Chapter 259 Stealing Food from the Grave
The paper horse shop at the foot of Ruiguang Temple was exactly as Meng Qing had left it; the layout was unchanged, but the shopkeeper, the handyman, the bamboo-splitting apprentice, and the paper-making master were all new faces. Meng Qing didn't recognize them and didn't reveal her identity or exchange pleasantries. She strolled around the shop, bought a basket of paper money, and selected a batch of ready-made paper funerary objects. While the shop assistant carried the paper funerary objects to the ferry, she and Du Li looked around outside the shop for a moment before leaving.
The supervisor found ten small boats for them. Five boats were filled with luggage, two boats with paper offerings and funerary objects, one boat for servants, and two boats for the masters. It was just right.
After bidding farewell to the old supervisor, Meng Qing and the others boarded a boat and left Wumen Ferry, heading towards Dujiawan.
After a two-hour journey, ten boats arrived at Dujiawan Ferry.
Before the boat even got close, the villagers had already gathered at the ferry crossing to wait. Meng Qing, Du Li and their group were greeted by a dense crowd of people before they even disembarked.
"Second sister-in-law." Li Hongguo took two steps forward, her gaze falling on Meng Qing and Yin Caiwei's faces. She subconsciously smoothed the hair behind her ear, her fingers touching the headscarf, and for a few moments she wanted to take off the dusty headscarf.
"Sister-in-law, this is my third sister-in-law, her name is Caiwei," Meng Qing introduced. "Caiwei, this is my sister-in-law."
"Sister-in-law," Yin Caiwei greeted with a nod.
"Hey, hey." Li Hongguo reached out and grabbed the bow of the boat. "Get off quickly, aren't you seasick?"
"Sister-in-law, step aside and let the servants do this work," Yin Caiwei said, trying to stop them.
Du Li took a long stride and jumped off the boat first. Wang Zhou followed and jumped ashore amidst the swaying. The father and son went to the boat behind to help people.
Du Li helped Meng Qing, Wang Zhou helped Yin Caiwei, and Xi Mei, who was on the same boat, did not need any help. She lifted her skirt and jumped off the boat nimbly, walked up the steps in a few steps, and stood next to Li Hongguo.
“Aunt, my name is Ximei, and I am the eldest daughter of the third son’s family. My eldest cousin told me that there is an older sister in the family. Is she home?” Ximei greeted him proactively. “My eldest cousin did not come back with us. He is with my father and will probably not be back for another month.”
"I recognize you, you look like your father." Li Hongguo couldn't help but look at her a few more times. Is there really no retribution in this world? That venomous third brother can still have children?
Wangzhou, Wangchuan, and Wangshan also came over to call for help.
"Auntie, isn't my uncle home?" Wangzhou asked.
"Daming, the child is calling you! What are you doing hiding under the tree?" Aunt Du scolded.
Du Ming remained seated under the tree, acting like a lord, until his name was called, at which point he lazily dragged his feet over.
Du Li walked out from the crowd and said, "We're going straight to the cemetery. Can you lead the way for us?"
"You're leaving after visiting the grave?" Du Ming asked.
"Where are we going?" Du Li asked angrily. "Isn't there anywhere for us to stay in the house?"
“Yes, of course we have. Your sister-in-law just had four new rooms built in February, and they were built for you.” Uncle Du said loudly. “Take your things and I’ll take you to the cemetery to burn paper money.”
Upon hearing this, Du Li immediately ignored Du Ming.
Du Ming had a sour face and wasn't very enthusiastic, but the villagers were very attentive, with people of all ages boarding the boat to help unload luggage and move funerary objects.
Uncle Du's son arrived with three oxcarts, loaded with all the paper offerings and funerary objects. Meng Qing, Du Li, and others followed the oxcarts to the cemetery to pay their respects, leaving servants behind to help the villagers carry their belongings home.
Li Hongguo took her daughter-in-law home to prepare a meal, while Du Ming followed the group to the cemetery. However, he walked at the back, his face long and ignoring everyone.
Du Li didn't want the children to be affected by the dysfunctional family relationship, so he pretended that nothing had happened and suppressed his uncle's scolding of Du Ming three times, forcibly turning the topic to Du Min.
As the golden phoenix of Dujiawan, Du Min was a figure of great interest to the villagers, young and old. Du Li, by praising Du Min, made his way to the cemetery in a calm manner.
"Your parents passed away one after the other. When I buried your father, I thought I should bury your parents together so that you three brothers wouldn't have to go through all that trouble later. But your eldest sister-in-law didn't want to. She insisted on waiting for you all to come back so we could discuss it together. I don't know what there is to discuss." Uncle Du complained with a hint of wanting credit.
"We won't be buried together. The graves are already close enough, right next to each other." Du Li didn't want these two to be husband and wife in their next life. She wanted them to marry their own spouses and not get together to cause trouble for others.
