Chapter 59

I thought I only had to deal with the children's psychological problems, but when I got home in the evening, as soon as the dinner was served on the table, Old Mrs. Han kicked out the door with the help of her eldest son.

After a day of cutting wheat, she was exhausted both physically and mentally. As soon as Gu Yan saw her, he began to feel angry. Han Laoer was placed in a thin coffin prepared for her and was moved out of her home today. If you come to my house at this time, you will know what the matter is without asking.

"Gu Yan, Director, I kneel down to you."

Sure enough, the old lady started crying as soon as she entered the door. After just a few words, he pretended to kneel down. At the door, a crowd of onlookers had gathered to watch the fun. Needless to say, being able to gather so many people in such a short time was definitely the work of this mother and daughter.

"Don't be so pretentious. If you have something to say, just say it nicely. I'm the village director, I'm not the kind of person who would be unreasonable. You're so old, it's not good to kneel down and threaten me as soon as you enter the door."

To frankly break the other party's plan, Old Lady Han bent her knees, not knowing whether to kneel or not. The mother and daughter just stood there with their backs bent, looking awkward.

Leilei was frightened by the old lady before, so when he saw her coming, he quickly hid behind his father. The little girl also tugged at her father's clothes and timidly observed everything in front of her.

The air was stagnant for a moment. A few minutes later, Boss Han spoke for his mother. "The dead are the greatest. Director, please be magnanimous and stop worrying about the past. The second son will be buried tomorrow, and there can't be no one to carry the soul-guiding banner. After all, he has a son, so you should let the child see me off for the last time."

Before Gu Yan could say anything, the old lady was already in tears. "Yes, he has a son. How could there be no one to carry the soul-guiding banner, leaving him to become a wandering ghost in the underworld? Director, please let Lei Lei carry the soul-guiding banner for his father and send him off. I will be very grateful."

Gu Yan turned around and took out the document signed by Han Lao Er. "This is a testimony. From now on, Han Lao Er will have nothing to do with the children and will not be responsible for raising them. The children will also have nothing to do with him and will just be treated as a stranger."

After saying this, she ignored the two people hiding and continued. "This is written by you, Boss Han. You won't forget it, right? We agreed on it at the time, and Boss Han has never broken his promise over the years. How come you insist on asking a child named Gu to fulfill the obligations of a descendant of the Han family? Don't you think it's too much? How can you open your mouth and make such an impolite request?"

There was no quarrel or commotion, and both sides insisted on their own opinions. People outside the house who were watching the fun were saying all kinds of things, and the discussion was non-stop.

Some people think that the Han family’s request is unreasonable. The child has already changed his surname, so he is no longer a member of the Han family. How can he carry the soul-guiding banner for your family and save the souls of the dead?

Some people think Gu Yan is too heartless. After all, blood is thicker than water. The children are Han Laoer's flesh and blood. Now that the dead are the greatest, how can he be allowed to go alone.

Ignore the gossip; it will naturally disappear once this matter is over. As for being branded as heartless and cruel, she really doesn't care. I am just that kind of person. I always follow reason, regardless of whether they are dead or alive. I will never feel pity even if an unscrupulous person dies.

"The child's surname is Gu, and he has nothing to do with the Han family. I reiterate this point again, and I hope you can be reasonable and not make trouble for no reason. As for the Han family matter you mentioned, it has nothing to do with me, the surname Gu. Please solve it on your own and don't come to me. If it is an official matter and the brigade can help with something, please go and talk to the branch secretary. He said he would take care of it and I don't need to worry about it."

There wasn't a single dirty word in his speech, but every word was powerful. We are all reasonable, don't act unreasonably. The subtext is already saying you are away. You are not welcome here. You should figure out what to do with the Han family’s affairs yourselves and don’t bother me.

"Plop" thought that she had made it clear enough, and that Mr. Han, who had a sense of shame, would persuade his mother to leave. As a result, Old Mrs. Han actually broke free from her son's hand and knelt down.

