Seeing this, Granny Liu hurriedly said:
"You're talking nonsense, Liu! You're talking nonsense! I'll beat you to death, Liu! How could my sister have such a heartless daughter-in-law? My sister is gone, but today I'm here to teach you a lesson for her, you ungrateful little bastard!"
As Granny Liu was about to raise her hand to slap Liu's face, Jiang Yuwei grabbed Granny Liu's arm and pushed her back forcefully.
"Where did you come from, you crazy old woman, daring to cause trouble in our Ningjia Village! Do you really think there's no one left in Ningjia Village?"
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, the villagers who were watching nearby began to speak up:
"That's right, that's right, don't they even know what day it is today before causing such a ruckus?"
"Grandma Sun didn't leave this world peacefully!"
"Where did this fake sister come from?"
Hearing what everyone said, Granny Liu was so angry that she pounded her chest on the spot, grabbed the old man next to her, pointed at him, and shouted:
"This is someone from our Sunjia Village. He was the one who delivered my sister's dowry when she got married. He can prove that my sister is my sister and I am her sister's younger sister. Or you can send someone to Sunjia Village to ask around and you'll find out. What do you say, Old Sun? Say something!"
Old Sun glanced at Granny Liu, then looked around at the people of Ningjia Village, and nodded repeatedly:
"Yes, I know, Granny Liu is her sister!"
Jiang Yuwei stepped forward and smiled:
"I don't believe it. Besides, if Grandma Sun really was your own sister, how could you bear to let her body lie on the kang (a heated brick bed), unable to rest in peace even in death? Anyway, I don't believe your bullshit!"
Granny Liu was so angry at Jiang Yuwei's words that she hiccuped.
"Hiccup... You, you're driving me crazy, hiccup..."
Seeing that the old woman was speechless with anger, Jiang Yuwei simply pushed her away:
"No unrelated persons are allowed to disturb the deceased here!"
After saying that, he looked at Liu:
"The funeral can begin. Has the coffin been purchased?"
Mrs. Liu nodded, looking gratefully at Jiang Yuwei:
"Yes, I asked the village head to go to town to buy it for me. It should arrive in a bit."
Jiang Yuwei shook Liu's hand:
"You go in first and help Grandma Sun change her clothes. I'll find some villagers to help with the cooking. Shall we have Gou Dan keep vigil tonight?"
After a moment's thought, tears welled in Liu's eyes:
"That's it, we can only let Gou Dan keep vigil for his grandmother. His father... sigh... never mind. I'll leave the things outside to you, Yuwei. Thank you for coming to help me."
Jiang Yuwei patted Liu's shoulder:
"Alright, you're the host today, it won't do for you to keep crying. Stop talking and send Grandma Sun off properly."
After hearing this, Liu felt that Jiang Yuwei's words made sense. She took out a handkerchief, wiped her tears, and went into the house.
At this time, the village head also brought a group of people to deliver the coffin. The coffin was to be placed in the courtyard. Liu could not afford to hire a Taoist priest to perform a ritual for the deceased, so she only asked a knowledgeable person in the village to give her some advice.
Seeing that the village head was in charge outside, Jiang Yuwei figured that the old woman Liu couldn't cause any trouble, so she found a few women to help in the kitchen. Because the incident happened so suddenly, Liu didn't have time to prepare anything good, so she just picked some vegetables and fruits that were currently available in the family's vegetable garden and put them in the kitchen.
Jiang Yuwei thought that it wouldn't be right to leave without any meat, so when no one was looking, she secretly took a few eggs and half a pork carcass from her spatial storage as a farewell gift for Grandma Sun.
Jiang Yuwei directed everyone to help chop vegetables and start the fire, while she took out eggplant and stir-fried it into braised eggplant, then made a cold eggplant salad, made a cucumber salad with eggs and cucumber, stir-fried twice-cooked pork, and then made sweet and sour spare ribs. Seeing that there were still potatoes on the ground, Jiang Yuwei also made a sweet and sour potato dish.
With everyone's help, Jiang Yuwei quickly prepared five tables of dishes, and the villagers served all the food.
Liu had already arranged for everyone to move Grandma Sun into the coffin. Jiang Yuwei went to take a look and saw that Grandma Sun had passed away peacefully with a smile on her face. Jiang Yuwei lit incense and kowtowed to Grandma Sun.
Then he turned to look at Liu:
"Don't be too sad. After Grandma Sun passes away, you'll be in charge of this family. Take good care of Gou Dan as he grows up."
Liu looked at Jiang Yuwei and nodded:
"I know Yuwei, I will live well. Gou Dan is an obedient child, I will raise him well. I still want to thank you for helping me today. Don't worry, as soon as I finish things here, I will come to work for you."
Jiang Yuwei raised her hand to tuck a stray strand of Liu's hair behind her ear and patted her shoulder:
“I’m not in a rush. You focus on handling Grandma Sun’s funeral arrangements. You must take good care of yourself; you can’t afford to collapse now, and…”
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she gestured with her eyes for Liu Shi to look at Granny Liu, who was sitting in the corner with her eyes darting around:
"You need to keep an eye on this old hag. She didn't succeed just now, but she's still lingering. I'm afraid she might come up with some other crooked ideas. Make sure you keep your money safe and don't let her rummage through your house. She's a scoundrel, and you can't just keep tolerating her, otherwise she'll take advantage of you. Remember, if you need to hit her, hit her; if you need to scold her, scold her. Understand?"
Liu looked at Granny Liu with a worried expression, then smiled faintly and said to Jiang Yuwei:
“I understand, Yuwei. If you hadn’t stopped her today, I really don’t know what kind of trouble she would have caused. You know, my mother-in-law has worked so hard to support this family all these years, where would she have any dowry? Even her burial money was borrowed from you. I really don’t know where this old hag got the news from, but she actually came to our door to ask for my mother-in-law’s dowry.”
Jiang Yuwei naturally knew that this Granny Liu was not easy to deal with, but she wanted Liu to handle it herself. Now that she was running the household alone, she couldn't keep quiet like before. If Granny Liu caused trouble again today, Liu would teach her a lesson.
It would also let the neighbors and villagers know that Liu Shi was not someone to be bullied, so that they, as a widow and orphan, could live a peaceful life in Ningjia Village.
Jiang Yuwei would naturally help Liu Shi, but she believed that it was better to rely on oneself than on others. If she couldn't be strong herself, no amount of help from others would be of any use.
Thinking this, Jiang Yuwei said to Liu Shi:
"Remember, if that old hag comes to ask you for any more dowry later, just grab a broom and throw her out. Make sure she never dares to set foot in your house again! If she actually dares to come in and rummage through your things, just tell her you're going to take her to the yamen and give her a good scare. Like I said, if you can't argue with her, just fight her. You're much younger than her, so you'll definitely beat her. Liu, remember, it's better to rely on yourself than on others. If you can't stand up for yourself today, then anyone can shit on your head in the future!"
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