As the coffin left the village, the sound of firecrackers gradually faded away, and the area in front of Sishuitang, which had been noisy for several days, suddenly became quiet. All that could be heard was the rustling of the cold wind and night rain falling on the oilcloth shed, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.

Grandpa Xiaoman did not attend the funeral; he stood by the roadside, gazing intently in the direction of Old Yunya.

Chunfeng, who was pregnant, did not go up the mountain but stayed at home to take care of chores.

Seeing that Master Xiaoman looked dazed, she quickly stepped forward to help him to rest: "Master, you can't have any more accidents, go inside and rest for a while!"

Xiaomanye came to his senses and comforted Chunfeng, "It's okay, I can handle it, don't worry about me."

Chunfeng was still worried, so she hurriedly asked Tan Shi and Hexiang to bring some hot soup so that Xiaoman, who hadn't had a proper rest for several days, could drink some and lie down for a while.

Xiaomanye rested as instructed.

After Grandma Xiaoman's funeral, Grandpa Xiaoman showed no unusual behavior.

Although he was feeling increasingly depressed, everyone just thought he was just not used to losing his wife of several decades.

In the end, it was Nini's coquettishness and cuteness that cheered the old man up.

Grandpa Xiaoman doesn't care about anything now. He just knocks on piles of paper money every day. On the seventh day after his death, he will personally go to Laoyun Cliff to burn paper money, guard the grave for a day, and stay in the old house for two nights before returning.

He didn't just sit idly on the mountain; he used stone slabs to carefully repair the path that Grandma Xiaoman used to walk on.

After repairing the area around the house, he gradually paved the road down the mountain. He said, "My wife's legs aren't good, so it will be inconvenient for her to go down the mountain to see her grandchildren in the future."

Then I would go back for two more nights during the next seven-day period, and so on.

Everyone thought that Xiaoman would slowly get over the pain of losing his wife, but on the day of Xiaoman's 100th birthday celebration, Xiaoman, who had spent another night guarding the grave on the mountain, returned to the village and passed away suddenly and silently that night, just before his 70th birthday.

It was during the Spring Festival, when every household was putting up red decorations, but the white banners of Sishuitang were hung up again.

No one expected that Xiaoman, who had experienced so many ups and downs in his life and was the strongest person, would not be able to get through this.

When his wife died, his heart died too. He insisted on burning all the paper money he had made himself before going to join her in death.

With the detailed guidance from Grandpa Xiaoman last time, Dazhu, Xiaoman, and Jiangzhi were already experienced in handling the funeral this time, and everything was done the same way as three months ago.

Chunfeng's belly was already showing. As the head of the household, she calmly cooperated with Jiangzhi to entertain relatives and friends who came to offer incense.

Song Tingzhang and his men brought the funeral gifts. Xiang Dejin, Wu Hongmao, and several other wounded soldiers who worked as yamen runners also arrived to comfort Xiaoman and Dazhu and tell them not to be sad.

Compared to the passing of their grandmother, Xiaoman, the two brothers were saddened this time, but not as devastated.

Grandpa and Grandma had a good relationship their whole lives. Whoever passes away first will be saddened.

Grandpa always taught me that even if there are no elders, you are the elder yourself, so don't cry and make people look down on you.

Every parting makes us grow; Dazhu and Xiaoman are now people who can shelter us from the wind and rain.

Inside the mourning hall, the soothing chants of the geomancer continued, recounting the stories of the gods from all directions.

Xu Changming sat in the corner, looking at the flickering candlelight and oil lamps, and sighed and muttered to himself, "Brother Changgeng, you're only half a year older than me, I'll admire you for life."

When my sister-in-law passed away, I told her that she couldn't bear to leave such a good life, and that she should live for at least another year or two. I never imagined she would actually go with her!

"Without someone to care for me, I can't even eat or sleep peacefully..."

I'm getting old, and my wife has been waiting for me for decades. She'll probably have to go someday too, but I haven't had enough of the good life yet, and I don't want to die!

After several days of Buddhist rituals, at dawn, the able-bodied men of the village carried the coffin to Laoyun Cliff.

This time, only Chunfeng remained by the roadside to see them off.

The mosquito coil workshop started operating before the Lunar New Year celebrations were even over.

The two consecutive funerals in Xujia Village have put everyone in a bad mood, so they'd rather make money to cheer themselves up.

Jiang Zhi's feelings were complicated, not only because of the passing of her elders, but also because of what Li Laoshi said when he returned for the second time to attend the funeral.

He said that Nie Fantian gave the Nie family a large sum of money and bought a big courtyard in Jincheng Prefecture for Old Master Nie to live in.

However, the other two branches of the Nie family wanted to go to the capital to become high-ranking officials because Nie Fantian was now a high-ranking official.

Another year has passed; it has been nine years since the chaos of war began.

Xiaoman is already married, and Nie Fantian, now twenty-five, should naturally also marry and have children, and establish his own family in the capital.

Li told him that the two branches of the Nie family still wanted to continue doing business in Beijing, and asked him what he thought, whether he should also go to the capital to seek refuge with General Nie.

Now Li Laoshi came to ask Jiang Zhi for her opinion.

Jiang Zhi knew that Nie Fantian had established himself in the capital, but that was not the end; the road ahead for the male protagonist was still long and arduous.

Nie Fantian didn't ask her to go to the capital, nor did he send any more money. Jiang Zhi already received a considerable amount of dividends from the Huo family's pharmacy every year, so she wasn't short of money.

The time has finally come for the male protagonist to rise to prominence and for his entire family to benefit. If she were to shamelessly cling to him, there would be no problem. However, after several years in Xu Family Village, she has already integrated into this land.

Going to the capital, she would be nothing more than an old peasant woman from the countryside, at most trying to earn more money from the wealthy, living in constant fear in the eye of the storm brought by the male protagonist.

He lived a life of luxury, eating three meals a day and wearing fine clothes, but when he died, he was buried in an unknown place outside the city.

In Xujia Village, she is a savior who can change the fate of many people.

Five taels of silver could feed and clothe a child throughout their entire childhood, and also allow them to read and write.

There are countless people suffering, too many to save, just like the countless small fish stranded in the sand after the tide recedes.

Each time you bend down and scoop up a fish and put it back in the water, it may seem insignificant to millions of fish, but in the life of the small fish being scooped up, this act is to save its world.

Jiang Zhi looked at Li Laoshi: "Are you going with the Nie family?"

Mr. Li is now managing the shop together with the Nie family. If the Nie family wants to continue doing business, Mr. Li can naturally do so as well.

Li Laoshi scratched his head and clicked his tongue, saying, "Oh dear, money is a good thing, but I don't want to go too far away. The current situation is just right. Once I earn more money, I want to go back to Pingchuan County to settle down."

He was reluctant to leave Jincheng Prefecture, where people called him "Master Li".

He also plans to buy a house and a shop in Pingchuan County a few years later when his child is older, so that he can prepare a home for his daughter there.

Genqing also said that he would take good care of his little sister in the future, and Nannan and Xiao Erzi would also take care of their little aunt.

There are also Errui and Xiaoman here. With these people protecting him, Li Laoshi can finally rest assured that his daughter can get married. Whether she finds a husband or gets married, he will no longer be afraid of encountering something like Nie Fantian.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death are inevitable parts of life, but wealth and status are choices we make.

Both the Nie family and Jiang Zhi have close ties with Nie Fantian, but they have also embarked on different paths and are pursuing their own futures.