A century of poverty

Chapter 77 Mourning

The whole squad knows what happened in our family. It's been going on for more than just a day or two, or even a few days. People are just making assumptions based on their own speculations.

"Old Mrs. Zhang died from taking poison." No one knows who first said it, but everyone thought so.

Liu Shifu came to my house immediately to verify the facts.

He tentatively asked his father, "Are you sure it was from illness? Not from drinking brine? Where is your brine? Have you checked it?"

After he mentioned it, Dad got out of bed wearing his socks and went straight to the back of the door. We were all there, wanting to see what was going on.

Behind the door, covered in cobwebs and dust, was an IV bottle with a white glass cap and a rubber cap, untouched. Dad picked it up and examined it closely; the cobwebs immediately broke, proving it had indeed been untouched.

As the hospital confirmed, my mother suffered an acute cerebral hemorrhage.

They went back to the kang (a heated brick bed), and the father was filled with regret: "We've fought countless times in our lives, how come she couldn't make it this time?"

Liu Shifu glanced back at his grandmother sitting beside him: "That person can't be brought to this state anymore, so let's just deal with what's coming! Since it's already like this, prepare for the funeral and send messages to relatives!"

Father: "Shuangxing went to the city to send telegrams to his two sisters. Buy whatever you can."

Liu Shifu: "I'll deliver a message for you from Tangshudi. You're all busy with a lot of things to do."

Aunt Liu rushed over to visit immediately. Pointing at her father, she said, "My sister! You've bullied her to death! Let's see what you're going to do now!"

At this moment, Dad was truly convinced of his mistake. He knew he had gone too far, only wanting to be a filial son and a great man in front of Mom, without considering her feelings, and had made a grave error.

Aunt: "I don't care if you don't like what I'm saying, but you two have been acting like tyrants. Now you've had your fun, haven't you? Don't take offense at what I'm saying, but my sister is gone, what promises have you made? Aren't the children you abandoned pitiful?"

Grandma sat there silently. In fact, she regretted it, but she insisted on not showing it and maintained her "old age."

Yin Huan led the way, and Ling Hua and Ai Hua also came to pay their respects.

"Nobody expected that my aunt wouldn't be here so soon," Ai Hua said.

Two fellow villagers from Xiaoliujia Brigade, one being Liu Huaxin from Ma Niangjiazhuang and the other being Guo Kaiguang, the brother of Aunt Liu, also came one after another.

At my eldest sister's house in Guanli, she was feeding the pigs by adding feed to the trough. Her husband, holding a telegram, entered the gate and waved it at her: "Telegram, from the Northeast. Your grandmother is gone."

Eldest sister: "Oh dear—my grandma's gone, I have to go see her. You should send a message to my uncles; they only have one sister, they have to go too, right?"

Upon hearing this, the eldest brother-in-law turned around and went out to deliver the letter to them.

The eldest sister poured the pig feed, went inside and told her daughters, "You all stay here quietly. Your father will be back soon. I'm going to your second aunt's house."

The eldest sister's daughter, Yanmei, is 15 years old, and the second sister is two years younger than her. All five girls are obedient and sensible.

The eldest sister went to the second sister's house and explained her purpose. The second sister was pregnant at the time, and her pregnancy was quite noticeable. She thought for a moment and said, "It's not very convenient for me here, so I won't go."

The older sister said, "Sure! You're pregnant, it's inconvenient for you, so if you don't want to go, then don't go."

Goubangzi Railway Station. The eldest brother went to pick them up. As soon as they met, the eldest sister gestured to him and whispered, "Second Uncle is unhappy. He's come to cause trouble for you."

Brother: "What's he trying to do?"

The eldest sister said, "They only sent them the letter after their sister died, and they felt it was too late."

Eldest brother: "Didn't you read the telegram?"

Eldest sister: "I saw it; it says my mother passed away."

Big Brother: "Yes, the signature is Shuangxing."

Eldest sister: "Your brother-in-law is such an impatient person. When he received the telegram telling me that Grandma had died, I didn't think much of it. I never imagined it was Mom!"

The eldest sister felt a surge of grief. It wasn't that she didn't miss her grandmother's death; after all, her grandmother was old, and death was a normal occurrence. Her mother was just over fifty, strong and healthy, and had a bunch of young children. With her gone, this family, with elderly parents and young children, was now in dire straits. What would become of them?

The eldest brother told his second uncle, "My mother is gone." The second uncle looked surprised and displeased. "Your mother?" he thought to himself. "Then what was I doing here?" "Well, I'm already here, so I might as well make the best of it."

The older brother took them to the bus station to buy tickets to come home.

The arrival of our second maternal uncle came as a complete surprise. Our eldest sister cautiously told us the purpose of his visit, and we felt resentful. If they hadn't always supported and dominated our grandmother, how could our mother have "died unjustly"? For him to come knocking at a time like this was truly outrageous.

The second uncle's purpose in coming was impure. Seeing his sister safe and sound, but his nephew's wife gone, leaving behind her entire family, was something he never expected. His anger remained unvented, and his face was grim.

