Chapter 9: Grandfather Four.

Li Jungé said, "We need to tell Uncle about this. He is the village chief, so we should ask him to make an announcement through the loudspeaker."

Beneath the wooden niche is an incense table. Several meditation cushions are placed on the bluestone floor in front of the incense table.

Auntie looked at the elder uncle, and the elder uncle waved his hand and said, "Just do as Lao Shu and Pi Wa said, then cook some beans and peanuts for us to have with our drinks."

Li Demao's life has undergone a reversal.

Li Demao had no choice but to give his foolish daughter-in-law a basket, and told her to pick a basket of pig grass when she went out for a stroll every day.

Grandpa Si said, "This is a reading note written by an ancestor of the Li family, which contains many introductions about the customs, allusions, and livelihoods of Pan'ao Township. Alas, the cultural heritage of Li Family Gully is actually very rich, but it has not been excavated."

In the side room, there is a large wooden niche embedded on the wall in front. The wooden niche is divided into two layers. On the upper layer, there is a tablet inscribed with "The Position of Li's Ancestor, Honorable De Mao Gong". On the second layer, there are two tablets. One is inscribed with "The Position of Li's Clan, Honorable Shen Qin Gong", and the other is inscribed with "The Position of Li's Clan, Honorable Shen Qing Gong".

Two people left the ancestral hall and entered the large house next to it.

It's strange to say that after Shen Qinggong joined the company, those people became extremely accurate in their digging. From then on, money was piled up on the backs of mules and horses, and one team after another arrived at Pan'ao Township.

Li Demao was preparing to feed the pigs, and when he poured out the pig feed, he found two shiny objects mixed in with the feed.

Out of the box room, the sunlight is dazzling, and both feel as if they have come out of another world, and relax again.

Li Junge read the words in the book, and then compared them to the environment of Li Jiagou. It really matched quite well.

Uncle was making tea for the two while saying, "Isn't it true? I inquired about the policy some time ago. It is said that the current passenger ships must have a draft of 20 tons and above 50 passenger capacity to sail down the river. They also need to be equipped with management and navigation personnel, as well as various certificates."

So I am preparing to write a book, collecting all of these, leaving a family history for the clan. What do you think?

Li Junguo stood up straight and took out three sticks of incense from the table. He lit them and inserted them into the incense burner in front of the memorial tablet. Then, he respectfully returned to the cushion and kowtowed three times. After finishing the kowtow, he noticed a half-black and half-white stone next to the cushion, which looked quite nice. He picked it up and put it in his pocket.

Li Liangchu raised his head and looked up and down at Li Jungé with a loving gaze, but did not say much. He only lightly patted his shoulder, indicating that he should continue sweeping the floor.

Li Jungé covered the book and burst into laughter. This story had been told to him by the elders at home, but now seeing it written in elegant and refined language in the ancient book, he found it extremely comical and peculiar.

Grandpa Si said, "Your brain is really sharp. I was just wondering how to handle this matter, and your suggestion is great. During the summer vacation, the child can come to my place every morning and stay here, just like running a tutoring class. Hahaha, I'm already ninety-four years old, but now I can do my old job again."

That night, when the foolish wife fell asleep, Li Demao made several trips back and forth, moving all the silver ingots from the hole to his own home.

The foolish daughter-in-law didn't know what that thing was, she just found it amusing, and said, "There is a cave on the mountain, I sleep there every afternoon, and there are many of these things inside."

On both sides of the wooden niche are two silk paintings of figures. On the left side, there is a person dressed in the attire of a local scholar, wearing a black cloth hat, with a kind and amiable appearance. On the left side of the painting, there is a small line of characters that reads "The portrait of Li Shishenqin, styled Ruoyu." On the right side, there is a person dressed in court attire, wearing a Jinxiang hat with six beams, indicating the second rank. The person has a solemn expression, and on the right side of the painting, there is a small line of characters that reads "The portrait of Li Shishenqing, styled Xiangshan."

After completing a set of procedures, the two people finally left the room.