"Director, you can't be so heartless. He is your man after all. A husband and wife are bound by love for a hundred days. How can you let him die now without anyone to see him off? He can't find the way to the underworld, can't go to the reincarnation platform, can't enter the cycle of reincarnation, and will wander around in misery without support..."

The old lady was crying and almost falling to the ground, her silver hair trembling slightly with the rise and fall of her body.

This situation is really pitiful. The person who was just saying that the Han family was unreasonable has now stopped talking. Everyone was quietly waiting for how Gu Yan would handle the situation.

Li Zhongxia handed Leilei and Xiaoya to Xiaohua, then stood up and went to help the old lady. "You get up first. After all, we are young. How will others view us if you do this? You shouldn't bully others by taking advantage of your age, right?"

"I……"

Li Zhongxia forcefully helped Old Lady Han sit on a stool, lowering her head and not daring to raise it. These words are obviously very gentle, but why do they sound so harsh to my ears?

Old Lady Li, who was sitting on the kang, also spoke at this time, "Old sister, we are already half buried in the earth, please don't be offended by what I have to say.

My daughter-in-law left your Han family a few years ago, and she and her daughter have nothing to do with your Han family anymore. Back then, you drove her and her children out with nothing. If she hadn't been such a strong person, eating coarse food and getting up early and late to dig wild vegetables and peel tree bark to raise the children, where would you find Han Laoer's bloodline now?

When they drove them away, they showed no mercy at all and didn't let them stay even for a day, saying that they were not members of the Han family. How can you still have the nerve to say those things now? Children don't grow up in a windy place. If you throw them away, they are gone and there will be no one to hold you accountable for them. ”

The old man's words made Boss Han feel ashamed. He still felt embarrassed in front of all the villagers. He immediately raised his hand to pull his mother.

"Let's go. I told you not to come. How can a child named Gu carry the soul-guiding banner for a person named Han? You refused to listen, and now you are asking for trouble."

Before leaving, he still had to find some excuse to put the blame of this unreasonable trip on me. Li Zhongxia's expression remained gentle, but his bright eyes were deep and unfathomable, hiding his disdain.

"If you adopt your nephew, can't you just carry the soul-guiding banner? Your Han family has several boys in the next generation, you wouldn't be reluctant to give any of them to him, right?"

This sentence exposed Boss Han's selfish thoughts, and this hypocritical man immediately blushed. He has three sons, and the third one is the oldest. If he is adopted, it must be his. As soon as the topic started, his wife strongly opposed it.

The son that you gave birth to and raised was given to someone else for adoption, and you had to see him off to his grave after his death. From then on every anniversary of his death or Ghost Festival, you had to offer sacrifices to him and burn paper at his grave with the etiquette of a son. Just thinking about this makes me feel dissatisfied. That's why he set his sights on Lei Lei.

But unexpectedly, Gu Yan didn't understand this and just kept talking about the time when he broke up with her. But Li Zhongxia revealed all their little plans in one sentence and tore off their masks in public.

You keep saying that you feel sorry for your brother who had no one to see him off after his death, but you can't even bear to adopt one of your own sons. Hypocritical people only want to take advantage of others.

The public's opinion suddenly changed. After all, these days every family has so many children, and almost all of them have sons. If a couple gives birth to a string of daughters, they will also find sons-in-law for their daughters, who will then be considered as having sons. Many people didn’t understand this operation, and only after hearing it did they understand the shamelessness of the Han family. He began to scold them mercilessly.

The Han mother and son were scolded so much that they didn't even dare to raise their heads. They walked out of the Li family compound in shame like rats crossing the street. Old Mrs. Han’s idea of ​​finding a son to bury the dead man was completely gone.

Gu Yan didn’t care at all whether the Han family would adopt a son for Han Lao Er. After this incident, the Han family will no longer target her and her children. I won’t be involved again.

After dismissing the crowd of onlookers, Gu Yan looked at Li Zhongxia and smiled as brightly as the weather in March.

