Granny Gu died on New Year's Eve.
At that time, everyone was eating New Year's Eve dinner and staying up late. The next day, when the village children went from house to house to wish each other a Happy New Year and ask for melon seeds and peanuts, they discovered that in Song Lao Er's yard, Granny Gu's body had been half buried by the heavy snow overnight.
The frozen corpse was covered in excrement and urine, suggesting that Granny Gu, who had been lying on the ground, couldn't get up and had died after lying there for half the night.
No one knows what Granny Gu was thinking as she listened to the firecrackers going off and the joyful celebrations of the families around her.
But the people of Xiaoshi Village knew that Song Lao Er's family was finished.
The second son of the Song family and his wife took Song Xiaobao and never returned. It is said that they took a sum of money and then abandoned the paralyzed old mother.
Song Shuirong did come back once, but it was to get some money for Song Lao Er.
She thought her parents would surely redeem her after receiving the money, but Song Lao Er didn't return. She could only cry and be taken away by Master Xue, and never came back.
Her family from Gujia Village had also come once, also for money. But seeing that Granny Gu had been abandoned by her own son, they never came again.
Granny Gu was left unattended, relying on a bowl of soup from one neighbor and a mouthful of rice from another, drinking raw water and eating raw potatoes to survive. It was only a matter of time before she froze or starved to death.
No one expected it to happen on New Year's Eve, especially in the courtyard.
With no one to claim the body, a sky burial couldn't just be arranged, especially since the body had died a violent death far from home, causing unrest among the neighbors.
Having no other option, Song, the village head, went door to door seeking help. He needed to first lift the body onto the kang (a heated brick bed), find women in the village to give Granny Gu a simple wash, and then find a thin coffin to put her in.
Song Lizheng was very influential in Xiaoshi Village, but that was without the involvement of Song Lao Er Gu Pozi.
Now that Song Lao Er has abandoned his mother and run away, Granny Gu has no one to collect her body and will have to trouble others, especially since it's the beginning of the New Year and no one is willing to help.
Song Lizheng's words had no effect; everyone was cursing and complaining.
They couldn't find anyone from the first day of the Lunar New Year to the fourth.
Having no other choice, Song, the village head, had to coax and beat his own sons and nephews to get them to change and wash their clothes. Since they had no way to change or wash them, he could only cut off the dirty clothes covered in excrement with scissors and then haphazardly put on a cleaner one over them.
Frozen people are like wooden blocks; their limbs can only be broken and stuffed into a coffin.
Although the person is now in the coffin, the coffin is still placed outside. There is no mourning hall, and no one is even burning paper money for the deceased.
Song Lizheng also went to Gujia Village to find Gu Pozi's family, but they were busy visiting relatives during the New Year and didn't have time.
A three-day pause is required before a funeral is held.
Before things were even settled here, news of the death was announced on the first day of the lunar new year. Finally, the Gu family, who had been late in arriving, showed up at the door.
Instead of mentioning funeral arrangements, they started by saying that the people of Xiaoshi Village hadn't taken good care of Granny Gu, letting her freeze to death outside, and that they were going to sue the Song family for abuse.
The implication was that the Gu family would have to be paid funeral expenses before they would allow Xiaoshi Village to bury the dead.
The Gu family has been blocking the gate and arguing all day, and they still haven't given in even though they're supposed to go up the mountain tomorrow.
Song Lizheng was so anxious that he developed blisters on the corners of his mouth in the dead of winter.
Now that Song Zhenping has returned, he has a legitimate reason to have descendants to handle the funeral arrangements, and the Gu family can no longer criticize him for whatever he does.
However, Song Zhenping was unwilling to get involved, so how could Song Lizheng not be anxious!
If you don't care... then why did you come back? You might as well not have come back at all!
At this time, more and more villagers came out after hearing the news. They gathered in twos and threes at the door of the village head's house. Some were bold enough not to be afraid of Song, the village head, and some even went inside.
