1977, Jinling.
A funeral was being held in an old courtyard. People who had just emerged from the turbulent years were still worried about the past.
Therefore, the funeral was very simple.
There are several long benches and a boxy Eight Immortals table. On the table is a black and white photo. The woman in the photo has two hemp braids and a smile like a flower.
Li Jie silently glanced at the photo on the table, looked through his memory, and remembered the origin of this photo.
In this era when supplies are not abundant and life is not rich, even working-class families living in the city do not often go to photo studios to take pictures.
This photo was taken many years ago, when Mother Qiao was still very young. Perhaps it was a rare photo taken, and Mother Qiao probably wanted to leave her best appearance for the camera.
Therefore, Mother Qiao in this photo is smiling.
If we put it to future generations, there is a high probability that such photos will not be regarded as portraits, but at this time and that time, it is not easy to find one or two half-length photos at home in this era.
Furthermore, in order to comply with current funeral customs, this photo is also appropriate.
There were two people sitting in the center of the mourning hall, a man and a woman. The man had a little sadness on his face and sat there silently. This man was Qiao Zuwang, the head of the family.
Although he was heartless and selfish, it was impossible to say that he was not heartbroken by his wife's sudden death.
Compared to his calmness, the woman beside him was undoubtedly more sad. She didn't know how many times she cried. Whenever someone came in to worship Mother Qiao, she would burst into heart-wrenching cries.
In some places, this is a custom called mourning. Of course, it is also a manifestation of grief.
People came and went in the mourning hall, and neighbors lined up to pay their respects. Aunt Liu, a neighbor with a heavy face, walked to the portrait and bowed deeply.
Following this prayer, the woman sitting on the right side of the table immediately began to cry, crying and wailing at the same time.
"Shuying, why did you go like that?"
After paying homage to Mother Qiao, Aunt Liu sighed, walked up to the woman and patted her shoulder.
"Shufang, my condolences are with you. Death is like a light going out. Those who are alive can only look forward. You must also pay attention to your health. Look, your eyes are swollen."
The crying woman's name is Wei Shufang. She is Qiao's mother's sister. Her sister's death made her very sad.
Back then, she and her sister (Qiao's mother) fell in love with a man at the same time, Wei Shufang's current husband, Qi Zhiqiang, the second uncle of Qiao Yicheng's brothers and sisters.
At that time, the person Qi Zhiqiang really loved was his sister Wei Shuying, but because of Wei Shufang, her sister finally took a step back and gave Qi Zhiqiang to her sister.
In the two days after her sister passed away, Wei Shufang often thought that if she hadn't disrupted the situation back then, her sister would not have married Qiao Zuwang.
Qiao Zuwang was a man who didn't care about his family at all. He would lie down on the card table whenever he had free time all day long. When Qiao's mother was about to give birth, he actually ignored her and let her go to the hospital alone.
Wei Shufang thought that if her sister had not married Qiao Zuwang, there would be a high probability that her sister would not die due to dystocia today.
When she thought of this, the guilt in Wei Shufang's heart surged like a tide.
Although Qiao Zuwang was at fault for her sister's death, she was not without responsibility. It was precisely because of her willfulness back then that everything happened today.
Perhaps because she had been crying for too long, Wei Shufang was a little tired. Suddenly, her eyes fell on a few children.
Four children stood in a row. According to their height, the four children were the eldest, Qiao Yicheng, the second, Qiao Erqiang, the third, Qiao Sanli, and the fourth, Qiao Simei.
They were named with numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. You can tell at a glance that the names were chosen very casually. Their names were all decided by Qiao Zuwang. His reason was that it was convenient, easy to remember, and easy to remember.
The tallest boy had obvious grief on his face, and the other boy, about seven or eight years old, had tears in his eyes.
After looking at the boys, Wei Shufang's eyes moved to the two girls beside them.
The taller girl, like the boy next to her, had tears in her eyes and was sniffling as she cried.
The other girl, the shortest girl, looked puzzled. She looked at the photo in the center of the mourning hall for a while, and then looked at the crying brothers and sisters beside her. There was confusion, confusion, and confusion in her eyes. With a little curiosity, but no sadness.
Looking at the innocent girl, Wei Shufang felt sour in front of her eyes.
Simei didn't cry, and she wasn't surprised at all, because the child was too young, only four years old this year.
What can a four-year-old know?
"well."
Wei Shufang sighed again. She couldn't remember how many times she had sighed. In the past two days, sighing had become her habit.
Especially when I saw the four babies in front of me, four brothers and sisters of the Qiao family, no, it should be five to be precise. The newly born Qiao Qiqi was still living in the hospital because she was too underweight.
There are five brothers and sisters, the oldest one, 'Qiao Yicheng', is only twelve years old. Erqiang is slightly older, eight years old this year. Sanli is two years older than Simei and two years younger than Erqiang.
After my sister passed away, there were only six people left in the Qiao family. A forty-year-old man with five children. How will he live in the future?
Forty years old is neither too old nor too young. Even if you can find a woman with a rural registered permanent residence, she will probably be scared away immediately when she sees the few dolls at home.
From now on, Qiao Zuwang will most likely be raising the children alone.
But now there is a big problem. The youngest of the five children, Qiao Qiqi, has just been born.
A newborn baby is not that easy to take care of. With Qiao Zuwang's careless temperament, I'm afraid he won't be able to take care of it.
Wei Shufang thought for a moment and found that Qiao Zuwang didn't seem to have any relatives except for one brother, but he and his brother's family had stopped interacting with each other for a long time.
There is basically no difference between having this relative or not.
After thinking about it, most of the time it will fall on you to take care of your children.
After all, she has given birth to three children, has rich experience in taking care of children, and is also the child's second aunt.
'well. '
'Let me take care of you, if not me, my sister will also...'
Wei Shufang stopped thinking about it, because the more she thought about it, the sadder and guiltier she felt.
'However, I can't take the initiative to mention this matter, otherwise, with Qiao Zuwang's temperament, he will definitely rely on my family. '
At the same time, neighbor Aunt Liu came to Li Jie and the four of them, and pulled them towards the portrait.
"Kowtow to your mother a few times and cry a few times."
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