"Is this a local custom? Why do so many people seem to not know about it? I've never heard of it either."

"Don't talk about you. I'm so old, and I don't know if I can still do this. I've heard about it, but I still don't know when I can be adopted." The old lady patted Lei Lei and signaled the children to eat.

"It's all old stuff." Li Zhongxia smiled, and the couple sat back at the dining table to eat. "In fact, the Four Olds Campaign should also change funeral customs. Insisting on sons carrying soul-guiding banners is very detrimental to the promotion of gender equality."

"It's not that easy. Customs that have been around for thousands of years are not so easy to change." The old lady took a bite of the steamed bread and lowered her voice.

"It's not allowed to burn incense in the temple. In fact, the gods are now at Old Xu's house down the hill. Her old lady is a disciple of Guanyin, and now everyone goes to her attic to burn incense. When the Four Olds were destroyed, marriage was only simplified, but the old rules still had to be followed. I haven't seen it changed to women marrying men, and letting the children take the wife's surname."

After saying that, the old man quickly warned: "Don't tell anyone, or those who burn incense will hate you. Most of the families in our village burn incense, so don't provoke public anger."

Gu Yan smiled and nodded, and Li Zhongxia also nodded. He was against feudal superstition, not against personal beliefs. Religion occupies a large position in the world. It cannot be overthrown by any one person.

"The Chinese people's tradition of believing in ghosts and gods cannot be changed. In the Song Dynasty, Xin Qiji said: 'Looking back at the Buddha Temple, there are crows and drums. The common people don't understand anything, but they like to follow others to burn incense and pray for blessings from the gods. Most of them don't even ask who they are worshipping.'"

As soon as Gu Yan said this, Li Zhongxia turned around and glanced at her. She felt guilty and really wanted to raise her hand and slap herself in the face. Why did Yipiao like to talk nonsense? How could a person who learns to read with a child and studies with a dictionary know the poems of Xin Qiji?

"Eat, eat. I'm tired after a day's work."

Li Zhongxia interrupted and didn't ask anything. After the family finished their meal, Xiaohua went to clean up the pots and dishes while the couple washed up and coaxed the child.

Lying on the kang at night, Li Zhongxia saw that Niuniu was asleep, so he reached out and turned his wife over to face him. "Where did you see Xin Qiji?" And it was a textbook that even junior high schools don't have, "Yong Yu Le, Nostalgia for the Past at Beiguting in Jingkou" "Ha... oh, I'm so sleepy."

The woman closed her eyes and fell asleep in his arms, leaving him alone staring blankly, helpless. He turned around, blew out the oil lamp, then bent down and kissed her. "I'll deal with you after the wheat harvest."

The harvest is done in the fields, and after a day of drying in the threshing floor, threshing begins. The two tasks are carried out simultaneously. Gu Yan took the lead in harvesting during the day, and at night he was worried and ran to the threshing ground to check on the situation. The weather is bad today, it might rain tonight.

Several children followed her to the threshing floor to play. The gloomy sky was getting lower and lower, as if I could reach a handful of ink with just a stretch of my hand. Gu Yan didn't have time to take care of the children. He hurriedly led the other members to stomp the wheat, cover it with straw, and press it down with stones.

"The wind is picking up, everyone speed up, the rain is coming soon."

Gu Yan was shouting, and Li Zhongxia took people to quickly check each haystack. Seeing that everything was almost done, she turned around to look for the children.

"Gu Yan, take the child home. I'll watch over him here."

After checking, Li Zhongxia saw that the weather was not right, so he ran over, grabbed her and shouted loudly. It was not until this moment that Gu Yan felt that he was worthy of being a leader for so many years. Such a gentle person acted decisively in such a situation, and his words unconsciously carried a commanding tone.

Holding Niuniu, she nodded. It's really abnormal to have such strong winds in May. Even if you are worried about coming to check, you have to send the child home first. Although he does not hold an office in the brigade, the members have great trust in him and nothing will go wrong with him around.

