Zhu Shunyao suddenly seemed to recall something. "However, you are right about one thing. The ancestral hall is very important. Our current one is old and damaged. I plan to clear a foundation here soon to build the Zhu family ancestral hall. All Zhu family members from the Four Towns can place their spirit tablets here. So, do not worry about losing your roots. Even for lonely elderly people, placing their tablets here means someone will offer incense. You need not fear being forgotten."
Hearing Zhu Shunyao’s words, Zhu Jinfu truly did not know how to respond.
"Shunyao, are you serious? You really intend to build the Zhu family ancestral hall?" Zhu Enfu had rushed over after learning that Zhu Jinfu had visited Zhu Shunyao alone, worried something might go wrong. He had not expected to hear Zhu Shunyao say this.
Zhu Yanyi saw Zhu Enfu enter and was not surprised. Since Zhu Jinfu had come, Zhu Enfu and others would surely follow. After all, Zhu Jinfu was currently staying at Zhu Enfu’s home. Zhu Shunyao actually disliked Zhu Jinfu’s presence, even finding her very annoying. But at this moment, she could not show such emotions.
"Yes," Zhu Shunyao smiled. "I have already chosen the site. It is the abandoned brick kiln land at Donghekou. The place is quite large. I plan to apply for the foundation permit in the next few days. Once the permit is approved, I will have someone design the hall. I will cover the material costs. However, I may need Uncle Enfu to send people to supervise the construction. I will be very busy recently, especially as the year-end approaches, so I have little free time."
"This is great news. It is a good thing for the entire Zhu family. So rest assured. If you have no time, your brothers Chanyao and Leiyao are free. I will have them supervise. We are all Zhu family members. If they do not do this job well, I will beat their heads until they break." Zhu Enfu was very excited at this moment.
The Zhu family ancestral hall had always been located in a room next to his house. But as generations passed, it had become very crowded, and the building was slowly falling into disrepair. Building a new ancestral hall involved complicated procedures and a large sum of money. But now, Zhu Shunyao was covering most of the costs. They only needed to send people to supervise the project. Thinking that he might see a new beginning for the Zhu family ancestral hall in his lifetime, how could he not be excited?
Zhu Jinfu now realized that Zhu Shunyao was using a strategy of dividing and conquering. Originally, Zhu Enfu had disagreed with Zhu Jinfu’s request for Zhu Shunyao’s family to move to Zhushi. But considering they shared the same ancestors, he had turned a blind eye to their actions. However, no matter how willing he was to go along, nothing mattered in the face of such huge benefits. Even though Zhu Jinfu was from the main branch in Zhushi, the main branch’s good conditions were very distant for the Zhu family in the Four Towns.
She felt a bit regretful. If she had known that building an ancestral hall could make Zhu Enfu grateful, the main branch did not lack this money. But now she could not say anything. Zhu Shunyao had already spoken first. Saying more would be useless and might make people think they were being deliberate, even though her visit here was indeed intentional.
On the contrary, Zhu Shunyao’s actions increased the cohesion of the local Zhu family. Zhu Jinfu frowned slightly. He sensed that today’s situation was likely to fail.