Carrying Bastet, Ling Ping'an returned to the village.
At the entrance of the village, he met the old village chief who was rushing back with a load of grapes.
"Uncle Zhang..." he immediately went forward with a smile.
"Young master..." the old village chief immediately became happy when he saw Ling Ping'an, "You're back..."
Ling Ping'an said, "Uncle Zhang, I told you... There's no need to go through so much trouble..."
"I'll pick these grapes myself when I come back..."
The old village chief smiled honestly and said, "Young master, how would I dare to let you do such rough work in the mountains?"
"Besides... you're not familiar with this mountain..."
This made Ling Ping'an stunned when he heard this.
That was true...
He rarely came back. If there were no road signs, he probably wouldn't even know how to return to the village.
Thus, he said, "Uncle Zhang... let me pick..."
As he said that, he was about to take over the other party's burden.
The other party immediately shook his head, "Young master, just let me pick at home..."
Ling Ping'an looked at him helplessly.
Although it was already the information age, it was still the same.
However, there were still a lot of feudal remnants left behind by the Federal Empire.
Fortunately...
The new generation of young people had already grown up.
The knowledge and vision of young people living in the era of the mobile Internet were not comparable to that of the past.
Thinking of this, Ling Ping'an heard the old village chief say, "Young master, it just so happens that my two boys are back today..."
"Wait, I'll tell them to come and greet you..."
Ling Ping'an's expression changed drastically. He immediately waved his hand and said, "There's no need to greet me..."
"Uncle Zhang..." he said earnestly, "It's already the 1940s of the 28th century of the Republic era..."
"Those old tricks, just let them pass …"
Ling Ping'an still remembered the scene when he went home with his parents when he was young. The few old people brought their entire family to visit together.
When they met, they bowed and greeted him with great respect, calling him 'young master'.
When he was young, he didn't understand, so he accepted it.
Now that he had grown up, it was really difficult for him to accept that there were still such feudal remnants in the new era.
Moreover...
Even in the feudal era, weren't there also old kings who flew into the homes of ordinary people?
The old Ling family no longer lived in the village decades ago.
They no longer provided any protection to the old subordinates and servants of the village like in the past.
Since they didn't take responsibility, then even according to the rules of the feudal era, these old people had every reason to refuse to pledge their loyalty!
This was a tradition that had existed for two thousand years.
Han Xin's kindness of eating a meal was repaid with a thousand gold pieces.
That was because in ancient times, those who ate the emperor's salary were loyal to the emperor.
Han Xin didn't want to risk his life, but he didn't want to risk his life, nor did he want to be criticized by the public, so he could only compensate with a lot of money!
Therefore, Ling Ping'an could not accept it.
After all, if he accepted this model.
According to tradition, he had to bear the responsibility and obligation.
What obligations and responsibilities?
Protect, shelter, and provide special privileges to his subjects.
In the modern era, it basically meant that he had to take on the responsibility of finding jobs for these families, arranging partners, and educating their children.
Does he have such an ability?
No!
Even if he could, would he do it?
He wouldn't.
If he had the time and effort, he might as well play a few more games and write a few chapters.
However, the old village chief chuckled and said, "Young Master, what you said is wrong …"
"The Zhang family greets the Ling family …"
"This has been a tradition for two hundred years …"
"You can't destroy this tradition!"
Just as Ling Ping'an was about to say something, the old village chief had already picked up the grapes and walked towards the Ling family's ancestral home.
As he walked, he said to Ling Ping'an, "You don't have to persuade me anymore!"
"By the way …" he seemed to have thought of something, "Young Master, I've just told the Green Source Company …"
"Your two hundred acres of land won't be renewed next year …"
"This matter should be settled in two days …"
"That's right …" he asked, "What are your plans after these land are not rented to the Green Source Company?"
"If you do as I say …"
"You might as well plant these lands yourself …"
"My brats will stay here and take care of things for you …"
"The money we earn every year is guaranteed to be several times more than if we rent them out!"
Ling Ping'an immediately felt a headache when he heard this.
After going around and around, wasn't he back to the past mode?
The Ling family was the landlord and the lord.
Then, they would raise the hopes of several families.
But the problem was that this past production relationship and production model had gone bankrupt more than a hundred years ago.
The rapid industrialization had destroyed all the old production relations and social models.
Landlord?
How many steam engines did the landlord have?
Thus, he smiled and replied, "Uncle Zhang … I don't want to be so troublesome …"
It was only two hundred acres of land …
The annual output benefit was at most a million yuan.
After deducting the labor, water, electricity, and investment, how much could be left?
"Find a company for me and rent it out …"
"Really … If you want it …" Ling Ping'an said, "Then I'll rent it to you …"
"Let's sell it at the original price …"
In any case, the income from those lands was donated.
It was donated to the fixed 'Federal Empire Nature Conservation Foundation' for the protection and management of the ecological environment.
When the old village chief heard this, he knew that he couldn't persuade this young master.
He sighed in his heart.
However, he still had a simple and honest smile on his face, "Young Master, since that's the case, I won't persuade you …"
"It's just that, please, you must meet those few kids of mine …"
The establishment and reaffirmation of the relationship between each generation was a very important matter.
