"What's wrong with Uncle Zhang?"
After opening the door, Mao Sandao saw Uncle Zhang's solemn expression.
"Grandpa Liu is gone!"
"What?!" Mao Sandao was shocked, "Grandpa Liu is gone?!"
In rural areas, when a person "dies", most people will use "gone" instead.
For Mao Sandao, who has lived here for more than 20 years, he naturally knows what Uncle Zhang means by "gone".
He just didn't expect, how could Grandpa Liu leave so suddenly?
Without thinking too much, Mao Sandao raised his legs and ran towards Grandpa Liu.
Vaguely, he thought that the dream just now seemed to be Grandpa Liu's farewell to him before his death.
Mao Qiu'er ran out of the living room and followed Mao Sandao, but he drove him back.
Arriving at Grandpa Liu's house, Mao Sandao saw a circle of people surrounding Grandpa Liu's bed.
They all looked heavy and tired.
Mao Sandao guessed that they stayed up all night watching Grandpa Liu.
He looked around and saw that the aunt who had taken care of Grandpa Liu before was also there.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Grandpa Liu's hand and sobbing softly.
Grandpa Liu's face was covered with a piece of tarpaulin.
It's actually just a piece of yellow paper.
One is the worry that the deceased may have "suspended death", and the covering paper can tell whether the deceased is breathing.
Secondly, after a person dies, his or her face is usually not very "beautiful", so as not to frighten those who are waiting for the funeral.
The deeper meaning is also to respect the deceased and to rest in peace, so the face is covered with yellow paper and gold for good luck.
Furthermore, it prevents peripheral bacteria from entering the body of the deceased through the mouth and accelerating decay.
Of course, there is also a saying that if the faces of the deceased are not covered, their souls will not be able to rest in peace, and will even wander around, unable to have a stable residence.
Grandpa Liu was lying quietly on the bed, with a cigarette pot, pot and tobacco bag beside his pillow.
The pot was still stuffed with unlit tobacco.
It was obvious that Grandpa Liu wanted to take a sip at the last moment, but in the end... he couldn't hold on.
Mao Sandao felt extremely uncomfortable, as if a heavy iron had been hung on his heart.
He slowly walked to Grandpa Liu's bedside, his eyes filled with bitterness.
Grandpa Liu's death was so sudden to him that he didn't even have time to make any mental preparations.
For a moment, he didn't know what to do, so he could only try his best to calm down his emotions.
"Auntie, please forgive me."
He sighed and comforted his niece at Grandpa Liu's bedside.
The woman looked up and realized that Mao Sandao had arrived. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and replied, "You're here."
"Yeah." Mao Sandao nodded.
"Uncle was still talking about you before he left, saying that you were a good person." The woman looked at Grandpa Liu, and tears welled up again.
Mao Sanli straightened the quilt covering Grandpa Liu's body, and the astringency in his eyes became stronger.
Unexpectedly, Grandpa Liu was still thinking about himself before he died...
"Sandao, don't be too sad." Uncle Zhang walked up to Mao Sandao and patted him on the shoulder.
"Uncle Zhang, I'm fine." Mao Sandao nodded.
Uncle Zhang turned to look at the woman again and said, "Sister Qiuyun, you too must show your condolences."
"Yes." The woman also nodded and looked up at Mao Sandao, "Grandpa Liu asked me to give you something when you leave."
"What?" Mao Sandao asked.
"follow me."
The woman got up and walked to the outhouse. After Mao Sandao followed him out, she handed a cowhide bag to his hand.
Mao Sandao took a closer look and found that this bag was the one he gave to Grandpa Liu a few days ago. He asked: "I gave this to Grandpa Liu... didn't you go to the hospital?"
"Well, I didn't go." The woman shook her head bitterly, "I was going to take him to the hospital, but your Grandpa Liu refused to go. He said that everything was his own fate, so he shouldn't waste money.
He also said that if you didn't accept the money at that time, you would definitely not let it go, so you could only accept it first. He hasn't touched a penny of this money, it's all here. "
Mao Sandao held the cowhide bag with mixed feelings in his heart. He looked at Grandpa Liu in the back room and sighed: "Grandpa Liu, why are you so stubborn? If you go to the hospital, wouldn't your health be better?"