"Why not bury them together? Any descendant who is successful would bury their parents together and erect a tombstone," the older cousin asked.
“We only need to burn one offering for a joint burial, which saves us money, but the old couple will still fight over things down there, so let’s burn two offerings,” Meng Qing said in support of Du Li. “The offerings we bought today are double the amount.”
Uncle Du and the others, remembering how the Du and Ding couple would fight every few days, fell silent.
The paper money was burning, and Du Li called the four children over, "Come and burn some paper money, so that your grandparents can recognize us and tell them that we are living a very good life, so that they won't worry about us down there."
Wangzhou led his younger siblings over and knelt down, each taking a stack of paper money and placing it on the fire.
Yin Caiwei glanced at Meng Qing, and seeing that she didn't move, she also chose not to move.
"What's the oldest one called? How old is it? Did it take the imperial examination?" Uncle Du asked, pointing to the boat.
“His name is Wangzhou. He’s twenty years old and has already passed the imperial examination,” Meng Qing replied. “The two older ones are mine, and this one is called Wangchuan. The two younger ones are my younger brother and sister-in-law’s. The older one is called Guanxi, and the younger one is called Wangshan.”
Uncle Du only heard the first sentence: "He's already passed the imperial examination? Just as impressive as his third uncle. Wangzhou, right? When you have time, teach your second brother. He was so nervous during the provincial examination last year that he didn't finish answering the questions."
The boat should descend.
Uncle Du was extremely pleased to see this. He said to Meng Qing, "You've raised a promising son. You and your second son have finally made it through. Now there are officials in the family."
Meng Qing did not argue; she simply nodded with a smile.
“My mother has long since made it. She was bestowed the title of Lady of Wu County by the female sage and has her own Lady of Wu County residence in Luoyang. When my third uncle was away on official business, she managed the affairs of Huai Prefecture for him. She was a female governor in name only and enjoyed great fame in Huai Prefecture.” Wang Zhou defended Meng Qing, “My mother didn’t rely on me. I am the one who enjoys my mother’s blessings.”
“Grandpa, didn’t you hear the news in the village? There are still officials and people in Wuxian County who erected a stone tablet and a memorial arch for my mother.” Wangchuan asked, “Don’t my grandparents know about it? If I had known, I should have brought a pen, ink, paper and inkstone when I came, and written a memorial to tell them the good news.”
Meng Qing thought to herself, "Why don't you just make your grandparents come back to life?"
"We know, we know, we all know. Your grandparents know too. There's no need to write a eulogy." Uncle Du thought to himself that if Old Ding Du received a eulogy written by his grandson while lying in the ground, he would be so angry that he would die again.
When the basket of paper money was almost empty, Du Li pulled up his four children, moved some paper figures over and threw them onto the fire to set it ablaze.
The four children also went to help move the load.
Seeing that Meng Qing still hadn't taken any action, and that the Du family members seemed to have no objections, Yin Caiwei pretended nothing was wrong and stood aside watching.
All three cartloads of paper offerings and funerary objects were reduced to ashes, the flames soaring higher than the grave mounds, forcing people to retreat again and again.
After half an incense stick's time, the fire went out, and the group turned and left.
As darkness fell, the group returned to the village, by which time it was completely dark.
"Uncle, please come to our house for dinner tonight." When they arrived at Uncle Du's house, Du Li saw that Du Ming didn't say anything polite, so he had to speak up.
"Forget it, let's do it another day. It's too late today. You guys eat and drink and go back to your rooms to rest early." Uncle Du didn't need this meal outside to satisfy his cravings, and he was too lazy to look at Du Ming, that lowlife. "Wangzhou, this is my home. Come and sit down when you're free."
The boat should be well.
After parting ways with Uncle Du's family, Du Li led the way and walked for a while before entering a familiar yet unfamiliar courtyard.
"You're back?" Li Hongguo came out of the kitchen. "This row of houses is newly built; your two families will live here."
Du's mother died in the south room, and Du Laoding died in the north room. Li Hongguo asked people to demolish both rooms, along with the cowshed and the outhouse, and then built four new houses on the same spot.
"How much did it cost?" Meng Qing asked. "How much did the funerals for the two elders cost? You can calculate it, and I'll pay you back later."
When money was mentioned, Li Hongguo couldn't hold her head up in front of Meng Qing. She did want to accept the money, but a sense of pride suddenly arose from somewhere, and she said loudly, "No need to make up for it. The money we received as gifts is more than the expenses, and there's still some left. You shouldn't be short of this money, so I won't share it with you."
“We took care of burying the two elderly people; they didn’t have to worry about it at all. They should pay for it,” Du Ming protested.
