Chapter 26 The coffin has arrived
She was just feeling sad when she thought of her parents.
Qin Yulin hugged Zhao Shi: "Your parents in heaven will protect you and keep you safe."
Zhao nodded; her emotions came on quickly, but she also calmed down just as quickly.
They used up all the rice and grain in the house.
She found some coarse flour and kneaded it to make it ferment.
When someone called from outside, Zhao hurriedly went out to greet them.
The visitors were all village women, each carrying a basket filled with eggs. Each household wouldn't bring too many, just twelve. The baskets were lined with straw to make them look nicer.
"Auntie, Auntie, please have a seat..."
Zhao's eyes were red, indicating that she had been crying.
People sighed inwardly, it seemed that Li was really about to die. Although it was sudden, life is full of unexpected events, and when the King of Hell wants to take someone, there is nothing anyone can do.
Everyone put their things down.
More and more people came, and their voices could be heard inside the house.
Li Qiufen felt something was wrong. Why were so many people at home? And why was it so noisy outside?
"Go out and see if Zhao Lan is up to something again."
Li Qiufen instructed Zhao Caiju that if she weren't pretending to be sick, she would have gotten up and gone out to check on things herself.
Zhao Caiju nodded. She had slept all afternoon, and after waking up, she went to look for Qin Yulin and Zhao Shi, but couldn't find them. She had actually just returned and was discussing with Li Qiufen how to administer the drug.
It's all very noisy outside right now, I don't know what's going on.
When Zhao Caiju went out of her room, she found many people sitting in the courtyard. When they saw her come out, they all looked at her with some sympathy.
Someone lowered their voice and asked, "Caiju, how is your mother? Can she hold on until your father and brother come back? Does she have any unfinished business?"
Everyone has already treated Li Qiufen as if she were dead.
Zhao Caiju felt her vision go black.
She looked at Zhao Shi, about to get angry, when she heard a loud shout: "Make way, make way!"
People jumped up at the sound and quickly moved away.
Looking at it, Zhao Caiju felt even more like she was about to faint.
It was a pitch-black coffin.
The leader was her father, Zhao Dezhu, who looked exhausted.
Her younger brother, Zhao Wenzhi, looked utterly dejected. The two siblings looked at each other, and Zhao Wenzhi burst into tears.
"Mother, Mother..."
Zhao Wenzhi's suppressed grief erupted at this moment.
This touching scene brought tears to the eyes of all who heard it and saddened all who witnessed it. Everyone sighed, lamenting that life and death are truly beyond our control.
Zhao Dezhu also staggered a bit. He suppressed his grief and directed the people to put the coffin down. Then he said to Zhao Wenzhi solemnly, "Xiaozhi, you are a man of integrity. Don't cry. Get yourself ready. We're going to see your mother one last time!"
Zhao Dezhu was saddened that his wife of many years was about to pass away; Li was the woman he loved.
How did I suddenly contract this disease?
No matter how many sighs one has, in the end, it all boils down to the impermanence of life.
Zhao Caiju swayed, and someone quickly supported her, comforting her, "Caiju, you have to hold on. You're the eldest sister, and there are still many things for you to take care of!"
"Caiju, hang in there!"
Zhao walked over to Zhao Caiju and said with a gentle smile.
Looking at Zhao Shi's fake smile and then at all the people who had come to the house, including the coffin, Zhao Caiju's heart was pounding. What should she do? What should she do? What should she do?
"What are you all doing at my house?"
"A coffin! Who brought such an unlucky thing to my house?!"
Li Qiufen waited inside for a long time but Zhao Caiju did not come back to tell her what was going on. She couldn't bear it any longer, so she got up and went out to see what was happening.
She was shocked to see so many people in the house, and there was even a large coffin in the yard. Li Qiufen was immediately provoked and questioned them in a sharp voice.
When people saw her, they were all startled and kept their distance from her, afraid of being infected by her illness.
Zhao Caiju shoved Zhao Shi aside and said viciously, "Mother, it's all Zhao Lan's fault. She's hoping you die soon!"
Zhao stumbled and almost fell, but fortunately Qin Yulin caught her.
Qin Yulin was about to speak, her expression filled with anger, when Zhao pressed her hand down, telling her to do it herself.
Tears welled up in Zhao's eyes: "Caiju, ever since my parents died, my uncle and aunt have raised me as their own daughter, and I have always been grateful for your kindness. You also said you treated me like your own sister, so why are you treating me like this?"
“You sent someone to tell me that my aunt was seriously ill and would die if she didn’t eat or drink for three days. You asked me to go back and see her so that she wouldn’t have any regrets. I came with my husband. When we got home, I didn’t even have a sip of water before I started taking care of her at her bedside. My husband was also carrying water and chopping wood. Seeing that my aunt still couldn’t eat, we went to prepare things. How can you say now that I wanted my aunt to die?”
Zhao's questions were all very insightful, and Zhao Caiju couldn't answer a single one.
People watched with a sigh. Everyone knew Li Shi. She and Zhao Dezhu had seized her brother's property. They claimed to treat Zhao Lan's daughter as their own, but before Zhao Lan got married, she did all the laundry and cooking.
Zhao then looked at Li and asked in a tearful voice, "Auntie, since you were perfectly fine, why did you make me misunderstand at noon? Your face was deathly pale, and you couldn't even get up. What was the purpose of all this?"
"I was so worried about you that I thought of everything, but it turns out it was all a scam! Why did you do this to me? Waaaaaah..."
Zhao started to cry.
People couldn't bear to watch; what kind of mess was this?
Why would Li pretend to be seriously ill when she's perfectly fine?
Li Qiufen was speechless. The matter had escalated so much that it was impossible to resolve.
Zhao Dezhu's face had turned dark.
"This, this is a misunderstanding. Perhaps the person who delivered the message misunderstood."
Li Qiufen racked her brains to come up with this reason.
Zhao found it ironic; Li Qiufen and her daughter Zhao Caiju were exactly the same, always blaming others for everything.
Li Qiufen thought that finding a reason would solve the problem, but she overlooked the fact that the person who delivered the letter was right there.
He Yun had originally come to watch the fun, but upon hearing this, she immediately became displeased and said, "Auntie, you can't say that. Yesterday, your daughter Zhao Caiju came to me, crying and saying that you haven't been able to eat or drink for three days, and you're barely breathing. She's afraid you won't last two more nights and doesn't know if you can make it through. She can't leave to take care of you, so I kindly went to deliver a message to you."
“I didn’t exaggerate. I delivered the message normally. If I had exaggerated, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death. Zhao Caiju, you swear too, if you lie, may you be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!”
He Yun pointed at Zhao Caiju. She wasn't going to be falsely accused for nothing. She didn't care what kind of nonsense this family was plotting, but she wasn't going to be a sucker.
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