Qian Dan's ashes were brought back to Beishan County.
Qian Jinshu had hastily built a shed in the open space at the entrance of the village. Shitou carefully placed the urn into the coffin, and then sat aside to burn paper money for Qian Dan.
In a short period of time, most of Qian Jinshu's hair turned white and he looked haggard. Li Qiumei saw that he looked as old as her uncle.
Qian Jinshu and his uncle sat outside the shed and said, "Oh, it's all my fault.
It would be great if I had continued to let Dandan go to school. Then my parents and Dandan would all be alive and well.
Now, our family is finished, three lives have been lost! Jiaojiao is so cruel!" Qian Jinshu said, breaking down in tears.
His uncle comforted him, "Jinshu, the dead cannot be resurrected, but you still have Leilei.
This child has good grades, and he will be successful in a few years."
Qian Jinshu sniffed and said, "Uncle, before Qian Jiaojiao is shot, I want to ask her why she did this."
The uncle patted Qian Jinshu's shoulder and said, "I'll go there too. She destroyed a family all by herself. I want to ask her if she regrets it."
Sister Wang and a group of women came over carrying paper money, "Qiumei, think positively and don't hurt yourself by crying."
Li Qiumei quickly took out a handkerchief and rubbed her eyes. "Thank you for coming to see her off. I've cried my eyes out and now I understand. Everything is fate."
A few people went in to burn incense for Qian Dan, then came out and sat on the benches outside to chat.
Ma Dazui asked Li Qiumei, "Qiumei, is it true that Qian Jiaojiao is married in Beijing?"
Li Qiumei nodded, "It's true."
Ma Zipo slapped her thigh. "Oh, I don't know who called the police? Did they get the reward they promised you back then?"
The black woman glanced at Li Qiumei and nudged her with her elbow.
Ma Zipo chuckled and said, "Qian Jiaojiao killed Dandan, so she is Qiu Mei's sworn enemy.
Right, Qiu Mei?"
Li Qiumei smiled bitterly and nodded.
Ma Dazui looked around and whispered, "I heard that Qian Jiaojiao was reported by the Zheng family.
It is said that his daughter and Dandan were classmates, and the two of them even went to Beijing to work together."
"What did you say?" Qian Jinshu stared at Ma Dazui.
Ma Dazui simply repeated it loudly, and then said, "Last time, I saw the Zheng family's daughter taking the boy inside to your house to look for Qian Dan."
Qian Jinshu's eyelids twitched. For so long, he had always suspected that it was Shi Tou who reported Qian Jiaojiao and caused her to be arrested.
Because he observed for a long time and found that there were no police following his home.
The only outsider who knew Jiaojiao's identity was Shi Tou, and he never dreamed that it was Zheng Yan's family who did it.
If Qian Jinshu had known about this before, he would definitely have dug up Zheng Yan's ancestral grave, after all, it had angered his mother to death.
Now, Qian Jiaojiao actually killed her own daughter, so she deserved it!
Shitou, who was sitting in the shed burning paper money, pricked up his ears. "So, Uncle Qian never believed in me. But it doesn't matter anymore. I've found Dandan."
According to custom, Qian Dan could not be buried in the Qian family's ancestral tomb.
Qian Jinshu found a piece of land in a nearby valley and buried Qian Dan there.
The aunt pointed to the empty space next to Qian Dan's grave and said, "Qiumei, that's the space reserved for Jiaojiao.
They shouldn't have been buried in the same field, but there was simply no place to bury them.
This small piece of land was bought by exchanging half of my family’s paddy field.”
Li Qiumei raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a bitter smile as she said, "Aunt, it's okay.
Let's keep them closer together so they can talk and chat more easily in the underground."
The eldest aunt sighed, "Oh, why has Jinshu's family encountered so many difficulties in the past two years?
Lili is so heartless. She hasn't come back for so many years and even didn't come back to attend the funeral when her parents died.
Your great uncle said that if she comes back in the future, she will be beaten out with sticks."
Qian Jinsheng and his family of three just arrived, and Wu Meiping immediately said, "That's not the way it has to be.
This family has been completely destroyed by these two sisters. I think they should be removed from the family tree."
Li Qiumei saw that Wu Meiping was getting fatter and fatter, and there were several layers of fat on her belly.
"Sister-in-law, Qian Jiaojiao is so cruel that she even killed Dandan.
When she was released from prison, someone arranged for her to marry an old bachelor from the next county, but her parents were reluctant to let her marry so far away.
Now the whole family is in her hands.
You don’t know that this matter has already spread to North City, and my colleagues who clean with me have come to ask me about it.
I don’t even dare to say it’s just our family matter.”
Li Qiumei sighed, "Oh, I didn't expect it to spread so quickly.
Meiping, where do you work now?
Wu Meiping touched her nose and said, "Sister-in-law, am I not getting fatter and fatter?
I wanted to lose weight, so I decided to go clean an office building. I could earn a salary and lose weight at the same time.
Li Qiumei smiled. Wu Meiping had disliked her for sweeping the streets, but she never expected that she would end up doing the job that she once despised the most.
When Wu Meiping heard that the empty seat next to her was reserved for Qian Jiaojiao, she became furious and said to her aunt, "Aunt, Qian Jiaojiao has done so many evil things, and you are planning to collect her body even though it's such a disgrace.
Let me make it clear that I will not be attending Qian Jiaojiao's funeral, nor will I pay a penny for it."
The uncle frowned when he heard this, "Then what do you think we should do with Jiaojiao's ashes?"
Wu Meiping smiled and said, "We don't want it. The government will definitely provide us with a place to stay."
Just as my uncle was about to lose his temper, my aunt quickly tugged at his sleeve and said, "It's still early. We'll talk about it later."
To change the subject, the aunt pointed at Shitou and said, "Qiumei, I think this child is a good one.
Ever since I brought Cuizhen's ashes back last time, I have been helping out.
When the old relatives of this family came, they all thought he was Lei Lei.
Alas, if Dandan were still alive and married to him in the future, life would definitely be very good.
What a pity! What a pity! "
Li Qiumei looked at the stones. He was concentrating on following his master in laying stones for Qian Dan's tomb.
It seems that this stone has been following the coffin. The master who was carrying the coffin took a break, but he insisted not to change and gritted his teeth to send Qian Dan up the mountain.
On the way back from the cemetery, Li Qiumei noticed Shi Tou silently wiping away tears and holding tightly the empty box where Qian Dan was said to have kept his money.
When he arrived near the bus station, Shitou turned around and left without hesitation.
His back is so lonely. Qian Dan left him in the most beautiful years of her life. This stone is destined to miss her for the rest of its life.
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