Zhou Xiaocun glanced at his crazy father, felt powerless, stood up and walked out of the room.
In the main room, Aunt Zhou Liru had stopped crying and was leaning against the wall, silently looking at the old lady's body.
This old house in Zhoujia Village has been deserted since they moved out. The yard is overgrown with weeds, and Old Man Zhou's grandchildren are mowing the lawn.
Zhou Liru heard the door open, her eyes lit up, and she stood up and walked over to Zhou Xiaocun, "What did Dad say? When will he go to invite the clan leader?"
Zhou Xiaocun now remembered that he had forgotten to ask this question, "He's in a bad mood, wait a little longer."
"Brother, do you and Dad want to move back? It's not convenient for me to visit you over there."
Zhou Xiaocun looked around for a moment and shook his head, "Let's talk about it later. Where's my brother-in-law? Why hasn't he come over?"
Zhou Liru hesitated for a moment. "I have some work to do in the team, so I might come over tonight. How many days do you think would be appropriate for the funeral?"
"Dad wants that man to come back and give Mom a ride. Let Dad do what he wants. He has the final say. If my brother-in-law and the others don't want to come, then forget it. Don't ask him."
Zhou Liru curled her lips. "Why let that bastard come back? He didn't even say hello to me the last time he came back. Especially when that damn girl saw me on the street, she just walked away without batting an eyelid. I was so embarrassed and laughed at for a long time. When the eldest family encountered problems and went to the county town to look for her, she chased us out with all her courtesy. She even said, don't push all the good or bad things on her. Damn little girl, no mercy at all."
Her second daughter-in-law curled her lips, then looked at the old lady's burial clothes and smiled sarcastically. "How shameless! You keep calling me the eldest lady, the eldest lady is your ancestor!"
"They won't be coming back. Don't talk about them. It's a bummer! Look around and see if there's anything else you need to prepare. Start by getting the kids ready."
"I know. I've asked my niece's wife to prepare it. Mom has suffered all her life, so I want her to pass away peacefully."
When Aunt Zhou's second daughter-in-law saw her uncle leave, she said, "Grandma's burial clothes were all prepared by Zhou Jiao. I think they might come back."
Aunt Zhou glared at her and said, "You are so short-sighted."
In public, seeing the sympathetic and teasing eyes of the other daughters-in-law, the second daughter-in-law was so angry that her face turned red. She tried to comfort her with kindness, but ended up being in a difficult position.
She yelled angrily, "I may be short-sighted, but I'm not wrong. What's wrong with you being arrogant? You can't curry favor with him even if you want to..."
Before she could finish her words, she grabbed her coat and ran out.
Aunt Zhou held her chest and pointed at her back, "You're so rebellious! How dare you talk to me like that..."
When the Zhou family's nephews and their wives saw that things had gotten out of hand, they were so scared that they ran away.
Zhou Linan, the youngest grandson of the Zhou family, watched this scene from the side and shouted angrily, "Go back if you want to make a fuss. My grandma is still here. Don't you want her to die in peace?"
After he yelled at her, Aunt Zhou finally shut up quietly.
Zhou Linnan pursed his lips and frowned, looking at his sisters-in-law who had left on some pretext, and his brothers who pretended not to hear in the yard, and sighed secretly.
As the sky darkened, Zhou Linan glanced anxiously at the master bedroom. He wondered how his grandfather was doing. He hadn't come out all afternoon, and no one had bothered to check on him.
Standing up, he walked to the front of the house and knocked on the door, "Master, it's me."
Mr. Zhou heard the voice in a daze, "Come in."
Seeing his youngest grandson, Grandpa Zhou stood up and leaned against the kang. "Don't be sad. Your grandma had suffered less if she died earlier. Her body had been suffering for many more years."
"Master, are you okay?"
Grandpa Zhou raised his lips in relief, "It's okay. I'm still waiting for you to get married and have children. Xiaonan, I will definitely let you live a good life."
Zhou Linan climbed onto the kang and took his hand, "Grandpa, I'm grown up now. Don't worry about me anymore."
"good."
"Master, I want us to move back home."
