"The people of Liuhe Town have all migrated here over the past two hundred years. In the past, there were wars in Ganzhou almost every year. Today you come to kill me, tomorrow I go to kill you. When I was a child, Liuhe Town was not a town, but a small village. There were only about 20 families settled by the river. There were no big surnames. The ancestors of each family were almost all military families. When they stopped fighting, they found wives and settled down. There were not as many people as there are now. In the history of Liuhe Town, there has never been a high official, not even a county magistrate, let alone someone who has seen the emperor. How can you see the emperor casually..."
In the Yan family's courtyard, dozens of tables were already filled with people. Those who could sit in the Yan family's courtyard at this time were all prominent figures in Liuhe Town or men who were the heads of families. Those children and teenagers who were not qualified to sit down were all standing at the edge of the courtyard, listening silently to what Sixth Grandpa was saying at the main table.
More people were sitting on the yard outside the Yan family blacksmith workshop. There were almost hundreds of tables on the yard. There were two doors between the yard and the yard, and the gate of the entire yard was open. This yard was the dragon's head and the one outside was the dragon's body. The wine tables were connected in a long formation. Several new earthen stoves were set up on the yard, and several simple sheds were set up around the earthen stoves. The women in Liuhe Town were busy in the yard, the kitchen, the riverside, and the yard. Some were washing vegetables, some were cooking, and they brought up the prepared meals and drinks one by one. It was very lively. The children were happily running around in the banquet, and everyone was smiling. The whole Yan family compound was filled with the aroma of food and laughter.
Yan Liqiang's return to Liuhe Town was a big event for the town. The neighbors from Liuhe Town came to visit and give gifts, and almost broke down the threshold of the Yan family. Yan Dechang was so happy that he held a banquet at the Yan family the day after Yan Liqiang returned to thank the neighbors.
Banquets in the village, such as weddings and funerals, are not as complicated as those in the city. Generally, just give a shout and the skillful and lively women from the surrounding neighbors will come and start the party in no time. The men will build the stove, chop wood, kill pigs and sheep, and the rest can almost all be left to the women.
It was already the end of October in Ganzhou, and it was the off-season for farming. The people in the town were not busy. Yan Dechang, the head of the Liuhe Town, announced that he would host a banquet for his neighbors. Suddenly, thousands of people, men and women, young and old, from the entire Liuhe Town came. The Yan family did not have enough tables and bowls and chopsticks, so the neighbors all brought their own bowls, chopsticks, tables, and stools, and put them together to form a continuous banquet...
Today, Liu the butcher and his son were in high spirits and led a few helpers to slaughter pigs and sheep in the yard. Liu the butcher's face was beaming. Liu the butcher's wife was washing vegetables by the river. She saw her husband talking loudly in a group of people, directing people to cut the meat with knives. She heard the woman washing vegetables next to her praising Liu the butcher for his ability and skill. Liu the butcher's wife also felt satisfied and grinned, "What ability? My husband is just a butcher. If he can't help Old Man Yan and Young Master Yan at a time like this, then he has lived in vain..."
If Liu the Butcher had some thoughts about the Yan family before, those thoughts were completely extinguished after Yan Liqiang won the top three in the Qinghe County National Martial Arts County Examination last year, especially this year, as Yan Liqiang's reputation spread in Ganzhou, and especially after those outsiders who came to Liuhe Town to buy Yan's swords brought all kinds of news about Yan Liqiang in Dijing City, the Yan family, in the hearts of Liu the Butcher's family, had become a hundred thousand times more advanced than the original Hong family, and they could only look up to them. The fact that the young master of the Yan family liked their homemade sausages became something that Liu the Butcher liked to brag about to people wherever he went. You know what, as soon as Liu the Butcher hung up this sign, the business of his meat stall really got a lot better, especially on market days, when Liu the Butcher shouted in the market that he had made sausages, bacon and other things for the Yan family, his things would be sold out very quickly.
