The old man seemed to be in good spirits after waking up. He spoke a few words to everyone and even smiled, saying that he felt much more relaxed.

Everyone nodded silently, but when they turned away, tears welled up in their eyes.

They knew that the old man was experiencing a final burst of energy before his death.

Sure enough, the old man fell into a coma again at dawn.

This time, he never woke up again. Around noon, his heart stopped beating while he was in a coma, and that's how Mr. Lin passed away.

He became the first of the four old men to pass away.

After the family had a good cry, they began to make arrangements for Lin's father's funeral.

Lin's father passed away without ever seeing his great-grandson, which became a scar in the hearts of Lin Yuan and Ding Yue. Every time they thought about it, they felt sad, wondering why they couldn't have had a child sooner!

Lin's father's dying wish was to be buried in the ancestral cemetery in Taojia Village after his death.

He said his father and grandfather lived on the mountaintop in Taojia Village. He was the third generation and had to go back, otherwise his ancestors would be uneasy.

The father told Lin Yuan that after Lin Yuan passes away, she will not need to return to Taojia Village; she can be buried directly in this cemetery. However, her descendants should remember to go back and sweep her grave every three years.

Lin's father also said that this was something an old geomancer said when he arranged the burial site for his grandfather. He said that the Lin family must be buried here for three generations, and that future generations of descendants would produce generals and scholars.

At that time, before liberation, people still thought in the old way of education, comparing learned people to scholars and promising people to generals.

The old geomancer said these words when he was burying Lin's father's grandfather. Lin's father was only ten years old at the time, but he remembered them.

However, after liberation, people stopped talking about those superstitious things, and Lin's father gradually forgot about them. Until the moment he had a sudden burst of lucidity before death, he suddenly remembered the words that the old geomancer had said when he buried his grandfather when he was a child.

He suddenly realized that this was indeed the case. His son, Lin Yuan, was the fourth generation of the Lin family in Taojia Village. Lin Yuan had served in the army his entire life, and his highest military rank was lieutenant general. Lieutenant general, isn't that the same as a general?

His grandson, An'an, got into university, so wouldn't that make him a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the county level)? Not just a Xiucai, but he should be a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations at the provincial level) or a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the metropolitan examinations at the national level).

Thinking about it this way, Lin's father also remembered what the geomancer had said about burying three generations of the Lin family in the cemetery, which would bring blessings to future generations. It seems that there really is such a thing.

Therefore, when Lin's father spoke to Lin Yuan and Aunt Chu, he mentioned this matter, and fearing that they would not listen to him, he repeatedly reminded them.

Lin Yuan was so focused on her red eyes and tears that she agreed, but seeing her father's anxiety, she did.

After the initial grief, Lin Yuan followed her father's will. After his cremation, they held a farewell ceremony at the funeral home, and then the Lin family's motorcade departed from Yuancheng to return to their hometown to bury her father.

Because Ding Yue was pregnant, Zhao Huanhuan was worried that she wouldn't be able to handle the car ride, so she didn't let her go back with her. Instead, she let her go back to the Ning family home for a few days. The whole family went back to Taojia Village to bury Lin's father.

On the day Lin's father passed away, Tao Shize received a call from Lin Yuan, asking him to help book a hotel in Shanglin City.

After Tao Shize helped them book a hotel, he quickly returned to the village and greeted the current Party Secretary, Tao Wentao. The two of them then organized some villagers who had nothing to do to help tidy up the Lin family's house and courtyard for a few days.

Tao Shize has kept the key to the Lin family's house for the past few years. Every time he returns to the village, he goes back to check on it several times and brings people to help repair the roof.

The current brigade leader is a brother he and Lin Yuan used to play together. Their two families no longer live in the village, but Tao Wentao takes good care of them.

As for the Lin family's land, many years ago, Lin Yuan decided to give it to his eldest and second uncles' families.

The children from both families didn't finish their studies and didn't have formal jobs. They just farmed in the village and stayed with their parents. Lin Yuan gave them their land, and the brothers were quite happy. Sometimes when they went to Shanglin, they would bring some of the local specialties they grew to Lin Yuan's family.

A few years ago, when Zhao Huanhuan and Lin Yuan returned to the village, they met their cousin's children and asked them if they wanted to work in the forest with them, but they all refused, saying that it was fine to stay in the village.

Their parents had told them that when their grandparents were alive, they didn't get along with their great-uncle's family and weren't close. Now that the family had become successful, they were too ashamed to work in front of them. During the off-season, they did some small business in the forest and lived a comfortable life. They had also built new houses.

After Tao Shize returned, he also informed Lin Yuan's cousins.

Lin's father's two older brothers passed away in the 1990s. At that time, Lin Yuan was away on a mission, so Zhao Huanhuan accompanied the two elders of the Lin family back to attend the funeral.

Now that they've heard that their third grandfather has also passed away, the brothers are heartbroken and have started helping to clean up the Lin family's courtyard, making it suitable for cooking. They know that when Uncle Yuan comes back, his body will be kept in the courtyard for a few days.

On April 26, Lin Yuan and his family returned to Taojia Village.

When Lin Yuan saw that her yard had been cleaned up and a mourning tent had been set up, her eyes reddened. It was the brothers in the village who had helped.

Later, Tao Shize and Tao Wentao heard that they had returned, so they hurried over as well.

Lin Yuan's three cousins ​​and nephews also came.

Looking at these familiar relatives, Lin Yuan thanked everyone.

As Lin Yuan walked into the village, she was pleased to see that the alleys that used to be dirt roads had all been paved with cement.

Three years ago, during the Qingming Festival, Zhao Huanhuan and Lin Yuan accompanied their parents back to pay respects at their graves. It happened to be raining a little, and the village roads were muddy and slippery. Zhao Huanhuan even saw an old man fall down.

After inquiring about An'an's current financial situation, Zhao Huanhuan, on behalf of her parents-in-law, donated 500,000 yuan to the village, asking the village secretary to lead the villagers to repair all the roads in the village, at least to make the alleyways leading out of the village into cement or stone slab roads, so that people would no longer have to step in mud when going out for walks on rainy days, or even slip and fall because the roads are too slippery.

When they returned this time, they saw that the roads were all made of cement, and the front of every household was clean and tidy. The whole village looked neat and orderly, which Zhao Huanhuan thought was great.

Compared to Taojia Village in the 1970s and 80s, this truly reflects the saying, "A new century, a new look."

Tao Shize had arranged for a geomancer to be hired for them in advance. While they were settling in at home, the geomancer took Lin Yuan and An'an to the Lin family's cemetery to find a place to dig a grave.

Many young people in the village were arranged by their fathers to go with An'an.

Their fathers and An'an's father used to have a good relationship. Although they are not familiar with An'an now, the old-generation friendship still exists, so they will definitely help with this favor.