Chapter 296 Who will keep watch?
The memorial service is tomorrow morning. Since I have to rush to the funeral home at seven in the morning to catch the first cremation, I decided to stay in a hotel tonight.
My mother called me and said, "Mengmeng, go to the funeral home tonight to keep vigil for your aunt. Your aunt was very kind to you when she was alive."
According to the custom here, when an elder passes away, the children have to keep watch. In the past, they would take turns keeping watch for three nights, but now it has been simplified and only one night is needed.
I frowned and asked, "Who else is going?"
"And your uncle will be there too, you'll go with him later.
Your uncle will guard the first half of the night, and you will guard the second half.
There aren't many restaurants nearby, so after dinner, bring some snacks and water." My mother started nagging me about these little things.
"What about Deng Sisi?" I asked.
My mother's eyes were a little evasive. "Sisi, be filial. You should light the eternal lamp for your aunt at home at night."
I pointed to the electronic candle in front of the portrait and said, "Why don't I light the eternal lamp and she can go and keep vigil for Auntie."
I'm not a fool. Do I need someone to guard an electronic candle?
My mother was anxious: "Your aunt is so good to you, what's wrong with you staying up all night for her?"
"So you mean that my aunt is not good to Deng Sisi? That's why she doesn't go to keep watch for my aunt?" I am no longer the silly girl who puts myself in a difficult position to please my mother.
There is no way I can outsource Deng Sisi's filial piety to me.
My dad heard this and he disagreed, “How can you let Mengmeng and her uncle go? What kind of thing is this? Why doesn’t Sisi go and keep vigil for her mother herself?
Does a candle that lights up by pressing a switch need someone to watch over it?
Even if you feel bad for Sisi, you can't let Mengmeng take on everything!"
My dad never cared about these things before, especially when my mom criticized me, he would hardly express his opinion.
The concern for me is almost always reflected in giving money, and there is basically no emotional value.
He seems to have started to care about me during this period and would even go against my mother for me. I don’t know if it’s because he thinks I’ve grown up and am harder to fool.
My mother was furious, but couldn't explain herself: "Then you and Sisi should go together."
I said angrily, "Why? Her mother is gone, but my mother is still fine.
It would be best if I could wait a few decades before it was my turn to do the night watch. I'm not in a hurry to experience it in advance."
Not only could I not go on night watch, I also had to find a reason to go out and stay in a hotel. I was still thinking about those diaries.
After hearing what I said, my dad came to his senses and agreed, "Mengmeng is right. We are all fine, why should we let her keep watch for others?
It’s not like her aunt doesn’t have children of her own.”
Suddenly my dad seemed to think of something, "Shuyao, her aunt passed away, isn't your brother coming back?"
Lin Shuyi is my uncle and my grandmother’s only son.
If my dad hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have remembered that I had an uncle.
My uncle was still in college when my grandmother passed away, and my mother paid for his next two years of college.
After graduation, my uncle stayed in Jiangnan Province and married a local girl. My mother decided to sell my grandmother's old house and gave all the money to my uncle to get married.
He only came back once in all these years, and I can hardly remember what he looks like.
"He said his flight is tonight. I'll pick him up at the airport and he'll stay at our house tonight."
My eyes lit up. Isn't this a reason to stay in a hotel?
Just as I thought of a reason, my dad called me home and said, "Come on, take my car and we'll go back first."
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