Chapter 1281: Life, Old Age, Sickness, and Death

The ringing of the telephone, a sharp "ding-a-ling-a-ling," made Lans sit up in bed. He glanced at the sky outside the window, which was only just beginning to brighten, rubbed his eyes, and turned on the bedside lamp.

The phone on the nightstand was still ringing shrilly, constantly irritating Lans's just-awakened nerves.

After it rang three or four more times, he finally picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. "I am Lans."

"Lans, thank heavens I've finally reached you. This is William."

Lans chuckled twice. "I can recognize your voice. What has happened that you're calling me so early?"

There was a hint of anxiety in William's voice, though he did not sound panicked. "Herbert is dead. It happened just a moment ago."

"I had to inform you of this news."

Lans felt a bit surprised when he heard this. The image of the elderly Herbert surfaced in his mind, along with the memory of the times he had visited the farm and Herbert had brought him along to pick out a horse as a gift.

The old man was very ordinary, very plain, but because of their frequent contact and the connection through Patricia, he held a special significance.

During the Saint Agriculture Festival last year, Lans had noticed that Herbert's condition was not quite right; he already found it difficult to stand for long periods, and his logical thinking had also begun to show some problems.

Sometimes when you spoke to him, he would act as if he hadn't heard you, only reacting after a while and asking what you had just said.

For an old man, this was actually quite normal. Look at those elderly people who have reached the final stage of their lives; they are almost all like this.

The decline of bodily functions manifested a terrifying lethality in them. People truly do "degenerate" when their bodily functions stop obeying them.

Things that adults consider the most basic abilities—speaking, reading, even controlling one's own bladder and bowels—become tricky and uncontrollable.

This is also a stage that most people will experience; not everyone can live healthily and then, one day, simply never wake up after a nap.

People will die. Either they are killed by others, or they die of old age; they will always die.

Lans sighed. He picked up the cigarette case from the nightstand, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. "I will return as soon as possible. When is the funeral?"

In reality, the Saint Agriculture Festival was not far off now; there was about a month left.

In the end, he hadn't been able to hold on until after the Saint Agriculture Festival.

For these old men on the farm, the Saint Agriculture Festival was clearly more important than the New Year.

"The funeral is the day after tomorrow. They hope to have Herbert buried as soon as possible."

Lans took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled slowly. "Does Patricia know about this?"

"She already knows. She has been crying ever since."

They were still staying in Manton. William, acting as "Deputy Mayor," was participating in some of the daily work arrangements for Manton. In fact, everyone knew about his subsequent work adjustments, so they were very cooperative with him.

This had become a very interesting and bizarre scene in the eyes of the people—

The Mayor of Manton was not at all repulsed by this "political star" who had suddenly appeared and snatched his job; instead, he helped him better familiarize himself with the specific work content of Manton.

Those who had connections to the city's development also began to approach William. He even negotiated some cooperation intentions, finding a large enterprise for Manton that would provide at least five thousand jobs.

Having made such outstanding contributions during his time as Deputy Mayor, the citizens of Manton also had some expectations for William. They believed William was different from the current and previous mayors.

He was more pragmatic, more capable, and more mature in handling problems. Under the push of some invisible forces, some people even launched a petition hoping William would stay, even if only in the capacity of "Mayor's Assistant."

In Likai State, there was no position of Deputy Mayor, but there was a similar job title called "Mayor's Assistant." However, people privately referred to this person as "Assistant Mayor." By reversing the word order, its value and function were manifested.

Regarding the expectations of these citizens, William did not give a direct response. He simply continued to be loyal to his current work, doing every single thing as well as he could.

Under Lans's suggestion, he would often ride a bicycle to get closer to the lives of the citizens and observe the problems that urgently needed solving in the city's development.

This way of getting closer to people's lives made many citizens his supporters.

The core of politics is actually performance. As long as you perform well enough and perform without flaws, you are bound to be an excellent and outstanding politician.

William performed well. He gained the love of the people, which was of great help to his upcoming campaign for Mayor of Manton.

Coupled with the fact that school had already started, he, Emily, and Patricia were still living in the villa in Manton during this time.

Because of work needs, Lans had already returned to South Yaan State, but this news made it necessary for him to return to Likai State.

"Help me comfort her. She liked Herbert very much. I will rush back as soon as possible, and we can talk then."

After putting down the phone, Lans no longer felt sleepy. It was just past five o'clock. After he finished the entire cigarette, he washed up and got out of bed.

Early in the morning, he summoned the people in charge of some of his work, arranged their tasks, and directly boarded the motorcade returning to Likai State.

