Xiaoguo's decisiveness gave Yuling enough confidence.
She did not lose her mother. Instead, she was in her mother's arms all the time.
Mother is with her.
–
In accordance with Zhao Yuyan's will, she was cremated instead of buried.
Although the old village chief did not approve of cremation, he still had to respect the will and the dead were the most important. He led several villagers to help her build a bed frame with firewood.
In the 43rd year of Shao Guo, on the 13th day of the eighth lunar month, at the 1st quarter of an hour, the sky was clear and cloudless. This was the time when Zhao Yuyan died.
At 2:00 pm, the remains were sorted out.
At 1:00 pm the fire was started.
It burned out at 15:30.
At 15:15, in compliance with his last wish, his daughter Zhao Yuling personally scattered his ashes into the sea.
Zhao Yuyan did not find freedom when she was alive. She hoped that after she died, she could be free and embraced by nature. She just wanted to live a carefree and free life.
This is also the reason why she regards the sea as the end of her life.
Zhao Yuyan exists in a way that is invisible to everyone, transforming into all things in the world and accompanying a few people.
–
The next day, as soon as Xiao Guo opened his eyes, he saw the little men on both sides.
Each person was holding one of her arms. No wonder she had just had a dream in which she was hit by a car and her arms were broken. But in reality, her arms were numb.
It would be strange if I didn't feel numb after being held all night.
Last night, while we were talking, the two children suddenly dozed off. It might be because they saw Xiaoguo. Their tense spirits that had been in place all day suddenly relaxed, so they dozed off very quickly.
In the end, Xiaoguo carried the two sleeping people back to bed to rest, then went downstairs alone and closed the open door.
She paused for a moment, then gently withdrew her arm, endured the numbness of the mosaic, carefully walked past the two people, and went down to the attic.
When I was climbing down the ladder, I didn't dare use any strength in my arms, as if they would break if I did.
When I arrived at the cooking area, I looked around with satisfaction. It was indeed much more than last time, although not much.
I used the existing food to cook a pot of seafood porridge. Because there was no staple food, I could only make it thicker.
Soon the aroma of rice porridge woke up the two girls in the attic.
The two of them were in a daze and looked at each other for a long time before they remembered that Xiaoguo had returned last night.
Thinking of this, the two of them rushed to get out of bed, put on their shoes and went downstairs, fearing that they would miss Xiaoguo if they were a second late.
Xiaoguo, who was adding firewood, heard the sound of footsteps running and guessed that the two might have gotten up.
Now that you're up, you can eat.
He added the last handful of firewood and then brushed the dust off his hands.
Just as I was about to serve the meal, two little girls came running over.
They shouted in unison, "Sister Xiaoguo!"
"What's wrong?"
Xiaoguo stopped what he was doing and looked at the two of them.
"Hey, it's okay. We just want to test whether it's true or not."
"Yes, it turns out we were not dreaming."
"Sister Xiaoguo, you are really here!"
"We just woke up and thought it was all a dream."
"It wasn't until I smelled the porridge that I realized you were here!"
Xiaozhu and Yuling held her arms, one on each side, and worked on her left and right, talking to her for a long time.
The two of them reluctantly stopped eating before the seafood porridge turned into a mushy porridge.
One person rushed to hold the bowl, and the other rushed to hold the salted vegetables.
Xiao Guo helplessly followed them with three pairs of chopsticks in hand.
At the dinner table, Yuling deliberately avoided the place where Zhao Yuyan liked to sit, and her eyes were only on the porridge, never looking up.
Xiaoguo also noticed it, but didn't say anything. She just silently added pickled vegetables to her bowl when there was no pickled vegetables in it.
Xiaoguo let out an almost inaudible sigh.
How can I let go so easily? I'm afraid I'll be sad for a long time.
Fortunately, there was a little girl on the table who could read the mood and chattered about this and that so the place wasn't too quiet.
After dinner, the three of them washed the dishes and sat together.
It was impossible for Xiaoguo to stay here all the time, so she hesitantly asked the question she had asked last time. She was really worried about two little girls living alone.
As the two of them get older, it's inevitable that there will be people with bad intentions who will do bad things on purpose, so she feels it's safer for her to be with adults.
This time, the two of them did not hesitate and said in unison, "Wherever Sister Xiaoguo is, we will be there."
Xiaoguo let out a breath, this result was the best one.
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's leave today. We can still catch up with the Mid-Autumn Festival when we get back."
Xiaozhu and Yuling had no objection to her words. They stood up and packed their bags happily.
Xiaozhu went back to the attic to pack her few belongings, which included a few faded clothes with patches on them, a tattered book, a brush with frizzy hairs, and an inkstone that had long since been reduced to slag.
There was only a small bag in total. After Xiaozhu packed it up, she walked around it four or five times. She really couldn't imagine that after living at home for more than ten years, she only had so few things.
At first, Xiaozhu was very dependent on Xiaoguo, but in order to spend more time with her parents, she wanted to stay longer. Now that she has been with them for some time, although she is still worried, she is finally a little relaxed.
It would be fine to leave at this time, not to mention that she is still with her favorite sister Xiao Guo.
Yu Ling gently stroked the empty ceramic jar in her arms, and tears fell from her eyes again.
"Mom, let's leave with Sister Xiaoguo."
When Zhao Yuyan was alive, she often told her to take good care of Xiaoguo and repay her kindness. She should remember the fact that she rescued her and her daughter from the island for the rest of her life, not to mention that she also found a place for them to live...
One by one, they can't forget them even in their dreams.
But it's a pity that before Zhao Yuyan died, she repeatedly asked Yuling to repay her kindness. She has no chance now, but Yuling still has.
Yu Ling collected her thoughts, wiped the tears from her face, smiled, and said, "Don't worry, mother. I will take you to repay my gratitude."
On the other side, Xiaoguo, while the two were packing their luggage, came to the old village chief's house alone.
Xiaozhu's family still had some food that she had bought some time ago, which amounted to quite a lot, and she was not going to take it away.
Therefore, they asked the old village chief to gather the villagers who helped deal with Zhao Yuyan's funeral and divide the money among them.
After hearing this, the old village chief refused without hesitation. He knew the amount of food and white flour and refined rice that he had people buy for him. It was not a small number and would be a lot of money if converted into silver.
"Village chief, listen to me. We can't thank the villagers enough for helping us, but I came here in a hurry and didn't prepare anything else. You must accept this little gift."
It is understandable that the villagers are unwilling to help, but Xiaoguo does not want the villagers who take the initiative to help to work for nothing.
The old village chief still did not hesitate and said firmly, "The money you gave me last time was enough for our village's emergency needs. I definitely cannot accept it this time."
Xiaoguo was shocked. She had given the money to the old village chief and she never expected that he would take it to the village and use it as emergency money.
Listening to his words, one can't help but respect him. Even though the old village chief doesn't look upright, everything he does is upright.
Don't judge a book by its cover; don't judge the ocean by its depth.
Seeing that he was determined, Xiaoguo didn't say anything else and turned to tell him about Xiaozhu's departure.
There is no one living at home, and I don’t know when I will come back, so I still hope that the old village chief can help look after the house.
The old village chief agreed to this request without hesitation. He always agreed to any request from the villagers without thinking twice, because he believed that the village's affairs were his affairs and the people in the village were his family.
As long as he lives, he will never put down his burden.