The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

Beside him, the second great-grandfather and several elders of the clan looked at each other and smiled, their brows furrowed with satisfaction.

After Li Kaixin finished kowtowing, he stood up.

The second great-grandfather stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, saying earnestly, "Kaixin, I hope you can remember what you said before, keep to your duty, and not let down the expectations of the clan."

"I've got it, Second Grandfather," Li Kaixin replied earnestly.

The second great-grandfather nodded in satisfaction, turned and walked towards the door, seeing that everyone still looked solemn.

He waved his hand, laughed, and said loudly, "Alright, the ceremony is over. Let's get out of the ancestral hall first!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere at the scene immediately relaxed.

Everyone smiled and walked out of the ancestral hall in perfect unison.

Grandpa San walked over with a smile and patted Li Kaixin on the shoulder: "Come on, Kaixin, let's go out too!"

Li Kaixin responded and followed his third grandfather out of the ancestral hall.

I was secretly relieved that I could finally escape the enthusiastic onlookers.

But before he could even step out the door, he saw that the people who had just left the ancestral hall were still waiting outside.

As soon as the young people in the village saw Li Kaixin come out, they all surrounded him.

When Third Grandfather saw this scene, he simply laughed and moved aside.

Congratulations! I'm so happy!

Li Yong was the first to walk over with a grin, "Just tell us what to do next."

"Just tell us what to do, we'll do our best!" Li Xinglong and dozens of his peers shouted from behind.

Li Kaixin was a little flustered by the scene and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, what are you doing!"

"Brother Kaixin, please don't refuse."

Li Xinglong's previous playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a solemn tone: "From the moment you appeared on the first page of the family genealogy, you became the leader of our generation. From now on, we will all listen to you!"

Li Kaixin was completely stunned when she heard this.

Neither his second great-uncle nor his third great-uncle had ever told him about this!

Before he could react, Li Yong smiled and called out to everyone, "Come on, let's raise our hands in celebration and give him a proper toast!"

Upon hearing this, several young people nearby immediately responded with loud laughter.

Before Li Kaixin could react, he was lifted up by several hands.

Outside the crowd, Grandpa and Third Grandpa were watching Li Kaixin and chatting casually.

The old man didn't join the other elders in adding Kaixin to the family genealogy just now, also to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

"Third son, are you happy with this decision?" Grandpa turned his head, his tone tinged with suspicion.

Third Grandfather nodded, his gaze still fixed on the crowd:

"Big brother, second uncle and the others have all agreed. Besides, we've already taken Kaixin there, so it's too late to back out now."

Grandpa frowned slightly, his tone tinged with complaint: "My second uncle and his family are really something. Kaixin is so young, couldn't they have waited a few more years and seen how things develop?"

"Big brother, don't blame Second Uncle and the others," Third Grandfather chimed in, his voice tinged with helplessness. "I was the one who initiated this. In the past, when the harvest was good, we could wait as many years as we wanted, but these days, who knows when it will ever end?"

He paused, then looked at his elder brother, "Brother, don't forget what happened eighteen years ago; it was quite similar to this."

After hearing this, the grandfather fell silent, looking at his eldest grandson in the distance with a complex expression in his eyes.

Seeing this, the third grandfather added, "Brother, we've all seen Kaixin's performance these past few times. Look at all the young people in the village, who doesn't admire him?"

After saying that, he didn't speak again, and he and his older brother looked at Li Kaixin.

Actually, what truly made him decide was the grain that Li Kaixin had obtained. And his older brother probably thought of that too!

On the other side, the grandmother's gaze never left her eldest grandson, who was surrounded in the middle, her eyes full of love.

"Our grandson has really made something of himself this time."

She has lived here for decades, so she naturally knows what it means to be on the first page of the family genealogy.

Upon hearing this, Father Li Mingde couldn't help but say, "Mother, this son is promising, but for Kaixin now, it's not necessarily a good thing."

"What do you mean it's not good news! Mingde, have you been living a carefree life in the city for the past few years?" Grandma's face darkened, and her voice rose a few decibels. "If your father hears you say that, you'll see if he doesn't beat you up."

"Mom, don't get excited, don't get excited. Your illness has only just started to improve," Father Li Mingde quickly reassured her, then immediately explained, "That's not what I meant, I just feel that it's too early to be happy."

Grandma's expression softened a bit after hearing this.

Qin Xiuli, the mother standing to the side, looked puzzled: "Husband, what are you and I talking about? I don't understand at all!"

My second and third aunts also looked over, their faces full of curiosity.

Grandma, seeing that they had been married into the family for over ten years, decided not to keep it a secret anymore.

"Xiuli, you would have known this a year earlier if you had married into the family."

Afterwards, Grandma recounted the events of the clan in detail, including mentioning that there was some money in the village.

After hearing this, both my second and third aunts looked surprised.

Auntie San asked curiously, "Mother, do you know how much money this is in the village?"

"What, you've got your eye on it now?"

Grandma glanced at her and said, "Third daughter-in-law, you need to understand that even when your eldest brother's family was struggling a few years ago, your father never considered this."

"No, no!" Seeing her mother-in-law's expression, the third aunt smiled awkwardly. "I was just curious."

"Don't even think about it. Only the old man and his family know about this money," Grandma said, then added, "And remember, don't mention it to anyone from other villages. Got it?"

"Yes, Mother," the third aunt and the second aunt replied in unison.

The mother, Qin Xiuli, didn't react much at this time. What she was worried about was the responsibilities her eldest son would have to bear in the future.

Father Li Mingde noticed his wife's thoughts and gently patted her back to comfort her.

Li Kaixin was lifted up by the young people in the village, tossed high into the air and caught again, and they tossed him around for quite a while.

In the end, it was only after the third grandfather intervened that everyone was able to put him down.

......

The next day, before dawn, Li Kaixin and his father drove his younger brother, sister and mother towards Beijing.

Because my third grandfather and second great-grandfather repeatedly invited me to dinner yesterday, and because my grandmother was also sick, our original plan to return to the city yesterday afternoon was postponed to today.

Two hours later, Li Kaixin and his family appeared at the gate of courtyard house number 93.

Aunt Zhao from the front yard came up with a worried look on her face: "Kaixin, you've come back from the countryside?"

"Aunt Zhao, is there something you need from me?" Li Kaixin stopped and looked at her.

Aunt Zhao glanced outside the gate and lowered her voice, saying, "Kaixin, yesterday afternoon, Aunt Qian from your courtyard came looking for you with a few people. It didn't look like anything good."

"I understand, thank you Aunt Zhao." Li Kaixin nodded with a smile.

As soon as Aunt Zhao left, Li Kaixin's face darkened instantly.

Noticing her eldest son's unusual expression, Qin Xiuli, his mother, asked with concern, "Kaixin, what's wrong?"

"It's alright, Mom." Li Kaixin smiled again. "Let's pack up and get ready to go to Secretary Liu's house."

He still didn't want his mother to know about the awful things happening in his yard.

Seeing that her eldest son was unwilling to say more, Qin Xiuli, the mother, did not press him further.