Grandpa Zhou looked at his grandson and saw that he was serious. He thought for a moment and said, "After your father and I leave, your brothers will all be in Lin County. If you encounter problems here alone, there will be no one to help you. Do you want to reconsider?"
Zhou Linan laughed sarcastically, "Master, don't you know what kind of people they are? I thought a lot about grandma's return to the village this time. No matter how bad the tribesmen are, they still come to help when they encounter problems."
Grandpa Zhou knew this. But moving out was easy, but moving in was more troublesome. Seeing his grandson's expectant eyes, he finally nodded.
He was old, too, and it was time for him to return to his roots. Why had he foolishly followed his eldest son's lead? Thinking of his wife's plans to return to the village before she left, he nodded to his grandson again.
"I'll go tell the captain after your grandma's funeral is over. This time, we, the grandparents and your dad, will move back together." Having said this, Grandpa Zhou wanted to hurry up and write a letter to Gu Ruyi.
His demands were modest; all he wanted was a job for his grandson in the county. He'd then, like Zhang Laoer, buy a yard and live with his grandson in the county, occasionally returning to the old house. With his own savings and pension, he had no problem finding a good grandson's wife.
Old Master Zhou peeked outside and whispered, "Don't tell anyone about this. I'll make the arrangements. We'll be back once everything is done."
Zhou Linan nodded. He knew that if the old man lived with him in his hometown, his brothers and sisters-in-law would have something to say or do to stop him. For the sake of the old man's private property, these people had no shame.
After dinner, Mr. Zhou went to the clan leader's house on the pretext of discussing the funeral.
"Jiaren is here. Have you decided on a date? Don't make it too grand these days. The person is gone and it's all over. My sister-in-law is a virtuous woman. She won't want you to go through so much trouble."
Old Master Zhou wiped away his tears and said sadly, "I'd better wait for Xiaozheng. He hates me, but his mother loves him, so I have to come and see her off."
Clan leader Zhou watched his performance with a headache, shaking his head at his wife who was about to speak. "Jiaren, listen to my advice and stop making such a fuss. Have the funeral soon so you can take the children home to earn work points. You don't have to say anything, it's up to you whether you listen or not. I didn't even ask you to notify Xiaozheng when my sister-in-law fell ill, so why are you making such a fuss now?"
Mr. Zhou was choked for a long time, "The child's mother is worried about adding burden to Xiaozheng."
The Zhou clan leader didn't want to say anything more. With both families in such a mess, why would Zhou Xiaozheng and his daughter come to visit? Since he was willing to play dumb, let him.
Old Master Zhou said hesitantly, "I've sent a telegram. If the father and daughter don't come back in the next two days, forget it. Do you think this will work?"
Chief Zhou looked at him speechlessly. It was fortunate that it was winter. What if it were summer? They wouldn't even spare the dead.
"Clan leader?"
"It's up to you. You can do whatever you want. The third family wants to live in your yard. What do you think? An empty yard will fall apart quickly. It will be easier to maintain if someone lives there."
Old Master Zhou observed his expression and said, "I was just about to tell you this. My grandson wants to move back home. He feels his roots are here. It's my fault that I left in such a hurry that I didn't have time to discuss it with you. Do you think it's okay for me to move my grandson back to the team?"
After hearing this, the Zhou clan leader closed his eyes and thought: They were all descendants of the Zhou family, so he couldn't refuse. Besides, their houses were all in the village, so how could he stop them?
However, the village is now under the captain's management, so it is difficult for him to give any advice.
He opened his eyes and said, "That's fine. You can leave one family in the village to worship your ancestors during festivals. Since you plan to come back, I'll tell the third family to stop talking."
Mr. Zhou felt relieved, sat down to chat for a while, and then said goodbye and left. On the way, he wondered how to contact Mrs. Lin, Gu Ruyi.
Unfortunately, he didn't know that Gu Ruyi had suffered a stroke and was in danger. This was also why Zhou Jiao never mentioned her family affairs in front of outsiders, and Zhang Dad and his wife were not talkative people.
So some accidents are just coincidences, and the truth is often revealed in coincidences.
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