Chapter 420: Farewell Ceremony
Tong Yao knew she had to go see her grandmother, so she woke up at dawn. She carefully took out the bag of strawberries from beside her pillow and put it in her small bag. She packed her things and waited for Shu Yue and the others to pick her up.
At about half past six, Shu Yue came to find her and found that she was already sitting on the edge of the bed with her small schoolbag in her arms.
"Sister Shuyue, can we set off now?"
Tong Yao looked expectant.
Shu Yue stopped at the door and avoided her sight.
"Yes, we will set off soon."
She walked up to Tong Yao, picked her up, put her on a wheelchair, and pushed her out.
I noticed that she was holding the small schoolbag as if she was holding a baby.
"Is there anything in the bag?"
Shu Yue just wanted to change the subject and talk to her about something else.
Tong Yao hugged her schoolbag a little tighter.
"There is something very important that I want to give to grandma."
Shu Yue stopped talking.
Every word Tong Yao said was like a stone hitting my heart.
It's an hour's drive from here to the funeral home.
More than a dozen cars set out together, filled with the victims' families, who were there to see them off for the last time.
The journey was heavy, and only Tong Yao, who was still unaware of the situation, was still naively fantasizing that she would give her the strawberries that she had hidden for several days when she met her grandmother.
"You've had a hard time on the journey. Come sit inside for a while. The ceremony will begin soon."
As soon as I got off the car, the mayor of Nanjiang City came to greet me.
He wore a black suit and a white chrysanthemum on his chest as a sign of comfort.
Fu Jingshen took Tong Yao's wheelchair out of the trunk, and took the initiative to push Tong Yao into the sun so that she could bask in the sun and warm up.
"Yaoyao, you wait here for your brother and sister for a while, okay?"
"Okay." Tong Yao nodded, and Fu Jingshen braked the car and headed towards Shu Yue and the mayor.
"The media will be here soon, Mayor. You need to emphasize to the family members that they should not get irritated by reporters' sharp questions, and should not answer too many questions. Most of them are here to gain attention, so their comments will inevitably be extreme. And if it is broadcast live and the whole network knows about it, it will only damage the appearance of Nanjiang citizens and may also hinder post-disaster reconstruction."
Fu Jingshen is very familiar with these media tricks.
How many families truly want to repay the suffering of the victims can be counted on five fingers.
People are more focused on chasing hot topics and traffic, and people’s hearts are cold and indifferent.
"I see. I'll tell the family members later. You guys really helped me a lot. Otherwise, Nanjiang's post-disaster rescue and reconstruction wouldn't have been able to catch up so quickly, and there wouldn't have been time to arrange a farewell ceremony for everyone."
The mayor bowed to Shu Yue and the others.
“These are what we should do.”
The one who helped the mayor to become president was Xu Si.
Just when he came over, the media also came. They had keen observation skills and immediately turned on the camera and pointed it at Xu Si and the mayor.
The mayor was stunned when he saw that it was Xu Si, and then he quickly thanked him, "Mr. Xu, you have made a great contribution to the construction of Nanjiang and donated so much money to us."
"Money is something outside of our body. We make so much money as businessmen. Shouldn't we help those in need?" Xu Si said righteously, "I am also doing my part."
[If I remember correctly, Xu Si did not donate supplies, but donated a sum of money. I heard from Shu Ziming that he donated one million, which is not even a fraction of what my grandfather donated. 】
Shu Yue watched him put on a show and couldn't help but complain in her heart.
The camera was pointed at Xu Si, afraid of missing his wonderful speech.
Fu Jingshen pulled Shu Yue away from the crowd and whispered to her, "The mayor did not disclose the amount of donations to the public because he did not want to be compared with others. Xu Si seized on this point. He could earn a good reputation with one million and get a wave of free publicity. Everything is good for him."
Everyone knew what Xu Si was planning.
They didn't even bother to join in the fun.
The farewell ceremony began soon and family members came in one after another.
The portraits of the victims were displayed, and the entire wall could not fit them all. When I went in and saw those black and white photos, I couldn't help feeling depressed.
Following the crowd inside, someone handed Shu Yue a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, and Shu Yue gave the chrysanthemums to Tong Yao.
"Sister Shuyue, why does everyone here look so unhappy and sad?"
Tong Yao vaguely felt that the atmosphere was not right.
Shu Yue didn't get an answer. The person in front of her walked away, allowing her to see the black and white portraits that covered the wall.
Among the countless portraits, she immediately saw her grandmother's photo hanging in the corner. She found it quickly as if she had a sense of it.
Shu Yue saw her gaze going that way, and then she saw her grandmother's portrait.
"Sister Shuyue, where is my grandma?"
Tong Yao's voice trembled a little.
She is not old, but not young either. Moreover, she was raised by her grandmother. From the time she can remember, she is more mature and knows more than her peers. She knows clearly what life and death are.
She just didn't want to believe what she saw, so she chose to ask Shu Yue, whom she trusted the most, to prove it.
Shu Yue looked down at her. Tears welled up in the child's eyes. If she blinked lightly, the tears would fall out. She bit her lower lip tightly and stared at Shu Yue, determined to get the truth out of her.
It has come to this point, and I can no longer hide it from her.
Shu Yue pushed her wheelchair forward, put down the white chrysanthemum in her hand, and pushed her to her grandmother's portrait.
A reporter noticed the two of them at the first moment and immediately turned the camera over to them.
"Hello, are you Shu Yue? Previously, the video of you saving people at the risk of your life went viral online, and many netizens prayed for you. Now you are standing in front of our camera safely. Do you have anything to say to the netizens?"
Seven or eight cameras came at him at once, and Shu Yue frowned in dissatisfaction.
"I'm sorry, I have other important things to do right now. I won't have time to answer these questions until after the farewell ceremony."
As Shu Yue spoke, she took down the portrait of Tong Yao's grandmother from the wall, squatted down and handed it to Tong Yao.
"I'll take you to see her, okay?"
Tong Yao held the photo frame tightly with her little hands, fearing that the photo frame would fall if she lost her grip.
"good."
Shu Yue avoided the reporters' cameras and took Tong Yao to the next hall, where there were also many people. Unlike the farewell ceremony, everyone here was crying.
They stood beside the bodies of their deceased relatives, unable to control their emotions any longer and broke down in tears.
Shu Yue took Tong Yao around the group of people and walked to the corner. There was no one there. The coffin that had been sealed long ago was lying there alone.
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