Chapter 64: Su Yunting’s Bright Future

Su Yunting’s future was boundless, and the people of Sujia Village placed great importance on the fact that he would hold a memorial for his parents before ending his mourning period.

In his previous life, by this time, Su Yunting had already distanced himself from the village. Once he became successful, he hardly acknowledged his old neighbors. Except for Uncle Shuncai’s family and a few who felt his choices were understandable, most villagers resented him. They said he lacked kinship, that he was too aloof, and that even though someone from the village had become an official, no blessings trickled down to the rest.

This life, however, was entirely different.

Now, Su Yunting had become the hope of everyone in Sujia Village. He was preparing to honor his parents before leaving mourning, and the villagers were more invested in the ceremony than he himself.

Since their willingness to help was a sign of respect, Su Yunting left the clan leader with ample silver to manage the arrangements.

The clan leader personally oversaw everything; he hired the most renowned ceremonial band and ritual masters from ten miles around, engaged the best carpenters for the funeral structures, and ordered paper offerings, spirit money, and every other item needed for the rites. Everything was prepared with care and precision, ready before Su Yunting’s family even returned.

Before coming back, Su Yunting had already sent invitations to close classmates. After he returned, the clan leader, several clan elders, and those close to him came to discuss which relatives should receive invitations as well.

The truth was, Su Yunting’s relationship with his father’s family had long fractured, and he never interacted with his mother’s family. He had no aunts or other close kin. Aside from his wife’s family, no one could think of other relatives he ought to invite.

Su Yunting explained calmly, “The old man refuses to acknowledge me, but Grandmother valued me even until her final breath. On my side, only her family deserves an invitation. As for Yurou’s side, there’s no need to send word to the old patriarch. Just invite Third Uncle directly.”

The clan elders exchanged uneasy looks. Such a grand affair and the hosts would only invite two families of relatives…

But Su Yunting added, “Our families may have few kin, but fortunately we have our clan. As for the rest, I’ll send invitations to the appropriate families myself.”

Since he didn’t seem concerned, the others couldn’t press the matter.

The memorial rites for his parents were set for three days. The first day would be for immediate family and the clan, the second for extended relatives, and the third for friends.

For a simple rite, only one day would suffice with immediate family, perhaps joined by close clansmen.

To avoid awkwardness, Su Yunting’s grandfather quietly left for his maternal uncle’s home the day before Yunting returned, and Su Yunting’s second uncle took his family back to his wife’s parents.

—–

When the day came, the entire household wore deep mourning. The closest clansmen wore full mourning garb, while more distant ones wore only token signs of grief.

Almost every household in Sujia Village bore the surname Su. When Su Yunting went to the grave to “invite” his parents’ spirits back to the ancestral hall, nearly all the young men of the village accompanied him.

In those days, people valued posthumous honor. For Su Yunting’s parents to be “brought home” by nearly the entire younger generation of the village was a blessing earned through their son.

At the ancestral hall, Su Yunting, as the eldest son, was the first to kneel and offer rites before his parents’ memorial tablets. Even though he had already lived through one lifetime, sorrow still welled in his heart.

He performed every step with solemn care. When he finished, he spoke silently to his parents:

“Your past lives were full of hardship. In this life, because of your daughter-in-law, your children will no longer suffer. Please rest in peace.”

After Su Yunting, it was Yunche’s turn to pay respects, followed by the daughter-in-law and daughters.

Next came the brothers of the same generation, those from closer branches came to offer individual rites, while those more distant came as whole families.

On the second day, the relatives arrived. Normally, Su Yunting’s mother’s family would have been considered the most honored guests, but since their relations had long been severed, that role instead fell to his grandmother’s kin. After them, came Qiu Yurou’s family.

From Yurou’s side, only Third Uncle’s family and her two cousins came. The eldest uncle’s household had received no invitation, and Third Uncle hadn’t asked them to come, so naturally they stayed away.

Then came the daughters who had married out, and the in-laws of the sons who had married in, with men and women offering rites separately.

On the third day, carriages began arriving from 9 a.m.; Su Yunting personally greeted each guest with the clan leader and elders. By the time noon arrived, there were still two groups waiting their turn to complete the rites.

Among the attendees were Lu Yide, the nephew of Deputy Prefect Lu, his good friend Sun Ruimin, his classmate Liu Jiancheng, and many others with whom he shared close or casual ties.

Originally, Su Yunting hadn’t wanted to send out so many invitations. But his academic achievements and the favor shown to him by Deputy Prefect Lu were no secret at the academy. Many had come forward requesting invitations, wishing to build ties with him. If he refused, it would seem arrogant.

Thus came today’s grand gathering.

With so many scholars in attendance, and even the nephew of the Deputy Prefect himself, the villagers’ confidence in Su Yunting’s future soared.

After seeing off the guests and returning his parents’ spirits to the grave, the rites were, for most families, complete.

But since the clan leader had presided over everything, he would not allow it to end so simply. He had already discussed with the elders that the next day, they would formally remove the family’s mourning.

This ritual, known as “shedding mourning,” was performed by the most respected elders of the clan, who would remove the white mourning clothes from the bereaved and dress them in red garments to signify a return to life.

Once the mourning was lifted, the family did not immediately return to the county. Instead, Qiu Yurou sent her two apprentices back first. The workshop had been closed during the three days of rites, and with the apprentices’ return, production could resume.

