In order to facilitate the Huosheng family's funeral, Yang Huazhong discussed with Yang Huaming and planned to take out the small courtyard where Old Yang lived at the entrance of the village to accommodate the victims in the ancestral hall.
Five families, one occupying one room, is just right.
By the time the Huosheng family's funeral is over, the shack will probably be set up, and the two will be seamlessly connected.
But when Yang Huazhong brought people over to help them move, Changrong said to Yang Huazhong: "My legs are injured and I am too lazy to move. I have been living in the ancestral hall for the past two days, so I won't move yet!"
Yang Huazhong said: "How can this be done? The time for the enshrinement at Huosheng's house is just right. They will come over in the evening. It will be noisy by then and it will be inconvenient for you to live here."
Changrong shook his head, "It's nothing inconvenient. It's so miserable. It makes me feel bad to hear it. I live here, and I can keep him company when the fire is kept at night."
When Yang Huazhong heard this, he thought it made sense, so he followed Changrong and took the others to the house at the entrance of the village to settle down.
What Yang Huazhong didn't know was that Changrong wanted to stay. On the one hand, he had a lazy man's habit. He went to the straw pile in the corner and covered himself with the quilt sent by Sun. It was so warm that he didn't want to get up and move.
Furthermore, he likes to watch the excitement. No matter who has a wedding or a wedding in the eight villages, he likes to go there and join in the fun.
I originally thought that my leg was broken and I couldn't walk, so I couldn't watch the excitement. But I didn't expect that the excitement was right in front of me. How could I not watch it?
Therefore, I must stay and wait until the excitement is over before letting the young man come over to carry me to the place where I am.
After lunch, the other victims of the disaster in the ancestral hall all moved away, and the last family to move was Gangzi.
While Gangzi was packing things, someone had already sent someone to deliver three coffins, one large, two small and three from the Huosheng family.
The three coffins were all brand new, and the tung oil applied on them gave off a pungent smell.
The big one was prepared for Yunxia, the fire-born goddess. It was carried directly into the ancestral hall and placed in the middle of the second entrance of the ancestral hall. It is separated from the first entrance of Changrong Qi by a patio.
Changrong sat on the straw pile, hugging the quilt, stretched his neck, and looked out from the arched side doors on both sides of the ancestral hall. He saw two other small coffins placed at the side door without being carried in.
Changrong is in his forties and has seen some things and knows the customs in this area.
Underage men and women, or children who died in infancy, are not allowed to enter the ancestral hall, so the spirits are placed outside.
"Hey, these mother and son are really miserable!"
Changrong couldn't help but shook his head and sighed.
"Brother Changrong, we've all left. Are you afraid of being here alone? Why don't you go with us?"
Gangzi put the quilt on his shoulders and asked Changrong again before leaving.
Changrong looked back and shook his head: "You are looking down on me. I am a great man who has never seen anything in the world. Don't worry, I am not afraid of anything!"
What's more, the coffin has been brought here, and it will be buried soon. After the coffin is laid, family members will come to mourn and hold a wake. I don't know how lively it will be, I'm afraid of a ball!
Gangzi wanted to say something more, but Sufen on the side saw the true purpose of Changrong's insistence on staying.
She tugged on Gangzi's sleeve: "Stop dawdling, let's go quickly!"
The young couple walked out of the ancestral hall and headed to the south of the village. Su Fen spat on the ground: "That lazy Evergreen man has no conscience at all. He wants to see such excitement. He is so heartless!"
Gangzi was stunned for a moment, looking at the anger on his wife's side face, and then he figured out something.
"Brother Evergreen has always been like this, and everyone in our village knows it," he said.
Sufen snorted, "Putting your own happiness on other people's pain will not bring you good results."
Gangzi nodded: "My wife is right, let him go, we will leave him alone."
In the ancestral hall, after the three coffins were delivered, two more batches of lime and other things needed for burial came.
Changrong's eyes rolled, looking very excited.
When the sun went down and dusk began to rise, the sound of firecrackers suddenly sounded.
Changrong was huddled in the straw and was sleeping soundly. He was suddenly awakened and hurriedly pricked up his ears to listen. He found that the sound was coming from the direction of Huosheng's house. His sleepiness disappeared immediately, and he sat up and waited in high spirits.
Soon, the crying got closer, the footsteps were chaotic, and a group of people came in from the main gate of the ancestral hall carrying Yunxia who had changed into a shroud.
Changrong was lying in the corner inside the gate, just in time to see the team passing by.
I saw the young daughter-in-law named Yunxia wearing a black hat on her head, a white cloth on her face, and a shroud. Her hands were clasped and placed on her lower abdomen. Her legs were straight, her feet were crossed in a splay, and her feet were wearing A brand new pair of black cloth shoes with white soles, with two red lotuses painted with cinnabar on the soles.
"I heard that this wife is only in her mid-twenties, what a pity, what a pity..."
Changrong felt sorry for himself secretly as he watched several strangers crying behind the body. There were men and women. Changrong had met these people before and they were the daughter-in-law's natal family.
The old woman being supported by Caixia, the aquatic daughter-in-law, must be Yunxia's mother, and the two young daughters-in-law following behind her should be her parents' siblings.
Changrong's eyes wandered over several young wives in the crowd. They were pretty and dressed in filial piety. These young daughters-in-law were wearing mourning clothes and white flowers, which was really unique.
A small stone suddenly hit Changrong on the forehead, making a 'ding-dong' sound and the pain almost made him scream.
He subconsciously turned his head and saw that at the end of the team, Yang Huazhong came in with a group of enthusiastic villagers. They all followed the team into the ancestral hall without looking back.
Only one person's eyes turned to Changrong, and when their eyes met, the disinfecting anger in the other person's eyes made Changrong's scalp numb and his whole body became cold.
The other person's lips moved, as if he was warning him something. Changrong was so frightened that he quickly smiled at the other person and lowered his head, not daring to look any further.
When the suffocating gaze moved away from his body, Changrong breathed a sigh of relief, quietly raised his head and glanced at the other person's back, and said inwardly: Is the general's wife amazing? How many times have I looked at this woman? Is it none of your business? You're so fierce, I'm a good man and don't fight with women!
Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang walked side by side behind Yang Huazhong and Changgen Daniu, escorting the three women to the coffin. They were all in heavy hearts, and every step they took seemed to be filled with lead.
Yunxia's family members, especially her parents and younger sister Caixia, cried so hard that they were heartbroken.
Huosheng was also crying, but men's crying was different from women's.
The woman howled at the top of her lungs, while the man buried his head in tears, wiped away his tears, raised his head, gritted his teeth and continued to take care of his wife and children's affairs. This was the last thing he, a sinner, could do for them.