Liu Shifu didn't recognize the old man. After asking, he learned who he was and what his purpose was, and he was furious. He said to his father, "I really can't stand this temper. I'll scratch him a little."

Father: "No! Don't worry about it. He's already so old, and he's already upset. He's an elder, don't take it to heart. In this situation, he can't cause any trouble. Once he's done his business and gone home, everything will be over."

After receiving the letter, Xiao Zhu and his son arrived at the in-laws' house of Tang Shu San Jie. Xiao Zhu's father was very sensible and took good care of things. The father and son worked very hard and acted like relatives.

The sudden misfortune that befell my family caused a great stir throughout the Liu family community. Everyone said it was such a pity that Mrs. Zhang, such a good person, had passed away, and many people came to visit her.

Aunt Liu stays here every day, and so do the families of Secretary Liu, Team Leader Liu, and Accountant Liu—they all live on the front street. Every morning after cleaning their homes, they come to help. They make clothes and bedding for the deceased, and guide them on how to conduct the funeral according to local customs.

Everyone had left by evening, and Tang Shu's relatives couldn't return home because of the distance. His close friends, including Liu Zhenyi and Liu Shifu, were allowed to rest late at night by their father.

Before their mother's coffin, the eldest and second eldest brothers kept watch, adding oil to the ever-burning lamp and burning incense three times in succession.

It was eerily quiet inside and out. Our hair stood on end and our body hair stood on end. We were terrified, including my eldest sister and grandmother. No one dared to leave the house alone.

During the day, the women on the kang (a heated brick bed) were preparing the burial, while Kou Xueli and several carpenters were assembling a coffin in the courtyard—the brigade had given special permission to place two of the largest poplar trees on the hillside.

Twice a day, morning and evening, Dad would tell us to perform a ritual to comfort Mom's spirit. My third sister would always try to see if Mom had recovered, so she would remove the cloth covering her face.

On the kang (heated brick bed), Captain Liu's family said: "Child, don't keep uncovering it. Every time you do, your mother will suffer in the underworld."

On the third day, everything was ready.

Dark clouds hung high in the sky, a biting north wind blew, and the weather was unusually cold. Our minds and bodies were driven and pulled by the various matters before the encoffining.

When the deacon shouted to order the coffin, we could no longer control ourselves; our pent-up resentment erupted in cries. For so many years, we had dared not speak out against the abuse and injustice our grandmother and father had inflicted on our mother. The pitiful nature of our mother's life, the countless acts of kindness she had received in raising us—all these could only be expressed through these cries of farewell.

"I'm not trying to kill myself. I've been without a mother since I was little. Whoever sees me says, 'You're a nuisance.' Children without mothers are pitiful." My mother's voice lingered in our ears and in the air. My eldest brother and sister knelt in the front row, my sister-in-law knelt behind my eldest brother, then my third sister and second brother, followed by my fourth sister, my youngest brother, and me.

We are making accusations and condemning.

Many people came to see him off, and they were all moved by the scene. The women shed tears, the men sighed, and the young men stood aside with their carrying poles, unable to bear to watch.

Father could no longer stand; perhaps the children's cries awakened a soft spot in his heart. He turned and left, heading straight north.

Liu Shifu saw it and followed.

Father arrived at the southern edge of the pit at the youth settlement, knelt on the ground, and wept bitterly. Perhaps this was his way of repenting for what he had done to Mother!

Liu Shifu stepped forward: "Let's go back now! This isn't over yet."

Back home, Liu Shifu stepped forward to stop them, saying, "Children, stop crying. No matter how much you cry, your mother won't come back. Get up! Get up!" He then pulled his eldest and second eldest brothers, saying, "It's getting late. Let's bury her in peace."

Captain Liu, Captain Liu, and several older men came up to tie the bar.

At the deacon's command, "Lift—", the young men straightened up and lifted the red coffin. Surrounded by eighteen strong men, the coffin moved towards the final destination. The eldest brother walked in front, and after about a hundred steps, he knelt down and kowtowed to those carrying the heavy load.

We followed closely behind, carrying the cattle and sheep of our father.

My mother, who devoted her whole life to respecting the elderly, serving her husband, managing the household, and raising her children with great hardship, has turned into a mound of new earth and is forever separated from us. She was 53 years old when she passed away.

We still cried in the cemetery. Our mother is resting here forever. How will we live?

Liu Shifu and Liu Zhenyi kept urging, "Stop crying, go back quickly, there's still a lot to do at home." Indeed! The villagers who had been guarding the grave for days—digging the burial site, carrying the heavy load, and covering the grave—were all waiting for us at home, and they were even hungry. Dear and respectable villagers, we are truly grateful to you!

Those older brothers were truly admirable. No matter how hard or tiring it was, they always took responsibility. For every family, big or small, they were all simple and honest, always shouldering heavy burdens and forging ahead.

My younger brother, thin and pale, had tear streaks on his face. My fourth, third, and eldest sisters had red and swollen eyes, and my third sister's face was also swollen. My second, eldest, and sister-in-law had swollen eyes. We walked back numbly and listlessly.