Chapter 461: Confusion of right and wrong
These words touched Old Zhou's heart, and he sighed.
Boss Zhang asked, "How did the person disappear?"
Old Zhou lowered his eyes and said, "We encountered bandits."
"Why didn't you go and collect the remains?" Zhang Lao Er asked, "If a person doesn't return home while alive, he will definitely come back after he dies, right?"
"It's in Liangzhou, and it happened three years ago. Even if we look for it, we can't get it back."
Boss Zhang glanced at the Taoist priest in the yard and said, "But summoning spirits is useless. Aren't these Taoist priests all scammers? Instead of spending this money, you might as well save it for the living."
Boss Zhang had wanted to elaborate a bit, but now that the conversation had gotten to this point, he asked directly, "Why did you invite so many people? I looked outside and everyone in your village is here."
Old Zhou said "hmm".
Boss Zhang slapped his thigh and said, "You're so confused, cousin! When did you lose your mind? Just invite a few close relatives with whom you have good relationships. Add in the relatives from outside, and seven or eight tables will be enough. Why did you invite those distant relatives too?"
Old Zhou snorted inwardly, and said in a neutral tone, "Aren't the people my cousin brought with him this time relatives who are hard to find even if you go around in circles?"
Boss Zhang's face darkened, and he said seriously, "Those are all your cousins. Two generations ago, everyone had the same ancestor. Without them, would there be your aunt? Without your aunt, would there be you?"
"I don't know them," Old Zhou said, his skin never thin. "If my cousin hadn't brought them here, I wouldn't have even said hello if I saw them on the street."
Boss Zhang: ...We can’t continue chatting today.
When Old Zhou saw him choking, he snorted in satisfaction.
Do you think he treats us too much?
Humph, doesn’t he know that he’s treating too many guests?
But what can he do?
Every household in Qili Village knows about Zhou Yin's affairs, and every household even participated in them. The matter has come to an end today. Will he invite this family, not that one, or none of them?
The Zhou family still had to continue living in Qili Village, so of course they invited everyone. When he died, there would definitely not be such a grand ceremony. When the time came, Dalang would just invite a few close relatives, and about ten tables would be enough.
In fact, he would rather invite the entire village at once than invite the Zhang family alone.
Although they are closely related by blood, they don't actually have much affection for each other.
Blood ties also need to be maintained through communication. How much affection can there be without communication?
He and the Zhang family hurt each other every time they meet. It would be better for them not to meet.
Old Zhou took out his pipe, but didn't smoke it.
Boss Zhang was silent for only a moment before continuing, "I'm not saying anything bad about your cousin. I know you're making such a big fuss out of guilt, but the person is already dead. No matter how big you make it, he won't be able to see it. It's better to save it for the living."
"I remember my second cousin was very insightful about this. When he was little, he would visit my house..."
"How young?" Old Zhou interrupted him angrily, "Cousin, I don't remember my second brother ever visiting your house when he was young."
"Of course he hasn't been there. It was my aunt who took him there," Zhang Lao Er said. "Cousin, I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time. If you want to compensate my cousin, you should do it in a practical way. What's the point of inviting the whole village to dinner now? What relationship do they have to my cousin? In terms of blood relationship, my brother and I are the closest to my cousin. If you want to compensate him, you have to see a living person first. If you take good care of a living person, won't my cousin be unhappy if he knows about it?"
Boss Zhang nodded in agreement repeatedly.
Old Zhou was so shocked that he almost dropped the pipe in his hand.
Manbao, who was standing by, was also shocked and exclaimed, "So this uncle isn't my real uncle?"
Old Zhou turned around and slapped Manbao on the head, shouting, "What nonsense are you talking about? He and I are brothers, how can we not be blood relatives? Cousin, don't talk nonsense. What do you mean by being the closest person to you? Then who am I?"
"Then aren't you being unfair to him? Aside from your family, aren't we the ones closest to your cousin?"
Old Zhou said "I" and was speechless.
Zhang Laodao said, "Cousin, don't blame me for speaking harshly. If I were to say it, my second cousin was killed by you. I don't know how sad my eldest aunt must be down there."
"That's right," Zhang Lao Er continued, "Back then, my eldest aunt loved my little cousin the most. Before she died, she told you to take good care of him and us, but what happened to you..."
Zhang Lao Er snorted and said, "You forgot your mother after you got married. My eldest aunt just left and you fell out with our family. That's fine, we are outsiders after all, so it's not easy to argue with you. But Zhou Yin is your biological brother."
Zhang Laoda nodded repeatedly and continued, "He owns half of the family fortune left by my eldest aunt and uncle. They've suffered all their lives and have nothing else. They must have left some money for my second cousin to marry, right?"
"Even if you didn't stay, you still have to raise him well. My aunt married you off, so shouldn't you raise her other son?" Zhang Lao Er continued, "And yet, what happened to you? Humph, you married a vicious woman and even sold my aunt's youngest son."
Old Zhou twisted the tobacco with shaking hands and said with red eyes: "We don't want to sell our second brother..."
"You said that, but in the end you sold him anyway?" Zhang Lao Er interrupted him. "You have so many sons, why not sell any one of them? At worst, you still have your daughter. You can sell your daughter, too. Girls are always more valuable than boys. But you couldn't bear to part with Zhou Xi, but sold your own brother instead. Zhou Yin must be hating you deep down."
"That's right, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed away from home for so many years."
The village chief couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward, saying, "Don't talk nonsense. It was Uncle Xiaoyin who wanted to leave. You all know that the drought was so severe back then that if he hadn't left, he would have starved to death. So many families in the village have had people starve to death."
"Of course we know, because two people died in our family, but not in theirs!" Zhang Laodao said, "Why didn't anyone die in your family? It's because you sold Zhou Yin for food to survive. If you hadn't sold him, he wouldn't have left his hometown and died outside."
Old Zhou kept his mouth shut. Boss Zhang pressed on, "When he died, he must have hated you to bits. So, seriously, we two brothers are the closest people to Zhou Yin. Do you think he'll forgive you just by hiring a Taoist priest and the entire village to hold his funeral?"
"You're dreaming. If you can be nicer to the people he cared about when he was alive, his resentment will be lessened."
Old Zhou lowered his head and said nothing, but the village chief was very angry. However, he was a generation younger than the village chief, so some things were difficult to say.
(End of this chapter)
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