The rest of the family stayed behind. Outwardly, the reason given was to enjoy a few more days at home.

But the true purpose of remaining in Sujia Village was to win support for Su Huai.

The current clan leader would cooperate with anything Su Yunting wanted to do, but as far as the whole clan was concerned, the man was too selfish, shortsighted, and lacked moral integrity.

In this era, one’s clan was the last refuge. The provincial exam was approaching, and once Su Yunting passed, he would have little time to manage clan affairs.

So before the exam, Su Yunting wanted to speak openly with Su Huai and secure support for him to become the next clan leader.

When Su Huai was brought by Yunche to the house and he saw Uncle Shuncai and his son there, he assumed Su Yunting only wanted to thank him.

He never expected Su Yunting to say outright that he wanted to back him as the new clan leader!

Su Huai’s first reaction was, “But our clan leader has always come from the main family line. The leader’s family is the legitimate branch so others aren’t qualified to take that position!”

Su Yunting replied, “Elder Brother, even the imperial family debates whether to choose the heir by legitimacy, seniority, or virtue. How could a farming clan like ours insist that only the main branch can lead?”

Uncle Shuncai then said, “I support choosing by merit. Su Huai, tell me, if you had been clan leader when Yunting’s family split off, would you have divided things the way the old man said?”

Su Huai’s face turned serious.

“Of course not!”

Uncle Shuncai nodded, “See? You thought it was unfair too. Yunting wants you to be clan leader because he needs someone who’ll protect the weaker members of the family.”

Su Huai said firmly, “That’s the duty of the clan to protect the weak among us.”

Su Yunting looked him in the eye and asked seriously, “Brother Su Huai, are you willing to take on that duty to protect the weak in our clan?”

Su Huai’s expression grew solemn. “As a member of the clan, it’s what I should do.”

Su Yunting said, “Without an official position, there’s no official responsibility. Once you take the position, you must shoulder the responsibility.”

After a pause, Su Huai answered earnestly, “I’m willing to take on the duty of protecting our clan’s weaker members.”

Uncle Shuncai clapped loudly, “Good!” Then, lowering his voice, he said, “I’ll be the first to support you.”

Su Yunting poured him a drink and smiled.

“As long as Brother Su Huai is willing, I already have a plan for a smooth transition.”

Uncle Shuncai blinked. “A smooth transition?”

Su Yunting nodded. “Yes, a smooth transition.”

—

Everyone in Sujia Village knew Su Yunting had a bright future ahead of him. While most were thinking about how to get closer to him, word spread that Qiu Yurou had asked Su Huai to find two kids in the village to help out.

Qiu Yurou didn’t care whether they were boys or girls, but every family that approached Su Huai wanted to send their sons.

More than a dozen families came, and with some bringing more than one child, there were over twenty boys in total. From them, Su Huai chose one who was fourteen and another who was twelve.

People noticed that when Su Huai picked the boys, he didn’t even ask Qiu Yurou for her opinion. He just had everyone bring their children to his house, looked them over, and made his choice right there.

Those whose children weren’t chosen or who hadn’t managed to bring their kids in time, went to Qiu Yurou to complain.

Qiu Yurou told them, “It was Sister-in-law Su Huai who first brought me into the Su family home. Later, Brother Su Huai never shied away from us just because our life was hard. Every time I took Yunting to the county for treatment, he came along to help. So, in this whole village, the person I trust most is Brother Su Huai.”

Hearing that Qiu Yurou still spoke so fondly of Su Huai and his wife, the complainers didn’t dare say more.

Since Qiu Yurou had no objections to Su Huai’s choices, no one else could say anything either.

While some still regretted that their children hadn’t gotten close to Su Yunting through this, another message came from Su Huai’s side: Qiu Yurou was planning to open a restaurant in the county and would soon need people from the village to help there.

When that time came, who would get chosen? No one needed to ask, every parent who wanted to find work for their child or curry favor with Su Yunting started trying hard to get on Su Huai’s good side.

To Su Huai and Uncle Shuncai, this was exactly what Su Yunting had meant by a “smooth transition.”

And to them, it seemed like a perfectly safe and steady plan.

In truth, this was just the first step in the plan that Su Yunting and Qiu Yurou had laid out. They wanted the villagers to gradually get used to the idea, because eventually, Su Yunting would go to the capital to take office.

All officials would, by custom, purchase ancestral fields for their families. When that time came, Su Yunting would do the same, and he intended to have Su Huai manage those fields.

After all, whoever held the money naturally held the power and when that time came, the transfer of clan authority would happen naturally and smoothly.

Once everything back home was settled, the family packed up, took the two new boys they’d hired, and returned to the county.

Qiu Yurou arranged for the boys to stay in the dormitory at the pastry workshop. One of her apprentices would stay there each day, and with Su Dani also living there and all of them being from the same village, the two boys quickly felt at home.

After making sure everything at the workshop was in order, Qiu Yurou finally went home.

Ping’an had come along specifically to help cook dinner. The whole family happily ate together, and after several busy days, everyone turned in early to wash up and rest.

Qiu Yurou went back to her room, just finished washing up, when Su Yunting came in.

This time, he didn’t leave the door slightly open like before. After stepping inside, he quietly closed it all the way.

The sound of the latch clicking made Qiu Yurou’s face flush bright red…