Qin Jinlian lay straight on the kang, her face was pale and gray, her expression was calm and peaceful.
Shen Jianguo sat on the kang, holding Qin Jinlian's hand with red eyes, his body hunched, as if he had aged twenty years.
The two brothers Shen Chaobei and Shen Xiangnan both knelt on the kang, leaning on Qin Jinlian and sobbing.
Du Juan stood at the head of the kang with a blank expression, and glanced at Shen Mingzhu when she came in.
Jia Yuemei and the children were not there. I guess they were not allowed in because of taboos.
mom.
Shen Mingzhu opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her throat felt like it was blocked by a ball of cotton.
She turned to ask Pei Yang, "Did you call 120?"
Pei Yang nodded and added in a low voice: "The doctor from the health center came to see me just now and asked me to prepare for my funeral."
Shen Mingzhu's heart sank.
After standing there for a while, unable to bear the sad atmosphere in the room, she turned around and went back upstairs.
Jia Yuemei was quite smart. She gathered all the children in her room and locked the door.
Through the window, Shen Mingzhu told Pei Ziheng to take good care of his younger brothers and sisters and not to wander around, and then went downstairs again.
Just then, the ambulance arrived.
After a professional and detailed examination, the patient was declared dead.
"Mom, mom—"
Shen Chaobei was heartbroken, and his cries tore through the silent night.
According to the custom of Shenjiagou, the dead need to be sent back to the countryside for burial, which means returning to one's roots.
But it's too late now, and it's dark and cold outside, so we can only wait until tomorrow morning.
Qin Jinlian's sudden death caught the whole family off guard.
Fortunately, Pei Yang had experience and made arrangements quickly.
He called a funeral home he was familiar with and handed over the entire funeral arrangements to the funeral home. Then he took Shen Chaobei and Shen Xiangnan out to buy incense, candles, paper candles and white cloth.
Shen Mingzhu and Du Juan were waiting in the living room.
Du Juanshun told Shen Mingzhu the whole story of how she discovered Qin Jinlian's accident.
After Shen Mingzhu took her daughter upstairs, Du Juan and Jia Yuemei also took their children back to their rooms.
Du Juan couldn't sleep in her bed, so after coaxing her son to sleep, she went downstairs to continue watching TV.
Shen Jianguo, Pei Yang and Shen Chaobei, the four of them, gathered around the table playing catch.
Shen Jianguo had good luck and won a lot of money. After returning to the house, he couldn't help chatting with Qin Jinlian, wanting to make her happy too.
After talking for a long time, Qin Jinlian still didn't make a sound and couldn't be woken up no matter how they called her. Only then did they realize that something was wrong and hurriedly called the doctor from the health center.
When the doctor examined the patient, he found that his heartbeat and pulse had stopped and his pupils were dilated. Based on experience, he speculated that it was a sudden myocardial infarction.
Du Juan sighed and felt relieved, tears welling up in her eyes, "Fortunately, I brought Dandan back so that she could see him for the last time. Otherwise, I'm afraid your eldest brother would blame me for the rest of his life."
Shen Chaobei is a loyal and filial person. He has been working hard outside for many years and feels indebted to Qin Jinlian and her husband.
Qin Jinlian had been thinking about her grandson for so many years. If she didn't see him before she died and died with regrets, Shen Chaobei would probably go crazy.
Du Juan continued, "I was actually reluctant to come back this time. I always remember how she treated our family. I traveled thousands of miles to bring Dandan back for her to see, but she was so cruel that she wanted to take Dandan away. I really thought about making sure she would never see Dandan again in her life."
"But now she's gone, and I suddenly feel that all these years of resentment are meaningless. She's the children's grandmother, so what's wrong with me tolerating her a little?"
Seeing her regret and self-blame, Shen Mingzhu comforted her: "The world is unpredictable. No one can predict what will happen tomorrow."
Du Juan looked at her and said, "You don't look very sad."
It was okay for her and Jia Yuemei, after all, they were from different families, but Shen Mingzhu was her biological daughter, and she didn't shed a single tear.
Shen Mingzhu had complicated feelings about Qin Jinlian's passing.
But I wasn't sad enough to cry, it was more of sadness and grief.
It's like an old friend you've known for years suddenly passes away.
…
Around three o'clock in the morning, Pei Yang and his two brothers returned.
After a burst of firecrackers, people on the entire street were awakened. They opened the windows and saw that the Shen family's house was brightly lit and white cloth was hung high. Only then did they realize that something had happened, and they all put on their clothes and rushed to help.
This is also the custom in Fengcheng. After an old person dies, a string of firecrackers will be set off to announce the death.
At five o'clock in the morning, people from the funeral home arrived and sent Qin Jinlian back to Shenjiagou in a courtesy car.
When we arrived at Shenjiagou, it was just dawn.
The people at the funeral home were busy in an orderly manner, setting up the mourning hall and burying Qin Jinlian.
Shen Chaobei and Shen Xiangnan put on mourning clothes and prepared to report the death to their relatives.
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There are no telephones in the countryside, so any news has to be communicated door to door.
Before leaving, Du Juan called Shen Chaobei: "Take Dandan with you."
Before her death, Qin Jinlian wanted to show off her eldest grandson Shen Zilong. Letting Shen Chaobei bring his son along was thus fulfilling Qin Jinlian's last wish.
With red eyes, Shen Chaobei picked up his son and went out.
As the funeral music started, the news of Qin Jinlian's death spread throughout the village like a gust of wind, causing countless people to sigh.
…
After a period of recuperation, Liu Cuihua's health improved a lot.
Although he is still unable to get out of bed and walk, he can sit up and speak slowly.
After being awakened by the banging noises, she called her son Shen Hao and asked, "What's going on outside?"
"It's Uncle Jianguo's house."
"What's going on at her house? They're making so much noise so early in the morning."
The sound of gongs and opera singing drowned out the mournful music, so much so that Liu Cuihua mistakenly thought Qin Jinlian was up to something again.
"Mom, Aunt Jinlian is gone. It was said that it happened in the early hours of last night."
Liu Cuihua was stunned for a long time before she said, "It's a good death."
But there was no happiness or gloating on her face. Instead, she was in a daze and muttered something silently.
…
Qin Jinlian's funeral went smoothly, but it also cast a shadow over this Spring Festival.
A child wants to support his parents but they are no longer around. This is probably the most helpless sorrow and pain after entering middle age.
After the funeral, the New Year is almost over.
The three siblings sat together to discuss the issue of Shen Jianguo's support.
There is nothing wrong with Shen Jianguo's health, but the death of Qin Jinlian dealt him such a heavy blow that he is a little mentally broken. His three brothers and sisters are worried about him living alone and are afraid that they won't have anyone to take care of him.
After some discussion, it was finally decided to let Shen Jianguo choose who he wanted to follow, and the other two families would be responsible for paying alimony.
"I don't follow anyone. I live alone."
The three siblings tried to persuade him, but Shen Jianguo insisted on staying in the town. "I will stay in the town, and I will continue to run your mother's snack bar. If you are filial, you can bring the children back to visit me more often."
As he spoke, tears and nostalgia were in his old eyes. The three siblings did not have the heart to force Shen Jianguo to go to the city, so they could only discuss finding a capable helper for Shen Jianguo.
The person most affected by Qin Jinlian's death was Shen Chaobei.
On the night of the burial, he found Shen Mingzhu and expressed his desire not to wander around anymore and to return to Fengcheng to settle down and live happily. (End of this chapter)