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The next day, Zhang Shanni and her husband got up early. Each went their separate ways at the door; Xie Jingchen went up the mountain to check on the hunting pits while Zhang Shanni headed to the front yard's kitchen to help her mother-in-law prepare breakfast.
After breakfast, accompanied by Zhou Xiuhua and Xie Tiesheng, Xie Jingchen and Zhang Shanni visited the Xie Family Ancestral Hall, arriving at exactly nine in the morning.
Given that there were sixteen senior kinsmen to visit just from the paternal side of the family, interacting with peers was relatively simple—just giving them sweets was sufficient. Of course, if there were male elders, they would also need to distribute cigarettes.
Early in the morning, the ancestral hall was crowded with adults and children. As Xie Tiesheng was senior in age, the elders of his generation were at least seventy years old, making him the youngest among his peers.
