"Big sister, you borrowed ten thousand yuan from Dad, right? Shouldn't you take out that money?"
The eldest sister blushed, feeling extremely angry. The eldest sister's husband looked at the younger sister with disgust, as if he had swallowed a fly. How could there be such a disgusting person in the world?
Erlong stepped forward, took out 10,000 yuan from his share, and handed it to Chen's mother: "Mother, my eldest sister's family is building a house, and I want to do my part."
The eldest brother-in-law raised an eyebrow. It seemed that his wife's family was still worth visiting. This second brother-in-law was different after going to the capital.
Chen's mother glanced at the ten thousand yuan beside her, then at her youngest daughter: "You should go. You've always been so competitive and ambitious. Aren't you tired? You have the body of a young lady but the fate of a maid. You're going to suffer a lot."
Chen Xiaomei stared in astonishment at her mother, who was waving her hands at her as if shooing away a fly. In a fit of pique, she thought, "Fine, I'll go then."
Cuihua watched her leave in a huff, no longer even calling her "mother," and said sarcastically, "If you're so capable, then don't eat your mother's food."
Chen Xiaomei suddenly turned around, wanting to vent her anger by cursing a few words, but when she saw Yan Xiaonan slowly stand up, she felt her forehead hurt again, so she turned around and left without even looking back.
Seeing Chen Xiaomei's frightened expression, her uncle thought to himself, "No rush. Give her a good beating when we get back, and she'll tell me everything."
"Mom, please take care of yourself. We'll head back now and come see you tomorrow," Uncle said politely. He had no choice; he was being beholden to those who had given him food, and he had to maintain a certain level of decorum.
The village chief left behind the documents and receipts, and prepared to leave with 60,000 yuan: "Sister-in-law, please accept my condolences. Erlong and Cuihua are both good people. Your good days are yet to come."
Chen's mother stood up and thanked the village chief for his concern. She said the village chief had gone to great lengths this time and she had to express her gratitude.
"Village chief, this 10,000 yuan is a small token of my and my husband's appreciation for the village. It's enough to help poor children get an education and have enough to eat."
The village chief was taken aback. He glanced at Yan Xiaonan and Bei Nan. Yan Xiaonan nodded. She had never hidden the fact that she donated money from her grandparents. Now her grandparents had learned to do it too.
"Alright, I thank you on behalf of the children. I'll make a banner for you tomorrow. Oh, and I think I also need to give you the donation receipt." The village chief was overjoyed. Ten thousand yuan could buy so much food for those children.
Watching the village chief's departing figure, Chen's mother said to Cuihua and the others, "You all go back over there. I'll keep vigil tonight and keep the old man company."
Cuihua wanted to stay, and her older sister also wanted to stay, but they were both driven away by Chen's mother. She just wanted to have a proper talk with the old man by herself.
Her uncle pulled her away, saying, "Mom, we'll come first thing tomorrow morning. If you're tired, go to bed early."
Chen's mother nodded, and after everyone in the main room had left, she lit three incense sticks, burned some paper money, and spoke to Chen's father's portrait.
Da Long poked his head out for a glance, then immediately withdrew it, thinking that he would dismantle the spirit platform after the old man finished his seven-day mourning period, otherwise it would be too creepy.
Chen's mother talked on and on for a long time. Seeing that the incense was about to burn out, she quickly lit three more sticks of incense. Then she went to the kitchen to fetch a basin of hot water, washed her hands and face, and went back to her room.
Early the next morning, Cuihua and Yan Xiaoqiang were the first to arrive at the old house. They found the courtyard gate wide open, and even the door to the main room was open. All the incense and candles in front of the mourning hall had burned out, but no one had relit them.
Cuihua's face immediately fell. The village had strict rules: as long as the altar was not dismantled, the incense and candles must not be extinguished, otherwise it would be considered truly unfilial.
Yan Xiaoqiang quickly helped the swaying Cuihua up and said in a low voice, "Cuihua, you are a member of the Yan family."
Cuihua's anger miraculously subsided considerably. Yes, she was a member of the Yan family, and Erlong would stand up for her in this kind of situation.
Sure enough, the first thing Erlong did when he saw the scene before him was to kick open Dalong's door. Dalong was too scared to go out last night because he heard his mother telling him to be careful with the incense and candles.
But he didn't dare open the door, and neither did his wife, because his father had been angered to death by Da Long. How could they face Old Man Chen's portrait? So neither of them thought that the candlelight should not be extinguished.
Bei and Nan followed them in. They were planning to leave after offering incense, but they were surprised to be faced with this scene and were momentarily stunned.
Yan Xiaonan's expression suddenly changed: "Third brother, go check on Grandma, why isn't she up yet?"
Bei Nan seemed to realize something and ran towards Chen's mother's room. Instantly, the air in the Chen family froze, and Da Long and his wife didn't dare to breathe.
"Mom, Mom, come quick!" Bei Nan's terrified cry came from inside.
Yan Xiaonan knew something was wrong and was about to lift her leg when Ye Chenming grabbed her: "Oh my god, you're holding Enming."
Yan Xiaonan nodded, and Chen Ming rushed into the room before Cuihua, followed by Erlong. They saw Chen's mother lying neatly dressed on the kang (a heated brick bed), with an empty pesticide bottle next to her pillow.
Chen's mother was still holding a piece of paper in her hand. Erlong carefully took the paper down. There were a few lines of words written on it in a crooked manner.
Yan Xiaonan's consciousness swept over her, and she saw her grandmother's last words: I'm going to join the old man. You all take care of yourselves. Don't make things difficult for Dalong, and don't scold Xiaomei. It's all in the past. Live your lives well.
Yan Xiaonan couldn't sense her grandmother's presence, which meant they would have to hold another funeral.
Bei Nan looked at the words on the paper, raised his head, turned around and walked out. Da Long was no longer a threat, but couldn't those gamblers who colluded with him be dealt with?
The village chief walked into the main room with the donation receipt and the banner. For a moment, he thought he had come to the wrong place, but Old Chen's photo was still hanging on the wall, and the candles were still burning.
Hearing Cuihua crying suddenly, he knew something was wrong. But that was their main house, and he really couldn't just go in. He was annoyed to see Dalong and his wife standing trembling at the door.
"Dalong, why did your father's candle go out? Don't you live in this house? Are you dead?"
"Uncle, I'm scared, I'm really scared, I don't dare to come out," Da Long said.
The village chief stared at the two precious children in disbelief: "What are you afraid of, your own father?"
Yan Xiaonan walked up and looked at Dalong, saying, "Didn't you hear my mother crying? Why don't you go and see her?"
Da Long took a step back. Cuihua was crying so bitterly, there couldn't be anything good. Basically, her mother had kicked the bucket. But how did her mother kick the bucket? Was she taken away by her father? Would her father take her with him?
Thinking of this, all her fear vanished. She rushed to the altar, lit incense and candles, burned paper money, and kowtowed repeatedly to the portrait: "Father, Father, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong, please don't take me away."
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