Chapter 110 The Person Is Gone
Zhong Xiaoxiao excitedly slapped her thigh: "Me? My opinion is—of course I agree!"
Seeing her excited expression, Zhang Chunxue was both amused and exasperated.
She composed herself, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke: "Won't you stand up for your father?"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Xiaoxiao paused for a moment before softly replying, "Dad has been gone for so many years, we can't really expect you, Mom, to stay by his side for the rest of your life, can we?"
"If Dad knew from beyond the grave that Mom had found a good home, he would be happy too."
Zhong Xiaoxiao felt that her father was a very good person. When he was still alive, although he didn't care much about his siblings, he still worked hard to support the family.
Although men in rural areas still tend to favor sons over daughters, they are generally not like the men in the village who like to drink and take their anger out on their wives and children when they are drunk.
Moreover, her father died while saving someone, so in Zhong Xiaoxiao's eyes, he was a hero.
But her father is gone, and Zhong Xiaoxiao doesn't want her mother to remain a widow for the rest of her life.
She couldn't help but comfort Zhang Chunxue: "Mom, don't feel guilty."
Zhang Chunxue was also very pleased: "Yes, I did a good job for your father when he was alive, so don't worry, I don't have any psychological burden about getting married."
She smiled again: "This afternoon, let's go see your dad together and talk to him about this."
Zhong Xiaoxiao nodded heavily.
After lunch, the two took some offerings up the mountain.
Zhong Guosheng's grave is quite conspicuous. He died while saving someone, and the leader he saved paid for his grave to be built, making it stand out among the other graves.
Ten years had just passed, and the two dared not burn paper money or anything like that; they simply placed offerings in front of Zhong Guosheng's grave.
Zhang Chunxue looked at the grave mound in front of her and reached out to clear away the weeds growing around it.
"Guosheng!" she whispered as she pulled at the grass, "You've been gone for six years now..."
Zhong Xiaoxiao helped her from the side, keeping her head down and remaining silent.
"These past six years have been a blur..." Zhang Chunxue recounted calmly. "Before, I lived for my three sons, but now, I've changed..."
But she was thinking something else entirely.
Zhong Guosheng, do you see what kind of life I lived in my past life and what kind of ending I suffered?
In my past life, I was good to you and your three sons, but I was sorry to Xiaoxiao. In this life, I want to live a different life than I did in my past life...
Zhong Guosheng, don't blame me. I don't want to relive my past life. In this life, I want to live a different life...
She talked to Zhong Guosheng almost incessantly about what had happened recently, without hiding anything, including his relationship with Song Xingzhi.
Zhong Xiaoxiao, listening from the side, felt increasingly uneasy.
Hmm? It seems her mother and Teacher Song got involved earlier than she thought!
But thinking that, she couldn't help but pinch herself.
What do you mean by "stirring things up"? You really don't know how to talk!
Zhang Chunxue had finished speaking and expressing her feelings. She stood in front of Zhong Guosheng's grave, looking down at his tombstone.
"Guosheng, it would be a lie to say I'll come to see you often in the future..."
“After all, if Xiaoxiao really goes to university in Beijing and we settle down there, we might not come back for several years…”
"But Guosheng, I will never forget you."
"That statement is true."
The two were childhood sweethearts, and Zhong Guosheng had indeed treated Zhang Chunxue very well. Zhang Chunxue would always remember him.
But since the person is gone, how can those who are still alive remain stagnant?
Everyone has their own life to live!
Once the weeds around the grave had been mostly cleared, Zhang Chunxue put away the offerings and prepared to take Zhong Xiaoxiao down the mountain.
However, Zhong Xiaoxiao suddenly realized something was wrong.
“Mom! I feel like Dad’s grave has been disturbed!” Zhong Xiaoxiao stood at the end of the grave, her face full of doubt. “The color of the soil here is different from the surrounding soil.”
"The grave has been disturbed?" Zhang Chunxue's brows furrowed immediately.
She put down the offerings in her hand and walked to Zhong Xiaoxiao's side. She squatted down and took a look. Sure enough, she found that the color of the soil here was different from that of other places. It was really hard to tell unless you looked closely.
Zhang Chunxue grabbed a bit of soil, crushed it, and compared it with soil from other places. She immediately noticed that the soil in this area, which was a different color, was more moist.
It's like...
I just dug it out not long ago, and it hasn't even had a chance to get sun-dried to the same level as the surrounding soil yet.
Zhang Chunxue's face immediately darkened.
Zhong Guosheng's grave has been dug up.
Seeing her mother's expression, Zhong Xiaoxiao felt uneasy: "Mom? What... what happened..."
Zhang Chunxue clapped her hands, stood up, and forced a smile: "It's nothing, don't worry, it's probably just that the soil is different!"
Her tone was very relaxed: "Let's go! Let's go home first!"
She picked up the basket from the ground, took Zhong Xiaoxiao's hand, and went down the mountain.
But her heart was filled with gloom at that moment.
Zhong Guosheng has been dead for six years. Who is still disturbing his peace?
However, Zhang Chunxue didn't intend to involve Zhong Xiaoxiao, a young girl, in this matter. She planned to secretly go up the mountain that night to see what was going on.
Zhong Xiaoxiao was only seventeen years old, and she was quickly fooled by Zhang Chunxue. So she started chattering and asking about her mother's business again.
"Mom! What kind of business are you planning to start? I saw that big stove you set up, are you going to open a breakfast stall? Can I still come back with you tonight?"
Zhang Chunxue smiled and shook her head: "No, I'm planning to make some braised offal, and then some other braised dishes to go with drinks. It should sell quite well."
She thought for a moment and continued, "I plan to sell them outside several factories in the county. I'll ride a tricycle, which will make it easy to get around. I'll just go wherever there are lots of people."
Hearing this, Zhong Xiaoxiao couldn't help but squeeze her hand tighter: "Then Mom, aren't you very tired?"
"Making money is always tiring!" Zhang Chunxue said dismissively. "Look at all these people in our village, toiling in the fields every day, sweat pouring down their faces in the sweltering summer heat, and all they earn in a year is a pittance..."
"I'm just selling food on a tricycle, isn't that easier than their job?"
Zhong Xiaoxiao thought about it and agreed, but she still couldn't help but swallow and lower her voice: "But Mom, is it really okay to do business now?"
"Won't people accuse me of speculation and profiteering and arrest me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