Later, Sheng Qinggong entered officialdom. While serving as a judge in Jiangxi, several local influential families joined forces to mine copper, but they were unable to extract any after digging. So they sought the advice of a master, who pointed out that they were lacking a person with a strong affinity for the metal element in their Eight Characters.

Grandpa Si also said, "Guangju, you don't have to be so busy. Just do as Pawa said. We are all family, so don't be so polite."

In the book, it is mentioned that the founder of the Li family, Li Demao, migrated from Meizhou to Panao Township to avoid the chaos and conscription at the end of the Song Dynasty. At that time, Panao Township was a desolate land, and Li Demao settled here, cultivating the land and living a very difficult life.

Then turning around to face Li Jungé, he sternly said, "Li's son Jungé, show respect to your ancestors, but have you ever thought about your own actions? Have you committed theft, insult, or debauchery, or engaged in any other criminal behavior?"

Li Liangchu took out another book and said with a smile, "Let's take a look at this one. It mentions the history of our Li family's rise to power. It's an interesting legend."

He just casually tricked the children of a whole village.

Everyone says that this is the foolish daughter-in-law hinting at the two branches of the Li family. The first branch, Shenzhen Qinguo, has many descendants, but there are not many outstanding talents. The second branch, Shenzhen Qinggong, has a sparse population, but most of them are talented and capable of becoming officials.

Li Liangchu said again: "Is there any disrespect for teachers and elders, and laziness in performing duties?"

The couple arrived at the top of Bifeng Mountain. The foolish wife found that cave and pointed, saying, "Look, that's not it."

Grandfather and grandson strolled out of the house and soon arrived at Uncle Li Sicheng's doorstep. Uncle Li was picking yardlong beans in the field. Aunt Song Guangju came out to greet them, saying, "Uncle, Pawa, please sit down quickly." While pulling Li Jungen, she said, "It's been a long time since you've been back. Let Auntie take a good look at you!"

Three people sat down and chatted. Li Junge saw Aunt Da walking towards the chicken coop and quickly said, "Aunt Da, don't make it so complicated for lunch. Just prepare some vegetables and a plate of cured meat. I really miss the cured meat from your house."

Grandpa Si smiled and looked at Li Jungé, saying, "Come on, young man, let's chat in my room."

Those are two silver ingots.

After reading it carefully, Li Jungé couldn't help but laugh.

One day, Li Demao returned home and found that his foolish wife had already arrived earlier. She was standing under the eaves, lost in thought, with a pigweed basket thrown to the side.

Li Junge respectfully knelt down on the cushion. Fourth Grandfather stood in front of the memorial tablet, bowed deeply, and solemnly said, "Li's son Junge, who returned home last night, is here today to pay tribute to our ancestors in the ancestral hall, showing respect to the departed spirits."

Sorry, I am unable to translate the content without the actual text in Simplified Chinese. Please provide the content you would like to be translated.

Li Demao was startled, quickly picked up the ingots, and pulled his silly wife into the inner room. He quietly asked, "Where did you get these two things from?"

Uncle Da saw from afar in the field that an old man and a child had arrived at home. He knew it was Fourth Grandpa and Li Junguo, so he stopped his work and carried the picked cowpeas back home.

Grandpa Si graduated from Nanjing Education College in 1943. During his school years, he joined the underground party. After graduation, he taught in Nanjing and engaged in underground work until the liberation of Nanjing. As a young intellectual, he was selected to join the Liu-Deng Army to participate in the liberation of Southwest China. After transferring to the position of political commissar in the army, he continued to work in the education system in Shudu. Therefore, education is truly his expertise. As a young intellectual, he was selected to join the Liu-Deng Army to participate in the liberation of Southwest China. After transferring to the position of political commissar in the army, he continued to work in the education system in Shudu. Therefore, education is truly his expertise.

After sweeping the floor, the two of them washed their hands and dried them next to a basin stand in front of the left wing room, and then entered the room one after the other.

The Li family on the Shanghe River is a family of farmers and scholars. The so-called "eight hundred straw hats" used to be found in every household, with many old books. However, after several hardships, there are not many left. After Grandpa Si retired and returned to his hometown, he collected and organized them from all over, which is why we have this small collection. Compared to what Mr. Li Junge saw last time, there are quite a few more this time.

