92. We accompany you

What about funerals?

How could a group of children who had never seen life and death know how to run a funeral?

Gao Zhe said that we could hold a memorial service. Su Xiaoshan said that Xu Yanmei did not have any great achievements. She just sold seafood in a farmers' market.

Lin Tong said, since Auntie sells seafood, why don't we go to the beach and scatter her ashes into the sea? Su Xiaoshan said that Xu Yanmei sells seafood to make a living, which doesn't mean she loves the sea that much.

Xing Jiaqi suggested, "Why don't we just ask a funeral home to plan a funeral? Let's leave professional matters to professionals." Su Xiaoshan said, "Xu Yanmei doesn't make a lot of money. How much would it cost to ask a funeral home to plan it?"

Ning Yi said, when I was a child, I went back to my hometown to attend a funeral in the countryside. The mourning hall was set up at home.

Su Xiaoshan interrupted him directly, but we are in the city now.

Su Xiaoshan rejected everyone's suggestions. Gao Zhe asked unconvincedly, "Squad Leader Su, what do you think about this funeral?"

Su Xiaoshan looked at Xiao Cheng, "You shouldn't ask me about this. It was Xiao Cheng who called us here. So we should ask Xiao Cheng about what to do about the funeral."

Everyone looked at Xiao Cheng, and Xiao Cheng spread his hands: "I don't have any ideas either, so I asked you to come and help me with some advice."

"It's rare that you don't have any ideas." Xing Jiaqi immediately said.

Xiao Cheng sighed, "This is a matter of life and death. I don't know what to think anymore."

"Should we wake up Xu Wenqiang and hear what she has to say?" Ning Yi whispered.

"I think we should let her sleep a little longer." Lin Tong looked at Xu Wenqiang and said softly.

Everyone looked at Xu Wenqiang. She was holding an urn, her head tilted back, her mouth open, drool dripping from the corners of her mouth. They chatted non-stop, but she was sleeping soundly.

"She probably hasn't had a good night's sleep in a long time," Xiao Cheng said. "She probably hasn't had a full night's sleep since she was admitted to the hospital on Chinese New Year's Eve."

"Xu Wenqiang had a hard time too." Xing Jiaqi felt a little regretful. "If I had known earlier, I would have asked our factory cafeteria to buy more seafood from her shop. Now I have no chance to support their business anymore."

"Xu Wenqiang once told me that she was helping sell seafood at the farmers' market, and that she had good physical fitness because she did physical work in the market. At that time, I said she was sensible, but I never thought about how hard she had to work." Lin Tong choked up.

Ning Yi lowered his head. "I always thought Xu Wenqiang was invincible and could handle everything with ease, but I didn't expect that she actually had it harder than anyone else."

"Xu Wenqiang will be alone from now on, what should she do?" Gao Zhe sighed.

Thick smoke began to billow from the funeral home's chimney again, and the wailing sounds that hadn't disappeared from the funeral home lingered in my ears. Everyone fell silent.

Xiao Cheng looked at Xu Wenqiang and found that her face was wet again.

I don’t know whether I was awake or dreaming, but I started crying again.

Su Xiaoshan looked at the setting sun and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's think about how to handle the funeral first. Otherwise, it will be dark soon."

"Let's not bother with this funeral." Just as Su Xiaoshan finished speaking, Xu Wenqiang sat up. She wiped the tears from her face and asked, "Am I as miserable as you say?"

Everyone looked at her, all hesitant to speak, the subtext being, "If you're not miserable, who will be miserable?"

Seeing this, Xu Wenqiang stopped talking and thought, "It's miserable, so be it. Think whatever you want."

"Since Xu Wenqiang is awake, let's continue discussing the funeral." Su Xiaoshan said.

"I still say the same thing, forget about the funeral," Xu Wenqiang said. "Since you're here, just treat it as a funeral."

Her gaze swept over Su Xiaoshan, Lin Tong, Gao Zhe, Ning Yi, and even Xing Jiaqi, finally landing on Xiao Cheng. "You're all here, which means you've already seen my mother off on her final journey and accompanied me through this most difficult time. So I think this is already a funeral."

Did Xiao Cheng really call Su Xiaoshan and others here to hold a funeral for Xu Yanmei?

As expected, Xiao Cheng smiled knowingly as she watched him. He hadn't really expected these people to actually hold a funeral. He simply wanted them to accompany her through this period.

"So, you're saying that we just said a few crazy words and that counts as holding a funeral for your mother?" Gao Zhe felt that Xu Wenqiang's idea was a bit unexpected.