“I said no, and that’s it. If you insist, then take out the money you received as gifts. The Wang family, the magistrate, and the county clerk weren’t after the funeral gifts we gave them,” Li Hongguo shouted angrily.
Du Ming immediately quieted down upon hearing this.
"Do you keep accounts? Show me the ledger, and make sure you don't accept anything you shouldn't have," Meng Qing said.
Li Hongguo hesitated for a few seconds, then went back into the house to get the account book.
"Don't meddle in adults' affairs," Du Li nudged Wang Zhou. "Go pack your luggage."
Wangzhou took Wangchuan, Ximei, and Wangshan away.
The four siblings wandered into a room haphazardly, closed the door, and tacitly hid behind it to listen for any sounds.
Li Hongguo took out the account book and handed it to Meng Qing, saying, "These are all gift money. I didn't accept any of the money that was asked to be given to Lao San."
Meng Qing remained silent. She examined the account book under the lantern and calculated that the gifts received for the two funerals totaled over 1,500 guan, more than her annual salary. Having figured it out, she returned the account book to Li Hongguo and never mentioned the expenses for the make-up funerals again.
Yao Xi wiped her hands and came out of the kitchen, saying, "Mom, the food is ready."
"Shall we eat first?" Li Hongguo asked.
"Okay." Meng Qing nodded. "Is this Qiao Mei?"
“She’s Jinshu’s wife, surnamed Yao. Qiaomei has been married for four or five years,” Li Hongguo replied.
Meng Qing looked at Du Li, who was also puzzled. "I heard from Jin Shu that he left before his wife was married into the family."
"Let him go his way, it won't delay his bride's arrival. I'll have Qiaomei fetch her for him." This daughter-in-law was chosen by Li Hongguo. Like Meng Qing, Yao Shi came from a merchant family and managed the family business while still young, proving quite capable. Jin Shu was so fat that her eyes were almost invisible, and even her mother disliked her. Yao Shi insisted on agreeing to the marriage against her parents' advice, showing her ambition. Li Hongguo didn't expect Yao Shi to become a county princess or madam like Meng Qing; she only wanted her to manage the household and raise the children and grandchildren.
“It seems my sister-in-law really likes this daughter-in-law. Congratulations, niece-in-law! You’ll never have to suffer from your mother-in-law’s temper. Unlike me, I was disliked by my mother-in-law even before we were married. We’re like enemies.” Meng Qing put her hand on Yin Caiwei’s arm and said, “She must like this daughter-in-law. It’s a pity I don’t have the fortune to meet her.”
Yin Caiwei immediately understood why Meng Qing acted like a stranger in front of her parents-in-law's graves. She felt a bias towards Meng Qing and chimed in, "There are still people who don't like my second sister-in-law? It seems I'm lucky."
Li Hongguo was not surprised by her attitude. Du Min, that cold-blooded and venomous scorpion, had been obedient to Meng Qing for one or two decades, so his wife must have been won over by Meng Qing as well.
"Call the children, let's eat." Meng Qing helped Yin Caiwei accept the situation at home, and then she took the initiative to end the conversation.
The four siblings who had been eavesdropping behind the door immediately stepped back. Wang Chuan muttered unhappily, "Brother, we shouldn't have knelt down and burned paper money for Grandpa and Grandma today."
Wang Zhou patted him lightly on the back of the head. "Have you forgotten what your father said? Don't meddle in adults' affairs. You think you can get revenge for your mother by not kneeling down to burn paper money? People will only say that your parents didn't raise you well."
“Big brother is right,” Ximei agreed.
Wang Shan nodded.
"Come out for dinner." Du Li knocked on the door from outside.
Wang Shan rushed to open the door first, "Second Uncle, your eldest uncle is not like you. You are the best."
Du Li laughed heartily, "You have the best eye."
As Wang Chuan passed by, he pinched Wang Shan's cheek and muttered "sycophant."
“There are only four new rooms in the house. It’s definitely not enough for everyone to have their own room. You’ll have to make do for a year. Wangzhou, you and your two brothers will share a room. You need to figure that out. Ximei, you’ll have a room by yourself. Do you want to stay in the room between us and your parents, or the room between your parents and your brothers? It’s up to you,” Du Li made the arrangements.
"The room where I lived between my parents and my brothers."
“Alright, this room is yours. Have your maid tidy it up. Let’s go eat first,” Du Li said.
During the mourning period, one can only eat vegetarian food. Dinner consists of rice and a few plates of vegetables, with a bland and watery broth. The already silent meal becomes even more silent as it goes on.
After the meal, everyone fetched water and went back to their rooms to wash up. While their stomachs were still full, they quickly lay down to sleep.
Before going to bed, Du Li and Meng Qing whispered to each other for a while. The next morning after breakfast, he found an excuse to argue with Du Ming and proposed to build a thatched hut in front of his parents' graves to live in.