Sixth Grandpa, who was speaking at the main table in the courtyard, was the oldest elder in the entire Liuhe Town. As of this year, Sixth Grandpa has lived to be 138 years old, making him the oldest man in the entire Liuhe Town. In terms of seniority, all the people in Liuhe Town are the younger generations of Sixth Grandpa. In the Han Empire, if a person could live to be over 120 years old and have filial descendants, he could be called a lucky person, and was considered to be a symbol of good fortune and blessings. Sixth Grandpa was the lucky person in Liuhe Town. It was said that Sixth Grandpa had served as the town's pavilion chief when he was young. The private school in Liuhe Town that taught people to read and write, as well as the town's grain field and the country road leading to the outside of the town, were all run by Sixth Grandpa.
In recent years, no matter which child in the town is 100 days old, they will be brought to Sixth Grandpa to have their heads touched, and then ask for a bowl used by Sixth Grandpa to feed the child. Everyone believes that such children will grow up easily and will be healthy. Because of this, Sixth Grandpa has a special reputation in Liuhe Town. It seems that Yan Liqiang was also touched on the head by Sixth Grandpa when he was a child. The bowl that Sixth Grandpa gave to Yan Liqiang is still kept in the cupboard of the Yan family.
Although the 138-year-old Sixth Grandpa's eyes have turned yellow, his vision is not blurry at all. Although there are age spots on his face, his teeth are still there. He doesn't need a cane to walk, and his speech is still clear. It is said that he can get up every morning to practice boxing for a while, and drink five cents of fruit wine at night. On an occasion like today, Sixth Grandpa, who came to the Yan family compound, was naturally invited by Yan Dechang to the main table, with himself and Yan Liqiang. The other few people sitting at the main table were all wealthy families with some reputation in Liuhe Town. These people listened to Sixth Grandpa talking about the history of Liuhe Town, but their eyes kept looking at Yan Liqiang.
Yan Liqiang asked Sixth Grandpa to sit directly at the head of the main table, and he sat on Sixth Grandpa's left. When Sixth Grandpa was talking, Yan Liqiang was smiling and nodding as he listened. Seeing Yan Liqiang respecting the elderly and the virtuous like this, the neighbors in the yard nodded secretly, thinking that people who have seen the world in Imperial Capital City are indeed different in their temperament. In the past, the Hong family held grand banquets and were arrogant, but they didn't show such respect to Sixth Grandpa. Sixth Grandpa had been there once and never went again. Today was the first time that Sixth Grandpa came to the Yan family and was very respected. Sixth Grandpa was in a good mood and talked more.
"It's a big event for the whole town of Liuhe that a talented person has emerged in our town. Although I'm old now, I was young once. I traveled the world, carried swords and guns, and met high-ranking officials at the level of governors. Everyone says that it takes three to make a good man, and it takes three to make a fence. I feel deeply about this. Look at those princes, generals, and high-ranking officials. They all prospered because of the support of a large number of people. Liqiang, you are doing well now, but you can't forget the blind dates in the town. The blind dates in the town are all willing to help you, and hope that you can get better and better, and then everyone will also benefit from it. These people from the same hometown and clan are connected by heart and roots. We all grew up drinking water from the same well and know each other well..." Sixth Grandpa said to Yan Liqiang earnestly, patting the back of Yan Liqiang's hand, "The blind dates in this town are all hoping that you can bring all the young people in the town out, let them follow you, learn some skills from you, and bring honor to your family..."
As Sixth Grandpa spoke, everyone in the compound looked straight at Yan Liqiang, wanting to hear Yan Liqiang's opinion and meaning. Everyone praised Sixth Grandpa for being old and smart. Others wanted to say that they were not qualified, did not have the position, and did not have the face to ask the Yan family for help. But Sixth Grandpa said it just right, saying what everyone wanted to say...
Yan Liqiang smiled slightly. The mind snake in his head had already figured out the thoughts of the neighbors in the yard...
(End of this chapter)