The woman also sighed and explained: "Actually, your Grandpa Liu also thinks about you. He said that it is not easy for you to make money, and now you are the only one. He asked you to keep the money well and use it to get married and have children in the future."
Mao Sandao's nose was sore and his tears began to well up.
He was remorseful.
You shouldn't have left the money and left. Instead, you should have taken Grandpa Liu to the hospital in person.
If he had gone to the hospital in time, maybe Grandpa Liu would not have left so quickly.
Thinking about it now, it's already too late...
Moreover, Grandpa Liu's death was closely related to his grandfather. In the final analysis, Grandpa Liu's death was directly caused by his grandfather.
Thinking of this, Mao Sandao felt even more guilty.
"Auntie, thank you for taking care of Grandpa Liu." Mao Sandao stuffed the cowhide bag into the woman's hand, "I'll give you this money as a reward for taking care of Grandpa Liu."
"I can't take it!" The woman quickly pushed the bag back, "I accept your offer, but I really can't take the money. Besides, your Grandpa Liu is my uncle, and I should take care of him."
"Oh, this money isn't much, just take it, Auntie." Mao Sandao stuffed the bag into the woman's hand again.
The woman quickly backed away and the bag fell to the ground with a thud.
"Being a man depends on your conscience. You have been very good to your Grandpa Liu. What will happen if I take your money again?" The woman bent down to pick up the bag from the ground and continued, "If I take your money, I will trust you." Grandpa Liu will definitely not rest in peace."
After speaking, he returned the money to Mao Sandao again.
Having said that, Mao Sandao could no longer shirk it, but after all, it was his grandfather who harmed Grandpa Liu.
He said softly: "Actually, I am sorry for Grandpa Liu..."
The woman forced a smile and said with relief: "Your Grandpa Liu told me, we don't blame you for this, no one thought that this kind of thing would happen after your grandfather passed away.
Besides, your grandfather has passed away. The deceased is the greatest, so let’s not talk about this matter anymore. "
"Okay." Mao Sandao nodded with a determined expression, "Auntie, if there is anything I can do in the future, just say it, and I, Mao Sandao, promise not to refuse!"
"Okay." The woman said happily, "If you have such a heart, Grandpa Liu will definitely be very happy if he knows."
After the woman finished speaking, she walked towards the back room.
Mao Sandao put the bag into his clothes and followed him in.
After walking in, I found that more people had gathered in the house. I guess the villagers had come here specially after learning the news of Grandpa Liu's death.
At this time, Uncle Zhang and the others were making trouble for Grandpa Liu's funeral.
Mao Sandao inquired and learned that other matters had basically been arranged with Uncle Zhang taking the lead.
Burial in the mountain is scheduled for tomorrow.
Normally, the body should be kept in morgue for three days, but Uncle Zhang said that Grandpa Liu specifically confessed before his death that he had no children and no one to attend the funeral, so there was no need to bury the body for three days, and he did not want to burden the villagers.
It is said that Grandpa Liu has also explained the burial location.
At present, it is mainly about rituals, because Grandpa Liu is the only one in the village who can do some rituals.
But now, Grandpa Liu passed away suddenly, and there is no longer anyone in the village who knows how to perform rituals.
Uncle Zhang walked up to Mao Sandao and asked, "Sandao, you are very knowledgeable. Think about it, do you know anyone here who knows how to practice?"
Mao Sandao shook his head: "Uncle Zhang, this..."
In fact, when everyone told this difficult matter, Mao Sandao had already thought of Banyun.
It's just that he never said it out loud.
Because Banyun had just been seriously injured and was in urgent need of recuperation. The journey here from Beiziling was long and tiring, so Mao Sandao was worried that Banyun's injury would be aggravated.
Seeing that Mao Sandao didn't know anyone, Uncle Zhang replied: "It doesn't matter if you don't know. You are very busy at work every day, so it is normal not to pay attention to such people."
Mao Sandao nodded, feeling very depressed.
Whether it was Grandpa Liu or Taoist Master Banyun, he always felt that the cause of all these consequences was because of himself...
"Gong Bao, Gong Bao from the next village knows this!"
Li Quanyou shouted from the crowd.
