The next day.
It was the Xia family's annual porridge-giving ceremony.
In many places, porridge-giving was organized by the Municipal Government Building. Most of these events took place in the twelfth lunar month, as the saying goes, "A bowl of porridge on Laba opens a good omen for the coming year."
Nowadays, perhaps only the Confucius Mansion still maintained this tradition.
The Confucius Mansion had inherited grand Spring Festival rites for centuries, representing the oldest and most complete family New Year rituals in existence.
Of course, many other places also preserved this tradition, not just the Confucius Mansion.
The Xia family's porridge-giving differed from the Confucius Mansion's. The Xia family's tradition spanned nearly a century, originating from the dark era when many people were destitute, starved, and displaced.
Unable to bear witness to such suffering, the head of the Xia family at that time decided to start giving out porridge.
This tradition continued year after year, and to this day, the Xia family's porridge-giving ceremony persisted.
It used to be presided over by Xia Shumeng. After her departure, Xia Shijie and Xia Qingxie took turns hosting. In the current generation, it was Xia Lingxuan who presided.
Originally, Xia Lingxuan and Xia Mo were supposed to alternate years, but Xia Mo proved to be too unreliable, so Xia Lingxuan ended up hosting every year.
The site for the porridge-giving was a park specially built by the Municipal Government to acknowledge the Xia family's contributions. The park was quite spacious, with a statue of Confucius at its center, and the park extended within a five-hundred-meter radius.
As times evolved, one corner of the park became a matchmaking corner, the northeast section featured the Benevolent Person Stele, and the southwest became a place for seeking help, among other functions.
At the park entrance stood eight characters: "Do good deeds, ask not about the future."
On the day of the porridge-giving ceremony each year, everything else in the park would disappear. Many people would even wear old clothes and bring their household's worn bowls to this place.
Life had improved now, and no household lacked a bowl of porridge.
However, the purpose of this inherited tradition was not to imply that people couldn't afford food, but to remind everyone to remember history, to remember the harm inflicted upon their ancestors by those beasts who enjoyed a comfortable life!
It was to make those who came here remember the eight characters at the entrance—Do good deeds, ask not about the future.
The Xia family had stood in Chang'an for so many years, weathering numerous crises, many of which were overcome with the support of the people.
"Brother, before the porridge-giving begins each year, Grandpa would come here to offer three sticks of incense to the Sage. When I was young, I wished for the Sage to protect my aunt. After my aunt was gone, Grandpa would still come, but without the three sticks of incense.
Perhaps at that time, he felt that the Sage he had believed in his entire life had also deceived him. Since then, Grandpa stopped managing affairs and spent his days with calligraphy and painting."
Ye Longlin stood there listening, remaining silent.
By six in the morning, a long queue had already formed. The second pot of porridge was still simmering in the stainless steel vats, the first pot having nearly run dry.
A bowl of porridge, a steamed bun, and a bit of pickled vegetables constituted the offerings for this ceremony.
The atmosphere was somber, with everyone queuing up voluntarily without any commotion.
"Silly boy, your grandfather is accumulating merit for you."
Xia Shijie ruffled Xia Lingxuan's hair and chuckled.
Xia Lingxuan pouted and whispered, "Dad, I'm all grown up. Please stop ruffling my hair. My hairstyle, which I took so long to perfect, is all messed up by you."
Xia Shijie retorted with mock annoyance, "Hey, you brat."
After speaking, he looked at his nephew, Ye Longlin, with a smile and asked, "What are your thoughts?"
Ye Longlin's answer was a simple four words: "National prosperity and peace."
Hearing these words, Xia Shijie paused for a moment, then let out a hearty laugh.
These four words represented not only hope but also the height of one's perspective.
What remained was the tradition, and did tradition not represent national prosperity and peace!
Meanwhile, outside, a group of people were queuing within the crowd, discussing in hushed tones: "When it's our turn, we'll just flip over their stalls. No matter how they react, it won't be our concern. At most, we'll be detained for half a month. After we get out, each of us will receive ten thousand yuan, understand?"
"Understood!"
"Understood!"
This group consisted of mere street thugs.
Someone had approached them last night, asking them to cause trouble here. They had already received ten thousand yuan as a deposit. He had brought eight people. Even if each of them got ten thousand, he would still have twenty thousand left. Moreover, there was another hundred thousand yuan waiting after they got out.
Who would be foolish enough not to do such a thing?
After all, going to jail was a common occurrence for them.
Soon, it was their turn, and Xia Shijie and Ye Longlin, who were watching nearby, prepared to leave.
Today, he had to accompany Xia Shijie to meet the Municipal Mayor. He wondered why the Mayor of Chang'an City was looking for him.
"Bang! Clang!"
Suddenly, sounds of smashing and banging erupted. Ye Longlin turned around and saw eight men overturning the stalls. The Xia family members resisted, trying to stop them.
Whether they were slow to react or adhering to a rule of not causing a disturbance here, everything unfolded in silence.
Ye Longlin lunged forward with his shoulder, placing a hand on one of the men and executing a perfect hip throw, sending him to the ground. He followed up with a punch.
His movements were swift, decisive, and ruthless. In less than half a minute, all eight men lay on the ground.
"Ouch, it hurts so much! Who the hell are you, kid? Are you looking to die?"
"This kid hits really hard. Damn it, who is this guy? Ouch, my back!"
"Who knows? Who the hell knows where this kid came from!"
The eight men helped each other up. The onlookers, having recovered from their surprise, surrounded them.
"Who sent you?"
Ye Longlin asked in a deep voice, his thoughts immediately turning to the Zhou family. However, Zhou Tao was a scholar; he shouldn't be doing something like this. He wondered where these people had come from.
"No one sent us, can't we come on our own!"
"The Xia family is so rich, why are they giving out porridge? Why not just give money? Ten thousand yuan per person, isn't that great!"
"Exactly, we're already so poor! Just give us money! Anyway, the Xia family is rich!"
After asking, Ye Longlin lost interest. These people were clearly common thugs.
"Call the police."
Ye Longlin had no desire to engage with them further. Xia Lingxuan, dazed, pulled out his phone and called the police. After about ten minutes, the Dragon Guard arrived and took the group away.
"This kind of thing couldn't have been organized spontaneously; there must be someone behind it. The Zhou family, being a scholarly family, shouldn't be doing this. Has the Xia family offended anyone in the past?"