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Chapter 199: Visiting the Tomb on Qingming Festival

(Girls' Literature)

After returning from Liushu Village, the days have become quiet. It is Qingming Festival, and every household has to go to visit the ancestral tombs. In Liangguo, everyone in the family has to go, regardless of gender, age or status. There is no requirement to go together, but generally everyone goes together, as this shows the harmony of the family. Even those who have separated from the family have to go to the ancestral tomb together.

Su Zhi had just married into the Shen family, and it was her first time going to the ancestral tomb. Because Shen Zian's biological mother was there, Su Zhi attached great importance to it and started preparing early.

Eight snacks, two small pots of wine, and two small plates of dumplings. These were all offerings. They were divided into two portions, one of which would be sent to Shen Zian's mother's grave, and the other would go with Shen Youfu.

"Fourth Sister, why are you going back to Willow Village? Do you want me to go back with you?"

Su Zhi and Liu Si Niang sat together cutting white paper. The paper was to be cut into paper money, the so-called ghost money, which was burned for deceased relatives. The more paper money was burned, the richer the deceased relative had, and the more filial the living descendants would appear. The two of them had already cut a pile of paper money, which were neatly stacked aside.

Su Zhi was really glad to have Liu Si Niang by her side. Although she had lived in the countryside before, she really didn't know how to cut her hair. If it weren't for Liu Si Niang, she would have to go to Li Saozi and the others to find an opportunity to cut her hair together.

Liu Si Niang said, "You are busy these days, so don't accompany me. I know you don't want to go there. It just so happens that some people in our village are going back, so I can just follow them."

In this era, married women have to go to their husband's house in the morning to visit the graves, and they have to wait until the afternoon to visit their parents' graves. They only have to worship their parents or close relatives of the previous generation. They don't need to worship their grandfathers. Su Zhi's parents are both there, so she doesn't need to go back to Liushu Village, and she is happy not to go. But Liu Si Niang has lost both her parents, so she needs to go back.

Su Zhi asked: "Is there anyone who married into our village? Who is it?"

Liu Si Niang said, "It's Liu Laoshi's wife Wang Xiuyun who lives at the western end of the village. I can just go with her."

Su Zhi thought of Wang Xiuyun, a tall and strong woman. Her husband Liu Laoshi was half a head shorter than her. They were very impressive when they stood together. She remembered that this woman was cheerful. Liu Laoshi lived up to his name and listened to his wife. He was not annoying, but Su Zhi did not have much contact with them because they were too far away. Apart from going to the market and returning to her parents' home, Su Zhi only went to a few families near the river in the village. She had not even been to the Shen family's old house many times, let alone seeing Wang Xiuyun often.

"Then go with her and come back early."

Su Zhi felt that Liu Si Niang was willing to go with Wang Xiu Yun, which showed that Wang Xiu Yun was not bad, so she let her go. After all, Liu Si Niang also needed her own life. No matter how much she sympathized with Liu Si Niang and treated her as a friend, she could not always follow her. They both had their own lives.

Su Zhi watched Liu Si Niang carefully cutting paper money, thinking that she should get together with Shi Tou Ge as soon as possible. She wanted Liu Si Niang to live in their house, but Liu Si Niang lived in their house. This identity was a bit difficult to deal with. Since Liu Si Niang moved in, Sister Li and others came to tell her that someone started to spread rumors that Liu Si Niang was living in the Shen family, but she was not a relative or a servant, so how could she be supported for free?

At first, it was said that Shen Zian and Su Zhi helped Li Shi to support Liu Si Niang, because old lady Li had gossiped about the two of them before. When the villagers saw that Liu Si Niang had divorced, they began to believe these words. In their opinion, Liu Si Niang had always been submissive and never said a word when she was beaten and scolded every day. Now she dared to take the initiative to propose a divorce and leave the house without a trace. A woman who is so brave must have had a way out. And this way out is Li Shi? They think that if Liu Si Niang had no way out, she would not dare to leave the Zhao family even if she was a concubine in the Zhao family.

Later, it became even more bizarre. Some people began to say that Shen Zian had fallen in love with Liu Si Niang, and also said that Su Zhi was so nice to Liu Si Niang because she wanted to take Liu Si Niang home as a concubine.

Su Zhi's face darkened when she heard these rumors. She wondered what these villagers were thinking. She also guessed that the people who spread these rumors must be the Zhao family.

Su Zhi thought that since Zhao Daliang was not embarrassed and could remarry, and even boasted that he would hold a lively wedding banquet, then why couldn't Liu Si Niang also remarry? Since many people in the village now said that Li Shi and Liu Si Niang were having an affair, why not just let them get married. The current situation is that they will be slandered even if they don't meet, so it's better to get married and say that they were forced to be together. Let them spread the rumors for a while, and then no one will talk about it. And if they don't get married in response to this rumor, those people will be happier and happier. Even if they stop talking about it slowly in the future, as long as Liu Si Niang and Li Shi walk across from each other on the street, people will bring up the old rumors again. Then they might even be accused of being guilty!