Its importance was even higher than life!
Especially for his family, it was even more so!
The Ling family was not only the lord!
It was also where faith was!
However, this young master had always resisted such a thing.
If it weren't for the ancestral teachings, he would have long brought his children to the city to pay his respects.
Thinking of this, in order to increase his persuasiveness, the old village chief said seriously, "This is not only my request …"
"It's also the intention of Duke Bao …"
"Please don't refuse!"
Ling Ping'an pursed his lips and shook his head with a sigh, "Uncle Zhang …"
"I'm not as great as my ancestor!"
According to what Ling Ping'an's parents had told him.
A long time ago, the old village chief's family was the Ling family's guard.
It was the kind of person who stood guard with a knife on the high wall of a landlord's house in movies.
When Ling Ping'an's ancestor joined the army and rushed to the battlefield for the liberation of Nanzhou, the descendants of the Zhang family, Hu family, and a few other families also followed him.
Other than Ling Bao State, everyone else was forever buried on that mountain in the new Qinling Mountains.
But the problem was that Ling Ping'an's ancestor was a hero!
A hero had his own integrity, so he could be followed by millions of people.
What was he?
He was just an otaku who only wanted to eat and wait for death, lying down and winning equally.
He was neither good at literature nor martial arts, and he could even mess up a bookstore business.
What right did he have to compare to the hero ancestor?
But …
In the end, he still couldn't defeat the old village chief.
He could only smile bitterly and agree.
There was nothing he could do. The other party had already brought up his ancestor. Moreover, his ancestor had died in battle for the Ling family's ancestor.
If it weren't for their sacrifice, how could Ling Ping'an exist now?
One had to know that the old Ling family was the only descendant of the ninth generation!
"I can only hope that the children of Uncle Zhang's family are all young people of the new era …"
Ling Ping'an thought.
He was very confident about this.
Not to mention the era of the mobile Internet, even in the era of electrified television, the traditional relationship was also scattered by modernization.
To be honest, the Ling family was able to maintain such an incomparably close relationship with the Zhang family, the Wang family, and the Hu family for more than two hundred years.
It was really a miracle!
One had to know that even the palace ministers and palace guards of the royal family had been replaced countless times.
As they spoke, the two of them arrived in front of the ancestral home.
Ling Ping'an pushed open the courtyard door and walked in.
There were already people waiting in the courtyard.
"Young master..." Uncle Wang walked forward and bowed.
"Young Master …" The trembling old woman, who was leaning on her walking stick, also bowed in greeting.
"Grandma Hu..." Ling Ping'an looked at the old woman and hurriedly walked over to support her.
This old woman of the Hu family was someone Ling Ping'an had to invite every year when he came back to pay respects to his ancestors.
The reason was very simple. He didn't know how to pay respects to his ancestors.
Those divination words, rituals, and wishes...
He couldn't understand it.
The old woman looked at Ling Ping'an, and the wrinkles on her face immediately became kind.
She smiled and said, "Young master has grown up!"
Ling Ping'an didn't quite understand, "Grandma, I've been an adult for a long time..."
"Have you forgotten?"
"You were the one who presided over my coronation ceremony!"
The tradition of the Federal Empire was for an 18-year-old man to be crowned.
This was a very important ceremony in the past!
Almost all adult men had to hold a coronation ceremony and then ask their elders or teachers to bestow them with words. This indicated that they had reached adulthood and could survive independently and shoulder the heavy responsibility of the country and the world.
With the modernization, this tradition declined for a while.
But with the development of the times, a few decades ago, this tradition was revived.
The young people of the Federal Empire, whether they were in the city or in the countryside, whether they were in the mainland or overseas.
The importance of the adult coronation ceremony was once again highlighted.
This was a product of the Gonghe party's' Retro Culture Movement '. It was also a sign that the emerging urban middle class began to miss the past.
The flag was also very bright.
Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan were carried out.
Ling Ping'an was no exception. He rushed home and invited Grandma Hu, who understood the tradition, to hold a coronation ceremony for him.
Since then, Ling Ping'an never wanted to touch those traditional etiquette and rituals again!
It was too troublesome!
A coronation ceremony took a whole day...
The group of people watched as if they were looking at a monkey.
In other words, he was the one who took the initiative to ask for it.
He had to finish what he had decided on even if he was kneeling. Otherwise, he would have run away long ago.
When the old woman heard this, she chuckled. "Young Master, this old woman's memory is not good. I've forgotten about this matter!"
However, her eyes lit up with incomparable brightness.
The kitten Bastet poked her head out of Ling Ping'an's arms.
Her eyes reflected the appearance of the old woman in front of her.
One...
Two...
Three...
...
Nine furry tails were reflected in the shadow of the old woman on the ground.
Nine-tailed fox!
Bastet instantly became nervous.
Because...
This was the king of the fox!
An ancient legend flashed through the cat goddess's heart, "The law of the country is clear. If the three talents are obtained, the nine-tailed fox will come!"
In ancient times, the nine-tailed fox was one of the top sacred beasts!
But the problem was, wasn't the nine-tailed fox extinct long ago?
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