At dinner time, Lu Lin finally came back, covered in mud.
"Are you back? Is the grave dug?"
Lu Lin nodded. "It's been dug. My eldest brother said we can bury him tomorrow morning. But Dad doesn't even have a coffin. How can we bury him?"
Jiang Manyue didn't know what to do now. There was no place to buy a coffin. People in the countryside would ask carpenters to make their own coffins in advance. This is called preparing coffins for the dead. It is not a bad thing, but a lucky thing. However, only those who have elderly people in the family will prepare coffins. Their family had no preparation at all.
"Or, we can ask the captain for help. We can spend money to buy the funeral supplies that they have prepared and give them to Dad to use first. After all, our family needs them urgently. They are all from the same village. I think someone should give Dad this face, right?"
Jiang Manyue felt that she could only ask the team leader for help and ask the families who had prepared funeral supplies to buy a ready-made coffin for emergency use.
Lu Lin thought this was a good idea. He didn't even eat and was about to run to find the team leader, but was stopped by Jiang Manyue.
"It's dinner time now. Go find the captain. Is he ready to eat?"
Lu Lin thought about it and decided to wait patiently until later.
Jiang Manyue pulled him to the dining table and said, "Eat something first. I asked Jun'an to bring in Mom's portion. He should eat with Mom so that she can eat more."
Lu Lin had been digging a grave for the entire afternoon. It would be a lie to say he wasn't hungry. He picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
Jiang Manyue accompanied him to finish the meal, then asked Lu Jun'an to take good care of his grandmother, and went out with Lu Lin to find the team leader.
The captain had just finished his meal when he saw Lu Lin and Jiang Manyue coming over and hurried out to greet them.
"Lu Lin, it's almost dark, why are you two here?"
Lu Lin was not vague and stated his purpose directly.
"Captain, my father is going to be buried tomorrow, but we don't have a coffin at home. I'd like to ask if you could help me find someone who has some funeral supplies so we can buy some."
This was not a big deal, so the captain immediately agreed. "Come on, I'll take you to Lao Bangzi's house to ask. His mother has prepared some coffins, but she's in good health and won't need them in the next few years."
Lu Lin and Jiang Manyue followed the team leader to Lao Bangzi's house again, and he interceded on their behalf and asked the other party to agree to sell the coffin to them.
But unexpectedly, Lao Bangzi disagreed to sell the coffin, saying that his mother had to check on it every day to feel at ease, and if the coffin was sold, his mother would have no hope.
The captain had no choice but to persuade him, "Bangzi, this is an urgent matter. Old Lu passed away suddenly, and they are just waiting for this coffin to be buried. Besides, Lu Lin didn't ask for it for nothing. Didn't he even give you money to make another coffin?"
The neighbors knew about it and tried to persuade him, "Bangzi, Lao Lu was a very good person in our team. He passed away suddenly, and everyone in the team is sad. Please help and sell the coffin to Lu Lin."
The old man still refused to agree. "I had a lot of trouble finding the wood for my mother. It's in great condition. If I sell it, what will my mother use it for?"
The captain was anxious. "You can't use it now, right? Your mother is in good health. You have plenty of time to find better wood for her. But Old Lu can't wait any longer. She has to be buried tomorrow!"
The old man stiffened his neck and yelled, "If I can't use it, I have to sell it. The price he paid is not even enough to pay for the wood!"
This means that the money is not enough, and the captain immediately frowned.
"Bangzi, you can fool others, but you can't fool me? Don't even think about it! How much is your coffin worth? Do you think I don't know? Lu Lin offered fifty yuan, and you think it's not enough. What do you want to do?!"
Several neighbors couldn't stand it any longer. "That's right, fifty yuan! You think it's too little? What's wrong? You're taking advantage of someone else's problem and robbing them!"
After hearing what they said, Lao Bangzi simply threw in the towel and said, "Two hundred yuan! Don't even think about it if it's less!"
The captain was so angry that he was fuming. "You old bastard! You are taking advantage of the situation!"
The old man looked like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water. "What did I rob? My coffin is only worth 200 yuan. Take it or leave it!"
Jiang Manyue pulled Lu Lin's arm. They had no choice now since they needed it urgently. Two hundred was fine. They would buy it back first and talk about it later.
Just as the two were about to agree, someone shouted, "Fourth Grandpa is here!"
Jiang Manyue turned around and saw a white-haired old man walking towards her.
She thought about it for a moment and remembered who the old man was.
This old man is one of the oldest people in the team and has a high seniority. Everyone in the team calls him Fourth Grandpa. Even the team leader has to call him Fourth Grandpa.
"I heard that Qingyou passed away and is waiting for a coffin for burial?"
The captain nodded and said, "Qingyou left in a hurry and didn't prepare any funeral supplies. He wanted to find someone in the team to buy one, so I brought the second boy from the Lu family to Bangzi's house."
After hearing this, Fourth Grandpa looked at Lao Bangzi again and asked, "What's the matter? You don't want to sell it?"
The neighbors around immediately started to complain, thinking that Lao Bangzi was taking advantage of the situation and trying to extort money.
The old man was obviously feeling guilty in front of Fourth Grandpa, but he was still unwilling to let go of the opportunity that had already fallen into his mouth, so he kept silent.
"If he doesn't want to sell it, forget it. I have a coffin at home. You can use it, Lu."
The captain opened his mouth and was about to say something, then closed it again.
He meant that if the Lu family bought the coffin, Fourth Grandpa would have no coffin to use. What if...
But how could he say such words? Wouldn't that be a curse to death? He had no choice but to shut up.
"Qingyou grew up under my care. My coffin is not as good as the one made by the Bangzi family. It is not worth much. You can use it, young man from the Lu family."
Lu Lin quickly took out a hundred yuan and said, "Fourth Grandpa, I can't take the coffin for free. You are the elder of the team, and I am the younger one. This money is my filial piety to you, Fourth Grandpa, to prepare your funeral supplies. You must accept it, otherwise I will be too embarrassed to take your coffin home."
Jiang Manyue also said, "Fourth Grandpa, please accept it. My father certainly won't let us use Fourth Grandpa's coffin for burial. Just treat it as our younger generation honoring you."
Fourth Grandpa smiled and said, "It seems that if I don't accept the money, you don't want my coffin anymore?"
Lu Lin respectfully handed the money to Fourth Grandpa with both hands, "Fourth Grandpa, please accept it, otherwise I will feel uneasy."
Fourth Grandpa shook his head helplessly, "Okay, I'll take it. You can ask someone to go to my house and carry the coffin."
The captain quickly reacted, "It's too late today, and it's difficult to walk with the coffin. Tomorrow morning, I'll have a few people go to your house to carry the coffin."
Fourth Grandpa nodded, patted Lu Lin's shoulder, and went back with his hands behind his back.
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