The development of industry over the past few years had allowed automobiles to gain tremendous speed.

Now, the speed of ordinary civilian luxury cars could exceed 120 kilometers per hour. Lans's bulletproof car was heavier, but 100 kilometers per hour was no problem.

The entire motorcade sped toward Likai State. It would take about a full day to enter Likai State, and he would be able to appear at the farm by the morning of the day after tomorrow at the latest.

As one of the three oldest and highest-status elders of the Lawrence family, Herbert's passing caused a certain degree of impact throughout Likai State.

Of course, ordinary people could not feel such an impact. At most, they knew that some big shots might not have appeared in public for a few days, having been busy with other matters.

Many people came to the Lawrence farm. People from all walks of life, and Governor Terry, had also made a trip.

As the most important "power partner," he needed to show his attitude at this time.

The entire farm was shrouded in an atmosphere of grief and indignation. People were talking in low voices.

A motorcade soon arrived at the farm. People's gazes were immediately drawn to Lans, who had just stepped out of a car.

William, who was talking to Governor Terry, immediately ended his conversation with the Governor, and the two of them walked over together to greet him.

After Lans and William hugged, he shook hands with Governor Terry. "Thank you for taking the time to come over."

_C〇

Tomorrow was the funeral, but some people had already arrived today. After attending the funeral tomorrow morning, they would leave directly by car.

Governor Terry patted Lans on the arm. "This is sad news. I don't know how to comfort you—"

Lans nodded. "Life is like this. Some people come, and some people go."

After the two exchanged a few simple words, they temporarily ended their brief conversation. Afterward, Lans went to see other visiting guests and members of the Lawrence family.

Lans could actually be considered a core figure of the Lawrence family, although he had his own power base elsewhere. People were saying similar things to him, and everyone knew this was not a suitable occasion for socializing, so they did not delay his time too much.

After greeting the people outside, Lans returned to the farm. He and William went to see Schubert and Albert together.

The two old men looked haggard. When they saw Lans arrive, they both stood up to welcome him.

"I am very sorry," Lans said, holding their hands.

Schubert sighed. "Actually, we all knew this day would come, including him and me." He glanced at his brother.

"The eldest brother left first. At that time, I knew that death was already surrounding us."

"When our parents left us, I didn't feel that strongly. After all—you know, there was still a gap of more than twenty years, and I didn't feel the urgency."

"When the eldest brother left, I felt that urgency, but I wasn't nervous because I felt I wouldn't go that early."

"Now Herbert has also left us—this made me clearly realize that it is our turn."

This sentence had great lethality.

Albert nodded, quite agreeing with this point of view. "Besides, for him, and for us, we have lived enough in this life."

"I never thought the farm Dad left us would become what it is today under our watch. Even if I go to heaven and see them, I can proudly say our achievements exceeded their imagination!"

"We are glorious, whether we go to heaven or hell, it is the same!"

"So I am not sad, and you don't need to be sad, child. This is a natural law; he just obeyed God's arrangement, nothing more!"

Lans let go of the old men's hands. "It seems your mental state is better than I imagined. I was actually more worried about you."

After they sat down separately, Schubert picked up his pipe, lit it, and while smoking, said, "At first, it was very painful in my heart. You know, we have been together for so many years, and he suddenly left just like that. It was hard to accept."

The pipe was lit while he was speaking. He held the heavy pipe in his hand and exhaled the thick smoke from his lungs. "But after the most painful wave passed, I felt relieved, just as I said."

"In these last years of life, we received too many things we wouldn't have been able to enjoy otherwise. We have already profited; more than anyone else!"

"Having no regrets is the final and best farewell to this world!"

Very philosophical words.

Afterward, they talked about Herbert's situation. It was actually due to physical reasons: aging and organ failure. Even organ replacement didn't have much significance, and Herbert himself didn't want to go through the trouble, so he had been using conservative treatment methods for the past year.

They injected Herbert with a unique hormone found only in pregnant women. This hormone could, to a certain extent, slow down the process of organ failure and help the brain gain more vitality.

Every injection was very expensive, but it still only allowed him to hold on for eleven months.

In the end, due to multi-organ failure, he died in his hospital bed.

After leaving the two old men, he returned to his own house. Patricia was already there.

Her eyes were swollen from crying. When she saw Lans enter, she couldn't help but cry again, then hugged Lans, crying very sadly.

She recalled scenes from her childhood when Herbert took her to play on the farm, recalling all the interesting things that had happened on the farm, like looking for bird nests in the fields.

