The couple adopted a foreign child who had lost his family in the war, and in the process, they also helped dozens of other children.
Yan Shi received an electronic wedding invitation from her roommate and thought she'd drop by to visit. She was surprised to find that her roommate was not only getting married, but was also two months pregnant. Yan Shi blinked, unsure what to say.
The wedding was seven days later. In those seven days, everything changed. The baby was gone, the bride was gone, and the groom was single again.
... Yan Shi recalled a text she had studied before: in places destroyed by war, daisies would still bloom in spring.
Yan Shi searched around but found nothing. He dug out a lot of bones from the ruins, but he didn't know whose they were. He dug a big pit in the backyard and buried them all.
"Come on, let's go to my house."
Drive along the national highway for another hour, and you'll reach Yanshijia Village.
The countryside is different from the city. Chickens, ducks and geese are everywhere. Old cats sunbathe by the roadside, dogs chase chickens, and you can occasionally see cats and dogs fighting or dogs and geese battling.
Yan Shi didn't have a key. Her house was by the roadside, a small shop with a glass door. A chain was wrapped around the doorknob, and the lock was rusted.
The chains were cut open directly with a laser cutter, and the smell of dust hit us.
Yan Shi led Zhuang Zhao up to the second floor.
"You can wander around, I'll tidy up." Yan Shi found a box and put everything she thought was meaningful inside: the property certificate, marriage certificate, bankbook, bank cards, her mother's few pieces of jewelry, and her father's addictive cigarettes...
The box was almost full, so Yan Shi carried it downstairs.
"Zhuang Zhao."
"Um?"
"Come here, let's take a picture."
Zhuang Zhao took a solo photo of Zhang Yanshi standing in front of the door with his phone, and then took a photo of the two of them together.
"We have to type it out." Yan Shi looked around and saw the computer on the table that hadn't been turned on for over a year. Luckily, it could still be turned on.
I plugged my phone into the computer with the data cable to print photos. Her printer could only print in black and white, not in color. The finished product looked a bit strange, but it was still usable.
She wanted her parents to see what she looked like now and the boyfriend she had chosen.
Let's go.
Zhuang Zhao didn't ask anything and followed.
“Where do you think would be the best place to bury him? I don’t know where the rest of the family members are buried. If we bury him in the garden, I’m afraid he’ll be dug up in a few years, since there are no mountains or water nearby.”
Is there a cemetery?
“I’ve seen straw mats and field edges, but I don’t think those are good places. I want to bury it somewhere I won’t be disturbed.”
“When I was little, my mother always said that she would scatter her ashes at sea, but I can’t find them at all.” Yan Shi felt more and more guilty as she spoke, and tears streamed down her face.
“I used to think my dad was no good at anything, and I always argued with him. He would brag to others down there, but he never praised me.” Yan Shi wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and called out to Zhuang Zhao.
"I forgot something. Could you run errands for me? There's yellow paper and gold ingots on the second floor. Take as much as you can; I need to burn some money for them."
"Okay, wait for me."
Yan Shi stood under a tree to avoid the sun, watching Bu Ke and Jiang Lang being chased by geese, and whispered to the box with his head down.
"I'm back, but not right away. Who told me to be such an ingrate?"
"Don't worry about me. I have my fists, I have my bread, I have love, and my happiness level surpasses 90% of the world."
"We had agreed that I would save some money after I started working and take you guys on a trip, but now that's not going to happen. Let's just leave it at that for this life. Maybe we'll meet again in the next life. Of course, if you find me annoying, it's fine if we don't meet."
“You’ve never done anything particularly good or bad in your lives, so you should be able to reincarnate soon. It’s been a year already, so you might have already been reincarnated. I’m just talking to thin air here.”
"Don't be too picky. There are so few newborns now. If you can't get a spot in the human race, then don't wait in line. Look at the cats, dogs, ducks, and geese. They're fine too. They just bask in the sun and find food, and the day is over. They're not as comfortable as humans. But forget about those farm animals. If you're going to come into this world, you might as well wait."
"Okay, my boyfriend is back, I'm not chatting anymore. If you have anything to tell me, come find me in your dreams, I'll definitely be there."
Is this enough?
“That’s enough. If they think it’s not enough, they can come to me in a dream and burn more. I don’t know what the prices are like down there. I read before that prices are high down there. Burning money is not as good as burning houses. When I have nothing to do sometime, I’ll build them a two-story villa and burn it down there.”
"This is something I'm good at."
"Then I'll give it to you, so you can show off in front of them and gain some favor."
In the end, Yan Shi buried the box in the garden of her old family house, the place where she grew up and the home after her parents left.
She believed that as long as she buried it deep enough, no one would disturb her. Using the tools of the diviner, she dug a pit, and when she reached a depth of more than ten meters, it was full of water.
"What should we do? Should we waterproof it or bury it shallowly? If we waterproof it, does that mean it can be considered a tomb?" Yan Shi had a bold idea.
In class society, people are divided into different classes, and the places where they are buried after death are also very particular. The tombs of sages are called "forests", the tombs of emperors are called "mausoleums", the tombs of nobles are called "graves", the tombs of ordinary officials or rich people are called "graves", and the tombs of common people are called "graves". In addition to the different names, the regulations and directions are also different.
Nowadays, these beliefs don't apply. City cemeteries have feng shui considerations, and prices vary depending on the cemetery. In rural areas, families are often buried together as a unit, and while feng shui is still considered, it has little to do with money.
She didn't understand feng shui; she just wanted them to be able to rest here forever.
"Let's waterproof it; it'll make living here more comfortable," Zhuang Zhao said.
What's needed for waterproofing?
"Waterproofing agent, cement, sand? Try the ratios suggested online; you probably can't find professionals there."
"Hmm, let me show you around. It seems we can't gather all the materials; we'll have to go to the county town to get them."
"No rush, take your time."
So it took more than half a month from start to finish. The apricot blossoms in the garden fell, the strawberry vines under the cherry tree climbed into the yard, the walls of the dilapidated old house were covered with morning glories, and the trees in front were full of sparrows, magpies, and even two owls.
"I really want to retire in a place like this." When I was a child, I thought my own garden was just ordinary. But after being away from home for a long time, what I miss most is my own garden, the fresh vegetables, the noisy ducks and geese, the cucumbers and persimmons that I can never get enough of, and the dried hawthorn that is the most satisfying snack in winter.
"Then stay."
"Let's forget about it for now. Even if I want to be alone, the quality of life will definitely not be as good as living in the city if it's just the two of us. Let's move back when it gets lively again here."
"In case my house is occupied by someone else as unclaimed land, let's set up some traps, like the effect of a haunted house, is there any way?"
“This is something I’m good at!” Bu Ke volunteered. He would ask his brother for help when he didn’t do something well. In three days, the old house was completely transformed. To outsiders, it looked like an old castle, and a very old one at that.
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