Several clan elders, who had been seemingly invisible for decades, arrived and, abandoning their previous aloofness, surrounded Song Zhenping, asking him all sorts of questions.
Ever since the servants of Master Xue returned from Qili County, they knew that the Song siblings had made a fortune.
Not to mention the large carriage and four cold-faced guards parked in the courtyard, as well as the beautiful new bride.
Young wife... carriage... guards, this is definitely a wealthy family.
Meanwhile, the aunt who had previously taken care of the Song brothers pulled Yang Hua aside and inquired about her well-being.
They started by asking Song Er Ya Tou about her marriage, then moved on to whether Xiao An was still mentally challenged, and even dug deep into Yang Hua's family background, asking how many children she would have and whether she would return to Xiao Shi Village.
To put it nicely, it's showing concern for everything; to put it bluntly, it's being overly gossipy.
An ordinary new bride would have been too embarrassed and overwhelmed to handle it, but Yang Hua was not an ordinary person.
When an aunt learned that Yang Hua was older than Song Zhenping, she showed an incredulous expression, but Yang Hua just smiled faintly.
A month later, when Song Zhenping left Xiaoshi Village, he mentioned that the women were talkative and told Yang Hua not to be angry.
Yang Hua calmly said, "My second sister said back in Suijin Town that the people in Xiaoshi Village are ignorant, timid, and not particularly bad-hearted. She told me not to bother with them."
I didn't believe it at the time, but now it seems... my second sister was right.
When Song Liyun was in Suijin Town, she told Yang Hua that the villagers of Xiaoshi Village had been bullied by Granny Gu's family for decades. They did care about Song Zhenping and his brother, but not much, and not to the point of being grateful.
Just be polite when you go back, don't take it too seriously. Just keep the village head's family in mind.
Yang Hua took Song Liyun's words to heart, and naturally treated these women with only distance and politeness.
It's only natural that they have a close relationship with the village head's family. Not to mention that Song, the village head, is in charge of clan affairs and is the lowest level of government official, Song Dekui's relationship with the Song siblings is also extraordinary.
Meanwhile, on Song Zhenping's side, faced with the persuasion of several clan elders, his stubborn temper flared up, and he refused to agree to become a dutiful son and grandson of Granny Gu.
Song Dekui pulled his father aside and whispered something. Song Lizheng had been frowning at first, but after listening for a while, he seemed to understand but not quite. Finally, he spread his hands and said, "You mean you just let him do whatever he wants?"
Song Dekui grinned crookedly: "Dad, the pocket money your youngest son gives you isn't enough. This is just the beginning. In the future, when your youngest son gets rich, you can enjoy a life of luxury."
Song Lizheng glared at him: "How long have you been with Yun girl, and you've already brought back so much silver? Let me tell you, don't do anything wrong and come back to lie to me."
Song Dekui opened his mouth wide in an exaggerated manner: "If you don't believe me, you have to believe the money."
"To tell you the truth, Daping not only won't attend Granny Gu's funeral, but he also wants to move his parents' graves. You need to give him some advice."
Upon hearing about the relocation of the graves, Song, the village head, frowned deeply. He remained silent, taking out his pipe and beginning to consider the matter.
Relocating graves is a major event for every clan.
Moving a grave means that the clan has split up and established a separate lineage, severing ties with the original family.
Those who insist on splitting off from the clan are usually the most outstanding branches, which will affect the clan's strength and influence.
Therefore, unlike moving households, moving graves not only requires the consent of the village head, but also the consent of the elders in the family. The clan elders write a contract and burn incense to inform the ancestors.
Worried that Granny Gu would cause trouble during the relocation of the grave, Song Liyun not only prepared four guards for Song Zhenping, but also gave Song Dekui a sum of money to help him bribe officials in the town and village.
What she didn't expect was that Granny Gu died, not too early, not too late, just three days ago.
Although one less scourge has been eliminated, another problem has been created out of nowhere.
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