That day, one of Zhan Chunlan's great-aunts was in poor health and about to pass away. Someone from that side came to inform the relatives on this side to come and see her one last time.

My second and third uncles took turns carrying Grandma on their backs.

As a result, when they arrived, the old man refused to allow the old woman's coffin to be placed in the main room.

This is a local custom. Many elderly people in their forties and fifties have already prepared their coffins and placed them in the main room or upstairs, without any taboo.

These are all single-story wooden houses, but the roofs are quite high, which is not conducive to retaining wind and energy. So, a layer of wooden planks is laid on the top, where some sundries and coffins can be placed.

The people here, some in their forties and some in their fifties or sixties, start building their own "living tombs," and even the words on their tombstones are already engraved. As soon as the person dies, they can move in.

Building a house for your future self—isn't that a kind of magnanimity?

The elderly couple had a bad relationship since they were young. After their children grew up, they lived separately. One lived in the west wing, and the other in the east wing. They treated each other like strangers.

However, her aunt still cooked the meals and cleaned the house, but he controlled the money.

All the cabinets and other furniture in the house are locked.

When the aunt saw that her family members had also arrived, she glanced at her brother and sister-in-law, and then breathed her last.

The people responsible for seeing her off on her final journey wanted to find her burial clothes and dress her quickly, otherwise it would be difficult to dress her later.

The group searched everywhere but couldn't find it, so they had no choice but to ask the old man.

That old man is heartless; he won't say anything no matter how much you ask, and it's no use no matter how anxious others are.

Knowing I couldn't rely on him, I could only rummage through the boxes one by one.

Finally, there was only one locked cabinet that hadn't been found yet, so he went around looking for the key, but even though he knew the key was in his possession, he wouldn't take it out.

As time ticked by, my aunt's body grew stiffer and stiffer.

The younger generation in the family also tried to persuade him, and more and more people tried to convince him. They pleaded with him and made all sorts of promises, saying that they would only take the clothes and not touch the things inside, before he reluctantly took out the key.

The aunt in charge of dressing him was afraid he would change his mind, so she snatched the key and opened the box. Sure enough, the old clothes were inside. The group quickly found the clothes and dressed the great-aunt.

Zhan Chunlan is still young and doesn't care much about these things after her death.

However, even at this time, her nominal husband was still making things difficult, using the excuse of worrying about such a small thing to refuse to give her the key.

These old people value their burial clothes highly; otherwise, they wouldn't be struggling to get enough to eat, yet they still need to prepare coffins and burial clothes, even though they never wore such nice clothes in their lifetime.

My spouse? This is what a spouse is?

The older generation were probably the most powerful ninjas in the world!

I wonder how many days of peace my great-aunt had in her life.

On the way back, most of them were talking about this. Everyone said that Auntie had committed many sins in her life and had a hard life. She had to bear her headaches and fevers all by herself. Even though their relationship had broken down and they were essentially separated, she still had to cook and clean for that old man without ever getting a word from him.

What's the point of living like this? Leaving is a relief!

Zhan Chunlan was also wondering what she would do if she encountered such a situation.

If it were the old Zhan Chunlan, she would probably have had no choice but to endure it, because her family was unreliable and no one would stand up for her or support her.

Like my great-aunt, she probably knew that no one would stand up for her, so she could only endure it and swallow all the bitterness.

Her own brother, seeing how she looked on the day she died, didn't say a single word for her.

This husband was chosen for her by her parents, who said he was honest and hardworking.

Yet, despite having no deep-seated hatred for her, this very person almost prevented her from leaving with dignity.

"If we hadn't forced her to marry that old man back then, she would be much better off now, wouldn't she?" Grandma suddenly sighed. When she married into the family, this little sister-in-law was still young, a lively and lovely girl. Who could have imagined that she would live such a miserable life in her later years?

"Do you think that person is any good? I heard he goes out drinking every day, acting all respectable in public, but when he comes home, he beats and kicks people if he doesn't do what he wants! Luckily, we didn't go along with her wishes, or she would have left long ago!" The old man wasn't feeling good today either. When his parents arranged this marriage for his sister, he had seriously investigated the situation. At the time, he seemed like a good person, which is why he forced her to break up with her current boyfriend. In the end, neither of them were good people!

"Sigh~" Grandma also thought of this. Marrying a good person is really difficult!

Xiao Cheng was also reflecting. Today's scene had a great impact on him. He shouldn't have come, but he still shamelessly showed up. Recently, he had been very interested in observing other people's lives, hoping to accumulate more experience for his future.

Sure enough, his trip was worthwhile. Without experiencing the scene firsthand, it would be difficult to truly grasp the feeling from just a few words from others.

It's about whether you can truly walk through all the stages of life with your partner.

He repeatedly asked himself if he had truly decided on Rosanne, if he really wanted to spend his life with her, and if he could live a dignified life with her.

He thought to himself, "I don't think I can do it."

He came here because she was sent to the countryside.

He was having a really bad time here. He couldn't eat, drink, live, or sleep well every day. Now, his hands and feet were getting itchy from walking, and the itching was so intense that he was scratching himself in agony.

Most importantly, he could only do this work for a few days before he couldn't keep it up anymore!

If he really went to the countryside to find her, and lived like that day after day, year after year, could he not resent her?

When arguing, do you ever blurt out: "It's all because of you that I'm like this!"

These past few days have been the most difficult time of his life.

In just a few days, calluses had formed on his hands, and his fingernails were covered in black stains that he couldn't wash off no matter how hard he tried.

The clothes I brought were already patched up.

He felt that his shoulders were much more hunched.

He then understood why most of the people he saw here had hunched backs. It wasn't that they didn't understand posture; it was just that after labor, it would naturally become like that, like a carrying pole that bends when it carries a heavy load.

Does he want to live like this? Is he capable of living like this?

He hesitated.

However, hesitation means that you will definitely regret it later, and regret will lead to resentment, eventually turning you into a resentful couple.

He seems to have lost; he's a deserter...

In the following days, he continued to work. He couldn't understand it before, but he wanted to prove himself and his parents that he could live well even if he went to the countryside.

Now he's figured it out, and he's still going to work, not because he wants to, but because...

He thought that once he figured things out, Zhan Chunlan would send him back, or at the very least, he wouldn't have to work.

None of them worked!

No matter how much he harassed Zhan Chunlan, she only said one thing: This is the result of your choice. Whether you regret it or not, you must accept it. Life doesn't have so many pre-set plans. You must remember the result of this impulsive act so that you won't be so "hot-blooded" in the future.