Sheng Lianyi's wife put the bowl of porridge on the kang (a heated brick bed) and immediately ran out to call for help.

They were having dinner when they heard something was wrong. The three Sheng brothers rushed into the house, followed by Sheng Xiping and the others.

Upon entering the room, it was confirmed that Sheng Guangyao had indeed stopped breathing, but his body was still limp, indicating that he had only recently passed away.

The old man passed away in his sleep. I don't know what he was thinking about before he died, but the corners of his lips turned up, and he left this world with a smile.

"Big brother, why did you leave without saying a word?"

Sheng Lianyi burst into tears and knelt down on the ground with a thud. The others followed suit and all knelt down. For a moment, the sound of crying shook the heavens.

Perhaps the Sheng family's commotion was too great, alarming the neighbors. Some of the older people came over, and upon seeing the situation, they quickly tried to persuade them to stop.

“My dear son, your father is gone. Now is not the time to cry.”

"Hurry up and dress your father properly, and make all the necessary arrangements for his funeral. You'd better cry when he's off to his funeral."

At this point, everyone came to their senses and hurriedly searched for the clothes to put in the old man's clothes.

In most families, when elderly people are in their sixties or seventies, they start preparing their old clothes. Usually, this happens during leap years, when their daughters pay for them.

Clothing for the deceased consists of a close-fitting shirt, a cotton-padded jacket, and an outer garment. From the inside out, those with better financial conditions wear a nine-upper-seven-lower garment, while those with worse conditions wear a seven-upper-five-lower or five-upper-three-lower garment, always in odd numbers.

In the past, living conditions were not good, so we couldn't buy everything at once; we had to save up slowly over several years.

Sheng Guangyao is already this old, and he had been ill for a long time. His funeral clothes and coffin were all prepared.

That year, when Sheng Liancheng sent his son to study in the capital, he made a special trip home to visit his father. At that time, Sheng Guangyao asked Sheng Liancheng to get him a good coffin.

That winter, Sheng Liancheng asked the forest farm for a red pine coffin and found a way to transport it back to his hometown.

A few days ago, Sheng Guangyao was quite ill, and everyone said he was just barely hanging on and wouldn't make it.

Sheng Lianyi heard that he could prepare the coffin first and then rinse it with water, so he found a carpenter to make the coffin, but it hadn't been painted yet.

Everyone was relieved to see that the old man had been doing well lately, but they never expected him to pass away so suddenly.

Immediately, someone brought some warm water, and Sheng Lianyi and Sheng Liancheng took towels, wet them, and wiped the old man's face and body.

Then, with everyone's help, they put on the burial clothes one by one and buttoned them up.

There are specific rules for these burial garments; they cannot use iron or plastic buttons, but must use cloth buttons.

Sheng Xizheng personally went to invite Zhang Lu, the head of the manor who specializes in handling funerals.

Under Da Zhanglu's guidance, Sheng Xizheng and others set up a mourning shed in the courtyard and covered it with tarpaulin.

In the middle of the mourning hall, two long benches were placed, with door panels laid on top. Then, a quilt for the deceased was laid on the door panels, and a pillow for the deceased was placed on them.

The mourning tent was set up, and the deceased was dressed in their burial clothes inside the house. At this moment, a great commotion was announced.

"The eldest son held the head, the eldest grandson held the feet, and the others helped on both sides to carry the old man to the funeral bed."

The group escorted the old man of the Sheng family to the mourning hall, placing him with his head facing east and his feet facing west. The whole family knelt on both sides of the mourning bed, and a great deal of grief was uttered.

Zhang Luo stepped forward, pried open Old Master Sheng's mouth, and stuffed in a copper coin wrapped in red paper, muttering, "With this coin in his mouth, his descendants will prosper."

Next came the preparation of dog food, as well as offerings and other necessities. The officials gave instructions on how to prepare each item, and everyone busied themselves with the tasks.

Outside the Sheng family's gate, a long list of names was displayed, arranged according to age. The Sheng family patriarch was seventy-nine this year, hence the long list.

Once the paper money is hung up, the villagers will immediately know that someone has passed away and will naturally come to offer their condolences.

As for distant relatives, someone would be sent to inform them of the death.

The Sheng Lianjie and Sheng Lianqiu families were still in the commune, so they quickly sent someone to inform them.

Before long, the third and fourth wives also returned.

The whole family was dressed in mourning clothes. Sheng Lianyi and others knelt in front of the mourning hall, crying loudly, almost fainting.

Seizing a moment, Sheng Xiping quickly went to the commune's post office and called Sheng Xikang. He also sent telegrams to Sheng Yunfang, Sheng Yunfei, and Sheng Xi'an.

Upon learning of his grandfather's passing, Sheng Xikang was overcome with grief. He immediately asked his supervisor for leave, rushed to the train station, bought a ticket, and headed back to his hometown.

Sheng Xikang also took the 11 o'clock train and arrived in Yanzhou around 10 pm.

In Yanzhou, thanks to the Wu family's connections, someone drove over early the next morning to pick up Sheng Xikang and take him all the way to Dazhaozhuang.

"Dad, Big Brother, I'm here." Sheng Xikang staggered out of the car, entered the yard, and burst into tears.

"Hey, what brings you here at this hour? What kind of car did you take?"

When Sheng Xiping saw that his younger brother had arrived so early, he was quite puzzled and hurriedly asked.

"Oh, it was Uncle Wu who called a friend in Yanzhou, and they drove me here," Sheng Xikang said, wiping away his tears.

Upon hearing this, Sheng Xiping immediately came out of the courtyard and saw a jeep parked outside the gate.

"Comrade, you've worked hard. Come down and rest for a while."

The driver in the car was only in his early twenties, and he quickly waved his hand upon hearing this.

"No, no, I have a mission. My superior told me that after I take Comrade Sheng to Dazhaozhuang, I can't delay and I have to rush back immediately."

No matter what Sheng Xiping said, the other person wouldn't come down. Having no other choice, Sheng Xiping could only take out two packs of cigarettes and force them on the other person.

The other person took the cigarette, nodded to Sheng Xiping, then started the car and drove away from Dazhaozhuang.

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