Chapter 324: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 324: Rushing to Handle the Funeral, Busy to the Point of Numbness, No Time to Grieve

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Liang Xinghua kept vigil for one night, but Liang Yuanchao still did not breathe his last.

After breakfast the next day, Zhou Aidi had Liang Xinghua go invite the village's "Master" to come help prepare the funeral arrangements.

The so-called "Master" was an elderly person in the village who was very old and often helped preside over funerals.

The "Master" was most familiar with all the various procedures of funerals.

How to summon the soul, how to keep vigil, how to conduct the burial, how to arrange the flowing water banquet, how to receive guests who came to help—there were many rules within this. Young people like Liang Xinghua did not understand these rules, so they needed the "Master" to help guide the arrangements.

Shanggou Village's "Master" was a hunchbacked old man nearing eighty, named Li Hongshou. The older generation called him Shou Bo, while young people like Liang Xinghua had to respectfully address him as Hongshou Bo Gong.

Liang Xinghua brought a red envelope to Li Hongshou's home and explained the situation at home. Li Hongshou took the red envelope without opening it, nodded repeatedly in agreement, and immediately went to help with the arrangements.

He came to the Liang family and began guiding Liang Xinghua: he should burn three sticks of farewell incense before his father's bed so that Liang Yuanchao could leave peacefully; otherwise he would keep clinging to that last breath for several days and could not depart, causing him much more suffering.

Liang Xinghua immediately did as told, lighting three sticks of farewell incense by the bedside. The fragrance filled the narrow, dark room, and Liang Yuanchao's breathing seemed a little weaker, as if he were not in so much pain. Truly, it was strange.

Li Hongshou also told Liang Xinghua to hurry to town to find someone to make a black-and-white portrait of Liang Yuanchao. Once Liang Yuanchao passed, the portrait would be needed when escorting the spirit.

Additionally, they needed to buy a coffin, firecrackers, incense and candles, and other funeral supplies; hire a flowing water banquet cook; purchase tobacco and alcohol to entertain guests; and invite the Geography Master to select a burial site, and so on.

There were many things to busy themselves with.

Liang Xinghua recorded the things Hongshou Bo Gong had instructed in a notebook, then took a vehicle to town to handle various matters.

As for home, Zhou Aidi would keep watch there.

It was not until evening that Liang Xinghua returned from town.

He hired a small four-wheeler to help transport various items back.

The portrait, tobacco and alcohol, and coffin were all bought back.

The flowing water banquet cook had also been contacted, and they had exchanged phone numbers. When the time came, they only needed to make a call, and they would immediately come over.

The Geography Master had also been contacted. He said he would come tomorrow to help find a burial site.

Because time was urgent and this was a first burial, the burial site did not need to be too carefully chosen; as long as no major taboos were violated, it would do. Because there would still be a second burial, and only the second burial required finding a truly excellent feng shui treasure land.

That night, Liang Xinghua continued to keep watch by his father Liang Yuanchao's bedside.

When a dying person breathed their last, someone had to be by their side—this was a rule that could not be broken.

Zhou Aidi kept watch during the day, and now at night it was Liang Xinghua's turn to keep watch.

Liang Xinghua had not slept for two days and two nights. His spirit had grown numb, his whole mind in a daze, to the point that he could not even feel sorrow.

That night, past three in the morning, Liang Yuanchao suddenly sat up from the bed, giving Liang Xinghua a fright.

"Father, you can get up?"

Liang Xinghua could hardly believe what he saw before his eyes.

Liang Yuanchao got down from the bed himself and then sat in the living room. Looking at this familiar home, his eyes were full of reluctance and unwillingness to leave.

"Xinghua, in two more months it will be the Spring Festival. By then you must make the house beautiful."

Liang Yuanchao suddenly said these words.

Liang Xinghua hurriedly agreed:

"Alright, Father. By then I will come back early to give the house a thorough cleaning and make it clean and beautiful."

Liang Yuanchao then said:

"You and Meng Lian must live well together. It doesn't matter if life is plain, but you must be harmonious. Family harmony brings prosperity in all things. Do you understand?"

Liang Xinghua nodded quickly:

"I understand. I will certainly live well with Meng Lian."

"Has Meng Lian not returned?"

