Wang Xiulan knelt at the foot of the bed, completely stunned.
Wang Dajiang collapsed to the ground, watching helplessly as his mother's frail body bounced up and down under the electric shock.
"Stop."
The doctor finally removed his stethoscope, his voice incredibly heavy.
The nurses silently stepped back, revealing the old lady's peaceful face.
The faint smile lingered on her lips, as if she were merely asleep.
Wang Dajiang suddenly let out a terrifying howl, and his mutilated body unleashed astonishing strength, managing to climb onto the hospital bed.
He buried his face in his mother's still-warm neck and curled up like he had when he was a child.
Wang Xiulan hugged her brother's shoulders from behind, and their tears mingled together, dripping onto the old lady's gradually cooling face.
...
The crying in the ward gradually subsided.
"dad."
Su Jianguo stood up, his voice low and steady.
Of all the people present, only he is in charge.
"We need to discuss Mom's funeral arrangements."
Grandpa Wang sat on a chair by the hospital bed, his hands tightly holding his wife's already cold hands, his eyes vacant.
Hearing his son-in-law's words, he slowly raised his head.
"Building a nation..."
The old man's voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible.
"Your mother...said something before she died..."
Su Jianguo knelt down beside his father-in-law and gently grasped the old man's trembling shoulders.
"Dad, please tell me slowly."
She said...
The old man took a deep breath.
"I don't want to be cremated... because then I'll just turn into ashes, without a body... and won't be able to reincarnate..."
Su Jianguo nodded, showing no impatience whatsoever.
He had expected this to happen. Most of the older generation were against cremation, believing it would sever the path to reincarnation.
"I understand, we'll have a traditional burial."
Su Jianguo spoke firmly.
"Should I be buried in Beijing, or... return to my hometown?"
This question made the old man fall into deep thought.
He turned to look at his peaceful wife on the hospital bed, and then at his son Wang Dajiang and daughter Wang Xiulan who were weeping by the bedside.
"Let's go back to our hometown..."
The old man finally said.
"My family is in Baoding...we have ancestral graves...when I die...I want to be buried with my wife..."
Su Jianguo stood up.
"Okay, then let's go back to Baoding. Dad, do you have any special requests? Like funeral clothes, coffin..."
"shroud..."
The old man suddenly remembered something.
"At the very bottom of her wardrobe... in the pocket of that blue cotton-padded jacket... there was something she had prepared long ago..."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiulan suddenly raised her head.
"Mom...Mom was prepared a long time ago?"
The old man nodded.
"They've been preparing for five or six years, saying they're afraid it won't be enough time by then..."
Suppressed sobs echoed again in the ward.
Su Jianguo took a deep breath and continued to ask.
"What about the coffin? Should we buy it here, or get one back in our hometown?"
"Let's go back to our hometown..."
The old man pondered.
"Old Liu from the village... has the best coffin-making skills... your mother praised him..."
Su Jianguo wrote it all down.
He then looked at his watch.
"It's just the beginning of spring. From Beijing to Baoding, it would take at least six hours by train. But trains don't transport bodies; you need to find freight trucks, but drivers generally don't want to take those jobs."
Wang Xiulan wiped away her tears and looked at her husband with worry.
"What should we do then?"
"don’t worry."
Su Jianguo patted his wife's hand.
"I have a way."
He left the ward, went to the hospital's public phone booth, and began making calls one by one.
The first person I called was his workplace, the transportation team at the steel rolling mill.
"Old Li, it's me, Su Jianguo."
Su Jianguo got straight to the point.
"I urgently need your help..."
Upon hearing Su Jianguo's request, Old Li's tone immediately became troubled.
"Brother Su, it's not that I don't want to help... but transporting a body is just too unlucky... My convoy belongs to the government, and the higher-ups will probably have something to say if they find out..."
"I can offer a high price."
Su Jianguo tried to persuade him.
"It's really not about the money..."
Old Li sighed.
"There are taboos in this line of work... You should ask someone else."
After hanging up the phone, Su Jianguo contacted several other transportation companies, but was politely refused by all of them.
Some hung up immediately, while others politely indicated that they "didn't accept this kind of business."
Back in the ward, Su Jianguo's expression was somewhat grave.
Wang Xiulan immediately sensed that her husband was in trouble and asked softly.
"Couldn't find the car?"
Su Jianguo shook his head, then gave a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, I have another way."
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