Chapter 34
Gu Yan bowed silently to the old man, then turned to the east kang to look at Aunt Li who was crying. Several women surrounded him and said words of comfort, while Gu Yan stood by the kang in silence.
What can I say? My condolences. The old man is the one she depends on for survival, the man who will accompany her for her whole life. Now that he is gone, how should she live now? I'm afraid nothing I can say can comfort her sadness and fear.
He secretly took out a sedative from the space, poured some water and handed it to the old man. "You should take your medicine."
"I...why don't I die? I'm a paralytic, why should I take medicine? I'll just die."
The old lady looked excited and waved her hand to open Gu Yan's hand. The skinny old lady seemed quite strong. If it weren't for Gu Yan's good skills, the cup of water and pills would have been knocked over. Gu Yan didn't say any more and just raised his hand and stuffed the pill into her mouth. Then pat her on the back and feed her some water. The series of actions were completed in one go, leaving the people around amazed.
"Take a rest. The dead are gone, but the living must continue. How can I die peacefully like this?"
"If you're not at ease... take me with you!" Maybe it was because the medicine took effect quickly or her actions made people feel at ease, but the old lady finally calmed down.
"Don't think so. Everyone has their own life span. I've never heard of two people walking hand in hand to the underworld." Gu Yan stretched out his hand to help her lie down. "Rest for a while. You're too excited and your nerves can't take it. Your son told me last night that I will take care of you in the future. Don't worry about your life. I will do my best."
The old lady held her hand tightly, as if she was grabbing a life-saving straw. Gu Yan raised his hand to massage her to soothe her nerves. The old woman finally stopped crying and making noise and gradually calmed down.
She was puzzled by the old man's sudden death, but with so many people around, she couldn't go forward to check. People nowadays believe that the dead are the most important. If she were to examine the body in front of others, she would be carried away by everyone and thrown out. The anger of the public cannot be offended. After thinking for a while, I decided to go to the place where he fainted to see if I could find anything.
The last place the old man stayed was the toilet outside the courtyard. After he was found, he was carried back by his neighbors. There were a lot of footprints on the ground. After the accident, most of the people in the village came to see it, and the scene had already been completely destroyed.
Could it be a sudden cerebral hemorrhage or something like that? The woman looked around like a searchlight, and finally picked up a button in the corner.
Blue flowered buttons were very common in that era, and almost all clothes had buttons made like this, nothing special. Judging from the pattern, it should belong to a woman. Is there any clue? Putting it into a small plastic bag, she searched the surrounding area carefully again. In the end, I didn’t find anything, so I had to return.
In the armory of the space, he found the instrument used by the criminal investigation department for fingerprint identification. After checking the buttons, Gu Yan grabbed his hair in despair. This thing is covered in mud and there's nothing on it. An ordinary, common button means nothing.
Not giving up, she wanted to check again, so she moved into Li's house with her child at night. She arranged for the children to sleep in the side room while she stayed in the main room with the old lady. There was no one there in the middle of the night, and the old lady was also given sedatives by her. She stood up and checked on the old man who was parked on the ground.
Gu Yan has dissected zombies from the apocalypse, so he is very brave. Undress the old man and search his body thoroughly. In the end, nothing was gained. There were no injuries on the old man's body and nothing seemed wrong. The village doctor said that he most likely had a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, and the doctor from the commune health center who came to pay his respects also thought it was a cerebral hemorrhage, just as she had guessed before. There are many examples of sudden deaths among the elderly. When people get old, you never know when they may suddenly leave.
Am I really overthinking it? She shook her head and prepared to let her daughter take the button and spread the news to see if anyone would claim it. Then investigate how the incident unfolded and find out if anyone noticed anyone appearing nearby so early in the morning. Or heard some noise.
After investigation, the neighbors said they didn't hear anything. Looking at the buttons she was holding, everyone disapproved. This fabric is sold at the supply and marketing cooperative, and many people buy the same pattern.
The branch secretary also scolded her and said she was fooling around. It is normal for an old man to fall down and be unable to get up after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. Who would want to harm an ordinary old farmer? It's ridiculous. People around her also think she is too worried. Even the old lady told her not to think too much and agreed to let her take care of them at night, but this happened early the next morning. The old man was so unlucky.
Just mentioned it briefly, and everyone has already collectively condemned her. The scene was completely destroyed, and the only way to investigate was to perform an autopsy. If she says this, people will spit on her to death. Not only would it be impossible to implement, she would be considered crazy and her plan to take care of the old lady would be ruined. She didn't care whether she lived in the Li family's house or not, but she was really worried about the old man who always showed kindness to her.
