The funeral arrangements for the eldest son of the Zhou family were presided over by the two elders of the Tao family, with the help of the village.
With the New Year approaching and the family dwindling to just Zhou Yue, the villagers simplified the procedures and buried them as soon as possible, abandoning all the usual customs and rituals. Although some villagers who were on good terms with the two elders might gossip, the village chief had already stepped forward to uphold justice without Zhou Yue needing to speak.
“If you don’t know how to be filial when people are alive, and you expect to have a big celebration after they die, it’s meaningless. The elderly don’t benefit from it. It’s just that these children feel proud. Now, only Yue and Xing are left in the eldest branch of the Zhou family. Xing is away and can’t come back, so the village decided to keep it simple. Given how much the two elders love Yue, they won’t blame him at all. So you can worry less. If you really can’t control your mouths, you can donate some money to Yue so that he can finish his schooling.”
As soon as the topic of donating money came up, everyone made excuses to leave. The Tao family originally intended to cover Zhou Yue's future tuition fees, but when Zhou Yue's teacher heard about it, he rushed back from the county town and sighed.
“A teacher for a day is a father for life. Ah Yue, come with your master. From now on, you will work for your master, and your master will provide you with food and drink and pay your tuition.”
However, Zhou Yue declined his offer, stating, "Thank you, Master, but I have land at home, so I won't go."
Ultimately, if he had been home, his grandparents wouldn't have left. Now that they're gone, and since he wasn't interested in carpentry anyway, and it was only because his grandparents wanted him to learn a trade, he now feels it would be better to spend his time studying.
Tao Ran is right. If you give up halfway through your studies, what was the point of persisting for so many years?
If you regret it later, you might as well seize the moment now and get into a military academy.
The little girl's words also greatly shocked him.
He wasn't one to ignore advice, and he knew this wasn't the time to act impulsively, and he also knew that any careless move he made could ruin his elder brother's future.
So he chose to stay at home. As for future tuition fees, that wouldn't be a problem for him; he had plenty of ways to survive.
Would he and his brother, who traveled thousands of miles to reach Xihe Village, be defeated by the small difficulties they face?
Everyone seemed to be trying to persuade Zhou Yue, but little did they know how terrified the third branch of the Zhou family was.
They used to argue and fight, which was bad because they weren't well-liked. But now that a life is at stake, especially the eldest brother and sister-in-law who raised Zhou Dashan, none of the three branches of the Zhou family can escape responsibility. They were dragged and pulled by the villagers to kowtow and kneel, wearing mourning clothes.
Zhou Laosan ran away? His wife and son were taken away by the police, and nobody's around?
It's okay!
What about his parents, brothers, and other family members?
Anyone with connections was brought in, and they were even forced to pay the Zhou family's eldest son two hundred yuan in compensation.
However, the third branch of the Zhou family preferred to wear mourning clothes and kowtow to apologize rather than give any money.
Forget two hundred, they won't give me a single cent.
Does Zhou Yue even care about their two hundred yuan? Even if they gave it to him, he wouldn't take it; instead, it would morally blackmail him.
This is just as it is. If they don't pay, they can kowtow all they want; it's none of his business. But this kowtow has been firmly placed on the head of the Zhou family's third branch, making them mortal enemies from now on.
On the afternoon of New Year's Eve, Tang Cuihua brought two fish and two bags of snacks to visit the Tao family elders. After learning about the Zhou family's situation, she couldn't help but sigh.
But there are too many pitiful people in this era. They are kind, but not everyone can be helped.
Cuihua only briefly mentioned Tang Cuimei's situation, without mentioning anything unusual about her, which she considered unusual.
Even when it came to the passing of Daya, she only felt a pang of sadness, without showing much emotion.
Since they were never together growing up, her obsession with her rebirth dream is to find her younger sister. Whether her sister is Daya or Tang Cuimei is actually not important.
Because no matter who it is, you have to get to know them from the beginning. So, whoever you spend more time with will naturally become closer to you. That theory is correct, right?
"Look at you, you're already here, why did you buy so much stuff? You've already prepared your own New Year's goods."
"Grandma, don't worry, everything's taken care of. Will my godparents be back tonight?"
"Yes, they just got back from get off work. They finished their last shift, so it's fine. They came back privately, so we don't need to worry about them."
Then, Grandma Tao was about to take the oil paper to pack Cuihua's fried food, which startled Cuihua so much that she quickly stood up and was about to leave.
"Goodbye, Grandma, please don't give me any more. Jiu'er, listen to your grandma. Your older sister will come to see you again after the New Year. Grandpa, Grandma, I'm leaving now. My sisters are waiting at home. It'll be hard to walk after dark!"
Cuihua hurriedly stuffed twenty yuan into Xiaojiu's hand.
"Good girl, give this money to Grandma and tell her we have enough money."
Xiao Jiu watched as her older sister fled the house as if running away, with her grandmother chasing after her while carrying things in her arms, and she found it amusing.
"Grandma, don't chase after her. You're too good to my Sister Cuihua, she's feeling pressured. Look, this is the nutrition money you gave Sister Cuimei last time, and Sister Cuihua brought it back to you."
Two slightly worn banknotes lay in Xiao Jiu's hand. Grandma turned her head and saw them, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Look, they are all sensible children, but they are just too unlucky to be born into such a heartless family."
Grandma took the money and pinched Xiao Jiu's cheek.
"Look at me, I've even tasted meat in my wine. Your parents will be back soon, so come and help Grandma make the New Year's Eve dinner. You old man, you're just sitting under the eaves, not even offering a helping hand."
"You're just too hospitable. Xiao Jiu is right. If you're too good to them, they won't be able to repay you. They're all sensible kids. We care about them, and they care about us. We should help each other, but now that they're independent, some things should be settled. It's not that they don't want to be grateful, but they feel like they owe them more and more, and they feel guilty. Do you understand?"
"Go away, how could I not understand? Isn't it just that they've gotten used to giving things away, and only feel comfortable when they give something? Of course, the child is a good child. If they were those ungrateful ones, would they give me a second time after I gave them one? Alright, you old man, I can't reason with you. Here, Jiu'er, help Grandma light the fire."
"You'd better save your breath. What if the oil splatters and burns my precious grandson's little face? Jiu'er, go back inside and play on the kang. Grandpa's here. If all else fails, go play with your brothers in the front yard."
Since the Zhou family elders passed away, the brothers have been spending their days in the front yard with Zhou Yue and bringing him over for dinner in the evenings. They have spent much less time with Xiao Jiu, but Xiao Jiu doesn't mind. She's an adult, so why would she want to play with children?
Although the children always treated her like a younger sister, she wasn't really used to the so-called "group favorite" life of being the center of attention.
People are most harmonious when they have some sense of boundaries.
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