After sending his wife and children up the hill, Li Zhongxia returned to the threshing ground again wearing a raincoat. After checking with a flashlight, he went into the straw hut next to him with a few men who stayed behind.

As soon as Gu Yan and the child got home, the sound of crackling rain came from behind. The old lady was sitting on the kang and looked relieved when she saw them.

"I was worried about you guys. You're finally back. It's raining heavily and windy. Have you covered the wheat in the threshing floor? Zhongxia is watching over there."

"Yes. The secretary of the branch office was busy today and couldn't come, so he left everything to me. He asked me to take the child home and left him there." He glanced at the rain outside the bamboo curtain and said, "I'll go check it out later."

"No need, he's here, why are you worried?" The old lady scolded her, "Zhongxia is serious and responsible. He has been a leader before, he knows how to do things, and he can manage a team of tens of thousands of people. You don't need to worry about such a small thing. "

Too. Gu Yan smiled immediately and raised his hand to touch the back of his head. I have always relied on myself and subconsciously feel that I should do it myself. I forgot that I now have someone to back me up.

"Little girl, why are you touching the back of your head too?"

As soon as Xiaohua opened his mouth, Gu Yan turned around and saw Xiaoya let go. He immediately went over and slapped the child in annoyance.

"Bad girl, why are you always imitating your mother?" I didn't use much strength, just a light touch. This touch made her realize something was wrong.

"How did you get such a big bag?" He took a flashlight and looked carefully, then reached out and touched it gently. "Aren't you in pain? Why don't you say anything?"

"It hurts a little." The little guy smiled nonchalantly, "Mom, don't worry, it doesn't hurt that much. It won't hurt if you don't touch it."

"How did you do it? When did you do it?"

It's been so long, it won't cause any harm to his brain, right? Thinking of the children she had seen in the news who had suffered cerebral hemorrhages after falling out of bed, her heart instantly rose to her throat. You need a CT scan to see what's in the brain, but there is no such machine now, and her space has not collected this thing. If this is anything, no, no, it's going to be okay.

"Just now, I accidentally fell from the straw stack and hit my head. Don't worry, Mom, it's okay. I've hit it before and it will go away in a few days."

The old lady saw that her face turned pale all of a sudden, and she smiled and said something to comfort her. "Don't scare yourself. It's normal for children to get bumped and bruised. Don't scare yourself half to death over a small thing. Raising a child like this will exhaust the mother."

Xiaohua also laughed and hugged her sister: "Mom, don't worry about her. This little girl is never at peace, she's even naughtier than a naughty boy. It's not the first time she's taken a pill, it will go away soon."

Is it okay? It turns out that you didn’t take it seriously before and never mentioned it. Gu Yan let out a sigh of relief silently. But I still dare not take it lightly. Put aside your worries and play with your kids at home. It was not until three hours later, when the rain outside stopped and Xiao Ya did not show any symptoms of nausea, vomiting or headache, that we let the children go to bed.

Summer rain comes quickly and goes away quickly. The rain stopped, and the moon's crescent face appeared in the sky.

Gu Yan was coaxing Niu Niu to sleep and was thinking about whether he should go look for Li Zhongxia. As soon as he went out, he ran into a man.

"Why aren't you asleep yet? Where are you going?"

Gu Yan stepped back. "I wanted to go see how you were doing."

"You," he put his arm around her and half-hugged her back into the house. "You have nothing to worry about as long as I'm here. The rain has stopped completely and the straw stacks are not soaked. Don't worry. Tomorrow the sun will dry the ground and we can continue threshing."

"That's good. Go take a shower and go to bed early."

"Yeah. Go to sleep first, no need to wait for me."

Summer grain harvesting is a major project for farmers. No one is too busy to take care of anything else. After all the wheat was threshed and the accounting was done, Gu Yan drove a tractor to the commune to deliver the grain.