It seems that Grandpa Shi knew he was dying all along, and he was probably forcing himself to cook one last meal for his granddaughter.
"Xiaohe, don't cry. Don't let your grandfather leave in peace. He was already very content. Look at his expression, he was smiling. What if his soul saw you so sad and didn't reincarnate?"
Shi Xiaohe turned her gaze to the bed. Even though tears had already blurred her vision, she could still vaguely see the corners of her grandfather's mouth turned up.
Just this one moment.
Shi Xiaohe wiped away her tears and cheered herself up.
She left Yan Xia's embrace and grabbed her grandfather's hand.
"Grandpa, don't worry, I will live well. Jin Fu is very good to me, and Mom is even better to me. Grandpa, go in peace. Go find Grandma, Dad and Mom. You must be reborn into a good family. Don't forget me. If we are destined to be together again in the next life, let's be a family again."
It's quite amazing.
After Xiaohe finished speaking, Yanxia vaguely felt a breeze pass in front of her, even though the windows and doors were closed.
Jin Fu waited with his daughter-in-law for half an hour before returning.
Four people followed behind him carrying a coffin, which was placed in the main room of the Shi family. As for the dining table and bowls and chopsticks, they had already been taken to the kitchen.
Since Grandpa Shi had already put on his burial clothes in advance, he saved himself a step.
The body was already stiff, and when the four men carried him, Old Master Shi was taut and stiff.
It's a bit creepy.
"Mother, I want to bury Grandpa today and not have a feast. After all, our Shi family doesn't have many relatives or friends. This is also Grandpa's wish."
Shi Xiaohe had calmed down, and she knelt on the ground to burn some paper money for her grandfather.
"I'll do whatever you say. I'll go home and call Jinlu to find a good spot for your grandfather and dig a pit."
"No need, Mother. Just bury Grandpa next to Grandma."
"Okay, you decide."
Yan Xia went home.
They dragged Jinlu out of the house, and that's when their son needed to use him.
She brought two shovels from home.
They borrowed a few more handfuls from Sister Zhao and Aunt Wang, and sent the four of them and their two sons to dig a hole.
After digging, they carried the coffin to the foot of the hill together.
That is the 'cemetery' of Baihua Village.
Almost all the deceased people in the village are buried there.
The tombstones were a shocking sight.
The original owner's ex-husband was naturally there as well, but there was no corpse under the grave; it was just a cenotaph.
They all died on the battlefield; their bodies were burned to ashes long ago.
As darkness fell, the last shovel of earth was placed over Old Master Shi's grave.
Because of the time crunch, the tombstone was carved by Yan Xia using tools.
Grandpa, may you rest in peace—
Shi Xiaohe knelt beside the tombstone and burned the last bit of paper money.
Until it got dark.
Everyone returned home.
Jin Fu gave the four men five taels of silver.
It was Shi Xiaohe's betrothal gift.
It all went to buying paper money for the coffin and hiring people.
Yan Xia suddenly understood why there were so many women in storybooks who sold themselves to bury their fathers. Because they were poor and an ordinary coffin was so expensive, they were willing to become slaves or servants so that their loved ones could be laid to rest in peace.
This filial piety is witnessed by Heaven.
"Sister-in-law, elder brother, mother, and third brother, please have a bowl of porridge."
When I got home, I stepped over a brazier to ward off bad luck.
Guihua served each of them a bowl of rice porridge, which was cooked until soft and tender, with a layer of rice water floating on top. It was quite thin. There was also a plate of cucumber salad and leftover stir-fried pork intestines with chili peppers from yesterday as side dishes.
'Gurgle—'
Yan Xia's stomach was growling with hunger.
"Mom, you've worked so hard. Eat quickly, don't ruin your stomach by going hungry."
Upon hearing the voice, Shi Xiaohe looked apologetic and helped her sit down.
"It's okay, you eat too. Don't be sad, life goes on."
"Yes, Mother."
Shi Xiaohe responded.
The four of them slurped down their porridge in a few gulps.
They even served another bowl.
We didn't even finish the side dishes.
They all look extremely hungry.
After finishing their meal, everyone went back to their rooms.
However, what Yan Xia didn't know was that because of Old Master Shi's death today, Shi Xiaohe's fate of being born with a curse was confirmed.
Many people in the village said that Shi Xiaohe's return to her parents' home was the cause of her grandfather's death.
Even worse, some people said that the Yan family was also going to be in trouble.
In just a few days, the rumor spread to several surrounding villages and even to Zhao Yuefang's home.
"Yuefang, don't be temperamental. Your grandma is doing this for your own good. Although Zhou Yiliu is a bit ugly, his family is rich. Even though the pastry shop isn't theirs, they're still related by blood. The Zhou family owns a house in town and is very generous. They'll give you eight taels of silver as a bride price without hesitation. Once you marry into the family, you can expect to enjoy a life of luxury."
Zhao Yuefang hasn't eaten for two days.
Although I was instilled with the idea from a young age that I should marry into a wealthy family.
But Zhou Yiliu was uglier than a wild boar.
“Mother, didn’t you say last year that you wanted me to be a concubine in the Liu family? Why has that thing disappeared? What kind of rich man is Zhou Yiliu? He’s just a small merchant. I don’t care about him. If he were good-looking, I would marry him. But he’s not even as good-looking as a hair on Chen Jinfu’s head.”
Zhao Yuefang originally looked down on Jin Fu.
Because he was good for nothing except his appearance.
She also has a divorced mother, and a large family of younger brothers and sisters.
Compared to Zhou Yiliu, she might as well marry Chen Jinfu.
"Don't even mention it. After the clan chief found out about this, he said that if we sent you to be a concubine, he would expel our family from the clan. Your grandmother was so scared that she immediately gave up the idea. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been delayed until now. Child, you know how much your mother loves you. Zhou Yiliu is really good. At least you won't find anyone with better conditions than him. Besides, he promised your grandmother that as long as you marry him, he will let your younger brother work as an accountant in his family's shop and manage the money!"
"You all want to sell me! All this talk about loving and spoiling me, it's all for your brother and your eight taels of dowry! I won't marry you, I just won't marry you, I'd rather starve to death!"
Zhao Yuefang broke down.
She felt like a complete idiot.
She was pampered by her family since childhood and never did any housework or farm work. Little did she know that all of this was because her family wanted to sell her for a high price.
The thought of marrying that ugly freak Zhou Yiliu is unbearable.
Zhao Yuefang wished she could starve to death.
"What nonsense are you talking about! Your mother is doing this for your own good. You only have one younger brother. If you don't support him, who will stand up for you if you are bullied by your in-laws in the future? Only when your brother is doing well can you be well, understand? Your brother has the same surname as you, so you are family. Even your future children will have to take a backseat!"
“I won’t marry him, I just won’t marry him. I want to marry Chen Jinfu, at least he’s good-looking.”
Zhao Zhengshi's face immediately fell.
"Heh, you want to marry him? He might not even marry you. He got married a few days ago. The bride price was five taels of silver plus a gilded hairpin and a wedding dress. He married an orphan girl from the village. Not only did that orphan girl cause the death of her parents, but she also caused the death of her grandfather on the second day after the wedding. He was willing to spend so much money to marry someone like that, but he wouldn't be willing to give more bride price to marry you. Don't you understand what he means? He didn't even like you. Otherwise, why wouldn't he compete with Zhou Yiliu?"
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