This is how people are. Sometimes, rumors are like floods. You can't stop them, nor can you just ignore them. Instead, you have to direct them in another direction.

"Si Niang, you have feelings for Brother Shitou, right?"

Su Zhi asked Liu Siniang. She thought that Liu Siniang and Li Shi were obviously in love with each other, but they had only heard that Li Shi was willing to marry Liu Siniang. As for whether Liu Siniang was willing to marry Li Shi, they still had to ask.

Liu Si Niang paused while cutting paper, lowered her head, and said after a while, "I have a bad reputation. I won't let him down. He can marry someone better."

When Su Zhi heard this, she knew that Liu Si Niang also wanted to get married, but she was afraid that she would bring bad reputation to Li Shi, so this would be easy to deal with. She told Liu Si Niang her thoughts, which meant that if the two of them didn't take advantage of the opportunity of others framing them to be together, then there would be no chance in the future.

"Think about it carefully. Brother Shitou has said that he is willing to marry you. You are now tied to his reputation and it has been spread all over. What are you afraid of? You are not afraid of divorce, so why are you afraid of marrying again? Or marrying someone you like? I know that you have Brother Shitou in your heart. You made that red belt for him, right?"

"You...let me think about it again."

When Liu Si Niang heard that Su Zhi knew that she had made a belt for Li Shi, a trace of discomfort appeared on her sallow face. She thought of Li Shi in her heart. That man was a good man. Although he didn't talk much, he would always help her when she was suffering. In fact, when she sent the belt to him, she didn't have any improper thoughts about Li Shi. She thought that she would live like that in the Zhao family for the rest of her life. She made the belt just to make Li Shi have a smooth life in his zodiac year and to express her gratitude. But she didn't expect that he was willing to marry her. She was happy when she heard it.

"Then think about it again. When you have figured it out, you can get married. As long as a person lives his life to be true to his conscience, he should live a comfortable and happy life."

Su Zhi did not force Liu Si Niang. She felt that Liu Si Niang was just a little embarrassed to refuse now. She should wait a few days and let Li Shi come to talk to her in person. They would definitely be able to get together. Even if Liu Si Niang did not have the courage, Li Shi would have it. Liu Si Niang just needed to wait for a good life.

On the day of Qingming Festival, it can be said that the people in the entire Hebian Village are dressed very simply, because they all have to go to the cemeteries, and wearing too bright clothes would be disrespectful to the ancestors.

There is a special area in the cemetery of Hebian Village, not too far from the village. On the Qingming Festival, you can see many people walking in that direction in groups, many of them holding baskets filled with paper money and offerings.

Shen Zian and Su Zhi also took their three children to the Shen family, because the three children were also registered as Shen Zian's household registration, with the surname Shen, and therefore they were members of the Shen family, so they also had to go to pay respects. The family of five first went to the Shen family's old house, and then went to the cemetery together.

When we arrived at the cemetery, we saw that quite a few people had already arrived. Many of the graves were covered with white paper. Some people were weeding the graves, some were placing offerings, some were kneeling on the ground crying, and some were burning paper.

Su Zhi held a baby in each hand, walking behind Shen Zian, who was holding a basket in one hand and Xiaori in the other. She looked around curiously, watching the adults crying, and the little kids who didn't know what pain was, making faces or laughing behind their parents' backs. She felt that life and death were really depressing. She had died once, so she was not afraid of these things, but she still felt a little uncomfortable.

When they arrived at the Shen family's cemetery, the family first followed Shen Youfu and Shen Zhang to pay respects to several graves, and then Shen Zian went to pay respect to his mother's grave.

Shen Youfu also went to his first wife's grave. Shen Zhang also went there with her children and grandchildren. They burned paper and bowed, then patted Shen Zian's hand as if to comfort him before leaving with Shen Youfu and the others.

Su Zhi thought that Shen Zhang was Shen Youfu's second wife, and she was quite respectful to Shen Youfu's first wife. In fact, if she didn't come to pay her respects, no one would say anything. But she came and was so caring to Shen Zian. It was really hard to find fault with her. Su Zhi felt that Shen Zhang was a resourceful person. No wonder everyone in the village praised her so much. She was much better than those stepmothers who beat and scolded their adopted sons.

However, Su Zhi did not have time to think about how scheming Shen Zhang was. She and Shen Zian kowtowed and burned paper for this serious mother-in-law very respectfully. Listening to Shen Zian telling his mother how good she was, she did not know how she felt about this mother-in-law. She just felt that this woman had a bad fate. She married a man like Shen Youfu. She was obviously fertile, but she gave birth to a son after her husband married a concubine, and died early. It was just because this mother-in-law had chosen Zhao Xiaomei as her daughter-in-law at that time, so that she could get such a good husband like Shen Zian when she was reborn. She was still very grateful to this mother-in-law.

Shen Zian and Su Zhi took the baby away. After walking for a while, they saw a lot of people gathered at a cemetery not far ahead, and there were many surprised voices.