Chapter 792

"The child is fated with our family, no need to say anything about gratitude." Zhou Andong took a sip of beer, "You can rest assured, my wife and I will definitely raise her as our own daughter and won't let her suffer any grievances."

"Even if you didn't say it, we would trust you."

Hua Zhuazi spoke from the heart, because Zhou Andong wasn't short of money to raise a child, and it was a girl.

In their view, when a girl grows up and marries, she's like spilled water and doesn't involve inheritance issues.

So, Zhou Andong had no reason to treat the child badly.

"Uncle Hua!" Zhou Andong picked up a slice of stewed pork and threw it into his mouth, calling him Uncle Hua just like the others, "What time will the crematorium car arrive tomorrow morning?"

Uncle Hua looked up and gulped down half a bottle of beer in one breath: "Around six o'clock. If it's fast, we'll be back around ten. I asked Ma Xiazi to calculate it; burying her between eight and ten the day after tomorrow is fine, so leaving at seven-thirty is enough."

Seeing Jian Qiu didn't drink, but was biting on a ham sausage: "Has the grave been dug?"

Uncle Hua said: "No need to dig a grave; she'll be buried with her husband. We'll go dig the grave early the day after tomorrow."

Seeing Jian Qiu didn't understand these things and didn't ask further. Zhou Andong picked up his beer bottle and clinked it with Uncle Hua's.

"Uncle Hua, sorry to trouble you."

"Hey!" Uncle Hua shook his head, "This is what should be done; even without you, I would have to handle it."

Zhou Andong said to the old branch secretary: "The child's birth certificate should exist. After her mother's funeral, look for it; I need to know the child's birthday."

Before the old branch secretary could speak, two men stood up and said: "We'll go look for it; don't wait until after the funeral and forget."

"I'll go too!" Another person stood up and followed them into the room.

The three of them rummaged through everything, took out all their belongings, and finally found a small iron box at the bottom of a chest. Inside was Su Su's birth certificate and a full-month photo.

"Found it!" The three of them came out with the box and shouted happily.

Zhou Andong took it. The birth certificate was just a piece of paper with the handwritten date of birth and name, and the hospital's stamp.

"August 11, 1992. It's not even a month until she turns one."

Seeing Jian Qiu took it to look, and then held the full-month photo in her hand, looking at the tiny person inside, and smiled.

"Look at the photo, then look at her now; in less than a year, the change is huge."

After saying this, she suddenly fell silent, then looked at the three men, "Did you see any photos of the child's mother?"

The three men shook their heads in unison: "Doesn't seem to be any."

One of the men stood up and said: "I'll go look again."

Soon he came out, "No!"

Seeing Jian Qiu sighed: "She should have an ID card, right?"

The old branch secretary said: "Yes, it's already been found; it'll be needed for the cremation tomorrow."

Seeing Jian Qiu said: "After it's used, give the ID card to me. When Dongzi and I leave one day, we'll tell her the truth, and we must let her know what her biological mother looked like."

Zhou Andong sighed. There are no airtight walls in the world, especially given his status and position. Adopting this child would be a topic of conversation.

Don't talk about this village; in a few days, the whole county would probably know. Trying to hide it for a lifetime wouldn't be that easy.

So he decided that from now on, he would absolutely not let Su Su step foot in Arhorqin Banner, trying his best to keep this secret.

This drinking session lasted until after midnight, and then Zhou Andong and the others went back. Early the next morning, a little after six, the crematorium car arrived.

Wu Chao and Zhao Hong drove the two vans, carrying the neighbors. Zhou Andong drove the Mercedes, carrying the old branch secretary and Hua Zhuazi, following behind the funeral car to the crematorium.

The cremation went very smoothly. Zhou Andong wanted to hold the urn; he was thinking of holding it on Su Su's behalf.

But Hua Zhuazi didn't let him. There were many customs, and Zhou Andong, although he had adopted the child, didn't have a blood relationship, so holding the urn wouldn't be good for Zhou Andong.

So, Hua Zhuazi held the urn himself. As he said, he had watched Su Yuling grow up, so he counted as an elder, and there would be no problem with him holding the urn.

As the saying goes, if you don't listen to the old folks, you'll suffer. The rules left by the ancestors, although not found in history books, have their own reasons for being passed down.

On the way back, Hua Zhuazi, holding the urn, didn't sit in Zhou Andong's car, but sat in the van. When they arrived home, the funeral tent in the courtyard had already been set up.

The urn was placed in the funeral tent. The old branch secretary brought a few pieces of fruit to place on it, then put a bowl filled with five grains in the center, lit three sticks of incense and inserted them, and then lit the eternal lamp beside it.

On the other side of the courtyard, the head cook was busy cooking. Four large pots were steaming hot, and the smell of meat was wafting through the entire courtyard.

Zhou Andong found the militia leader: "Brother Wu, how many tables?"

"Eighteen tables!" The militia leader looked at the people filling the courtyard and the alley, wanting to say something, but in the end, he didn't.

Zhou Andong didn't notice: "Alright, let's start eating soon. We haven't eaten since this morning."

"Alright!" The militia leader called out, "Daqiang, set up the tables, we're starting to eat immediately."

As soon as he shouted, many people watching the fun outside started entering the courtyard, and a few older women were calling their children and grandchildren.

"Er'ya, go home quickly and call your grandpa and grandma, it's time to eat."

"Sangou, I'll save a seat, go home and call your dad, and don't forget to bring your younger brother."

"Mom, you go save a seat, I'll go call your son and grandson over."

These people knew yesterday that the funeral was being held by Boss Zhou, and there would be a banquet, so they hadn't eaten this morning, just waiting for this. Might as well eat, since they didn't have to give a gift anyway.

The militia leader's face turned very ugly looking at this scene. He had long anticipated that this would happen, and he had thought that those with children would bring them over to have a bite, so he had prepared five extra tables.

But he didn't expect them to be so thick-skinned as to drag their whole families over to eat and drink for free. This wasn't just losing their own face, but the face of the entire Zhenxing Village.

He knew that the old branch secretary wanted Zhou Andong to invest here, but looking at the quality of the villagers, what would Zhou Andong think?

Originally, with the relationship of the old Yuan family, plus Su Yuling and the child's matter, the hope for Zhou Andong to invest some money was very high.

But these hateful things today had pulled such a stunt, and Zhou Andong's good impression of Zhenxing Village had been greatly discounted.

Being so fond of taking advantage, if he really invested money here, who could guarantee that these people wouldn't cause trouble later?

"What are you trying to do?" The old branch secretary roared with a gloomy face.

The noisy sound of calling fathers, mothers, children, and grandchildren suddenly disappeared. Everyone looked at the old branch secretary, not knowing why this old man was inexplicably losing his temper.