The next day, there was a response from Li Zhongxia's troops. It seemed like he was going to take part in some kind of exercise, so it was impossible for him to come back halfway. I could only ask the brigade cadres to handle my father's funeral arrangements.
The branch secretary sighed, saying that it has always been difficult to be both loyal and filial, and began to prepare for the old man's funeral. Hit the grave. Carrying the coffin was easy for the young girl of the Li family who came after hearing the news, as her father's funeral was already over. This woman was as kind as her parents. When she heard that it was her eldest brother who arranged for Gu Yan to take care of her mother, she cried and begged her to take more care of her mother.
A week passed and no one claimed the button. There was nothing unusual about what happened and everyone thought it was normal. The old man was buried and the matter ended there. She could only suppress her doubts and keep the button.
Gu Yan and his children officially moved into the Li family. I cleaned every corner of the house inside and outside, and with the help of my two daughters, I gave the old lady a bath and changed her into clean clothes. The old woman has been bedridden for many years, but she has no bedsores, which means she married a good man! The house is not very clean, but her husband is not too sloppy.
Put the old man on the wooden board outside the house to bask in the sun. The house was ventilated by opening the windows and doors, and Gu Yan took apart all the bedding and clothes and took them outside to wash. I also sprayed air freshener while no one was around.
After a whole day of cleaning, the house looked brand new. In the evening, the old lady sat on the kang and sewed a quilt with needle, looking up from time to time to check on the four children. This is the first time I feel the joy of family life at this age. The children called her grandma, which made her feel the hope and vitality brought by the continuation of life.
Her only son also had a child, but she had only seen him once a few years ago. The child was born and raised in the city, and he showed obvious disgust towards her, an old woman paralyzed in bed. He called her grandma reluctantly and never came near her.
However, these children who were not related to her by blood made her feel the joy of being an elder. They even insisted that she drink a few sips of a bowl of malted milk, and acted as intimately with her as if she were their real grandmother.
And there was Gu Yan, who didn't mind the dirt or the smell and cleaned the place up for her. The fresh air made her want to take a few deep breaths.
He lived a clean and tidy life, but an accident made him unable to stand up again. After all, men are rough, and no matter how patiently he takes care of her, he can't maintain her previous state. I thought this was how my life would be and I was waiting to die, but unexpectedly I felt this refreshing feeling again.
Four years later, summer. A thunderstorm had just passed in the afternoon, and a colorful rainbow appeared in the sky. Gu Yan picked up the hoe and prepared to go to the field. He took two steps, turned around and shouted.
"Gu Yanxi, Gu Yantong is gone, it's time to go to school."
The two girls still have to go to school before summer vacation. Upon hearing this, he quickly washed his brother and sister's faces to wake them up. Old Mrs. Li on the kang stuffed two candies into the children's hands and began to repeat the instructions for twice a day.
"Be obedient, and don't make trouble during class. I'll give you something delicious when I get back!"
Gu Yan carried a hoe and went to the fields with the people in the yard. I ran into Li Zhongxia at the gate. This man came back less often in recent years, but he sent money and things on time every month. Except for his mother's share, which was originally agreed to be given to Gu Yan, later it was given to her on time without a penny less. Even when she rejected him, he didn't stop and said that she deserved it.
Gu Yan looked at his shirt without the collar badge and immediately understood. Is this being sent down to the countryside to farm and receive re-education? According to the letter, the baby in my arms should be over one year old, so why is he so thin?
"My godmother is in the room. I hope you can have an extra half bowl of rice when you come back. I'll go to the field first and won't call you."
"Oh, you're busy. I can go back by myself."
They took a step forward and passed each other. He heard the neighbor greeting him and looked at the little girl in his arms with curiosity. Every time I come back, I am alone. Why did you bring the child back this time?
Gu Yan was not curious about this. He carried his hoe and walked slowly like everyone else. When I met Sister Xu, the two women chatted as they walked.
"The second Han's wife said she was pregnant a few days ago, but it turned out to be false. She wasn't pregnant at all. She was crying in the house and everyone on the street could hear her. I wonder if she was upset and not pregnant, or was she beaten by her mother-in-law's husband?"
When talking about that woman with unclear mind, Gu Yan felt at a loss whether to laugh or cry. The time when that woman went to find her when she first came, she later told Sister Xu about it, and Sister Xu actually laughed at her for being stupid.