"No, she is still in Shenzhen."

"Being in Shenzhen is fine too. Coming back would be troublesome. She is pregnant and cannot stand the trouble... I am tired. It is time to rest."

Liang Yuanchao returned to the room and lay down. In a short while, he stopped breathing.

Liang Xinghua still thought he had fallen asleep.

After a good while, the room was so quiet that not a sound of breathing could be heard. Only then did he realize something was wrong.

He checked his father's breath and only then knew his father had passed away.

"Father, may you have a safe journey!"

Liang Xinghua hurriedly knelt before the bed, crying out loud.

This cry echoed over the quiet night sky of Shanggou Village.

Zhou Aidi was awakened by the shouting. She hurried out, saw that her old companion had already departed, and immediately wailed loudly.

The two, following the rules the Master had instructed, hurriedly lit two longevity lamps and placed them on the left and right sides of Liang Yuanchao's body. Then they went outside the courtyard and set off two strings of firecrackers to send the deceased on his way to heaven.

By early the next morning, Liang Xinghua had not even had time to eat breakfast before he had to go from house to house through the whole of Shanggou Village, informing the villagers that his father had passed away and asking the villagers to come help with the funeral.

The day for holding the funeral was chosen as tomorrow.

Shanggou Village did not have the custom of keeping vigil for seven days. Generally, burial would begin on the second or third day, and the vigil would last only one or two days.

The funeral was arranged very simply, without extravagance or waste.

As for today, relatives and friends were all to come burn a stick of incense for Liang Yuanchao, seen off as sending him on his final journey.

Those relatives and friends who were in the village were notified one by one in person. Those not in the village were called one by one to contact them, inform them of the situation at home, and ask them to come back.

Some of the younger generation who were busy working outside could not come back, but that did not matter. As long as an elder representative could come, it was fine. After all, in these times, everyone was out there struggling to earn a meal, and it was not easy. Asking a leader for leave depended on the leader's mood; one could not leave at any time.

Liang Xinghua was a migrant worker himself, so he could deeply understand their difficulties.

When Liang Xinghua went to Wang Zhanggen's home to notify them of the funeral, Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan were eating breakfast.

Upon hearing the news of Liang Yuanchao's passing, both were very surprised.

They completely hadn't expected that Liang Yuanchao would actually pass away this quickly.

"Xinghua, please accept my condolences. If there's anything you need help with, just tell me. If I can help, I definitely will!"

Wang Zhanggen hurriedly comforted Liang Xinghua and lit a cigarette for him.

"Brother Changgen, thank you. If you have time today, go burn a stick of incense for the old man. Come help tomorrow morning and that'll be enough."

"Okay, okay." Wang Zhanggen nodded repeatedly.

Liang Xinghua then said:

"I'm going to notify the others, so I won't chat more."

"Then you go be busy. I'll come to your place in a bit."

After Liang Xinghua left, Wang Zhanggen couldn't help but feel a surge of sadness in his heart.

He sat down, smoking, and had already lost his appetite for breakfast.

He muttered to himself:

"Village Secretary Liang actually left this quickly. From when he discovered the cancer, it's been less than two months..."

Speaking to this point, Wang Zhanggen involuntarily touched the thyroid nodule below his own throat.

He was also a cancer patient; no one could empathize with Liang Yuanchao's passing more than him.

Last month Wang Zhanggen went to the County Hospital's Thyroid and Breast Surgery department for a re-examination. The doctor said it was most likely benign, but couldn't be one hundred percent certain either. It would be best to surgically remove it, because only by removing it and doing a biopsy could it be finally determined whether it was benign or malignant. If not removed, the suggestion was regular re-examinations for observation. Let Wang Zhanggen go back and consider it himself; this wasn't urgent, he could take more time to consider, fully understand the situation clearly, and then come make a decision — it wouldn't be too late.

This past month, Wang Zhanggen had been hesitating: to cut or not to cut?

Now Liang Yuanchao had passed away this quickly; this brought no small psychological impact to him.

It made him feel he should hurry up and get the surgery to remove it.

To avoid trouble from delay.

Just afraid that dragging it out, what was originally benign would develop into malignant, and he'd end up like Liang Yuanchao — wanting treatment but unable to get treated, finally only able to wait for death.