novelraw Chapter 146 This group of people may be even more extreme and brutal
Chapter 146 This group of people may be even more extreme and brutal
At this moment, Liu Fengyi, the "Uncle Liu" whom Li Chengsong admires and whom the Tong family deeply trusts, is secretly setting out four dishes and eight bowls in a corner of the school's lakeside park, and has also lit an incense stick.
He was offering food and incense to that special "friend in life and death." He didn't care if there was an underworld, or if he could receive the message; he had to see him off!
Legend has it that today is the day the gates of hell open, allowing souls from the underworld to come to the mortal world to enjoy offerings. Following the advice he'd heard from elders since childhood, he wrote the name "Liu Fengyi" for the spirits to accept, along with the words "Outer ghosts must not compete for it," and lit it with a lighter.
There was no paper money; he would have to burn it when he got home. So he prepared some wine, food, fruit, and snacks. The incense was bought with great difficulty from the black market; it seemed people were secretly celebrating the Ghost Festival.
No one saw or reported him, otherwise, a criminal investigation captain in a county public security bureau would have been fired for engaging in activities to suppress superstition!
Meanwhile, Tong Jiahui and her elderly father took advantage of the quiet of the night to go to the grove behind the village, away from the piles of ashes from the villagers' burning paper offerings, and took out the incense and paper money they had prepared.
They didn't speak, but each drew a circle with a notch on the ground, lit incense, and silently murmured in their hearts, expressing their longing for their deceased loved ones.
Tong Anfu: Mother, we are all together, don't worry. May you be at peace and happy in another world. Ningshuang, the children and I are doing well now. I wonder if you and Mother are together? I will take care of the children for a few more years, and then I will come to find you.
Zhao Ningshuang is Tong Jiahui's mother. In 1930, Tong Anfu went south to buy medicinal herbs and met Zhao Ningshuang, who had been separated from her family.
She was destitute and in poor health. Tong Anfu kindly helped her and, with her consent, took her to Yan City.
The Zhao family was a well-known clan in the area, with members involved in both politics and business, owning several state-owned enterprises. However, because they offended the warlord who effectively controlled the local administration, the family businesses suffered a devastating blow, forcing the entire family to abandon their assets and flee.
The escape was naturally fraught with danger. Her father and brothers were captured, but they managed to help her escape. Having been pampered since childhood, she had never experienced such a change and didn't know what to do.
Because of her frail health, Zhao Ningshuang went to the clinic to get medicine, but fainted in the shop. She happened to meet Tong Anfu, who was there to buy medicinal herbs. He had business dealings with the clinic, so he examined her, prescribed medicine, and arranged for her to stay at the clinic for treatment.
He fell in love at first sight with Zhao Ningshuang, a beautiful woman from the south who resembled Lin Daiyu, and promised to help her recover her health and take her to the north. She hesitated, worried about her family, and did not agree.
Zhao Ningshuang wanted to know about her father and brother, so Tong Anfu asked around and even went to the place where they were being held. After many twists and turns, he finally learned that the Zhao family members had been forcibly sent to the warlord's army to serve as soldiers, and their fate was unknown.
Her mother was injured while fleeing and died in prison not long after. Tong Anfu found her body in a mass grave and buried her.
According to the customs of the Zhao family, helping an elder with burial is a great favor, especially since he had saved her life. Since her father and brothers could not be found for a while, she followed Tong Anfu to Yan City.
Grandma Tong wasn't too happy with the prospective daughter-in-law her son had brought home, because she was too weak and it was bad for having children. But she didn't object, because her son had always been obedient and well-behaved, and she wanted his marriage to go according to his wishes.
Zhao Ningshuang stayed at the Tong family home to recuperate. At that time, Old Madam Tong was still running a business and maintained close ties with other members of the Tong family.
She also had connections with the underground Communist Party, was a democrat, and privately donated medicine and money to the revolutionary troops in the north. Entrusting household affairs to Zhao Ningshuang was also a way of testing her abilities.
A year later, Zhao Ningshuang gained the approval of Old Mrs. Tong, and the two got married. Later, they had two children, Tong Jiahui and Tong Jiaming.
Grandma Tong and Tong Anfu were both quite busy at that time, and the two children were mostly raised by Zhao Ningshuang. They were somewhat gentle and weak-willed, which Grandma Tong was not very satisfied with.
Zhao Ningshuang was flexible but lacked decisiveness, and her health wasn't very good, so after her two pregnancies, the Tong family wouldn't let her have any more children. Although she had Dr. Tong Anfu to help her recuperate, she still seemed to lack vitality.
Fortunately, the Tong family owned a pharmacy, and her husband was a doctor who helped her take care of herself for many years. She took medicine almost all year round, but she only lived to be fifty years old before passing away.
She didn't suffer much in her life, except for that one family tragedy; she was always cherished and protected. Her only regret was that she didn't receive any news from her family before she died.
Zhao Ningshuang is gentle and quiet, and rarely goes out. Since her daughter got married and had several more daughters, she often helps take care of her granddaughters.
She taught her granddaughters paper cutting, calligraphy, chess, and even embroidery, but the children's personalities were completely different from her refined and elegant demeanor. They were all clever and lively, and instead preferred to follow their father in boxing, running around like wild boys, and often getting into fights with the neighborhood kids.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Grandma Tong had some free time and helped Tong Jiahui take care of the children with her daughter-in-law. She had a strong personality, so she took the lead in the children's education.
Tong Yuheng was practically raised by her great-grandmother, so she has a strong, cheerful, quick-witted, and somewhat assertive personality. Her younger sisters have different personalities, but none of them are as gentle as their grandmother and mother. On the contrary, their uncle Tong Jiaming's romantic nature is just like his father Tong Anfu's.
Tong Anfu missed his mother and wife, and so did Tong Jiahui. She first burned paper money and incense for her grandmother and mother. Then, she went to the unmarked tombstone and lit an incense stick and some paper money there as well.
Tong Jiahui: Brother, I'll just call you that. I'm very grateful to you for allowing my husband to stay with us in this way.
As long as your family members don't go too far, we will take care of them. But if they harm us, I won't tolerate it!
You are a hero, we respect you deeply, and we will come to pay our respects to you every year. May you rest in peace and have a smooth next life!
~
This joint operation was a great success. They uncovered several enemy agents hidden among the staff and even the teachers, and all the foreign mercenaries and assassins were wiped out.
Liu Fengyi had received orders to withdraw most of his men, but he and Li Chensong remained at the school, worried that the enemy might have a second wave of plans, and stayed there to continue their vigilance.
Tong Yuheng also had a bad feeling that there was another group of enemy agents hiding even deeper in the school, and that this group might be more extreme and vicious.