation of star warlocks - quickly creating a large number of The concept and method of cheap ordinary star warlocks are basically spread by the Holy See.

Among these people, Cheng Jinzhou discovered the angry young lady from the day before. The person following him should be his father. The Lord looks extremely humble, just like most nobles in this world. His son has raised eyebrows and is full of dissatisfaction with everything around him.

"The rebellious period comes very early!" Cheng Jinzhou sighed secretly, feeling helpless for not being able to mature early.

After the lyrics of "carrying on the past and linking up with the future", the sacrificial text was finally sung. Since there were so many people in the clan, the single offering ceremony turned into a separate offering of gifts, which was quite fast.

The master of ceremonies shouted "the ceremony is over" loudly.

Governor Cheng Jin hissed, but he heard a lot of such sounds around him. Looking at where Mother Cheng was standing, the ladies were also swaying around.

Old Mrs. Cheng, dressed like the master of a dragon palace, walked in from outside the tent, and there was a burst of greetings from all around.

"Thank you all for coming. The Cheng family has prepared some wine. Please have a rest first." The old lady of the Cheng family thanked her gracefully. She met the old man in the capital. When she was at her peak, she met the queen in the palace and was given the title of Marquise, which was even louder than the old man's title of "Lieutenant Envoy to the South Governor of Daxia Town". , in a small place like Shaonan, it has long been the main object of envy for people after dinner.

The servants guided the guests to leave on both sides, and the scene gradually became quiet.

Only the Cheng family members were left, and Old Mrs. Cheng said slowly: "My ancestors gave me blessings, and I dare not forget them even for a moment. I am also very happy to see so many descendants today."

The old lady spoke with some emotion, her body trembled slightly, and said: "Famous, famous, and wealthy are the result of the hard work of our predecessors. Even now, your grandfather is still on the Southwest Front, and Cheng Binnuo of the Longzi branch died in the service. superior."

In this era, wars were not fierce, and deaths of nobles were rare. As the old lady spoke, she heard someone whimpering below.

The master of ceremonies coughed lightly, and the old lady waved her hands, indicating that it was okay, and continued: "The Cheng family has been passed down for thousands of years, and it will eventually be passed on to the younger generations. Today, the children who are drawing on the energy of their ancestors must also remember the grace of their ancestors. , I hope that by your generation, there will be more guests. Okay, Jinzhou, you go first."

The passage on one side had long been opened, and Cheng Jinzhou was excited. Even if the Cheng family lives in a corner, the family is not called for nothing. If you pay a little attention, the things you can take out in a moment are worth hundreds of taels of silver. In future generations, it will be worth at least tens of thousands of yuan. Such things are always happy.

According to the rules, he was about to kowtow to his grandma to thank him, but someone said in an unhurried voice at this time: "Auntie, this is to encourage the younger generation to study. This is the first honor. Jinzhou, as a legitimate grandson, naturally has it. Qualifications, but don’t let the other children’s hearts go cold, the Cheng family is not his direct grandson.”

Cheng Jinzhou followed the sound and saw that it was the Longzi branch that the old lady mentioned before, another legitimate son, Cheng Bingxun.

Speaking of Cheng Bingxun, he is also a prominent figure in the Cheng family. There are four branches in the Cheng family, namely Qingyue Yuanlong. The four branches share the public property and each has financial resources. In addition to their official duties, they should have passed He was doing well, perhaps because he was living so well, Mr. Cheng Bingxun began to long for a reputation as a philanthropist.

As his legitimate son, he was allocated the largest amount of land and property, but he was not good at management and suffered losses every season. Once he started to be charitable, he ended up with nothing.

If it is just like this, it is nothing. The Cheng family has been passed down for a long time and does not owe him a prodigal son. The problem is that when the business cannot be improved, Mr. Cheng Bingxun began to "increase revenue and reduce expenditure" in his own style - Hua Cheng's father-in-law Due to fate, the Cheng family's father-in-law didn't forget to continue his charity, euphemistically calling it "praying for the Cheng family's blessings".

This man's style, speaking of it, has really brought a lot of good reputation to the Cheng family, but his reputation in the clan can almost be described as stinking. If it were not for his status as the legitimate son, he would have been was sent to the far west.

If we were to use an animal to describe Mr. Cheng Bingxun, it would be a cross between a rooster and a coyote, and we might be able to describe it.

Now, the legitimate son of Long Zizhi obviously has his eye on something belonging to a certain guest. It is quite easy for him to ask about the items in the warehouse.

Old Mrs. Cheng looked hesitant, and several members of the Longzi branch were also a little ashamed. They started a quarrel over a hundred taels of silver, which was really embarrassing. It's a pity that the elders are still in office, and they are not qualified to teach Cheng Bingxun, his legitimate son.

Cheng Bingxun was not stupid, he had his own ideas, and said pretentiously: "This year, there is only one direct grandson of the Qingzi branch in Jinzhou, two of the Yueyuan branch who stayed in Shaonan, and one grandson of the Longzi branch. Just ask your aunt to test your schoolwork."

The legitimate son of Longzi Zhi he was talking about was naturally his son, 14-year-old Cheng Jinhao.

The other two people whose names were called shook their heads in denial without even saying it was unnecessary.

The old lady of the Qingzi branch looks kind, but she is the head of the Cheng family who controls the financial rights of the Cheng family. Except for Cheng Bingxun, a master who can no longer make a penny in the public affairs, who is willing to offend the old lady for a gift.

Cheng Bingxun, who was a talented person, snorted softly from his nose, and then said: "Then there are a few who will participate, let's just take the exam."

Mrs. Cheng looked at Cheng Bingxun calmly and did not reply.

Cheng Jinzhou's reputation as a sick man spread far and wide. At the age of 12, his academic performance was not outstanding among the children in the clan. However, Cheng Jinhao was different. Although his father, Cheng Bingxun, was not a good man, his writing skills were first-rate. He was very leisurely every day, but he taught When people compliment him when he has a good son, they will call Cheng Bingxun his "prodigy dad".

Whether he was a child prodigy or a mediocre student, the old lady didn't care about Cheng Jinzhou's slight lag in his studies, but at this time, she had to consider Qing Zizhi's face.

When Cheng Jinzhou saw the situation in front of him, he knew that the entrance examination was unavoidable and that it was not suitable for others to come forward at the moment. He simply took a step forward and said loudly: "Grandma, my grandson is willing to compete with his cousin in mathematics and science."

He stressed the word competition very seriously.

The so-called mathematics refers to the basics of mathematics, including arithmetic and geometry, which Cheng Jinzhou studied the most during this period. For the 14-year-old Cheng Jinhao, what he can access is the level of primary school mathematics in later generations-more in-depth knowledge requires calculation. The training content of a star warlock was already in place, and Cheng Jinhao was obviously ready to give it a try in the imperial examination.

A child prodigy who mainly studied Chinese was competing in mathematics with a half-baked Ph.D. in physics. Cheng Jinzhou could not find any possibility of losing. Considering that someone was trying to take food from his mouth, Cheng Jinzhou felt that he could be more ruthless.

Only the Cheng family and close relatives were present. A group of people stared at Cheng Jinzhou with burning eyes, including the angry young lady.