My grandmother doesn’t have many immediate family members, so there are only a few people who come to visit her.
Chen Man followed her great uncle, walked around the mourning hall, and looked into the coffin.
The old man, tortured by illness, lay silently in that small space. His face was pale and gloomy, yet still kind.
Chen Man's eyes were suddenly filled with tears, her nose felt sore and stinging, and her heart ached.
The only person in this world who was even remotely related to her by blood also left.
Chen Man's mind was a little confused and her steps became frivolous.
Grandma Junyang cried and shouted, saying that she passed away before she could enjoy her life, leaving Chen Man alone and pitiful.
Chen Man's tears couldn't stop flowing, and she was crying so hard that she was about to suffocate.
The funeral director muttered something to himself as he nailed the coffin shut with a few long nails.
Grandma will rest in peace forever.
When Chen Man saw this scene, she burst into tears and trembled.
She thought of her father and mother.
It wasn't like this when they left, there was no such grand ceremony, and in the end she only got two jars of ashes.
The women attending the funeral saw her crying pitifully.
He also started crying. Knowing her life experience, he felt even more sorry for her. He wiped his tears with his sleeve and went forward to persuade her not to be sad.
"Don't cry, your grandma won't be at peace seeing you like this. From now on, this is your home, and everyone in the village is your family, so don't be sad."
"Stop crying! Your crying is making the old man restless. It's not the time to cry."
Xia Meng also comforted her with red eyes, "Don't cry, let the old man go peacefully."
Although everyone was trying to persuade her, their voices were choked and sad.
The more she was comforted, the more Chen Man couldn't stop crying.
The human warmth felt at this moment is the most real.
Xu Junyang finished his work, glanced at Chen Man, and walked over.
Seeing him coming, Xia Meng stepped aside.
Xu Junyang reached out and pushed the long hair that was blocking her eyes behind her ears, then placed his big hand on her head, gently soothing her.
"It's almost time. Don't cry anymore, or the old man won't be at peace."
His voice was infinitely gentle and coaxing.
When Chen Man heard the time, she forced herself to stop crying, but she sobbed violently a few times.
Xu Junyang pinched her shoulders lovingly.
Chen Man felt the comfort coming from his palm and gradually calmed down.
"Here, wipe it, clean it up, and don't cry anymore."
Xu Junyang handed her a pack of tissues.
Chen Man took it awkwardly, threw away the tissue in her hand, and took out a new one to wipe her nose.
More and more people gathered in the yard.
The three tables in the yard were dismantled, and the exquisite mourning hall was also dismantled. Only the coffin was left in the main room, and it was quiet and deserted.
All the things that were dismantled were burned in the yard.
The fire started and Chen Man sat aside, staring at the flames in a daze.
Experienced people used hemp ropes to tie the coffin tightly and placed wooden sticks at both ends for people to carry.
The sky never gets bright in winter.
Just when a little bit of light could be seen outside, there was another burst of firecrackers.
"Come on, come on, everyone who wants to help is here."
Chen Man followed Xia Meng in confusion. Xia Meng handed her a folded wreath and asked her to hold it in her hand and follow the person who had left.
The huge funeral procession went along the road.
The air was filled with smoke, accompanied by the continuous sound of sky rockets and firecrackers.
The people carrying the coffin at the back were very fast, and Chen Man had to half-run to catch up with the people in front.
Halfway through the walk, they started walking up the mountain and finally stopped halfway up the mountain. Chen Man was already exhausted and out of breath.
It's daybreak.
The whole mountain was covered with white smoke.
The sound of firecrackers is still going on.
The sound of the gong was getting closer and closer. The road was not easy to walk on, let alone carry the coffin up.
But the men carrying the coffin shouted one, two, three, and each of them worked very hard and lifted it up very quickly.
Chen Man stepped aside and watched the scene quietly. At this moment, she no longer felt sad or happy.
Watching the funeral masters kill chickens, pour rice, and bury the dead.
It was very cold on the mountain. Xia Meng wrapped her clothes tightly and walked to Chen Man. "Chen Man, we're going back first. We usually leave at this time. We won't watch the rest."
Chen Man didn’t understand, but many people had left.
She nodded as well, took one last look, and followed.
As lively as the way there is, as lonely as the way back.
Xia Meng said a few words to her from time to time, but Chen Man was in a bad mood and her mind was uncontrollably blank.
Xia Meng handed her a piece of dry firewood and was about to take the firewood home.
When I got home, I felt even more lonely.
There were only a few people in the yard, and a large basin of tea was placed at the door.
"Chen Man, wash your hands before going in."
Chen Man washed her hands with tea before entering the yard.
There was no one by the fire, and Chen Man sat quietly.
After a while, people began to arrive slowly, and the place seemed to become active again.
Someone was cooking in the kitchen, and someone else was sitting next to Chen Man warming themselves by the fire.
When Xu Junyang came back, he saw Chen Man sitting quietly by the fire while standing on the street.
He walked into the main room, put all the tools in his hand into the box, packed up the rest of the things, and asked the other gentlemen to pack up the things they needed to take back and put them aside. They would leave after breakfast.
Chen Man's mind was empty and she couldn't think of anything.
Xu Junyang walked over, pulled a chair and sat next to her.
Chen Man saw a pair of sneaker-clad feet landing beside her. She tilted her head to look. The rising sun shone into her eyes, and she could only see Xu Junyang's blurry face in a halo of light.
"Not sleepy?"
Chen Man shook her head. She was very awake and not sleepy at all.
And if she goes to sleep, she doesn't know if she will be frightened when she wakes up and finds no one at home.
"Aren't you sleepy?" Chen Man asked him again.
"It's okay. I'll go back to sleep soon. You can have breakfast and go to sleep too. Everyone will come over for dinner in the evening, and they will clean up these things by then, so don't worry."
Chen Mancai realized that they were coming over for dinner, and she felt relieved.
People who are used to the hustle and bustle find it difficult to accept the quietness all of a sudden.
Xu Junyang went back to sleep without eating.
Chen Man saw that they were eating leftovers today, with only one fresh dish being cabbage. She lost her appetite and went straight upstairs to sleep.
In the afternoon, the noisy sound woke Chen Man up.
When she came down, the yard was full of people.
She glanced at the kitchen and saw that they were still going to eat leftovers tonight.
She was hungry, but she couldn't eat the leftovers.
I don’t have the habit of eating leftovers, let alone leftovers from a banquet.
Forget it, after everyone has finished eating and left, she will make something simple to eat for herself.
After dinner, the manager asked everyone to return the tools that needed to be returned and those who needed to help clean up to do so.
"Chen Man, where should we put the leftover braised pork and stir-fried pork?"
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