"I also think it's a bit hasty. After all, we have come here from far away." Xing Jiaqi was also a little unwilling.

"Xu Wenqiang, do you really think this is enough?" Lin Tong asked.

"Yeah, I always feel like we should do something more." Ning Yi also said.

"Xiao Cheng, please say something." Gao Zhe bumped into Xiao Cheng. "But you asked us to come here to hold the funeral."

"Xiao Cheng, what do you say?" Xing Jiaqi also asked.

Xiao Cheng looked like he was willing to talk to someone, "I'll listen to everyone."

Su Xiaoshan watched the undercurrents between Xiao Cheng and Xu Wenqiang from the side, and belatedly understood Xiao Cheng's intentions. It didn't matter what kind of funeral it was, or even if there was one at all; what mattered was Xu Wenqiang herself.

"Su Xiaoshan, you are the squad leader, what do you think?" Gao Zhe asked him to make the decision.

"Let's listen to Xu Wenqiang. She should be put first in everything." Su Xiaoshan didn't want to say anything more.

Gao Zhe was about to say something when Xiao Cheng said, "Su Xiaoshan is right. We should respect Xu Wenqiang's wishes. A funeral doesn't have to be a special ceremony. We are here, and for her, this is just a funeral, and that's enough."

After Xiao Cheng finished speaking, Xu Wenqiang held Xu Yanmei's urn and bowed deeply to everyone, "Thank you everyone."

Coming out of the funeral home, everyone looked at Xu Wenqiang with a bit of pity, but they also knew that no matter how many words of comfort they said, it would be of no use.

Seeing this, Xu Wenqiang asked them to go home.

"You can accompany me for a while, but you can't accompany me forever. You have your home to return to, and I have mine to return to. So, let's go back to our own homes and find our own..."

The last word "Mom" disappeared into the air.

"Let's all go home." Xu Wenqiang turned and left, and her lonely figure was soon drowned in the crowd.

The others stayed where they were and did not leave.

"Why am I so worried?" Xing Jiaqi stamped her feet. "Are you really that worried?"

"I have to be reassured, even if I'm worried," Su Xiaoshan said. "Xu Wenqiang is right. We really can't be with her forever. She has to cross this hurdle herself."

"That being said..." Lin Tong looked at the direction where Xu Wenqiang disappeared, hesitant. "Xu Wenqiang is in the most difficult time right now. I still want to go to her house and spend the night with her."

"I want to go too." Xing Jiaqi also said.

"Then I--" Gao Zhe was also eager to try.

"It's fine for the three girls to spend the night together, but why did you follow them and get involved?" Su Xiaoshan glared at Gao Zhe.

Ning Yi originally wanted to say something, but seeing this, he kept silent.

Xiao Cheng put his hands in his pockets and asked Su Xiaoshan, "Squad leader, do you know where Xu Wenqiang lives?"

Xu Wenqiang returned home. The house was quiet and cold, not like a place for people to stay.

"mom……"

Xu Wenqiang called out, but naturally no one answered her.

She looked at the sofa, TV, and coffee table in the living room... and remembered Xu Yanmei walking out of her room in slippers, picking up the remote control, turning on the TV, and then sitting on the sofa to watch TV. Her heart ached.

She looked away, but saw that the door of Xu Yanmei's room was open, as if Xu Yanmei was still inside.

This was originally Xu Yanmei's home, but Xu Yanmei turned into a handful of ashes and was left in that strange place.

Xu Yanmei is dead.

When she realized this result again, Xu Wenqiang was torn apart by the surging sadness and anger and lost her mind.

She wanted to fight this world to the death, she wanted to tear this world apart...

Why did Xu Yanmei have to die? Why not let her live?

Why, why on earth?

Xu Wenqiang clenched her fists and smashed all her sadness and anger against the wall. The wall was unconscious, and neither was Xu Wenqiang. She just kept smashing, and blood slowly stained the wall and her fists red.

"Xu Wenqiang, Xu Wenqiang, Xu Wenqiang..."

A series of calls and a powerful force pulled the collapsed Xu Wenqiang back.

Xu Wenqiang woke up and saw Lin Tong, Xing Jiaqi, Ning Yi, Gao Zhe, Su Xiaoshan, and Xiao Cheng.

"Xu Wenqiang, why are you hurting yourself?"

"Xu Wenqiang, why are you so stupid?"

Lin Tong and Xing Jiaqi stepped forward and hugged the trembling Xu Wenqiang.

Xu Wenqiang cried like a child in the soft and warm embrace.

With a sigh, Xu Wenqiang heard someone say, "Xu Wenqiang, don't be afraid, we are with you."