Chapter 10: The Reappearance of Ancestral Luck

After the sun rose once again, the Old Zhu household began to bustle with activity.

"Eldest daughter-in-law, Second daughter-in-law, go and prepare the things in the kitchen. Clean up the rabbits and pheasants that the Second son dressed yesterday."

"Third daughter-in-law, sweep the courtyard again."

"Fourth daughter-in-law, go wake the Fourth son and tell him to go to the grocery store at the head of the village to buy some snacks, melon seeds, and fruit, and pick up some wine as well."

Early in the morning, Grandmother began ordering her daughters-in-law around. They were busy from start to finish, tidying the house until it looked brand new.

The ingredients gathered yesterday had also been processed overnight. Wood ear mushrooms and other wild fungi had been dried over the stove last night, and this morning, the Eldest Aunt and Mother had soaked them. The bamboo shoots had their husks removed, and the other ingredients had also undergone preliminary preparation.

Grandfather was wearing a rare, nearly-new blue cloth *zhizhui*. Dressed neatly and cleanly, he sat in the center of the courtyard smoking his dry tobacco, occasionally glancing at the gate and listening for movement.

The *zhizhui* Grandfather wore was the main style of men's clothing in the Ming Dynasty. It was a robe cut as a single piece from top to bottom, with slits on both sides, but with hidden panels covering the middle slits. It was one of the more formal garments for men in the Ming Dynasty.

The Eldest Uncle was no longer studying in his room. Dressed in the attire of a *shengyuan* (scholar), he looked much more presentable than Grandfather, pacing back and forth in the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

Before long, the Fourth Aunt woke the Fourth Uncle. The Fourth Uncle walked out of the room, disheveled and muttering with a yawn.

"Fourth, tidy up your clothes. Look at the state of you." Seeing the Fourth Uncle’s slovenly appearance, Old Master Zhu immediately puffed out his cheeks and gave him a stern lecture.

After all, he was Grandmother’s favorite youngest son. Seeing the Old Master lose his temper, Grandmother immediately came over to smooth things over.

"Alright, it’s just that I told the Fourth daughter-in-law to wake him in a hurry. You rascal, hurry up and tidy yourself, then go to the village entrance to buy some snacks, fruit, and melon seeds, and bring back a few catties of distilled spirits for your father."

Grandmother stuffed some money into the Fourth Uncle’s hand. The Fourth Uncle beamed, took it, and tucked it into his sleeve pocket, repeatedly promising that he would certainly handle the errands his mother had entrusted to him properly.

The Eldest Brother followed Father and the Third Uncle to borrow tables and chairs from the neighbors. Although the house had two sets, if the Great Grandfather’s family came today, there would surely be many people, and two sets would not be enough.

As the sun climbed higher, the sound of horses neighing came from outside. Old Master Zhu put down his tobacco pipe and walked out like a gust of wind.

"They’re here."

The Old Master’s voice came from outside, and then everyone swarmed out. Zhu Ping'an followed along in the crowd.

Outside, three large carriages were parked. Two were of the same standard design, and there was one larger carriage.

It turned out that not only had Great Grandfather’s family come, but Great Aunt’s family had also arrived. It was lively; it had taken three large carriages to bring both families. The two identical carriages belonged to Great Grandfather’s family, and the larger one belonged to Great Aunt’s family.

Great Aunt had heard that Great Grandfather’s family was moving south to rely on their eldest son, so she had brought her family along to see them off.

Great Grandfather’s and Great Aunt’s families were clearly much wealthier than their own, their clothing being at least a grade higher. Both families were wearing the latest styles made of silk and satin. Although Great Grandfather’s family was in business, Great Grandfather was clever and sharp. After making money in business, he bought land—a lot of it. When registering at the *yamen*, he would spend a little money, and thus he logically became a "farmer" in the *yamen’s* yellow registers. If anyone raised an objection, Great Grandfather would say, "I am a landlord; look at how much land I have. If I’m not a landlord, what am I?"

Great Grandfather’s eldest son, Zhu Ping'an’s eldest cousin-uncle, was doing business in the south. The eldest cousin-aunt stayed home with two children to care for the elders. Great Grandfather’s youngest son, the third cousin-uncle, had just gotten married and had no children yet.

Great Aunt was a very warm and generous old lady, while Great Uncle-in-law was like a silent gourd, speaking very little. Both their son and daughter were married. The second cousin-uncle’s family had two children: a 12-year-old eldest cousin and a 10-year-old second cousin. The younger aunt’s family had only a little cousin, who was eight this year.

Looking at the clothes of the cousins, the styles and fabrics were much more novel, making them look much better. Looking at himself, he looked so rustic. The only thing Zhu Ping'an could be glad about was that he didn't have to wear split-crotch pants anymore, otherwise, he would have just wanted to hang himself from a tree.

The Zhu family ancestral hall had been built with money pooled by the Zhu family after they moved here. Although it didn't cover a large area, they paid great attention to the decoration; the entire hall cost much more than the old Zhu residence. The ancestral worship was led by Great Grandfather. First, he read a long, obscure sacrificial text, then offered incense and burned paper money. Next, he offered a cup of wine before the spirits, and then led Grandfather and the eldest son of the second great-uncle to place the pork and mutton for the sacrifice on the altar table. He chanted incantations and performed three kowtows and nine prostrations, looking very solemn.

Zhu Ping'an, along with his brothers and cousins, knelt in the courtyard led by several cousin-uncles. At this moment, Zhu Ping'an envied the female cousins; they didn't have to come and participate in the ancestral worship, otherwise, those delicate little girls would surely have knelt until they were ill.

Rather than such tedious ancestor worship, it would be better to work hard to bring honor to one's ancestors. Of course, Zhu Ping'an dared not say these words aloud.

While kneeling on the ground worshipping the ancestors, that strange phenomenon appeared again. Zhu Ping'an saw the "aura" once more. This time, it wasn't just on the people; even above the ancestral hall, a pillar of aura appeared.

It was truly an uncontrollable ability. He had no idea when he would be able to see the aura; it appeared suddenly without any warning or preparation. The road to mastering it was long and arduous.

The aura above Great Grandfather’s family and Great Aunt’s family was a hazy white. However, strangely, there was a wisp of rich cyan aura on the white aura pillar above the Zhu family ancestral hall. This wisp of aura occupied about one-tenth of the white pillar. Cyan was the color of officialdom. Perhaps the ancestors of the Old Zhu family were blessing a noble person in return for their descendants' filial piety. He just didn't know if the one being blessed was the Eldest Uncle or himself, as they were the only two who could study. However, it was likely himself; if it were the Eldest Uncle, he would have passed the *xiucai* exam and become a *juren* long ago. It had been so many years, yet he hadn't even managed to pass the *xiucai* exam.