"What do you mean your father is gone?" Tian was the first to shout.
Daya cried and talked for a long time before everyone understood. Last night, Ding Pingshun drank too much and fell into the pit when he went to the toilet in the middle of the night. Maybe he was drunk and his whole body was sore and he couldn't climb out, so he drowned in the pit.
Ding Sheng got up early and went to the toilet. He saw one of his father's shoes dropped by the pit. He looked into the cesspool and found that his father was already dead in it.
"Oh my god!" Tian slapped her thigh, "Why didn't you call for help? Did everyone in your family sleep soundly at night?"
After that, she pulled Daya up and turned to Jian Ning, saying, "I'll go take a look. You guys keep an eye on this place. I'll be back soon."
Tian passed by her house and called out Ma Xiaomai at the top of her voice, ordering him to take over her work and replace Jian Ning.
Jian Ning rushed over after Ma Xiaomai arrived. She and Tian expected Chang to wail bitterly, given their deep affection. Unexpectedly, Chang's expression was remarkably calm, her right eye socket bruised, a clear sign of their previous argument.
Seeing the two of them, Chang was unusually calm, no longer hiding the pain on her face. She pulled them aside and said, "It's good that he's gone. I'm going to tell you something from the bottom of my heart. If it weren't for what happened to Sanniang and her son, I would have been so heartbroken if he had passed away like this."
"I've finally come to terms with it and figured it out. To be honest, there have been times when I've thought he might drink himself to death, and that would be better. Every time, I've been startled by the thought."
"You two are lucky, married well, so you can't understand the pain of marrying the wrong person. A grown man, after a little setback, will just stay home drinking and beating his kids, complaining all day long about everything except himself. Even if you're exhausted and can't even stand up straight, when you get home, he'll just pretend you didn't see it and wait for you to cook and serve him the food."
"You just cooked a meal and brought it to him, but you didn't even say a word to warm his heart. Earlier, when he was not feeling well, he only knew to grow vegetables at home and help with cooking."
Chang said, grabbing each of their hands and saying, "My dear sisters, I don't treat you as outsiders. I've told you everything I have to say. He and I have had a lot of fights lately. Look at my eyes, they've hit me. Even the deepest feelings can't withstand such abuse from him. I've given up on him a long time ago!"
"He brought this upon himself!"
Then she looked at Jian Ning again, "Sister, don't worry, I can't let him delay your business. I'll take care of him and send him up the mountain today, and I'll definitely come to your place to work on time tomorrow. There are several people in this family who need to eat, and we can't let him starve us to death."
"Don't say that. Just take a few days off. There are many gossips in the village, so don't give your clan members something to talk about. Even if you take a few days off, I will pay you as usual. You can go back to settle your family affairs. If you have any difficulties, just ask. Sister Tian and I will do our best to help you. Don't worry, okay?"
"That's right. We're always there for you." Tian was sentimental, tears welling up in her eyes. She put her arm around Chang's shoulders and pounded her on the back a few times. "You, he's wronged you so much, and you didn't even think to tell us. You've been carrying it all on your own. How capable can a woman be? You should have told us a long time ago. Sister Jian and I would have scolded him together."
"Now that he's gone, there's no point in saying anything. If you need anything in the future, just let me know. If you need any heavy work at home, send your daughters to my house and let me know. I'll have Xiaomai's father do it for you when he's free."
"Stop carrying everything on your own, okay?"
Chang, who had not shed tears before, had her eyes reddened by her words. She lowered her head and nodded repeatedly.
Jian Ning's nose was also sore. She estimated that after she used the wages and bonuses she had settled with Chang before the New Year to support Lu Huaian and Sanniang's mother, there was not much left. The rest still had to be paid for Ding Sheng's tuition. So she said, "How much does it cost to handle the funeral? Just tell me the number and I'll go back and get it for you. I'll deduct it from my wages every month."
Chang's tears suddenly fell, and she grabbed her and Tian's hands tightly and squeezed them hard.
Chang had cleaned Ding Pingshun's body and made him a new set of clothes. She burned all the clothes he had taken off. Ding Sheng got very angry with her in front of Jian Ning and Tian.
The teenager seemed to have grown up overnight. He gloomily blamed Chang for melting all the clothes his father had worn when he was alive. At least keeping them was a remembrance.
He also accused the Chang family of being a spendthrift, saying that he could wear the clothes after they were washed, as they were his father's clothes, so he didn't mind.
Chang was so angry that she picked up a stick and beat him up.
She beat him and scolded him, "You haven't even grown up yet, and you're already rushing to take charge of my family. You think I don't know what you're thinking and what you're hating, don't you? Your father is gone, and I, as your mother, didn't shed a single tear, and you're so upset that you have to wait for me to wail loudly before you open your eyes, right?"
"Now you eat my food, use my things, and even rely on me to support you, and you dare to frame me. If you become powerful in the future, you will eat me alive!"
Chang grew angrier and angrier as she scolded him. She dropped her stick, pointed at his forehead, and cursed, "I think you don't need to read that book anymore. It's all just going to go to the dog's stomach! From now on, if you have the ability, don't even eat my food! Find a way to support yourself!"
"Mom!" Ding Shengxian had been stubbornly arguing with her, but when he heard that he was no longer allowed to study, he fell to his knees in front of her and said, "I was wrong. Dad always wanted me to study, and Mom can't stop me!"
"Your father asked you to recite, so why don't you wake him up? Let your father recite for you!" Chang's shout made her tears flow, and she pounded her chest and wailed.
As the old saying goes, help in times of emergency, not in poverty. After Ding Pingshun fell ill a few years ago, many members of the clan stopped communicating with his family. Last year, as his family started to improve, some of them gradually started to interact with him again. But then the incident with Sanniang and her son happened, and they gradually stopped communicating again.
Now that he was gone, only a few members of the clan, including the clan leader, had arrived, mostly the elderly, the weak, and the disabled. Tian wanted to ask Jian Ning to send Third Master Ding to the county town to bring back Ma Fuquan and her second brother. A funeral would be impossible without a few strong men to oversee it.
Jian Ning had already informed Ma Fuquan that the escort agency had not yet officially opened. He was on his way back with Brother Tian Er and Yuechan, and she estimated that they were almost in town.
But she couldn't tell Tian directly, so she had to send Mr. Ding San to make a trip, since they would meet halfway anyway.
Ding Youtian woke up and heard that Ding Pingshun had gone. He washed up and rushed over. With him and Jian Ning busying around, many people from the clan heard the news and rushed over one after another.
Ding Youtian and Ma Fuquan handled all the affairs surrounding Ding Pingshun's funeral. After he was sent to the mountain in a grand ceremony, Ding Sheng went on a hunger strike because his mother Chang Zhen refused to give him money to go back to school.
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