87. Our rare treasures
Funerals in rural areas are a specialized industry. After Ling Letong was dragged back to her hometown, villagers eagerly rushed to "help" with the funeral, quickly setting up a mourning hall and then demanding money with a series of meaningless formalities. Ling Ling didn't believe any of this. She wouldn't stay in this village, not even in this lifetime, so she didn't need to adhere to the agricultural norms of relying on weddings and funerals to demonstrate strength and secure future labor support. She hated being blackmailed by superstition and moral coercion. She wouldn't drown in the spit of those who would barely touch her in this life, because she wouldn't even set foot within their reach. So she only paid for the mourning hall, coffin, and burial, and dressed in mourning clothes, silently keeping vigil on a bench. No one from the village came to her home to pay their respects. When they finally reached the grave, the few villagers who hadn't earned any money from her intervened. "The government requires cremation now, so your burial, occupying farmland, is illegal!" "Yes, it's illegal, we can't bury them!" Two or three villagers led the riot. Ling Ling's anger burned out her fear, and she stood up and shouted at them, "When someone dies, who doesn't cremate the body first, put it in a coffin, and then bury it? What's so special about my brother? Because I didn't obey you and pay the money, you're making trouble and cursing me for being unfilial and dying a bad death. Do you think you can live long by causing trouble at a dead person's grave for a few dirty money?" "Damn it, you dare to curse me!" The leading man rolled up his sleeves and tried to hit her. Zhong Mingtong suddenly appeared and pushed the man hard, causing him to stumble. "Who are you?" The man glared at Zhong Mingtong and beckoned his accomplices to gather around him. Zhong Mingtong calmly replied, "I'm no one. I'm just a doctor. I can't stand seeing people fighting. If you're injured, you have to find a doctor who works tirelessly to treat you. Even people with normal illnesses can't handle it." The man raised his fist to strike him, but was immediately stopped by the village chief. The chief recognized Zhong Mingtong as a doctor who had volunteered in their village and cured his son and elderly mother's chronic illnesses years earlier. "Stop messing around! There's no problem with the Ling family's burial. I've already approved it. Le Tong was always a well-behaved man. He died so young, without even a descendant, and you have the heart to make a scene!" The village chief's authority silenced the protesters, and Ling Le Tong was finally buried. Grains of earth slowly covered the coffin, and he watched as his brother's gravesite transformed from a pit into a mound, joining his parents' graves...
Funerals in rural areas are a specialized industry. After Ling Letong was taken back to his hometown, his fellow villagers eagerly came to "help" with the funeral, quickly setting up a mourning hall and then asking him to contribute money with a series of meaningless formalities.
Ling Ling didn't believe this. She wouldn't stay in this village in the future, and she wouldn't even come back in this life, so she didn't need to abide by the rules of the agricultural society that rely on weddings and funerals to demonstrate strength and gain more labor support in the future.
She hated being blackmailed by superstition and morally blackmailed. She wouldn't live in the spit of those who would barely touch her in this life, waiting to drown, because she wouldn't even step foot into their reach. So she only paid for the funeral hall, coffin, and burial, dressed in mourning clothes, and silently kept vigil on a bench.
No one from the entire village came to her house to pay their respects. When they finally reached the grave, a few villagers who hadn't made any money from her came up to stop them.
"The government now requires cremation. Your burial is illegal because it occupies farmland!"
"Yes, it's illegal and can't be buried!"
Two or three leading villagers were causing trouble.
Ling Ling's rage burned out her fear, and she stood up and shouted at them, "When someone dies, who among you doesn't cremate the body first, put it in a coffin, and then bury it? What's so special about my brother? Because I didn't obey you and pay the money, you came here to make trouble, and even cursed me for being unfilial and dying a bad death. Do you think you can live a long life by causing trouble at a dead person's grave for a few dirty money?"
"Damn it, you dare to curse me!" The leading man rolled up his sleeves and wanted to hit her.
Zhong Mingtong suddenly appeared and pushed the man hard, causing him to stagger.
"Who are you?" The man looked at Zhong Mingtong with a fierce look and called several accomplices around him to gather around.
Zhong Mingtong said calmly, "I'm not anyone, I'm just a doctor. I can't stand seeing people fighting. If someone gets injured, I have to find a doctor and he'll work tirelessly to treat them. I can't even handle the normal patients."
The man raised his fist and was about to hit him, but was immediately stopped by the village chief. The village chief recognized Zhong Mingtong, a doctor who had volunteered in their village and cured his son and elderly mother of their chronic illnesses.
"Stop messing around! There's nothing wrong with the Ling family's burial. I've already approved it. Le Tong has always been a very honest person. He's gone so young, without even leaving behind an heir. And you have the heart to make a fuss!"
The village chief's authority suppressed those people, and Ling Letong was finally buried.
Grains of earth slowly covered the coffin. She watched as her brother's grave, transformed from a pit into a mound, formed a slanted triangle with his parents' graves. Here lay her last relative. From now on, she would no longer be bound by kinship. She would only be responsible for herself. If she fell ill, no one would sign informed consent for surgery. She removed her mourning clothes, dug a shallow grave with her hands, and buried the clothes.
