novelraw Chapter 298: In Mourning
Chapter 298: In Mourning
Chapter 298: In Mourning
Gu Tang's gaze was deep as she asked him directly, "Is my plummeting fortune because of you?"
Ah Gou felt a little guilty and turned his face away, not daring to look at Gu Tang.
Now there's nothing you don't understand!
Gu Tang's vision went black: "Fine! I knew it! Even in my worst days, I've never been so caught up in the mundane details of daily life! Terminate the contract! Terminate it immediately!"
When Gu Tang got angry, Ah Gou dared not be evasive anymore: "There's no way to undo it right now..."
These words made Gu Tang even angrier!
Ah Gou quickly comforted her: "These are only temporary. We have set up a charity hall. When I came here before, the charity hall had already taken in nearly a hundred people. Those people all carried the aura of death. If it weren't for the charity hall, most of them would have frozen to death in this winter."
Now that you've established a charity to save them and allow them to survive this harsh winter, you're accumulating merit. Merit is linked to fortune; the more you accumulate, the faster your fortune will recover.
"Really?" Gu Tang's anger faltered. If she could recover like this, she could accept a temporary slump.
"Of course it's true. You should continue saving up for your ten-pulls. Maybe your luck will explode when you do your next ten-pull!"
Ah Gou spoke with such conviction and certainty that Gu Tang actually believed him to some extent.
"Fine, then... I'll trust you one more time!" Gu Tang compromised and took a step back.
Ah Gou breathed a sigh of relief and opened his mouth to say something when he suddenly heard Gu Ping'an's voice from outside.
"Go hide in the inner room first, so no one can see you in my room."
Gu Tang let Ah Gou go into the inner room, and then went out of the room herself.
When they arrived at the veranda outside the house, they saw Gu Ping'an returning from outside the courtyard gate, followed by four or five girls and boys.
They all looked quite young; the oldest was about the same age as Gu Ping'an, and the youngest was at most seven or eight years old.
"Second Sister, Erniu and the others are going south to watch people dig graves. I'm going with them. Do you want to come too?"
Watching people dig graves?
Gu Tang glanced at the boys and girls behind him, her eyes slightly strange.
Why would you join in on this kind of fun?
It seems everyone has been really bored being cooped up indoors these past few days.
"I'm not going. You guys go by yourselves, but be careful and don't break any taboos..."
As a former vengeful ghost, Gu Tang knew that some things were real.
Gu Ping'an was also aware of the situation. He said, "There's no need to be afraid of these things today. There are dozens of people surrounding the burial pit on the south side. Even if there is something, it will be scared and run far away after seeing so many people."
Gu Tang: ...This is really too much free time.
He told his playmates to wait for him under the eaves, and then Gu Ping'an skipped and hopped to the main room to tell his third uncle that he was going out to play.
Then he led his playmates and ran out of the yard.
As soon as Gu Ping'an left, Gu Tang went back to her room and chased A Gou out, telling him not to keep coming near her.
Just as Ah Gou was chased out, the curtain at the entrance of the main room was lifted, and Third Uncle came out leaning on his cane, wearing a cloak, looking like he was about to leave.
"Grandpa, where are you going?" Gu Tang was very curious. Did the old man also plan to go and watch the excitement?
“Go and see if there’s anywhere that needs writing, there aren’t many people in the village who can write. For funerals, you have to take the initiative to lend a hand, you can’t just stay at home and wait for people to come and ask you.”
"Let your cousin go with you. He has beautiful handwriting, and this is the perfect time to help."
That way, he won't be a nuisance at home!
Third Uncle thought the suggestion was excellent, so he looked at Ah Gou and asked if he was free to go along.
Ah Gou had no objections.
But they've all left, leaving Gu Tang alone at home. Is that alright?
He wanted to talk about it, but Gu Tang glared at him, signaling him to shut up and agree.
Ah Gou: "...There's nothing to do right now, so I'll go with you, sir. At least I can lend a hand."
Third Uncle looked pleased and told him to go back inside and put on his cloak before leading the group to Gu Baoshan's house.
With the grandmother and grandson gone, Gu Tang was left alone in the house.
With no one to bother her, Gu Tang was happy to relax. She hummed a little tune as she went back into the house to get a handful of wheat and a handful of soybeans that she had specially left behind.
Then he went to the kitchen.
She rummaged through the kitchen and found two unused coarse porcelain bowls. She put the wheat and soybeans into the two bowls, then added water, not too much, just enough to just cover the wheat and soybeans.
He carried the two bowls back to the west wing and placed them beside the stove.
The temperature here is the highest, which should be suitable for them to germinate.
Looking at the bowl of soybeans, Gu Tang remembered that she also had soybeans at home, which were rented from the person who rented her third uncle's land.
