Three years later—
The sixth day of the first month of the tenth year of Yongxi.
Wujiaji was bustling with activity.
The village chief arranged for a team to shovel snow to ensure that vehicles and horses could pass through unimpeded.
After working for an hour, the village chief took everyone to have tea.
A burly man, after sitting down in the teahouse, seemed a little uncomfortable and casually asked:
"Hey, why is that old lady's teahouse closed?"
Upon hearing this, the man next to him looked in the direction the other person was pointing and confirmed it:
"You mean that one by the roadside?"
"That's right. Every year when I come to Wujiaji to work, I go to that teahouse to buy a pot of chrysanthemum tea. It's only two copper coins, and you can refill the water as much as you want. It's such a good deal."
The burly man nodded, casually taking off his felt hat, which was steaming hot. It gets hot when you're working, sigh.
The man next to me sighed, poured tea for everyone, and then said:
"Oh, you're too late. That old lady passed away a few nights ago. Her family is currently holding a funeral, and I don't know if her daughter-in-law will continue to run this little teahouse."
"Oh? That's so sudden. I was just about to wish her a Happy New Year, how could she be gone already?"
The burly man stared in disbelief, his mouth agape.
Mingming, before the Lunar New Year, he took his wife to the market and even met the old man.
The old man was full of energy; he didn't look sick at all.
The man opposite him took a sip of hot tea, picked up the conversation, and remarked with a sigh:
"Oh, the old man was over seventy years old. He passed away peacefully in his old age. I heard he didn't suffer. He passed away peacefully, and even had a smile on his face."
"Which family in the village is it? I'll go burn incense after I finish my work."
The robust man felt the news was too sudden, but he couldn't bear not to see the old man off on his final journey.
The man next to him looked at the speaker, thought for a moment, and, feeling that the other person meant no harm, said:
"You can easily find out about the Wu family's old house by asking around when you enter the village."
"Hey, thanks a lot, brother."
......
"Cough cough~"
At the table nearby, the village chief silently turned his back.
The marks of time had somehow crept onto his hair, and the village chief, his back hunched, puffed on his pipe, unconsciously thinking of his third uncle.
well.
The older generation in the village are all nearing their end these days, and most of them have passed away.
The village has changed a lot, and future generations will only be better than their generation and the previous generation!
Third Uncle, Third Uncle, can you see this?
Now, Wujia Village is making a fortune thanks to the market!
Not only was the road repaired, but it was also made exceptionally wide, enough for four horse-drawn carriages to travel side by side!
And the children in the village all have access to education, unlike them back then, who saw no hope!
The village's pharmaceutical factory also provides a legitimate job for many people in Wujia Village.
There are also medicinal herb fields, farmland...
You entrusted the village to me, and I didn't let you down!
In a few years, I'll find a village chief, train him, and have him take over my position.
I will pass on what you taught me, generation after generation...
Old Wu's family —
"Crackling and popping~"
For three or four days in a row, the firecrackers in front of Old Wu's house have been going off non-stop.
People came to pay their respects in an endless stream.
Just like three years ago, when Grandpa Wu passed away, it was a lively affair.
According to custom—oh, no need to remind you—the Wu brothers held their father's funeral three years ago.
This time, all the procedures went smoothly.
Old Mrs. Zhou was a kind and gentle person throughout her life, treating her children, grandchildren, and daughters-in-law with great kindness.
Her departure saddened the eldest Zhou family, the youngest Zhou family, and Jiang Yue.
Although Old Zhou had no daughters in her life, her three daughters-in-law were more filial than her own daughters.
Whether before or after her death, her three daughters-in-law contributed money and effort to accompany the old woman through the final stage of her life.
While measuring the ancestral graves, Wu Dalang and his brother, along with their children and grandchildren, pulled up the weeds from their father's grave.
The craftsmen were hammering and carving the name of Old Zhou and his life story on the huge stone tablet.
Both the big and small stones had red eyes, their tears all dried up.
Grandpa is gone, and now Grandma is gone too. From now on, no one will protect them when their parents beat them.
They will never be able to eat Grandma's egg noodles again.
Why must there be joy and sorrow, separation and reunion, and the cycle of birth and death in the human world?
Why can't good people live to be a hundred years old? If gods and Buddhas really exist, why can't they let grandpa and grandma live another thirty years?
Green mountains, green pines, and green clouds, without uttering a sound, knelt down one after another and kowtowed to their grandfather.
"Grandpa, Grandma misses you and is coming to find you. Please remember to bring Grandma home."
"Grandpa, Grandma doesn't like you drinking, so I didn't bring you any wine this time. Please don't blame me. If you want anything else to eat, just tell me in a dream and I'll buy it for you as a tribute."
"Grandpa, Grandma, don't worry, I will take good care of our Wu family. You can reincarnate in peace. I will go to Fahua Temple and ask the abbot to recite scriptures and pray for you to be reborn into a wealthy family in your next life, where you will have no worries about food and clothing and continue your previous life."
......
The paper money was suddenly engulfed in flames, and ashes drifted towards the crowd, as if in response...
On the day everything was ready, an auspicious day, the coffin was sealed and carried.
Filial sons and virtuous grandsons lead the way, followed by daughters-in-law, granddaughters-in-law, and granddaughters.
The honor guard set off in a grand and imposing procession.
A single suona horn blared, and strangers made way.
Two whistles of the suona, may the departed rest in peace.
Three suona horns, and nothing is forbidden.
......
"Knock knock knock~"
The drumbeats seemed to strike the heart, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
The coffin fell into the dug pit, the ropes were cut, and the copper coins fell out.
"fall--"
"add--"
"bye--"
......
"mother--"
"Mother, please don't go!"
"Mother~"
"Mother~"
"Sister-in-law!"
"My sister-in-law has fainted!"
"Da Shi, hurry, hurry and carry your mother home."
"Why."
"mother!"
"Oh no! Second Grandma has fainted too!"
"Xiao Shi——"
"Mother~"
"Grandma~"
"Quick, pinch his philtrum!"
"Okay, okay."
Jiang Yue, in a daze, completed a series of actions with the help of her daughters-in-law.
As the grave mound came into view, her tears broke free, and she choked out:
"Mother-in-law, may you have a safe journey."
Dad, Mom, thank you for your tolerance, care, and help over the past ten years...
I, Jiang Yue, am so fortunate to be your daughter-in-law in this life.
May you meet again in your next life, and be happily married, spending a hundred years together.
Everyone present was wiping away tears.
Exquisitely crafted paper houses, tall horses, maids and servants, cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs, chickens, ducks, geese...
Under the raging flames, they were all burned to ashes.
Box after box: intact fabrics, exquisite satins, brand-new clothes, shoes, headbands, and other items...
None of the Wu family members care about money.
They were just worried that the old couple would be in the afterlife, lacking money, clothes, and caregivers.
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