And the name Ling Letong also vanished from this world, having come quietly and gone silently. She never knew her brother's dreams, nor did she know his last wishes. He lived like a pantomime, washing away the tragedy of his untimely death.
The villagers had left long ago. Ling Ling knelt on the rough gravel. Her knees went from pain to numbness. When she slowly stood up, she almost fell down.
Fortunately, someone supported her. It was Zhong Mingtong.
"Doctor Zhong? You're still here. Thank you, both in the hospital and just now." Ling Ling looked sad, but there was a smile of gratitude in her eyes.
Zhong Mingtong only let go of her hand when she was steady. He shook his head and said, "No, it's nothing. I didn't help much. When I was volunteering, if a patient I treated passed away, I would visit the cemetery as long as I could spare the time. The seniors at the hospital said that this was not a good thing and would make others doubt my medical skills, but I don't think it's a big deal. How can the macro-level impact of life and death be more powerful than rumors?"
Ling Ling looked at him approvingly, and then asked, "How are you going to get back to the county town later?"
"I'll go to town and take the bus, then stay in the hotel for another night and return to Beijing tomorrow."
"By the way, I heard that you were supposed to return to Beijing last week, but my brother's illness delayed you for another week."
Seeing that she was feeling sorry for everything, Zhong Mingtong smiled and comforted her, saying, "If you want to pay me back, just walk to the station with me. It's a good opportunity for you to relax."
Ling Ling readily agreed, and the two of them strolled together along the country road as the sun set. The blood-red setting sun shone across the emerald green fields, and the grayish-yellow ridges cut through the unbridled growth of crops.
Ling Ling spoke in a low voice, recounting a family story she had nowhere to share: "More than a decade ago, there was a chemical plant in this village that polluted the water source. Many villagers developed terminal illnesses as a result. My uncle and aunt died from this cause, and my brother has always had poor health, undoubtedly due to the pollution. At the time, mainstream media reported on it, and the villagers frequently sued the higher authorities. Only after reports and petitions were made did the chemical plant finally shut down. The compensation they paid was only enough to buy cheap lives, not to treat the living. Now, my brother is gone, and I resent many things, even myself, because I was powerless."
Zhong Mingtong gazed at the gradually darkening sky in the distance, strolled with her, and slowly began to speak: "I will take the initiative to participate in the volunteer service project of rural medical care. In fact, there is also this reason: I often feel deeply powerless in the real world. In the hospital, I race against time and save life after life from the hands of death, but a severely injured life is no longer fresh. In many cases, it is just hanging on. I am just a medical device. Even so, not everyone has an equal opportunity to choose the diagnosis and treatment method. Once, I had the wrong kind intention and said a few more words to the patient's family. As a result, they reported me, and then the whole hospital was informed and my salary was reduced. During that time, all the hierarchies, promotions, prescription choices, and doctor-patient relationships made me feel boring and exhausted.
So I wanted to come to rural areas where medical care is scarce. I wanted to rediscover the sense of mission that first brought me to the profession of doctor. Simply healing and saving lives. Seeing chronic illnesses being healed, my strength seemed to be returning little by little.”
"Our strength is recovering along with you." Ling Ling's clear eyes met his, and she spoke sincerely, "Your presence is a great comfort to us, the patient's family. When a family member suffers a terminal illness, in their final days, they always have endless regrets—not being able to be with them more, not being able to provide them with better medical care. The day I returned home, I saw my brother crammed into a six-bed room, the strong smell of disinfectant unable to dispel the foul odor. I transferred him to a single room that day, but that was all I could do. I so desperately wished for a better doctor to see him. Then you appeared. Even though you spoke of the worst possible outcome, it freed us from dwelling on regrets and forgetting to say goodbye properly. In those last two days, my brother and I spoke so much. The companionship we lost over the years may only ever be a regret, but he and I had a farewell, the slowest of farewells, just for us. This farewell will linger for the rest of my life, and it brings warmth to my heart every time I think of it. Dr. Zhong, thank you."
Two lines of clear tears fell, and what was reflected in Zhong Mingtong's eyes was her pitiful smile.
He nodded earnestly, wanting to encourage her. "My daily job is to fight death. I've seen too many separations and deaths. I don't want to rely on numbness to get through this. So, I interpret life and death to myself from a macro perspective. When I put everything into the vast river of history, it becomes nothing."
Ling Ling's eyes immediately flashed with surprise: "Wow, Dr. Zhong, your idea is exactly the same as mine!"
"Really?" Zhong Mingtong was also delighted. "So, as a tiny speck of dust in the vastness of the universe, if we change our cosmic perspective, we can alleviate the pain of death. At the same time, no matter how small we are, we can also be rich, and we can still hold on to what we believe is worthwhile. It's like we carry a few rare treasures, walking on a night road full of bandits. These treasures represent fairness and justice, compassion and empathy, chivalry and bravery, and kindness. We are robbed from time to time and beaten to a bloody pulp. Every time we are robbed, we become more indifferent, but also stronger, and learn new ways to resist the robbers. No matter what, we should protect these treasures well, let them accompany us to the end of our lives, and in our final days, we can face our own death calmly, don't you think?"
"Yes, especially—you have companions along the way."
Ling Ling smiled at him tacitly, and her smile still carried the fragrance of Lingmei.
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