White Horse Commune did not have a hotel. There was a small bed in the duty room of the Commune's compound. Director Dai had arranged for Dai Xuan to rest inside. How could he sleep? He took a walk in the courtyard to enjoy the shade.
The iron gate of the compound had been locked. There were two people guarding behind the iron gate. There were also two people sitting at the door of the finance room on the second floor. There were a few people chatting downstairs. Someone came over with a radio to pass the time. The radio was playing the lyrics of the Beijing opera " The Empty City Stratagem." Dai Xuan found it interesting and unconsciously fell into a trance.
He recalled the time when he followed the King of Zhou and Jiang Ziya to attack King Zhou of Shang. At that time, he led an army of more than 2,000 people and captured many cities. In the end, he was conferred the title of " Dai Gongbo " by the King of Zhou because of his meritorious service. His fief was in the White Horse Commune. Of course, it was not called the White Horse Commune in the past, but " Gong ".
Thousands of years had passed, and many places had changed. Perhaps when he returned to the place where he used to live tomorrow, he would slowly remember.
A night passed, and nothing happened. In the second half of the night, Dai Xuan went to the duty room to sleep. In the morning, Chief Physician Dai brought him steamed buns and porridge for breakfast. Chief Physician Dai lived in the county town. He usually did not go back to work and stayed in the dormitory. He had instructed Old Ye to make more breakfast and send it over.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the secretary of the public office, Liu Yunshan, also came back. There were already more than ten people waiting for him in the conference room. Secretary Liu, who was in his forties, was wearing a gray shirt and had a briefcase under his armpit. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he was pulled to the office on the second floor by Director Dai. Dai Xuan was also sitting inside. Director Dai explained the situation to Secretary Liu and introduced Dai Xuan to him. After listening, Secretary Liu's eyes widened and he looked incredulous. Yesterday, he did not get a single cent from begging his grandparents in the county. How did he suddenly get 1 million today?
The two of them went to Secretary Liu's office and had a small meeting for more than ten minutes. Finally, they went to the conference room together.
The location of the reservoir had been inspected a few years ago, and the plan was already in place. They just had to wait for the rice to be cooked. However, it definitely wouldn't cost that much money. They had to solve the problem of the reservoir first, and the rest could be done slowly.
After a morning of meetings, the "Baimahe Reservoir Construction Leading Group" was finally established. Director Dai was the leader. After all, he was the one who had pulled in the funds. There were two deputy directors, two village officials from Shangma Village and Xiama Village, and nearly ten people in the group. Everyone had two tables in the restaurant in the town at noon to celebrate the start of the reservoir construction and thank Dai Xuan for his generous help. Secretary Liu pulled Dai Xuan over for a few drinks. He said to Dai Xuan in shame,"Comrade Dai, our White Horse Commune is extremely poor. Other than some local specialties, we don't have anything to give you. However, after the reservoir is built, we will erect a large stone tablet next to it and engrave your great achievements in donating to build the reservoir for future generations to remember.”
Dai Xuan felt that they were all quite down-to-earth. White Horse Commune was his hometown, so he didn't care how much money he spent. After a few rounds of drinking, he began to be heroic again. Dai Xuan said to Secretary Liu and Director Dai," The White Horse Commune is really too backward. I really can't stand it anymore. I've decided to donate 10 million yuan to repair this road, rebuild the school, rebuild your office building, and buy a few jeeps. The leaders of the Commune ride bicycles all day to do things. Their efficiency is too low, and they can't do anything at a slow speed. For example, if they rode bicycles to the fight yesterday, someone might have been killed.”
All of a sudden, the scene fell silent. No one spoke. Everyone stared at Dai Xuan with their eyes wide open. It felt like they were dreaming, and it was a blissful dream.
Department Director Dai broke the silence. He coughed and asked Dai Xuan,"Young Dai, are you joking? You donated so much money for no reason. There has to be a reason. Tell everyone.”
Everyone nodded. Although the money was tempting, it felt strange to use the money that came from nowhere.
Dai Xuan took a puff of his cigarette and said," My ancestors were from the Dai family village of Gongbo Mountain. They moved away many years ago. This is my hometown. I made a fortune outside, so it's normal for me to come back and help my hometown. Don't feel strange. It's that simple.”
Everyone was enlightened when they heard this. They all looked at Director Dai enviously. He was also from Dai Village.
Chief Physician Dai also knew that Dai Xuan's ancestral home was Dai Village, but he did not expect Dai Xuan to donate so much money because of this. He did not know if he should scold Dai Xuan for being a prodigal.
After lunch, Associate Chief Physician Dai accompanied Dai Xuan back to Dai Village. The two of them chatted as they drove.
"Young Dai, where did your family move to now?" Director Dai asked. How many people are there at home?"
"I'm in Lingnan Province now. I'm the only one left." Dai Xuan said as he drove.”
