Chu Yue looked towards the source of the sound, and saw a white sail hanging from a tall bamboo pole. White paper cut into the shape of copper coins was thrown towards the sky, and then fell one by one with the wind and scattered all over the ground.
"Dad, have a safe journey."
The middle-aged man cried, wiped his tears, scattered white copper coins and shouted.
This is a funeral.
Zhao Dahu whispered, "That's the village chief's house."
The village chief lay in bed for three days after dying of poisoning. We finally found out the cause of the poisoning, and last night we hired someone to perform a ritual. Today we can finally hold the funeral and burial.
"Dad, go ahead and rest assured. Your son will take good care of the family."
Shouting, crying, suona, gongs...
All the sounds intertwined together to form a sad funeral music. This was a person's last journey. Led by the white sails, the funeral crowd passed through the village and slowly walked into the mountains.
Watching this scene, I couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.
Chu Yue calmed down, turned around to look at Zhao Dahu and Zhao Xiaohua, and found that the brother and sister had tears in their eyes.
Zhao Xiaohua said softly, "The village chief is a good man and often sends food to our family."
"Good people will go to heaven, and they will be blessed."
Chu Yue touched her head. When a person dies, it is like a light going out. There are many things that are beyond one’s control, let alone an accident like this.
Zhao Xiaohua looked up and asked in confusion, "What is heaven?"
Chu Yue said, "It means going to heaven and becoming a Bodhisattva or a deity."
"If I become a god, will I no longer have to go hungry?"
"Yes, after becoming a god, not only will you not have to starve, you can also eat peaches. Do you know the peaches of the Queen Mother? After eating them, you can live for thousands of years."
Chu Yue never thought that one day she would actually talk about these weird things to a child.
But Zhao Xiaohua's eyes were too serious and too focused.
With red eyes, she asked expectantly, "Can my father also go to heaven and become a god?"
Zhao Dahu's father was dissected by Chu Yue. Even though Chu Yue sewed the wound carefully, according to the superstitious belief of the villagers, the body was still incomplete and it was a retribution and he would suffer in the underworld.
These remarks inevitably reached Zhao Xiaohua's ears.
The little girl was young but smart. She knew that her father had to be dissected in order to save her life.
That was her best father, and Zhao Xiaohua didn't want him to suffer.
Chu Yue squatted down, stared at Zhao Xiaohua, nodded vigorously, and said seriously, "Yes, I will."
If there really is heaven and hell, the good things Zhao Dahu's father has done for the country and society are enough to accumulate a thick book of merit and allow him to enjoy happiness in heaven.
Zhao Xiaohua trusted what Chu Yue said, and immediately took Zhao Dahu's hand and said, "Brother, did you hear that? The doctor said that Dad will not go to hell, but to heaven. He will become a god in heaven. From now on, we can see Dad as long as we look up."
Zhao Dahu, a burly man, had his eyes reddened by Zhao Xiaohua's words.
He pursed his lips tightly and nodded heavily, "Well, Doctor Xiao Chu is so amazing, what she said must be right, our father will go to heaven and become a god."
Chu Yue looked at the brother and sister and felt a lump in her throat.
She asked, "When are you going to hold your funeral? Do you need my help?"
Zhao Dahu shook his head. "Doctor Xiao Chu, you have helped us a lot. We can't trouble you anymore. In two days, I will make sure that Dad is buried in a grand manner."
Zhao Dahu needs two days because he wants to use these two days to make a coffin.
Their family was not well off. In order to support Zhao Dahu in the early years, his father sold all his coffin boards in exchange for food.
Zhao Dahu has nothing else but great strength.
He went up the mountain to chop trees and split wood. After two days, his hands were covered with blisters. Even though he was bleeding, he did not stop and kept hammering and banging.
Chu Yue remained in the village for the past two days, staying at Doctor Zhou's house.
She took Doctor Zhou's pulse every day, but unfortunately his condition did not improve. He was unconscious for longer and longer periods of time, and his condition continued to worsen. When he was barely awake, he could not even eat rice porridge. Instead, he was worried that Chu Yue did not understand something, so he supported his tired body to explain to Chu Yue.
During this period, people in the village were also dealing with the funeral affairs one after another. The village chief's family, the village party secretary's family... all the elderly people who died of poisoning were buried, leaving only Zhao Dahu's family.
When Chu Yue went to check on Zhao Xiaohua's condition, she gave Zhao Xiaohua some topical medication and gauze to bandage the wound.
"Xiaohua, your brother's hand is bleeding. First, apply the powder on it, and then wrap it with gauze, like this..." Chu Yue taught step by step, "Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I got it."
After Zhao Xiaohua learned it, she ran over and pulled Zhao Dahu's hand, asking Zhao Dahu to stop and rest and bandage the bleeding wound on his hand.
Zhao Dahu would feel embarrassed and refuse Chu Yue's kindness, but Zhao Xiaohua's worried look made it impossible for Zhao Dahu to refuse.
"Brother, does it hurt?" Zhao Xiaohua grabbed Zhao Dahu's big hand full of wounds with her small hand and blew gently towards his palm.
Zhao Dahu's face was covered in sweat. He was so tired but still managed to smile. "It doesn't hurt. I have to work harder to make Dad feel at ease."
Just like that, out of nothing, Zhao Dahu made a brand new coffin with his own hands.
The wood of the coffin was not used well, but it was all his intention.
So on Chu Yue’s fourth day in the village, which was also the seventh day after the death, Zhao Dahu’s father was finally buried.
Zhao Dahu's father had a good reputation in the village. Many villagers had received kindness from the old man, so on the day of his funeral, some people sent food, some sent sacrificial supplies, and some sent "gold, silver and treasures". The funeral procession was very long.
Zhao Dahu and Zhao Xiaohua walked at the front of the team. They couldn't afford to hire someone to play the suona, so Zhao Dahu kept shouting, "Dad, come with me. Your son will see you off."
The long line slowly went up the mountain.
Perhaps he sensed something, Dr. Zhou woke up very early on this day. His confused mind was unusually clear, and he asked Chu Yue if Zhao Dahu's father was going to be buried?
Chu Yue said, "Yes, today."
Doctor Zhou coughed a few times and whispered, "I saw him come to say goodbye to me and asked me to take care of his son and daughter... Unfortunately, I can't do it. Chu girl, after I die, you can take the prescriptions and medical books. I will leave everything else to the brother and sister. Please convey it to them."
"Doctor Zhou, please don't say discouraging words. It may not be certain..."
Doctor Zhou shook his head and stopped Chu Yue from speaking. They were all doctors and couldn't fool themselves.
Afterwards, Dr. Zhou soon fell into a coma again, and Chu Yue went out to see Dr. Zhou's father off for the last time.
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