"Silly girl, I'm just showing off to you."
"Show off? What does she have to show off?" Am I not smart enough? Why can't I see that there is something about her that is worth showing off to her husband's ex-wife?
"You were abandoned by your husband's family, but someone wants you as a widow. If you add the praises from your parents-in-law and sisters-in-law, saying how much better you are than them, they will try to show off in front of you in every possible way."
Gu Yan nodded and looked up at the sky in silence. Only then did I realize that what she said that day was a disguised form of showing off. Every word and sentence indicates that someone wants me, but no one wants you.
Ugh, she doesn’t want them to be in such a hell of a place like the old Han family.
Gu Yan has become very skilled at raking soil and weeding the corn, mechanically repeating the same action. The movements were neither fast nor slow, and no one could tell what was going on. We worked until the sun went down, and when the news of the end of work came, everyone went out.
"We will start harvesting wheat the day after tomorrow. Everyone, get ready and sharpen your sickles. We are in the heat of the year, so don't take it lightly..."
The captain stood on the side of the road and yelled at the top of his lungs, but no one was very motivated. So what if we seize the summer? We won’t get any of the wheat. Two kilograms a year is not bad. We haven't eaten fine grains in these years. The minimum monthly food supply in cities is 25% fine grains. They are lucky, because they grow their own wheat and can only eat white flour twice a year.
When I got home, the two girls had already started cooking. Cornmeal porridge with some cornmeal dumplings cooked in it. All the corn in their family is produced in Gu Yan's space, which is much better than the food of this era. The peeled fruit has a delicate taste and a sweet flavor.
"Mom, you're back." The two little ones jumped towards her happily. Gu Yan reached out and took out the picked papayas (wild fruits) from her pocket and gave them to the children.
"Share it with my sister."
The little girl nodded and skipped to find her sister. The youngest, Gu Yanlei, peeled one and put it in his mouth first, then looked at his mother and slowly walked towards his sister.
Brat, I've had this kind of personality since I was young. He is slow, greedy, and wants the delicious food first. He works as slowly as a turtle.
Gu Yan looked at him quietly, seeing him peel the papaya and hand it to Xiaohua. Xiaohua deliberately teased him and asked for another one. The four-year-old boy's eyes flickered between his sister and the papaya in his hand, and finally he pursed his lips to negotiate with his sister.
"Can I have one more this time?" After saying this, as if he was afraid that his sister would not agree, he added a proviso. "Give sister an extra one tomorrow."
Xiaohua pretended to think about it for a while, and finally nodded reluctantly. "You can have one more, but you have to help your sister pick beans."
Want to work? The little guy hesitated again, wondering whether he should agree or not. Gu Yanzhu on the side was already giggling and embarrassing her brother.
"Stupid brother, you can't even pick beans."
Dahua also laughed and bent down to scratch the younger brother's red cheek. "Promise your second sister, and your eldest sister will help you pick them later."
"Gu Yanxi..." Xiaohua pouted and glared at her sister, with an expression that said, "Why are you so disobedient?" "Don't always think about helping him. He's four years old. How long can you help him?"
"But it's not unusual for a four-year-old to not be able to pick beans. He has learned to feed himself this year, and recently he has also learned to dress himself. Don't be too strict, you have to teach him slowly."
"That's why we need to cultivate his hands-on ability. If you spoil him like this, what will happen if he doesn't do it himself in a few days?"
"I will."
After listening to his second sister, Gu Yanlei quickly opened his mouth to express his opinion. You two, don't you consider my feelings at all when you say this? Wait a minute, the young lady is going to embarrass me again. I’m just a little slower. Can’t I learn slowly?
The little brother pouted, his red apple cheeks were plump and puffy, and he stared at his three sisters with his clear round eyes. The cute look instantly broke Xiaohua's dissatisfaction.
"Okay, you can do it. Then can you be quicker next time? I've been late several times because of you. If you're late again, you have to clean the classroom for me. You're the culprit for being late."
The little girl also knew that her sister was criticized by the teacher for being late, and nodded when she heard it. "I'll try my best."
"Ha ha……"
This time, all five of them laughed. Gu Yan squatted, took a step forward, hugged the little guy and kissed him several times. He actually imitated his mother's way of speaking and always said he would try his best when making promises. But mom can do her best, and I don’t know how effective your efforts will be.
The author has something to say: Happy New Year to all the little angels,
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