Soybeans are rarely eaten at home; they are usually traded for tofu.
Gu Tang went to the west wing to find the soybeans and discovered there was still a full bag of them.
With so much, how much tofu would it take to exchange for all of this? Perhaps we should use it to sprout beans.
They found a bamboo basket, filled it about halfway, and carried it to the west wing to start picking through the items.
Pick out the plump, insect-free soybeans to sprout; the remaining bad ones will most likely not sprout, but can be used to feed cows and horses.
Picking beans is an extremely time-consuming and patience-testing task. Gu Tang patiently picked through the beans, only to find that these soybeans were truly no good.
Most of them are shriveled, or flat and round, and the grains are small.
After she finished picking through half a basket of soybeans, there was only one full bowl of plump soybeans left.
Gu Tang: ...Whose land is this? The crops are grown so poorly!
She originally wanted to sprout more soybeans, but in the end she only managed to pick out this one bowl of usable soybeans.
Okay, okay, I'll just post this much for now.
It was impossible to pick out any more; her patience had run out.
Soybeans with wormholes or that do not meet the requirements will be sent back to the west wing and mixed with hay to feed the cattle that evening.
Afterwards, they searched around the side room and found two small jars with wide mouths and wide bellies.
After washing them clean, they were carried to the west wing and placed around the stove in the outer room.
Find two clean pieces of linen and lay them at the bottom of the blankets. Then divide the soybeans in the bowl into two portions and put each portion into one of the two blankets. Add water to cover the soybeans, and finally cover them with another piece of linen.
Bean sprouts are very easy to grow and don't require any special skills. As long as the temperature is right and the beans are active, you'll basically succeed.
After finishing all that, Gu Tang looked at her work with great pride, full of confidence, and believed that she would succeed on the first try!
After washing my hands, I heard voices coming from outside.
She went out to take a look and saw that Gu Pingan had returned.
It was already late afternoon; judging by the time, Gu Ping'an had been gone for about two hours.
Gu Tang took two steps forward and asked him curiously, "How's the grave digging going?" "It's alright. It was a bit difficult when we were digging it, but once we dug deeper and the soil underneath wasn't frozen, it became much easier. It'll be finished soon, and we'll bury the dead tomorrow morning."
In the Bei'an City area, the burial of the deceased is mostly done around 7 AM.
It seems that the time chosen by the Guan family this time is no exception; if the burial is in the morning, it is basically the Chen hour (7-9 AM).
Once the grave is dug, everything else will be easier.
In the evening, Third Uncle and Ah Gou returned first, and not long after, Gu Lianshan also returned carrying an iron shovel.
Gu Pingan had already cooked dinner. After the three of them arrived home, Gu Tang brought hot water and told them to wash their hands and prepare to eat.
During the meal, the third uncle told us the time for the burial the next morning—the coffin would be carried at the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), and they would have to get to the cemetery before five quarters past the hour, and finally seal the grave with soil before the end of Chen Shi.
It lasted only one hour.
In other seasons, an hour would be enough.
But with the heavy snow blocking the roads, an hour is simply not enough.
"This is too rushed." Gu Tang frowned. Because there were two coffins, there were many more people to carry them. Her father would also have to carry the coffin tomorrow.
"This was divined by the village sorceress, Liu. She said that the coffin must be carried to the cemetery at the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM) tomorrow, and placed in the grave five quarters of an hour before the end of Chen Shi. Otherwise, the coffin must be sealed with soil before the end of Chen Shi. Otherwise, the mother and daughter will surely harbor resentment and cause trouble..."
“Daughter, you weren’t over there just now. As soon as that sorceress Liu said those words, the Jiang mother and daughter, who had been pretending to be dead and ignoring everything, immediately jumped out and agreed. They were more eager than anyone else to find people to carry the coffin!”
Gu Lianshan scoffed, looking down on that family.
Speaking of this, Gu Lianshan recalled the farce that had happened when he returned earlier.
He said, "That old lady from the Guan family is really something! As soon as she heard that the mother and daughter would become resentful after Chenshi (7-9 AM), she suddenly said she wouldn't bury them!"
They said they would bury her after the seventh day after her death, and let her daughter and granddaughter come back and make a scene, preferably taking their whole family with them!
Good heavens! You didn't see it! The three members of the Jiang family—mother and sons—were trembling with fear on the spot! Especially Baoshan, who knelt before Old Madam Guan, begging for mercy!
Is this even true?
Gu Tang asked curiously, "And then?"
"Later, it was the clan chief who intervened and persuaded the old lady of the Guan family to send the coffin out at dawn the next day, but the three members of the Jiang family, mother and son, had to wear mourning clothes for them."