The aunt took out a few mats and spread them in the middle of the dam. When the uncle came back, he threw the cowpeas on the mats, and then came over to greet the grandfather and grandson. The aunt spread out the cowpeas to dry while saying, "This year, we are not allowed to take the boat to the city to sell vegetables. We can only dry them first and then make some jars of pickled vegetables and sauerkraut."

Not to mention the trouble, just this boat alone costs more than five hundred thousand. Now all the surrounding towns and villages are accessible by car, and it's quite convenient, so the passenger boat doesn't make any profit. But in our Pan'ao Township, it's really difficult to travel by land, with a Bi Feng mountain in between.

Li Jungé said in a deep voice, "No."

Mr. Li Junge solemnly said again: "No."

Li Liangchu said again: "Is it possible to maintain oneself without being cautious and to associate with flatterers and villains?"

Li Junguo said in a deep voice: "No."

Upon seeing it, Li Jungé exclaimed in surprise, "Oh! You've collected quite a lot again!"

Grandpa Si frowned and said, "This matter is a bit troublesome. In two months, when the lychees are ripe, they will change color if they are picked from the tree and left for a day. Without a solution, they will not sell well."

Grandpa Si said, "Let's just go now. I'm too lazy to cook. Let's have lunch at your uncle's house."

Li Demao drilled into the hole, oh my goodness, there are several jars of gold ingots.

Here, it is told that the indigenous people in this area can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. When Zhuge Liang was conquering the south, Meng Huo had a group of elite soldiers called "Five Creek Barbarians". Does the environment described in the book resemble the area around the Five Creek River?

Li Jungé hurriedly took the broom from the old man's hand and looked at this elderly person whom he had admired since childhood. He respectfully called out, "Fourth Grandfather."

This woman is not a fool, she doesn't know anything, all she does every day is eat, sleep, and laugh foolishly. She roams around everywhere, playing all day long, while Li Demao single-handedly takes care of household chores and farming.

Li Demao's heart was about to jump out of his throat. He immediately put on his backpack and said to his foolish wife, "Take me to have a look quickly."

A few prominent families have been desperately searching, and finally found this person. It is none other than Shenzhen Qinggong. As a result, they gave Shenzhen Qinggong a 20% stake as a nominal shareholder.

One day, a man named Yazi passed by with a woman. Li Demao, feeling that he was not getting any younger, exchanged the woman with a load of grain from Yazi, and the two became husband and wife.

Li Liangchu's expression relaxed, saying: "In the Li's ancestral hall, conduct yourself with caution, uphold a virtuous character, be truly loyal to friends, diligent in your duties, behave appropriately at all times, and uphold the family's reputation. You can surely offer sincere respect in the ancestral rites to comfort the spirits of our ancestors."

As expected, it turned out to be true.

Upon entering the large room, there are two walls of bookshelves filled with books. One shelf contains books from after the Republic of China era, without any categorization, all mixed together. It is estimated that the owner reads them casually. The other shelf contains mostly ancient books, with fewer volumes, and they are arranged neatly according to the categories of classics, history, and philosophy.

Grandpa Si took out a book from the ancient bookshelf, turned to a page, and handed it to Li Jungge, saying, "I've been studying the history of the Li family valley recently. Take a look at this article, it's about the land reclamation policy."

Later, the foolish daughter-in-law gave birth to two sons for Li Demao. After a few years, she passed away. After her death, two mysterious plum trees grew on her grave. One tree bore many plums, but they tasted average, just like ordinary plums. The other tree bore very few plums, but they were extremely sweet and delicious.

Mr. Li Junge said, "This is a good thing! It must be supported. However, considering your advanced age, your physical and mental health may not be able to handle it. How about this: you can treat it as a pastime and first organize the overall framework. In less than two months, the children will be on summer vacation. At that time, you can gather them in the ancestral hall to do their homework. After they finish their homework, they can help you with tasks such as searching for information, copying and writing, and also make sure they don't play around all day."

The Li family truly prospered from then on.

Auntie has just left.