Everyone was so tired that they sat down on the ground. Su Luo went to check on the soy sauce factory and found that the unused bucket of paint was missing.
Could it have been stolen? Is it related to the fire at Chen Dazhi's house?
Only after they were sure there was no more fire by the end of Chen Shi (7-9 AM) did they start searching through the ruins.
An hour later, the bodies of the three people were found; the fire had not completely burned them.
The sight of the corpses was unbearable, and the smell of burning flesh was enough to make even a grown man vomit.
The person was burned until they shrank, and black liquid kept oozing from their bones.
Luo Mei made it immediately obvious to the villagers that it was her; it was disgusting.
In the middle of the night, Liu Fangfang left the child with Zhao Ruyun and ran to the county to find Chen Mengqing with a lantern.
Something terrible happened at home, and she was also afraid that Chen Ping'an would get hurt while trying to save Chen Dazhi.
I just want to find Chen Mengqing as soon as possible. Fortunately, I bought couplets with Chen Mengqing during the Chinese New Year and know where she lives.
When the two returned to Changping Village, they witnessed this scene.
Liu Fangfang couldn't take it anymore and vomited right there.
Chen Mengqing was even more incredulous. He had only been gone for a few days, how could the house have become like this?
My parents were perfectly fine, how did they suddenly turn into two corpses?
Seeing the female corpse next to him, Chen Mengqing felt an urge to grind her bones to dust.
Their family has become like this because of this woman.
Even when my parents argued, it never resulted in a fatality. But everything changed after this woman came along.
Kneeling beside Chen Dazhi and Luo Mei, he cried out in disbelief.
"Father, Mother, why did you leave? What will I do without you..."
The village chief could only offer Chen Mengqing words of comfort.
“Meng Qing, the dead cannot be brought back to life. You must grieve in moderation. You still have a long life ahead of you. Give your parents and aunt a proper burial.”
Chen Ping'an also squatted down, his whole body was black, and Chen Mengqing still didn't recognize him.
"Meng Qing, your uncle is just as sad as you are."
Without parents, Chen Mengqing felt completely insecure; it was all that damned Sun's fault.
"Uncle, village chief, I will give my parents a proper burial, but I will not take care of this woman of unknown origin."
Even setting aside the fact that she and I are unrelated, just the fact that her baby died in the womb makes it impossible for an unmarried man like me to touch her.
The people here have no taboos about this, so Chen Mengqing deliberately used it as an excuse to make a fuss.
Chen Mengqing was unwilling to bury Sun Xiaoxiao, and neither were the villagers.
"No, Meng Qing, this widow Sun is your father's concubine, as we all know. She is still your aunt."
The child in her womb is your younger brother or sister; you are related by blood, so you can't say you're not related.
You must take care of her funeral arrangements. If you don't, who will collect her body?
Chen Mengqing stood up and yelled at the person who had spoken, pointing his index finger at him.
"What do you know? She came to my house when she was heavily pregnant. How do you know that she is carrying a child from the Chen family?"
Whether you saw it or heard it, without evidence, it cannot be proven. I have no right to care about someone who comes to my house to freeload.
Whether she burns to death or is exposed to the sun, that's none of my business, Chen Mengqing. Do whatever you want with her; I don't care.
Chen Mengqing had no money at all. To bury his parents, he would need to spend at least a few taels of silver to buy them a simple coffin.
Forget about Sun Xiaoxiao; he doesn't have the spare money, nor does he want to put in the effort.
Chen Mengqing regarded Sun Xiaoxiao as an enemy, and no matter how the villagers tried to persuade him, he simply did not want to be involved with Sun Xiaoxiao.
There was no other way; the village couldn't just leave a corpse there unattended.
The only option was to transport Sun Xiaoxiao to a mass grave and leave her to fend for herself.
Chen Mengqing sold his family's land and bought two coffins to bury Chen Dazhi and Luo Mei.
Kneeling before the two graves, Chen Mengqing's eyes were filled with confusion.
"Meng Qing, you've sold all the fields and land, what will you do now?"
"I don't know. I want to go out and explore. Uncle, if I don't make it back in time, please help me offer incense to my parents every Qingming Festival."
Chen Pingan sighed softly, "I will."
Of the three brothers in the Chen family, only he remains, and among the nephews, only Chen Mengqing is left. It's likely that Huai Xu will not be able to return.
He has no son. If Chen Mengqing doesn't return to Changping Village, their Chen family will only have Yanchuan as a boy.
With its population dwindling, the Chen family is becoming less and less like the Chen family it once was.
...
Su Luo and the village chief led the villagers to repair the outer wall of the soy sauce factory.
The wall near Chen Dazhi's house was blackened by smoke, and under the high temperature, the adobe bricks even started to fall off.
A small crack is unsafe, and blackening it is unsightly.
"Su Luo, let's tear this wall down and rebuild it."
The village chief knew about the waste of manpower, but the villagers should also do their best if they wanted to.
"If there are any gaps, let's redo it. Village Chief, how's your custom-made soy sauce vat coming along?"
"It'll be ready soon, and it should arrive in a few days."
“Tell the potter that we’ll bring it over after we finish this wall, and let us get the site ready first.”
"good!"
A fire disrupted the entire village's soy sauce production plan.
In the south, it's only cold during the few days around Chinese New Year; otherwise, it's perfectly fine to dry soy sauce during the day.
Within a month, it will only be cold in the morning and evening, while it will be very hot at noon and in the afternoon.
Inside the wall of the soy sauce drying yard, there are three houses, one of which is for the manager who is stationed there.
The other two are used for making soy sauce, and a few more will be built later as warehouses for the soy sauce factory.
After two days, the village finally calmed down, and people continued to repair the walls.
People in the family still visit relatives as usual.
Su Luo couldn't bear to tell Zhao Ruyun and the two children about Chen Huaixu's death.
I wonder what they'll do when they find out.
The thought was that if I had known sooner, I would have been sadder sooner, and it would have been better sooner.
Su Luo still called the three of them into the front yard and said cautiously.
“Mother-in-law, Yan Chuan Yi Huan, there’s something I don’t want to hide from you anymore. You have the right to know the truth. There’s news about your father.”
"Brother, it's news from Father!"
"Yes! I heard you!"
Yan Chuan and Yi Huan sat up straight excitedly.
They had no feelings for Chen Huaixu, but everyone else had a father, and they also wanted their father to come back and they wanted a complete family.
Zhao Ruyun dared not even breathe loudly; this was the first time in six years that she had received news of her son.
"Luo Luo, did Young Master Nangong find out this information?"
Su Luo nodded and took the letter out of her sleeve.
“Mother-in-law, this is the original letter. I have already read it. I will read it to you verbatim. You should be prepared.”
He glanced at Zhao Ruyun, who seemed not to have listened to him, her face full of expectation.
The smile on his lips never faded.
The letter begins with praise for Chen Huaixu and his heroic spirit, followed by words of comfort and prayer…
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