CHAPTER 81: CHAPTER 80: ANCESTOR WORSHIP

The Lin Clan Leader finished speaking and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Lin Wanwan quickly grabbed him, saying, "Clan Leader Uncle, what are you doing? Join us to eat."

The Lin Clan Leader waved his hand: "I don’t eat this stuff, eating meat at night makes it hard to sleep."

Lin Wanwan held the Lin Clan Leader’s arm and, together with Lin Mengbo, pushed him inside, laughing as they pushed him: "No way, tonight, no one’s allowed to miss out, everyone eats."

The roast whole lamb wasn’t ready yet, but the waiting crowd had already started a wild dance, their laughter spreading far.

The children were naturally in their element, and the adults were not far behind. In the venue, regardless of gender or age, they sang, stomped, and danced in circles, turning the cold winter into a lively scene.

Lin Wanwan had long heard that the passionate Great Tang people loved dancing, with banquets featuring drinking games and dance battles as essentials.

Li Bai had once written a poem for his number one fan Wang Lun: "Li Bai gets on a boat about to leave, suddenly hears singing on the shore. The water in Taohua Pond is a thousand feet deep, yet it doesn’t compare to Wang Lun’s farewell love."

Singing and dancing were essential at both greetings and farewells.

Celebrations, sacrifices, spring and autumn outings, and labor in the fields all included singing and dancing.

This time, Lin Wanwan finally witnessed it firsthand. As long as the Great Tang common people had a bit of hope in life, they could passionately sing and dance, casting off worries. Live for the moment with wine today, worry tomorrow for tomorrow.

After being pulled into three dances, Lin Wanwan hurriedly withdrew and retreated to the balcony on the second floor of the academy.

Watching her lively and excited clansmen below, she didn’t feel it was noisy at all; instead, her heart was completely at peace.

At bedtime, little Qingyu was still so excited that she danced in her sleep, occasionally letting out "giggling" laughs. Lin Wanwan couldn’t help but give her a kiss, covering her feet with the kicked-off blanket, and gazing at the bright moon outside the window, she stayed awake for a long time.

This was the life she wanted: having family, no worries, and peaceful times.

As the next day’s dawn broke, Lin Wanwan was awakened by Hua Nong and Yun Shang. The ancestor worship time coincided with high tide, so she needed to get up and head to the ancestral hall; Lin Mengbo was already waiting for her outside the west side gate.

Little Qingyu was still young, not old enough to be listed in the clan register, naturally unable to enter the ancestral hall. Lin Wanwan instructed Yun Shang to watch over her, then quietly, with Hua Nong’s help, dressed and went downstairs, washed briefly, donned a cloak, and went outside.

The sun was still hiding in the clouds, making the cold wind feel particularly biting.

Lin Wanwan saw Lin Mengbo in his thin hemp clothing and softly said, "Cousin Mengbo, why not wear that rabbit fur cloak? It’s so cold."

Lin Mengbo sniffed and said indifferently, "It’s fine, I’m used to the cold. Such a good cloak should be worn when visiting relatives; today, if it accidentally burns a hole, what then?"

Lin Wanwan handed over the hand warmer she was holding, saying, "Then take this to warm up. By the way, where’s sister-in-law? Isn’t she coming?"

Lin Mengbo replied, "She needs to watch the two children, so she’s not coming."

Though the Hou Tao Lin family favored males over females, there wasn’t a rule forbidding women from entering the ancestral hall. In fact, regardless of gender, as long as they were from the Lin family, they had to enter and bow to the ancestors. For the women married into the Lin family, living meant being a Lin family member, and dying meant being a Lin family’s ghost, treated equally.

The more people offering incense, the more prosperous the lineage appears, naturally making the ancestors happier.

This was the thought of all Lin family members.

Therefore, when Lin Wanwan climbed the high slope before the ancestral hall, the place was already filled with men and women, except for those caring for young children and elderly, the rest were there.

Lin Wanwan turned out to be the last one to arrive. Everyone, upon seeing her, hastily made way for her, greeting her while surrounding her to the front.

"Teacher Lin, you’ve arrived. Quickly go inside; Clan Leader Uncle is waiting for you."

"Go to the innermost part, Clan Leader Uncle said that today’s first incense is for you to offer."

Lin Wanwan was quite surprised; it wasn’t unusual for women to enter the ancestral hall, but to have her offer the first incense was indeed a high regard.

When she reached the Lin Clan Leader, he nodded at her, gesturing for her to stand behind him and then began the lengthy ritual.

When it was time to offer incense, the first incense lit indeed was handed to her by the Lin Clan Leader.

Lin Wanwan looked at the kind-faced Lin Clan Leader in front of her, and in a trance, she saw the shadow of her late grandfather on his face.

"Are you really letting me be the first?" Lin Wanwan asked softly.

The Lin Clan Leader said, "Of course, you’re the good fortune sent to us by the gods. Bringing high-yield rice and sweet potatoes to the Lin family, you should be the first to offer incense, so the ancestors can know too."

Lin Wanwan’s heart swelled, smiling as she took the incense from Lin Clan Leader’s hand, eyes glistening with tears, knelt on the cushion, bowed three times, and placed the incense into the burner.

From that moment, Lin Wanwan officially entered the clan.

At Lin Family Manor, besides the academy Lin Wanwan built, the best building was this spacious ancestral hall. Inside it housed plaques of both branch ancestors and direct lineage ancestors; Lin Wanwan even noticed plaques for Lin Yousi and Mrs. Xiao, this was truly the old ancestral hall.

The ancestor worship process wasn’t too complicated, mainly because they weren’t a big prestigious family, so there weren’t many rules.

When the sun rose in the east, the ancestor worship concluded. The afternoon was the time for distributing money, everyone felt fervent.

The crowd dispersed in threes and twos, only then did Lin Wanwan notice several clan members with feet and clothing covered in mud, looking as if they had fallen.

Today, for ancestor worship, everyone was supposed to come dressed in clean clothes.

She looked at Lin Mengjin with muddy feet, puzzled: "Cousin Mengjin, what’s happened to you?"

Lin Mengjin touched his head, embarrassed: "It was still dark during high tide, couldn’t see the road clearly."

Lin Wanwan said: "Didn’t you bring a lantern?"

Lin Mengli, beside them, explained to Lin Wanwan: "When it’s dark, everyone is almost like blind people; with or without lanterns, it’s all the same."

Lin Wanwan suddenly understood, it must be night blindness.

Indeed, these were the poor who couldn’t afford meat, so naturally, there would be a lot suffering from night blindness. Not just the Great Tang; even during the fifties and sixties in Huaxia, there were still many people suffering from night blindness.

Because at night, everyone had no nightlife, once it was dark, they returned home, closed the doors to sleep, and were even reluctant to light an extra oil lamp. Lin Wanwan hadn’t realized many clansmen had night blindness issues until today.

Improving the clan’s condition is urgent indeed. Next time when returning to the modern world, I’ll go to the pharmacy to buy several bottles of vitamin A, to properly treat the clansmen.