Some bird nests were not in trees but hidden in the weeds of the farmland and ponds.

The old man would take the children on the farm to dig for bird nests and then roast the bird eggs to eat.

Actually, roasted bird eggs didn't taste good at all. After they were roasted until almost done, sprinkling a little bit of salt was the final seasoning.

But for children living in the countryside at that time, this was definitely something interesting, fun, and delicious.

She had too many things to recall. The more beautiful the past memories were, the sharper they felt like a knife now.

The next morning, the funeral officially began. The entire farm was filled with a sea of black-clad people. Not only had many visitors come, but local farmers also participated in the funeral.

The Lawrence family was still very popular in terms of management, especially after the farm cooperated with Lans and could make a lot of money; they didn't become stingy or petty, but rather very generous.

Now, the school and hospital in the town were both built by the Lawrence family. As long as they were farmers on the farm, they could let their children receive education for free, see a doctor in the hospital for free, and even receive medicine and treatment for free.

So almost the entire farm had come to a complete standstill these past few days, and everyone had gathered here.

The Lawrence family had suggested they didn't need to come, but people still spontaneously came to see Herbert off.

Next was a set of traditional procedures unique to the countryside. The moment Herbert was placed into the grave, those emotionally fragile ladies cried out loud once again.

The sky today was also a bit gloomy. September should have been the hottest time, but it became a bit cool because of the overcast sky.

By noon, a fine drizzle like cow hair began to fall, just like people's moods at this moment.

After Lans stayed at the Lawrence farm for two days, he returned to Jincheng.

It wasn't that he didn't want to stay for a few more days, but old man Schubert indicated that people staying here for too long would increase his guilt toward everyone and also make him constantly think of Herbert.

So the best way was to remember this old man in their hearts and then let everyone return to their own work and lives.

Herbert had already gone to heaven, and he would live very well there.

Patricia also returned to Manton; after all, Ace still needed her.

After returning to Jincheng, Lans had a small gathering with everyone. It was still hard to get everyone together, but he specifically called Mo Lisi.

During dinner that night, he talked about Herbert's passing, and from this topic, he shifted to Mo Lisi's physical condition.

"How have you been feeling lately?" Lans asked.

Mo Lisi pursed his lips and smiled, though it could be seen that the smile was still a bit forced.

The scars on his lungs were still constantly proliferating. This proliferation was not necessarily malignant, though of course, there was a possibility of it developing into something malignant.

Regardless of whether it would develop into something malignant, at least at the current stage, he was not comfortable.

That kind of itch coming from inside his body made him cough frequently. The body's instinct was just like that, wanting him to cough out the things inside, but those healed scars could not be coughed out.

He could only cough constantly, and he didn't look very well as a whole person.

Coughing is actually quite harmful to a person if one coughs constantly.

"It's okay, it's just—" He reached out to cover his mouth and nose and coughed twice. "It's getting more and more severe."

"And sometimes I can't catch my breath."

Lans was silent for a while. Everyone else at the table was looking at Mo Lisi. "Herbert's death this time makes me even more worried about your situation. Sometimes death comes very suddenly, appearing off guard, and then taking someone away."

"I inquired with the research institute during the day. They can perform surgery on you anytime, as long as you go over."

"They also chatted with me and suggested you complete the surgery sooner. Every day you drag it out now, your overall bodily functions will decline a little bit."

"This kind of deterioration is partially irreversible. You will become very dangerous, and even if you have surgery later, the situation won't be very good."

Mo Lisi sat there thinking. He took out a metal case and poured out half a cigar to light for himself.

Ever since a large part of his lungs had been removed, he could no longer smoke. The doctor didn't allow him to smoke, as it would only accelerate his death.

But he had a strong dependence on nicotine. After he was injured, he needed nicotine even more to soothe his emotions, so the cigar became the only choice.

It didn't need to enter the lungs to absorb enough nicotine to relax his emotions and get satisfaction.

"The doctor said my condition can hold on for another two or three years," he said, his words still showing resistance to having surgery.

Lans shook his head. "And after two or three years?"

"Your physical condition will become even worse. By then, even if you have surgery, how many years can you hold on?"

"The further you go, the faster your physical condition will deteriorate. It's even possible that surgery will be powerless."

"My suggestion is to arrange the surgery as soon as possible."

"I will keep an eye on them. They won't send you to see God, and besides—" Lans couldn't help but chuckle twice. "We have faced the worst situations. Are you still afraid of this small scene?"

Mo Lisi thought for a long time. After looking at Lans for a moment, he crushed the cigar in the ashtray. "This time, I will listen to you—"