67: Old stories

The candlelight flickered on the surface of the tea in the cup, reflecting the varied expressions of the six members of the Li family.

The eldest, Li Qingshan, immediately took up the conversation with a serious expression:

"Father is right. The ancestral hall is a major matter and cannot be handled sloppily. The timber, bricks, and stone materials needed for the hall have long been prepared and stacked in the designated area at the east end of town, with dedicated personnel guarding them."

"The foundation was also laid before the winter break and has been firmly rammed. Now we just wait for the spring after the New Year. As soon as the frozen ground thaws, construction can begin immediately. There won't be any issues with the schedule." He paused, his brow furrowing slightly as he posed a key question:

"The most urgent matter now is, Father! How should we arrange the first row of spirit tablets in our ancestral hall? Should we directly enshrine our Great-Grandfather—Duke Qingyuan, or...?"

Li Dashan did not answer immediately. Instead, he pulled a pipe from his waist, slowly packed it with tobacco, and lit it using the candlelight.

The pungent aroma of tobacco filled the warm room, as if bringing back buried memories. He took a deep drag, slowly exhaling the smoke through his nostrils, his gaze turning distant.

"How else could we say it? Our family isn't the type to forget our roots."

"Back then, it was your Great-Grandmother who, ignoring any gossip, dragged your dying Great-Grandfather back home when he collapsed by the roadside. With spoonfuls of porridge and cold water, she literally pulled him back from the gates of hell. When your Great-Grandfather woke up, feeling grateful for her saving his life, he was willing to stay at your Great-Grandmother's house as a farmhand. Over time, the two young people fell for each other, and naturally, feelings developed..."

"Wait, Father," the second son, Li Qinglin, was impatient and couldn't help but interject, "

That's not how you used to tell it! Didn't you say Great-Grandfather wasn't a matrilocal husband? According to what you're saying now, weren't he and Great-Grandmother a properly married, legitimate couple?"

Li Qingshan glared at his younger brother:

"Second brother, don't interrupt! Let Father finish!"

Li Dashan nodded, not getting angry at the interruption. "Qinglin is right to ask, and he's hit on the key point. What you just said was indeed true at the beginning."

"This was originally a normal marriage between two people in love. Your Great-grandfather (Great-Grandmother's father) was also an open-minded man. Not only did he agree to the marriage, he even patted his chest and said he would divide half of his assets to give to his daughter as a dowry! He wanted to send them off to start their family with great fanfare."

His tone took on a hint of emotion:

"Speaking of which, according to your grandfather, your Great-Grandmother was a famous beauty in Li Family Village back then. Many young men in the village were eyeing her. But who would have thought she would set her heart on an outsider of unknown origin with not a penny to his name? When your Great-Grandmother insisted on marrying him, Great-grandfather nodded. Although the villagers gossiped, no one openly opposed it."

"But the trouble started," Li Dashan tapped his pipe gently against the edge of the table, "when Great-grandfather let it be known that he was giving half of his land and houses to his daughter as a dowry. The clan elders and seniors simply wouldn't have it!"

"They blocked Great-grandfather's door, talking all at once, saying that marrying off a daughter is one thing, but not asking for a penny of bride price and even giving away half the family property? This would be the first time in the history of Li Family Village!

'No, absolutely not!' 'This goes against the rules!' ... A crowd surrounded Great-grandfather, trying every way to persuade him not to do it."

Your Great-grandfather was also a stubborn mule. He craned his neck and roared:

"I'm marrying off my daughter! What the hell does it have to do with you! I'm happy to do it!"

This really stirred up a hornet's nest! Couldn't persuade him? Hah, those people immediately changed their faces and brought out the heavy stone of 'Ancestral Law' to pressure him!

Li Dashan's voice suddenly rose, carrying a hint of old resentment:

"Every piece of your land and houses was passed down by the ancestors through tightening their belts and shedding blood and sweat! In life, it is the soil of the Li clan; in death, it is the ash of the Li clan! Passing it to someone with a different surname? Not a chance!"