“As sons, my third brother and I are so sorry that we haven’t been able to be filial to our parents, let alone keep vigil for them in their final days. It’s a great regret in our lives. This is the second day since we came back, and our eldest brother has been giving us the cold shoulder, full of resentment. I suppose he’s blaming us. My third brother and I won’t get in your way. We’ll go to the grave to keep vigil for our parents.” Du Li said a whole bunch of grand-sounding words. “The four children are too young to endure the hardship, so they won’t stay with us at the grave. But during the day, we have to go burn paper money and kowtow three times a day.”
Wangzhou, Wangchuan, and Ximei looked puzzled, while Wangshan glared angrily at Du Ming.
Li Hongguo glared at Du Ming. This damned old behead, he really is Du Laoding's son, with a heart the size of a pinhole, always wearing a deadpan face, always looking for trouble.
"Just ignore what your older brother said. Country folks don't have all those rules," Li Hongguo advised.
"Sister-in-law, this has nothing to do with you, don't take it to heart, and don't try to persuade me." Du Li looked determined. "Give me the sickle and machete from the house, and I'll take the servants to cut down trees and gather thatch."
"I'll go to your uncle's house to borrow one for you." Li Hongguo hadn't done farm work for over ten years, and all he had at home was a sickle, which was rusted beyond repair.
When Uncle Du found out, he scolded Du Ming and ordered his sons to help Du Li.
"Mother, what's going on?" Wang Zhou asked, leaning close to Meng Qing. "Does my father have ulterior motives?"
"Never mind that, just take a bundle of paper to your grandparents' graves three times a day," Meng Qing said, suppressing a laugh.
Three meals a day? Wang Zhou silently repeated it to himself, and he understood.
With the help of the villagers, the three thatched houses were completed in just one day.
The next day, Du Li went to the county and bought two baskets of things. At dusk that day, smoke began to rise from the thatched hut.
Meng Qing used the excuse of delivering rice and quilts to call Yin Caiwei and the four children to go out to the thatched hut.
As soon as Meng Qing and his group left, Li Hongguo immediately asked Yao to boil eggs.
Du Li also boiled salted eggs and steamed two perch in the thatched hut.
"Father?" Wang Chuan rushed in, laughing heartily, "I knew it would be like this."
"You found out again?" Du Li laughed. "Come in and eat."
“You’re being too obvious. Three meals a day, as if you’re afraid others won’t understand what you mean,” Wang Chuan pointed out the flaw in his words.
“Your aunt is right. People in the countryside don’t have so many rules, but you’re going to be officials in the future, so you can’t give anyone a handle to use against you. You can only eat secretly.” Du Li distributed eggs to the four children. “Eat more, so you won’t be too hungry to sleep at night.”
Meng Qing and Yin Caiwei also came in. She explained, "Caiwei, the children are still growing and can't go hungry. We women are already deprived of our bodies after giving birth, and we need to nourish ourselves every year. We can't go hungry either, so please eat something."
"Second sister-in-law, I'm not that old-fashioned," Caiwei chuckled.
Meng Qing gave her two eggs and then brought over a plate of sea bass. "Xi Mei, come and eat this plate of fish with us. That plate is for your second uncle, your brother, and your younger brother."
"Okay!" Ximei said happily. This kind of sneaky life in the countryside was quite interesting.
"I didn't dare buy too much because I was afraid of being discovered. This meal will have to do. I'll go to the paddy field tonight to catch eels, and I'll make eel soup for you guys later." Du Li was quite excited to pick up his old cooking skills again. "I don't know if my skills have become rusty."
"Father, take me with you. I'll stay here with you tonight." Wang Zhou was also interested.
“Okay,” Du Li agreed.
"Father, take me with you," Wang Chuan said vaguely.
"Second Uncle, me too!" Wang Shan followed suit.
"You two are too young." Du Li was mainly worried that the two little ones would be scared sleeping here at night.
“I’m not young anymore. I can go to the Imperial Academy next year,” Wang Chuan protested.
"There's no room for negotiation," Du Li refused to budge.
Wang Chuan was angry, but no one paid any attention to him, so he could only sulk.
After finishing off the salted eggs and sea bass, Du Li put out the fire, and he and Wang Zhou escorted Meng Qing and the children back to the village.
As Wang Chuan walked along the ridges of the fields, listening to the croaking of frogs and the gurgling of water, and smelling the scent of rice blossoms and earth, he leaped onto Du Li's back. "Dad, tell me the story of how you grew up on this land."
He was clearly no longer angry.
"There's so much, I can't finish talking about it all in a short time." Du Li put her arm around his leg and said, "You and Wang Shan come over tomorrow during the day, and I'll take you to work in the fields."
"Okay, I'll come find you when I wake up tomorrow morning."
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Author's note: See you tomorrow night.
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