"Wearing mourning clothes?" Gu Tang clicked her tongue in amazement. It seemed that the old lady of the Guan family was really furious!
"If someone had a strong temper, they definitely wouldn't have been able to stand this humiliation. But the mother and her two children agreed without hesitation!"
"He's feeling guilty!" Gu Pingan interjected, craning his neck in their direction with a mysterious expression.
"Today I heard from my friends in the village that some of their maternal grandparents live nearby, and since the snow stopped today, their mothers went back to their parents' homes to tell them about it."
She said she had told her family everything about Uncle Baoshan's family, and warned her relatives and friends that if any widow wanted to remarry, she should avoid Uncle Baoshan, saying that marrying into his family was a death sentence!
"Who spread this? The village forbade people to talk about it or spread rumors, so how did it still get out?" Gu Lianshan frowned deeply.
This matter has far-reaching implications. Once it gets out, all members of the Gu family, whether they are nuns or unmarried daughters, will be stared at and scrutinized with strange looks.
"Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. This is too much; it'll be hard to silence the gossip!"
Besides, something this big can't be stopped by simply blocking it; it's better to face it calmly and respond proactively.
Just like this time, the clan's actions salvaged their reputation.
In the Bei'an area, no matter which village, if a child who is not yet an adult dies, they are simply dead.
There was no coffin or grave; they were simply burned, their ashes collected in an urn, and then taken to a mass grave where they were either buried or thrown away.
The fact that the clan took such a big step back, agreeing to provide Gu Dani with a coffin and to dig a grave for her in Gu Baoshan's family cemetery, will definitely help them salvage some of their reputation.
After dinner, Gu Lianshan went back to his room to sleep early.
Tomorrow he needs to get up before dawn and rush to Gu Baoshan's house. Before dawn, he will work with the villagers to clear the road leading to the cemetery.
Once the road is cleared, it should be enough to carry the Guan mother and daughter to the cemetery and seal the grave within an hour.
After Gu Lianshan returned to his room, his third uncle didn't stay long either. He quickly went back to his room to sleep, as he also needed to get up early the next day to go over there and help.
Gu Ping'an and A Gou both went to bed early. One of them had to get up early to join in the fun the next day, and the other had to get up early to help cook.
Gu Tang couldn't sleep and tossed and turned in bed until almost midnight before finally falling asleep.
Half past the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), Gu Lianshan got up in the main room.
As soon as he made a move, Ah Gou followed closely behind, getting up and getting dressed as well.
After getting up, he first went to the kitchen to start a fire and cook rice.
It was pitch black outside, but thankfully there was no snow. Gu Lianshan washed up with the hot water on the stove, then went to the kitchen to find something to eat.
Knowing he was short on time, Ah Gou prepared four boiled eggs and a bowl of hot tea for him for breakfast.
The boiled eggs are just coming out of the pot and are now soaking in cold water.
Gu Lianshan wasn't afraid of getting burned; he took one out, peeled it open, and ate it while blowing on it.
Before long, all four eggs were gone, and then he drank two bowls of hot tea.
After eating and drinking his fill, Gu Lianshan lit a lantern and carried it to the end of the village.
About half an hour after the person left, Third Uncle got up.
It was still dark.
Ah Gou cooked porridge, boiled eggs, and stir-fried two side dishes. He then invited his third uncle to eat first, telling him not to wait for anyone.
Gu Pingan and Gu Tang are still asleep.
Gu Tang usually sleeps until she naturally wakes up, and Ah Gou knows this, so he doesn't dare to disturb her sleep.
He knocked on the door of the room next to Gu Tang's; Gu Ping'an lived in that room.
He kept knocking on the door and calling for help, and somehow Ah Gou managed to wake Gu Ping'an up without disturbing Gu Tang.
Half past dawn, Third Uncle was getting ready to go out.
Gu Ping'an, who was forcibly woken up, shuddered and hurriedly ate the last two mouthfuls of porridge. He then jogged to catch up with his third uncle, saying that he wanted to go there with him.
It's almost Chenshi (7-9 AM), he has to go join the fun!
Ah Gou didn't go; he watched the grandfather and grandson leave from outside the courtyard.
Only after the two entered Gu Baoshan's courtyard did he turn his gaze away and return to his own courtyard.
It was already daylight, and the village was unusually lively on this snowy day. Everyone was heading towards Gu Baoshan's house, eager to see what Gu Dani's coffin looked like.
The fact that a minor child, a girl, could be given a coffin and buried after her death made many women in the village who had lost children envious.
Da Ni's life has been worthwhile. She now has a coffin to rest in, and people will worship her in the future. She will surely be reborn into a wealthy and noble family in her next life.
And the ashes of their children who died young are still lying in mass graves.