Department Director Dai did not say anything when he heard that. He thought to himself,"Don't tell me you inherited a huge inheritance?" 10 million was taken out so casually. If it was his son, he would definitely beat him to death.
Dai Xuan saw that he didn't say anything, so he asked him about the current situation in Dai Village.
Director Dai said," There are more than 1,000 people in the village now, and all of them are mainly farmers. The village secretary, Dai Qingshui, the village chief and militia company commander, Dai Jianguo, and the village chief, who is in his 80s, are called Dai Changshan. Dai Family Village is an ordinary poor mountain village. There are also some younger people in the village who go out to work as masons. The White Horse Commune and the other three Dai villages were all separated from the Dai Village of Gongbo Mountain. The Dai Village had been burned down once during the war against the Japanese. Many of the old houses that were hundreds of years old were burned down, but some things like genealogy were still preserved. It was said that they could be traced back to thousands of years ago and were kept by the old patriarch.”
Dai Xuan drove the car and arrived at Dai Village in half an hour. Although it was completely different from before, he could still recognize it at a glance. This was the hometown he was looking for, the place he had once stayed in. Before he left, he had set up a "Big Dipper Seven Stars Nine Zigzag Formation" here, protecting the Dai Village for more than 1,000 years until the spirit stones that maintained the formation ran out of energy.
The village was located in a small valley surrounded by mountains on three sides. A road passed in front of the village. Along the road was a river that was more than ten meters wide. On the other side of the river was thousands of acres of farmland. It was a beautiful place with clear mountains and clear waters.
Department Director Dai was from the " Qing " generation, and his name was Dai Qingtian. He directed Dai Xuan to drive the car into the village until it stopped on the flat ground in front of the ancestral hall. It was now past three in the afternoon, and many children playing in front of the ancestral hall gathered around to look at the car. Not far away, an old man and an old woman who were enjoying the shade under a big tree also looked over.
The two of them got out of the car. Dai Qingtian greeted the old men and women. Dai Xuan took out two big bags of candy and biscuits from the back of the car and distributed them to the children. Dai Xuan was very emotional. Whether they were old men or children, they were all his descendants. Although they were not his direct descendants, they were still the descendants of his brothers. He felt very close to them.
After the children received the candy and biscuits, they ran to the side and distributed them. Dai Qingtian pulled Dai Xuan over to chat with the old men and women. Most of the old men were of the " elder " generation. When Dai Qingtian introduced them, they would call them Third Uncle, Fifth Uncle, and so on. Dai Xuan could not bring himself to call them that. He called them " Comrade Dai " or " Hello." After greeting them, the pack of cigarettes that he had just opened was also scattered.
Dai Qingtian then pulled Dai Xuan to visit the 80-year-old patriarch. The old patriarch, Dai Changshan, was still in good health. He was reading a thread-bound book under a tree in the courtyard.
Dai Qingtian greeted him as soon as he entered the courtyard."Uncle, I brought a brother with the same surname to visit you. How have you been recently?”
When Dai Zhangshan heard someone calling him, he put down his book and said with a smile,""It's pretty good. Aren't you busy at the club today? Come back to visit when you have time? How should I address this little brother?"
Dai Xuan handed him a cigarette and said with a smile,"My name is Dai Xuan, Xuan as in Mysterious."
Dai Changshan took the cigarette and said,"Is he called Dai Xuan?" According to the rules passed down by our ancestors, our descendants are not allowed to be named "Xuan".”
"Why?" Dai Xuan asked curiously.”
Dai Zhangshan did not answer him. He only took out two stools and called the two of them to sit under the big tree in the courtyard. He also poured two bowls of water for the two of them to drink. After he was done, he sat down and talked to them.
"Because the person named Dai Xuan is one of the few people with the highest seniority in the family tree. He is the ancestor of our branch. He was once conferred the title of 'Dai Gongbo' by King Wu of Zhou. According to the family tree, he was a very powerful figure.”
Dai Xuan was very touched when he heard this. He did not expect his descendants to still remember him.
Dai Qingtian was also listening with great interest. He didn't know that there was such a person in his ancestors. Perhaps only a traditional old scholar like Dai Changshan would pay attention to these clan historical records.
The three of them chatted for a while more before Dai Qingtian led Dai Xuan to the ancestral hall. The ancestral hall was a two-story house with green bricks and gray tiles. In the middle was a courtyard. Inside, there was a house of more than 60 square meters that was dedicated to hundreds of memorial tablets. Dai Xuan saw that in the two rows at the top, there was a plaque with his name written on it. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Things had remained the same, but people had changed!
There was a pack of incense on the altar. Dai Xuan lit a handful of incense and lit it on the memorial tablet.
Dai Qingtian led Dai Xuan around the village again, and then the two of them drove away.
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