Chapter 353 - 352: Fated to Be So

"Dad, how could Mom suddenly—"

Mr. He shook his head. "After we came back from the cemetery that day, your mother caught a chill. She said she had a bit of a headache, but I asked her before bed and she felt like it wasn’t hurting as much. Who knew that when I tried to wake her this morning, she was already gone. I never expected her to go so quickly. She had something weighing on her heart. Your mother was stubborn at heart; if she couldn’t move past something, she’d always end up feeling sick."

He Lang said grimly, "I knew it was that incident that affected her. She was always like this. He Ze is already dead, but Mom just had to shoulder his burdens. And what was the result? What kind of end did she meet?"

Mr. He sighed. "You don’t understand. Such is the heart of a parent. She gave birth to you children, so she had to worry about you for her entire life. She always wanted all of you to have good lives. No matter which one of you got into trouble, we couldn’t just ignore it. Xiao Yu is a child of our He Family, so we had an even greater responsibility to care for her. It’s just that we all underestimated how much a child longs for their mother, and your mom took it too much to heart. So you can’t blame anyone. It must have been fate."

"What ’must have been fate’? When children grow up, you should let them go. Everyone has their own path to walk. She worried too much, and isn’t this the consequence? If I had known this would be the result, I would never have let you adopt that child in the first place. I would have sent her away long ago. Mom doted on that child like the apple of her eye, but in the end, the child still didn’t want her. Is that fate? That’s just being foolish."

He Lang was filled with regret. If he had known this would cost his mother her life, he would have fought tooth and nail to make that child stay.

He Nan patted He Lang on the shoulder. "We still haven’t dug Mom’s grave. Let’s discuss it."

"What’s there to discuss? It’ll be in the He Family cemetery anyway. Just make sure it’s far away from He Ze. He couldn’t give her peace when he was alive, and now he’s dragged Mom down with him in death. Make him stay far away. Don’t let him keep making Mom worry in the afterlife."

He Nan looked at his father. Seeing that he didn’t say anything, He Nan figured he agreed with He Lang and planned to have their mother’s grave dug far away from He Ze’s.

Just then, Wang Hui Fang came in with a bowl of medicine. "Dad, it’s time for your medicine."

He Lang glanced at the dark, murky liquid. "Who prescribed this?"

"A traditional Chinese medicine doctor in town. He said Dad’s grief is causing stagnation and prescribed something to soothe the liver."

He Lang watched as Mr. He blew on the medicine to cool it before drinking it all in one go.

His eyelids trembled. "Dad, you have to take care of yourself. If you collapse too, we’ll be orphans." As He Lang spoke, his eyes welled up with tears again.

At a time like this, no matter how old you were, you still felt like a child in need of your parents.

Mr. He’s eyes reddened. He swallowed the bitterness in his throat and nodded. "Alright. I’ll live a long life. I’ll be here to watch over you."

He Nan was also overwhelmed with grief. He lowered his gaze to hide the moisture in his eyes.

In the afternoon, several He Family brothers and their wives came to pay their respects. Third Aunt He and Fourth Aunt He, who used to clash with Mrs. He, had lost their usual smug expressions. They just felt a sense of melancholy, reflecting on the impermanence of life and how their own time could come any day.

Aunt He was a crying mess, muttering over and over about Mrs. He’s good qualities, now that they were separated by death.

He Zhendong and Yang Xiaoxia also returned with their children. After paying their respects, they greeted Xue Yue.

According to the customs in their hometown, a person could only be buried after the seventh day following their death.

Since returning, He Lang hadn’t gone back to his own home. He stayed at the old family house to keep watch over the body at the wake.

Because Ruanruan and Shiyi were too young to stay up, Xue Yue took them home first.

After tidying up a bit and putting the two children to bed, Xue Yue returned to the old house.

He Lang and He Nan were still kneeling in the mourning tent.

Xue Yue went inside the house. Aunt He was there with Gao Cuiyun, Wang Hui Fang, and He Yun, cutting white cloth for relatives and friends to wear at the funeral.

Xue Yue joined them.

As Aunt He cut the cloth, she sniffled and wiped her nose, then took a handkerchief from her pocket to dry her eyes.

She said to them, "You know, we really just live life in a daze, one day at a time. Your mother was a few years younger than me, and just like that, she’s gone. Back in 1960, it didn’t rain in the village for a whole year. The fields yielded nothing, and we didn’t have much grain stored at home. We were lucky to get a meal every two or three days, and even then it was just thin, watery soup. We thought we were all going to starve to death, but somehow we survived by gnawing on tree bark and eating wild vegetables. Even then, your mother couldn’t bear to eat; she saved it for her children. Later, she was so hungry she could only drink water. We made it through times like that, only to... Now that the good days are finally here, she’s gone. When you think about it, what’s the point of these past few decades? Besides raising her children, she never lived a single moment for herself. Now that she’s dead, she won’t get to see any of it."

Everyone felt sad hearing this. That was just the kind of person Mrs. He was—always giving, from her children to her grandchildren. He Yun kept her head down, her thoughts unreadable.

Aunt He gave her a pointed look and said earnestly, "Compared to your brothers, your mother probably worried about you the most, Xiao Yun. Life is just a few short decades. Don’t let yourself grow old filled with nothing but regrets. We have to live and act with a clear conscience."

They say you should show filial piety while your parents are alive. What’s the point of crying a few tears after they’re dead? They’re already gone.

He Yun nodded.

Xue Yue and Gao Cuiyun didn’t join the conversation. When it came to He Yun, they had nothing to say. Wang Hui Fang had never interacted with He Yun much before, having only met her a few times without exchanging words. Still, she got the feeling that He Yun wasn’t easy to get along with. Sometimes, a person’s face can really reflect their personality.

Around ten o’clock that night, Aunt He told them to go home and sleep. "There are still several days to go. You’ll have plenty to keep you busy. Go get some rest."

Xue Yue went outside and into the mourning tent, where she saw He Lang still kneeling.

"He Lang, are you going back to sleep?"

He Lang looked up at Xue Yue, his voice dry and hoarse. "Don’t worry about me. You go back. Just bring the kids over early tomorrow."

Xue Yue looked at his knees, which had been on the ground for a long time. She hesitated, wanting to say something, but in the end, she said nothing and left.

「On the third day after their return, Xue Xingzhou arrived.」

"Big Brother, what are you doing back?"

Xue Xingzhou glanced at the mourning tent in the courtyard. "I heard what happened from Xing Jun. Auntie was always good to us, so I had to come back to see her off. Besides, someone from your side of the family should be here to pay respects."

Xue Yue nodded. If she hadn’t considered the special nature of her brother’s work, she would have thought of asking him to come back with her. She hadn’t expected him to return on his own.

"I’m going to go kowtow."

"Okay."

When He Lang saw Xue Xingzhou, he gave him a slight nod. Xue Xingzhou said to him, "My condolences."

He Lang’s mouth twitched.

’It’s already come to this. What else can be done?’

After paying his respects, Xue Xingzhou went into the house, spoke with Mr. He for a while, and then went back to where Xue Yue was staying.

Xue Yue couldn’t leave just yet, so she asked him to go back and watch the children.