"There were even more mean-spirited ones who threw sinister barbs: 'Old Li! You'd better weigh this carefully! If you really do this, will your name even remain on the Family Genealogy after you pass away? Whether anyone will remember to offer you that bowl of cold rice or that stick of incense in the ancestral hall will be hard to say!'"

Thump! Li Dashan slammed his pipe onto the table, making the teacup jump.

"With your Great-grandfather's explosive temper, how could he take that? He exploded on the spot! 'My ancestors' tablets, my incense—since when is it the turn of you filthy scoundrels to tell me what to do? If you dare keep spouting filth, believe it or not, I'll sell all my land and houses tomorrow to the wealthy Zhang family in the next village! Let's see what ancestral property you'll have left to talk about!'"

When those clan elders heard this, they also got anxious:

"You wouldn't dare! This is the foundation passed down by the clan!"

"See if I dare?!" Great-grandfather was truly enraged at the time. Both sides were at each other's throats, and it looked like they were about to come to blows.

At this critical juncture, the Clan Chief at the time—a total old fox—hurriedly came out to smooth things over and act as a mediator. He scolded both sides equally, telling the elders to shut up and holding back the fuming Great-grandfather.

He stroked his goatee and said slowly:

"Old brother, don't be so angry. I have a way to satisfy both sides. I wonder if you're willing to listen?"

Great-grandfather asked grumpily, "What kind of lousy idea?"

The old fox of a Clan Chief's eyes darted around, and he gave a fake smile:

"A matrilocal marriage! Let that young man become a live-in son-in-law!" He leaned close to Great-grandfather, his voice kept very low, his words like needles pricking the heart: "Old brother, you can know a person's face but not their heart! That lad looks honest and simple right now, but who knows if it's just an act?"

"The Clan Chief's words indeed struck Great-grandfather's deepest concern."

Li Dashan sighed and continued:

"'If you have him become a matrilocal son-in-law and change his surname to our Li, then he'll be one of our Li people! His descendants will all be surnamed Li! Passing the ancestral property to him won't count as it flowing into the hands of another surname, and the clan won't be able to say anything."

"If... and I say if, he really has a change of heart later and dares to bully your daughter, everyone in our Li Clan can stand up for her and keep him in line for you! Don't you think that makes sense? Even if you don't think of yourself, you have to consider your daughter, right?'"

"These words made your Great-grandfather hesitate."

Li Dashan's voice lowered, "He didn't argue back on the spot anymore, only saying 'I'll go back and think about it.'"

"Later," Li Dashan exhaled a long cloud of smoke, his gaze sweeping over his sons who were listening intently.

"You probably know what happened later. Great-grandfather told your Great-grandfather and Great-Grandmother what the Clan Chief meant... Your grandfather didn't go into detail about the specifics, but you all know the result—Duke Qingyuan ultimately took the 'Li' surname and became your Great-Grandmother's husband as a matrilocal son-in-law, and became the progenitor of our branch."

His original surname and origins were thus completely buried in the yellow earth, never to be mentioned again.

Li Qingfeng was listening with great curiosity and couldn't help but lean forward to ask:

"Father, how do you know all these old stories so clearly? When you went out to make your way in the world, the grass on Great-Grandfather and Great-Grandmother's graves was probably three feet high, right? You never even met them!"

Li Dashan gave his third son an annoyed look, making a motion as if to strike him with the pipe:

"What do I know? It was all your short-lived grandfather nagging me over and over under the oil lamp! He said that when I was little and your Great-Grandfather was still around, the family was like wealthy landlords, with fifty or sixty mu of good land. Back then, we didn't have to worry about food or clothes."

"But as I grew older, after your Great-Grandfather died, the clan refused to recognize your grandfather as a member of the Li clan. Even on the Family Genealogy, he was only represented by a symbol. The land and houses were all taken back. If your grandmother hadn't taken me to the ancestral hall to cry, make a scene, and threaten to hang herself, those people wouldn't have left us a single thing."

"What do I know? Every day I just heard your grandfather grumbling about these things, so I only know these old tales! Now that we're establishing an ancestral hall and revising the Family Genealogy, I've brought out these old words for you to understand clearly!"